Product Description:

The OC950-603-01 option card is produced by Pacific Scientific for the OC950 Option Cards series. It installs in the controller rack of a motion or process system to expand local intelligence and digital data exchange. By adding field-level logic, the card lets sensors and actuators communicate directly with the drive or PLC backplane, minimizing scan delays that appear when every transition must travel through a central processor. The module shortens wiring runs, offloads simple interlocks, and helps maintain deterministic timing inside distributed industrial machines.

The card supplies 21 channels of bidirectional I/O, allowing each line to operate as an input or as a current-sinking output. Incoming signals are debounced by a 100 µs filter time constant that suppresses contact chatter. A low state is accepted once voltage falls below 1.0 V, while a high state is qualified after the level exceeds 3.5 V. Internal biasing provides a 10 kΩ pull-up to +12 VDC so open-collector devices remain in a defined idle state. When used as outputs, the lines exhibit 9.5 Ω impedance at 125 °C and can sink up to 100 mA per channel. The card draws its logic power from a user rail that must supply 5 V ±5% at no more than 200 mA, which keeps backplane loading predictable.

For controller networking, the integrated PacLAN interface moves data at 2.5 MBaud. A 93 Ω line termination is required, and copper segments may extend to 305 m with up to 8 stations before a repeater is needed. Program code and machine variables are stored in 32K x 8 NVRAM, and the nonvolatile cells retain data for 10 years without external power so the card can restart with the last stored parameters. Remote diagnostics and serial communication are handled through an RS-232 / RS-485 port, preserving service access even when the fieldbus is unavailable.