SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 2, 2010 — Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today introduced a triggering and decode option (Option 533) for MIL-STD 1553 on its popular InfiniiVision 5000, 6000 and 7000 Series oscilloscopes. Option 533 allows engineers to easily capture and measure the electrical characteristics of MIL-STD 1553 signals. When Option 553 is combined with Agilent’s mask test option, engineers also can perform MIL-STD 1553 eye-diagram mask testing for the first time based on electrical input specifications.

MIL-STD-1553 is a military standard published by the U.S. Department of Defense that defines the mechanical, electrical and functional characteristics of a 1-Mbs serial data bus. The standard was originally designed for military avionics, but now it is used in military and civil spacecraft onboard data handling (OBDH) subsystems. The standard features a dual-redundant balanced line physical layer, a (differential) network interface, time division multiplexing, half duplex command/response protocol and up to 31 remote terminals (devices).

Until now, capturing and measuring the electrical characteristics of MIL-STD 1553 signals has been a difficult and tedious process using a conventional analog or digital oscilloscope. When engineers set up a scope to trigger and synchronize on specific transmitted words, they often required an external synchronization signal or had to guess at a specific trigger hold-off setting. To determine the contents of a captured and displayed communication packet/word, engineers had to use a visual “bit-counting” technique, which is slow and prone to errors. But with an Agilent InfiniiVision Series oscilloscope equipped with Option 553, engineers now can view MIL-STD 1553 protocol decoded communication time-correlated with their physical-layer signals. With Agilent’s unique hardware-based protocol decoding, InfiniiVision scopes can provide the fastest uncompromised waveform and decode update rates in the oscilloscope industry.

Agilent InfiniiVision Series oscilloscopes equipped with Option 553 also can trigger on a wide range of conditions, including data words, command/status words, remote terminal addresses (RTA), sub-addresses and status bits. In addition, the scope can be set up to trigger on, and decode, synchronization field errors, Manchester encoding errors and parity errors.

Engineers also can use InfiniiVision Series oscilloscopes to perform automatic pass/fail eye-diagram tests of 1553 electrical signals with the addition of the mask test option (Option LMT) and Option 553. Agilent provides eight MIL-STD 1553 eye-diagram mask test files that can be downloaded from Agilent’s Web site at no charge. Engineers can use the mask test files to test various types of communication traffic to and from bus controllers and remote terminals.

Eye-diagram testing is used in a broad range of today’s serial bus applications. An eye-diagram is an overlay of digitized bits that shows when bits are valid, which provides a composite picture of the quality of a system’s physical layer characteristics. These characteristics include amplitude variations caused by transmission line effects, reflections, system noise, overshoot, ringing, signal edge placement shift, and jitter.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The Agilent MIL-STD 1553 triggering and real-time decode option (Option 553) for the InfiniiVision 5000, 6000 and 7000 Series 4-channel oscilloscopes is available now at a price of $1,303. The mask test option (Option LMT), which is required for MIL-STD 1553 eye-diagram mask testing, is available now at a price of $660. InfiniiVision Series oscilloscopes range in bandwidth from 100 MHz to 1 GHz, with entry-level prices of four-channel models beginning at $5,200. Additional information about Option 553 is available at www.agilent.com/find/1553.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world’s premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company’s 16,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $4.5 billion in fiscal 2009. Information about Agilent is available on the
Web at www.agilent.com.

Munich, February 2010 – Rising energy costs are increasingly awaking the awareness of manufacturing companies. Under the slogan “energy efficiency”, the Munich manufacturer, DSM Computer, has extended its portfolio with an additional Infinity^® “P4-A” panel PC, which, thanks to the IP65 front, is suitable for use in harsh environments. 

The modular and fan-free construction of the Infinity^® “P4-A” permits a wide range of possible applications and so offers an expandable and cost-saving alternative to traditional panel PC systems. The Vesa assembly arm allows the “P4-A” stand-alone system to be integrated fast and easily, and so make it particularly suitable for building automation applications, for visualization tasks with POI/POS applications, for machine and plant control, and for logistics and transport management.  

The development of the “P4-A” paid particular attention to the low heat loss. This is achieved through the use of the Intel^® Atom™ N270 processor with the Intel^® 82945GSE chipset and the ICH7M Southbridge. The processor is clocked with 1.6 GHz. The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the Intel^® Atom™ N270 consumes just 2.5 W and so less than 50% of expensive ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors. The integrated 1 GB main memory can be expanded to maximum 2 GB. 

To further reduce the power consumption, the 38 cm (15 inch) Infinity^® “P4-A” panel system uses an LED backlight. This allows the display computer with specified 250 cd/m² to consume up to 20% less power compared with traditional computers. Thanks to the CCFL backlight, the service life at low temperatures is significantly higher than for normal CCFL display solutions. The panel computer also has an energy-efficient power supply. A 115 to 230 VAC power pack is integrated in the system with a 24 VDC power supply available as an option for the user. 

The Infinity^® “P4-A” provides an internal mini-PCI express slot and maximum two PCI slots for various plug-in cards. Interfaces such as eight USB 2.0 (two of which on the front panel), two LANs and one audio are accessible from the rear of the computer. The input and control of the panel PC is made using the high-quality ELO touch function. The system already contains a 2.5″ hard disk for data storage. In addition, an optional SSD (solid state drive) and a Compact Flash can be installed. The system is designed for operation in the temperature range 0° to +45° C (+50° C with fan). DSM guarantees the long-term availability of the panel system for four years. The computer is subjected to a burn-in test for at least 48 hours and is delivered with a two year guarantee.