Developed by Ampro Computers (San Jose, CA) in the late 1980s, the PC/104 form factor is an open standard currently endorsed by a number of imaging vendors, including Matrox (Dorval, Quebec, Canada), Advanced Micro Peripherals (Little Ouse, Cambridgeshire, England), and Sensoray (Tigard, OR). To date, more than 150 vendors have endorsed the standard with PC/104 products that include frame grabbers, display controllers, high-speed CPUs, and image-processing development systems. This month we take a look at on-line publications, references, and product information to help you better design a PC-104-based imaging system.
The supplier link
www.pc104.com/
With links to more than 40 manufacturers of PC-104 boards, this Web site includes definitions of PC/104 and a huge "frequently asked questions" section. Developed by Arrick Publishing (Hurst, TX), the site automatically redirects browsers to manufacturers' sites to provide fast and easy access to board-level products.
Controlled systems
www.controlled.com/pc104/
Also from Arrick Publishing (Hurst, TX), this PC-104 Web site is an on-line source of PC/104 embedded-computing information that includes technical information as well as products and vendors that make PC/104 systems work. Presenting the latest news and new-product information, the site also provides articles and technical papers and information on trade shows, seminars, and conferences. An information database covers vendors, products, service providers, and a jobs database.
Join the consortium
www.pc104.org/
To establish PC/104 as an industry-standard architecture for embedded-PC applications, the PC/104 Consortium (Mountain View, CA) maintains and distributes the PC/104 specifications and serves as a liaison to standards bodies, including IEEE P996.1. On the organization's Web site there is information on companies that offer or use PC/104 modules and companies that provide products that target PC/104 applications. Here, too, you'll find a list of events, technical support, an on-line newsletter, and PC-104 specifications.
Embedded solutions
www.pc104-embedded-solns.com/
From Open Systems Publishing (St. Clair Shores, MI) comes PC/104 Embedded Solutions On-Line. Targeted at developers of embedded systems using PC/104 technologies, this journal is oriented to nonbackplane embedded solutions. With sections devoted to business, technology, applications, and product news, the site is an informative resource for engineers developing PC-104-based embedded systems.
Research assistant
www.eg3.com/
Billed as your free research assistant, and developed by EG3 Communications (San Jose, CA), the site may be the oldest and largest Web resource devoted to embedded technologies, and it does render useful information on PC/104 boards, vendors, and systems when "PC/104" is used as the search topic.
PC/104 directory
www.directories.mfi.com/embedded/pc10499/
On this site, Miller-Freeman (San Francisco, CA) has developed a PC/104 and PC/104+ catalog. A handy search engine allows you to rapidly scan for specific types of PC/104 modules, software, and peripherals. Although the listing of PC/104 companies is not as comprehensive as that of other similar sites, there are some useful links to articles.
