The ioExtender is a single-card solution in Zorro II format that provides an additional serial port and an additional parallel port and a connector for an optional RS422 port or a second RS232 port. Amiga owners have traditionally been limited to just the use of the built-in parallel port and the supplied serial port and RS422 access has never been integrated to the platform. The serial port in particular has been a serious bottleneck as it was effectively limited to bps rates of 9600 without taxing the CPU time available to the system. This difficulty is removed with the installation of one or more ioExtenders.
The serial port(s) on the ioExtender differ from the Amiga's built-in port in one very significant fact. They have a 16byte FIFO (First-in First-Out) buffer that facilitates very high speed transfers of data without character loss or CPU performance degradation. Theoretical maximum speeds of 625,000 bps are available with these ports. Settings for traditional speeds of 9600, 19200, MIDI, 38400 & 57600 are easily achieved with the intuitive software provided. For applications that allow the user to define what device driver to use, selecting gvpser.device gets the user all the capability of ioExtender and maintains the availability of the native serial port. A similar capability exists for the parallel port.
There are two optional add-ons for ioExtender, mutually exclusive. Select a second RS232 port for additional serial applications such as drawing tablets and serial controlled touch screens or a second modem port. The RS422 module allows access to the numerous devices, particularly in the video field, that have RS422 interfacing capability. Either way, the provided software will simplify your configuration and you are on the way to speed and reliability.
| FEATURE | BENEFIT |
|---|---|
| FIFO buffered serial ports | No data loss or CPU degradation during high-speed transfers. |
| ZORRO II/III Autoconfig | Simplify connection and access |
| Control Software | Easy configuration, reconfiguration without jumpers or dip switches. |
| RS422 Option | Simple plug-in device to gain access to RS422 controllable devices |
System Requirements
The ioExtender requires an Amiga 4000, 3000, or 2000 with an available Zorro slot, and Kickstart/Workbench 1.3 or higher.
Recommended Additional Equipment