A data storage and communication system for up to sixteen multichannel analysers
A.J. de Raaf · Journal of Physics E Scientific Instruments · 1983
A multichannel analyser link (MAL) system based on a PDP-11/03 concentrator and an intelligent serial control-bus (MAL-bus) is described. Up to sixteen multichannel analysers used in atomic physics experiments can be connected to this concentrator. The latter is used for storage of the experimental data, MAL-bus control and for the data communication with a PDP-11/70 host computer. The control software of the concentrator is also described, the emphasis being on the structure of this software. The structure is based on the method of hierarchical program development and consists of five layers. Only the bottom layer has been programmed in assembler language. The upper layers have been programmed in PASCAL.