Measuring 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.3 inches, the A-Engine86 (AE86) is a C/C++ programmable microprocessor module based on a 40 MHz, 16-bit CPU (Am186ES, AMD). The AE86 is ideal for industrial process control and high-speed data acquisition.

In addition to offering a 16-bit external data bus, the AE86 supports on-board 512 KB 16-bit Flash and up to 512 KB 16-bit battery-backed SRAM. All chips are surface-mounted. The on-board Flash can be easily programmed in the field via serial link using the ACTF kit.

With its 16-bit external data bus, it can normally achieve performance that is almost twice as good as those of the other A-Engine variants based on the Am188ES microprocessor.

A real-time clock (RTC72423) provides information on the year, month, date, hour, minute, second, and 1/64 second. A 512-byte serial EEPROM is on-board.Two DMA-driven serial ports support communication up to 115,200 baud. A third UART SCC2691 may be installed.

A high-speed, 300K samples per second, 8-channel, 12-bit parallel ADC (AD7852) can be installed. This ADC includes sample-and-hold and precision internal reference, and has an input range of 0-5 V. The AE86 also supports a 4-channel, 5 ms settling time, 200 KHz parallel DAC (DA7625, 0-2.5V).

On-board 16-bit programmable timers/counters can be used to count external events or to generate PWM outputs. Pulse Width Demodulation (PWD) can be used to measure the width of a signal in both its high and low phases.

The AE86 provides 32 multifunctional I/O pins from the CPU, plus 24 bi-directional I/O lines from a PPI (82C55). Schmitt-trigger inverters are provided to increase noise immunity for external interrupt inputs. A supervisor chip (691) provides power failure detection and a watchdog timer.

A serial 12-bit ADC (P2543) may also be installed, offering 11 single-ended 0-5V inputs with a 10 KHz sample rate. A 2-channel 12-bit serial DAC (LT1446) provides 0-4.095 V analog voltage outputs capable of sinking or sourcing 5 mA. The 82C55 PPI can interface to an LCD and keypad.

The A-Engine-86 shares many similar features with the A-Engine, as well as a similar pin-out and physical dimensions with the i386-Engine and V25-Engine-LM.

The slightly larger A-Engine-86-P (AE86-P) provides the same basic features as the AE-86 and provides a few other integrated functional units. The AE86-P provides an on-board switching regulator that allows the controller to accept a wider range of input voltages. It also has on-board RS232/RS485 drivers for the serial ports.

The standard AE86 requires the use of an expansion board such as the VE232 for standard operation (unless your OEM board can provide a 5V regulated voltage supply and RS232 voltage-level drivers). The AE86-P provides that functionality on-board.

Another variant of this family of boards is the A-Engine-86-D (AE86-D). Similar to the AE86-P, the AE86-D is an integrated controller with on-board voltage regulators and serial port drivers.

In addition, the primary feature of the AE86-D is that it offers three external 16-bit counters. These counters are ideal for specialized applications that deal with high-frequency external events… such as the output of flow meters.

The AE86-D is also designed for other flexible applications. It offers another DA7625, providing 4 more channels of high-speed parallel DAC. The AE86-D can also be optionally configured with a RS422/RS485 driver for SER1, instead of the usual RS232 design.

A-Engine-86 Specs:

• Measures 3.6×2.3×0.3 inches
• 16-bit CPU (186), x86 compatible
• 40 MHz system clock
• Power consumption: 190 mA at 5V
• Power saving mode: 30 mA at 5V
• Up to 512 KB Flash
• Up to 512 KB battery-backed SRAM
• 2 high-speed PWM outputs, PWD
• 24 I/O lines from PPI
• 32 I/O lines from CPU
• 512 bytes serial EEPROM
• 8 external interrupt inputs
• 3 16-bit timers/counters
• Up to 3 serial ports
• 8 12-bit ADC (300 kHz sample rate)
• 4 ch. 12-bit DAC(200 kHz)
• Real time clock, battery, watchdog
• Interface for LCD, keypad

A-Engine-86-P Adds:

• Measures 3.6×2.9×0.3 inches
• RS232/RS485 drivers for serial port
• Switching regulator

A-Engine-86-D Adds:

• Measures 3.6×3.2×0.3 inches
• RS422 drivers for one port (SER1)
• 4 additional chs. high-speed DAC
• 4 external 16-bit counters

Other Controllers:
On the spectrum of performance power for TERN controllers, the AE86 boards would probably be placed right in the middle. On the fewer feature/lower-performance (and lower-cost) side, there are products such as the A-Engine, FlashCore-B, and R-Engine.

If you’re looking for more processing power in a similar small profile, check out the i386-Engine and 586-Engine. For Ethernet capability, take a look at the Ethernet-Engine controller.

AE-86 (40 MHz):

• Includes Am186ES with 64 KW (128 KB) SRAM
• 32 I/Os
• 2 UARTs
• 3 timers
•  82C55 with 24 I/O lines
• watchdog timer
• 512 byte EE
• 512KB 16-bit Flash
• Does not include add-on options
• OEM option discounts available.

Add-on Options: