Accessing and Using Power Monitoring

Prior to accessing the power monitoring in Altium Designer, ensure that the Desktop NanoBoard is connected to the PC (via USB or Parallel connection) and is powered-on.

'Command Central' for power monitoring can be found on the instrument panel for the NanoBoard. Simply double-click on the icon for the NB2DSK01 in the Devices view (View » Devices Views) to access the Instrument Rack – NanoBoard Controllers panel (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Power monitoring is an integral part of the Desktop NanoBoard's instrument panel.

The controls are located in the bottom-right region of the panel, labeled 'POWER MONITOR'. Use the Polling LED to essentially turn power monitoring ON or OFF with respect to the panel.

With polling enabled, the window to the right presents the total power usage across all 19 monitored power rails on the NB2DSK01, as well as its temperature (in Degrees Celsius).

For each satellite board (daughter board and peripheral boards) currently plugged into the NB2DSK01 motherboard (and presented in the 'PLUGINS' region of the panel), the total power usage across all monitored power rails (routed to the corresponding docking connector) is shown.

For a more detailed look at the power monitoring landscape, click on the Show Panel button to access the Power Monitor panel (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Use the Power Monitor panel to get a detailed view of the currents drawn
and the power used, across all monitored lines.

 
The panel gives you a breakdown of current and power values for each monitored power line, grouped by destination (daughter board, peripheral board, User Header). The total power usage in each group is also given.

In addition to the total power usage across all monitored power lines for the entire system, the panel also gives a breakdown of:

• Total power usage, per power supply

• Total voltage, per power supply

• Total current drawn, per power supply.

As with the instrument panel, the option to enable/disable polling is provided, as well as the ability to define the polling interval – the period between accessing current measurements from the NanoBoard itself (more specifically, the firmware on the NanoTalk Controller). By default, this value is set to be 1000ms.

Unlike the instrument panel however, if polling is disabled, you can still manually update the monitored information displayed within the Power Monitor panel. Remember that polling is simply the automatic retrieval and update of monitored values. The power monitoring itself – the hardware on the motherboard – is permanently functional!

Further options are available in the Power Monitor Options dialog (Figure 3). This dialog can be accessed from both the instrument panel and the Power Monitor panel, by clicking the Options button.

Figure 3. Setup power monitoring options as required.

The dialog provides another place in which to define the polling interval. It also allows you to specify the voltage that is applied to the User Headers. This is required if you have not selected either 3.3V or 5V on the NB2DSK01 itself, through use of jumper placement on the associated configurable jumper headers for 'User Header A' (JP4) and 'User Header B' (JP5), respectively.

If you have placed a jumper to select the voltage, the setting in the dialog should match that selection, in order to gain accurate power calculations for these lines.

The dialog also offers graphing options. This relates to the graphical display of power monitoring information - see Graphical Display of Power Monitoring Data.