Re: Apple IIe to IBM PC interface

[david@uow.edu.au (David E A Wilson)]

Eric Gregori <emgregor@wwa.com> writes:
>Does anyone know if a interface exists ( software or hardware ) to
>connect a Apple IIe to a IBM PC?

You mean apart from Kermit, z-modem and all the other serial protocols :-)?

>I am considering writing some software for the Apple and the PC that
>would allow the PC to become a SLAVE drive to the Apple ( the apples
>more usefull ) through the serial port.  It is getting harder and harder
>for me to find DSDD floppies.

It would certainly be possible to take an Apple Super Serial Card, pull out
the ROM, drop in a new EPROM with code that emulates a ProDOS block device
or a Smartport interface and have a program running on the PC that would
respond to requests coming to it via a serial port and read or write blocks
to a file (or a floppy). It would however be very slow (19.2kb translates into
2.13 seconds per block just for the data transfer [ie it would take 10 minutes+
to copy a standard Disk ][ floppy to the PC]).

A better option (one that has been suggested and worked on a year ago by
dmanzer@wimsey.com (Doug Manzer)) is to use a parallel port card and plug
into the PC parallel port rather like Interlink. I now have enough parallel
cards that I will try the same thing with my Linux box as a server.
--
David Wilson	Dept CompSci Uni Wollongong Australia	david@cs.uow.edu.au