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From: goss@jetsun.weitek.COM (Richard Goss)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Re: What does VME stand for?  (Name dropping time)
Message-ID: <1991May8.203004.906@jetsun.weitek.COM>
Date: 8 May 91 20:30:04 GMT
References: <579@melair.UUCP> <32580021@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com>
Reply-To: goss@neuron.WEITEK.COM (Richard Goss)
Organization: WEITEK, Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 53

In article <32580021@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com> markw@hpcuhe.cup.hp.com (mark williams) writes:
>Re:  The Origin of the name VMEbus
>
>Schlomo Pri-Tal, of Motorola, recently told me that there was NO
>significance to the letters VME.  
>
>However, Motorola had a line of boards using 68000s back then which it
>called Versabus boards.  Hence one popular tale is that VME stands for
>
>     VERSA MODULE EUROPEAN,
>
>since VME used the DIN connectors on VME, as opposed to edge connectors
>with inch dimensions used on VERSAbus.
>
>Perhaps we should let Wayne and Schlomo settle this in a duel  :<)  
>
>Disclamer:  I don't know nuttin, so I cudna sedit.

I missed the previous postings on this subject but maybe I can shed some
light on the origins of VME.  BTW, I tend to agree with Mark's interpretation 
of the VME's history.

I was on the original Motorola Microsystems EXORmac design team based out of 
Phoenix.  The Exormac was the origial development system for the 68000.  
The name was derived from the EXORcisor which was the development system for 
the 6800/6809.  The EXORmacs was designed with a system bus we called
VERSAbus.  The system boards were called VERSAmodules.  The VERSAmodules 
were fairly good size cards, something like 14 inches wide by 11 or 12
inches tall (I don't remember the exact dimensions) and used gold plated
fingers at the edge connectors as was the fashion of the day.  Much later on
in the design of the EXORmacs,  Motorola's system design guys in Germany (a
sister division to the one in Phoenix) told us about the European DIN
connectors and how they were becoming the connector of choice for edge
connects over there.  Also, the European engineering community had come
up with standard form factors for PCBs, if I remember correctly.  At this
point Jack Kister, Hardware Project leader for EXORmacs and John Black,
who was working on cleaning up the Versamodule specification for outside
consumption decided to work with the German engineers to come up with a
joint spec.  Then somehow some engineers at Mostek and Signetics got
involved (remember Mostek and Signetics were early adopters of VME and
designed bus interface chips to it) and a team was between all the
companies mentioned to come up with a joint spec on the signal defintion,
electrical characteristics, physical dimensions, etc. for the bus spec.
This was called VERSAmodule-European, later shortened to VM-E, later shortened
to VME. 

So in summary, based on my recollections, VME at one time stood for
VERSAmodule European.

Hope this helps resolve the war between Shlomo and Wayne (Fisher???).


-- Rich