🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi Grahame,

> I have aquired a AST model CC-832 card without documentation and I
> need any information I can get on the switch settings and other
> asspects I can on this PCB.  Of interest is that I wish to make the
> board any other address other than Com 1 & 2, ie: Com 3,4,5,6 would
> be find as I have already got onboard com1 & 2 on the motherboard.

I have an AST 4-port clone (made by P.C.COM) thus this information
might not be applicable. Anyways, I have been told that my card is
*very* compatible to the "real" thing, so you might just be lucky and
be able to find similar jumpers/switches on your board. A little
trial'n'error could not hurt either.

There is one bank of dip switches with 8 switches total. These
switches are numbered SW1 thru SW8; switches SW7 and SW8 select the
mode, that you want to run your card in:

  SW7  SW8  MODE                           CH1   CH2   CH3   CH4   VEC
  ON   ON   Compatible mode (high address) 3f8   2f8   2b0   2b8   2bf
  ON   OFF  Compatible mode (low address)  3f8   2f8   1b0   1b8   1bf
  OFF  ON   Enhanced mode   (high address) 2a0   2a8   2b0   2b8   2bf
  OFF  OFF  Enhanced mode   (low adress)   1a0   1a8   1b0   1b8   1bf

In "compatible mode" the two first channels will be mapped to COM1:
and COM2:. They automatically generate IRQ4 and IRQ3 if JP2 is
shorted. The two remaining channels are multiplexed thru the vector at
either 2bf or 1bf.

In "enhanced mode" all four channels are multiplexed thru the vector
at 2bf or 1bf. They share one interrupt! Please note, that the ISA bus
architecture does not usually allow sharing of interrupts between
different cards, though. So make sure, that this interrupt is unique.

The default setting is "enhanced mode, high address".

You can select the interrupt by setting one of the dip switches SW1
thru SW6 to ON:

  SW1  SW2  SW3  SW4  SW5  SW6
  IRQ2 IRQ3 IRQ4 IRQ5 IRQ6 IRQ7

There does not seem to be a default setting, although IRQ5 appears to
be a sensible value.

There is a jumper marked as "JP1" which selects waitstates depending
on your computer's bus speed:

  Short 1,3      Lower than 16MHz
  Short 2,4      Above 16MHz

The jumper "JP2" enables COM1/COM2 style interrupts for the first two
channels. This jumper *must* be open in "enhanced mode":

  Short          Compatible mode
  Open           Enhanced mode

There is yet one other jumper ("JP3") which is neccessary for
PC-MOS/386. I have no clue, what it is suppossed to do, but it appears
that setting is incorrectly inhibits proper interrupt generation:

  Short 1,2       Normal mode
  Short 2,3       PC-MOS/386 mode

You probably want to set it to "normal mode".

After proper installation of the card, you must configure it under
Linux. I enabled "/etc/rc.d/rc.serial" by uncommenting one line in
"/etc/rc.d/rc.S". I also enabled these lines in "/etc/rc.d/rc.serial":

  ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua4 uart 16550A port 0x1A0 irq 5 fourport
  ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua5 uart 16550A port 0x1A8 irq 5 fourport
  ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua6 uart 16550A port 0x1B0 irq 5 fourport
  ${SETSERIAL} /dev/cua7 uart 16550A port 0x1B8 irq 5 fourport

Depending on your configuration, the parameters might vary. The above
example is for "enhanced mode, low address, IRQ5". Please note that
not all 4-port cards come with 16550A FIFO UART chips. Thus you might
have to specify a different UART parameter!

Good luck and please let me know, if this information has been
helpful,


Markus
-- 
Markus Gutschke            Internet: gutschk@math.uni-muenster.de
Schlage 5a
D-48268 Greven-Gimbte
Germany