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Cheap serial link

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:40 pm
by Godzil
I wonder, no one ever tryed to use the TAP interface as a RS232 link?
Of course, the TAP interface is not using normal RS232 voltage level, but TTL to RS232 converter are really inexpensive and used in a lot of product (it's mainly just a MAX232)

It will need to create software for this, but I don't see any incompatibility with this, the only dark spot is the baudrate we can acheive in both side, and the ability to do full duplex transmission, but for exemple on project like Simoon tape/floppy dumper with a carefully crafted protocol, this would not be a problem, even if the baudrate is asymetrical (I suspect that we can get quite a high baudrate TX from the Oric, but the electronics to clean tape signal may add "long" delay limiting the baudrate reception.

Better, by using the IRQ we may be able to remove the need for baudrate setting for the reception...

No one ever tried this?

(edit: my no baudrate setting is partly true, partly wrong, not sure if it's feasible, it will highly depends on the hardware)

Re: Cheap serial link

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 6:16 pm
by Symoon
Fabrice did, you'll find articles in the CEO-Mag, but I can't recall when... I'd say between 1997 and 2004, if that helps ;)

Re: Cheap serial link

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:25 pm
by Godzil
What a memory you have!

Re: Cheap serial link

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:57 pm
by Symoon
Maybe not that much.
I can't recall exactly, I think he at least tried to, but the article I was thinking about actually uses the parallel interface. CEO mag issue 122, pages 13-15 (June 2000)