Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!amdahl!kim
From: kim@uts.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Serial Ports
Summary: 4 != 8
Message-ID: <02iBI04nc91010g=iwo@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
Date: 31 Jan 89 19:39:50 GMT
References: <171@algedi.UUCP> <4092@omepd.UUCP> <431@madnix.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corporation,  Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Lines: 73

In article <431@madnix.UUCP>, aaron@madnix.UUCP (Aaron Avery) writes:
> In article <00BeJ17XgK1010Vrxr6@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> kim@uts.amdahl.com (Kim DeVaughn) writes:
> >In article <4092@omepd.UUCP>, hah@inteloa.intel.com (Hans A. Hansen) writes:
> >> NES Inc., the people who brought out the A2000 Proto Board that also plugs
> >> into the PC-AT connectors, have designed an 8 Port Serial Board for the
> >> A2000 and it is in layout as I write this.
> >
> >Great!!!  It is about time *someone* came out with what people have been
> >asking for for 18 months or better!
> 
> I fully agree! That's why we decided to come out with serial ports recently,
> and we're shipping now! NES stated that they're expecting a June release.


And in another article <whose ID you could care less about> Perry Kivolowitz writes:
> ASDG has it (multiple serial ports with fully integrated software support)
> NOW.


Are you refering to the TwinX board?  As I understand it, it will support
a maximum of FOUR ports, and then only after purchasing two RS-232 modules.
Or does ASDG have a new product out ...?

The TwinX board is an interesting concept, especially if one needs to talk
to some of the less popular interfaces.  On the other hand, since it is a
general purpose interface board, you have to add extra cost modules to it
to get it to talk to anything, right?  Though NES hasn't set a price for
their 8-port board, I'll be surprised if it is as much as a TwinX set up
for 4 ports.  Generality is great ... but you have to pay for it somewhere.
TANSTAAFL ...


BTW, is a module available (NOW) that'll give me some extra PARALLEL ports?
Peter da Silva aside, some of us would like more of these as well.  For
things like image digitizers, etc.


Too bad the SIOPI never made it out of the chute (along with the SDPI
and 20XI).  As I recall, it was supposed to add 4 serial and 2 parallel
ports.  Just about a perfect setup ...


> >Have you defined the s/w interface (programmer's model) in sufficient
> >detail to tell people how to get to the ports and or program them.  If
> 
> Marco Papa has implemented his multi-serial support in the new A-Talk III by
> allowing the user to specify the device name and unit number to use when opening
> up a serial port. This is very easy for the programmer to do, and Bryce at
> Commodore has stated approval of this method at this time.
> Our software interface is compatible with the standard amiga serial.device,
> and I expect others to do the same, since we already have a standard for
> the machine, and this allows all present programs to work with very minor
> modifications.

Yeah, I'd just like to hear it from NES about *their* product.

I understand it, there were some changes/extensions/refinements made to the
serial port "standard" that were discussed at the Euero DevCon?  Can
anyone confirm/deney this, and if that's true, can anyone summarize?

BTW, I'm still waiting for my 1988 US DevCon notes, so I can read what
has been proposed in that forum.  I just got a nice letter from Brenda
Billings (Hi, Bren!) in CATS saying that it would be delayed a couple more weeks.
Hopefully, any changes that came out of the Euro DevCon will be included ...

/kim

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