31 May
2006
31 May
'06
11:39 p.m.
On 5/31/2006 at 10:37 PM Zane H. Healy wrote:
I'm wondering if one of my Dauphin DTR-1 handhelds
can be used
(basically a 486 running DOS). I've got the external floppy, and
they have a parallel port. It might very well work with the X1541 I
built for my 486 years ago. If not I might just order an XE1541
cable from c64reloaded.
The X1541, while it'll probably work with most older systems (including
your DTR-1), is just lousy design. The 1541 serial interface is
bi-directional, and the X1541 relies on the 1541 to pull down an
output-only parallel port pin. While this works for LSTTL-driven parallel
ports, it's pretty hostile to later CMOS-driven ones.
The XE1541 uses some diodes to steer the signals to the proper pins whether
the 1541 serial interface is in input or output mode. It's pretty easy to
modify a X1541 to be a XE1541 and you can find "any idiot can do it"
instructions on the web.
Cheers,
Chuck
(been there)