The system consists of several closely related application programs that support:

• Preparation
• Execution
• Data presentation

The Test and Simulation facility is controlled via a Sub-Menu from which the various facilities can be accessed. These facilities include the following:

• Preview Tx data
• Transmit data
• Receive data and store to file
• Review Rx data
• Display Rx and Tx data

ARINC-429 data formats define the type of data the bit-fields within each labelled ARINC word represent. The types of data included are:

In practice the same data format can be used for many separate ARINC labelled words. ARINC-429 data formats that are frequently used can be stored in files to be called upon as required.

The facility for defining data Formats gives the user the full freedom to define data formats according to the application.

Information that describes the data displayed on the screen can be input by the user and stored in a Display File, from where it can be called when required. This information includes:

The simulation of ARINC-429 bus traffic requires the user to specify the Transmit Schedule and data for transmission. Facilities are provided to support the user with both of these requirements.

The facility for defining Transmit Schedules allows the user to define the period for each minor frame and the labels to be transmitted.

64 separate data values can be defined for scheduled transmission. The rate at which the transmit system increments through the data is under the control of the user. In this way, the data for transmission can be varied according to the requirement.

The configuration of the system for Test and Simulation is defined in the System Set-Up file. This System Set-Up file identifies the files that store data, define schedules for transmission and define labels for display. All of these files are prepared, prior to running the Test and Simulation facility.

A facility has been included to enable the user to display on the screen all data formats in a particular format file.

The Bus Monitoring program provides a simple means to monitor the ARINC-429 receive channels.

The Bus Monitoring program makes use of the interface hardware and how it can automatically store data in memory by reference to channel, label and SDI values.

The program provides facilities to clear and display the memory.

ATMOS-429 for Windows is a project-based tool that relies upon the assignment of Equipment to ARINC-429 physical channels. Once linked to a piece of equipment, the labels associated with that piece of equipment provide the data on which the program works. Up to 255 labels can be assigned to a piece of equipment using the Database Editor. Labels have a user defined Format, a Format consists of any number of Parameters, each Parameter being some user defined field within an ARINC-429 word, except the Label. Parameters are assigned a type, the type being one of the following:

Having decided upon the Equipment, Equipment Labels and Label Formats using the Database Editor, the facilities provided by ATMOS-429 for Windows become available. These facilities cover most customer requirements.

The system is entered through a main window. A help panel at the bottom aids the user by giving information on the objects the mouse pointer moves over. In Addition the help panel gives information on the Port and Interrupt assigned to the Sy429-PCMCIA Card, by Card and Socket Services. A Status panel at the top of the screen provides information about the state of the system channels together with a display of the Sy429-PCMCIA clock. This can be reset easily within the clock window. Other facilities of the main window provide the ability to:

The Tx Channel facility provides the user with the ability to:

The Rx Channels facility provides the user with a display of ARINC-429 bus traffic on both channels Rx0 and Rx1. The display is time tagged with the Delta Time of labels received. The display grid consists of 13 fields as follows:

Data received on any of the receive channels is displayed in this grid with a single row for each label received. The smallest Delta T, irrespective of channel, is shown first, followed by the next smallest time and so on. The parameter displayed is dependent upon the configuration of the facility in a similar way to the Tx Channel facility. Parameters are selected for each label associated with the channel equipment using the Parameter Display Configuration Dialog box. Labels received that do not belong to the Equipment set are still displayed but individual parameters within the word cannot be displayed. Currently, there is a limit on the amount of data that the grid can hold. This limit is approximately 2000 entries.

The Rx0 and Rx1 Parameters Facility provides the user with a current value table of selected label parameters. The display grid contains 6 fields as follows: