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--- a2232 [2018/08/25 16:08] – wiki_admin
+++ a2232 [2019/12/09 18:54] – rewrites, added PDF schematics wiki_admin
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 **Commodore A2232 Serial Expansion Board**
-The A2232 Multiport Serial Card is a standard 100-pin Zorro II expansion card for the Amiga (A2000, A3000, A4000). It provides the Amiga with 7 additional standard RS232 serial ports, capable of speeds from 50-19200 bps. For more serial channels, additional A2232 boards can be plugged into the system at the same time (up to five boards giving a total of 36 serial ports).
+The A2232, launched in 1990, is a standard 100-pin Zorro II expansion card for the big-box Amigas (A2000, A3000, A4000). It provides the host machine with 7 additional RS232 serial ports, capable of speeds from 50-19200 bps.
+For more serial channels, additional A2232 boards can be plugged into the system at the same time (up to five boards giving a total of 36 serial ports).
+----
 ===== Hardware =====
@@ Line 8: / Line 14: @@
 There are at least two revisions of the board:
-Rev 4 boards have seven MOS Technology 6551 ACIA chips (Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter)
+  * Rev 4 boards have seven MOS Technology 6551 ACIA (Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter) chips
-Rev 6 boards have seven CSG (Commodore Semiconductor Group) 8551 ACIAs (HMOS-II variant of the 6551, released in 1984).
+  * Rev 6 boards have seven CSG (Commodore Semiconductor Group) 8551 ACIAs (HMOS-II variant of the 6551, released in 1984).
 Silkscreen next to the Zorro connector says BERLIN/FISHER indicating the design was made by Creg Berlin and Terry Fisher.
-The board originally came with user manual and seven 80 cm long adapter cables that provided the (then) standard DB25 connections.
+Originally the board came with user manual (missing, anyone have a scan?) and seven 80 cm long adapter cables that provided the (then) standard DB25 connections.
 ==== Enhancements and modifications ====
 Up to 57600 on all ports using a custom device and hardware modification: http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/a2232tuning
-Several sites also refer to mods for up to 115200 bps speeds (on all ports? Link?). Amiga.resource.cx also has a photo of a board with a title "Rev 6 board with RTS/CTS handshake mod". Another modification is to replace the 1.84 Mhz oscillator with a 3.68 Mhz one. This doubles the baud rates but the software won't know about this so the user must keep this in mind when using the board.
+Several sites also refer to mods for up to 115200 bps speeds (on all ports? Link?).
-===== Connectors, pinouts and cables =====
+Amiga.resource.cx also has a photo of a board with a title "Rev 6 board with RTS/CTS handshake mod". Another modification is to replace the 1.84 Mhz oscillator with a 3.68 Mhz one. This doubles the baud rates but the software won't know about this so the user must keep this in mind when using the board.
+==== Schematics ====
+{{https://www.amigaunix.com/lib/exe/fetch.php/manuals:a2232_servicemanual.pdf|A2232 Schematics}} (part of 'System schematics - A2060/A2065/A2232' by Commodore International Spare Parts GmbH Braunschweig, West Germany - August 1990, PN-314042-01).
+----
+==== Serial port pinouts and cables ====
 The connector nearest to the Zorro connector of the board (leftmost) is the first serial port.
@@ Line 80: / Line 94: @@
 //
-===== Usage =====
+----
+===== Using the serial ports =====
+==== Workbench ====
 In Workbench the ports can be accessed using the serial.device driver (ver 33.11 from 1990 and newer, install disk available at Amiga.resource.cx) with the following unit numbers:
 <table label>
-<caption>Unit numbers</caption>
+<caption>Unit numbers in AmigaOS</caption>
 |Unit 0|default port (set in Workbench's Prefs / Serial panel|
 |Unit 1|Amiga's built-in serial port|
@@ Line 98: / Line 118: @@
 If several A2232 boards are installed, the second board's unit numbers are 9-15 and so on. Up to five boards are supported (probably a limitation of the number of Zorro slots in any available machine).
+==== Amix ====
 In Amiga UNIX, the first port of the A2232 is known as **/dev/term/ql00**, second one ql01 and so on, thrue to ql06.
-Probably the main selling point of the A2232 was the ability to connect several serial terminals to an AMIX machine. To start a login shell at any of the serial ports, use pmadm: **pmadm -e -p serial -s ql00** This enables shell in the first port at the default speed of 9600 bps (defined as the 'serial' preset in /etc/screendefs). A real vintage dumb terminal (or a modern PC running terminal emulator, or a device like PockeTerm from Briel Computers) can be connected to the port and used to log into the machine.
+Probably the main selling point of the A2232 was the ability to connect several serial terminals to an AMIX machine. To start a login shell at any of the serial ports, use pmadm: **pmadm -e -p serial -s ql00** This enables shell in the first port at the default speed of 9600 bps (defined as the 'serial' preset in /etc/screendefs).
+A real vintage dumb terminal (or a modern PC running terminal emulator, or a device like PockeTerm from Briel Computers) can be connected to the port and used to log into the machine.
+----
-=== Sources ===
+===== Sources =====
-  * A2232 System schematics
+  * A2232 System schematics (PDF linked in above)
   * http://amiga.resource.cx
   * http://www.l8r.net/technical/t-2232.shtml
   * Wikimedia Commons (mini 8-pin DIN diagram)
   * Thanks to mackbw on English Amiga Board for information on the pinouts!