CompuServe Thread

A1000 expan

4 messages in this thread
#52274From: SyndesisJun 7, 1989 3:04 AM
What does a A1000 expansion box that can hold A2000 cards have in it? How much do you have to do, beyond extending the bus and adding the right connectors? I recall something about needing an extra 12 volts on the A2000-style bus? I could really use even a cobbled-up interface, to use some A2000 cards on all these spare A1000s I have. 🙂
#52422From: Rick StevensJun 7, 1989 11:53 PM
We haven't decided to bring one to market. We hear lots of "God, yes! Do it!" responses. But, it's not simply extending the bus and adding connectors. The timing on the A1000 bus is different slightly, and not all A1000s are built the same. We have to take all that into account. And just how big is the market. Remember, it's expensive to design, tool, build, market, and support any hardware item. If we spend, say, $100,000 to develop the thing, can we sell enough of them to recoup our NRE costs and make a decent profit? If not, we have to charge more for the box, which would reduce the market even more. We're working on it. You know how business is. It takes money to make money, but it also takes a decent market to generate those revenues.
#52439From: SyndesisJun 8, 1989 12:05 AM
I realize there might be no market for such a creature. i was only interested in how much kludging one might need to do in order to make something work… I didn't need pretty, I needed, it'll do in a pinch as long as you don't bump it. 🙂
#52806From: Rick StevensJun 10, 1989 1:43 AM
Well, we don't ever intend to build something that "isn't pretty". So far, we have a good reputation for solid engineering and reliability. We want to keep it that way.