Date   : Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:24:05 +0100
From   : mfirth@... (Michael Firth)
Subject: A few Econet questions

Does anyone here know anything more about the unpopulated IC4 on the newest
of the Acorn Econet modules?

The module I mean is the smaller one provided with the AEH52 A3020/A4000
kit, as pictured here:

http://acorn.chriswhy.co.uk/32bit_Upgrades/Acorn_AEH52_Econet_Upgrade.html

and here:

http://www.beebmaster.co.uk/EconetInterfaces.html#32bit

There is a suggestion that it is for allowing the interface to provide a
clock to the Econet, and the connections from the unpopulated IC directly
to two pins of the header that connects to the Econet connector seems to
also point to this.

Is there a copy of the schematic available anywhere online, or is there any
documentation as to what IC4 would be if it was fitted?

Secondly, can anyone suggest a modern alternative to the MC14411 that's suggested
as a clock generator in this circuit:

http://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/~mdt/bbcdocs/econet/hub.gif

Alternatively, presumably an oscillator and counter combination could be
used as a simpler alternative to this IC - is that a reasonable assumption?

Next, that circuit suggests the 75159 as a suitable driver for the clock 
signal - would a 75174 work instead? - it has a single ended input, and is
marked as an RS422 differential driver. The 75174 is available at a fraction
of the cost of the 75159, which would make it a preferrable alternative.

Finally, does anyone have a copy of the 'setstation' utility for the Archimedes
family? - I've put an Econet module into my A3020, but without a copy of
'setstation' the ID is fixed as 1, and the machine gives a warning when it boots.

On a related subject, is there a similar mailing list to this one for the 
older 32-bit Acorns? - I'm meaning machines that might be considered vintage
(probably A4000 and older, unless anyone has an alternative definition),
rather than the latest RiscPC, Iyonix and AxHome machines.

Thanks

Michael