Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!masscomp!ulowell!miner
From: miner@ulowell.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Auto-config and timers
Message-ID: <1118@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu>
Date: Wed, 4-Mar-87 13:14:32 EST
Article-I.D.: ulowell.1118
Posted: Wed Mar  4 13:14:32 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Mar-87 20:46:24 EST
References: <957@petsd.UUCP> <1109@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu> <4506@jhunix.UUCP>
Reply-To: miner@ulowell.cs.ulowell.edu (Richard Miner)
Organization: University of Lowell
Lines: 22

In article <4506@jhunix.UUCP> ins_anmy@jhunix.UUCP (Norman Yarvin) writes:
>I think Commodore should develop a chip that does autoconfig....
>I am assuming ... that currently autoconfig is difficult to design.

I think you should take a look at the hardware docs from Commodore; conforming
to autoconfig is not a difficult task.  There are about five chips needed:
a PAL, a latch, an address comparator, a few logic gates & a few pull up 
and pull down resistors.

The autoconfig circuit responds to a couple of bus signals and then lets 
the Amiga read nibbles from its PAL and latch in a base address for 
the plug in card (PIC).  The only unusual requirement is that you need 
access PAL programmer, but if you want to be able to store product specific 
information in each card a programmable mechanism like PALs is required.

>...would be easier and less expensive to design boards for the Amiga.  
>Boards would be available faster, and at a lower price.

It does not seem as though it would not be worth the development time and 
cost ($$$) to develop a special chip, plus it would still require a PAL.
-- 
Rich Miner !ulowell!miner Cntr for Productivity Enhancement 617-452-5000x2693