Re: Digicard. What is it?

[khym@bga.com (Khym Mahn)]

In article <38eqh8$jn4@werple.apana.org.au>,
Luke Webber <webber@werple.apana.org.au> wrote:
>My daughter's school has two Apple ][e Digicard networks, and they are 
>trying to incorporate all of their systems onto one hard-disk server. My 
>question relates to that.
>
>The network is hooked together via ribbon cables to external controller 
>boxes, one per node. The intelligence for the processor is supplied by 
>Digicard network adapters. It seems that these same cards are used in the 
>][e for floppy controllers. Is this correct? If so, are these adapters 
>freely available, or are other floppy controllers in use on most other 
>systems?

Weird, all of a sudden, there's a big interest in Digicard networks
(well, more than one person asking about them, at least :-) Anyways,
the Digicard network card isn't exactly the same as a normal floppy
controller, although it's similar. I haven't heard of anyone giving
them away; apparently, they're still slightly popular in schools with a
lot of Apple IIs. Here's a little info on the Digicard network,
excerpted from the developer documentation:

   Digicard's first networking product was the Digicard Classroom Network
   (DCN). First released in 1983 and still being installed today, DCN was
   designed to allow up to 28 Apple II computers to share a pair of Apple
   Disk II compatible floppy drives.  The DCN hardware comprises the
   Digicard Master Controller which houses the two drives, and an
   interface box and network controller card for each network station.

   The network controller card is a slightly extended version of
   Digicard's Disk II controller card, connected to the interface box
   using the same kind of cables normally used to connect a Disk II
   controller to a pair of Disk II drives.  The interface boxes connect
   to each other, in a daisy-chain that ends at the Master Controller,
   using 26-way ribbon cable.  This network bus cable carries all the
   normal Disk II interface signals, along with some signals the Master
   Controller uses to control the network, and power for the interface
   boxes.

   The microcontroller in the Master Controller, being relatively slow,
   does not attempt to interpret disk data in any way.  What it does do
   is watch the network stations until it sees one trying to turn on a
   disk drive motor, then connects that station to the drive until it
   turns the motor off again.  To software running on the Apple, the
   network drives appear to be a pair of standard Disk II drives
   connected to a standard Disk II controller.


And here's some info on how to contact them...

   Digicard developer support
   Major Educational Resources Corporation
   10153 York Rd
   Suite 107, Hunt Valley
   Maryland U.S.A. 21030
   Phone:	301 628 1527	Toll-free 1 800 444 1527
   FAX:	301 628 0915

   or

   Digicard developer support
   Digicard International
   326 Darebin Rd
   Thornbury
   Victoria, Australia
   3071
   Phone:	03 482 4288	Toll-free 008 80 4026
   FAX:	03 482 1522

   or

   AppleLink queries to:
   Digicard developer support
   AUST0170
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