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No, these aren't questions about Phil.

Though he may probably know the answer to them all.

Anyways, this is what happens when I'm bored at work. I browse a manufacturer's website, and end up with questions...!

So, in no particular order:

1. What's the purpose of the two CPU modules? -1A and -1B?
2. On one image I saw, the back had other, apparently 'empty' slots. Can anything go in these? I.e. Modem module, GPS module, Ethernet module, etc? Or are the positions typed? (i.e. The CPU -1B goes in the second slot, the third slot is always for the Modem, etc..)
3. Having seen a picture of the back, i see the big square connector. (C1, I believe?) But, there's also a round MIL-type connector. I believe the C1 connector is for outputs and inputs and such, but what 's the round connector for? Power?
4. Why does the 2070 platofrm still use a wire/IO connector, and hasn't adopted something more versatile, (like SDLC on NEMA cabinets)? Seems that the C1 connector there is limiting on inputs and outputs.

--Mike.

Here is a guide on the 2070 that can turn your conflicts into permissives, at take your mind out of flash.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/SIGNALS/docs/2070info/student20guide.pdf

scrotor wrote:Here is a guide on the 2070 that can turn your conflicts into permissives, at take your mind out of flash.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/SIGNALS/docs/2070info/student20guide.pdf

Hm, thanks for the link.

So, in summary:

• Not including the 2009 update, it runs on a processor that's about 20 years old, at a speed that is slower than the latest Palm device released earlier in the 2000's, on a proprietary operating system. And if you needed MORE processors, instead of getting a stronger/faster one, you daisy-chained them in a VME bus.
• The controller itself can - assuming everything is happy in open-source land - run software from any 2070 manufacturer/programmer.
• The only initial modules for it were limited - field output for NEMA and field output for 170; Async Com and Modem.
• Due to interchangeability, the front panel couldn't contain anything that may not be present - so this limited it to a 4x40 screen, two keypads, a serial port. Nothing else.
• The screen has less resolution than a C=64. Or an old Atari. Even the 8x40 screen can show less detail than those old systems.
• Speaking of modems, the fastest originally available was 9600baud. ..Wow.

At least now, lately, there's been some upgrades. Some were in the 2009 spec, some are just 'bandaids' over the original spec. These include:

• Finally, a processor/CPU unit that is at LEAST in the 2000's. A -1C processor, running Linux, with available memory between 8Mb and 64Mb.(*) Some docs say 8megabytes, while others have reported the same unit in megabits.) Apparently, these CPU modules don't use the VME bus, probably because it's no longer necessary - latest technology, just upgrade the single processor instead of linking multiple ones together. Can support ATC, with the add-on of a daughter card.
• A fiber-optic com module, which limits speed still, but can be used in any 2070.
• A GPS time-setting module, which is a com module, with one port used for GPS communication. Requires some software to be loaded which may NOT be compatible with all 2070's, from what I can tell.
• Network/Ethernet - built into CPU, not as an add-on module. ((*) - There IS a 'module' that contains 6 ethernet ports and fiber connections - however, this has NO interaction with the controller. It's the same as buying an outdoor ethernet switch and placing it on the shelf next to the controller. Great if you're tight on space.)
• A -2N field module, which provides SDLC connection for TS2-1 cabinets, and does not require the huge NEMA TS-1/TS2-2 base. (2070-8).

Honestly, given all that, I'm having a rather hard time determing why a municipality would go for this type of setup over, say, a standard NEMA setup.

To clear things up a bit (as the material you were reading is a bit dated)...

Serial comm modules: The 7A comm modules are capable of speeds up to 38400 and possibly beyond, for sure. The 6A module has the 170-style connectors, and can only do up to 9600 baud. However, GDI (the primary manufacturer of these type of cards -- Econolite buys theirs from GDI!) has versions such as the 6B, which can do up to 38400, and some other intermediate models that can do up to 19200.

CPUs: Indeed, the 1B is the original and most common 2070 CPU. It is fairly limited, but remember that the specs are only minimum requirements, so many modules will exceed the memory and flash file system size requirements anyway. Many old 1Bs do not have drivers installed for Ethernet even though the jack is there (constant source of frustration for me!). The somewhat newer 1Bs typically came preloaded with Ethernet drivers, however. The 1A CPU, a.k.a. the VME bus, is an odd piece indeed. I don't think many agencies purchased them, and back in the old days there were only a couple software releases that required that "processing power". However, I'm pretty sure you can install any software suitable for a 1B on a VME setup as well. I just put Siemens NextPhase on an Eagle 2070 with a VME setup.
The newest standard CPU is the 1E, which is still OS9 based like the 1B but it is faster and more powerful. However, the 1C linux module is a HUGE improvement over both. It may not seem that powerful, but for what you would want to do with a typical intersection it has a TON of power, with lots of room for expansion and auxilliary software functionality. Many manufacturers' ATC NEMA controllers are actually based on the same CPU used in their 1C board as well. The 1C is great because you can access the OS via SSH or serial console (via the C50S port) while the application is running (OS9 based modules like the 1B and 1E only allow OS access with the app not running, and it's via the serial console only -- you have to boot the controller in "boot" mode by hooking up a specially wired serial cable to C50S, and hold down the <backspace> key on your terminal while turning on the controller). The 1C is also "revolutionary" for traffic in that it has multiple Ethernet interfaces (separate NICs), and USB functionality. Econolite's 1C and new Cobalt controller can get software upgrades via a USB thumb drive now -- in fact, that's really the preferred method for these controllers now.

Field I/O: The three primary types are the 2A, 2B, and 2N. 2A is the most typical, and interfaces with any 33x type cabinet. The C1S connector is the primary connector in all of these cabinets. The C11S on the 2A is basically just auxilliary I/O. I have never seen a cabinet with a C11S mating connector built in, but most 2070 software allows you to remap the I/O anyway, so you could use it for special function outputs, or, for example, hardwired Autoscope I/O like Econolite offers, instead of having to hard wire the Autoscope I/O to the cabinet itself.
The 2B module is typically for interfacing with a 2070-8 NEMA TS-1 adapter, but it is also used in ITS cabinets. This is a fairly new type of rack-mounted CALTRANS type cabinet, which uses a serial bus architecture similar to SDLC, except that the C12S connector on the 2B has two channels of serial interface, which are both used in the ITS cabinet. I don't know a ton about this yet, but I'm supposed to build one eventually so I'll let you know what I find out :). Another fun fact about the C12S even on the 2A module -- the connector itself houses two serial interfaces for FIO purposes, but in a 2A one of those channels is used internally by the module to run the C1S and C11S. However, the other interface is available to the cabinet, so with Econolite ASC/3-2070 software running on the controller, for example, you can get an adapter cable to turn this into an SDLC interface. Again, we have done this for SDLC Autoscope connectivity.
Finally, the 2N is just as you said -- it's basically the equivalent of the 2B and 2070-8 setup for a TS-1 cabinet, except the 2N will only do TS2-1 operation, so all it has is the TS2-1 style controller power connector (which is just an adapter -- the controller's power supply plugs into the module to get the power from the cabinet), and an SDLC port. Nothing too fancy.

I believe the advantage to a 2070 over a standard NEMA setup is simply the fact that the software is interchangeable, and the hardware is defined by CALTRANS, so manufacturers don't push you to buy new hardware every few years -- all you do is just buy the new software, and maybe upgrade the CPUs in the 2070s themselves. It's as close as traffic has gotten yet to "open source".

I think that's enough for now...any other questions?

RunsWithCrouse-Hinds wrote:I think that's enough for now...any other questions?

Could you repeat that!

Where's the part about the camshaft and dial motor? I'll have to skim this again...........

JVC8230 wrote:Where's the part about the camshaft and dial motor? I'll have to skim this again...........

They're all virtual now. :)

I got most of that, actually. I'm sure that spending the last couple days reading stuff and looking at pictures and such helped in that understanding, though. :)

RunsWithCrouse-Hinds wrote:
I think that's enough for now...any other questions?

Very nice 2070 redemption .

But I would agree that the 2070 does lack in the display interface. I have a feeling the engineers hung around the 390CJ's and not the 820A's

It would be funny if OS9 had more of a C-64 aftertaste rather than DOS.... I can see it now.... Load "SEPAC" ,8,1

Dan you've given me a brain aneurysm reading that.

scrotor wrote:

RunsWithCrouse-Hinds wrote:
I think that's enough for now...any other questions?

Very nice 2070 redemption .

But I would agree that the 2070 does lack in the display interface. I have a feeling the engineers hung around the 390CJ's and not the 820A's

It would be funny if OS9 had more of a C-64 aftertaste rather than DOS.... I can see it now.... Load "SEPAC" ,8,1

And a SID 3 voice chip to play the kerchunk during phase changes.