Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!amdahl!pyramid!voder!wlbr!pete
From: pete@wlbr.EATON.COM (Pete Lyall)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os9
Subject: Re: X-10 interface for COCO
Message-ID: <18889@wlbr.EATON.COM>
Date: 29 Jun 88 18:17:52 GMT
References: <1339@wa4mei.UUCP>
Reply-To: pete@wlbr.UUCP (0000-Pete Lyall)
Distribution: na
Organization: Eaton IMS, Westlake Village, CA
Lines: 26

In article <1339@wa4mei.UUCP> jrn@wa4mei.UUCP (7418) writes:
>
>I am looking for some information on the 'Plug-n-power' COCO interface
>The inteligent box that plugs into the COCO cassette port.  
>I need a driver to talk to it and also some programming information.
>Thanks,
>Joe Novosel 

Basically, it's somewhat impossible under os9 unless you are
able/willing to convert the interface to use RS-232 levels and you
chat with it via your RS-232 pak. Reason is that the cassette port
which it uses fails to provide any interrupt capability... fine for
RS-DOS, who has time to wait for a character and software strobe it
in.. not so fine for OS9, who always has better things to do.

A better bet might be to get the 'normal' BSR X10 powerhouse... it has
a serial interface, and as near as we can tell, the same command
protocol. You can get them from DAK, Heath/Zenith, and from EggHead
software for $20-$50. If you do, I have some rather elegant Unix code
to control it that I ported to os9 a year or so ago.


-- 
Pete Lyall (OS9 Users Group VP)|  DELPHI: OS9UGVP  |  Eaton Corp.(818)-706-5693
Compuserve: 76703,4230 (OS9 Sysop) OS9 (home): (805)-985-0632 (24hr./1200 baud)
Internet: pete@wlbr.eaton.com      UUCP: {ihnp4,scgvax,jplgodo,voder}!wlbr!pete