BigIDEA User's Manual - Persistor Instruments Inc

PERSISTOR ® 

BigIDEA User's Manual 

Copyright © 2002 Persistor Instruments Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

Revision 1.1 - April 2002

Contents 

Introduction .............................................................................................3 

What's in the User's Guide........................................................................5 

Setting up the BigIDEA .............................................................................5 

Installing the BigIDEA ..............................................................................7 

Installing Cards and Drives.......................................................................8 

Installing a 2.5" Hard Drive ......................................................................9 

Installing a PCMCIA Adapter Card .......................................................... 11 

Installing Disk Arrays with Multiple BigIDEAs ........................................ 12 

Preparing the Drive................................................................................. 14 

BigIDEA Software ................................................................................... 17 

Appendix A - Using SandwichCards in your CF2 system.......................... 19 

Appendix B: BigIDEA Schematic Rev: C2................................................. 21 

Appendix C: 1-2-Punch PCMCIA Adapter Schematic................................ 22 

Trademark Notice 

Persistor®, PicoDOS®, and MotoCross® are registered trademarks of Persistor Instruments Inc. 

RecipeCard and SandwichCard are unregistered trademarks of Persistor Instruments Inc. All 

other names, brands, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

PERSISTOR 

Instruments Inc. 

2 BigIDEA User’s Manual

Introduction 

The Persistor BigIDEA is a 2"x3" IDE adapter for use with a Persistor CF2. The BigIDEA sandwiches 

between a CF2 and either a CF2 RecipeCard, a CF2 SandwichCard adapter, or your custom CF2 

electronics. The BigIDEA allows the CF2 to control 2.5" hard drives (2GB to 48GB), 1.8" Type II or 

III PCMCIA hard drives (2GB to 10GB), or single/dual stack PCMCIA TrueIDE flash cards. 

2GB Limit Note: PicoDOS is currently limited to accessing just 2GB from up to a maximum of four 

partitions for a total of usable capacity of 8GB. Until PicoDOS adds support for FAT32 partitions, low 

level sector reads and writes are the only way to access greater than GB from a single drive. 

The BigIDEA's power-switched electronics keeps its share of the current drain below 15uA while you 

collect and buffer data into RAM or the CF2's CompactFlash cards. When these fill up, you spin up 

the power hungry hard drive, spool off the buffered data, then quickly shut it back off. 

Each BigIDEA adds about 0.48" of height to a CF2 system and you can stack several (see section on 

Installing Disk Arrays with Multiple BigIDEAs). All BigIDEAs in the system share the same 

SandwichCard chip select and memory space. This leaves your system with up to 31 additional 

SandwichCard chip selects for other expansion options. 

Drives and Cards connected to the BigIDEA get to use the CF2's PicoDOS file system so they're 

directly compatible with DOS/Windows PCs. The flash cards and PCMCIA hard disk plug into standard 

PC Card slots and automatically mount as logical drives (E:, F:, etc.) for extremely fast and easy 

data recovery. 

The BigIDEA driver software lets you access the file system through standard C function calls (fopen, 

fread, fprintf, fwrite, fseek, fclose, etc.). If you're willing to trade file name/size flexibility for the 

most efficient power utilization you use the included recorder library routines to squeeze every last 

milliwatt out of your batteries. 

Mechanics 

The BigIDEA sandwiches between your 

CF2 and other electronics ala PC104 and 

adds about a half inch to the height of 

the system. The drawing at right shows 

that the BigIDEA circuit board is larger 

than the CF2. The BigIDEA juts out just 

far enough in front to preclude front 

panel access to the CompactFlash. In 

BigIDEA systems, the CF card is typically 

just used as buffer storage so hopefully 

this will not be a problem. 

The BigIDEA mounting hole pattern is a 

standard for CF2 RecipeCards, and the 

front two holes (CF side) line up with the 

mounting holes on the PicoDAQ 

RecipeCard and many other 

RecipeCards. 

PERSISTOR 


2.000" 

1.400" 

0.050" 0.400" 0.050" 

0.125" 

1.225" 

0.400" 

50 

0.650" 

0.050" 

0.250" 

0.050" 

0.407" 1.685" 

0.407" 

0.125" 

1 

3.000" 

2.500" 

1.850" 

1 

20 20 

0.125" 

SAMTEC SSQ-110-23-G-D 

SAMTEC SSQ-125-23-G-D 

2 

CF2 

1.200" 

0.600" 

0.125" 

0.132" x4 

2.000" 

BigIDEA 

Recipe 

Card 


Not Quite Plug & Play 

It's unlikely that the IDE drive controller in your PC came with a user's manual. Most PCs today do 

not have a users manual for the IDE controller either. PC's can do this because: 

1. Their drives are usually factory installed into convenient drive bays and card cages and the 

controllers are usually integrated into the motherboard. 

2. The PC BIOS and OS were pre-configured for the installed drive and controller at the factory. 

3. PCs don't much care about power or startup time, so they can interrogate hardware peripherals 

with no negative consequences. 

Though we've tried to make the CF2 mimic the simplicity of a PC, the BigIDEA and hard drives pose 

special challenges because: 

1. There's no standard mechanical mounting arrangement, so they can't ship pre-configured even if 

ordered together. 

2. The vast majority of CF2s will never see an add-on drive, so PicoDOS doesn't expect to find one. 

3. PicoDOS can't poke around and look for off board peripherals without incurring startup delays, 

and in the case of hard drives, significant power expenditures. 

What all this means is that you have to learn enough about the BigIDEA and various drive options to 

correctly install the hardware and setup the software. Since you've chosen a CF2 and BigIDEA, you 

probably care very much about power utilization and will want to learn everything you can about the 

tradeoffs between convenience and simplicity versus maximum battery life. 

PERSISTOR 



What's in the User's Guide 

The remainder of this manual explains how to install, configure, and properly use your BigIDEA and 

cards/drive. It is broken up into these major sections: 

Setting Up the BigIDEA - Describes how to properly setup the board's jumper options for your 

particular requirements. 

Installing the BigIDEA – Explains how to connect the BigIDEA between your CF2 and other 

peripheral electronics. 

Installing Cards and Drives – Describes the cabling from the BigIDEA to your 2.5" drive, PCMCIA 

adapter or how to install a Disk Array with multiple BigIDEAs. 

Preparing the Drive – This section explains partitioning and formatting of your hard drive. 

BigIDEA Software – This section describes the various example programs you can use as a 

foundation for your applications. 

Packing List 

Your BigIDEA ships with the following items: 

1 BigIDEA SandwichCard Adapter 

6 2mm configuration jumpers on the BigIDEA with standard default setting 

1 8" 3 connector IDE-44 ribbon cable 

1 18" power cable, tinned leads to 2-pin Molex C-Grid plug 

1 User's Manual (this document) 

1 Example files (on the PicoDEV CD or a separate diskette) 

1 (possibly) Release Notes 

Setting up the BigIDEA 

BigIDEAs are installed sandwich-like between a something and something else. Those something 

else’s can be a CF2, a RecipeCard, your custom instrument electronics, some other SandwichCard 

peripheral, or even more BigIDEAs. Typically, it's a CF2 on top, a BigIDEA in the middle, and a 

RecipeCard or your board on the bottom. In multiple SandwichCard systems, the stacking order 

makes no difference. The remainder of the installation and setup instructions will assume a simple 

three board system with a CF2, BigIDEA, and PicoDAQ RecipeCard - though what's described applies 

similarly to more complex systems. 

PERSISTOR 



Jumpers 

Before you plug your CF2 into the BigIDEA, you should make sure that the three groups of 

configuration jumpers are properly installed for your CF2 system. These jumpers select: 

• 3.3V or 5V IDE voltage 

• Power Source 

• Memory Slot 

All of these jumpers are accessible when a CF2 is plugged into the BigIDEA, but most other full-sized 

SandwichCards will obscure all or some these when they plug into a BigIDEA. 

3.3V/5V 

3 

5 

J5 

Power Source 

The 3.3V/5V jumper J5 comes from the factory preset 

to the 5 volt position, and that's where it has to be for 

most hard disk drives, and generally where you want it 

to be for flash cards. Some flash cards write about 20% 

faster when operating at 5 volts, but they pull about 

30% less current when you writing at 3.3 volts. 

However, most systems don't spend much of their time 

actually writing, so the savings may not be all that 

significant. 

The power source jumper also comes from the factory installed to let the 

BigIDEA use the CF2's VBAT (pin 13) as its voltage source to the switching 

regulator for the IDE drives. This is convenient since a single power source 

and cable works for everything. It also means that if the drive turns on and 

tries to gulp more power than what's left in your batteries, the CF2 will die 

when the voltage drops below about 4 volts. To preclude this possibility, 

remove the power source jumper and run a separate supply to connector J1 

on the bottom right of the board. 

WARNING: Never connect a separate supply while J1 is jumpered! 

Memory Slot 

+16 

+8{ 

} 

74LVC138A 

+0 

+0 

SandwichCard 

Chip Selects 

1 of 32 1024 Byte Blocks 

+0 

+2 

+4 

+6 

types of Sandwich cards, you may want to look at it. 

PERSISTOR 


+1 

+3 

+5 

+7 

J1 

+ – 

The SandwichCard memory slot jumper block comes preconfigured 

for slot 0 as shown in the drawing at right. If 

you're constructing a complex SandwichCard system, refer 

to the appendix for details on setting up multiple 

SandwichCards, otherwise, just make sure your BigIDEA 

looks like the drawing. 

The appendix contains much more detail on SandwichCard 

memory addressing. This is not required reading for 

working with the BigIDEA but if you are going to use other 


Installing the BigIDEA 

Plug in the CF2 CF2 

Before plugging the CF2 into the BigIDEA SandwichCard, 

lets also make sure we've got a working system as a 

reference point. Hookup your CF2 and RecipeCard (or 

whatever) to a power supply and terminal. Make sure 

that Motocross is running and that you have it 

configured for an available COM port on the PC. Also, 

make sure that the communications cable from your 

Recipe Card (or whatever) is connected to the same 

COM port that Motocross is using. Turn the power 

supply on and verify that you can get to the PicoDOS 

prompt (Motocross will display the startup message and 

PicoDOS prompt). 

Next, disconnect the power while we install the BigIDEA. 

Begin by unplugging the CF2 from the RecipeCard (or 

whatever). Now, plug the backside of the CF2 (the side 

without the CF header, but with all 90 pins in a π 

pattern) into the topside (component side with sockets) 

of the BigIDEA. 


PicoDAQ 

CF2 


PicoDAQ 

It is possible (we've done it) to misalign the pins and damage both boards if powered that way 

(we've proved it). Even the most cursory visual side-view inspection will reveal the mistake before 

any damage can be done. So, make sure to look at the pins after you insert everything. The drawing 

at right shows a side view of a CF2/BigIDEA/RecipeCard system before and after insertion. 

Plug in the RecipeCard 

Having plugged the CF2 into the BigIDEA, there's only one way to connect the BigIDEA back into the 

RecipeCard - its pins go into the RecipeCard's sockets. We learned our lesson by frying a 

CF2/BigIDEA with powered misalignment so we know how much harm can be done by not paying 

attention. Hopefully you will examine the installation and not have to call us for a damage 

assessment. 

Powering the BigIDEA 

Whether powered from the CF2 VBAT or the Molex connector, the upper range of the supply must be 

limited to 16.5 volts (NO HIGHER), and the lower range must be 0.5 volts above the operating 

voltage selected by J5. One more reminder: Never attach a separate supply to the Molex connector 

while J1 is jumpered! There are no fuses, no diode isolation, and nothing else to protect the two 

supplies from trying to equalize each other - probably catastrophically! 

Quick Checkout 

Before going on, let's confirm that what we've done so far is working. Reconnect power and 

everything should work exactly as it did in the pre-installation quick test i.e. you should get the 

PicoDOS prompt. This doesn't prove the BigIDEA is working, but it does tell us that nothing is 

seriously wrong with the hookup. 

PERSISTOR 



Installing Cards and Drives 

Important Notice about Hard Drives 

While there are many hard disk options available today, selecting one that suits your needs can be 

difficult. Persistor Instruments does not regularly test the BigIDEA with the rapidly changing 

selection of hard disk offerings. Disk drive models change too rapidly for anyone to keep up. 

When you choose a hard disk make sure that you test it before you deploy a system with it. Changes 

in hard disks even with the same manufacturer can introduce differences that may affect your 

application. It is up to YOU, the user, to test the hard disk that you choose. 

Connecting 

Cards and drives connect to the BigIDEA using 44-pin 2mm connectors and 1mm ribbon cables that 

can be any length up to twelve inches. The BigIDEA comes with a single eight-inch cable with 

connectors at both ends, and with one additional connector three inches away from one of the ends. 

This one cable actually has many uses. It can be used as an eight-inch cable and you can get rid of 

the annoying bump in the middle by prying apart and removing the center IDC connector. You can 

also make it into either a five inch or three inch cable using just a pair of scissors. You can also use 

it to connect two separate single slot PCMCIA adapter boards to the BigIDEA. 

3" 5" 

The BigIDEA's IDE header is shrouded, but not polarized, and 44-pin IDE cable connectors come in a 

variety of widths, so the shroud does not always guarantee proper pin alignment (it does however 

with the included cable). Drive headers are neither shrouded nor polarized, so it's very easy to hook 

them up backwards (goodbye expensive electronics) or misaligned by one set of pins (poof goes the 

drive). You must take care to connect pin 1 of the BigIDEA header to pin 1 of the drive or adapter. 

You do this by always assigning the striped side of the cable to pin 1. 

Pin 1 for the drive header on the BigIDEA is located on the end of the header which is closest to the 

J3 jumper block. Unfortunately, most hard drives give no indication of which side has pin 1. The 44pin 

headers on both the BigIDEA and 2.5" hard drives are not symmetrical along the center of the 

devices, and in the field, you can figure out which way to hook them together by centering the 

BigIDEA board with the drive and noting that only one orientation gives a straight line connection 

between the headers. 

Bad Vibrations 

Neither the BigIDEA nor the hard drives have locking mechanisms for the ribbon cable connectors 

and rely on the relatively high extraction force of 44 connections to hold the assembly in place. This 

works well for desktop, and even laptop computer environments, but it may not be sufficient to 

survive high vibration applications. We do not have a generic solution to this potential problem, but 

if you suspect your system will operate in a fashion where the cable could be shaken off, you'll need 

to do something to keep it attached (wire ties, tak-pak, clamps, etc.). 

PERSISTOR 



Installing a 2.5" Hard Drive 

The BigIDEA makes no provision for physically mounting your 2.5" hard drive other than by offering 

a flexible cabling connection. Most modern drives can be installed and operated in any orientation, 

but you may need to check with the drive manufacturer for recommendations if you're pushing the 

technology limits. Various drives have different limitations on vibration and shock and these too 

should be considered when you design the mounting. Hard disk drives self heat when running 

(Toshiba MK2104 calls out 15°C maximum rise) so you should also provide for ventilation if you'll be 

running at ambient temperatures where that rise could have the drive working beyond specified 

limits. 

You should also be aware that even though many of the 2.5" drives have similar top or side 

mounting holes, these are not standard, or guaranteed to remain the same from one generation of 

hard drives to another - even from the same manufacturer. About all you can count on mechanically 

is that 2.5" drives will be 2.75" x 4.0" but that the height may vary from less than 0.2" to over 0.8". 

For top mounting drives, we recommend slots instead of holes as shown in the drawing below, far 

right. On the left side of the drawing are the mounting hole dimensions for two different 2.5" drives 

we've actually worked with. For our own use, we've attached to the drives with M3.0 x 0.5 thd 

metric screws with a length appropriate to get about 0.1" to 0.2" of the screw into threaded holes 

after accounting for board thickness and spacers. 

4.000" 

.113" 

2.750" 

M3 THD x 4 

2.430" 

1 

1.375" 

1.500" 

4.000" 

.113" 

2.750" 

M3 THD x 4 

2.430" 

1 

.551" 

3.567" 

.130 x .330 

2.430" 

These drawings are meant to provide some guidance, but you must confirm these against a drive in 

hand or the drive manufacturer’s specifications before beginning your mechanical design. 

2.5" Drive Connections 

Some 2.5" drives have a separate power connector, but you do not need this with the BigIDEA. 

Power for the drives is brought over in the 1mm ribbon cable. Instead of a 44-pin header, most 2.5" 

drives have a 50-pin header with two pins missing to make one 44-pin header, and one 2x2-pin 

jumper block for drive options (discussed ahead). Most drives also provide little or no markings to 

help you properly connect the cable. The dimension drawing above shows how to identify pin 1 on 

the drive, and that pin is where you should always connect the striped side of the ribbon cable. 

PERSISTOR 


9 BigIDEA User’s Manual 

.535" 

.835" 

1.480" 

.695"

To save yourself some future catastrophes, this would be an excellent time to make some very clear 

markings on the drive where pin 1 is, and where you want the cable stripe to be so that at some 

future time, you or your technician will be able to confidently reattach the drive without this longlost 

BigIDEA manual. 

2.5" Master/Slave Options Pins 

Most 2.5" drives have another four pins separated from the main group of 44 IDE pins for drive 

options. The option pins exist for multiple-drive (Master/Slave) configurations that are not supported 

by the BigIDEA. Though this might sound like a cheap and easy way to double your capacity, the 

protocol only works by having the two drives up and running, so it's twice the spinup surge current, 

and only a bit less than twice the operating current while filling each drive - probably not a goal for 

you CF2 based system. If you need more capacity, consider multiple BigIDEAs - each powering it's 

drive independently. 

Generally, “no jumpers” is the correct option for the BigIDEA. If your drive came with jumpers 

installed, find out why before running it with the BigIDEA. 

PERSISTOR 



Installing a PCMCIA Adapter Card 

To work the BigIDEA with PCMCIA hard disks or flash cards (including CompactFlash in a PCMCIA 

adapter), you need a single or dual PCMCIA to 44-pin adapter board. These are actually made from 

the same printed circuit board, but the single has one PCMCIA header which can work with Type I, 

II, or III PCMCIA cards, while the dual has a double-height header that can take a Type I or II card 

in the lower (slave) socket and a Type I, II, or III card in the upper (master) socket. The appendix 

shows the schematic for the PCMCIA adapter board. 

BIAPFC1 Single PCMCIA Adapter BIAPFC2 Dual PCMCIA Adapter 

Electrically, the single adapter and the upper socket of the dual adapter are identical. The single has 

the advantage of lower height (0.34") versus the taller (0.62") height of the dual, and the single 

sells for a little bit less. Dual operation really only makes sense when using only flash memory cards. 

The BigIDEA can only power switch the dual adapter in pairs, so either both are on, or both are off 

at any given time. 

For flash card pairs, that's a small initial startup pulse of current to charge up capacitors and wake 

the cards processor, but each settles down to less than 500uA automatically. For hard drive pairs, it 

is instead a huge spinup surge current and twice the already onerous operating current. The 

combination of a flash card and hard drive in a dual adapter is also unwise since the relatively slow 

flash write operations will incur the full penalty of carrying the hard drive power burden over a long 

period of time. 

Flash memory cards do not care at all about operating orientation, nor do the 512MB and 1GB 

Calluna 1.8" drives that we've worked with. If you're using something different, check the 

manufacturer’s data sheets for any restrictions on mounting. Various drives have different limitations 

on vibration and shock and these too should be considered when you design the mounting. Hard disk 

drives self heat when running so you should also provide for ventilation if you'll be running at 

ambient temperatures where that rise in temperature could have the drive working beyond specified 

limits. 

The PCMCIA adapters have a shrouded 44-pin header that is not polarized. You must take care to 

make sure that the striped side of the cable connects to pin 1 of the adapter (which is marked with 

the big white square). 

PERSISTOR 



PCMCIA Adapter Dimensions 

The BigIDEA makes no provision for physically mounting the PCMCIA adapter board other than to 

provide a variety of mounting holes and breakaway panels with additional mounting holes as shown 

below. 

.125" 

.490" 

.280" 

.625" 

2.500" 

2.375" 

3.000" 

2.875" 

2.720" 

.130" D 

.080" D 

Installing Disk Arrays with Multiple BigIDEAs 

Your CF2 can control a number (limited by our ability to test them) of BigIDEAs. Each adds only 

microamps to the idle current and each powers up its drive independently of other attached drives. 

However, only one BigIDEA can be active at any given time. 

Note: It is possible, under software control, to spin up a second drive while powering another as long 

as you do not try to mount the second drive before dismounting the first. 

To install multiple BigIDEAs, simply follow the instructions for installing a single drive/adapter for 

each BigIDEA in the system. You do not need to modify the chip select jumper settings for each 

BigIDEA. In fact, all of the BigIDEAs should have the same chip select. At startup, the CF2 

interrogates its attached SandwichCards and discovers the unique serial numbers which will be used 

to select individual BigIDEAs. The lowest serial number becomes the default BigIDEA for programs 

that do not explicitly request a specific unit. 

PERSISTOR 


.125" 

.610" 


.910" 

1.875" 

2.000"

Important Notice Regarding Multiple Hard Drive Stacks 

We test BigIDEAs in stacks of 4. Some of our customers have used stacks of 6 BigIDEAs. As with 

any complex system, you should test your system carefully before deployment. Even if you have 

sucessfuly-deployed systems with the same drive types and part numbers, you should retest each 

new system. 

For instance, in early 2002 one customer repurchased IBM Travelstar drives and discovered a 

change to their interface electronics. This change introduced impedance problems with the bus 

signals for the BigIDEA. The problems were not detectable until the 5th drive was added to the 

stack. To get around this problem, a special board had to be added with termination resistors to 

eliminate the reflection problems by controlling the impedance of the bus. We can provide details on 

how to build such a board if necessary. 

This new problem highlights the difficulty of tracking changes to hard disks. When you choose a hard 

disk make sure that you test it and be sure you fully test an entire stack of drives before 

deployment. It is up to YOU the user to test the hard disk(s) that you choose for use with the 

BigIDEA. 

Mounting Multiple BigIDEAs 

The ‘MOUNT’ command is used to turn on and spin-up a hard disk using the BigIDEA. The syntax of 

the mount command is: 

MOUNT [V:] [DEV[-n]] [/D] [/Pnnn] [/Nmmm] 

V: Specifies the first drive letter to use: none for first available 

DEV[-n] Specifies the driver name "CF", "BIHD", "BI25", "BI18", "BFCM", "BFCS" 

-n specifies the BigIDEA index 

/D Dismount 

/Pnnn Specify first DOS partition index (zero based) 

/Nmmm Specify number of DOS partitions to mount (ALL is default) 

/V Verbose mode 

/Q Quite mode 

After the device drive name (DEV there is a ‘-n’ parameter. This is the BigIDEA index. The indexes 

start with 0 and climb up. If this is not specified when using the mount command it is assumed to be 

zero. This is fine if you are using one BigIDEA, but what if you are using two? To mount the second 

hard drive (I’ll assume a 2.5 inch drive as my example) use: 

MOUNT BI25-1◄═╝ 

If the other BigIDEA is already mounted, the CF2 will power down and dismount the first BigIDEA 

automatically and then mount the second one. 

PERSISTOR 



Preparing the Drive 

In order to use the BigIDEA, you must first prepare the drive. This involves using commands to 

break the hard disk connected to the BigIDEA into separate distinct volumes or partitions. The 

current version of the PicoDOS operating system supports FAT16 only. This limits the maximum 

allowable partition for any volume to 2 GB. It is possible to have up to four partitions for a single 

drive/BigIDEA combination for a total of 8 GB. Partitioning a drive is necessary until FAT32 becomes 

available for the BigIDEA. 

A Note about Partitions 

The maximum number of partitions possible for a single BigIDEA is four. This means that the largest 

fully usable hard disk is 8 GB (4 * 2GB = 8 GB). NOTE: For those who are willing to deal with some 

low-level, somewhat detailed programming, it is possible to go beyond 8 GB even before the 

availability of FAT32. To do this requires writing to the drives without a file system. You perform lowlevel 

access and write to actual physical sectors on the hard disk. For long-term logging of data, this 

may be a good alternative to multiple stacks of BigIDEAs but be warned: it is not for the faint of 

heart. 

Partitioning 

To partition a hard disk for the BigIDEA, make sure that you have your BigIDEA and hard drive 

connected as described in the previous sections. Apply power. When you see the PicoDOS prompt, 

you are ready to start. 

Begin by mounting the BigIDEA. The command options for this will vary from drive to drive. For this 

example, we are using 3 GB IBM 2.5 inch drive. We will type the following: 

MOUNT BI25◄═╝ 

When the drive has mounted we will see the following message: 

Turning on BI25-0 ... 

Mounting D: E: 

The easiest way to partition a drive is to have the FDISK do it automatically. The only interaction 

with the user is to enter the name of the driver for the volume to partition from a list that FDISK 

generates. 

PERSISTOR 



Begin partitioning by typing the following: 

FDISK /S /P◄═╝ 

The /S option by itself will force FDISK to search for devices and drivers. The /P option by itself will 

force partitions to be equal to the largest value possible based on available space. Using these 

options for a 2.5” 3GB drive, FDISK would partition the drive into first a 2GB partition and then a 

1GB partition for a total of 3GB. Here is what the sequence would look like: 

C:\>FDISK /S /P◄═╝ 

Known storage device names: 

"CF" 

CF:0 256.9 MB dos40pri mounted as C: 

"BI25" // BI25 is the storage device name 

BI25:0 2146.4 MB fat16LBA mounted as D: 

BI25:1 1107.0 MB fat16LBA mounted as E: 

Which named device (CTRL-C to exit) ? BI25◄═╝ // We enter BI25 for the hard disk 

Current Partition Table: 

# Stat StHd StSct Ptyp EHd ESct SctOfs NumScts 

0 00 00 0101 0E FE 013F 0000003F 003FF800 

1 00 00 0101 0E FE 013F 003FF83F 0020FDC1 

2 00 00 0000 00 00 0000 00000000 00000000 

3 00 00 0000 00 00 0000 00000000 00000000 

Proposed Partition Table: 

# Stat StHd StSct Ptyp EHd ESct SctOfs NumScts 

0 00 00 0101 0E FE 013F 0000003F 003FF800 

1 00 00 0101 0E FE 013F 003FF83F 0020FDC1 

Overwrite the current partition table [Y] ? ◄═╝ // Enter to accept the overwrite 

Dismounting D ... Ok (0) 

Dismounting E ... Ok (0) 

Partition(s) installed/updated 

Ok to reset (necessary for changes to take effect) [Y] ? ◄═╝ // Yes, reset! 

We are now back at the PicoDOS prompt. We must now format the drive before we can use it. 

PERSISTOR 



Formatting 

The next step is to format the partitions that we created above. FDISK created two partitions so we 

will need to format two partitions. 

Begin by mounting the BigIDEA again. Type the following: 

MOUNT BI25◄═╝ 

After the mount completes type the following: 

FORMAT D: /Q◄═╝ 

This will format the D: partition and the /Q will force PicoDOS not to prompt us to confirm the 

format. You will now need to enter this same format command for each of the other partitions. For 

our example, we only need to format the D: and E: partition. If you are using a larger hard disk, you 

may need to format partitions D: through G:. 

That’s it. Now that the hard disk is prepared, you are ready to use your BigIDEA. 

PERSISTOR 



BigIDEA Software 

Getting Started with BigIDEA Software 

Everything you need to develop for the BigIDEA is included when you install the PicoDEV following 

the Metrowerks installation. The directory structure for the BigIDEA looks like this: 

C:\Program Files\Persistor\Motocross Support\CFX\ 

\Examples\GigaPicoDOS Demonstration of using ToPico stationery with the 

BigIDEA. We add several commands to show 

turning the BigIDEA on and off. We also 

demonstrate using LPSTOP to turn all the power 

off to put the CF2 in its lowest power mode. 

\Examples\BigIDEA_LPAD This is a simple example of using the BigIDEA as a 

storage medium for data logging. The application 

will log data to Ram at a specified rate. Data will 

be written to the Compact Flash from RAM. When 

the Compact Flash is full, the application will stop 

the logging operation. It will then spin up the hard 

drive attached to the BigIDEA. After spinning up 

the drive it will write the data from the file on the 

Compact Flash to the hard disk. When completed 

the application will power down the BigIDEA and 

resume logging to a new file on the Compact 

Flash. 

\Examples\BigIDEADataLogger This is a complex example that uses the Compact 

Flash as a buffer for data. The data is only written 

to the BigIDEA when the card is half full. This 

example is a great example of low power long 

term data logging and the BigIDEA. Be warned: 

This software is designed with a very specific 

purpose in mind. It may break if you modify the 

software without first understanding how it works. 

\Docs \BigIDEA\ This is where you will find any Release Notes and 

where you will also find an electronic copy of this 

manual. 

PERSISTOR 



GigaPicoDOS Example 

GigaPicoDOS.mcp in the BigIDEA\Examples directory is a good place to start to familiarize yourself 

with the BigIDEA. GigaPicoDOS is based on the "ToPico" stationery. The ToPico stationery is a 

‘starter’ project that provides a way to program a custom version of PicoDOS. The custom version of 

PicoDOS that is created is BigIDEA "aware". It includes all of the standard PicoDOS commands plus 

three new commands (ON, OFF, LPSTOP) just for the BigIDEA. It's main() function sets up your CF2 

system to automatically mount a BigIDEA flash card or hard disk as drive "D", after which you 

perform all of the normal PicoDOS operations like DIR, COPY, CHDIR, and so on. 

The SetupBigIDEA() helper function shows you what you'll need to do to integrate the BigIDEA into 

your own programs, and you can pretty much copy and paste this into your application. The ON and 

OFF commands let you power the card/drive on and off, and the LPSTOP command shows you what 

to expect when the card/drive is off and the CF2 is in its lowest non-SUSPEND operating mode. 

GigaPicoDOS demonstrates the BigIDEA operations however, its services are not available when you 

exit and return to normal PicoDOS. 

BigIDEA_LPAD 

BigIDEA_LPAD is similar to the LPFiledAD.c example. Data is collected from the A/D converter and 

written to a file on the Compact Flash card. BigIDEA_LPAD copies the CompactFlash data file to a 

hard disk when the CF card fills up. This simple mechanism necessitates a pause in the acquisition, 

but that's the price of the simplicity. You can extend the functionality by providing two files and 

‘ping-ponging’ between them. Another option is to use the methods demonstrated in the much more 

complex BigIDEADataLogger example. 

BigIDEADataLogger 

This builds a low-power, high-capacity data acquisition program for a Persistor CF2 mated to a 

BigIDEA hard drive adapters and a single Persistor PRCPDAQ PicoDAQ RecipeCard for the analog to 

digital converter and I/O connections. The basic operations and features of the system are: 

• Continuous recording of 1 to 8 channels of unipolar analog data in the range or 0-2.5V. 

• Sample rates from 50Hz to 1kHz (400sps to 8000sps aggregate). 

• 8-bit (high or low byte) or 16-bit (12 bit resolution) samples. 

• DOS compatible file system on hard drive for simplified data recovery 

• Automatic startup and relaunch in the event of a system failure (100 second watchdog). 

• Three stage data buffering - A-D to RAM, RAM to CompactFlash card, CF to hard drive. 

• 1mA (50Hz/1Ch) to 10mA (1kHz/8Ch) average current drain during acquisition 

• Password protection to change settings or erase files 

This is a much more complex example, and additional documentation can be found in the directory 

containing the project file. 

PERSISTOR 



Appendix A - Using SandwichCards in your CF2 system 

Your new BigIDEA add-on for the Persistor CF2 complies with guidelines for standard SandwichCard 

peripherals that should make installation and setup a fairly simple and straightforward process. If 

the BigIDEA is the only SandwichCard add-on in your CF2 system, or if the BigIDEA is the only IDE 

controller SandwichCard add-on, you should be able to safely skip the rest of this section. If not, you 

may want to familiarize yourself with some simple SandwichCard concepts to help you hurdle any 

installation difficulties. 

Your CF2 system can support up to 32 SandwichCards and generally most Persistor Instruments and 

third party SandwichCards will be pre-configured to automatically work in your system using default 

jumper configurations and default initialization specifiers for their respective software drivers. This 

means you usually need to just follow the instructions to copy the associated library and header files 

into the proper directories and merge them into your CF2 projects. However, some very complex 

CF2 systems may be built with SandwichCard components that compete for system resources and 

you will need to manually reconfigure some boards and make minor accommodations in driver 

initialization calls to get everything working. 

The diagram below shows the pattern and placement of the recommended 2mm chip select jumper 

blocks for SandwichCards. Inevitably, some board designs will face physical constraints that make 

some other scheme compelling enough to veer from the standard. Electrically however, the effect 

will be the same. 

+16 

+8{ 

} 

74LVC138A 

+0 

+0 

SandwichCard 

Chip Selects 

1 of 32 1024 Byte Blocks 

+0 

+2 

+4 

+6 

+1 

+3 

+5 

+7 

The CF2 has just two chip selects to provide for system expansion. Without something like the 

SandwichCard chip select circuitry, that would limit you to two add-on devices. With it, you can have 

up to 32 devices, but at the expense of a large memory space. However, with the exception of RAM 

or Flash, almost all I/O devices need only a tiny block of addresses for full functionality. 

Each expanded SandwichCard chip select corresponds to a unique block of memory addresses, but 

since the C language and supplied drivers means you will almost never need to be cognizant of these 

physical addresses, we refer to each expanded chip select by a reference number between 0 and 31. 

The numerical markings surrounding the jumper blocks combine to yield that value based on the 

installed jumpers. 

In the diagram above, the top three pins of the jumper block J4 (the upper left group of jumpers in 

the diagram) chooses which chip select controls the board. If you jumper the right pin as shown, the 

PERSISTOR 



system uses CS8 (which you don't really need to know) and the chip select reference number begins 

with zero. If the left pin was jumpered between the center pin and +16, the system would use CS10 

and the reference number would start with sixteen. 

The lower six pins select the high or low bank of eight addresses. These jumpers must always be 

moved in pairs (admittedly awkward, but it saves much circuitry). Keep the pair to the right as 

shown for the low address bank with zero added to the chip select reference. Move the pair to the 

left for the upper bank and eight added to the reference number. 

Finally, the jumper block in the lower right selects one of eight possible slots from the memory bank. 

One jumper connects from a center pin to any of the peripheral pins to complete the selection, and 

the corresponding number gets added to the reference number to complete its selection. 

Fortunately, most SandwichCards manufacturers will supply their cards pre-configured to conform to 

the Persistor Instruments guidelines to simplify installation and setup. The table below details these 

selections. 

SC# Device Class Base+ Size CS Default 

0 BigIDEA IDE adapter 0000 1024 /CS8 FFFF8000 

1 other IDE adapter 0400 1024 /CS8 FFFF8400 

2 ATA Flash Card adapter 0800 1024 /CS8 FFFF8800 

3 SCSI adapter 0C00 1024 /CS8 FFFF8C00 

4 PCMCIA adapter 1000 1024 /CS8 FFFF9000 

5 Quad UART 1400 1024 /CS8 FFFF9400 

6 other UART 1800 1024 /CS8 FFFF9800 

7 Ethernet controller 1C00 1024 /CS8 FFFF9C00 

8 CAN controller 2000 1024 /CS8 FFFFA000 

9 USB controller 2400 1024 /CS8 FFFFA400 

10 IEEE488 Interface 2800 1024 /CS8 FFFFA800 

11 68k bus to ISA adapter 2C00 1024 /CS8 FFFFAC00 

12 LCD Display 3000 1024 /CS8 FFFFB000 

13 undefined 3400 1024 /CS8 FFFFB400 

14 undefined 3800 1024 /CS8 FFFFB800 

15 user circuitry 3C00 1024 /CS8 FFFFBC00 

16 parallel I/O 0000 1024 /CS10 FFFF0000 

17 parallel A-D 1 0400 1024 /CS10 FFFF0400 

18 parallel A-D 2 0800 1024 /CS10 FFFF0800 

19 parallel D-A 0C00 1024 /CS10 FFFF0C00 

20 counter/timer 1000 1024 /CS10 FFFF1000 

21 Bank-switched RAM 1400 1024 /CS10 FFFF1400 

22 Precision clock 1800 1024 /CS10 FFFF1800 

23 undefined 1C00 1024 /CS10 FFFF1C00 

24 } 2000 1024 /CS10 FFFF2000 

25 } 2400 1024 /CS10 FFFF2400 

26 } 2800 1024 /CS10 FFFF2800 

27 } reserved for user 2C00 1024 /CS10 FFFF2C00 

28 } custom circuitry 3000 1024 /CS10 FFFF3000 

29 } 3400 1024 /CS10 FFFF3400 

30 } 3800 1024 /CS10 FFFF3800 

31 } 3C00 1024 /CS10 FFFF3C00 

Keep in mind that these are merely guidelines and implementation considerations may persuade 

board designers to adopt different strategies. Check the vendors documentation as they will likely 

clearly state if you need to be on guard for potential collisions. 

PERSISTOR 



1 2 

CF2C CF2A CF2B C4 0.1uF 

DRIVE 

Appendix B: BigIDEA Schematic Rev: C2 

10K R10 

/DRES 

1 2 

DD7 

3 4 

DD8 

DD6 

5 6 

DD9 

DD5 

7 8 

DD10 

C5 0.1uF 

DD4 

9 10 

DD11 

DD3 

11 12 

DD12 

DD2 

13 14 

DD13 

DD1 

15 16 

DD14 

DD0 

17 18 

DD15 

19 20 

10K 21 22 

/DIOW 

23 24 

/DIOR 

25 26 

27 28 

29 30 

31 32 

DA1 

33 34 

DA0 

35 36 

DA2 

/CS0 

37 38 

39 40 

41 42 

43 44 

HDR4 

R9 

Vdd 20 

7 /G 19 

4 B1 18 

DD6 

L 

B2 17 

DD7 

V 

B3 16 

DD4 

C 

B4 15 

DD5 

R 

2 B5 14 

DD2 

2 B6 13 

DD3 

4 B7 12 

DD1 

5 

B8 11 

DD0 

A 

IC2 

Vdd 20 

7 /G 19 

4 B1 18 

DD15 

L 

B2 17 

DD14 

V 

B3 16 

DD13 

C 

B4 15 

DD12 

R 

2 B5 14 

DD11 

2 B6 13 

DD10 

4 B7 12 

DD9 

5 

B8 11 

DD8 

A 

IC3 

C6 0.1uF 

JP6 

Vdd 20 

7 /G 19 

4 B1 18 

L 

B2 17 

V 

B3 16 

DA2 

C 

B4 15 

DA0 

R 

2 B5 14 

DA1 

2 B6 13 

/DIOR 

4 B7 12 

/DIOW JP2 R16 10K 

5 

B8 11 

/DRES 

A 

IC4 

R17 10K 

Q4 

10K 

C7 0.1uF 

Vdd 7 Y0 4 

G 4LVC139A Y1 5 

A Y2 6 

B Y3 7 

/CS0 

R8 

G Y0 12 

22ohm /CS1 /CS1 

A Y1 11 

R11 22ohm IRLMS5703 

B Y2 10 

Y3 

4 5 6 

Vss 

9 

0.1½ 0.1½ Q1 

L1 

IC5 

R39 R6 

JP5 

5 6 7 

3 2 1 

R18 

/DRES 

GND 

DD7 

DD8 

DD6 

DD9 

DD5 

DD10 

DD4 

DD11 

DD3 

DD12 

DD2 

DD13 

DD1 

DD14 

DD0 

DD15 

V3SW 

GND 

VXSW 

RESERV 

D1 

DMARQ 

GND 

/DIOW 

GND 

/DIOR 

GND 

IORDY 

CSEL 

/RD 

/DMACK 

100K 

GND 

R21 

R19 

INTRQ 

100K 

/IO16 

VXSW 

DA1 

/PDIAG 

/WR 

DA0 

/RD 

DA2 

/CS0 

/CS /CS1 

/DASP 

GND 

VDRIVE 

VDRV 

GND 

VDRV 

KEY 

DATA14 

DATA15 

DATA12 

DATA13 

DATA10 

DATA11 

DATA9 

DATA8 

DATA1 

DATA0 

DATA3 

DATA2 

DATA5 

DATA4 

1 

2 

ADDR1 

1 

2 

49 50 

DIR 

A1 

A2 

A3 

A4 

A5 

A6 

A7 

A8 

Vss 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

3 

4 

ADDR3 

3 

4 

47 48 

ADDR2 

5 

6 

ADDR5 

5 

ADDR46 

45 46 

DATA7 

DATA6 

7 

8 

7 

8 

43 44 

DATA9 

DATA8 

9 

10 

9 

10 

41 42 

DAT3 

DAT5 

DIR 

A1 

A2 

A3 

A4 

A5 

A6 

A7 

A8 

Vss 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

11 

12 

DATA7 

DATA6 

DATA5 

DATA4 

DATA3 

DATA2 

DATA1 

DATA0 

DATA11 

DATA10 

DATA13 

DATA12 

DATA15 

DATA14 

39 40 

PERSISTOR 


13 

14 

13 

14 

37 38 

15 

16 

15 

16 

35 36 

17 

/CS8 

18 

/CS10 

17 

18 

33 34 

4.7uF 

19 

R/W 

20 

19 

20 

ADDR10 

ADDR11 

ADDR12 

CTL5 

31 32 

HDR2 

HDR3 

C18 

/BUFEN 

29 30 

DIR 

A1 

A2 

A3 

A4 

A5 

A6 

A7 

A8 

Vss 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

VXSW 

ADDR5 

ADDR4 

ADDR3 

ADDR1 

ADDR2 

27 28 

JP4 

25 26 

23 24 

/DRVRES 

ADDR13 

C8 0.1uF 

21 22 

D2 1N4148 1 2 

R121 2 

R2 820½ R13 

C14 22pF 

JP3 

16 

1 

2 

3 

16 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

A 7 Vdd 

B 4 Y0 

C L Y1 

G2A V Y2 

G2B C Y3 

G 1 Y4 

3 

Y7 8 Y5 

Vss A Y6 

IC7 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

19 20 

17 18 

15 16 

GND 

13 VBAT 14 

15 

14 

13 

8 

11 12 

JP1 

9 VREG 10 

22uH/3A 

R/W 

D3 1N4148 1 2 

R14 

R3 820½ 

VDRIVE 1 2 

R15 

C15 22pF 

JP8 

VBAT 

VDRV 

V3REG 

J1 

7 /RES 8 

5 6 

C16 100uF 

D5 

3 GND 4 

SMB 

V+ CS EXT 

2 

5/3 

OUT 

1 

MAX 

3 

SHDN 1626 REF 

4 

IC6 

GND 

0.1uF 8 

100K 

R5 

10K 

R38 

V3SW 

BSS84 

Q3 

220 

R24 

10K 

R4 

4.7 

SHDN 

1 

4.7uF 

22uF 

R20 

C3 

100uF 

0.1uF 

C9 

C12 

C10 

C2 100uF 

16V 

C1 

100uF 

16V 

C17 

C13 

D4 

1N4148 

1M 

R22 

10K-t 

1 

2 

IC1 

P5CK 

1K 

0.1uF 

P4A3 

VDD 

PIC 

12C 

672 

P2A2 

5 

/BUFEN 

DRVON 

3 

P1A1 

6 

R1 

SCSCLK 

2 

C11 

/RESET 

4 

1K 

R7 

1 2 

HDR1 


P3MC 

P0A0 

7 

SCSDAT 

Q2 

FDV303N 

10K 

R40 

VSS 

8

Appendix C: 1-2-Punch PCMCIA Adapter Schematic 

UPPER/MASTER 

--SINGLE-- 

IDE 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

LOWER/SLAVE 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

nc 

PCMCIA 

1 2 

3 4 

5 6 

7 8 

9 1 0 

11 12 

13 14 

15 16 

17 18 

19 20 

21 22 

23 24 

25 26 

27 28 

29 30 

31 32 

33 34 

35 36 

37 38 

39 40 

41 42 

43 44 

C71 

22uF 

C72 

0.1uF 

GND 

/CD2 

D10 

WP/IOIS16 

D09 

D02 

D08 

D01 

BVD1 

D00 

BVD2 

A00 

/REG 

A01 

/INPACK 

A02 

/WAIT 

A03 

RESET 

A04 

/VS2 

A05 

/CSEL 

A06 

VCC 

VCC 

RY/BS/IRQ 

A07 

/WE 

A08 

/IOWR 

A09 

/IORD 

/OE 

/VS1 

A10 

/CE2 

/CE1 

D15 

D07 

D14 

D06 

D13 

D05 

D12 

D04 

D11 

D03 

/CD1 

GND 

GND 

GND 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

VPP 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

VPP 

NC 

34 

67 

66 

33 

65 

32 

64 

31 

63 

30 

62 

29 

61 

28 

60 

27 

59 

26 

58 

25 

57 

24 

56 

23 

51 

17 

16 

22 

15 

12 

45 

11 

44 

9 

43 

8 

42 

7 

41 

6 

40 

5 

39 

4 

38 

3 

37 

2 

36 

1 

35 

68 

10 

13 

14 

18 

20 

21 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

52 

53 

54 

55 

19 

GND 

/CD2 

D10 

WP/IOIS16 

D09 

D02 

D08 

D01 

BVD1 

D00 

BVD2 

A00 

/REG 

A01 

/INPACK 

A02 

/WAIT 

A03 

RESET 

A04 

/VS2 

A05 

/CSEL 

A06 

VCC 

VCC 

RY/BS/IRQ 

A07 

/WE 

A08 

/IOWR 

A09 

/IORD 

/OE 

/VS1 

A10 

/CE2 

/CE1 

D15 

D07 

D14 

D06 

D13 

D05 

D12 

D04 

D11 

D03 

/CD1 

GND 

GND 

GND 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

VPP 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

NC 

VPP 

NC 

34 

67 

66 

33 

65 

32 

64 

31 

63 

30 

62 

29 

61 

28 

60 

27 

59 

26 

58 

25 

57 

24 

56 

23 

51 

17 

16 

22 

15 

12 

45 

11 

44 

9 

43 

8 

42 

7 

41 

6 

40 

5 

39 

4 

38 

3 

37 

2 

36 

1 

35 

68 

10 

13 

14 

18 

20 

21 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

52 

53 

54 

55 

19 

JP77 

JP73 

JP71 

JP75 

JP76 

JP72 

JP74 

INTRQ 

INTRQ 

/PDIAG 

/PDIAG 

/DASP 

/DASP 

IORDY IORDY 

/IO16 

/IO16 

/RESET 

/RESET 

DD8 

DD8 

DD7 

DD7 

DD9 

DD9 

DD6 

DD6 

DD10 

DD10 

DD5 

DD5 

DD11 

DD11 

DD4 

DD4 

DD12 

DD12 

DD3 

DD3 

DD13 

DD13 

DD2 

DD2 

DD14 

DD14 

DD1 

DD1 

DD15 

DD15 

DD0 

DD0 

/DIOW 

/DIOW 

/DIOR 

/DIOR 

DA1 

DA1 

DA2 

DA2 

DA0 

DA0 

/CS0 

/CS0 

/CS1 

/CS1 

VCC 

VCC 

RSVD/A04 

CSEL/A03 

GND 

GND 

GND 

PERSISTOR

BigIDEA User's Manual - Persistor Instruments Inc

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