Racal1261B VXI 13-slot Mainframe

The Racal 1261B is a 13-slot C-size VXI mainframe that was built for serious test rack work. Racal Instruments designed it for defense and ATE environments, and it later came under the Astronics EAD product line when the VXI mainframe business changed hands. The hardware never changed. Same chassis, same backplane, same power supply design. Thirteen slots is a lot of room. If you are running a fully loaded VXI system with digitizers, signal generators, switching modules, and an MXI interface card all in one chassis, the 1261B actually has room for it. The integrated power supply handles the regulated voltages across the VXIbus backplane without needing an external power unit, and the forced-air cooling keeps thermals manageable even when the slots are fully populated. The backplane runs a CLK10 clock architecture. That matters if your modules need tight synchronization, like multi-channel data acquisition or stimulus-response RF setups where timing skew between modules causes measurement errors. The 1261B keeps that under control at the backplane level, which is where it should be handled. Any C-size VXI module goes in this chassis. Keysight, Agilent, NI, Aeroflex, Racal, it does not matter who made the card. The VXIbus C-size standard is what it is, and the 1261B follows it. We have housed modules from at least five different manufacturers in this chassis without issue. This unit was powered on and verified at our facility in Downingtown, PA. We checked the slot connectors, ran the fans, and confirmed the voltage rails before listing it. VXI mainframes are not complicated to verify but you do have to actually do it, so we do. Finding a working 1261B is getting harder. Legacy VXI programs are winding down and spare inventory does not get replenished once it dries up. If your test system runs on C-size VXI modules and your current chassis is failing or you just need a second one, this is worth grabbing while it is available. What modules fit in the 1261B? Any standard C-size VXI module. Common ones we see in these builds: NI digitizers, Agilent arbitrary waveform generators, Aeroflex RF signal analyzers, relay switching matrices, and MXI controller cards. If you want to confirm a specific module fits before ordering, send us the part number and we will check. Does it come with a resource manager? No. The 1261B is the chassis and backplane only. You need a slot 0 resource manager card to bring the backplane up. The NI VXI-MXI-2 and Keysight E1406A command module are the most common choices depending on your software stack. Astronics EAD 1261B vs. Racal 1261B, same thing? Yes, same unit. Astronics EAD picked up the VXI mainframe line after the acquisition. If you find documentation, spare parts, or service support under the Astronics EAD name, it applies to this chassis.