The information below provides general guidelines for module handling. 

Form Factor

The OP8E00 series of mezzanine modules follows OPAL-RT's Type-E form factor.

• The modules are rectangular. Their L x W dimensions are 14.6 x 4.4 cm (5.75 in x 1.73 in)

• Two Sullins SBH11 20pos Male connectors are located on the bottom side of the module's PCB. The connectors are labeled either P2/P3:

  • connector P2 carries signals to/from the simulator

  • connector P3 carries signals to/from the unit under test

• Another connector P1 (3M N2520-6002-RB 20pos ) is used to supply power to the module

• Two mounting holes allow affixing the module onto the carrier.

  • Note: not all the carriers have both mounting holes.

The components installed and the color of the PCB may differ.

Open

OP8E00 Top view

Open

OP8E00 Bottom View

Installation

Carrier board

OP8E00 modules come pre-installed on a carrier board which is installed either in an I/O expansion chassis (e.g. OP7000), a conditioning chassis (OP8300, OP8681) or a mapping box as illustrated in the examples below.

Since the OP8E00 modules are used to condition signals coming from or going to the simulator, the direction (input or output) of the signals of all modules installed on the carrier must match the direction of the conversion module to which they are linked in the conditioning chain. It is possible to mix modules with different characteristics on the same carrier, provided the direction of all modules is the same.

Adding or Replacing a module

Follow these instructions to install a new module or to replace a defective module.

• Open the chassis following the procedure provided by OPAL-RT when authorization for servicing was granted.

• Locate the carrier board, and locate the slot on the carrier where the module should be installed or replaced. Refer to the user manual of the system to identify the slots.

• Module removal

  • Gently pull the module vertically out of the carrier board's connectors. Avoid bending the module.

• Module installation 

  • Turn the module in the proper direction so that its polarized connectors align with the carrier board connectors,

  • Apply light pressure vertically to push the module into the carrier board. When the module is installed, only the top of the circuit board is visible.

  • Secure the connection by using screws to affix the module to the carrier board using the mounting holes available on the carrier.

Connection

Since the modules are located inside the I/O expansion or conditioning chassis, their signals are not accessed by the user directly, but through dedicated DB37-F connectors made available at the front or back face of the chassis. The module signals are routed to these connectors via the carrier board of the system.

Each DB37-F connector typically provides connection points for 16 channels., hence up to four modules share the same DB37-F connector.

The pin assignment of the DB37-F connector varies depending on the modules installed on the carrier board.

Calibration

Due to the nature of the electronic circuitry they use, the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog modules are subject to a slight dispersion of the values they output or measure, as compared to the theoretical values.

Since the modules do not hold an on-board memory for storing factory calibration values, calibration must be performed in-situ and correction parameters (offset and gain) must be introduced in the model used for the real-time simulation.