Large external memory

The Large External Memory (XMEM) is a real-time data acquisition system which is used by the OBSERVER instrumentation system to buffer data from CCD and infrared detectors before it is recorded on a VAX disk. The XMEM has 64 Mbytes of memory, of which 48 Mbytes are available for acquired data. A 68030 processor runs the system, and is also used to display data as it is being acquired on a high resolution image display. An Ethernet interface is used to transfer data between the XMEM and the VAX systems.