Efficient use of VME modules in TCABR

The fast development of electronics and computer associated devices relegated the VME (versa module eurocard) standard to a secondary place in data acquisition systems. Recent software written for the TCABR, medium size tokamak installed at the Physics Institute of University of São Paulo, show that VME standard is still useful, even in presence of relatively slow processors. We describe the improvements on the speed optimization of TCABR pulse data collection and system protection, and propose a solution for real-time plasma control. Our conclusion is that VME systems are well behaved, well known and may still have a long life ahead in control and data acquisition environments.