Opto 22 I/O boards

**FatalException0E** · October 26th, 2006, 11:11 AM

OK, this is some weird specialized stuff. Has anyone ever messed with these things? Specifically I'm working with the PCI-AC28

**bostonflunkie** · October 31st, 2006, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by FatalException0E

OK, this is some weird specialized stuff. Has anyone ever messed with these things? Specifically I'm working with the PCI-AC28

Oh yes! I have worked with AC-5. So now they are AC-28. It is a data acqusition I/O. I had some IRQ issues to resolve(manually)! then it worked fine. How are you communicating with it if GPIB then almost certainly it's the GPIB cable, notorious for being finicky! if you have worked with it then you know what I mean. What are you trying to do with it?

**JonNoH** · November 6th, 2006, 11:08 AM

Yes - we've got a couple of them in our batch plant computer. That machine is running Linux...

We used to purchase them through our plant manufacturer, but it was WAY cheaper to get the same card online...all you have to do is jumper up like the old card and viola!

FatalException0E - You don't say what you problem is...

**FatalException0E** · December 6th, 2006, 06:05 PM

Been gone for a while, sorry. If anyone cares to check this resurected thread, these PCs are running QNX4. The driver is built into the application. (Custom written, be a huge expense to rewrite) The problem is that on new PCs, the thing just goes nuts. When we look at the IO readout, everything is flashing. If it isn't flashing rapidly on/off, it will be giving totally wrong readings. It will look like emergency stops all over the place are tripped when the line is running properly.

It is the AC-28 we are running. It seems Opto has replaced this card with the AC-51. Considering the expense, the company will probably opt to leave the old PIII PCs in place for 5-7 more years if there is no way to use that card in new machines.

**JonNoH** · December 7th, 2006, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by FatalException0E

Been gone for a while, sorry. If anyone cares to check this resurected thread, these PCs are running QNX4. The driver is built into the application. (Custom written, be a huge expense to rewrite) The problem is that on new PCs, the thing just goes nuts. When we look at the IO readout, everything is flashing. If it isn't flashing rapidly on/off, it will be giving totally wrong readings. It will look like emergency stops all over the place are tripped when the line is running properly.

It is the AC-28 we are running. It seems Opto has replaced this card with the AC-51. Considering the expense, the company will probably opt to leave the old PIII PCs in place for 5-7 more years if there is no way to use that card in new machines.

Maybe there is something about newer MB and the OPTO cards. When we've needed to change out the computer with the opto units (for other unrelated issues), we've always been provided with "older" processor machines. Maybe you can check up on the specs for the MB and the connector...

Best of Luck!

**FatalException0E** · December 7th, 2006, 06:19 PM

Originally Posted by JonNoH

Maybe there is something about newer MB and the OPTO cards. When we've needed to change out the computer with the opto units (for other unrelated issues), we've always been provided with "older" processor machines. Maybe you can check up on the specs for the MB and the connector...

Best of Luck!

That's pretty much what I'm hearing from whoever I ask. The big guys are intent that we have to have everything replaced with brand-new Dells. I think I'm giving up and telling them they have to either keep the old machines or pay ADS the $50k to rewrite. (...just to replace some code with what they already know works and recompile. Grrrrr)