Curtiss-Wright / VMETRO PBT-315B PCI Bus Analyzer

The Curtiss-Wright/VMETRO PBT-315B is a single-slot PCI short card analyzer that captures, displays, and analyzes PCI bus transactions in real time. It monitors 91 PCI signals plus 8 external inputs, supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit PCI architectures at clock speeds up to 33 MHz. Engineers use it for debugging, verification, and protocol analysis of PCI-based systems, with protocol-sensitive sampling that triggers on arbitration, interrupts, and cache cycles without extensive manual probing.

Technical Specifications

Form Factor: Single-slot PCI short card

PCI Bus Compatibility: 32-bit and 64-bit architectures

PCI Clock Speed: Up to 33 MHz (min. 20 MHz)

Trace Buffer (Model B): 32K × 128 bits

Input Channels: 91 PCI signals + 8 external inputs on pin header

Temporal Resolution: 30 ns @ 33 MHz

Latency Tag: Counts wait states from FRAME# to TRDY# assertion (max. 128 clocks)

Counters:

Four 20-bit occurrence counters

Three 20-bit delay counters

Four 20-bit event counters for statistics

Key Features

Dual Sampling Modes: TRANSFER-synchronous (one sample per valid Data Phase for software analysis) or CLOCK-synchronous (one sample per PCI CLK cycle for hardware analysis)

Address/Data Demultiplexing: Automatic demultiplexing of Address/Data and COMMAND/BEx# with intuitive mnemonic display

Flexible Triggering: Four full-width word recognizers with RANGE, NOT, and BINARY operators; supports hex, binary, or command mnemonics (MemRd, IOWri, etc.)

16-Level Sequencer: Implements IF, ELSE, ELSIF, GOTO, COUNT, DELAY, TRIGGER, STORE, SAMPLING MODE, and HALT functions

Trigger Output: TTL-level output with programmable polarity, level, or pulse mode

External Power Provision: Supports optional external power supply for systems with marginal power

Control Interface: RS232 operation via two RS232C serial ports

Typical Applications Development and debugging of PCI hardware and software; protocol verification; system integration troubleshooting; latency and arbitration analysis.

Compatibility & Integration Operates with PCI systems running 20–33 MHz clock frequencies. External triggering and monitoring available through TTL output and 8 auxiliary input channels.