[Coco] Ethernet Port Cartridge for the Coco 3

Tue Feb 5 13:08:06 EST 2013

Why the coco wouldn't be able to implement the TCP/IP stack ?

Let me give you as example the MSX computer. It has 2 ethernet cards one
the Obsonet where the TCP/IP stack is performed by the Z-80 and a newer
one, the DenYoNet which implements the TCP by hardware.

http://www.msx.org/articles/obsonet
http://www.kirainet.com/english/interview-with-nestor-soriano-konamiman/

Don't you think the MC6809 can do what a z-80 does ?

On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 12:44 PM, Steve Batson
<steve at batsonphotography.com>wrote:

> I know I've seen several threads on this in the past with all sorts of
> opinions on it. While I have a lot of hardware and software experience in
> the PC world, I'm not  a circuit level person nor do I have experience
> writing drivers and such to make this type of thing work. I do find it
> interesting and have some genuine questions.
>
> While some say that the CoCo is too slow to implement an ethernet
> interface with software to implement the TCP/IP stack on it (and I totally
> understand that), wouldn't it be possible to create a product that handled
> all of the Ethernet hardware as well as the networking stack and just
> transfer requests and responses to the coco when appropriate? For example,
> if software was doing a file transfer, couldn't the coco just pass the
> request  off to the controller and transfer the data at speeds that it can
> handle with the controller doing all of the heavy lifting and buffering as
> needed?
>
> I know people of talked about a web browser for the coco too. I do think
> the graphics and resolution limits alone would make that not feasible even
> if the controller did all the hard work and just passed the page info to
> the coco, but I don't see why text based connections and file transfer type
> networking would be out of the question if the controller did all the stuff
> that the CoCo couldn't do efficiently.
>
> Let's say this was a feasible approach, why would this approach not be
> acceptable if it works and there's no other feasible way to do it? Better
> than not having the ability to do it :)
>
>
>
>
>
> On Feb 3, 2013, at 11:29 AM, Mark Ormond <markormond at mtxsystems.com>
> wrote:
>
> > That's the same chip used in the arduino Ethernet shield, really easy to
> setup and with it being in a arduino lib, easy to look at working source
> code.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com]
> On Behalf Of Aaron Wolfe
> > Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2013 2:00 PM
> > To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
> > Subject: Re: [Coco] Ethernet Port Cartridge for the Coco 3
> >
> > Implementing UDP is nearly as difficult as TCP, well probably 90% or
> so..  You still need the same underlying stack and whatnot.
> >
> > I think a good approach would be to use something like this:
> >
> > https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9471?
> >
> > Cheap, and it provides a decent TCP/IP stack in hardware and connects to
> the ethernet/wifi interface.  So you'd just have to communicate between
> coco and the tcp controller at a high level.
> >
> > -Aaron
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Feb 3, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Robert Hermanek <
> rhermanek at centurytel.net> wrote:
> >> You know, whenever this subject comes up, I agree that implementing
> >> TCP would be impossible.  But if the ethernet hardware was possible,
> >> why not just implement UDP instead?  If I had a udp-only ethernet
> >> catridge plugged into my coco3 I'd be one happy guy.
> >>
> >> -RobertH
> >>
> >> On 1/26/2013 9:04 PM, Aaron Wolfe wrote:
> >>>
> >>> I've never seen ethernet for a coco.  At the fest I've seen what
> >>> looked like a prototype ARCnet interface (10base2) but the word there
> >>> was that nobody is exactly sure what it implements.
> >>>
> >>> Getting an ethernet port wired up to a coco would be challenging.
> >>> Actually doing anything with it would be much more so, since there
> >>> isn't any software (yet).  I've approached a few different 'hardware
> >>> guys' about putting together an ethernet interface + one of the
> >>> small/cheap TCP/IP stacks on a chip, since that would at least get us
> >>> something new applications could use without first having to write a
> >>> low level networking stack.  Nobody has done much along those lines
> >>> yet that I know of.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 9:39 PM, Kip Koon <computerdoc at sc.rr.com>
> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hey You Guys,
> >>>>
> >>>> I remember seeing an Ethernet port cartridge for the coco, but I
> >>>> don't remember where.  Does anyone have any recollection of an
> >>>> Ethernet port being created as a cartridge or as an add-on to one of
> >>>> the other multi-purpose paks.  For instance, I have a Disto Super
> >>>> Controller that has some pins sticking out the side which I never
> >>>> ended up using for anything.  It has eight addresses available for
> >>>> anything.  Is there anyone who has some of Tony's old add-ons he
> >>>> developed for his multi-purpose cartridges?  If so, I'd like to see
> >>>> if something catches my eye.  Thanks guys.
> >>>>
> >>>> Kip
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
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> >>>
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> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
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