Specifications

Little Board/P5i Technical Manual
1–4
 High-speed PCI Architecture. The video controller provides an optimized 32-bit path between the CPU
and video memory.
 Graphical User Interface (GUI) Accelerator. This feature can dramatically boost the performance of
Windows
®
, Windows
®
95, and many graphics-intensive applications.
 Color Flat-Panel Support. Up to 16 million colors can be displayed on color TFT LCD flat panels
and up to 226,981 colors on color STN LCD panels.
 Display Centering and Stretching. A variety of automatic display centering and stretching
techniques can be employed when running lower resolution software on a higher resolution display.
 Color Simulation/Reduction. Color is automatically converted to gray-scale on monochrome LCD
panels, using a 61-level Frame Rate Modulation (FRM) technique and dithering.
 Automatic Power Sequencing Controls. The video controller provides the signals to safely
sequence the power and data signals to LCD flat panels. Advanced Power Management (APM)
features are implemented in the power control logic.
 PC Video Support. The video controller allows up to 24 bits of external RGB video data to be input
and merged with the internal VGA data stream. The controller supports two forms of video
windowing, color key input and X-Y window keying.
 Standard Panel Support in the ROM BIOS. The ROM BIOS supports a number of standard flat-
panel displays, selectable from SETUP.
An optional adjustable LCD bias power supply can be plugged into the board to provide standard LCD
flat panel bias voltages.
Ethernet LAN Interface
The Ethernet LAN interface uses Carrier Sense, Multiple Access/Collision Detect (CSMA/CD) for node
access and operates at a 10M bytes/second data rate. The Ethernet interface contains the logic necessary
to send and receive data packets and to control the CSMA/CD network access technology, and meets the
IEEE 802.3 (ANSI 8802-3) Ethernet standard. The interface supports the Ethernet twisted-pair standard
(10BaseT) and the AUI interface (Adapter Unit Interface), allowing for maximum versatility in
connecting to different types of LAN media.
Ethernet is preferred in many applications because of its high data rate and broad level of compatibility.
Ampro supplies the Little Board/P5i with drivers and utilities to ensure compatibility with a wide range
of popular operating systems and network operating systems. The Ethernet interface is based on the
SMC9000-series single-chip Ethernet controller. DOS software drivers for ODI, NDIS, packet, and
TCP/IP are supplied with the Little Board/P5i Development Kit. OS support includes QNX, UNIX, OS2,
Windows
®
95, Windows NT
™
, and Windows/DOS.
The Ethernet interface provides boot PROM capability. When the Ethernet boot code is programmed into
the onboard Flash memory device, the embedded system boots directly from the network, eliminating the
need for a local floppy, hard drive, or SSD.
1.2.1 Enhanced Reliability
Reliability is especially important in embedded computer systems. Ampro, specializing in embedded
system computers and peripherals, knows that embedded systems must be able to run reliably in rugged,
hostile, and mission-critical environments without operator intervention. Over the years, Ampro has
evolved system designs and a comprehensive testing program to ensure a reliable and stable system for
harsh and demanding applications. These include: