WAKEFIELD, Mass. — The PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), will include a 66-MHz mode of operation in Rev. 3 of the CompactPCI specification, now in development. Just as the group expanded the four-slot capability of 33-MHz PCI to eight slots for CompactPCI, so too will its 66-MHz spec expand the slot count for the higher frequency. Commercial PCI can only manage a single slot at a 66-MHz frequency, but CompactPCI will handle up to five.

The 3.3-V-only nature of 66-MHz CompactPCI will simplify the implementation of a hot swap capability for higher frequency boards, said a spokesman for Ziatech Corp., which invented CompactPCI.