NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/comp/dcom/modems/19366

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From: [e-mail] (Dave McLane)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Can I upgrade a 16450 uart to a 16550a?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 13 Jan 93 00:20:01 GMT
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Lines: 69

[e-mail] (Jim Graham) writes:

>In article <[e-mail]> puma writes:

>> [e-mail] (Jim Graham) writes:
>> >
>> > usually (and there are exceptions), sales droids don't have a clue about
>> > these things.  the guy you talked to probably doesn't know the
>> > difference between a UART and a toaster, and just pulled out a term
>> > (VLSI) that he'd heard in the past somewhere.  :-)

>> He likely was correct, many systems don't use "real" UARTS, they use
>> a VLSI chip that is programmed to emulate the uarts and other parts.

>yes, but the original poster said specifically that this chip *IS* a
>16450.  not a clone in a multi-function VLSI chip, a 16450, period.

OK. I give up. Let's say that his Dell 325D has a 16450 ...

>the sales droid said it was a VLSI, while the original poster had
>already determined it to be a 16450 (I'm assuming he knows how to read
>the identification off a chip).

.... and the Dell representative wasn't fully correct and Dell did in
fact make some Dell 325D's 16450 UARTs and some with VLSI or
{INTEGRATED:built-in} chips which is what the User's Guide for my
Dell 325D says it has.

>if I look at a chip, and the type designation on the label says it's
>a 16450 (especially if it's in the familiar 40-pin DIP package), while
>a sales droid tells me it's something else, my visual inspection of the
>chip wins.  sorry.

Are you telling us that you have opened up the original poster's
Dell 325D and seen a 16450 chip? I've opened up mine and it doesn't.

Note that the original poster hasn't ever told us *how* he knows
that his Dell 325D has the 16450 chips....

>> *flame on* - Why bother talking with your manufacturer who "doesn't
>> have a clue," when you can talk with an equally clueless person on
>> the net.
>> *flame off*
>
>flame away all you want, but it doesn't change the wording of the data
>sheets I've got sitting right here in front of me.  the question asked
>was if the 16450 could be replaced with a 16550.  the answer is yes,
>it can.  the data sheets tell us we can do this.  I've done it.  others
>have also done it.  it works.  I guess National Semiconductor is
>clueless, too?

Please note there are two subjects here. One is about 164550 UARTs
and whether they can be replaced with 16550; the answer to this is
yes. The other is whether the Dell 325D has 16450 UARTs. In my case,
the answer *can* be *no* because my Dell 325D doesn't have one; I
had to put in a card with 16550 UARTs on it.

I have no way of knowing what kind of Dell 325D the original poster
has because I can't see it with my own two eyes, so I'll just say
that *if* it has 16450 UARTs *and* they aren't soldered in, then
it's quite reasonable to think about taking them out and replacing
them with 16550 UARTs.

Dave

--
Dave McLane
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Nagaokakyoshi, Kyoto Japan Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]