Connectivity for the 1394 and AS5643 world!

DapTechnology offers a series of powerful 1394 and AS5643 connectivity products. They range from cables and harnesses, to single- and multi-bus repeaters (copper-to-copper repeater (CCR) and extend to media converters (copper-to-optical repeater (COR). Many of these solutions are custom and built to meet very specific customer requirements. However, DapTechnology also offers several 1394 and AS5643 connectivity COTS products. Especially with the repeater product line we have developed a design and production methodology that puts these repeaters into the COTS domain.

Over the last few years DapTechnology has built a large variety of different AS5643 Repeater models. Starting with simple pass-through node-replacements the requirements grew with the different Aerospace programs. By now we have built about 25 different configurations. They span from multi-bus configurations to fiber-optics and EMI-hardened solutions. Until now these AS5643 Repeater projects were handled strictly as custom solutions that originated from one particular off-the-shelf design and they were not really COTS. There was always a certain amount of engineering involved with a new customer requirement. But after having built so many different configurations we now feel confident to actively promote the entire product range. All the engineering is done and it is just a matter of bringing together the individual components. We put together a part numbering scheme that covers the most used configurations and should you still not be able to get your entire repeater project covered within that COTS offering then we can always put our expertise to work and assist you in defining, designing and building your special AS5643 Repeater.

The IEEE-1394 limits the available cable length to 4.5 meter. Fortunately, AS5643 extends obtainable length significantly by adding transformers as well as defines the types of cables and connectors. Still, quite often this is not enough. Then repeaters are very useful to add another cable run. Repeaters can help as they typically use active 1394 PHY layer devices. The IEEE-1394 specification limits the total number of devices on a single 1394 bus to 63, the number of devices in a single chain to 16 as well as the available bus power (not applicable if the repeaters are self-powered which is typically the case in AS5643 implementations). For in-line extensions repeaters typically have a pass-through configuration, i.e. connectors to either side of the enclosure connected to different ports on the same PHY.

Another interesting usage mode is to use the repeater as node replacements. Assume you are building a complex A&D system. And further assume that - while your system is already built - a single device is missing (not available yet or missing because of damage/repair/...). Depending on your network configuration that can result that some devices on your bus might no longer be connected to the rest. However, when using the repeater as a node replacement the bus integrity can be maintained on a physical level. Granted, the repeater will have no higher-level functionality but at least all nodes are still connected. In this case a pass-through connector configuration is not ideal and is better replaced with running multiple port connections through a single 38999 connector.