The Cobalt family of data acquisition modules from Pentek has been expanded. With the release of four XMC and four PCI Express (PCIe) modules, the company has extended the sampling frequency range to 1GHz and added key software radio functions, it claims. All Cobalt modules use Xilinx's Virtex-6 FPGA family for on-board signal processing and all family members are available in both XMC and PCIe formats. The offering now includes the 71xxx series of six modules which has ruggedised XMC-format modules with extended temperature range options for deployed applications such as an unmanned aerial vehicle collecting radar and signal intelligence data. The 78xxx series uses the commercial PCIe format for use in desktop PCs and blade servers for R&D and laboratory environments. There are four module types in each format: 71621 and 78621 featuring three 16bit, 200MHz A/Ds, three multi-band DDCs (digital downconverters), two 16bit 800MHz DACswith digital upconverter and interpolator. The 71630 and 78630 feature one 12bit, 1GHz ADC and one 16bit 1GHz DAC. The 71650 and 78650 have two 12bit, 500MHz ADCs and two 16bit, 800MHz D/As with DUC; and the 71661 and 78661 have four 16bit, 200MHz ADCs and four multi-band DDCs.
