Data I/O - The MSM (Mass Storage Module)

The MSM (Mass Storage Module)

The revisions to the UniSite's main board were also done to support a new option. Around the same time, Data I/O created the 'MSM,' or Mass Storage Module. This consisted of an additional circuit board containing a miniature hard disk drive (either a 2.5 inch PATA/IDE device or a PCMCIA Type III card drive, depending on the MSM's revision level) and appropriate interface circuitry. All the programmer's operating software and device algorithms could be transferred to the MSM's drive in less than a half-hour, rendering the programmer completely independent from floppy diskettes.

The MSM option is still available today, though it takes a very different form. The last and latest revision of this device is entirely solid-state, consisting of a single large FPGA chip as the board's glue logic, an SPROM (Serial Programmable Read-Only Memory) chip, containing the FPGA's operating code, a few SRAM chips for buffering and a solid-state or 'Flash' drive.

The MSM was (and still is) an optional, field-installable module for the 3900 and Unisite. Unisite programmers require 8MB of user RAM and controller board revision 701-2313-00 or higher to utilize this option. In addition, the MSM will not function with Unifamily operating software revisions below 6.6.

There has been recent (2011) discussion, on the Yahoo Groups forum Data_IO_EPROM, regarding plans for a do-it-yourself MSM. The information package is said to be available in the group's file area on Yahoo, and it has also been said the device is considerably less expensive to build than Data I/O's option kit.

All 3900 series programmers are MSM-compatible at the hardware level. Again, however, recognition and use of the MSM in software requires Unifamily version 6.6 or above. Successful installation of the MSM in a 3900 programmer automatically turns it into the model 3980.

Addition of the MSM option also adds another option, if one is technically inclined enough to create the cabling and connectors required to use it: A high-speed parallel port interface which supplements the programmer's serial port. When used in conjunction with a Windows-based PC, and Data I/O's TaskLink software, the parallel port greatly enhances the speed of data transfers to and from the programmer. As one example, a 1MB data file takes at least two minutes to be transferred into or out of a Unifamily programmer via the serial port at its highest available speed (19200 baud). The same file, transferred with the parallel port's help, takes around 30–40 seconds.

Any Unifamily programmer with 'XPi' after its name (Unisite-XPi, 3980-XPi) will, unless someone has manually removed it, already have the MSM and parallel port options installed as standard equipment. These programmers represent the last and latest of the Unifamily line and, although no longer in production, are still considered fully supported by Data I/O.