Re: Black box again

Hi Tom, list,

Thanks for keeping everything in perspective for us! We definitely need
a game plan here for future use of PC's in the shop. I hope at least
PCI stays on the motherboard. IMO it probably will; it is fast, and
there will always be "special" boards the office or home computer does
not need (on the motherboard).

Yes, I hope Jon's "box" is an answer! at <~ $200, I think a lot of us
can afford it!

Tom Eldredge wrote:

>
> Hi Jon, Ballendo, Alan , others,
>
> I appreciate your valuable input on this forum. We are all trying to be
> prudent about the future of the consumer based motherboards. I am afraid if
> we don't stick to the consumer products, we will be paying the big bucks for
> our processing power and motherboards.
>
> I use the dual parallel port SIIG PCI card. Under DOS, it will assign its
> port addresses based upon which port the mother based port is using. If you
> change the motherboard port address (setup the bios) the SIIG board will
> configure so that the three (I think) standard DOS ports are all available.
> I do not know of another board for this purpose than the SIIG board. I sure
> hope they keep it like it is for years to come. Of course the SIIG boards
> are targeted for the newer operating systems.
>

I have SIIG PCI parallel boards. Dual Parallel? maybe I need to look
for it. I think my boards have serial on them as well. I don't see DOS
assigning it's (my board's) port address. This sounds like what I've
been looking for! I don't recall a disk with the products, is there a
DOS driver I need to run? That would explain it. Otherwise, the port
address (C400h) that Windoz assigns it (later) does not respond AS a
PARALLEL port. DOS will only look for the three (3) STD. parallel port
addresses.

DO you have driver(s) for your board?

> I think about the USB port like Jon does. (Heavy overhead) But who knows,
> maybe some of this can be passed through. I sure don't know, although I
> think you guys probably have a better pulse on it than I do. That is the
> reason I mentioned the serial port. It seems like a lot of stuff in the
> industrial field is becoming serial based. Can the serial port keep up with
> the bandpass we need? I don't know, but I sure like the parallel port
> option right now. The serial port requires buffering for input, so even it
> is operating system dependent. Isn't the USB port like a fancy serial port?

Yes, sounds like quite a bit of overhead! On the PC side, anyway.
Windoz will load the drivers for you. On the device side, some USB
chips like the Cypress EZ-USB's have 8051's, and the enumeration process
can be done automatically (we'll see) by the USB core of the chip. They
can also DOWNLOAD code for the '51, simplifying the development process
and updates.

USB can run at 1.5M, 12M, or 480M bits/sec, RS-232 can get up to 115K.
Fire wire can do 400M (video)! The parallel port is quoted at 8M. The
protocol the USB's use to talk to each other IS complex (they even had
to invent a bunch of new TLA's).

>
> One of the nice things about DOS and the simple serial port and parallel
> ports is that they keep the power of the PC within reach of the casual
> hobbiest. The Macintosh computer, because of its complicated operating
> system has been beyond the reach of the casual hobbiest for this reason, in
> my opinion. The apple computer was not, and it sure was loved.
>
> Keep up the good spirited discussion. I think we will all benefit from it.
> I am looking forward to Jon's $200 card. Will we still have to buy the buss
> too, Jon, or do you think it might be around $200 for the whole works? If
> it can work with the SIIG cards then this may be our most powerful option
> for as long as the pci buss lasts.
>
> Don't you all think the pci buss will be with us for a good while yet?
>
> My 2 Cents
>
> Tom Eldredge
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jon Elson <elson@...>
> To: <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2001 9:43 PM
> Subject: Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Black box again
>
> > Alan Marconett KM6VV wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Jon, Ballendo,
> > >
> > > I have noticed, that while you can get a parallel port board (SIIG) for
> > > the PCI bus, it may (always?) put the address not at 278/278h, but at
> > > something like C400h! And DOS won't recognize it! Fine for Windoz, but
> > > not good for "older stuff" (like me). Perhaps someone can shed more
> > > light on this subject!