Contec Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of PC-based instrument interfaces and industrial computers, has developed two new PCI slot expansion units, the "PCI bus expansion chassis (7 models), model numbers: ECH(PCI)SF-***" and "expansion adapter (2 models), model numbers: EAD(**)SF", which will go on sale progressively starting from July 2004. These PC peripherals use the latest "StarFabric" technology, which consists of high-speed serial transmission and a PCI bridge, to enable PCI boards to be used at a distance of up to 12m from the PC

August 13, 2004 -- This new series of PCI slot expansion units can extend a PCI bus using Cat-5 cable. The units use "StarFabric" technology to provide a fully compatible PCI bus bridge with high-speed serial transmission over a 5Gbps full duplex link (2.5Gbps send/2.5Gbps receive). This enables PCI boards to be used in a PCI bus expansion chassis located up to 12m from the PC. The PCI boards can be installed in the same way as on the main chassis of the PC and no special device drivers are required. Another important feature is that the power supply of the PCI bus expansion chassis can be turned on or off automatically in conjunction with the PC power with no additional cabling other than the Cat-5 cable.

This enables PCI boards to be used in a PCI bus expansion chassis located up to 12m from the PC. The PCI boards can be installed in the same way as on the main chassis of the PC and no special device drivers are required. Another important feature is that the power supply of the PCI bus expansion chassis can be turned on or off automatically in conjunction with the PC power with no additional cabling other than the Cat-5 cable.

Uses for the new expansion units are not just limited to the obvious cases where cabling issues meant that the cable length (1m) provided by the previous bus expansion method (PCI to PCI bridge) was inadequate. Instead, the ability to use the wide range of available PCI cards at locations separate from the PC represents a new platform structure whereby the PC ("brain") used to operate a piece of equipment can be separate from the equipment itself. This has applications in many areas such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment, robotics and motor control, high-speed remote I/O, and CTI.

The expansion adapter and PCI bus expansion chassis are sold separately and the optimum combination of PC expansion slot specification, number of PCI slots, and board size for your system can be selected from the 12 different options available.

The PCI bus expansion chassis is available in two forms: a stylish and compact black chassis with an AC adapter, and a robust steel chassis with an internal power supply (industrial model). Together with the different slot number and board size options, a total of seven different versions are available.

The expansion adapter also comes in two types: the "EAD(LPCI)SF" for both standard PCI and low-profile PCI slots, and the "EAD(CB)SF" for PC card (CardBus) slots. Twelve meters of category 5e STP cable*1 is included in both cases, but you can also use commercially available category 5e cable*1 to make a cable to your own desired length.

These new products incorporate a chip from StarGen Inc. (Massachusetts, USA), and are the first example of a "StarFabric" expansion unit with PC card (CardBus) slots to be released anywhere in the world. Tim Miller, CEO of StarGen, had the following to say about the announcement.

"StarGen is excited by the news that Contec has announced a suite of StarFabric products. The EAD(CB)SF, the world's first PCMCIA card to provide a StarFabric link, is particularly innovative, allowing an engineer to use a laptop computer with an internal 32bit/33MHz bus to connect into a StarFabric system through a CAT5e UTP cable. Together with Contec's newly announced PCI-StarFabric peripheral card and PCI expansion chassis, this provides a complete StarFabric PCI expansion solution".

CONTEC provides factory and laboratory application solutions using industrial PCs and PC-based data acquisition. For more information: CONTEC Microelectronics, Binnenweg 4, 2132 CT Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 23 567 3030, Fax: +31 23 567 3035, E-mail:, Web: http://www.contec-europe.com.