Short: Digitized pics of the Emplant board. Architecture: generic These pictures were captured with DCTV and converted to HAM with Art Department Professional. For those of you who are not familar with EMPLANT here is some information: EMPLANT just received class B FCC verification August 24th, 1992. Information reguarding the product "EMPLANT" from Utilities Unlimited, Inc. This information is freely re-distributable and may be placed on any BBS or network except Q-Link. What is EMPLANT? ---------------- EMPLANT is a hardware/software product that is designed to allow the emulation of virtually any computer using the Amiga. A simple software driver and ROM(s) from the computer to emulated are all that is required. Features and software compatibility will depend on the software driver. About the hardware ------------------ The hardware holds the key to emulation speed. Every effort was made to make the hardware virsatile enough that we should never have to upgrade it to handle the emulation of forth comming computer systems. For this reason, we have included components that may never be used, however, this does insure the fact that we are prepared for the future. The MAC series of computers, although different from one another, share the same basic technology. We can replicate this technology by emulating the MAC's custom chips through a reliable hardware system. All timers, interrupts, and clocks are handled on a hardware level so that speed is identical (or even faster) than the real computer being emulated. Support for custom EPROMs, static RAM, and SIMM modules makes our hardware compatible with all existing methods of storing a computer's operating system. This versatility also allows us to create adapter boards if some new method of OS storage becomes available. The EMPLANT hardware has four empty 32 pin ROM/RAM sockets provided for use with operating systems that are stored in DIP format (such as 128K MAC+ ROMs are). These sockets can also be used to store your own utility software in EPROM format. We plan to release a utility package that will be literally "at your fingertips". Another option is to fill the four sockets with static RAMs, giving you up to 2 megs of extra RAM that you could write protect and make auto-booting, which would be handy for floppy-only customers. The hardware comes in two forms: a plug in card that occupies one of the Zoro II/III slots on your A2000/2500/3000, and a plug in card that fits on the expansion bus on your A500/1000. For the A500/1000 version, there is a pass-thru that allows you to plug in your existing equipment. The Apple Nu-Bus expansion ports are not emulated through hardware because they are now RAM-based device drivers which operate faster than a MAC's own hardware. We will be producing NuBus adapter sockets that allow the use of standard MAC NuBus products to work in a Zoro II/III slot. * AVAILABLE HARDWARE OPTIONS * HIGH SPEED MAC SERIAL PORTS/APPLE TALK SUPPORT The MAC serial port is not emulated, it is duplicated - using the exact same standard dual high speed serial interface IC. Apple Talk is completely supported through this port like the MAC, via a 8 pin mini-din connector. This dual high speed serial port can be used on the Amiga side as well, allowing the connection of two serial devices operating independantly. Communication speed on these ports are a maximum of 230.4K baud, which is the speed at which Apple Talk runs. Maximum modem speed is generally limited to 57.6K baud. SCSI INTERFACE A simple, autobooting SCSI controller using NCR53C80 high speed controller IC. Capable of pseudo-DMA transfers up to 1.1 megs per second. Support for up to 7 SCSI devices including CD ROMs, tape backup units, and hand scanners. This SCSI interface can be used on both the Amiga side and the MAC side, independantly or simotaneously. About the MAC IIx emulation software ------------------------------------ The MAC IIx emulator software is relatively simple since the majority of the emulation is done on a hardware level, giving both better compatibility and equally important, emulation speed. The software reads the MAC ROM SIMM module that is installed on the EMPLANT board, dumps the ROM image into a block of memory, and patches the image to run on your Amiga. One intelligent move on the part of Apple was to define "global" variables for their operating system. This makes it relatively simple to move the code around without a lot of hassles. Since the MAC IIx is a 68030 based machine, it has a AMU or PMMU to map memory into various locations. Using a 68020/30/40 with an MMU allows virtually 100% compatibility when running MAC software on the emulator. Another big advantage of having a MMU in your Amiga is that the emulator will multi-task with the Amiga. You can transfer files back and forth between file formats without the need of transfer software. The MAC IIx operating system supports a FFS (Foreign filing system). This is the link to the Amiga. ANY AmigaDOS device can be used on the MAC side. This means that floppys, hard drives, CD ROMs, and even non-standard AmigaDOS devices (such as MessyDOS) can be used as valid devices on the MAC side. Full color (up to 256 colors) can be emulated with various 8bit and 24bit video boards. Support for DCTV, HAME, Firecracker, Resolver and others is provided by video device driver software modules. Up to 16 colors can be displayed using the standard Amiga video output. Sound is emulated exactly via PAULA. The MAC IIx has 4 channel stereo sound nearly identical to the Amiga, so this is easy to emulate on a software level using the existing Amiga hardware. The MAC 400/800K disk format is emulated by using the already successful SYBIL hardware package. High density (1.44mb) floppys are supported via the CBM 1.76mb drives. Future emulation ---------------- Since the EMPLANT's hardware is so versatile, a completely new and different computer can be emulated by just changing the emulation software patch and the ROM(s). MAC QUADRA, Mega ST, and IBM AT (386/486) emulators are planned in the future. Price and availability ---------------------- Current retail price for the basic EMPLANT system is $229 + shipping. Basic EMPLANT system with High speed serial ports/Apple Talk support is $289.00 + shipping. Basic EMPLANT system with high speed SCSI interface is $289.00 + shipping. Deluxe EMPLANT system with both high speed serial ports/Apple Talk support AND high speed SCSI interface is $329 + shipping. All EMPLANT packages described above come with the MAC IIx emulation software and necessary device drivers. The EMPLANT systems are shipping now, however, we are in a back order situation with shipment priority based on the order date. * Product specifications and prices are subject to change without notice * To be placed on a mailing for more information, please contact Utilities Unlimited at: 1641 McCulloch Blvd. Suite #25-124 Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 (602) 680-9004 Jim Drew, Vice-President Utilities Unlimited, Inc. -----------------------------Snippy---Snappy--------------------------------