Product: Omni8300LV

The Model 8300 is OmniTester's workhorse solution for testing backplanes and card cages. The system's architecture simplifies the most difficult and error-pone portion of the test process - connection of the test equipment to each I/O point in the backplane connectors. Standard test systems require that an individual conductor be run from a test equipment cabinet to each position in all the backplane connectors. This set-up produces interface cables of mind-numbing complexity with perhaps thousands of wires running between the backplane and tester and results in a multitude of related maintenance headaches. In contrast, the Omni8300 produces a test configuration that reduces set-up times, eliminates the maintenance associated with large numbers of bundled conductors, increases through put, and improves the reliability of test results.

Paddle cards are the heart of the 8300 system. They are designed to duplicate the size, shape, and connector interface of the daughter cards that mate with the backplane in actual use. Instead of being populated with end-use electronics, as the daughter cards would be, they're designed to accommodate OmniTester's test electronics. During testing, the paddle cards are plugged into the backplane connectors, and connected to the tester using a simple daisy chain cable. The cable passes from the tester and through each paddle card in series. This configuration allows the testing of every node against the other nodes in its net for continuity, and against all other nodes for isolation. Millions of tests are performed in seconds. A "Pass" indication verifies that the tested product is defect free.

Test program generation for the 8300 is simplified by OmniTester's Merlin utility, which automates test program development. Simply tell Merlin how the daisy chain cable is connected, specify the CAD-generated product netlist, and Merlin will build the entire test program. If a defect is discovered during testing, Merlin will identify which nodes and nets are involved with the defect in the tested product's nomenclature. When a complex test arrangement with several interconnected card cages is involved, Merlin will walk the user through a series of steps to build a larger program to test the multiple units.