The Micromint COMM180 expansion board may be the only board
you will ever need for your SB180 computer. This 4" x 5" board
adds two major functions to your SB180:
1) Bell 103-212A compatible 300/1200 baud modem
with Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) encode/decode
capability and voice synthesis
2) SCSI hard disk controller interface
The COMM180 board is available in three versions:
1) Modem, DTMF encode/decode, and voice synthesis alone
2) Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) hard disk
controller interface alone
3) Both of the above
And either the modem version or the SCSI controller version may
be upgraded to the full version at any time.
The COMM180 does not use a serial port on the SB180, but
instead addresses the bus directly. It is fully Bell 103 and
Bell 212A compatible (including FCC registered Data Access
Arrangement) for 300 and 1200 baud use, is 8251A software compat-
ible, features both DTMF and pulse dialing, call progress mon-
itoring, DTMF reception and decoding, and a unique diagnostic
capability which automatically compensates for common telephone
line deficiencies. In addition the COMM180 has optional voice
synthesis capabilities which allow it to respond verbally to
commands entered via the standard touch tone telephone pad.
The SCSI allows the use of a wide variety of hard disks with
the SB180 for fast, sophisticated mass storage whether you need
just 5 megabytes or 50 megabytes. Many manufacturers offer hard
disk drives and controller cards which mate with the SCSI inter-
face. If you need more file space than floppies allow, the
COMM180 board can help meet your storage needs. In addition,
many laboratory instruments support the SCSI standard, thus the
COMM180 can allow the SB180 to be more easily used for data
logging and data reduction.
Software for the COMM180 includes a complete modem commun-
ications system and messaging system designed to run under Z-
System DOS available for the SB180. BIOS modifications are
supplied in source code to allow integration of hard disk drivers
into the Z-System DOS.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Modem
- Plugs into the Expansion Bus on the SB180
- Only 4" by 5"
- Fully Bell-212A and Bell-103 Compatible
- DTMF or Pulse Dialing
- Jack for External Speaker for Call Progress Monitoring
- DTMF Reception and Decoding
- 8251A Software Compatibility
- Parity Generation/Checking
- Sync Byte Detection/Insertion
- Synchronous 1200 bps, Asynchronous 1200,300,110 bps
- Software Controlled Audio Input and Output Interface
(2 Separate Jacks) for Voice Communication or Acoustic Coupling
- Voice Synthesis (LPC coded)
- ASCII Command and Error/Status Codes
- Extensive Built in Diagnostics
- Phone Line Diagnostics
- FCC Registered Direct Connection. Tip and Ring Input
- Operates on +5/+12 Volt Power Supply
SCSI
- Provides a Device Independent Local I/O Bus
- Operates at DMA Data Rates Up to 1.5 Megabytes Per Second
- Supports Initiator and Target Roles
- Parity Generation with Optional Checking
- Supports Bus Arbitration
- Provides Direct Control of All Bus Signals
- Xebec 1410 compatible
- Adaptec ACB4000 compatible
(page 2)
COMM180 Software
The software which comes with the COMM180 consists of TERM
III and Z-MSG (optional).
TERM III is a sophisticated communications package which
offers all the functions of standard modem programs but goes far
beyond them when used with COMM180's advanced features and Z-
System DOS (required for operation). TERM III was designed to be
used as:
1) an originating communications system to allow the user to
dial out, communicate with other computers, and perform
file transfer functions;
2) a remote access system to allow users to dial into the
system, interact with it, and transfer programs into
and out of it; and
3) a configuration system to allow the user to configure the
attributes of the other two types of systems.
TERM III offers multiple file transfer protocols: Christiansen's
MODEM7 (with checksum and with CRC), MODEM7 batch, XMODEM, KER-
MIT, CompuServe's CIS, and X-ON/X-OFF. Special attention has
been paid to making the remote access system completely secure
from unauthorized use. You may also call in to TERM III on the
COMM180 and use a standard touch tone pad to give special
instructions, e.g., run a program using the COMM180's speech
synthesis to give a verbal summary of system access.
Z-MSG allows the COMM180, SB180, and TERM III to be custom
configured as a "turnkey" Remote Bulletin Board System - either
as a public system allowing access to anyone or as a private
system restricting access to "members only". Z-MSG allows up to
eight user "types" with varying priveleges associated with each.
Messages may be public or private and may be over 100 lines long.
Extensive editing functions are provided and comprehensive on-
line help is always available.
For those wishing to use the SCSI as a hard disk controller,
source code is provided which allows many types of hard disk
controllers and sizes of Winchester disks to be used as mass
storage for the SB180. Two popular controllers are supported
directly - the Xybec 1410 controller and the high performance
Adaptec ACB4000. Two disk sizes are supported - the standard 10
MB drive as well as the high capacity 20 MB drive. Provisions to
support other controllers and even higher capacity drives are
included. Of course, the SCSI may also be used to link other
SB180's or SCSI equipment together as well.
COMM180-S SCSI interface only
COMM180-M modem only
COMM180-MS SCSI and modem
Micromint in CT 871-6170
800 635-3355
-M modem onl
