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1993-08-27
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56 lines
BOCA IDE Plus
Controller
by Tony Curro
I had an ancient I/O card. Recently I upgraded my system to a 486.
My serial card would not work. I had recently received the IDE Plus,
and tried it out. I was sold. Not only did I get 2 serial and 1
parallel port, but I also got control for my hard, floppy and tape
drives. Besides which, I could also add a game adapter that will
support an analog joystick.
The card is very flexible, and allows you to enable or disable
everything. You can make it the primary or secondary card, and
configure IRQ's for the hard drive. The parallel port is
configurable as LPT 1-2 or disabled; IRQ5, 7 or none. Set serial A
to COM1 or COM3; IRQ4 or 7. Set serial B to COM2 or COM4; IRQ3 or 5.
You can also disable one or both of the ports. The parallel port is
a 25-pin connector, while serial A is 9-pin and serial B is 25-pin.
It is a 16-bit card, and following the manual, even a novice can
alter the settings. For those who do not have other serial or
parallel cards, and are using this as a primary drive controller,
you can just insert the card in the computer. The one small downside
for some will be the UART chip. IDE Plus comes with high-speed dual
NS16450 compatible UART chips for the serial ports. In honesty, I
did not notice much of a difference when using this card, versus
using a card with a 16550. My transfer rate dropped about 50cps. I
don't feel it was that big a sacrifice. I have been using this card
with Windows and my modem, and have not had any problems with
transfers, even when doing other things. Except for running
WordPerfect, but that was a comment from my last issue. Even a 16550
had problems with WP.
I have worked with several BOCA products, from video to I/O and
modems. I have been pleased with all products tested, and this is no
exception. As I said in the opening, I opted for this card. So I
must be pleased. Pricing makes this an attractive card. As always,
BOCA is Made in the USA, and carries a 5-year warranty.
Product Information
BOCA IDE Plus Controller
(IDEG21)
List Price -- $79.
Game Adapter -- $15.
(IDEGAM)
BOCA Research Inc.
6413 Congress Ave.
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2841
407-997-6227
407-997-0918 (FAX)