Last updated November 10, 2008
Copyright 2000-2005, 2008 Eric Smith
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DEC's Unibus and Qbus have similar electrical characteristics. They are roughly open collector TTL, but with tighter specifications:
| parameter | minimum | maximum | condition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Vol | 0.7 V | 70 mA | |
| Leakage current | 25 uA | 3.5V (even when Vcc = 0V) | ||
| Output pin capacitive load | 10 pF | |||
| rise and fall times (10% to 90%) | 5 ns | |||
| prop delay to low state | 25ns | |||
| prop delay to high state | 35ns | |||
| Receiver | input pin capacitive loading | 10 pF | ||
| Vil | 1.3V | |||
| Vih | 1.7V | |||
| Leakage current | 80 uA | 3.8 Vdc (with Vcc from 0.0V to 5.25V) | ||
| Leakage current | 10 uA | 0V DC |
DEC used several different receiver, driver, and transceiver chips. One of the most commonly used quad transceivers was the DEC8641, which was a National DS8641 selected for tighter specs. Later they used the DS3662, an improved spec replacement for the DS8641, but they still apparently selected them, since the DS3662 specs still don't meet the Qbus requirements.
National has end-of-lifed both the DS8641 and DS3662. They are now extremely difficult to obtain.
I don't know of any current production (non-EOL) parts that fully meet the Qbus specs.
There are some parts that get close, but don't quite meet the specs. If I had to use new parts today, I guess I'd probably use one of these:
You can get close for drivers using the 74ABT126, tying the inputs to ground and using the enables. To really guarantee meeting the Qbus specs, you'd have to parallel two drivers.
The receiver specs are more troubling. I'm not sure what to do other than using a comparator. In practice, normal TTL inputs will probably work, if you don't worry about temperature extremes and large configurations with multiple backplanes.
Posted to Info-PDP11 on 11-apr-2005 (my response here has been edited somewhat since it was posted):
Peter wrote:
> But this brings to mind the following: > For Unibus tranceiver chips, I have a small stash that will keep me > going for awhile (8881's, DEC380's, etc.). But if I make a PCB that > other folks think is useful, would they be able to get those chips?
I suggest using only the quad transceiver chips, so that people don't have to find multiple types. The most common of those were the DS8641, and the improved-spec DS3662.
> Has someone identified alternative chips that are easy to find, and > definitely work on a real Unibus?
The Unibus driver/receiver specs are almost the same as the Qbus driver/receiver specs.
The hardest specs to meet seem to be the recevier Vih spec, the leakage specs (especially leakage when unpowered), and the maximum slew rate (minimum rise/fall times).
There are two quad transceiver chips in current production that I think might work in practice, though they don't actually meet the DEC specs on the input side: the TI AM26S10 and SN75138. The Am26S10 specs are closest to the DEC specs, and the AM26S10 is less expensive than the SN75138. They are pin compatible with each other, but not with the DS8641/DS3662. A PC board could be dual patterned to accept either footprint.
| parameter | DEC spec | National DS8641 spec | National DS3662 spec | TI AM26S10 spec | TI SN75138 spec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| driver Vol max | 0.7V at 70mA | 0.7V at 50mA | 0.9V at 100mA | 0.7V at 70mA | 0.45V at 100mA |
| leakage current max | 25 uA driver, 80 uA receiver | 100 uA max | 100 uA max | 100 uA max | 25 uA typ, 300 uA max |
| leakage current max, Vcc = 0V | 25 uA driver, 80 uA receiver | 100 uA max | 100 uA max | 100 uA max | 1500 uA max |
| capacitive load | 10 pF max | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| driver rise time | min 5 ns (Qbus), min 10 ns (Unibus) | typ 17 ns | typ 20 ns | min 4 ns, typ 10 ns | ? |
| driver fall time | min 5 ns (Qbus), min 10 ns (Unibus) | typ 17 ns | typ 20 ns | min 2 ns, typ 10 ns | ? |
| receiver Vil | 1.3V min | 1.3V min | 1.5V min | 1.75V min | 1.8V min |
| receiver Vih | 1.7V max | 1.7V max | 1.9V max | 2.25V max | 2.9V max |
Note that both the AM26S10 and SN75138 have a Vil(min) above DEC's rated Vih(max), which could definitely cause problems. The driver slew rates are also faster than the DEC spec, which could cause ringing.
The other possiblity would be to use separate drivers and receivers. The 74S38 would probably be OK as a driver (rated Vol 0.5V at 60 mA), and the 74HCT14 or 74LVC14 would probably be OK as a receiver (Vih of around 2.0V), though neither would meet the unpowered leakage spec.
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Last updated November 10, 2008 Copyright 2000-2005, 2008 Eric Smith |
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