TI-H: EII and EIII compatibility
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TI-H: EII and EIII compatibility
I was acting like an ass. I didn't want to have more than one version of
memory expansion for the EII, so I posted a message about it.
I'm personaly sick of someone making something and then going on to
another thing, leaving a handfull of people with something obsolete, or
everybody with nothing.
The EII COULD be made to recognize EII MMODs. It would NOT be that
difficult to include the built in however much SRAM you like, and then
have an external MMOD port, so EIIs and EIIIs can share the same medium.
Like disks!!! I'll give total permission to build MMODs right here and
right now!!! Use a standard design, and nobody ever has to worry about
compatibility ever again!!!
The SRAM can be intenal, maybe 32 megs or something. The MMOD will be a
way to exchange data between EIIs which use it as a primary memory and
EIIIs which use it as a secondary memory. The MMOD can be built with a
SINGLE chip, the $10 AT45D040 or whatever it is. Add a case and male
header, plus the distributor's shipping charge for parts, and you have
an MMOD!!! I'd personaly prefer to pass MMODs around to share my data
than passing around my whole expander.
Please, consider this. It would be a BIG plus!!! only use an extra
header for the actual device. Also, how big will the EIII be??? I know
it can fit in my case I designed, even a SIMM or two could be made to
fit!!! Also, doesn't SRAM require power??? That means you'd need a
backup battery and if some moron takes it out, you lose your data. The
MMOD can sit around at the bottom of a locker or bag for years,
DECADES!!! The MMOD is cheap and would be the perfect "floppy disk" for
the calculator, where the EIII can be the hard drive!!! also, is the
EIII going to include backup support??? If it does, I'd say, get a cheap
LCD character module for it, an up and a down button, and a send button.
You could have it send a choice of backups.
Also, if we went that far, why not go all the way. have TI link protocol
support and you can send files to the EIII via the link window and send
them from the EIII to the calc by selecting them with the LCD on the
EIII! THat would RULE!!! I'd pay a good $100 for that. Add MMOD support,
maybe a source button to switch between MMOD and SRAM, or even a type of
detection built into the AVR or the hardware. I still say that EII MMODs
should be supported by the EIII as secondary memory, regardless. If you
can, add the character LCD and the buttons and TI protocol support. NO
DRIVER NEEDED!!! You might need an AVR for each calc, but hey! wouldn't
it be worth it!!!
>Even so, there isn't much he can do but make it uncompatible wiht the
EII,
>EuP, and EIII which won't be compatible with any of your mem things...
>Btw, all carts will not be compatible with the EIII since the EIII will
use
>a few extra wires for banking and SRAM notification... I will tell
about
>that later...
MMOD port as viewed from the front of the female connector.
5v+ Batt+ Activation Gnd
0 1 2 3
__
-| |-
-| |-
-| |-
-| |-
-| |-
3-| |-
2-| |- These are the pins the MMOD port connected to
1-| |- the EuP PIC chip. I forgot the pins they go to
0-|__|- on the Memory chip, so you'd need to see the
original schematic.
>>Batt+ and activation are shorted together by the MMOD to activate
power
>>to the EII. 5v+ and Gnd are power of course, but they use a power
source
>>identical to the SPinTerface port to activate and deactivate.
>>
>>Pins 0, 1, 2, & 3 are the four lines to the memory chip. I can get the
>>actual pins each one connects to the memory chip in a day or two.
>>
>>I will be selling SPinTerface Port versions of the EII, with the MMOD
>>port built in. I will also sell my MMODs individualy. Ask if you are
>>interested. I'll release them when the EII hardware is released.
Richard Piotter
richfiles1@hotmail.com
The Richfiles TI Page
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/5081/Richfiles.html
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