RE: The Cost of Developing A PCI Card

["Austin Franklin" <darkroom@ix.netcom.com>]

> Thanks, Austin for the helpful answers.

You're welcome.

> I looked around for Tek 465B, and it seems inexpensive, but is 100MHz
> bandwidth enough for PCI?
> I heard that to deal with a 33MHz signal, I need to have
> bandwidth 5 times
> of the frequency I am dealing with, and 10 times is desirable.

It depends on what you believe you need the scope for.  You can easily look
at the clock signal with that, and any other signals...but certainly, for
edge rates and other higher speed issues, a higher speed scope would be
nice...but is it necessary?  You don't need a tool until you need it ;-)

> Also for HP 16500B, I found a refurbished one for about $700, but
> it seems
> like I will have to buy several more expansion card to make it useful.
> Am I correct about that?

I would not buy a "refurb" unit, unless it's from eBay.  You can get
complete units on eBay for the price you are talking about.

> Also, is Tektronics TLA 600 series a good logic analyzer?

No idea.

> ...but I guess the user will be more familiar with the user
> interface because it is Win2K-based.

I have not found that to be true at all.  The things that are "Windowsish"
are insignificant to your use.

> Regarding software tools, don't I have to do signal integrity analysis
> before fabricating the PCB?

No, just make sure you meet the PCI rules...

> Protel 99 SE says it comes with an integrated signal integrity analysis
> tool, but is it actually useful for things like PCI, or will I
> have to buy
> one separately?

No idea.

If you need any help on the logic analyzer, I'd be more than happy to answer
any questions.

Regards,

Austin