CED Products | Micro1401 hardware history

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Micro1401 history

The original micro was intended to be a replacement for the 1401plus but had fewer waveform inputs and outputs. It was otherwise fairly comparable with the plus except that it had faster A/D and D/A rates as well as optional USB capability via an internal daughter card. The micro was the first in the range to use an external power supply.

Expansion of the unit to extend the number of inputs, and other add-on options, means that the outer black aluminium casing and internal RF shielding metalwork has to be heighted to 2U or 3U levels depending on the number of expansion ‘top boxes’. Circuit boards are accessed via the rear panel and then extracting the inner can.

The lid of the inner can is then removed for the boards to become accessible. This is also a necessary action if the firmware needs to be updated in the earliest version of the micro. Later versions had a rotary switch (visible through the back panel) which is essential for firmware upgrade via the host interface and try1401 program.

The micro chassis is smaller than its big brother, the Power1401, and so requires wider rack mount ears which are supplied free of charge at time of purchase.

Comparison of data rates and processor speeds depends on the application. These processor speeds were measured for a 4096 point FFT.

Micro1401-4

Date of manufacture: October 2019 – present
Motherboard revisions: 4701-B
Processor: 32-bit ARM Cortex M7 @ 400MHz
Memory: 32MB standard
Data rate to host: 49MB/s
Data rate to 1401: 48MB/s
ADC: 1MHz 16-bit
DAC: 1MHz 16-bit
Voltage range: ±5 or ±10v software selectable
Host interface: USB 2.0
Expansion: ADC12 (x2), ADC64 (x2), Spike2 topbox, 2 more DACs
Synchronising port: Yes
Firmware: Software upgradable via the website
Compatible with: Spike2 V8.18a and 9.08b upwards
Signal V6.05b and V7.04a upwards

Micro1401-4

Micro1401-3

Date of manufacture: May 2009 – October 2019
Motherboard revisions: 3701-B
Processor: 32-bit ARM7 @ 90MHz
Memory: 4Mb standard (provision for 16MB – CED hardware modification)
Data rate to host: 14.5MB/s
Data rate to 1401: 7.8MB/s
ADC: 500kHz 16-bit
DAC: 400kHz 16-bit
Voltage range: ±5 or ±10v software selectable
Host interface: USB 2.0
Expansion: ADC12 (x2), ADC64 (x2), Spike2 topbox
Synchronising port: Yes
Firmware: Software upgradable via the website
Compatible with: Spike2 V6.13 upwards
Signal V3.11 upwards, V4.04 upwards

Micro1401-3

Micro1401 mkII

Date of manufacture: Oct 2001 - April 2009
Motherboard revisions: 3001-B, C, D
Processor: 32-bit ARM7 @ 75MHz Data rate to host: 10.9MB/s
Data rate to 1401: 6.1MB/s
ADC: 500kHz 16-bit
DAC: 167kHz 12-bit
Voltage range: ±5 or ±10v via hardware modification
Host interface: PCI or USB
Expansion: ADC12 (x2), Spike2 topbox
Synchronising port: Option
Firmware: Software upgradable via the website
Compatible with: all Spike2, all Signal from 2.06 upwards

Micro1401 mkII

Micro1401 mkI

Date of manufacture: May 1995 - Feb 2001
Motherboard revisions: 2501-B, C, D
Processor: 32-bit ARM60 RISC @ 20MHz Data rate to host: 0.85MB/s
Data rate to 1401: 0.85MB/s
ADC: 333kHz 16-bit
DAC: 250kHz 12-bit
Voltage range: ±5 or ±10v via hardware modification
Host interface: ISA/PCI or optional USB 1.0
Expansion: ADC12 (x2), Spike2 topbox, Patch clamp conditioner card, dual S/H
Synchronising port: No
Firmware: ROM chip replacement
Compatible with: all Spike2, all Signal