HPCA2                            communications adapter, IBM PC
Programmable Communications on Your IBM PC
 
Microbytes Daily News Service
Copyright (c) 1989, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
The HPCA2 is a programmable communications adapter for the IBM PC
that comes with a variety of customized communications-port
configurations. Automated Programming Techniques International
(APTI) says that the HPCA2 was originally developed as an
intelligent LAN adapter for use in networked system.
 
This half-size card features a Motorola MC68000 series 32-bit
microprocessor with up to 64K bytes of RAM, 16K bytes of which is
windowed into the computer's memory space, providing a shared
memory interface that the host PC and the HPCA-2 can access
simultaneously.
 
The card has no PROMs; you download programs and run them in
RAM. It's claimed that this feature does not restrict the adapter
card to a specific communications application, so you can
reprogram it with alternative communications handlers. APTI can
customize the I/O options on the card to your own requirements.
 
You can use the HPCA-2 in LANs for V.24 high-speed synchronous
and asynchronous communications, in remote workstations for X.24
synchronous communications, for electronic point-of-sale
controllers for eight-channel multiplexed current-loop
transceivers, and in fiber-optic LANs for high-speed asynchronous
communications over distances of a kilometer or more.
 
Price: L200 and up, depending on the configuration.
 
Contact: Automated Programming Techniques International Ltd.,
222 London Rd., St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 1PN, UK,
44-07-273-5155.
 
                              --- Martha Hicks
 
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