Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!bronze!silver!jpbaker From: jpbaker@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jon P Baker) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: A silly question... Keywords: IBM-PC, Bridgeboard, silly Message-ID: Date: 20 Apr 91 17:23:24 GMT References: <3216@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU> <1991Apr20.045727.18501@engin.umich.edu> Sender: news@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Indiana University Lines: 47 milamber@caen.engin.umich.edu (Daryl Cantrell) writes: >In article <3216@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU> cdavis@oucsace.cs.OHIOU.EDU (Charles Davis) writes: >>Has anyone considered using those IBM-PC slots in the A2000 (and A3000) >>_WITHOUT_ a bridgeboard? What I mean is getting a cheap Clone-on-a-board >>and putting it inside the Amiga (much like a cancer tumor? :^) >> >>Would this work? A system like this could be put together as follows: >[...] > The most immediate problem that comes to mind is a lack of keyboard. >More generally, I don't think that the 286 "accelorator" cards you can >buy for ISA are a "whole" computer, I imagine they rely on support >electronics on the motherboard... I think what he was referring to is the 80286 computer-on-a-card. Its a full IBM 80286 (usually 10MHz or so) computer on one card. No motherboard necessary. There are also 80386 versions of these. They have keyboard ports, EGA or VGA, 1-4 (or 8) MEG of RAM on them, 2 serial and one parallel, floppy controller, and usually SCSI port or IDE. Mostly they are used for industrial applications and are fairly expensive, but I have not bought one for 3 years or so. Any clues guys? Add a hardcard (you can make your own, no need to buy a hugely expensive one) and a switcher on your monitor and you have a PC in your 2000. True, it would not use any Amiga hardware, but it would allow you more flexibility than the BB. There is a PD program for IBM called ZCOPY that copies using the serial port. My father uses it to transfer software between machines. If someone could get the source to it and port it, just make a null modem cable to run between the Amiga serial port and the IBM serial port. The speed would be limited by the Amiga (assuming your IBM had the 118kbps serial card). Then again, even 38kbps would be pretty quick. Jon -- +------------------+--------------------------------+ | Jon Paul Baker | jpbaker@silver.ucs.indiana.edu | | Chaos Foundation | jpbaker@rose.ucs.indiana.edu | +---+--------------+--------------------------------+---------------+ | "We were lost ten miles ago. There's got to be a new | | word for what we are now." Terry Pratchett, _Wyrd Sisters_ | +---------------------------------------------------------------+