fmcphers@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Frank McPherson) (06/14/91)
I've always heard that it's a big no-no to unplug something from or plug something in to an Amiga 3000 with the power on. Imagine a situation where I plug one end of a serial cable in to the Amiga 3000, and leave it there. Is it then "safe" to attach or detach a modem to or from the other end of the cable without turning the power off? How about if I added a switchbox between the Amiga and the modem, left the switch there all the time, and moved only the modem? I like to leave my Amiga on most of the time, but I have to switch modems around. -- Frank McPherson INTERNET: emcphers@manu.cs.vt.edu --
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (06/18/91)
In article <1991Jun14.124050.21598@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> fmcphers@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Frank McPherson) writes: >I've always heard that it's a big no-no to unplug something from or plug >something in to an Amiga 3000 with the power on. That's true. While zapping the computer with static can be a concern, the main problem is that it's easy to short pins to one another. If they were all strictly digital, the worst thing you'd get is a momentary output contention, which isn't usually going to hurt anything. However, most I/O ports have some digital lines and some strange voltages on them. If you zap a digital I/O with -5, -12, or +12, even for an instant, it's likely gone for good. >Imagine a situation where I plug one end of a serial cable in to the Amiga >3000, and leave it there. Is it then "safe" to attach or detach a modem to >or from the other end of the cable without turning the power off? Assuming that cable only brings over the RS-232 signals, you're going to be better off than mucking around at the Amiga's serial port. There's nothing this can do to protect you from static, and it's still possible to short lines together. >How about if I added a switchbox between the Amiga and the modem, left the >switch there all the time, and moved only the modem? With a switchbox, you're real safe if you're swapping the modem that's not currently switched "on". -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "This is my mistake. Let me make it good." -R.E.M.