Multiplexers

PC Instruments manufactures three Multiplexers:

	The PCI-702 is an 8-to-1 Multiplexer with a 200 MHz bandwidth and termination provided on each channel.
	The PCI-703 is an 8-to-1 Multiplexer with a 200 MHz bandwidth and it does not have the capability to terminate each channel.
	The PCI-709 Multiplexer is a specialized product that is used in the calibration system for our Waveform Generators and PCI-44x Digital Oscilloscope product line.

The PCI-702 and the PCI-703 8-to-1 Multiplexers provide DC-200 MHz signal switching in a convenient half-size ISA card for your PC. Stripline circuit board techniques, combined with coaxial relays, provide these multiplexers with their outstanding high frequency performance including propagation delay of 2.2 ns, and a channel-to-channel skew of 200 ps maximum. Both multiplexers provide bi-directional signal flow.

Test systems have many components (including probes, switching, and instrumentation) that can combine to limit the overall measurement bandwidth. Utilizing high frequency multiplexers lessens the impact on the bandwidth of the overall system. Due to their compact size and high frequency performance, large switch systems can be easily configured by feeding the outputs of several multiplexers into the inputs of one multiplexer.

Test engineers, production engineers, system integrators, and ATE engineers will be able to increase the bandwidth and reduce the size of their test systems by utilizing the PCI-702 and PCI-703. Network engineers, video engineers and telecommunications engineers will benefit from the termination modes provided by the PCI-702.

The PCI-702 has four different termination modes. In the Off mode, none of the eight input channels are terminated; and in the On mode, all of the input channels are terminated. The Manual mode allows individual channels to be terminated. The fourth mode is Auto-Termination where the selected input channel is not terminated  and the other seven channels are terminated. The Auto-Termination mode eliminates transmission line reflections on the seven channels that are not selected, while allowing the selected channel to be terminated by the measurement device.

The PCI-702 and PCI-703 each have two latched digital outputs, two digital inputs, and a Switch Complete output. The Switch Complete signal goes active after the relays have finished switching. This output can be used to synchronize a test set for maximum throughput. Examples include using the Switch Complete output to trigger a DMM or enable the acquisition circuits on an oscilloscope.

The PCI-709 Multiplexer is used as part of a system for calibrating waveform generators and the PCI-44X Series of oscilloscopes. If you are interested in learning more about calibrating products from PC Instruments, please contact us at info@pcinstruments.com.

Software

Included (free-of-charge) with these products is the BenchCom™ Software Bundle. BenchCom includes 16-bit and 32-DLLs, programmers libraries, and drivers for all of the popular test control software packages. Also included with each instrument from PC Instruments is the BenchTop™ Lite graphical user interface (free-of-charge) for Windows 3.X, ’95, ’98, and NT. BenchCom and BenchTop Lite are available for downloading from this site. Also available is the BenchTop Plus graphical user interface. Please consult the Price List for the cost for BenchTop Plus. All software from PC Instruments has a lifetime, free-upgrade policy, and includes a detailed operators manual.