Out in Front: July 4, 1996
If you need portability, ruggedness, and almost unlimited expandability in a PC, check out Dolch's new MegaPAC (massively expandable portable add-in computer). The MegaPAC's design and construction guard against damage from shock, vibration, and high temperatures. Nine of the PC's 10 board slots are available for expansion and accept nine ISA cards or six ISA and three PCI cards. Typical applications for the passive-backplane system include telecomm, military, and industrial testing.A Pentium processor, available with clock rates as high as 150 MHz, forms the heart of the MegaPAC. Memory capacity is 128 Mbytes; disk-drive options provide storage capacity as high as 9 Gbytes. A floppy-disk drive and a CD-ROM drive are optional. Two bright, 10.4-in., thin-film-transistor displays are available, with VGA or SVGA resolution. Universal ac and dc power supplies provide 200 to 350W of power. Positionable hold-downs retain add-in cards, regardless of card height or length; card slots accept even wide cards and cards with "skirts," projections that interfere with most motherboards.
With the MegaPAC standing on end, a fold-down keyboard lets you work without a work surface. For harsh environments, a suspended chassis within a chassis isolates the computer's internal components and structure from shock and vibration. To guard against high temperatures, a positive-pressure cooling system drives filtered air directly over the CPU and all add-in cards. Fan speed increases with temperature; at 508C, an alarm activates, and automatic shutdown occurs.
The MegaPAC's price varies with options. Typical configurations sell for $6995 to $7495.
—by Gary Legg
Dolch Computer Systems, Fremont, CA. (510) 661-2220..