Date   : Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:12:12 +0100
From   : "John Kenyon" <etljwk@...>
Subject: Re: PC/Econet

> Same problem as with the ISA Ecolink board though, in that it'd be a
> complicated setup and of course it doesn't help anybody else who doesn't
> have the hardware!
> 
> Doing *something* simple with a 68B54 chip hooked up to a modern PC
> would seem the best solution as it's open to anyone who can source the
> relevant IC (plus the line drivers).
> 

The 68B54 is a nonstarter - too rare, and too slow.
A better bet would be a more modern SDLC/HDLC capable device like
a Z8530 (if I remember the device number correctly), which would
interface easily to the ISA bus, not require wait states on the ISA
bus, and wouldn't drop data if the driver doesn't respond quickly
enough.

> Personally, I'd prefer a parallel port solution that could quickly be
> swapped between machines, if the hardware's fast enough to drive it.
> Next up would be an ISA board (much simpler in design to the Ecolink due
> to faster PC CPUs), simply because I have old ISA cards I could hack
> around with to bodge something together with. I have no clue about
> building PCI cards, and I imagine prototyping boards are not cheap... 

IMHO PCI cards are a non starter. If you haven't got an ISA slot then
you might end up having to muck around with USB...

/john