The PC/104 Consortium and standard was established in February 1992 by 12 companies. That consortium has had a tremendous, positive effect on the embedded computer marketplace. The initial release of the PC/104 specification in March of 1992 was an open design offering the power and flexibility of an IBM compatible personal computer in a size ideally suited for embedding. Simple and elegant in design the PC/104 technology that has emerged today bridges the success of the past with the promises of future innovations. (1) Since its inception and adoption, the PC/104 Consortium has evolved and expanded upon its original purpose.  Below are descriptions of PCI/104-Express™, PC/104 Plus, and PC/104 along with the appropriate Samtec part numbers.

The PCI/104-Express™ specification establishes a standard to use a high speed PCI Express® bus in embedded applications. It was developed by the PCI/104 Embedded Consortium and adopted by member vote in March 2008. The PC/104 Consortium chose PCI Express® because of its full PC market adoption, performance, scalability, and growing silicon availability worldwide. It provides a new high-performance physical interface while retaining software compatibility with existing PCI infrastructure. (2)

Incorporating the PCI Express bus within the industry proven PC/104 architecture brings many advantages for embedded applications including fast data transfer, low cost due to PC/104’s unique self-stacking bus, high reliability due to PC/104’s inherent ruggedness, and low term sustainability. (PCI/104-Express Rev Draft 3/24/2008) (2)

ASP-129637-03 – QMS Series - (Male)

ASP-129646-03 – QFS  Series - (Female)         

Samtec also offers precision machined standoffs to limit the impact of tolerance stack up issues in stackable embedded applications.

SO-1524-03-01-02-L – 15.24mm standoff

PC/104 Plus is a specification that was accepted in 1997 by the PC/104 Consortium and establishes a standard for embedded applications with the use of a high speed PCI bus.

PC/104 Plus specifies a 120 pin, 2mm stackable connector to allow for the additional signals of the 32-bit PCI bus. Like the PC/104 extends upon the PC bus, the PC/104 Plus is an extension of the PC/104 with all of the same benefits, plus more. The existing and additional benefits are below: (http://www.pc104.org/pc104_plus_specs.php)

Compact - 3.6 by 3.8 inches (90 x 96 mm) module size

Self-stacking - expands without backplanes or card cages

Pin-and-socket bus connector - reliable in harsh environments

Four-corner mounting holes - resistance to shock and vibration

Low power consumption - low power consumption and low heat generation

Fully PC compatible - reduced development costs and fast time-to-market

It was also necessary that the PC/104 connectors be capable of being stackable and usable along with standard PC/104 modules (in the same stack). This allows the new PC/104 Plus module to be used in preexisting PC/104 "legacy" modules, thus expanding its area of use.

Some of the differences between the PC/104 Plus and the PC/104 are:

PCI bus – a third connector opposite the PC/104 connectors support the PCI bus.

Height Requirements – changes to the component height requirements increase the flexibility of the module.

Control Logic – Control Logic was added t handle the requirements for the high speed bus.

Samtec’s ESQT Series is compliant to the PC/104 Plus standard. The PC/104 Plus standard specifies a 30 x 4 configuration, and the Samtec PC/104 Plus part numbers are below (a press fit version as well as a shroud is also available):

ESQT-130-02-G-Q-368 - .850" pin
ESQT-130-03-G-Q-368 - .458" pin

For more information on Samtec's ESQT Series, click here.

SO-1524-03-01-02-L – 15.24mm standoff
ATS-30-Q

For information on Samtec's pressfit version, click on the links below.

PTHF-130-02-G-Q-368 - .850" length stack through
PTHF-130-03-M-Q-368 - .486" length bottom board

PC/104 is a specification that was accepted as the “base document” for the IEEE draft standard, called the P996.1 Standard for Compact Embedded-PC Modules. The PC/104 standard extends upon the existing PC bus allowing companies that embed PC technology in limited space applications to have a standardized system architecture as well as a broader range of vendors and vendor support.

Samtec’s ESQ Series follows the PC/104 standard. The ESQ Series is available in multiple positions, rows, and stack heights(low insertion force contacts are also available).

The part number for the PC/104 J1/P1 “stackthrough” connector is:
ESQ-132-14-G-D

The part number for the PC/104 J1 “non-stackthrough” connector is:
ESQ-132-12-G-D

The part number for the PC/104 J2/P2 “stackthrough” connector is:
ESQ-120-14-G-D

For more information on Samtec's ESQ Series, click here.

SO-1524-03-01-02-L – 15.24mm standoff

For more information on PC/104 Plus, click here to visit their website.

(1) - www.pc104.org/history.html
(2) - PCI/104-Express Rev Draft 3/24/2008

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