FlexorSet Turn-key Signal Interface Solutions for Radar, Communications or Data Acquisition
Pentek, Inc introduced its new FlexorSet: a series of integrated FMC sub-systems combining its Flexor line of FMC modules and Virtex-7 FPGA FMC carriers. FlexorSets are preconfigured with optimized IP and fully supported with software development tools. The first offerings are the FlexorSet Model 5973-317 for 3U VPX and Model 7070-317 for PCIe. The Flexor Model 3316 8-Channel A/D FMC is installed on either of two Flexor FMC carriers containing Pentek’s eight channel digital down converter (DDC) intellectual property (IP), which is ideally matched to the eight 250 MHz, 16-bit A/Ds on the FMC.
“The FlexorSet product strategy of bundling FMCs, carriers, and critical IP allows us to deliver complete solutions addressing a broad range of customer requirements,” said Rodger Hosking, vice-president of Pentek. “Our building block product strategy puts the latest technology into our customer’s hands quickly and affordably. Developing FPGA IP and supporting software is a difficult process and FlexorSets leverage our years of experience to help our customers deliver systems on time.”
In the first offerings, the FMC front end accepts eight analog HF or IF inputs on front panel connectors with transformer coupling into four Texas Instruments ADS42LB69 dual A/D convertors, boosting density for high channel count systems.
Each DDC has an independent 32-bit tuning frequency ranging from DC to the A/D sampling frequency. Each DDC can have its own unique decimation setting, supporting as many as eight different output bandwidths. Decimations can be programmed from 2 to 65,536 providing a wide range to satisfy virtually all applications.
Bundling for Seamless Integration
Both FlexorSets come pre-configured with a suite of built-in functions for data capture, synchronization, time tagging and formatting, all tailored and optimized for the FMC and carrier. This IP enables high performance capture and delivery of data to provide an ideal turn-key signal interface for radar, communications or general data acquisition applications, eliminating the integration effort typically left for the user when integrating the FMC and carrier.
Development Tools and Software Support
FlexorSet presents system integrators with an ideal development and deployment platform for custom IP. The Pentek GateFlow® FPGA design kit gives users access to the complete factory installed IP at the source level, allowing them to extend or even replace the built-in functions.
The Pentek GateXpress® PCIe configuration manager supports dynamic FPGA reconfiguration though software commands as part of the runtime application. This provides an efficient way to quickly reload the FPGA, which slashes development time during testing. For deployed environments, GateXpress enables reloading the FPGA without the need to reset the host system, ideal for applications that require dynamic access to multiple processing IP algorithms.
The Pentek ReadyFlow® Board Support Package is available for Windows and Linux operating systems. The ReadyFlow C-callable library contains a complete suite of initialization, control and status functions, as well as a rich set of precompiled, ready-to-run-examples, accelerate application development.
Form Factors, Pricing and Availability
FlexorSets are designed for air-cooled, conduction-cooled, and rugged operating environments. The FlexorSet Model 5973-317 for 3U VPX and the FlexorSet Model 7070-317 for PCIe both start at $24,490 USD. Delivery is 8-10 weeks ARO.
