New ESCLP-100 provides the industry's most flexible high-port-count serial PCI board.

Quatech recently released the ESCLP-100, an 8-port RS-232 serial board designed with a UniversalPCI interface and a Low Profile PCI footprint. The combination of these two important PCI features makes the ESCLP-100 an ideal solution for adding multiple serial ports across systems with dramatically different resource requirements.

Low Profile PCI refers to the actual size of the PCI board. Low Profile boards use the same signal protocols, electrical interface, and configuration as standard height PCI boards. This allows designers to create lower profile stand-alone "thin-client" and high-density rack-mount PC chasses as low as 3.350" while maintaining the ability to use add-in boards. The ESCLP-100 adheres to the MD1 board length specification--the smallest form of Low Profile PCI. It is also narrow enough to fit all 2U rack mount systems without using riser cards. For maximum flexibility, the ESCLP-100 uses a special Low Profile ORB to connect with these small-size systems, and also comes with a larger ORB that enables it to be used in any standard size PC.

UniversalPCI refers to the voltage levels used by the motherboard to talk with the add-in card. This is called "3.3-volt signaling" or "5-volt signaling." A PCI slot on a motherboard uses one method or the other. The original PCI specification used 5 volts, and 3.3 volt signaling was added later. The slot's connector is slightly different, depending on which signaling level the motherboard uses. The PCI board has a notch in the goldfingers that ensures that it can only be inserted into a slot supporting the correct signaling level. Quatech's ESCLP-100, like all Quatech UniversalPCI boards, uses a PLX chip that enables it to support either 3.3-volt or 5-volt signaling. The card is keyed with two notches so that it fits both 3.3-volt slots and 5-volt slots.

Quatech's new ESCLP-100 also boasts other industry leading features. It is implemented with 16750 UARTs containing 64-byte FIFOs that enable data rates up to 921.6 kbps. Its eight independent serial ports provide full modem control and hardware and software flow control. Serial port connections are made via a detachable cable with eight DB-9 male connectors. Support is provided for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP, DOS, and Linux. The ESCLP-100 is available now from Quatech, at a list price of $399.

Quatech also offers a complete line of RS-232 and RS-422/485 UniversalPCI Low Profile cards in 1, 2, and 4 port versions, as well as a diverse line of data connectivity products for desktop, network, mobile, embedded and standalone systems. Complete specifications for all of these products, and for the new ESCLP-100, are available online at www.quatech.com. For more information, call 1-800-553-1170, e-mail sales@quatech.com, or visit the website.

Specifications and Ordering Information for Quatech RS-232 UniversalPCI Low Profile Boards (including ESCLP-100)