Motorola MVME5500 6U VMEbus single-board computer

Motorola MVME5500 6U VMEbus single-board computer
Original Manufacturer: Motorola (subsequent business was split and belongs to Abaco/Artesyn)
Model: MVME5500
Specification Form: Standard 6U VME64x single-slot VME bus master control board
Positioning: MVME series flagship PowerPC architecture VME single-board computer

Overview
The MVME5500 is a Motorola (later acquired by Artesyn / SMART Embedded Computing) 6U VME64x single-board computer (SBC) based on the PowerPC G4 architecture. It is a classic high-end VME bus controller board, now discontinued by the original manufacturer. Currently available in the market are new stock, refurbished, and used spare units. It is widely used in military radar systems, aviation, rail transit, and industrial real-time control systems.

Core Hardware Specifications
✅ Processor
CPU: Freescale MPC7455 / MPC7457 PowerPC (1GHz)
Built-in AltiVec vector processing unit (ideal for signal processing and FFT operations)
Cache: L1 32KB I / 32KB D; L2 256KB/512KB; external L3 Cache 2MB
System bridge: Marvell GT-64260A

✅ Memory and Storage
Onboard: 512MB PC133 ECC SDRAM; expandable to 1GB using RAM5500 mezzanine card
Flash: 32MB surface-mount Flash + 8MB removable Flash socket
NVRAM: 32KB (4KB user-accessible), with backup battery
Note: When installing a PMC card in PMC Slot 1, memory expansion mezzanine cards cannot be added

✅ Onboard Interfaces (Front Panel)
1× Gigabit Ethernet + 1× 10/100M Ethernet
2× RS232/422 serial ports (16550 UART)
VME Bus: VME Rev D, VME64x, supports A16/A24/A32, D64, master/slave modes
Dual independent 64-bit PCI 33/66MHz buses
2 PMC expansion slots (IEEE 1386.1), supporting PrPMC processor daughter cards with front and rear I/O

✅ Electrical and Physical
Dimensions: Standard 6U VME (160mm × 320mm)
Power Supply: +5V (4A), +12V, -12V; typical power consumption ≈30W
Cooling: Passive heat sink (fanless)
Operating Temperature: Industrial wide range -40°C ~ +85°C
Firmware: MOTLoad (classic PowerPC boot firmware)

Software Support
Primary OS: VxWorks 5.x / 6.x (most widely adopted in industry)
Supports embedded Linux, QNX real-time operating systems
Backward compatible with legacy MVME series such as MVME5100 and MVME2400 for program migration

Typical Applications
Military: Radar signal processing, communication equipment, airborne/shipboard control units
Rail Transit: Train traction control systems, onboard main controllers
Industrial: Large-scale test equipment, process control, energy monitoring
Medical imaging, avionics test systems