National Instruments PCIe-8431/16 Serial Interface Device

Featured with DMA transfers, the National Instruments PCIe-8431/16 (Part number:  780592-02) is an Interface Device for communication with RS422 and RS485 devices. With its multithreading and multiprocessor support, the PCIe-8431/16 can offer unmatched speed and flexibility. This model permits the user to choose between 2-wire and 4-wire transceiver modes for half and full-duplex communications. In full-duplex communication mode, both the PCIe-8431/16 and the connected serial device can transmit and receive information simultaneously. On the other hand, in half-duplex mode, the transmission and reception of information between the communications interface and the target device takes place on alternate basis so that one point transmits and the other one receives and vice versa.

The National Instruments PCIe-8431/16 comes equipped with two 68-pin VHDCI type connectors; the required serial connector cables are also supplied by the vendor. These cables terminate in male, DB-9 serial connectors. This model has 16-ports and offers up to 3000.0 kbaud maximum baud rate. It is important to note that a maximum baud rate of 2000 kbaud is possible when the device operates in 2-wire auto control mode with RS-485 transceiver control. This PCI Express based device has 4.38 × 6.9 in. physical dimensions and weighs around 101 grams.

The PCIe-8431/16 device requires and draws 400 mA at +3.3 VDC and 210 mA at +12 VDC in typical conditions. This Serial Interface Device offers better than 0.5% accuracy for nonstandard and 0.015% accuracy for standard baud rates. Unlike other similar products, the user can operate multiple PCIe-8431/16 units in parallel.