Re: Porting the TFE (Re: IIgs and OS X filesharing solutions)

["Glenn Jones" <rg.jones@rogers.com>]

"Lee Cremeans" <lee@lcremeans.homeip.net> wrote in message
H_idnVzkQ8GtAtvdRVn-hA@speakeasy.net">news:H_idnVzkQ8GtAtvdRVn-hA@speakeasy.net...
> Glenn Jones wrote:
> > "Lee Cremeans" <lee@lcremeans.homeip.net> wrote in message
> > 8cec8633.0402251212.d49e707@posting.google.com">news:8cec8633.0402251212.d49e707@posting.google.com...
> >
> >>mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon) wrote in message
> >
> > news:<20040224135522.24987.00000302@mb-m26.aol.com>...
> >
> >>>Ironically, we are now in this very situation, with a third-party
> >>>Ethernet card for the Apple II line, with limited IIgs software
> >>>support and no //e software support.  This may be why Apple
> >>>decided to drop their card.
> >>
> >>I have to wonder...the C=64 community has not one, but two working
> >>Ethernet adapters (TFE and RR-Net), while Apple II has one that kinda
> >>sorta works (but only really on the IIgs, and only with TCP/IP), is a
> >>closed design and costs 10x as much as a PC 10/100 card (as well as
> >>one that got to the late design stage, but was never completed). Now
> >>that it's 2004 and you can get Ethernet parts for cheap, I'd like to
> >>try. I don't think I could get the cost per board down to $15, but
> >>considering how simple the design I'm pondering is, it could easily be
> >>cheaper than the LANceGS.
> >>
> >>I went over to TFE's website (http://wwww.dunkels.com/adam/tfe), and
> >>looked at the schematics. The overall design of the thing is even
> >>simpler than the CFFA card; it's just a (third-party) board with the
> >>Cirrus CS8900, 20 MHz crystal and Ethernet isolation transformer on
> >>it, plus an address decoder (all of 1 74LS139!) on the cartridge PCB.
> >>It'd be easy enough to port to the II; just change the wiring so that
> >>it decodes to slot DEVSEL space instead of C=64 cart space (very
> >>simple). The CS8900 register window is 16 bytes long, so if my
> >>understanding of II DEVSEL space is correct, it should fit perfectly.
> >>It'd also be easy enough to program (since Contiki comes with working
> >>driver code for it), and since the CS8900 has full documentation
> >>available from Cirrus, modifying or improving the drivers would not be
> >>a problem.
> >>
> >>The one thing that bugs me is the US$70/qty 1 cost of the required
> >>CS8900 module. I'm wondering if it'd be cheaper to move the contents
> >>of the module onto the board, then put a 8-pin header on the end for a
> >>dongle (similar to what LANceGS does). Maybe if enough people want it,
> >>I could also include the header for the Embedded Ethernet module.
> >>Also, I'm wondering if we would need a working interval timer to use
> >>this board...I'm doubting it, since even on the C=64 it's not
> >>interrupt-driven, but it's something to look out for.
> >>
> >>Going from this, I should have a first draft of the II port in a
> >>couple of days, once I get PCB123 figured out (it's a bit funky at the
> >>moment). I'll post here again with a location once I have something.
> >>
> >>Comments, questions, please address them to me here.
> >>
> >>-lee
> >
> >
> > Lee I am working on a Apple 2 ethernet project you may be interested in
> > ..... Similar to TFE but the module I went with is cheaper @ $22 USD qty
1.
> > (the only downside for prototyping is that the header is 2mm spacing
instead
> > of .1" ..which require the aquistion of 2 converter boards)
> >
> > The module I am using is the wiznet IIM7010. The module is based on
wiznets
> > W3100A chip. It is a 3.3v based device that has 5v tolerant io. My
current
> > schematic can be found at
> >
http://members.rogers.com/rg.jones/IIM7010_appleII_ethernet_schematics_v_1_2.htm.
> > Done with eagle.
>
> [snip]
>
> Looks interesting. It's certainly a better all-around solution for
> TCP/IP on the II than a plain Ethernet interface (though I did read your
> post about the "raw" interface).
>
> I mainly decided to go with the CS8900 since the bulk of the software
> (for Contiki/uIP, anyway) is already done, and my 6502 is somewhat rusty
> (though I'm slowly re-learning it). I'm not sure I'd want to tackle
> writing a link layer driver for Marinetti, though.

Lee,

not sure if I mentioned this before or you may have read it by now but the
IIM7010 is interupt driven (packet recieve) so that may help with or solve
the interval timer requirement for Contiki?

btw, have you seen Babar de Saint Cyr's
http://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/A2DevelopersAtWork.htm

EthernetTwo "ET" card for Apple2



I'll probably go
> ahead and finish drawing up my idea, so I can least say I finished it. :)
>
> -lee

Hey getting there is half the fun as they say

Glenn    :O)