OmniBus® Family for MIL-STD-1553

Description

Ballard's OmniBus products connect computers or networks to one or more avionics databuses. OmniBus 1553 refers to the MIL-STD-1553 capabilities available for all OmniBus platforms. Separate web pages provide information on OmniBus platforms (PCI, cPCI, PMC, VME, USB/Ethernet), avionics protocols (ARINC 429/708/717 and CSDB), serial ports (RS-422/232/423), and discrete IO.

OmniBus products are built around an intelligent platform that can host one or more protocol modules. This flexible architecture accommodates mixed protocols, high channel counts, and unsurpassed processing power. An on-board PowerPC® processor can be programmed by the user to offload the host or for stand-alone operation. Each module has its own DSP dedicated to protocol processing.

OmniBus 1553 modules are available with 1 or 2 dual-redundant 1553 channels, so each OmniBus can have up to 2, 4 or 8 1553 channels, depending on the platform. To provide flexibility and economy, each channel can be ordered in one of five levels of functionality (see table below). All levels provide Bus Controller, Remote Terminal, or Monitor operation and support all 1553 message types. The higher levels can concurrently simulate multiple terminals, inject errors, and adjust the waveform.

	A	B4	B32	C	D
Number of Simultaneous Terminals	1	4	32	32	32
Monitor Filtering for terminal address Filtering for subaddress Concurrent terminal monitoring
Protocol Error Injection
Variable Transmit Amplitude
Zero Crossing Distortion

MIL-STD-1553 Functional Specifications

Bus Controller

• Specify no-response timeout value up to 102.4 µs in units of 0.1 µs
• Automatic schedule (based on specified message frequencies) or custom schedule, including:
• Multiple frames and programmable frame times
• Programmable inter-message gap times
• Conditional retries and branches for exception processing
• Schedule operation modes:
• Continuous (until explicitly halted)
• Specified number of loops
• Single-step mode (for debugging)
• Configure schedule to wait for each message to be triggered or for a single starting trigger
• Custom protocols are supported by variable word lengths and programmable pre-sync pulses
• Programmable sync out signal on all or selected messages (multiple sync lines available)
• Insert aperiodic messages into a running BC schedule

• Multi-terminal simulation with up to 31 RTs (Level B4 or higher channels)
• Configurable response time for MIL-STD-1553A or B (default)
• Specify a response time value up to 25.5 µs, in units of 0.1 µs
• Programmable status word bits
• Auto Busy option automatically sets the Busy bit of the status word after each command
• Programmable sync out signal on all or selected messages (multiple sync lines available)
• Configure/legalize all or selected SAs and mode codes
• Support for all 1553B mode codes
• Selectable mode code subaddress (00000, 11111, both, or neither)
• Enable broadcast reception on a per-RT basis
• RT 31 functions as broadcast terminal or valid RT address

• Monitor concurrently with terminal simulation (Level C or higher channels)
• Create a sequential record in board memory or stream to file (with a simple program)
• Monitor and record all traffic on fully loaded buses
• Capture all traffic or filter by RT, SA, or tagged BC messages
• Each monitored message includes:
• command/status/data words
• time-tag
• detected errors
• transmission bus (A/B)
• RT response time(s)
• RT “Shadow Monitor” mode allows message activity of external RTs to be monitored

• Buffering schemes facilitate data handling:
• Single buffers (default)
• Ping-pong double buffers ensure data integrity
• Circular lists transmit a repeated pattern, such as a sine wave
• FIFO list buffers can handle sequences of data, such as file transfers
• Data initialization options: zeros, incremental, or command word values
• Each message record can track activity by min, max, or elapsed time

• Use 32-bit binary timer or 64-bit IRIG timer (displays day/hour/min/sec/ms/µs)
• IRIG timer options:
• Select IRIG-B or IRIG-A format
• Generate IRIG signal or sync up to an IRIG signal (on-board or external)
• Initialize timer to time of day or other value

• Protocol error injection (Level C and above):
• parity
• bit count
• inverted sync
• Manchester
• gap
• word count (relative and absolute)
• Advanced error injection (Level D):
• variable transmit amplitude
• zero crossing distortion on leading or mid-bit (± 5 to 250 ns, in 5 ns increments)
• Trigger error injection from an external signal
• Inject errors in all or tagged messages

• Configurable event log can be polled and can generate interrupts to the host PC
• The following events may be user-selected for logging/interrupts:
• When the monitor is full or halts
• On a user-specified frequency of monitored messages
• When tagged messages (BC or RT) are sent or received
• When the BC schedule halts or pauses
• When the BC schedule encounters a user-inserted Log Event command
• When a list buffer is empty or full

Example Configurations

1553 Configurations for 2 Modules

• Up to 4 MIL-STD-1553 channels
• 1 or 2 MIL-STD-1553 channels plus up to 16 ARINC 429 channels
• 1 or 2 MIL-STD-1553 channels plus 8 ARINC 429 channels and 8 ARINC 717 channels
• 1 or 2 MIL-STD-1553 channels plus 4R/4T ARINC 429 channels and 4 serial ports

• Up to 8 MIL-STD-1553 channels
• 1 or 2 MIL-STD-1553 channels plus up to 48 ARINC 429 channels
• 1 or 2 MIL-STD-1553 channels plus 2 ARINC 708 channels and 24 ARINC 429 channels and 4 serial ports

Software

The easiest way to use OmniBus 1553 products in a Windows® environment is with Ballard's graphical CoPilot® software. CoPilot can host multiple cards, channels, and databuses (MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, ARINC 708, and serial), so it is the ideal tool for OmniBus products.

Alternatively, users can develop their own software using the included BTIDriver™ API. Although each OmniBus product can be easily configured and run with only a few API calls, the comprehensive library includes a broad range of functions for specialized needs.

An SDK is available for advanced users who are developing software to run on the PowerPC.

Ordering Information

OmniBus Order Numbers—The order number for an OmniBus product is a combination of the board part number (see table below) and module part number(s). For example, 111-510 is an OmniBus PCI with a single Level A channel MIL-STD-1553 module.

	1 Core	2 Cores	4 Cores
PCI (short)	111	112	—
cPCI (3U)	121	122	—
PMC	141	—	—
VME (6U)	—	152	154
Ethernet/USB	—	162	—

MIL-STD-1553 Module Part Numbers—The table below illustrates the 1553 module numbering scheme. Any mix of levels may be ordered on a single module. The channel levels table above describes the 5 levels of functionality (A to D).

P/N	CH0 Level	CH1 Level
510	A	—
520	B4	—
530	B32	—
540	C	—
550	D	—
511	A	A
522	B4	B4
533	B32	B32
544	C	C
555	D	D
551	D	A