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Q&A
Anarchiveofquestionssubmittedbyvisitorstoourexperts.

Q:WhatisthebaudrateofMIL1553?
QuestionsubmittedJune5,2016

AskanExpert
A.

MILSTD1553snominaldatarateis1Mb/s.SincetheManchesterbiphaseLencoding
schemeusedby1553involvestwo500nssymbols(Manchesterhalfbits)perdatabit,the
baudratefor1553is2Mbaud.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:HowcouldigoaboutdecodingtheMIL1553usingPicoscope
6?
QuestionsubmittedJune2,2016

A.

Likeanyoscilloscope,MILSTD1553waveformscanbeviewedusingPicoscope6.Forbest
results,thescopeshouldmonitorbothlegsofa1553bus,andshoulddisplaythe
differentialwaveform,ratherthantwosingleendedwaveforms.Imnotawareofany
softwaretodecode1553signalscapturedbyPicoscope6,howeverIdthinkthiswould
certainlybepossible.Thiswouldinvolvedecodingthecapturedwaveformtodetermine
Command,Status,andDatasyncsymbols,alongwithManchesterencodedhalfbits.The
halfbitdecodingalgorithmwouldneedtotolerateerrorsinzerocrosstozerocrosstimes
ofupto150nsfromtheirnominalvaluesof500,1,000,1,500,or2,000ns.

EachManchesterencodeddatabitwouldneedtobecheckedforvalidity
(i.e.,onehalfwithapositivedifferentialvoltageandonehalfwithanegative
differentialvoltage),anditsdatavaluedecodedfromtwoconsecutivehalf
bits.Thisisafairlystraightforwardprocess.Further,tocorrectlydecodeall
words,inadditiontocheckingManchesterencoding,allwordswouldneedto
becheckedforcorrectsyncpattern,correctdatabitcount(16plusparity),
andcorrect(odd)parity.Further,all1553messagesegmentsneedtobe
checkedforcorrectwordcount,consistentwithMILSTD1553forthe
respectivemessageformat.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Canweusemil38999seriesIIIconnectorforMIL1553B
communicationforalengthof5meters?whichisefficient
directcouplingortransformercoupling?canweusesplicing
insteadofstubs?
QuestionsubmittedJune6,2016

A.

Yes,MILDTL38999connectorsarecommonlyusedfor1553signals.Ingeneral,
transformercouplingispreferredoverdirectcoupling.Theadvantagesoftransformer
couplingincludethatitprovidesatwotooneimprovement(increase)inthevalueofthe
stubimpedancepresentedtothemainbus.Thisincreasesthebusvoltage,whilereducing
theamplitudesoftransmissionlinereflectionsonthebus.Transformercouplingalso
providesimprovedisolationrelativetodirectcoupling.Thisimprovescommonmode
rejectionandthereforelightningimmunityforterminalsconnectedtothebus.

Asforsplicing,directcouplingisessentiallyaformofsplicingoffa1553bus.
However,notethatthemaximumrecommendedlengthofadirectcoupled
1553stubisonefoot.Themaximumrecommendedlengthfortransformer
coupled1553stubsistwentyfeet.

coupled1553stubsistwentyfeet.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:WhatismeantRTtoRTTransfer?Canyougivebrief
description?
QuestionsubmittedMay31,2016

A.

MILSTD1553definesmultipletypesofdatatransfers.InaBCtoRTtransfer,thebus
controller(BC)sendsdatatoaremoteterminal(RT),andtheRTthenrespondswithits
Status.InanRTtoBCtransfer,theBCdirectsanRTsendstosenditsStatusanddatato
thebuscontroller.InaBCtoRTsbroadcasttransfer,thebuscontrollertransmitsdatato
allRTsonabus(upto31).InanRTtoRTtransfer,thebuscontrollerdirectsoneRTto
transmitdatatoasecondRT.AfterthetransmittingRTsendsitsStatusanddatatothe
receivingRT,thereceivingRTthenrespondsbacktotheBCwithStatus.InanRTtoRTs
broadcasttransfer,thebuscontrollerdirectsoneRTtotransmitdatatoallotherRTsona
bus(upto30).

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Hello.Iamcurrentlystudyingforadegreecoursein
Engineering.AspartofmyfinalyearprojectIamlookingat
simulatingvariouslengthsofMilStd1553cableusingprinted
circuitboardandpossiblysomeelectroniccomponentsif
necessary.

Iwashopingyouwouldbeabletopointmeinthe
rightdirectionintermsofhowthiscouldbedoneor
whatconsiderationsIneedtotake.
Ourindeedtotellmeitisn'tpossible(whichIreally
hopeisn'tthecaseatthisstageofmycourse).
Ifoneofyourexpertscouldsparesometimeto
considermyrequestitwouldbereallyappreciated.
Manythanksinadvance
QuestionsubmittedMay15,2016

A.

MILSTD1553busesaretypicallytenstoafewhundredfeetinlength.Forthisreason,
actual1553,78ohmtwisted/shieldedcable,ratherthanaPCboard,isnormallyusedfor
buildingamockupofabus.IfyouregoingtosimulatearepresentativelengthofMILSTD
1553cableusingaprintedcircuitboard,youregoingtoneedtolayoutdifferentialtraces
inaserpentine(backandforth)pattern.

Tobestmimictheoperationof1553cableusingaprintedcircuitboard,youll
needtomaintainadifferentialcharacteristicimpedanceofabout78ohmsfor
thesetraces.Todothis,youllneedtobejudiciousindeterminingthetrace
thicknessesandwidths.
Forexample,accordingtothisimpedancecalculator(clickonMicrostrip
Zdiff),ifthe1553signaltracesareononeofthePCboardsouterlayers,15
milswide,and0.7milsthick,spaced5.5milsapartand10milsfromthe
closestgroundorpowersupplyplane,thedifferentialcharacteristic
impedanceZdiscomputedtobe78.2ohms.Thiscalculationassumesthat
therelativedielectricconstant(r)forFR4PCboardmaterialis
approximately4.7.
Tosimulateareal1553bus,youllalsoneedtoincludebuscoupling
transformersandisolationresistorsforeachsimulated(orreal)terminal.
Thevalueoftheisolationresistorsinserieswitheachofthetwostublegs
shouldbe0.75Z0.AssumingZ0=78,theseresistorsshouldbenominally

shouldbe0.75Z0.AssumingZ0=78,theseresistorsshouldbenominally
58.5each.Theturnsratioofthebuscouplingtransformersshouldbe1.4
:1.0,steppingdownthevoltageforgoingfromthebustothestub.Likethe
1553busitself,thedifferentialcharacteristicimpedanceofthestubtraces
shouldalsobecontrolledtobe78ohms.Finally,thesimulatedbusshouldbe
terminatedateachendwitharesistorofvalueZ0,nominally78.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Mysystemhasanassignedterminaladdressassignedbythe
BusController.Isitpossibleformysystemtoaccidentlyaccess
adifferentterminaladdressonthe1553network?Isthere
protectionintheBusControllertopreventthisfrom
happening?Myexamplewouldbe,mysystemsisassigned
terminaladdress1&ittrystogetdataoffofterminaladdress
2,isthispossible?
QuestionsubmittedApril24,2016

A.

Normally,RemoteTerminal(RT)addressesarenotassignedbybuscontrollers.Theyare
usuallyassignedinadvanceatasystemlevel,possiblybymeansInterfaceControl
Documents(ICDs).TheRTaddressforindividualRTsmaybeeitherhardwiredtotheRT
terminal,ormaybeprogrammedbylocalhostsoftware.Ona1553bus,anRTisonly
allowedtorespondtomessagessenttoitsownRTaddress.However,inlinewithyour
example,whatisallowedisforanRTtorespond(only)tomessagestoRTaddress1butto
alsopassivelymonitorandstorelocallybutnottorespondtomessagessenttoRT
address2orotherRTaddressesi.e.,0and330).

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Aspartofaclassproject,I'mdesigningtheCommandand
DataHandlingsystemforatheoreticaldesignofaspacecraftto
Enceladus,Saturn'smoon.IwaslookingattheMILSTD1553
bustointerfacewiththesubsystems,datastorageandpower
distributionsystems,butIwasn'tabletofindanymass/power
specsonit.Wouldyoubeabletoprovidethatinformationfor
me?Icanprovideanymoreinformationyouneedupon
request.
QuestionsubmittedApril20,2016

A.

TheMILSTD1553standarddoesnotincludeanyspecsregardingmassandpower.For
individualMILSTD1553components,informationabouttheirpowerconsumptionand
dissipation,andweightareavailableintherespectivemanufacturersdatasheets.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Configuration:istwopossiblebuscontrollerswithmanyRTs,
andredundantA&B1553.Poweron:leftsidecontrolleris
default,RightsidecontrollerisRT.Question:IfAbusbecomes
faultyattheleft(default)controller,thenautomatically
switchestoredundantBbus,willtheleftcontrollerswitchback
toAbusiffaultyconditiongoesaway?Icannotfindany
referencematerialtoguidemeinthis.Canyouprovidea
reference?
QuestionsubmittedApril18,2016

A.

Thespecificsofbusswitchingarenotexplicitlydefinedbythe1553standard.However,in
systemsthatautomaticallyswitchoperationfromonebus(e.g.,BusA)tothealternatebus
(e.g.,BusB),operationwillnormallycontinueonthealternatebusunlessthebuscontroller
determinesthatafaulthasoccurredonthealternatebus.Onlythenwillitattemptto
switchbacktotheoriginalbus.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:IhaveaquestionaboutreliabilityoftheMILSTD1553.
Actuallyincaseyousayitsareliableandfaulttolerantstandard
itsbasedonwhatrecords??forexample(message
failure)/(flighthours)canbeagoodbasefordetermining
whetherastandardisfaulttolerantonnot.Isearchedforthat
andunfortunatelydidntfindanyresult,thanks.
QuestionsubmittedApril16,2016

A.

TheMILSTD1553standardisdesignedtoprovidehighsystemlevelreliability.Specific
1553featuresprovidingreliabilityinclude:

Therequirementtoincludeabuiltinwatchdogtimerinall1553
terminals.Thistimerisrequiredtoautomaticallydisableatransmitterin
ablabbering1553BCorRTterminalafteritstransmittedfor800S.
Theoptionfordual(ormorethandual)redundancy.Intheeventofa
failureontheprimarydatabus(usuallyBusA),redundancyallowsa
buscontrollertoswitchitsoperationfromtheprimarybustothe
secondarydatabus(usuallyBusB).
Inaddition,asabackupmechanismtothetransmittertimeout,MIL
STD1553sTransmittershutdownmodecodemessagesprovidea
meansfordisablingblabberingtransmittersbymeansofmessages
receivedoverthealternateredundantdatabus.
Theoptionfortransformercouplingofterminals(BCsandRTs)to1553
buses.Theadvantagesoftransformercouplingincludethatitprovides
atwotooneimprovement(increase)inthevalueofthestub
impedancepresentedtothemainbus.Lowerstubimpedancesreduce
busvoltage,andcanresultintransmissionlinereflectionsonthebus.
Transformercouplingalsoprovidesimprovedisolationrelativetodirect
coupling.Thisimprovescommonmoderejection,andtherebylightning
immunityforterminalsconnectedtothebus.
MILSTD1553suseofacommand/responseprotocolrequiresthebus
controllertocontinuouslyverifytheoperationofindividualRTsfor
eachnonbroadcastmessagetransmitted.
1553includesrequirementsforspecifiedvoltagemarginsbetweenthe
minimumstubvoltagethatmustbeprovidedtoallreceivingstubs
connectedtoabusandthemaximumallowablereceiverthreshold
voltagei.e.,theminimumvoltagethatareceiverinterpretsasavalid
inputsignal.
Specifictransmitterelectricalrequirements,includingpeaktopeak
voltage,riseandfalltimes,residual(dynamicoffset),anddroop.
Specificreceiverelectricalrequirements.Inadditiontoreceiver
thresholdvoltage,theseinclude,inputimpedance,commonmode
rejection,andmaximumbiterrorrate(noiserejection).

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Ifaspecificsupplierof1553BGAorPGAcomponentsare
beingreplacedonacircuitboard,Doyouneedtoredesignthe
board?
QuestionsubmittedMarch24,2016

A.

VeryfewifanyMILSTD1553componentsaresourcedbymorethanasinglesupplier.Asa
result,theanswertoyourquestionisalmostcertainlyyes.

AnsweredJuly11,2016.

Q:Isitpossibletooperatea1553netwithoutabuscontroller
usingRTRTtransfers?Essentiallythisisa2node
demonstration.
Q:Ihaveasystemthatusesthe1553B.Oneofitssubsystems
thathastworemoteterminalsisbeingreplacedwithonethat
hasasingleRT.IsitpossibletohavethenewsubsystemRT

hasasingleRT.IsitpossibletohavethenewsubsystemRT
respondasifbothRTswerepresent.I.E.isthereawayto
causeanRTtorespondontwoRTaddresseswithout
duplicatingtheRTchipsetsandtheirsupportingelectronics?
QuestionsubmittedMarch11,2016

A.

Yes.ThisrequirestheuseofaremoteterminalwithmultiRTcapability.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:Wewillbemonitoringa1553busforINSdata.Thesending
1553controllerrunswitha50usLSBfortheframesandour
controllerrunswitha64usLSB.Willwebeabletosynchronize
thesystemsusingControlMode17andusetheINStimetagsif
wecompensateforthe50usvs.64uscountsintheControl
Mode17dataword?
QuestionsubmittedMarch7,2016

A.

TheuseofModeCode17(Synchronizewithdata)fortimesynchronizationnormally
assumesthattheBCandRTsoperatewiththesametimeresolution(SperLSB).Isuggest
toeitherchangetheBCstimeresolutionto64SperLSBorchangeyourRTstime
resolutionto50SperLSB.Ifthatsnotpossible,thenanalternativeapproachthatcouldbe
usedwouldbetousemodecode1,Synchronize(withoutdata).Thismodecodecanbeused
toperiodicallyresetthevaluesofalltimetagsonthebusto0000h.Followingre
synchronization,theRTwillbeabletocomputethevalueoftheBCstimetagbyperforming
asimplemultiplicationoperation.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:CanweinterchangethestubsofRTandBM?Ifnot,then
why?
QuestionsubmittedMarch7,2016

A.

Yes.Theoperationofallstubsona1553busisthesame.Asaresult,itspossibletoswap
thestubsusedbyaremoteterminalandbusmonitor.Inaddition,itsallowableto
implementanodethatoperatesasaremoteterminalandmonitorsimultaneously.Sucha
nodewillrespondtomessagesreceivedtoitsownRTaddressandmonitorsandstoresdata
(butdoesntrespondto)messagesreceivedtootherRTaddresses.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:MILSTD1553statesa1Mbit/secdatathruput(including
dataoverhead).Doesthatmeanwecanhave1Mbitson
ChannelAand1MbitonChannelBsimultaneously......foratotal
of2Mbits/sec?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary23,2016

A.

No.Atanypointintime,MILSTD1553allowsoperationononlyoneofthetwo(ormore)
redundantdatabuses.Thesecondbusisprovidedforbackupincaseofafailureonthe
primarybus.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:IwantedtoaskyouthatwhichDatabusisbestsuitablefor
StrategicReconnaissanceAircraftandthereasonwhyitis?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary15,2016

A.

MILSTD1553iscommonlyusedinmostmilitaryaircraft.Inadditiontoreconnaissanceand
surveillanceaircraft,theseincludefighters,attackaircraft,bombers,andtransportaircraft.
MILSTD1553isalsousedongroundvehicles,ships,alongwithsatellitesandother
spacecraft,includingtheInternationalSpaceStation.MILSTD1553providesahighlyrobust

spacecraft,includingtheInternationalSpaceStation.MILSTD1553providesahighlyrobust
physicallayer.Thisdefinesamultidropbusenablingcommunicationbetweenupto32(or
more)terminalsoverdistancesuptoseveralhundredsoffeet.1553sphysicallayer
characteristicsincludetheuseof70to85ohmtwistedshieldedcable,stublengthsupto20
feet,ahighsignalingvoltage,definedvoltagerangesatallpointsandstubsalongthebus,
adefinedrangeforreceiverthresholdvoltage,controlledriseandfalltimes,andcommon
modeandnoiserejection.

1553sprotocollayerdefinestheuseofoneactivebuscontroller(BC,bus
masternode)atatime,upto31remoteterminal(RTs)slavenodes,and
withanoptionforpassivebusmonitors.Toprovidedeterministicoperation
withdataacknowledgement,theBCcommunicateswiththeRTsusinga
command/responseprotocol.Theresalsoanoptionfornonacknowledged
broadcastmessagesthattheBCtransmitstoallRTsonabus.
Deterministicoperationisarequisitecharacteristicfordatatrafficforcontrol
systems.Othercharacteristicsof1553sprotocolincludesubaddresses,used
todelineatevarioussystemlevelfunctionsspecialmessagescalledmode
codes,usedforbusandsystemmanagementandrigorouserrorchecking
alongwithprovisionsfordual(ormulti)redundantbusestoprovidereliable
operationandfaultcontainment.
Insummary,MILSTD1553isastandardthatsbeenimplementedand
deployedinawidearrayofaircraftandotherapplicationsrequiringahighly
robustphysicallayer,adeterministicprotocolwithdataacknowledgment,
andprovisionstoensurereliableoperationintheharshestenvironments.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:WhatisFormFactorw.r.tMILSTD1553BusAdapters?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary12,2016

A.

MILSTD1553busadaptorscantakemanyforms.Theseincludecomponentsolutions,
boardsandboxes.Manyoftheseincludesupportingsoftware.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:DoIneedaterminatorfortheunusedstubof1553BData
Buscoupler?Coverorterminatorwithsomeresistancevalue?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary8,2016

A.

No.Unusedstubsmustpresenthighimpedancestothebus.Theuseofdustcoversis
recommended.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:Whatdoesthereturnedstatuswordcontainifa'transmit
laststatus'modecodeistheveryfirstcommandreceived?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary26,2016

A.

ThestatusresponsetoanRTsfirstmessagereceivedfollowingpowerturnonisnot
explicitlydefinedbythe1553standard.However,thefirstfivebitsmustreflectthevalueof
theterminalsRTaddress.Beyondthat,someimplementationswillalwaysrespondwith
ClearStatus.Thatis,allotherStatuswordbitsothertheRTaddressareclearedto0.For
thefirstStatuswordtransmittedfollowingpowerturnon,theMessageError,
Instrumentation,3Reservedbits,andBroadcastCommandReceivedbitsmustalwaysbe
logic0.TheServiceRequest,Busy,SubsystemFlag,DynamicBusControlAcceptance,and
TerminalFlagbitsmaybeeitherlogic0orlogic1,dependingonthestatusoftheRT,the
subsystemtowhichitsattached(whichtypicallydesignatesthevaluesofcertainStatus
bits),andthefirstreceivedmessage.Forthelatter,aDynamicBusControlmodecode
messageisaspecialcase.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:Ineedonemoreinformationaboutverificationofthe1553...
pleasegivesomeinformationaboutBlockdiagramofTestbench

pleasegivesomeinformationaboutBlockdiagramofTestbench
of1553?andwhatarethecomponentsoftheTB?Howtheyare
implemented?Givesomebasicinformation,fromthatIcan
processforward.
QuestionsubmittedNovember12,2015

A.

TheresaseriesofpublishedtestplansthatareusedforvalidatingMILSTD1553B
implementations.Theseincludetestplansfor1553buscontrollers,remoteterminals,bus
monitors,andsystems(physicaldatabuses).ThetestplansarepublishedbySAE,the
SocietyofAutomotiveEngineers.ThemostcommonlyperformedtestplanistheSAE
AS4111RTValidationTestPlan.ThismaybepurchasedfromSAE,at
http://standards.sae.org/as4111/.Thetestplansconsistofaseriesoftests.Theseinclude
electrical,prototype,andbiterrorratetests.Electricaltestsverifyphysicallayertransceiver
parameters,includingtransmitteramplitude,riseandfalltimes,waveformintegrity,offset,
receiverthreshold,inputimpedance,andcommonmoderejection.Protocoltestsverifythe
operationofRTaddressesandsubaddresses,messageswithdifferentwordcounts,and
modecodesalongwiththecapabilitytodetectandrejectmessageswitherrors.Thebit
errorratetestsverifiesterminaloperationinthepresenceofadefinedlevelofnoiseonthe
bus.

Thetestequipmentrequiredforperformingvalidationtestingtypically
includesaMILSTD1553protocoltesterandtestsoftware,adigital
oscilloscopeorwaveformanalyzer,impedanceanalyzer,commonmode
waveformgenerator,andasourceof4MHzwhiteGaussiannoise.

AnsweredMarch16,2016.

Q:IfbothBusAandBusBareconnectedinthesystemand
assumethatBusBgetscut(completelysnappedoff).Thiswill
resultinBusBbeingnotterminated.Shouldthisaffectthedata
trafficonBusAwhichisstillwiredperfectlyfinewithnecessary
terminationandall?Also,sinceBusAandBusBareredundant
asper1553standard,evenwhenBusBgetscompletely
snappedoff,communicationoverBusAshouldnotbeaffected.
Isthisunderstandingcorrect?
QuestionsubmittedOctober29,2015

A.

Correct.AseparationoftheBusBcablewillhavenoaffectontheoperationofBusA.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:Inaframebased1553bussystem,assumingaminorframe
of20ms,ifamessagefails,willitbeautomaticallytransmitted
againandagainwithinthe20msframeorwillitbe
retransmittedjustonceinthenext20msframe?
QuestionsubmittedOctober29,2015

A.

ThenumberoftimesamessageisretransmittedisnotdefinedbyMILSTD1553.This
operationisdefinedbytheindividualbuscontrollerimplementer.Thatis,MILSTD1553
doesnotrequireaBCtoretryfailedmessages.Alternatively,itmayretrymessagesonce,
twice,threetimes,etc.(theresnomaximumlimitdefined)Topreventoverrunningthe
minorframetime,theschedulingofindividualmessagetransmissionswithinaminorframe
musttakeintoaccounttheaddedtimeofa"reasonable"numberofmessageretries.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:Should1553bussignals(pairs)beroutedonabackplaneas
differentialsignals?Ifsohowmuchseparationisrequired
betweenthepositiveandnegativesignals?

betweenthepositiveandnegativesignals?
QuestionsubmittedOctober13,2015

A.

Assumingtheuseoftransformercoupling,thebestpracticeistoestablishadifferential
impedanceofabout78ohmsforMILSTD1553stubsignalsonPCboards,including
backplanes.Thiswillcloselymatchthecharacteristicimpedanceofthe1553stubcable.For
example,accordingtothisimpedancecalculator(clickon"MicrostripZdiff"),ifthe1553
signaltracesareononeofthePCboardsouterlayers,15milswide,and0.7milsthick,
spaced5.5milsapartand10milsfromtheclosesttheclosestgroundorpowersupply
plane,thedifferentialcharacteristicimpedanceZdiscomputedtobe78.2ohms.This
calculationassumesthattherelativedielectricconstant(r)forFR4boardmaterialis
approximately4.7.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:ActuallyIhavesomequestionsaboutIP1553.
Q1)Sincethisisatimedivisionmultiplexedsystem,howeach
terminalisassignedaslot?
Q2)Howdoweavoidtwoterminalsrespondingandcollisionon
sharedbus?
Q3)Whatisthesignalingschemeonphysicalbus?Isitjust
simplebinary1and0?
Q4)Anyphysicallayerrequirements?
QuestionsubmittedOctober9,2015

A.

ToQ1:MILSTD1553RTaddressesareassignedbysomebodyatthedatabussystemlevel.
Dependingontheparticular1553IP,RTaddressesmaybeassignedaspecificvaluewithin
theIPcorebymeansofauserconfigurationoption,hardwiredexternaltothecore(FPGA),
orprogrammedbysoftware.ToQ2:InMILSTD1553,allmessagesareinitiatedbythesame
buscontroller.Each1553messageistransmittedtoaspecificRTorbroadcasttoallRTs.
Foranonbroadcastmessage,theonlyRTpermittedtorespondistheRTwhoseaddress
matchesthatinthecommandwordtransmittedbythebuscontroller.Abroadcastmessage
isalwaystransmittedtoRTaddress31.Forabroadcastmessage,inordertopreventbus
collisions,noRTsarepermittedtorespondtotheBCstransmission.ToQ3:MILSTD1553
usesManchesterII,akaManchesterBiphaseLencoding.Withthistypeofencoding
operatinga1Mb/s,adatabitwithavalueoflogic1consistsofa500nspositivepulse
followedbya500nsnegativepulse.Adatabitwithavalueoflogic0consistsofa500ns
negativepulsefollowedbya500nspositivepulse.

ToQ4:Theshortanswertothisanswerisyes.Inadditiontodefiningthe
Manchesterencodingschemedescribedabove,MILSTD1553alsoincludes
requirementsfortransmitterandreceivervoltagelevels,residualvoltages
(attheendofatransmission),transmittednoise,receiverthreshold,receiver
commonmodeandnoiserejection,cablecharacteristics,busandtermination
impedances,couplingtransformers,andothers.Formoredetail,referto
MILSTD1553B.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:31RTsincludeBCorNot?DoesBCneedsaddress?
QuestionsubmittedOctober8,2015

A.

MILSTD1553BCsarenotrequiredtobeassignedanRTaddress.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:ForatestsetupthatincludesaBCandasingleRT,isitOKto
connecttheBCdirectlytotheRT,i.e.nobuscoupler?ordoesa
buscouplerhavetobeused?

QuestionsubmittedSeptember3,2015

A.

ForatestsetupinvolvingaBCandasingleRT,itispossibletoconnectbetweentheBCandRT
withouttheuseofabuscoupleroractualdatabus.Thediagramsbelowshowvariouscircuitsthat
maybeused.Notethatforallofthe"simulated"busesshown,theloadimpedanceonthe1553
BCsandRTswillbethesameasiftheyweredrivingafullycompliant1553buswithbusscouplers.
Thatis,theseimpedanceswillbeapproximately78ohmsfortransformercoupledconnectionsand
approximately39ohmsfordirectcoupledconnections.Inaddition,thesimulatedbusnetworkswill
deliverapproximatelythesamestubvoltagesthatwillbereceivedonacompliant1553bus,
assumingashortbuswithrelativelylowcableattenuation.Thatis,about7voltspeaktopeakto
thestubsfordirectcoupledreceivingterminals,andabout5voltspeaktopeaktothestubsfor
transformercoupledreceivingterminals.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:IsthereanyreasonwhyIcan'tuseBusMonitormodeina
productionflightsystem?IfallIneedtodoismonitorthe1553
busfrommycompanioncomputers,forexample.Inother

busfrommycompanioncomputers,forexample.Inother
words,isthereanydifferencebetweenBMmodeandRTmode
ifIamnottransmitting?
QuestionsubmittedAugust10,2015

A.

Busmonitorsarecommonlyusedinproductionflightsystems.Busmonitorsmaybe
embeddedintoBCsorRTs,orcanbeimplementedasstandalonemonitors.Bydefinition,
standalonebusmonitorsnevertransmitona1553bus.Inoperation,anRTwithoutan
embeddedmonitorstoresonlycommandanddatawordssenttoitsownRTaddress.A
standalonebusmonitorcanbeprogrammedtostoreallwordsreceivedoverabus.
Alternatively,abusmonitormaybeprogrammedtostoreonlyasubsetofwordsreceived,
withfilteringbasedontheRTaddress,subaddress,wordcount/modecodefield,and/or
datawordsofreceivedmessages.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:Asperthestandard,zerocrossingdistortionisspecifiedwith
referencetothepreviouszerocrossing.Howdoesthat
specificationtranslate,ifitiswithrespecttoanidealclock
edge?
QuestionsubmittedAugust5,2015

A.

Although1553Manchesterencodersanddecodersoperateusinginternalclocksignals,the
MILSTD1553standarddoesntexplicitlydefineorspecifytheuseofaclock.Theidealzero
crossingtosubsequentzerocrossingtimeforanyparticularsignaltransition=N500ns,
whereN=1,2,3,or4.Zerocrossingdistortionisdefinedastheabsolutevalueofthe
difference(inns)betweentheactualzerocrossingtozerocrossingtimeandtheidealzero
crossingtozerocrossingtimeofN500ns.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:InthehandbookofMIL1553standard,itismentionedthat,
midzerocrossingofsynccanbeusedasreferencefor
decodingofthefullword.Thiswouldmean,oncezerocrossing
ofsyncisdetected(bysamplingathigherfrequency),decoder
knowsexactlywheretosamplesubsequentbitstreamofthe
word(samplingat500nsintervals).Hencedetectionoffurther
zerocrossingsofthedatabitswillnotberequired.Isthisthe
caseinpresenceofzerocrossingdistortionalso?Because,
zerocrossingdistortionisspecifiedwithreferencetothe
previouszerocrossing,andthiswouldrequiredetectionofall
zerocrossingsinthebitstream.
QuestionsubmittedAugust5,2015

A.

DifferentMILSTD1553BC,RT,andMonitordesignsusedifferentalgorithmsfor
implementingManchesterdecoders.Becausesignaldistortionornoisecanoffsetthetiming
ofanyparticularzerocrossingtimeincludingthatofthemidsynctransition,itisbetterto
resynchronizethedecodinglogicfollowingeach0to1or1to0signaltransitionthanto
relyentirelyonthetimingofthewordsmidsynctransition.Bysodoing,thedecoderwill
makesignalpolaritydeterminationsoneachManchesterhalfbitandisabletomaketiming
adjustmentsduringthedecodingofeachreceivedManchesterhalfbit,databit,andword.

AnsweredNovember2,2015.

Q:Isitatwistedshieldedpairorisittwinax?

Q:Thewavelengthof1553Bishighrelativelytothelengthofa
1553Bbusline.Sotheattenuationofthesignalisdueonlyto
theresistanceoftheline(ex:0.5ohms/m),butisnotduetothe
impedancescalculatedallalongthetransmissionlinei.e.Z0(ZL
+Z0tanh(gd))/(Z0+ZLtanh(gd)etc.).Sotheparametersof
thetheoryofthetransmissionlinethatapplytothe1553Bis
onlythereflectioncoefficientandthepropagationdelay.Even
forthefirstharmonicsofthe1553Bsignal.Isitexact?
QuestionsubmittedJuly9,2015

A.

ForMILSTD1553,transmissionlinetheoryisapplicableforthesignalreflection
coefficients.Thereflectioncoefficientsencounteredateachstubonthebuswillbe
differentforthefundamentalandeachharmonic.Inadditiontocableattenuation,each
stubonthebuswillattenuatethesignal.Sincethestubimpedancedecreaseswith
increasingfrequency,theamplitudesofthesignalharmonicswillbeattenuatedmorethan
theamplitudeofthefundamentalsignalcomponents(250kHz,333kHz,500kHz,or1MHz)
ateachstub.Asforpropagationdelaytime,for1553s1MHzdatarate,thiswillnotvary
significantlybetweenthefundamentalsignalandthevariousharmonicsofinterest.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:HowcanweincreasethenumberofRTsin1553B?Canthey
bemorethan31?Ifyeshow?
QuestionsubmittedJuly6,2015

A.

MILSTD1553includesfiveRTaddressbits.Asaresult,thestandarddoesntprovidea
builtinmethodforincreasingthenumberofRTsbeyond31(orbeyond32,ifbroadcastisnt
used).Whatcanbedonehowever(outsidethestandard)istohavetwoormoreRTsshare
thesameRTaddress.Ifthisisdone,theremustbesomedefinedmethodforswitchingthe
operationofindividualRTsbetweeninactiveandactive.Thismaybebasedonthereception
ofspecificmessages.Inordertopreventthetwo(ormore)RTssharingthesameRT
addressfromcrashingeachotherstransmissions,itsnecessarytoinhibitthetransmitters
forallcurrentlyinactiveRTs.ToreactivatetheseRTs,itwillthenbenecessarytoreenable
therespectiveRTstransmitters.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:HowdoesaBCidentifiesthatanRTisbabbling?
QuestionsubmittedJuly6,2015

A.

ABCneedstomonitorallRTtransmissionstodeterminewhethertheyrevalidorinvalid.
Thisincludesmonitoringforhighbitcountsforalltransmittedwords,andhighwordcounts
foralltransmittedmessages.Inthecaseofahighbitcountand/orwordcount,theBCmust
continuemonitoringuntilitdetectsthatthebusisdead(quiet).IftheBCdeterminesthat
anRTtransmitstoolong(longerthanabout800S),itshouldthenswitchalltransmissions
tothealternatebus.Afteritswitchesbuses,itshouldsendaTransmittershutdownmode
codemessagetothebabblingRTonthealternatebusinordertoforceittoshutdownits
transmitterontheoriginalbus.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:OnmysystemthereareBuscontroller,severalRTsandone
BusMonitor.TheBCsendsSyncmessage(Mode1,Broadcast)
every4seconds.IsitpossibletoreceivesthissyncalsobyBus
Monitor?IsitpossiblethatBusMonitorwillsynchronized
automaticallybythismessage?
QuestionsubmittedJune24,2015

A.

Yes,thisispossible.Whilethisoperationforbusmonitorsisnotdefinedorrequiredby
MILSTD1553,itissomethingthatcertainlymaybeimplementedbyabusmonitor.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:Iwonderhowthe1553dataparametergetitsnamefrom.
Forinstance,ICBRAPC=rightaileronpositionIAMACHC=
Machnumber,etc...Isthereastandardtofolloworany1553
programmer/developercoulduseanynametheywant?
QuestionsubmittedJune10,2015

A.

MILSTD1553doesnotdefinetheencodingofspecificparameters.Formanyapplications,
the1553messageformattingforspecificparametersisdefinedonasystembasisbymeans
ofanInterfaceControlDocument(ICD).Inaddition,Section80oftheMILHDBK1553A
handbookprovidesthistypeofinformation.Also,MILSTD1760,Aircraft/StoreElectrical
InterconnectionSystem,whichincludesMILSTD1553andisusedforcommunicating
betweenstoresmanagementsystems,missioncomputers,missilelaunchers,bombracks,
andweapons(bombs,missiles,rockets),providesmessageencodingfortheparameters
commonlyusedinthesetypesofsystems.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:WhatfaultsdoestheTerminalFlagindicateandwhatisthe
impactonthedatainthe1553message?
QuestionsubmittedJune2,2015

A.

ThepreciseoperationoftheTerminalFlagstatuswordbitisnotdefinedbythe1553
standard.Ingeneral,anRTrespondingwithitsTerminalFlagbitsetto1indicatesthe
failureofoneormoreinternalselftestswithintheRT.Anexampleofthisisthefailureofa
wraparoundselftestontheRTsprevioustransmissionoverthebus.Thisfailurecould
indicateeitherthedetectionofaninvalidtransmissionand/orthereceivedbitpattern
didntmatchthetransmittedbitpattern.AnotherpossibilityisthattheRTsfailsafetimer
wasforcedtoactivateonaprevioustransmissionastheresultoftheRTattemptingto
transmitforlongerthan800S(orsomevaluebetween660and800S).Athirdpossibility
isthattheTerminalFlagmaybecomesettoindicatethattheRTfaileditsmostrecent
commandedinternalselftest.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:Anumberofresources(includingtheQ&AonthisSite)state
thatonlyoneBusController(BC)canbeactiveatanyonetime.
WhatwouldbetheeffectoftwoactiveBCsona1553bus?Is
thereastandardmethodofdetectingtheproblemorisit
dependentontheBChostprocessorsoftwarefunctionality?
QuestionsubmittedMay19,2015

A.

Ifthereweretwoactivebuscontrollersonthesamebus,thelikelyeffectisthattherewill
beahighnumberofcollisionsonthebus,resultinginalargenumberoferrors.Normallyat
anygiventime,thereisoneactivebuscontrollerandoneormorebackupbuscontrollerson
abus.AccordingtoMILHDBK1553A,TheBackupBusControllersmonitorthemessage
trafficonthedatabusandverifythevalidityandlegalityoftheactiveBusControllers
wordsandmessagesandtheabsenceofanymessages.FailureoftheActiveBusController
resultsinthetransferofbuscontroltoabackupbuscontrollereitherasahandoverora
forcedtakeover.The1553standarddoesnotcalloutspecificmeansfordealingwiththe
situationoftwosimultaneouslyactivebuscontrollers.Forthis,itistheresponsibilityofthe
systemdesignertoreconcilethisatahigherlevel.Onepossibilityisforallbuscontrollersto
alsoincludebuiltinbusmonitorsthatoperateindependentlyoftheBCs.Thebusmonitors
willrecordalltrafficonabus,includingmessagesinvolvingBCsotherthanthelocalBC.
Inthisway,theBC/Monitorhostprocessorshouldbeabletodeterminewhentheresa
secondactiveBConthebus.Whenthisoccurs,thereshouldbeapredeterminedordering
forwhichBC(s)shouldthenbackoff(stoptransmittingmessages),andwhichBCshould
remainactive.MILSTD1553BalsoincludesaDynamicbuscontrolmodecode.Thisallows
theactivebuscontrollertointentionallytransferbuscontroltoadifferentnodeonthebus.
AnRT/BCnodereceivingandrespondingtosuchamodewithitsDynamicBusControl
AcceptanceStatusbitsetwillthenbecomethenewactivebuscontroller.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:WhatwillhappenifRTgoesmadandstartspumpingdata
overbus?Whetherbuswillbecomeunstable?

QuestionsubmittedMay18,2015

A.

IfanRTweretotransmitcontinuously(babble)overa1553bus,thebuswouldbecome
unusable.Forthisreason,MILSTD1553Bincludesparagraph4.4.1.3:

Terminalfailsafe.Theterminalshallcontainahardware
implementedtimeouttoprecludeasignaltransmissionofgreaterthan
800.0s.Thishardwareshallnotprecludeacorrecttransmissionin
responsetoacommand.Resetofthistimeoutfunctionshallbe
performedbythereceptionofavalidcommandonthebusonwhichthe
timeouthasoccurred.
Theintentionofthefailsafetimeristopreventcontinuoustransmissionona
1553busbyaBCorRT.IntheeventthatanRTcontinuestotransmitovera
busforlongerthan800S,itistheresponsibilityoftheBCtoswitchall
messagetransmissionstothealternatebus.Followingthis,inorderto
disablethebabblingtransmitter,theBCshouldsendaTransmitter
shutdownmodecodemessagetotheRTitdeterminedtobefaulty.

AnsweredJuly9,2015.

Q:1.Whatisthemaximumintermessagegapandresponse
timeisallowed.2.HowtouseFCAEin15534B
QuestionsubmittedMay8,2015

A.

Toansweryourfirstquestion,MILSTD1553doesnotspecifyamaximumvalueforBC
intermessagegaptime.Asforresponsetime,aRemoteTerminal(RT)mustrespondinno
morethan12s,andabuscontroller(BC)mustwaitaminimumof14s(withno
maximum)beforedeterminingthatanoresponsehasoccurred.AccordingtoMILSTD
1553B,RTresponsetimeisdefinedasthetimefromthemidbitzerocrossingfortheparity
bitofthelastwordreceivedfromthebuscontrollertothemidsynczerocrossingofthe
StatuswordsyncfromtherespondingRT.Toansweryoursecondquestion,theFCAE1553
standarddefinesmethodsforbridgingfromFCAE1553toMILSTD1553B,specificallyfor
bridgingfromanFCAE1553NetworkTerminal(NT)toaMILSTD1553buscontroller(BC).

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:Iamworkinginacommercialsatelliteprojectwhichuses
MILBUS1553.DuetoreceiverproblemsI'dliketoknowsome
detailsaboutcommandsynctimingrequirements.Thenominal
durationofthepositivepartofthesyncwaveformisaccording
MILHDBK1553,chapter4.3.3.5.1.11.5slong.Whatisthe
requiredtoleranceforthepositivewaveformlengthofsync
durationatreceiverterminallevel?(Thetoleranceofnegative
waveformlengthatRTlevelisclearlydefinedby4.5.2.1.2.1
Inputwaveformcompatibilityto+/150nszerocrossing
deviation.Thatisclearsofar.)Theunderlyingproblemisthat
thereceiverterminalASICmeasuresthepositivepartofthe
syncwaveformtodetectthesync.Thismethodseemstobenot
saveenough.
QuestionsubmittedMay8,2015

A.

Yourecorrect,bothMILSTD1553andMILHDBK1553definethenominalwidthofthefirst
half(andsecondhalf)synctobe1.5s.Thetolerancefortransmittingisgenerally25ns,
whilereceivingterminalsmustgenerallyacceptwaveformswithzerocrossingdeviationsof
upto150nsasvalid.Wherethedefinitionsgetssomewhatpoorlydefinedhoweverisfor
thefirsthalfoftheCommand/Statuswordsync(exceptfortheTransmitcommandforan
RTtoRTtransfer)orthefirsthalfofaStatuswordsync.Assumingyourereferringtothe
firsthalfofaCommand/Statuswordsync,thishasbeenthesubjectofdiscussionformany
years.Paragraph4.5.2.1.2.1ofMILSTD1553isInputwaveformcompatibility:The
terminalshallbecapableofreceivingandoperatingwiththeincomingsignalsspecified
herein,andshallacceptwaveformvaryingfromasquarewavetoasinewavewithrespect
tothepreviouszerocrossingof150ns,(i.e.,2.0.15s,1.5.15s,1.0.15s,.5
.15s).Theterminalshallrespondtoaninputsignalwhosepeaktopeakamplitude,line
toline,iswithintherangeof.86to14.0V.Theterminalshallnotrespondtoaninput
signalwhosepeaktopeakamplitude,linetoline,iswithintherangeof0.0to.20V.The
voltagesaremeasuredatpointAonfigure9.Withinthis,thekeyandsomewhatambiguous

voltagesaremeasuredatpointAonfigure9.Withinthis,thekeyandsomewhatambiguous
phraseiswithrespecttothepreviouszerocrossing.Theproblemwiththisdefinition
forthefirsthalfofaCommandwordsyncoraStatuswordsyncisthatitdoesnotbegin
withazerocrossing.Itbeginswithadeparturefromzero,whichisntdefinedanywhere.
Moreover,fromapracticalstandpoint,inmostrealworldimplementations,thetime
startingfromthedeparturefromzerotothefirstzerocrossingwillbegreaterthan1500ns.
ThereasonforthisisthatcomingoutofthedigitalManchesterencoder,thetimejustprior
tothedeparturefromzerotothetimewhenthedownslopebeginsattheendofthesync
fieldwillnormallyhaveanominalvalueofprecisely1500ns.Followingthat,youneedto
addthetimeforthewaveformtoslopedownwardandpassthroughzero,whichadds
another50to150nstothetimebetweenthedeparturefromzeroandthefirstzero
crossing.YourefertoRTlevelandreceiverterminalASIC.MILSTD1553Bdefinesthe
interoperabilitypointonlyattheboundaryoftheterminalthatis,thestubconnectionto
theisolationtransformer.ItdoesnotdefinethesignalingbetweenthereceiverASICs
digitaloutputs,whicharetheinputstothedigitaldecodercircuit.

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:I'mmakingaprojecton1553andiwanttoknowthe
problemstatementofthisbusduetobecauseIcouldn'tfind
any.
QuestionsubmittedApril22,2015

A.

TheoriginaldevelopmentofMILSTD1553goesbacktothelate1960s.Thedrivingreason
foritsdevelopmentwastoreducetheamountofwiringinmilitaryaircraftbyconnectingto
variousonboardsystemsoveracommonmultidropdatabus.Theresultwasthe
eliminationofliterallymilesofpointtopointwiringthatwasusedtoconnectbetween
differentsystemsonoldermilitaryaircraft.Theuseofamultidropdatabusalsoimproved
maintenanceandlogisticsbyenablingsystemupgradestobemadebyupdatingsoftware.

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:CouldyoutellmethetransferrateoftheMILSTD1553?I
readinsomewebsitesthatit's1Mbps,soisitnotpossibleto
achieve3Mbps,forexample?
QuestionsubmittedApril22,2015

A.

ThesignalingrateforstandardMILSTD1553is1indeedMHz(1Mb/s),withManchesterII
(ManchesterbiphaseL)encoding.Becauseofvariousoverheads,themaximumeffective
datarateforMILSTD1553Bnotusingbroadcast,andnotcountingCommandandStatus
words,isslightlylessthan750,000bits/second.While1Mb/sisthedatarateforstandard
MILSTD1553,peoplehigherdatarateversionshavebeenimplemented.Forexample,SAE
standardAS5652isthe10Megabit/secNetworkConfigurationDigitalTimeDivision
Command/ResponseMultiplexDataBus,otherwiseknownasEnhancedBitRate1553,or
EBR1553.ThisdefinestheuseofMILSTD1553protocoloperatingat10Mb/soverpoint
topointconnectionsusingaphysicallayerbasedonRS485.

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:Isittruethattheuseof1553broadcastmessagesisbanned
inUSSWapplications?
QuestionsubmittedApril22,2015

A.

Yes.Withtheexceptionofcertainmodecodemessages,paragraph30ofMILSTD1553
Notice2(seebelow)forbidsthetransmissionofbroadcastmessagesbybuscontrollers.
However,Remoteterminalsarepermittedtoimplementbroadcast.30.6Broadcast
(4.3.3.6.7).Theonlybroadcastcommandsallowedtobetransmittedonthedatabusbythe
buscontrollershallbethebroadcastmodecommandsidentifiedintable1.Thebroadcast
optionmaybeimplementedinremoteterminals.However,ifimplemented,theRTshallbe
capableofdistinguishingbetweenabroadcastandanonbroadcastmessagetothesame
subaddressfornonmodecommandmessages.TheRTaddressof11111isstillreservedfor
broadcastandshallnotbeusedforanyotherpurpose.

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:WehaveproductthattakesinARINC429GPS(Labels310&
311).WeareoftenaskedifwecansupportMIL1553.Istherea
commonbroadcastwordforGPSonMIL1553thatdoesnot
involvehandshaking(i.e.listenonly)ordoyouneedcustom
datatransfersfordifferentplatforms?

datatransfersfordifferentplatforms?
QuestionsubmittedApril3,2015

A.

MILSTD1553doesnotstipulatestandardmessageformatsforspecificparameterssuchas
GPS.Specificmessageformats(e.g.,theSubaddressesandnumericrepresentationstouse)
areusuallydefinedbythesystemintegratorsforindividualplatformsorsystems.For
sendingGPSdata,IsuggesttoselectaSubaddresses(e.g.,1)andtosendthelatitudeand
longitudedataconcatenatedtogetherusingthesamesubaddress.Forthenumeric
formatting,IwouldsuggesttousewhatsdefinedbyARINC429.Alternatively,Isuspect
thatcertaincustomersaregoingtorequestotherspecificformatsforGPSdata.Asfor
broadcast,withtheexceptionofcertainmodecodemessages,paragraph30ofMILSTD
1553Notice2(seebelow)forbidsthetransmissionofbroadcastmessagesbybus
controllers.However,Remoteterminalsarepermittedtoimplementbroadcast.30.6
Broadcast(4.3.3.6.7).Theonlybroadcastcommandsallowedtobetransmittedonthedata
busbythebuscontrollershallbethebroadcastmodecommandsidentifiedintable1.The
broadcastoptionmaybeimplementedinremoteterminals.However,ifimplemented,the
RTshallbecapableofdistinguishingbetweenabroadcastandanonbroadcastmessageto
thesamesubaddressfornonmodecommandmessages.TheRTaddressof11111isstill
reservedforbroadcastandshallnotbeusedforanyotherpurpose.

AnsweredMay11,2015.

Q:WeareusingMILSTD1553Bcommunicationinour
application.Wewanttoloopbackandcheckthetwobus.We
havetodowithintheconnectorwherespaceisaround7cmCan
weuseTwinaxcablebyremovingtheoverallshielding.
Whetheritwillwork.
QuestionsubmittedMarch12,2015

A.

Ingeneral,itsnotagoodideatoremoveshieldingfromMILSTD1553cables,sincethe
increasedexposuretoexternalEMIwillincreasebiterrorrate.Howeverforthepurposeof
performingaChannelAtoChannelBloopbacktest,thisshouldbeOK.Ofcourseforactual
operation,youregoingtowanttoremovetheCH.AtoCH.Bloopbackwiresandmaintain
shieldingcontinuity.

AnsweredMarch17,2015.

Q:IwouldliketoknowifaSTUBoutputcanbeusedasaBUS
inputtoanothercoupler?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary24,2015

A.

Normally,no.Theonlyexceptionisifthestubconnectstoaterminalattheendofabus,
andtheresaterminationresistorwithvalueZ0connectedacrosstheterminalsdatabus
signals.

AnsweredMarch17,2015.

Q:Pleasehelpmeindeterminingthemaximumlengthonecan
gofor1553B.Pleaseconsidertransformercouplingcase.How
cablecapacitance,cableloss,risetimeetc.playrolein
determiningthelength.?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary23,2015

A.

MILSTD1553doesnotspecifyamaximumbuslength.Instead,thedesignofthebuscable,
couplers,stubs,andterminalsmustprovidearangeofbusvoltagesbetween1.4and20
voltspeaktopeaktoalldirectcoupledstubsandarangeofvoltagesbetween1.0and14
voltspeaktopeaktoalltransformercoupledstubs.Asexplainedbelow,maximumbus
lengthismostlyafunctionofcableattenuation(whichisbasedmostlyoncableresistance),
andthenumberofstubsandstublengths.Signalriseandfalltimesaresecondaryfactors,
sincetransmissionoverlongerdistancestendstofilterthe1553signalssuchthatthey
morecloselyresemble1MHzand500kHzsinewaves,ratherthantrapezoidalwaves.
Accordingtoparagraph4.5.1.3ofMILSTD1553B,themaximumcableloss(attenuation)is
1.5dB/100feetat1MHz.Toenablelongerlengthbuses,cableswithlowerattenuation
shouldbeused.TocomputethevoltageatvariouspointsalongaMILSTD1553bus,its
necessarytoconsiderbothbusattenuationandtheeffectofstubs.Theimpedancelooking
intoatransformercoupledstubincludingthecouplingtransformerisshowninFigure1.
Thisimpedance,whichisgenerallycomputedat1MHz,isacomplexnumber.

Theequationforthis
impedanceis:whereZ0=cable
characteristicimpedance,which
mustbe70to85ohms(nominally
78)ZXF=couplingtransformer
inputimpedanceat1MHz,looking
fromthemainbustowardsthestub.
ZXFmust3,000ohms.,where
ZL =load(terminal)impedance,
whichhasaminimumvalueof
1,000ohms,
where
l=stublength,
inmeters,
where
k=0.6c=3.0109m/secf=106HzTherewillbevoltageattenuationfor
eachlengthofbuscableandateachstub.ReferringtoFigure2,the
equationforcablevoltageattenuationoveralengthLofcable(infeet)
is:,where
V IN=voltagegoingintobuscable
oflengthLL=lengthofbus
cable,infeetA=cable
attenuation,indB/100feet(maximumA=1.5)V OUT=voltageafterLfeetofcable

ReferringtoFigure3,theimpedancelookingfromthebusintoastub(before
thestub)is:

ZBUS_AFTER_STUBinFigure3isafunctionofthecableimpedance,the
distancetothenextstub,andthebusimpedancejustbeforethenextstub,
ZBUS_BEFORE_NEXT_STUB.ZBUS_AFTER_STUBiscomputedasfollows:,where
,L=distance
tonextstub,in
meters(notin
feet)
EQ8
,
k=0.6,c=3.0109m/sec,andf=106
Hz.Forthecaseofthelastlengthofbus
priortotheterminator,.Assuminga
voltagewavepropagatingfromleftto
rightinFigure3,thebusvoltagejust
afterastubconnectioniscomputed
by:

ThesecalculationsrepeatbackuntilthetransmittingBCorRTterminal.
ReferringtoFigure4,thebusimpedancepresentedtothetransmittingBCor

ReferringtoFigure4,thebusimpedancepresentedtothetransmittingBCor
RTis:
Theoutputvoltagedrivingthe
terminalsstubwillbeabout20
voltspeaktopeak.Therefore,thevoltageonthebussideofthecoupling
transformerwillbeabout28voltspeaktopeak.Assumingavoltagesource
transmitter,thevoltageacrossthebuswillbe:

whereVBUSTX=thevoltagetransmittedbytheBCorRT.Thisallowsthe
busvoltagetobecomputedatanypointalongthebus.Ifthevoltages
presentedtoallstubsonthebusisbetween1.4and20voltspeaktopeak
foralldirectcoupledstubs,andbetween1.0and14voltspeaktopeakfor
alltransformercoupledstubs,thenthedesignofthebus(stubs,couplers,
terminals,etc.)iscomplianttoMILSTD1553B.

AnsweredMarch17,2015.

Q:Icannotquitefindmyansweryet,maybeImissed
something.Ina1553topology,allBCsandRTsarestubs
correct?Shouldallunusedstubsbe76ohmterminated?Should
bothendsoftheBusbe75ohmsterminated?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary18,2015

A.

AllBCs,RTs,andMonitorsarerequiredtoconnectedtotheMILSTD1553busthrough
eitheratransformercoupledstub,inaccordancetoparagraph4.5.1.5.1ofMILSTD1553B
orthroughadirectcoupledstub,inaccordancetoparagraph4.5.1.5.2of1553B.Unused
stubsshouldnotbeterminated.Bothendsofthebusmustbeterminatedinthebus
characteristicimpedance(Z0),whichisrequiredtobeintherangefrom70to85ohms.

AnsweredMarch17,2015.

Q:IhavejuststartedworkingonMILSTD1553.Gottoknow
abouttwodifferent(main&redundant)busesalsoexist.Ifone
fails,theotherwilltakecareofeverything.Iaminterestedto
knowthathowdoesitswitchfrommainbustoredundantbus?
Doesituseanydigitallogicforthat?Ifyes,whatisthatlogic?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary12,2015

A.

MILSTD1553doesnotdefinethespecificmethodsforswitchingbetweendualredundant
buses.Switchingfromonebustotheotheristheresponsibilityofthebuscontroller(BC).
TheBCneedstomonitorpatternsofnoresponsesand/orerroneousresponsesfrom
particularremoteterminals(RTs).WhentheBCobservesmultipleerrorsfromthesameRT,
itneedstostoptransmittingmessagesoverthebus(AorB)resultinginthenonresponses
orfaultyresponsesfromthatRT,andstarttransmittingmessagestothatRToverthe
alternatebus.Insomesystems,whenaBCobservesnoresponsesorerroneousresponses
frommultipleRTsoveraparticularbus,itwillswitchmessagetransmissionstoallRTsto

frommultipleRTsoveraparticularbus,itwillswitchmessagetransmissionstoallRTsto
thealternatebus.WithmodernBCs,thisbusswitchingistypicallydoneautonomouslyby
theBChardware.However,busswitchingdecisionsmayalsobedonebytheBCshost
processorsoftware.

AnsweredMarch17,2015.

Q:IhaveasystemthatIneedtotest.ItisusedasanRT,has4
1553connectors(redundancy)Ineedtotestthesystemwitha
BC.HowcanIconnectasingleBC(with21553connectors)to
myunit?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary2,2015

A.

ItsunusualthatyourRThasfour1553connectors.Dualredundant1553RTsnormallyhave
twoconnectors,oneforeachstubconnection,ratherthanfourconnectors(therespective
transmitteroutputsandreceiverinputsarenormallyconnectedtogetherinternally).You
willneedtocheckthedocumentationonyourRT.Onepossibilityisthatyoursystem
includestwodualredundantRTs,ratherthanone.ItsoundslikeyourBCstwoconnectors
areoneforeachdualredundantchannel,whichisthestandardconfiguration.Inanycase,
totestadualredundant1553RT,atanygiventime,theactive(transmitting)buscontroller
channelshouldonlybeconnectedtooneofthetwostubsofadualredundantRT.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:WhatisaSentinelbit?Itoccursconsistentlyinour1553
interfacespecsoutputmessages.Itisalwayssettozero.
Thanks.
QuestionsubmittedJanuary15,2015

A.

ThereisnoSentinelbitinMILSTD1553B,MILSTD1553A,oranyoftheolderMcAiror
otherlegacyspecs.Basedonthemeaningofthewordsentinel,itspossiblethatthisbitin
yourspecsreferstotheServiceRequest,SubsystemFlag,orTerminalFlagStatusWord
bits,howeverthisisnotdefinedinanyofthestandards.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:In1553protocols,assaidtheremoteterminalhave
descriptorblocks,withoutwhoseconfigurationwecant
proceed...socanyouhelpmetohowtoconfigurethese
descriptorblocks.
QuestionsubmittedNovember26,2014

A.

MILSTD1553doesnotincludeaDescriptorblockconstruct.ManyMILSTD1553BC,RT,
andMonitorarchitecturesincludedescriptordatastructures.Dependingontheparticular
componentorboardthatyoureusing,thewordsinthedescriptorsmayormaynotneedto
bewrittenpriortoprocessingmessages.Inmostarchitectures,thesewordsarewrittenby
the1553BC,RT,orMonitorduringandaftertheprocessingofindividualmessages.Insome
BCarchitectures,itsnecessarytowritecertaindescriptorstructurespriortoprocessingthe
respectivemessages.Todeterminethespecificdescriptorstructuresforthecomponentor
boardthatyouareusing,youwillneedtorefertothecomponentorboarddocumentation.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:Iwantedtoinquireabout1553busvoltage.whatarethe
actualbusvoltagestravellingonBus.Iwouldbehappyifyou
canrefersomedocument.
QuestionsubmittedNovember13,2014

A.

MILSTD1553Bdefinesanumberofbusandstubvoltages.Allvoltagesdefinedinpeakto
peakvolts.Theseincludethefollowing:Directcoupledtransmitteroutputandbusvoltage:
6to9voltsDirectcoupledreceiverstubvoltage:1.4to2.0volts

Directcoupledreceiverthresholdvoltage(stubvoltage):0.28to1.2volts

Transformercoupledtransmitteroutputandstubvoltage:18to27volts
Transformercoupledreceiverstubvoltage:1.0to1.4volts
Transformercoupledreceiverthresholdvoltage(stubvoltage):0.2to0.86
volts

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:Whatistheidlevoltageonthebuswhenthereisno
communicationbetweenbuscontrollerandremoteterminal?
QuestionsubmittedOctober31,2014

A.

WhenaMILSTD1553Bterminalisidle(nottransmitting),itsoutputshallnotexceeda
valueof14.0mV,RMS,linetoline.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:Howmanynumberofbusmonitorterminalscanbeactiveon
thebus?
QuestionsubmittedOctober30,2014

A.

MILSTD1553Bdoesnotspecifyamaximumnumberofbusmonitorterminalsonabus.
However,MILSTD1553Brequiresavoltageof1.4to2.0voltsforalldirectcoupledreceiver
stubs,andavoltageof1.0to1.4voltsforalltransformercoupledreceiverstubs.Therefore
fromapracticalstandpoint,dependingonthelengthofthebuscable,thestubimpedance
fromaddingmoreterminalsonabuswillreducethebusvoltage.Iftherestoomany
terminals,thiscouldcausesomestubvoltagestodropbelowtheirrequiredminimumlevels.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:IwouldliketoknowiftwoRT'sareconfiguredwithsame
addressandaresimultaneouslyactiveonthebuswhatcanbe
theeffect?
QuestionsubmittedOctober30,2014

A.

OnacompliantMILSTD1553bus,itsnotallowablefortwoterminalstobeconfiguredfor
thesameRTaddress.IfabusisconfiguredwithtwoRTshavingthesameaddress,thenthe
twoRTswillrespondsimultaneouslytoacommandsenttotheterminalsRTaddress.This
willresultinthetwoterminalsresponsescrashing,causinghigherpowerdissipationin
thetwoactivetransmittersandinalllikelihood,dataonthebusthatcantbecorrectly
decodedbytheBCorotherRTsonthebus.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:WhensendingaWraparoundInputmessage,istherea
specifiedtimedelaybeforebeingabletorequestaWraparound
Outputmessage?
QuestionsubmittedOctober27,2014

A.

Paragraph30.7ofMILSTD1553BNoticeIIdefinesdatawraparound,withadesiredvalue
of30(11110)forthewraparoundsubaddress.OtherthanthegeneralBCrequirementofa
minimum2sintermessagegapbetweenallmessages,thestandarddoesnotdefinea
minimumormaximumtimevaluebetweenthereceiveandtransmitdatawraparound
messages.

AnsweredFebruary3,2015.

Q:I'veheard,albeitmaybeincorrectlythatMILSTD1553
busescannotbecertifiedtoDO178BorDO254andthatwe'd
havetouseanARINC429insteadtoachievesucha

havetouseanARINC429insteadtoachievesucha
certification.Isitpossibleforyoutoconfirmorrebutthis
rumor?
QuestionsubmittedAugust27,2014

A.

MILSTD1553canandhasbeencertifiedtoDO254levelA.Infact,AirbusisusingMIL
STD1553fortheprimaryflightcontrolsystemontheA350XWB.
DDChasproductssuchasMicroACETEthathavedocumentationpackagesavailableto
helpwithcertificationbasedoninservicehistory.Youcandownloadthiswhitepaperfor
moreinformation:http://www.ddcweb.com/Pub/0/761.ashx
RegardingDO178B,thisspecificationisreallyrelatedtothesoftware.Itiscertainly
possibletowriteasoftwareapplicationthatconformstoDO178Bdevelopmentpractices
andrunthatapplicationinacompliantoperatingsystemsuchasGreenHillsIntegrity178B
orVxWorks653.

AnsweredAugust27,2014.

Q:HowdoestheBCdifferentiatebetweenafailureofRT(data
pathfailure)andthenotpoweredRT,BasicallyIwanttoknow
IstheiranypowerONsequencinglogicisdefined?
QuestionsubmittedJuly28,2014

A.

TheBCcantellifitgotacorrectresponse,anincorrectresponseduetoparity,wordcount,
orbitcounterror,ornoresponse.ThisprovidessomeinformationaboutthestateoftheRT,
buthaslimiteddiagnosticutility,asforexample,itisnotpossibletotellifanRTis
unpowered,orhasaparityerroronitsaddressinputs.1553doesnothaveanyrequirement
forthepowerupsequenceofthevariousterminalsonabus.Itisuptothesystemdesigner
toensurethatthesystemwillbehaveappropriatelyinallpotentialcases.

AnsweredJuly28,2014.

Q:IwouldliketoknowwhetherMil1553Bisbalanced
differentialornot,ifdifferentialmeans+linetognd,linetognd
bothhavingsamevoltage?
QuestionsubmittedJuly25,2014

A.

MILSTD1553istransformerisolated,soithasnogroundreference.Iftheleakagepathsto
groundendupbeingbalancedandthereisnostaticchargeontheline,thenthesignalwill
bebalanced.Ifnottherewillbeanapparentimbalancethatwillbefilteredoutbythe
isolationtransformeronthereceiver.Specifically,ifyoutrytomakeasingleended
measurementofthevoltageononeofthesignalwiresagainstgroundwithanoscilloscope,
youcouldendupwithanywaveform,from0vtoa28vswing,withapossibleDCsignal
overlaidontop.Anymeasurementsofthesignalonthe1553busorstubsshouldbetaken
differentially,thoughbecausefothetransformercoupling,itisacceptabletouseasingle
endedprobeonthepositivesignalwiththegroundclipattachedtothenegativesignal.

AnsweredJuly25,2014.

Q:Regardingthesourcefrequenciesfrom10MHzto40MHz,is
thereastandardsetoffrequencies,orcanaterminal
manufactureruseanyarbitraryfrequencyinthatrange?
QuestionsubmittedJune13,2014

A.

Eachterminalhasaspecificfrequencyorsetoffrequenciesthatitisabletosupport.For
instance,theDDCTotalAcecanusea10,12,16,or20MHzinputclock,whiletheTotal
AceXtremerequiresa40MHzoscillator.Theparticularfrequenciessupportedaredesign
choicesmadebytheterminalmanufacturer,thespecificationonlycontrolswhatappearson
thebus.

AnsweredJune13,2014.

Q:OneofmyRTonthe1553bus(asreceivedfromasupplier)
issettomasterconfigurationduringitsbootandwhenin
minimalitiswellsetinslavemode.However,itisguaranteed
thatthisRT(whileinmastermodeforashortduration)willnot

thatthisRT(whileinmastermodeforashortduration)willnot
sendanyrequesttotheBUScontroller.Thisseemstobefine
fromacommunicationpointofviewbutsinceIamnotfamiliar
atallwithsuchconfiguration,Iamwonderingifitissafe(or
couldnotstress)frompurelyanelectrical/circuitpointofview?
QuestionsubmittedJune12,2014

A.

I'massumingthatbymastermode,youarereferringtooperationasaBusController,and
byslavemodeyouarereferringtostandardRemoteTerminaloperation.AslongastheBCis
settoidlemodeanddoesnotattempttotransmitanythingonthebusuntilithasbeen
configuredbythehost,thentherewillbenodifficulty.Immediatelyafterpowerup,the
terminalwilllookthesametotherestofthebusasitdidwhenitwasstillpowereddown,
andthiswillonlychangewhenitisprogrammedbythehostinwhateverfashionyou
determine,atwhichpointitwillbehaveasthecorrectlyconfiguredRTthatitis.

AnsweredJune12,2014.

Q:Whatclockfrequenciesdoes1553operateat?
QuestionsubmittedJune12,2014

A.

TheMILSTD1553Specificationcallsforabitrateof1Mbps,witheither+/0.001%or
+/0.01%accuracyfortheoriginalAorsubsequentBversionsrespectively.1553terminals
usevariousdifferentsourcefrequenciestogeneratethat,including10MHzupto40MHz,
withsomecomponentsabletouseseveraldifferentoptions.

AnsweredJune12,2014.

Q:CanyourecommendsomeIC'sforcontrollinghardware
actionsviathe1553bus?
QuestionsubmittedJune11,2014

A.

TheDDCBU64703FCSimpleSystemRTMark3isdesignedtobedirectlyconnectedto
simplesensorsandactuatorswithnohostprocessor.Iftheruggedandhermetichybrid
packageisnotrequired,boththeMicroAceTEandTotalAcecanbeconfiguredtooperate
thesameway.BothusestandardBGApackages,withtheTotalAceofferingtheextra
advantageofincorporatingtheisolationtransformertosimplifytheboarddesign.
SeeApplicationnoteAN/B37onDDC'swebsiteforacompleteexplanationofhowtouse
theMicroAceTEandTotalAceintheSimpleSystemRTmode.

AnsweredJune11,2014.

Q:IwanttotransfervariabledatasizefromRTtoBC.Inthis
case,BCtoRTcommandratecannotbefixedprior.Whatis
solutionforthis?
QuestionsubmittedMay12,2014

A.

Onewaytoaccomplishthatwouldbedesignateonesubaddressasthedatastatusandload
itwiththeamountofdatathattheRTwantstosendtotheBC.TheRTcouldthenpollit
periodicallytoseeifthereisanydatatofetch,andthenreadthedatafromanother
subaddress,repeatinguntilthefullamounthasbeentransferred.

AnsweredMay12,2014.

Q:Iwouldliketoknowthenominalandpeakpower
requirementandpowerdissipationof1553BBus.
QuestionsubmittedMay9,2014

A.

Therearetoomanypotentialvariablestodefineanominalandpeakpowerdissipationfor
everyMILSTD1553bus.MostMILSTD1553terminalshavespecifiednominalandpeak
powerdrawandpowerdissipationforvariousdutycycles.Forthatyouwillhavetoreferto
theindividualdatasheets.Thepowerdissipationofthebusasawholewilldependonhow
manyterminalsofwhattypesareconnected,howtheyareconnected(transformeror
directcoupled)aswellasthelengthsofeachstubandthebussegmentsthatconnectthem

directcoupled)aswellasthelengthsofeachstubandthebussegmentsthatconnectthem
andthedutycyclesatwhichtheyoperate.

AnsweredMay9,2014.

Q:WhatisRTresponseforBCcommand(askingRTfordata
transfer)ifsubsystemorhostofRThasnodatatotransferto
BC?
QuestionsubmittedMay9,2014

A.

AsfarastheMILSTD1553specificationisconcerned,theRTwillalwaysprovidedatain
responsetoaBCrequest.Thereforethesystemmustbedesignedsuchthatthisisalways
true,orsomeotherallowancemustbemade,suchthatstaledataisacceptable,ortheRT
setsthebusyflagtoshowthatitcannotreturnatthattime.Theuseofthesubsystemflag
isnotdefinedinthe1553spec,soitcouldpotentiallybeusedtosignalthatthereturned
dataisnotvalidandtheBCshouldpollagain.However,thiswouldbeasystemspecific
usageandwouldhavetobedefinedinthesystemspecification.

AnsweredMay9,2014.

Q:Whyarethereonly31RTinsteadof32?
QuestionsubmittedApril26,2014

A.

MILSTD1553initiallysupported32RemoteterminaladdressinRevisionA,butwhen
RevisionBwasintroduced,oneofthechangeswastoaddbroadcastcommandsthatcan
reachallremoteterminalswithasinglemessageusingtheRT31address.Thisobviously
meansthattheRT31addresswasnolongeravailablefornormaluse.MostMILSTD1553
hardwareandsoftwareoffersaconfigurationoptiontooperateinMILSTD1553Amode
with32RTs,orMILSTD1553Bmodewithbroadcastmessages,andtherearestilllegacy
systemsinusethatrequirebothmodesofoperation.

AnsweredApril28,2014.

Q:IamworkingwiththeMILSTD1553Bdatabus.Ihavea
littleconfusionforthe'Supersedingcommands'conceptovera
singledatabus.Cananyonepleasethrowsomelightoverit?
QuestionsubmittedMarch28,2014

A.

AsupersedingcommandoccurswhenanRTreceivesacommand,butbeforeitfinishes
responding,itreceivesanothercommandonthesamebus.Inthiscaseitisrequiredtodrop
thefirstcommandandrespondtothesecond.

AnsweredMarch28,2014.

Q:Canthestubsbeshorted.Ifso,howmany?
QuestionsubmittedMarch21,2014

A.

Yes,thebuswillcontinuetofunctionevenifastubisshortedbecausetheisolation
resistorsinthecouplercombinedwiththecouplingtransformerwillprovideanapparent
impedanceof1.5*Z0onthebus.Thiswillstillcausereflections,andifmultiplestubsare
shortedmaycauseenoughattenuationtopreventsuccessfuloperationoftheremaining
stubs.However,thisisdependentnotjustonhowmanystubsareshorted,butwherethey
arelocatedwithrespecttoeachotherandtheterminalsthatarestilloperational.

AnsweredMarch21,2014.

Q:Whathappensifasubaddressissetupona1553RTto
transmit,messagesuptoacertainnumberofwords,
monitoringofillegalcommands(see4.4.3.4)isnot
implemented,andthentheBCcommandsittotransmitfewer
words?ShouldtheRTmissoutthetransmissionofthefirst,
last,orsomeotherwordsfromthesubaddress,andhow
reliableisthisapproach?
Thiswouldbeusefulwherethereisashortageofavailable

Thiswouldbeusefulwherethereisashortageofavailable
subaddresses,whenthemessagecouldbeacompoundoftwo
messages,oneofwhichistobetransmitted,e.g.,halfasoften
astheother.
Inwhichcase,everyothercommandformtheBCwouldbeto
transmitallthewords,andtheotherswouldbetotransmitthe
subset.
QuestionsubmittedNovember12,2013

A.

ApossibleimplementationistomodelRTsubaddressbufferingasARINC653APEXports.
Thatwouldallowyoutodefineasubaddressaseitheraqueuingportorasampleport.Asa
sampleport,theRTwillrespondwiththefirstNwordsfromasingledatabufferassociated
withthatsubaddress(Nisthewordcountfromthecommandword).Ifanewcommandis
receivedbeforetheRTupdatesthebufferthanthesameblockofdatawillbesentagain.
Asaqueuingport,theRTwillrespondwiththenextNwordsfromaqueueddatabuffer
associatedwiththatsubaddress.AqueuingportallowstheRTtopreloadthesubaddress
bufferwithmultiplemessagesworthofdata.TheRTwilltransmitthenextNwords.In
eithercase,RTwritestothesubaddressdatabufferandbuscontrollerreads(transmit
commands)fromthesubaddressneedsomeformofsynchronization(flowcontrol).A
sampleportconfigurationmaytransmitthesameblockofdatatwiceiftheRTdoesnot
providethenextblockofdataintimewhileaqueuingportconfigurationmayberequested
totransmitbeyondtheendofthebuffer.Inadditionerrorhandlingneedstobe
implemented.Anupperlayerprotocolorheaderwordmayberequired.

AnsweredNovember12,2013.

Q:Cana1553BchannelBbeconnectedtoactasabusmonitor
andtakeoverifAchannelfails.Thiswouldbeusingonlya
single(Achannel)cablepathtotheRT's?
Pleaseexplain.
QuestionsubmittedOctober28,2013

A.

1553BusMonitorsarecompletelypassive(theynevertransmitonthebus).Ifyouonlyhave
achannelAconnectiontoyourRTandthatconnectionfails(RTdoesnotsendbackstatus),
theBusController(BC)willmostlikelysendthemessageagainonthe"BBus".YourRT
shouldalsohavethisconnectionsoitcanresumereceivingcommandsfromtheBus
Controller.IftheRTrespondsonthe"BBus",theBCmaydetectthisandcontinuetosend
futuremessagesonBusB.Some1553solutionsallowyoutooperateasaRemoteTerminal
(RT)andaBusMonitor(BM)concurrently,butitisultimatelyatthediscretionoftheBus
ControllerifmessagesaresentonBusAorBusBonapercommandbasis.Pleasenotethat
isa1553violationtosendanycommandssimultaneouslyonbothAandBbusses.

AnsweredOctober28,2013.

Q:IamabitconfusedontheRTaddressandRTsubaddress:
whydoeseachRT(alreadyassignedaddress)hasitsownsub
addresses?
Pleaseexplain.
QuestionsubmittedOctober8,2013

A.

EachRemoteTerminal(RT)hasitsownassignedaddress(130)andmaysupportoneor
moreSubaddresses(Rangingfrom130).ThepurposeofSubaddressesistofurtheridentify
aspecificdatapayloadthatistobesent(orreceived).Typically,eachwithinaRemote
Terminalaresubaddresses,definedtocontainspecificdata.Requestingdatafromthea
particularRTAddress,butdifferentsubaddressesallowsyoutoaccessesdifferentdata
parametersoftheRemoteTerminal.Acommonanalogyisthemarkingonapostageletter.
ThemailingaddresswouldbetheRTAddress.TheAddresseesNamewouldbethe
Subaddress(Assumingmorethanonepersonresidesatthatmailingaddress).

AnsweredOctober9,2013.

Q:Presentlyiamworkingonmilstd1553b,pleasehelphowto
designprotocolincpldusingverilog
QuestionsubmittedOctober3,2013

A.

DesigningacompliantMILSTD1553protocolispossibleusingVerilog(orotherHDLs),but
mightbeariskyendeavor.TherearesolutionsavailablefromCOTSsuppliersthatoffera
smallfootprint1553componentsthathavealreadypassedMILSTD1553RTandBC
Validation,savingyouthetimetovalidateyournewdesign.

AnsweredOctober9,2013.

Q:WeareworkingonaH2C130withintemittentGPSBusAor
BusBfailuresduringflightonly.WhenweremoveGPSBUSA
sideourSCNSsystemshowsGPSBUSAfail.Alternatelywe
removeGPSBUSBwegetnumerousBUSBfails,notjustGPS
BUSB.
QuestionsubmittedSeptember23,2013

A.

ItispossiblethatthisisundesirednoiseonyourBBus,duetoanunterminatedbus.
PleaserefertoMILSTD1553BParagraph4.5.1.4formoreinformationonCable
termination.

AnsweredOctober9,2013.

Q:Howmuchpowerwilltheisolationtransformerdissipate?
Doesthetransceiversupplyvoltageaffecttheanswer?Inotice
3.3Vtransceivershavemuchlargerdrivecurrentrequiredto
achievethesameequivalentbusdrivepower.Tryingto
understandhowmuchofthepowergetstransferredtothebus
versuswhatgetsdissipatedintheisolationtransformer.
QuestionsubmittedSeptember30,2013

A.

Theisolationtransformerpowerdissipationwhiletransmittingisbasicallythesumofthe
I2Rlossesfortheprimaryandsecondarywindings.Whennottransmitting,thetransformer
powerdissipation0.Assumingtransformer(stub)coupling,forthesecondaryside,PDISS
SEC0.9(VPK2/Z02)RSEC,where:
Forthepeakvoltage,VPKSECVPKPK/2=22/2=11V.
Z0=70to85ohms,withanominalvalueof78ohms.
RSECistheresistanceofthetransformersecondarywinding,whichcanbefoundonthe
transformerdatasheet.
TheKfactorof0.9isanapproximationreflectingthefactthatthebuswaveformis
trapezoidal,ratherthanasquarewave.TocomputetheprimarydissipationPDISSPRI,the
peakprimarycurrentIPKPRI=(2)(2.07)(VPKSEC/Z0),where:
Thefactorof2reflectsthefactthatwhentransmitting,theprimarycurrentonlyflows
throughahalfwindingofthetransformerprimary(toground).
Thefactorof2.07isthetypicaltransformer(stub)coupledprimarytosecondarystepup
turnsratiofor3.3Vtransceivers.
VPKSEC=11V
Z0=78ohmsTheprimarywindingpowerdissipationPDISSPRI(0.9)(IPK
PRI2)(RPRI/2),where
RPRIistheresistanceofthetransformerfullprimarywinding,whichcanbefoundonthe
transformerdatasheet.Inthiscalculation,RPRI/2,ratherthanRPRIisused,sincethe
primarycurrentonlyflowsthroughhalfoftheprimarywinding.
TheKfactorof0.9isanapproximationreflectingthefactthatthebuswaveformis
trapezoidal,ratherthanasquarewave.Theoveralltransformerpowerdissipationis
computedasPDISSXFTOTAL=PDISSPRI+PDISSSEC.

AnsweredOctober2,2013.

Q:IsitpossibleforaFramecontrollerarchitecture1553to
haveafailuremodeofoutputtingcontinous(babbling)
commands?
IfsowouldasoftwarecommandtoshutdowntheBCorwould
internalerrorhandlingandmonitoringbethebestsolutionto
detectandshutdownthefaultyBC.
QuestionsubmittedSeptember17,2013

A.

Intheory,thiscouldhappen.Paragraph4.4.1.3ofMILSTD1553(Terminalfailsafe)
stipulatesthataterminal(BCorRT)mustincludeamechanismtoprecludeatransmission
oflongerthan800S.However,IsupposethatitspossibleforaBCtosendouta
continuousseriesofmessagesegments,witheachmessagesegmentconsistingofaseries
ofCommandwordplusDataWordsthatslessthanorequalto660Slong(thenormal

ofCommandwordplusDataWordsthatslessthanorequalto660Slong(thenormal
maximumtransmissiontime).TherearemanydifferentBCarchitectures(thesearenot
definedbyMILSTD1553),howevertodealwithsuchasituation,itisadvisabletoinclude
timerand/orothermechanismswithintheBCitselfand/orthesoftwarerunningontheBCs
hostprocessortodetectsuchaproblemandtaketheappropriateaction.Forexample,in
normaloperation,thehostwillanticipatethattheBCwillissueaninterruptrequest
periodically.Alternatively,thehostmightpolltheBCtodeterminethestatusofmessages
tobetransmitted(possiblybasedonatimer).Ineithercase,thesoftwareshouldinclude
mechanismstodetectwhentheBChasnotprocessedtheanticipatedframeofscheduled
messages.Ifsuchanerrorisdetected,thenthehostshouldshutdownandresettheBC.

AnsweredSeptember18,2013.

Q:Iwouldliketosetinplacethistest(poweron/offoutput
noise).Thecriteriaisthatthepoweronoffnoiseshallbebelow
+250mVpeak.However,tomeasurethat,iplantousean
oscilloscope.Butdependingontheoscilloscope'sbandwidth
(20MHz,100MHz,orabove),themeasuredpeaknoisecan
changealot....Iwouldliketoknowifthereisatypicaltest
conditionforthatmeasurement?
QuestionsubmittedSeptember16,2013

A.

Itsoundslikeyoureseeingalotofhighfrequencynoise.Onethingthatyouneedtomake
sureofisthatyoureperformingatruedifferentialmeasurementacrossa70ohmresistive
load(notanopencircuit).Twowaysofperformingthistestare:(1)withtheoscilloscope
connectedtobothstublegsandperformingatruedifferentialmeasurementbyinverting
thesignalfromoneofthetwostublengthsandaddingthetwosignalsand(2)witha
singleendedmeasurement,providedthatonelegofthestubisconnectedtothesame
groundastheoscilloscope.Foreithermethod,youshouldalsoconnectthecableshieldto
thesamegroundastheoscilloscope.

AnsweredSeptember18,2013.

Q:Ifweareusingthesubaddress/modefieldforstoringthe
subaddressthenhowcanwestorebothdatacountandthe
modecountatatimeinthedatawordcount/modecountfield?
Q:Wehavealabconditionthatrequiresconnectinghardware
containingmemorytoaclassifiedsystemviaa1553link.How
shouldthetargethardwarebemarkedi.e.,canthe1553link
transferclassifiedinformationmakingthetargethardwarealso
classified?
QuestionsubmittedAugust6,2013

A.

MILSTD1553cancertainlybeusedtotransferclassifiedinformation.Astoyourquestion,
thisisasystemlevelissue,whichisnotaddressedbytheMILSTD1553standard.However,
Iwouldsuspectthatifyourtargethardwareisreceiving(and/ortransmitting)classified
data,thenthetargethardwareitselfwouldprobablyalsobeconsideredclassified.

AnsweredAugust7,2013.

Q:Synchronizationpulsesofcommandanddata,asmentioned
instandard,aremeanttobedistinct.Sincethesepulseshave
transitionatmidbitandfurtherothersbitsareencodedusing
manchester.
Soweneedtosamplethereceivingbitstreamatleast2
MHz.Sothenthesesyncpulsesdonotremaindistinct.consider
followingexample
letssayafterdetectingcommandwearedecoding
data(decoderissamplingat2MHz)last4bitsofdatabe2bits
ofmanchestercodeddata(databeing0)and2bitsofparity(let
itbe1)andfollowedbysyncpulseofnextdataword
......0111000111........
Somyquestioniscan'tfirstpatternof111000bemisconstrued
bydecoderascommandsyncbeforedetectingdata

bydecoderascommandsyncbeforedetectingdata
sync(000111).
?
QuestionsubmittedMay16,2013

A.

Ifthelasttwodatabitsare0andtheparitybitis1,thenthecorrectpatternof12
Manchesterhalfbitsis010110000111.Notethatthecorrectencodingofaparitybitwitha
value=1is10,not11,sincetheparitybitneedstobeManchesterencoded,justlikethe
databits.WithinastreamofManchesterbits,itsnotallowabletohavemorethantwo
consecutive1sor0s,sincethesepatternsonlyoccurinconjunctionwithasyncfield.If
suchapatternisdetectedinapositionotherthanwhereasyncfieldisanticipatedthat
is,followingavalidsyncfield,16ManchesterdatabitsandoneManchesterparitybitthen
thedecoderneedstodeterminethatthemessageisinvalid.

AnsweredMay16,2013.

Q:CanaMILSTD1553BdatabusfunctionwithjustaBus
Controllertooutput1553dataontoabusandaMILSTD
1553Bdatarecorder,ordoesthedatabussystemrequirea
RemoteTerminal?
QuestionsubmittedMay14,2013

A.

Almostall1553buseshaveatleastoneremoteterminal.Howeveratleastintheory,the
scenariothatyoudescribe,withadatarecorderwithabuiltin1553BusMonitor,is
possible.Ifthebuscontrollersendsoutbroadcastmessages,theMonitor/datarecorder
shouldstoreallorafilteredsubsetofreceivedcommandsanddata,andwillnotflagano
responseerror.IftheBCsendsoutcommandsanddatatononbroadcastRTaddresses(0
through30),thentheMonitor/datarecordercouldalsostoreall(orafilteredsubsetof)
receivedcommandsanddata,butshouldalsoflagnoresponseerrors.

AnsweredMay14,2013.

Q:Whymil1553usingManchester2encoding/decodingits
designconsideration2.itsimpedancecalculationand
matching??
QuestionsubmittedApril15,2013

A.

1.TheencodingmethodspecifiedbyMILSTD1553isManchesterII,orManchester
BiphaseL.For1553s1Mb/sdatarate,Manchesterencodesalogic1asa500nSpositive
voltage,followedbya500nSnegativevoltageandalogic0asa500nSnegativevoltage,
followedbya500nSpositivevoltage.Inadditiontoitssimplicity,anotheradvantageof
Manchesterencodingisitstransitiondensity.SinceManchesterprovidesaminimumofone
signaltransitionperbittime,thishelpstofacilitatereliableclockrecovery,andtheuseof
oversamplingdecodingtechniques.Further,Manchesterencodingprovidesabalanced
waveformwithzeroDCcomponent,therebyenablingtransformerisolation.2.Forbothits
mainbusandstubcables,MILSTD1553specifiestheuseoftwisted/shieldedcable,with
thecablescharacteristicimpedance(Z0)specifiedtobeintherangeof70to85ohms.In
ordertominimizetransmissionlinereflections,eachendofthemainbuscablemustbe
terminatedinamatchedimpedancethatis,Z02%.Forthetransformercoupled(stub
coupled)methodofconnectingaterminaltothedatabus,theimpedanceseenbythe
terminaldrivingthestubwillbeapproximatelyZ0,whichisderivedasfollows:The
impedanceofthebusasseenbythecouplingtransformerisZ0/2.Thereisa0.75?Z0
isolationresistorinserieswitheachlegofthetransformer,resultinginatotalimpedance
of2?Z0.Becauseofthe1.4:1.0turnsratioofthebuscouplingtransformer,thisresultsinan
impedanceofapproximatelyZ0lookingin
tothecouplingtransformerfromthestub(terminal)side.

AnsweredApril15,2013.

Q:Whathappenswhenbuscontrollerfailsin1553busandif
it'sshiftedanyanotherremoteterminalhowispossible?How
busmonitorisimplemented?Isitimplementedinbus
controlleritselfonly?
QuestionsubmittedFebruary8,2013

A.

WhileMILSTD1553allowsonlyoneactivebuscontrolleratatime,itsallowabletohave
multiplenodesonthesamebusthathaveBCcapability.Thatis,nodesonthebusthatact

multiplenodesonthesamebusthathaveBCcapability.Thatis,nodesonthebusthatact
aseitherRTs,Monitors,orbothsimultaneously,andcanswitchovertooperateasBCifthe
primaryBCfails.Forexample,anodeonabuscanbefunctioningasRTandMonitor
simultaneously.Insomesituations,theremightbeadiscretesignalbetweentheprimary
BCshostprocessorandtheprocessoronthebackupBC(actingasRTand/orMonitor)to
indicatethattheprimaryBChasfailed.Alternatively,thebackupBCactingasanRT,
Monitor,orRT/MonitorcandeterminethattheBChasfailedwhenithasntreceivedany
messagesfromtheBCforacertainperiodoftime.AbusMonitorcapturesalldata
transmittedbytheBCandallRTsonadatabus,orpossiblyafilteredsubsetofalldata.
WhileaMonitorterminalnevertransmitsonthebus,anodeactingassimultaneousRTand
MonitorwilltransmitinresponsetoamessagereceivedtotheRTsaddress.TheMonitors
hostprocessornormallystoresallreceiveddata,orpossiblyasubsetofallreceiveddata,or
atleastalldatagoingbackforacertainamountoftime.ThisallowstheMonitorshostto
beawareofthestatusofallsystemsattachedtothedatabus,whichtherebyenables
Monitorsnodetobecomethenewbuscontrollerandbegintransmittingmessages,onceit
hasdeterminedthatthecurrentactiveBChasfailed.

AnsweredMarch18,2013.

Q:Intotalace1553theTAG_CLKisthereanyinternalcontrol
meaninternalconnectionwithoutusingexternalconnectionof
timetagclock
QuestionsubmittedMarch13,2013

A.

Yes.Thetimetagresolutionissoftwareprogrammablebymeansofbits9,8,and7of
ConfigurationRegister#2.Thisallowsthetimetagresolutiontobeprogrammedforvalues
of2,4,8,16,32,or64S/LSB,withtheinternalclockforthetimetagcounterderivedfrom
the10,12,16,or20MHzCLK_INinputsignal.Inaddition,thevalueofthe16bitTimeTag
Registermaybewrittenorreadatanytime.

AnsweredMarch13,2013.

Q:Iamtryingtotroubleshoota1553busfailwhichonly
happensonceinawhile,andonlyduringtaxingoftheaircraft.
Novisiblesignsofwiredamage/terminaldamage,all
connectionsaregood,anyideas?Thisisanewsystemtous,we
aren'tgettingmuchadvicefromothersonwheretostart.Isour
nextstepgoingtobevoltcheckingeachindividualwire?
QuestionsubmittedMarch12,2013

A.

Ifanintermittentfailureoccursonlyduringtaxiing,thenthiswouldappeartopointtoa
vibrationrelatedproblem,possiblyhavingtodowithconnectors.Iwouldbeginbyputtinga
monitoronthe1553bus.Withabusmonitor,itshouldberelativelyeasytodetermine
preciselywhatisfailing.Thatis,isthebuscontrollerfailingtosendoutmessages
accordingtoitsnormalschedule?Or,istheBCsendingoutallmessagesonschedule,butis
aremoteterminal(morelikely)ormultipleremoteterminals(lesslikely)failingtorespond,
ortransmittinginvalidresponses?OnceyoudeterminethefailingBCorRT,thenthenext
stepwouldbetotrytoisolatetheprecisefault.Forexample,youmaywanttohangascope
(and/orthebusmonitor)acrossthestubgoingtothefailedBCorRT.Ifthesignalsareall
OKthere,thiswouldpointtotheconnectionstotherespectivebuscoupler,ortothe
coupleritself.Ifthesignalsarefaultythere,thenthiswouldmorelikelypointtoaproblem
withtheBCorRTintheattachedsystembox.

AnsweredMarch13,2013.

Q:Whereistherequirementfordatabusa,andbseparation
forsurvivability?
QuestionsubmittedMarch7,2013

A.

InMILSTD1553,therequirementsrelatingtoredundantbusesareincludedinparagraph
4.6,specifically:
Paragraph4.6.1requiresaminimumof45dBelectricalisolationbetweendatabuses.
Paragraph4.6.2addressestheissueofsinglepointfailuresforindividualdatabuses.
Paragraph4.6.3.1statesthatfordualredundantbuses,onlyonedatabusatatimecanbe
active.
Paragraph4.6.3.2addressesthesituationofanRTreceivingasupersedingcommandon
onebuswhileitsservicingacommandreceivedonthealternatedualredundantbus.

AnsweredMarch7,2013.

Q:Whatwouldbetheeffects,inregardstovoltage,if2DDB
streamsmadeitonthe1553busatthesametime?suchasan
archivedDDBstreamwasaccidentallyreplayedbackonthe
1553DDB,atthesametimethe1553DDBwasstreamingreal
timedatatraffic.bothDDBstreamsclobberedeachotherand
madeforerroneoustrafficthatthebuscontrollerrecognizedas
erroneous.ourconcernisaboutadditivevoltages.suchasa
realtime18vpositivebitvoltageatthesametimeasthe
replayed18vpositivebitvoltagewouldtheoreticallybe
additivetoa36vspike.wewouldliketoknowtheeffectsofa
momentarily36vsignalspikeonthe1553DDB?
QuestionsubmittedMarch1,2013

A.

Asyoupointout,havingtwosimultaneousstreamsonthesamedatabuswillcertainly
resultinalotofdataerrors.Roughlyhalfofthetime,thetwotransmittedstreamswilladd,
andtheotherhalfofthetime,theyllsubtract.Astowhetherornotthiswillresultin
damagetothe1553transceiversonthedatabus,inmostcases,Isuspectthattheywould
notbedamaged.Duringthetimesthatthevoltageisdoubled,thiscouldresultinvoltagesin
therangeof12to18voltspeaktopeakonthedatabus,or8.4to16.6voltspeaktopeak
onthereceivingterminalstubs.Sincethesevoltagesarewellbelowthetypicalabsolute
maximumratingsoftypical1553transceivers,thisshouldnotresultindamagetoother
terminalsonthebus.Duringthetimesthatthetwosignalsdrivingthebusaredriving
oppositepolarities,thebusvoltagewillbeapproximatelyzerovolts.Thisisequivalentto
drivingashortedoutdatabus.Inthiscase,theimpedanceseenbyeachofthe
transmittingterminals,assumingtransformercoupling,willbeapproximately0.75?Z0.For
Z0=78ohms,thiswillbeapproximately59ohms.Thenormalloadseenbyatransformer
coupledterminalisZ0,whichisnominally78ohms.Ifthetransmitterisapurevoltage
source,thisreducedloadimpedancewillincreasethetransmitterspeakcurrentandpower
dissipationwhiletransmittingbyabout33%.Iftheinterferencebytheothertransmitteris
additivehalfthetimeandsubtractivehalfthetime,thentheincreaseincurrentandpower
dissipationwillbeabouthalfofthat,orabout16.5%.Ifthetransmitterisapurecurrent
source,thentheoreticallytheincreasedloadwonthaveanyeffectonthe
transmitters.Basedonthis,ifthetransmitterissomethingbetweenapurevoltagesource
andapurecurrentsource(probablythecase)andtheinterferenceisadditiveand
subtractiveabout50%ofthetimeeach,thentheincreaseintransmitterpowerdissipation
willprobablybebetween5%and10%.Ofcourse,ifthereareperiodswhenonlyone
transmitterisdrivingthebus(alsohighlylikely),thenthiswillreducetheincreasein
transmitterdissipationaccordingly.Basedonthis,the1553terminalswilllikelybeableto
continueoperating,evenwiththisbuscrashingcondition.Notethatforafaultcondition
consistingofoneshortedstubona1553bus,ifyourunthenumbers,youcanseethatthe
loadseenbyatransformercoupledterminalconnectedtoadifferentstub(i.e.,notthe
shortedoutstub)willbe0.9375?Z0.ForZ0=78ohms,thiswillbeapproximately73ohms.
Thisislessofareductioninnominalloadimpedancethanthecaseyoudescribed.

AnsweredMarch6,2013.

Q:Whatisthe1553bustopologyandhowisparitybitandpcm
implemented?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary25,2013

A.

ThetopologyspecifiedforMILSTD1553isamultidropbus.Forredundancy,thereare
almostalwaystwodatabuses,witheachbusconsistingofalengthoftwisted/shielded
cable.Theresnospecifiedmaximumlength.Thecharacteristicimpedanceofthecable(Z0)
isspecifiedtobeintherangefrom70to85ohms,withanominalvalueof78ohms.Each
databusisterminatedateachendwitharesistorofnominalvalueZ0.Thereare
connectionsatvariouspointsalongthebustoindividualterminals,withtheconnectionto
eachterminalcalledastub.Therearetwomethodsforconnectingbetweenthebusanda
terminal,directandtransformercoupled.Adirectcoupledconnectioninvolvesadirect
connectionbetweenthebusandtheterminal,andislimitedinlengthtoamaximum
recommendeddistanceof12inches.Foratransformercoupledconnection,therearetwo
protectiveresistorsofvalue0.75*Z0,oneinserieswitheachstubleg,anda1.4to1.0turns
ratiotransformercalledabuscouplingtransformer,steppingdownthevoltagefromthe
bustothestub.Themaximumrecommendedstublengthbetweenthecouplingtransformer
andthe1553terminalis20feet.Thereisaparitybitassociatedwitheach16bitword
transmittedovera1553bus.Thistoallowthereceivingterminaltobeabletocheckthe
validityofreceivedwords.Ifasingledatabitortheparitybitbecomesflippedbecauseof
distortionornoise,thisallowsthereceivingterminaltobeabletodetecttheflippedbit
error.TheformofPCMthatsusedin1553isManchesterII,orManchesterBiPhaseL
encoding.Withthismodulationscheme,alogic0isrepresentedbya500nsnegative
pulse,followedbya500nspositivepulsetransmittedoverthedatabus.Similarly,alogic1
isrepresentedbya500nspositivepulse,followedbya500nsnegativepulse.

AnsweredJanuary25,2013.

Q:Iknowthatthe1553canconnectuptoatotalof31rt,what
ifineedtoconnectmorethan31rt.WhatarethemethodthatI
canusetodoit?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary20,2013

A.

ForaMILSTD1553Bdatabus,theresalimitationof31RTaddresses,sincetheRTAddress
fieldislimitedto5bits.Intheory,andforMILSTD1553AandsomeoftheoldMcAir
standards,ifbroadcastisntused,thenRTaddress31(11111)couldbeusedasa32ndRT
address.Forbuildingasystemwithmorethan31RTs,peoplehaveimplementedschemesin
whichmultipleRTssharethesameRTaddress.ThisinvolvestheBCsendingspecial
messagestoenableordisablespecificRTs.However,themoreusualsolution,andtheone
inlinewiththe1553standard,istodeploymultiple1553databuses.Withthisofcourse,in
ordertocommunicateacrossmultiplebuses,itwillbenecessarytosetupbridgeswith
multipleBCand/orRTterminals.Anotherpracticalproblemistheelectricaloperationofthe
1553bus.Asmoreterminalsareaddedtothebus,theamountofresistiveandcapacitive
loading(mostlycapacitive)onthebusincreases.Thisnotonlylowersthebusvoltage,but
thelargenumberofstubsalsoincreasestheamountoftransmissionlinereflections.
Transmissionlinereflectionscandistortthebuswaveform,resultingincommunication
errors.Whilerepeatersmaybe(andsometimesare)used,repeatersarentdefinedbyMIL
STD1553,andpresentthepossibilityofsinglepointfailures.

AnsweredJanuary21,2013.

Q:Whatisthedifferencebetween1553Aand1553B?
QuestionsubmittedDecember10,2012

A.

BelowarelinkeddocumentsfortheMILSTD1553AandBstandards.Alsolinkedisa
documentwithacomparisonofthetwostandards.MILSTD1553A
MILSTD1553B
MILSTD1553Avs.MILSTD1553B

AnsweredDecember10,2012.

Q:WhatadvantagesdoesMILSTD1553BhaveoverRS422?
QuestionsubmittedAugust28,2012

A.

RS422isonlyaphysicallayerstandard.MILSTD1553encompassesacommunications
protocollayerandaphysicallayer.RS422providesonlyunidirectional(simplex)
communication,ratherthanatruemultidropbustopology.RS485isthebidirectional
(halfduplex)extensionofRS422.TheattachedWordfileprovidesacomparisonofMIL
STD1553sphysicallayercharacteristicsrelativetoRS485(andthereforeRS422).LikeRS

STD1553sphysicallayercharacteristicsrelativetoRS485(andthereforeRS422).LikeRS
485,MILSTD1553supportsamultidropbusandprovideshalfduplexcommunication.MIL
STD1553_Physical_Layer_vs_RS485Asyoucanseefromthelinkabove,MILSTD1553
provideshighertransmitvoltagesandreceiverthresholdsrelativetoRS485.Inaddition,
1553providesdetailedspecificationsinanumberofareaswhicharenotdefinedbyRS485,
includingtransmitterzerocrossingdistortionandreceiverzerocrossingtolerance,isolation
method,terminaloutputnoise,commonmodeandnoiserejection,andinputimpedance.
MILSTD1553shigherbusvoltagesandotherspecsmakeithighlysuitableforuseina
passive,multidroptopology.Useofapassive,multidroptopologyreducesoreliminates
theneedforactivestarcouplers,therebyleadingtoreductionsintheassociatedtotalcable
length,cost,power,weight,andvolume.MILSTD1553definesadeterministic,highlyrobust
communicationprotocol,whileRS422doesnotdefineanyprotocol.1553sprotocol
includes:Command/responseprotocol,withaBC(buscontroller)masternodeandupto32
RTs(remoteterminal)slavenodes.Definesnodeaddressing.

DefinesBCtoR,RTtoBC,andRTtoRTtransfers.
Definesbroadcast(onetoallothers)messaging.
Subaddressing(forsystemdefinedparameters).
DefinesModecodemessages(forbusmanagement).
Messagesofupto3216bitdatawords.

AnsweredAugust29,2012.

Q:HowdoesMILSTD1553workinavionics?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary3,2012

A.

TherearemanydifferentwaysthatMILSTD1553isused.Inatypicalapplication,thebus
controllercanbeembeddedintoamissioncomputer.The1553buscontroller(BC)allows
themissioncomputertocommunicatecommandandcontrolmessages,andothertypesof
datatoremoteterminals(RTs)connectedtothesamebus.Remoteterminalsaretypically
embeddedintovarioustypesofequipment,includingweaponslaunchersandracks,landing
gear,engines,radios,radar,displays,sensors,andpowerdistributionequipment.

AnsweredJanuary6,2012.

Q:Whatdoesdualredundantbusmean?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary3,2012

A.

Theterm"dualredundant"referstothefactthatforalmostallimplementationsofMIL
STD1553,therearetwophysicalbuses,the"A"busandthe"B"bus.Inmostcases,BusA
functionsastheprimarybus,andBusBfunctionsasthesecondary,orbackupbus.The
reasonfordualredundancyisthatifsomethingfailsontheprimarybusabuscontroller,
oneormoreremoteterminals,buscouplers,and/orthebusorstubcables,then
communicationwillstillbepossibleusingthesecondarybusratherthantheprimarybus.

AnsweredJanuary6,2012.

Q:InMILSTD1553,whatdoesthenumber1553referto?
QuestionsubmittedJanuary3,2012

A.

The"1553"inMILSTD1553isanarbitrarynumber.Itwasassignedmanyyearsagotothis
particularmilitarystandardbytheUSDepartmentofDefense.

AnsweredJanuary6,2012.

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