Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ubvax!ames!xanth!manes
From: manes@xanth.cs.odu.edu (Mark Manes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Sidecar questions.
Summary: Sidecar?  Bridgecard? - hmmmm....
Keywords: Sidecar, 1060, Janus, BridgeBoard
Message-ID: <6867@xanth.cs.odu.edu>
Date: 16 Dec 88 14:11:22 GMT
References: <863@hslrswi.UUCP>
Reply-To: manes@cs.odu.edu (Mark Manes)
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va.
Lines: 90

In article <863@hslrswi.UUCP> francis@hslrswi.UUCP ( Francis Demierre) writes:
>
>  I own an A1000 + Sidecar and have a Tandon 21 Meg Hard-card on the sidcar
>  side.  The Hard-card was divided in two partions: a 10 Meg for the Amiga
>  (made with ADISK) and another 10 Meg for the Sidecar (Made with FDISK).
>  (I used ADISK and FDISK provided on the DOS 2.11 disk received with the
>   sidecar).
>
>  Now, a couple of questions:
>
>  1. In the WorkBench for Amiga 1060, there is an utility to allocate the
>     parallel port to the sidecar (which is a very good idea).
>     Does anybody know if there is an equivalent for the serial port ?
>     (I do not want to buy a COM: card to use my modem from the sidecar !)

No, I do not believe it is possible (currently) to access the Amiga serial
port from the Bridgecard (Sidecar).  Go out and spend that $20 on a serial
port for the PC.
>
>  2. I still use the WorkBench 1.2 (33.47) + the sidecar software that is
>     labelled 'Test version'.

I noticed when I installed my software for the Bridgecard, that there was
installation for the Sidecar.  My disk says nothing of demo.  I suspect
it is a  good idea to go back to your dealer that you bought the Sidecar
from and ask for a update to the software.
>
>     The sidecar documentation claims that, after having activated the janus
>     expansion 'bindrivers' and mounted the 'JF:' device that is provided in
>     the mountlist,  it is possible to read and write to Sidecar drives.
>
>     The moutlist entry is:  
>
>          JF:      Handler = JF-Handler
>                   StackSize = 700
>                   BuffMemType = 3
>          #
>
>     Then, read or write files on the Sidecar drives (floppy's) using a syntax
>     like (for example):
>
>     Amiga->Sidecar:    copy df0:file JF:x:file
>     Sidecar->Amiga:    copy JF:x:file df0:file
>     Sidecar->Sidecar:  copy JF:x:file JF:y:file

I think you need to read the documentation on AREAD and AWRITE.
>
>     Or do you know any other way to read/write 'Sidcar drives/IBM format
>     files' from the AmigaDos ?
>     (new WorkBench with new utilities ? )

I was less than pleased with AREAD and AWRITE they work, but... I bought
Dos-2-Dos from Central Coast Software and I am pleased like a bug in the
rug.
>
>  3. Do you know where I can find a description/specification of the dual
>     port RAM interface used to communicated with the Sidecar ?
>

No.

>
>  4. Lock-up !
>     Sometime, when I try to access the AMIGA JH0: drive ('dir', 'copy', 'type',
>     or anything that accesses the JH0: disk), everything is locked up, mouse
>     pointer Zzz...Zzz.., system freezed.
>     Only way to get out, reboot !

Try to get the newer software.
>
>
>Francis.
>
>+- - - - - - - - -+- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
>+ Please, forgive +  Francis Demierre, Rte de l'Eglise 11,                   +
>+ my english !    +  1752 Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland. Phn: +41 37 411079 +
>+ My mother tongue+  Bitnet: francis%hslrswi.UUCP@cernvax.BITNET             +
>+ is french !     +  Uucp: {uunet,ukc,mcvax...}!cernvax!hslrswi!francis      +
>+- - - - - - - - -+- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
>+ Sometime, questions might look silly but remember: if people ask them      +
>+ it's, most of the time, because they don't know the answer !               +
>+ Sometime ANSWERS look silly but remember that you perhaps don't know the   +
>+ whole story !                                                              +
>+- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark D. Manes                                          "In Amiga We Trust"  
Programmer of Fortune, have compiler will travel

"Only Amiga makes it Possible, but with 1 meg its hell!"
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