"HOW TO MAKE 6 PCB NODES RUN AT ONCE ON A 386 UNDER DESKVIEW"


From the desk of Lonnie J. Rolland, 5/16/91


OVERVIEW:
I am using the "E6" package from Clark Developement. I have
6 serial ports running in one 386 machine. I have taken the
needed steps to give each port its own "IRQ" and "I/O" address.
The 386 machine is running Qemm 5.12 and Desqview 2.26. It
loads high network drivers and a hard disk cache program.
I have had "zero" problems running as "Lantasti" workstation and
also running multible nodes under Desqview. The machine cannot
run as a network server. I got guidance from the files and the
(nice) people at Clark for setting up a multi node operation
via Desqview on a single 386 machine. Lots of people are doing it.
The REAL barrier or problem is in getting enough and unique
"IRQ"s and the "I/O" addresses.

I am using a "SEFCO" four port serial card. The card came set for
using interupts 2/3/4/5. I had to cut and jumper the thing to
move IRQ2 over to IRQ7. I print using the network. The second
serial card is a "DIO-500". I turn its game port and printer port
off. Then I cut and jumper its interupts 3/4 to 10/11 on the small
companion card. So for the comm ports 1 thru 6, I am using IRQs
4/3/5/7/10/11. Don't forget making I/O address all different also.
Here you're at the mercy of the card manufacturer again. Of course
comm 1 and 2 use I/O address 3F8 and 2F8. I used addresses 3E8 and
3E0 (the default on the sefco card) for comm 3 and 4. And I used
addresses 2E8 and 2E0 (the default on the dio card) for comm 5 and 6.


These two port and four port comm cards (that anybody can readily
get) all plug into the lower buss. The lower buss has IRQs 3/4/5/7
available. It seems some PC/AT machines can use IRQ 2 also.
I don't know what's going on there. My books tell me the second
IRQ line is in use tieing the lower interupt chip to the upper
interupt chip. So interupt 2 is really interupt 9. Or is it
visa versa? The book says the upper IRQs 10/11/12/15 are avail
-able for use on the upper buss.




This is a (crude) picture of the small board I used to plug
into the PC/AT's upper, main board buss. The PC/AT lower buss
is 31 edge connector traces per side. The "A" side (or traces)
are on the component side of the plug in boards. The "B"
side is the solder side. The upper buss is 18 edge connector
traces per side. I got this little board at "ACP" on the
corner of Edinger and Grand in Santa Ana, Ca. It was in the junk
section in the back in a bin. It really had 25 traces and I
had to hacksaw 7 off. This pcb material is super easy to hack
on. Just grab a bare blade and go SLOW if you find you have to
hack it down like I did. They charged my $5 bucks for the board.
It had no component type stuff on it. It just had these vertical
trace runs. There is a mfgr name and p/n on the card. It is
"Douglas Electonics" and "6-DE-12".




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This is another (crude) picture of both small boards I used:
One to plug into the PC/AT's lower, main board buss, the other to
plug into the upper main board buss.


(two wires)
----------
/ \

/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \
B1B31 D1D18

The "B" side or Solder side of the The "D" side of the small
DIO-500 serial port card. card used to get the
upper interupts.
Here I cut the board traces for B24
& B25 right above the edge connector Here I took the wire that
then I followed the two IRQ board was B24/IRQ4 and soldered it
traces to their first solder feedthru to the trace above D3. Then
holes, and I soldered a wire into I took the wire that was B25/
the two holes. I didn't use stranded IRQ3 and soldered it to the
stuff. I used 24 awg solid wire. trace above D4.
Three hands are handy. Get a helper.
(note: D5 is IRQ12, D6 is IRQ15)



Now, for this board, IRQ10 is used in place of IRQ4 and IRQ11 is used
in place of IRQ3.



GOOD LUCK! Maybe we can make a comm '6' club?
Lonnie Rolland, sysop (and handy man) Symbol TSS BBS.