carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) (06/21/89)
*GOOD NEWS*
Ha! I was in a meeting discussing a new project. The platform of choice was
an I*M peecee. After recovering from various fits, I put forth "Why not an
Amiga?" since I would be doing the work, and if I *had* to, I could get the AT
card for my 2000. Would you believe it? They are actually interested! Even
without the peecee side, if I can do everything from the Amiga end...
The application itself is fairly straightforward. I will most likely use
Lattice C++ (since I already use 5.02, and C++ is now only $300).
What we *need*:
1) Minimum of 5 RS232 ports. So, where is the ASDG multi serial card? Is it
out? How much? Does it work? Any others out there?
2) What about 488 cards? Are they available?
3) Small hard drive (40-80MB). I can probably handle this, unless someone has
some favorites. Or flames.
4) Monitors. See (3)
=========================
Now, I have never really paid attention to the I*M half of the machine. Do we
*really* have compatibility? If I get the AT Bridgecard, could I plug in (and
have function properly) most/many/some/few/none PC accessaries? Is the PC bus
pin/plug compatible? If we don't get the AT card, do we still have access to
the PC bus?
=========================
This may have to go "out in the field." Has anyone had good/bad experience
moving their beast outdoors? How shock proof is it? (If it is as good as your
typical PC, it is certainly good enough)
=========================
This has significant potential. If anyone has any comments (pro and con - I
don't want to make the Amiga look bad), PLEASE let me know. I'm interested.
=========================
-Todd C
Todd P. Carpenter Honeywell Systems and Research Center
voice: (612)782-7229 paper: 3660 Technology Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55418
UUCP: carpent@srcsip.uucp bang-style: {umn-cs,ems,bthpyd}!srcsip!carpent
Internet: carpent@src.honeywell.com or carpent@altura.honeywell.com
No, my employer has no opinions about this, one way or another. I represent
myself. My employer endorses only what it endorses, and this may or may not
fall under that catagory. Those who endorse or have opinions are probably not
aware of the existance of the net, anyway. Therefore, I speak for myself. And
even then, I'd rather not endorse things, since I probably don't know enough to
form an opinion.
(sorry about the long disclaimer, but this is getting close to business)higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom) (06/21/89)
[Seems like ages since I posted anything... it's good to be back]
In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP> carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes:
[His employer is interested in `letting' him use an Amiga for a project...]
$What we *need*:
$1) Minimum of 5 RS232 ports. So, where is the ASDG multi serial card? Is it
$out? How much? Does it work? Any others out there?
Yes this is available - call ASDG.
$2) What about 488 cards? Are they available?
Same company! I've used their Twin-X for connecting to the Sharp Scanner with
their software, and it worked flawlessly. It's a bit of engineering overkill for
an IEEE488 (that sounds good coming from a software guy :-), but hey, it works great!
$3) Small hard drive (40-80MB). I can probably handle this, unless someone has
$some favorites. Or flames.
I'm not getting in on this one, except maybe an A2500 to start with might
settle things.
$4) Monitors. See (3)
I am using a multi-sync type monitor with a flicker fixer in a demo machine I
have here. It looks very good, although that adds some considerable cost.
$Now, I have never really paid attention to the I*M half of the machine. Do we
$*really* have compatibility?
In same demo machine, I have an AT Bridgeboard. I've configured the machine to
use 10Mb of the 40Mb hard disk for PC stuff and the PC boots off the Amiga hard
drive. I can use the Amiga mouse and parallel ports for PC programs. I can
easily move files back and forth between Amiga and PC formats.
I've installed Microsoft Windows and Excel, DPaint (for grins), and Flight
Simulator 3.0. People are amazed at the fact the PC can be running FS and yet
I can still be using Amiga DPaint at the same time! Not much of a real world
use I grant you, but impressive. Actually, I often show Excel under MSDOS and
Professional Page or something like that on the Amiga side.
$If I get the AT Bridgecard, could I plug in (and
$have function properly) most/many/some/few/none PC accessaries? Is the PC bus
$pin/plug compatible?
Yes, and yes. We've tested many many cards. My next trick is to put in a VGA
adaptor on the PC side and connect its output along with the flickerFixer's to
a 9 pin switching box, the output of which will go to the multi-sync monitor!
$If we don't get the AT card, do we still have access to the PC bus?
Not really, although products like the Magni Genlock use a PC slot (in addition
to the video slot) since all they need from the PC side is power and not a bus.
$This may have to go "out in the field." Has anyone had good/bad experience
$moving their beast outdoors? How shock proof is it? (If it is as good as your
$typical PC, it is certainly good enough)
Well, my demo units have been through hell and back. They've been through worse
than a marine basic training course :-).
$Todd P. Carpenter Honeywell Systems and Research Center
$voice: (612)782-7229 paper: 3660 Technology Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55418
$UUCP: carpent@srcsip.uucp bang-style: {umn-cs,ems,bthpyd}!srcsip!carpent
$Internet: carpent@src.honeywell.com or carpent@altura.honeywell.com
$No, my employer has no opinions about this, one way or another. I represent
$myself. My employer endorses only what it endorses, and this may or may not
$fall under that catagory. Those who endorse or have opinions are probably not
$aware of the existance of the net, anyway. Therefore, I speak for myself. And
$even then, I'd rather not endorse things, since I probably don't know enough to
$form an opinion.
$ (sorry about the long disclaimer, but this is getting close to business)
<Me too, alas...>
Disclaimer: While specific products are mentioned in this article, it does not
represent any endorsement of them, nor implies that those products are better than
similar products. This article simply gives observations based upon experience
with those products. My opinion does not necessarily reflect those of my employer.
Regards,
Paul.martens@ketch.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Martens) (06/21/89)
In article <3100@shlump.dec.com> balzer@frambo.dec.com (<CB> aka Christian Balzer) writes:
:In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes...
:>2) What about 488 cards? Are they available?
:>
:Dunno, could it be you're talking about RS-422???
No, he probably means 488, as in IEEE-488. As to existence for the
Amiga, I dunno...
-=-
-- Jeff (martens@cis.ohio-state.edu)
How can someone look at Michael Jackson and think I'm weird? -- Frank Zappabalzer@frambo.dec.com (<CB> aka Christian Balzer) (06/21/89)
In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes... > >*GOOD NEWS* > You can say that again!!! >Ha! I was in a meeting discussing a new project. The platform of choice was >an I*M peecee. After recovering from various fits, I put forth "Why not an >Amiga?" since I would be doing the work, and if I *had* to, I could get the AT >card for my 2000. Would you believe it? Nah, I must be dreamin... >They are actually interested! Even >without the peecee side, if I can do everything from the Amiga end... > >What we *need*: > >1) Minimum of 5 RS232 ports. So, where is the ASDG multi serial card? Is it >out? How much? Does it work? Any others out there? > Perry reads this group and will probably bury you under informative material. :-) Check out if the A2232 is available by now. This card is from CBM and features 7 ports up to 19200 baud. >2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? > Dunno, could it be you're talking about RS-422??? >3) Small hard drive (40-80MB). I can probably handle this, unless someone has >some favorites. Or flames. > If you're into performance, get a nice looking SCSI HD and a DMA controller like the CBM 2090a, Microbotics HardFrame or the Supra DMA controller. The order in which these controller appear reflects my opinion on them. >4) Monitors. See (3) > Dunno :-) > >Now, I have never really paid attention to the I*M half of the machine. Do we >*really* have compatibility? If I get the AT Bridgecard, could I plug in (and >have function properly) most/many/some/few/none PC accessaries? Is the PC bus >pin/plug compatible? If we don't get the AT card, do we still have access to >the PC bus? The compatiblity is VERY high (about 98%) and the bus itself is 100%. You may plug in up to 3 PC cards, if you solder two more slots in, all of 'em could be 16bit AT style ones. You need a bridgeboard to get to the PC slots. > >========================= > >This may have to go "out in the field." Has anyone had good/bad experience >moving their beast outdoors? How shock proof is it? (If it is as good as your >typical PC, it is certainly good enough) I bang my system around alot, sometimes even running. As long as you don't use lousy HDs or forget to tie the screws (happened to me once), noooo problem. Hope that helps, - <CB> -- _ _ / / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery - < < |-< > EMail: ...!decwrl!frambo.dec.com!CB -OR- CB@frambo.dec.com \ \_ |_/ / E-Net: FRAMBO::BALZER | Home-Phone: +49 6150 4151 (CET!) ------------ PMail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G.
phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (06/21/89)
In article <3100@shlump.dec.com> balzer@frambo.dec.com (<CB> aka Christian Balzer) writes: >>2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? >> >Dunno, could it be you're talking about RS-422??? > Nope, he's talking about an IEEE-488 card. And (to my great surprise!) I found one yesterday! Or rather, I found an ad for one in a new catalogue that showed up in my mail (Computer Discount.) The unit is on page 7, column one (22 pages of non-repetitive often-small-type hardware... I was happy...:-) ) and is called the Amiga_GPIB. Uses the NEC uPD7210 controller, and plugs into a Zorro slot. Supports 14 IEEE-488 devices; multiple cards can be installed. Made by ACDA, whoever that is. Computer Discount's number is 303/825-2943. I am not affiliated with any of the aformentioned companies; I R a starving grad student who can't afford anything in it :-). Funny thing about this is that the PET used the IEEE-488 for its drive, printers, and modem. This is sort of a perverse full circle, eh? - R'ykandar. -- | "Signature V1.2.1.2..." | phoenix@ms.uky.edu | phoenix@ukma.bitnet | | "Got enough addresses, bub?" | CIS 72406,370 | PLink: Skywise | | "Alms! Alms! Laser printers for the poor!" | QLink: Bearclaw |
kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) (06/22/89)
In article <3100@shlump.dec.com> balzer@frambo.dec.com (<CB> aka Christian Balzer) writes: >In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes... >> >>*GOOD NEWS* >>2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? Both ASDG & ACDA have GPIB (IEEE-488) cards. The ASDG card is a little more expensive (it is an iSBX-type module which mounts in one of the two iSBX connectors in ASDG's Twin-X board , so you have to buy both), but you have much more flexibility. The ASDG board appears to support DMA I/O, while the ACDA board does not. The ASDG board also allows a higher programmed I/O transfer rate than the ACDA board. The ASDG board appears to be the better of the two for my uses - from a hardware standpoint. However, I can't seem to get any info on software support for the ASDG board, so I have now way to compare. >Perry reads this group and will probably bury you under informative >material. :-) Actually, I have tried to get technical info (anything past the sales brochures) out of ASDG for some time - to no avail. I have called & only got the sales brochures (looked pretty good, btw). I have also sent email requests 3 times to Perry K. & Aaron Avery at ASDG, but have yet to receive a reply, so I guess either email isn't getting through, or ASDG requires requests via U.S. mail. I guess I'll be writing a letter :-( >The compatiblity is VERY high (about 98%) and the bus itself is 100%. >You may plug in up to 3 PC cards, if you solder two more slots in, all of 'em >could be 16bit AT style ones. You need a bridgeboard to get to the PC slots. Question: What modes of access to the PC bus are available from the Amiga side? Do I have to involve the 80xx.x in the process, or can I read AT ports directly? Also, wasn't there supposed to be something like a 'wedge' card in development that would allow the Amiga to directly access the PC bus? Thanks, ======================================================= Kent Polk - Southwest Research Institute {cs.utexas.edu, gatech!petro sun!texsun}!swrinde!kent kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu ------------------------------------------------------- "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing" =======================================================
higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom) (06/22/89)
In article <11953@s.ms.uky.edu> phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) writes:
$ Nope, he's talking about an IEEE-488 card. And (to my great surprise!)
$I found one yesterday! Or rather, I found an ad for one in a new catalogue
$[...] and is called the Amiga_GPIB. Uses the NEC uPD7210 controller,
$and plugs into a Zorro slot. Supports 14 IEEE-488 devices; multiple cards
$can be installed.
$ Made by ACDA, whoever that is.
Whoever that is, he says. Well it just so happens that ACDA was doing
some seriously neat stuff with the Amiga the last time I checked. They
have modified a Live! board and are using it for medical thermography,
that is, feeding the output from an EXPEN$IVE infra-red (heat sensing)
camera into the Live! board to look at heat pictures (thermograms) of
things. If a person claims to be in pain in their shoulder for example,
a thermogram can prove it! Areas of pain are generally hotter than
normal areas, and thermograms can show even minute differences in heat.
[His comment must'a triggered my rambling... :-)]
Anyway, ACDA - smart people on Long Island (I think).
$ Funny thing about this is that the PET used the IEEE-488 for its
$drive, printers, and modem. This is sort of a perverse full circle, eh?
The PET was way ahead of its time.
$ - R'ykandar.
Paul.
Disclaimer: this information does not represent an endorsement and is
provided without any warranties either express or implied.murphy@pur-phy (William J. Murphy) (06/22/89)
In article <52566@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Jeff Martens <martens@cis.ohio-state.edu> writes: >:In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes... > >:>2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? >:> >No, he probably means 488, as in IEEE-488. As to existence for the >Amiga, I dunno... I just received a mailer from a company called Computer Discount. They sell almost everything that was ever made for the Amiga. In this mailer, they advertised two boards made by a company called ACDA. One of the boards was an IEE-488 controller for the zorro-2 bus. It uses the NEC 7210 controller as I recall, and lists for $495 which includes some documentation and source code examples for programming. The other board was called PK40 and is a 12-bit D/A A/D board with 16 digital IO lines. The diagram showed the board hooking into the Zorro bus, but the picture of the board distinctly looked like a Data Translation PC board. No maximum acquisition speed was given, but I think that it is 40KHz. The price for this board was $1895. Bill Murphy /* Insert Standard Disclaimer Here */
jdm@gryphon.COM (John Mesiavech) (06/23/89)
PErry reads this net a lot, so you'll prob. be hearing from him.... ASDG puts out a card (Twin-X) that can handle upt to four IEEE-488 buses on the one card. How? THe card itself has twin IEEE-988 buses on it, and ASDG sells an adaptor to turn the twin IEEE-988 buses into four IEEE-488. THere's also another company that advertises a regulation IEEE-488 card, look in Amazing Computing for the ad. John -- 0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-> All disclaimers apply; I didn't write this <-=-=-=-=-=-0 | ----------------------|------------------- | | "I want a New Duck | John Mesiavech | | One that won't try to bite | net.soldier.of.fortune | | One that won't chew a hole in my socks | {backbone}!gryphon!jdm | | One that won't Quack all night" | Go Purdue! (by req) | | Weird Al Yankovic, "I Want a New Duck" | | 0-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-0
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (06/23/89)
In <52566@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>, martens@ketch.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Martens) writes: >In article <3100@shlump.dec.com> balzer@frambo.dec.com (<CB> aka Christian Balzer) writes: >:In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes... > >:>2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? >:> >:Dunno, could it be you're talking about RS-422??? > >No, he probably means 488, as in IEEE-488. As to existence for the >Amiga, I dunno... IEEE-488 is available for the Amiga in at least two forms. One is a little box that hangs on the serial port, and costs a LOT. ($500-600). A better solution is ASDG's Twin-X with IEEE-488 module. -larry -- Van Roy's Law: An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca or uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
bryan@geo-works.UUCP (Bryan Ford) (06/25/89)
In article <24218@srcsip.UUCP>, carpent@coltrane.SRC.Honeywell.COM (Todd Carpenter) writes... >2) What about 488 cards? Are they available? There's the Twin-X thingy from ASDG. Also, I just a catalog from National Instruments, and although they don't have anything specifically for the Amiga, they have several things that could be hooked up to one. They list a GPIB (IEEE-488) to RS-232 converter, GPIB to RS-422 converter, GPIB to parallel converter, GPIB to RS-232 controller, GPIB to RS-422 controller, and GPIB to SCSI controller. I don't know the exact difference between 'converter' and 'controller', but the 'controllers' had a lot more pages devoted to them. :-) I couldn't find any prices for these in the catalog, so I don't know how they would compare with the Twin-X board. Their number is (800) IEEE-488. I am in no way connected with National Instruments or ASDG, besides apparently (:-) being on their mailing list. Bryan -- ____________________________________________ _/ Bryan Ford - bryan@geo-works.geo-works.com \_ _/ ..!utah-cs!caeco!i-core!geo-works!bryan \_ / ..!uunet!iconsys!caeco!i-core!geo-works!bryan \