The VMIVME‑7459 is a 6U single‑slot VMEbus industrial storage expansion module finalized and developed by VMIC in 2002. VMIC was later incorporated into GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms and currently belongs to Abaco Systems. Custom engineered to pair with the full lineup of GE VME‑architecture SBCs (Single Board Computers), it expands IDE storage capacity via the rear P2 I/O connector on the VME backplane and serves as a dedicated board for CD/DVD read/write and local HDD/CF flash memory expansion on legacy VME industrial control systems.
Built on a passive PCB design, the card occupies a single 4HP slot within a VME chassis and comes with an integrated CD‑RW drive bay. It supports three optional IDE storage media types: IDE mechanical hard disk and CompactFlash flash drives. All IDE signals connect to the host SBC through VME backplane P2 pins plus a 64‑pin flat ribbon cable, eliminating messy external front‑panel wiring. Compatible with standard VME and VME64 industrial backplanes, this module is widely deployed for data access and system backup on legacy VME equipment across military test & measurement, industrial automation and rail transit industries, making it a scarce original IDE optical storage expansion hardware for VME industrial control platforms.
Core Advantages
High Chassis Slot Utilization
Designed as a standard 6U single-slot form factor occupying only one VME chassis slot. Unlike external USB optical drives or hard drives, it consumes no external enclosure space and fits compact cabinet-mounted industrial and military control hardware.
Rear Interconnection Eliminates Front-Side Cabling
All IDE signals route rearward via backplane P2 interconnection. The front panel only features an optical drive eject button plus power and IDE status LEDs with no exposed wiring. The cable-free front design delivers superior vibration resistance and prevents wiring abrasion to withstand harsh vehicle-borne and airborne operating environments.
Flexible Master/Slave IDE Configuration via Jumpers
Three onboard hardware jumper banks (E2/E3/E4) enable independent Master/Slave assignment for CD-RW drive, CompactFlash card and IDE mechanical hard disk respectively. The hard disk jumper layout conforms to default Master/Slave specifications of IBM, Seagate, Fujitsu and Toshiba. A single IDE channel supports flexible combination of any two storage devices.
Full-Range Optical Disc Format Compatibility
The integrated CD-RW supports mainstream formats including Photo CD, Video CD, CD-I, CD-ROM-XA and CD-DA. It covers full-disc, single-track and multi-session recording modes commonly used for industrial system backup, satisfying disc burning requirements for legacy industrial control program storage.
Dual Backplane Cross-Compatibility
Works with both standard 96-pin shrouded P2 VME backplanes and 5-row 160-pin VME64 backplanes (utilizing only the middle three pin rows). It enables plug-and-play upgrade for legacy VME systems and VME64 retrofits without backplane replacement.
Modular Customizable Configuration
Three optional components (CD-RW drive, IDE hard disk and CF flash) allow multiple build variants: bare optical drive version, optical drive + HDD version, CF-only storage version. Customized procurement cuts redundant hardware expenditure.
Product Features
(I) Hardware Specifications
Physical Dimensions: Standard 6U Eurocard form factor; 233.25 mm height × 160 mm depth × 20.3 mm thickness, occupying a single 4HP slot. Equipped with industry-standard VME dual connectors: P1 (32-pin) and P2 (96-pin), with P2 pins specially defined for IDE signal routing.
Available Storage Configurations
- Standard: 8× speed CD-RW drive; DVD-RW available as field upgrade option
- Option 1: IDE mechanical hard disk (max. 80 GB legacy industrial IDE HDD supported)
- Option 2: CompactFlash storage via IDE adapter
- Restriction: A single IDE bus on one host SBC supports up to two IDE devices only; available combinations: CD-RW + HDD or CD-RW + CF card.
Onboard Jumper Definition
| Jumper No. | Target Device | Short/Open Configuration Rules |
|---|---|---|
| E2 | CD-RW Drive | Pins 1‑2 shorted = Slave; Pins 1‑2 open = Master |
| E3 | CompactFlash | Pins 1‑2 shorted = Master; Pins 1‑2 open = Slave |
| E4 | IDE Mechanical HDD | Pins 1‑2 shorted = Slave for IBM / Seagate; Pins 2‑4 shorted = Slave for Fujitsu; Pins 3‑4 shorted = Slave for Toshiba; all pins open = Master for all listed HDD brands |
Extra Jumper E5: PDIAG diagnostic function. Short to enable cross-device diagnostic communication on the same IDE channel for dual-drive fault self-testing.
Front Panel Components: Green power LED, amber IDE activity LED, manual emergency eject button for optical drive enabling disc removal under power-off status.
(II) Interfaces & Matching Cabling
P1 Pinout: Reserved for BG bus and IACK interrupt bus; only +5V power and GND ground are commonly used during regular operation.
P2 Pinout: Fully routed standard 40-pin IDE signals including DD0~DD15 data bus, DA0~DA2 address bus, DIOR/DIOW read/write control, INTRQ interrupt, DMARQ/DMACK DMA handshake signals; serves as core data communication path between this board and host SBC.
Genuine Factory 64-conductor flat ribbon cables
- VMIVME-VMXC-2/3: Standard short cable for side-by-side slot installation between SBC and VMIVME-7459
- VMIVME-VMXC-7: Extended-length cable for cross-slot connection or long-distance interconnection with dual-slot SBC modules
Application Scenarios
- Aerospace & Military Test and Measurement SystemsFor airborne and ground test equipment built on VME architecture, the module performs CD burning of airborne test routines and local disc backup of test data. Paired with PowerPC-based host SBCs from the VMIVME-7740/7750 series, it enables offline archiving of experimental data.
- Power & Nuclear Industrial Protection Control SystemsDeployed on legacy GE VME-based relay protection and generator set control systems. The VMIVME-7459 writes protection setting parameters onto optical discs and stores fault oscillography data, replacing obsolete external desktop optical drives and fitting installation inside sealed control cabinets.
- Rail Transit On-Board Control SystemsInstalled inside VME host chassis for metro and locomotive vehicle controllers to upgrade onboard firmware via CD program loading and save operational logs to local hard drives. Its anti-vibration construction accommodates bumpy in-vehicle operating conditions.
- Semiconductor & Precision Automated Production EquipmentUsed on legacy imported wafer processing machines and high-precision test instruments with native VME control architecture. The integrated CD-RW archives production recipes for offline backup and cross-equipment parameter migration.
- Laboratory Scientific InstrumentsApplied in VME-bus data acquisition systems for high-energy and nuclear physics labs to store raw detection readings and archive long-term experimental data onto optical media. It is one of the standard storage board options for EPICS-based control platforms.
FAQ
Q1: Abaco/GE has discontinued VMIVME-7459 long before; should customers purchase brand-new surplus stock or used pulled parts?A: GE and Abaco halted production of this model years ago; all available stock on the market consists of leftover factory surplus inventory or used salvaged modules.
Q2: How to select matching VMXC-2/3/7 cables? Can generic IDE ribbon cables be used as substitutes?A: Standard off-the-shelf IDE cables are prohibited for replacement. The OEM 64-conductor cables are custom-manufactured to match VME P2 pin assignment. Select VMXC-2/3 for adjacent-slot installation and VMXC-7 for cross-slot mounting or dual-slot SBC deployment. Confirm the host SBC part number prior to purchase to prevent length mismatch.
Q3: Can one single SBC run both VMIVME-7459 and VMIVME-7452 storage boards simultaneously?A: Restricted by the SBC’s single IDE channel which supports a maximum of two IDE devices total. If VMIVME-7459 is populated with both optical drive and HDD, both device addresses are occupied and a VMIVME-7452 cannot be added. When VMIVME-7459 is fitted only with a CD drive (occupying one device spot), it can pair with VMIVME-7452 floppy drive to form a dual-device IDE setup.
Q4: Is it feasible to remove VMIVME-7459 and adopt an external USB optical drive instead?A: External USB drives are banned for harsh environments including military, vehicle-mounted and sealed cabinet deployments due to poor shock resistance and insufficient dust protection. Retention of VMIVME-7459 is preferred for compliant native VME system retrofits; external USB drives are only acceptable for temporary replacement on ordinary laboratory equipment under ambient temperature.
Q5: Power LED lights up after power-on, yet OS fails to detect CD drive or HDDTroubleshooting sequence:① Double-check Master/Slave settings on E2/E3/E4 jumpers; improper jumper configuration for different HDD brands accounts for roughly 90% of detection failures.② Verify the host SBC jumper enabling IDE output via P2 backplane.③ Reseat the P2 flat ribbon cable and clean oxidized pins on P2 connector.④ Swap with another legacy PATA IDE HDD for compatibility verification; SATA hard disk drives are not supported.
Q6: CD-RW can read discs normally but fails to perform disc writingA:
- Hardware: Confirm the unit is a rewritable CD-RW variant instead of read-only CD-ROM.
- Software: No OEM burning utility is bundled with the board; third-party recording software is mandatory for write functionality.
- Media: Blank CD-R/CD-RW discs are required; pre-recorded read-only CD-ROM discs cannot be burned.
Q7: Read/write errors occur after installation inside VME64 chassis, how to resolve?A: VME64 backplane features five rows of P2 pins; the custom cable is crimped exclusively onto the middle three A/B/C rows. Short-circuit faults arise from incorrect wiring onto spare top/bottom pins; reposition cable retainers to correct pin rows.
Q8: Front-panel emergency eject hole malfunctions and disc gets stuck inside optical driveA: Power down the chassis, insert thin steel wire into the emergency eject hole located at the rear of the drive body to extract disc without removing the entire board from chassis.
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