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From: roc@sequent.UUCP (Ron Christian)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,comp.periphs
Subject: Re: Designing for the FHF (was Re: Proprietary hardware)
Keywords: schematics, repair information, free software foundation,
Message-ID: <13332@sequent.UUCP>
Date: 27 Mar 89 21:14:59 GMT
References: <2140@cpoint.UUCP> <3743@stiatl.UUCP> <1204@naucse.UUCP> <1410@husc6.harvard.edu> <18167@gatech.edu> <4899@cbnews.ATT.COM> <18204@gatech.edu>
Reply-To: roc@crg2.UUCP (Ron Christian)
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Inc
Lines: 25

In article <18204@gatech.edu> ken@gatech.UUCP (Ken Seefried iii) writes:
>[...]  My concept at least, is to build a
>machine that would be reasonably priced to build and could concievably
>be wire wrapped.  This means last generation technology.

Why wire wrapped?  There's a lot of places to get circuit cards
made cheap.  Let's put the design on a real circuit card, then
publish the blueprints so anyone can make it, and/or provide the
actual card at reasonable cost.  (Similar to a "media cost" for
software.)  I suspect there's enough interested people with microprocessor
hardware design experience that we could pull it off.

But just having the populated circuit card isn't enough.  One
needs some kind of cage for it.  How about making the card the
same format as... steady now... the IBM AT motherboard?  No really,
I'm serious.  There are now very inexpensive boxes available for
an AT sized motherboard.  Why not take advantage of that?  Note that
I'm NOT suggesting that the FHF card be designed for the X86 processor,
or that it support any of the PC busses.  Just that the boxes
for such a form factor are cheap and plentiful.

What think ye?


			Ron