Re: TI-H: Expander drivers...
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Re: TI-H: Expander drivers...
I'm curious, how would a smaller program to load the driver be of any
use? Chances are, if you lost your main driver, it was through a crash.
Then everything would be gone. I would recomend a microcontroler
programmed with an internam hardware driver that recognizes TI protocol.
It should recognize the sequence of data when the TI-BASIC program
"EXPANDER" is send via the standard link screen. You could type expander
commands like Get, Send, Delete, Wipe, and DIR. It wouldn't matter what
chips you used, as long as you had a powerful microcontroler. You would
simply create a blank TI-BASIC document and then the first line would be
a command and the second line would be an argument, such as a file name.
You could type DIR and it would send the data to start a TI-BASIC file
named DIR and place each file on the expander as a new line on the
program, giving you a list of all the programs. You simply send the
EXPANDER program, switch the calc to recieve mode, and press a button on
the expander. You could probably just send files to the expander. Maybe
you could even have backups stored. It would just store the data exactly
as it recieves it. to send it back, you would create the TI-BASIC
program EXPANDER and type get and then backup. you'd send the expander
the TI-BASIC Program. You could then set the calc to recieve and just
hit the expander's send button to start sending the backup. Hit continue
on the calc and you have a memory backup. You wouldn't even realy need a
driver at all on the calc! you could create an ASM driver that would be
on the expander so you can recieve it with the TI-BASIC comand file
after you recieve a backup. This would be an AWESOME expander. You could
use under 100 bytes for the calculator driver, since it is only a 2 Line
TI-BASIC program file. The DIR program file the expander sends could
always be deleted. Imagine though! other ASM drivers have been as much
as 4K! imaging saving 3.9 K!
I really urge anyone with the skills for such a project to do it. If
anyone has ever created a link program for the PC, they might be a good
source of information or even might beable to do the hardware driver.
This would be the best expander EVER because it would support backups
and not even require a driver to opperate!
Richard Piotter
richfiles1@hotmail.com
>
>
>I'm building an I2C Expander for the TI-86 (maybe for the 85 soon
after,
>but the 86 first). It will use I2C compatible chips ranging from 16K to
>256K (up to 32KB. It can also be directly connected to a computer the
>the parallel port (does not require parallel link).
>
>I have completed the hardware and the computer link part. All that is
>left now is to make a good user interface for the computer, and write
>the calc interface software.
>
>I think I should have 2 versions: the normal one, and a very tiny one
>that just loads the complete driver off the Expander in case the driver
>is accidentaly erased from the calc. (maybe it won't be too short, but
>if you're stuck in school for the next few hours you could do that in
>between classes - better than waiting till you get home!)
>
>
>Muhammed
>
>
>>Ok, there seem to be a lot of projects that come and go very quickly.
>>BEcause of this, it has been very hard for me (anyone else?) to keep
>track
>>of what people are currently working on. So, could everyone please
post
>a
>>list of projects that THEY (themselves) are currently working on. I'm
>trying
>>to avoid flooding the list with this, so please if you know someone
who
>is
>>working on something, and they're already on the list, let them tell
us
>>about it. Don't take the liberty of doing it yourself. This way, we
can
>>avoid a lot of duplicate posts.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>- Jon Olson
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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