Question on the versions of PCI-GPIB cards

[Kimura]

Hello--I have two PCI-GPIB cards. One is printed as COPYRIGHT 1998 and the other is COPYRIGHT 2001.

What is the diference between two cards.
Are thier transfer-rate same? Can I use same driver version for two cards.

I also like to know the differeces between them and CURRENT version.

Many Thanks

[ScottieB]

I don't know the difference between the two cards based on their copyright dates, but if you want to post the ASSY number, I can tell you what is different. We have had a number of different revisions of PCI-GPIB boards throughout the years. Their throughput is in the same order of magnitude, but the newer boards may be slightly faster. The most significant change was from a "rev K board" that has a reasonably high chip count to the next rev, which has only one chip stamped with the word "TNT5004". We made a custom ASIC to fix minor issues that we had worked around in software and decrease chip count on this new 5004 board.

The driver is the same for any PCI-GPIB board.

Thanks,
Scott B.
GPIB Group
National Instruments

[Kimura]

Thanks Scott,
The ASSY numbers of the two cards are;
1) 183617H-01 COPYRIGHT 1998 assembled in Mexico
2) 183617K-01 COPYRIGHT 2001 made in Hungary
They have same size and same chip arrange, however the printed wire pattern especially in back side is completely different.

Many thanks

[Collin M]

The change from 183617H-01 to 183617K-01 included the following changes:
1. New PCB design.
2. Smaller package sizes for some passive components.
3. Different on-board firmware (firmware is only used for non-Windows systems).
4. Universal PCI signaling.

The major components did not change and the two boards should behave identically. The same driver can be used for both cards. The transfer rates are identical.