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Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!dxb132
From: DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.amiga.tech,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Second Serial port from joystick port?
Message-ID: <90286.125301DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: 13 Oct 90 16:53:01 GMT
References: <1990Oct13.030915.1212@cs.dal.ca>
Organization: Penn State University
Lines: 18

Regarding the use of a joystick port as a serial port...

It's a clever idea, but won't go too far on the Amiga, because to implement
such a "bit banging" UART you'd need to more or less take over the system.
This would actually be hard even on a '64, and the Amiga is far less of a
"real time" system than the '64.

Your need of cheap additional serial ports (and parallel ports too) will
soon be satisfied, however. Jeff Lavin (of The Puzzle Factory) has designed
a super-cheap 4-serial, 4-parallel board for the 500/1000/2000! This will
be a public domain hardware project similar to Lucas/Francis. The availability
of the IO board depends largely on when the article describing it is published
(in Amazing Computing)...unless one of you wants to buy 100 boards. :-)
Software support is good right now and getting better. At some point I'll post
all the details of this project to the net. In the meantime, feel free to ask
any specific questions you may have.

-- Dan Babcock