Astronics / EADS / Talon Instruments 2108 VXI Serial Bus Emulator

The Astronics/EADS/Talon Instruments 2108 is a VXI-based serial bus emulator and analyzer designed for real-time simulation, characterization, and stress testing of serial communication interfaces. Operating as a register-based VXI module, it supports up to four independent transmit and/or receive channels per slot, each capable of emulating industry-standard protocols including SONET, T1/DS1, RS-422/485, USB, IEEE-1394, Ethernet, MIL-STD-1553, and custom serial buses. The instrument analyzes serial buses up to 200 MHz and supports signal levels to 15 V. ## Technical Specifications • Channel Configuration: Up to 4 transmit and/or receive channels per VXI slot, independently addressable • Analysis Bandwidth: Serial buses up to 200 MHz • Voltage Support: Up to 15 V • Buffer Architecture: Dual 4 Meg ping-pong buffers enabling continuous real-time data transfer and fast VXI controller communication • Protocol Emulation: SONET, T1/DS1, RS-422/485, USB, IEEE-1394, Ethernet, MIL-STD-1553, and custom/modified serial buses • Data Patterns: Pre-defined custom waveforms of variable length, Pseudo Random Bit Sequences (4 to 65535 bit times), user-defined data (4 to 48 bits) • Transmit/Receive Modes: Binary, Binary plus tri-state, Binary plus user-defined state, Binary plus error state • Encoding: Standard encoding and formatting schemes with on-the-fly parity calculation for 8-bit words ## Key Features • Integrated serial logic analyzer for real-time data viewing and event searching by trigger counts or patterns • Margin and limit testing via imposed impairments on data, clock, and control lines • GUI-based programming, analysis, and debugging environment • Template-based data alignment and display configuration • Modular UUT I/O transmit and receive modules connected via front panel connectors ## Typical Applications Automated test environments and R&D labs requiring serial interface validation without physical hardware endpoints. Supports margin analysis, protocol compliance testing, and signal integrity characterization across multiple serial standards. ## Compatibility & Integration Register-based VXI module compatible with standard VXI controllers and instrumentation platforms.