dummy Bridge adapter
9 messages in this thread
Does anybody know of the feasability of a 'dumb' bridge card? I need to use
an IBM card in an IBM slot from the amiga side without the expense of a
bridgeboard. Has anyone worked on this problem yet? Is there a solution? (a
cheap one, natch <grin>). BTW, it's not a generic card like a serial or
graphics adapter, it's custom made. It would be nice to not have to
redesign the card specifically for the amiga. –Eet–
I'd always thought that was possible, too. First, define "cheap".
Bridgeboards are cheap, no? And even with that horsepower, they don't let
you use IBM cards from the Amiga side. A custom card would need to make
the bus come alive, making all the signals that a PC card needs. Why not
use a real PC processor to do that? What you really want is some software
to let the Amiga access the PC cards. You'd just boot the Bridgeboard into
this special-purpose PC program, it would take over, you couldn't run any
PC software, but you'd get access to the PC cards, if you had even more
custom software on the Amiga side. What kind of card do you need to use?
sounds great, John; looking to run a BCD4000 video controller card. I was
asked about it when I dropped in there today, figured I'd investigate. sure
would save them from designing an amiga specific equivalent (they've an
external BCD5000 controller that is used with the amiga).
–Eet–
It's too bad that there aren't more BridgeBoard products. It's certainly
possible to write that piece of software to give access to PC cards, from
the Amiga side. It would be interesting to work on them; I do a lot of PC
programming, too. But is there a market? I doubt it.
well, maybe if a hardware type had a need for it for their own product, it
would be worthwhile to produce/market. Biggest drawback is that it would
take up a slot, IMAO. Would be nice to have it be 'transparent'.
–Eet–
John,
I don't know that it is true now, but about a year ago, I read that
approximately half of the Amiga 2×00 series sold worldwide were fitted with
Bridgeboards. It is possible that, with the recent price drop, lots of
people will be adding them. After all, unless the Amiga is really a hobby,
most people do need MS-DOS compatibility for something from time to time.
Betty
Thanks, Chas…. unfortunately, that's not a good solution… if they have
to have an external box, then there's no advantage to using the PC card;
they already have an external version that connects via the serial port.
(talking about the BCD-4000 and BCD-5000 video controllers). Thanks a lot,
tho! I might give em a call and ask. –Eet–