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Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1987 21:14:30 -0400
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From: cahan@cwbdc.CHEM.CWRU.Edu
To: dlanor@oden.se
Subject: Re: CAB bug
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> From:	SMTP%"dlanor@oden.se"  5-SEP-1987 18:37:05.03
> Subj:	Re: CAB bug

> 
> >> In the meantime you should check all major circuits on the
> >> board for the code "ET4000" which, if you find it, is a VERY good sign.
> >
> >	How does one do THAT! *I don't even know how to access a VME card!!
> 
> I simply meant that you should scan it visually, trying to see if this text
> occurs anywhere on the circuit board or on any integrated circuit.  It is
> actually the 'name' of one particular such chip, which has been very common
> in VGA compatible Graphic boards both for VME and PC-specific buses.
> 
> I suppose my use of the word 'code' misled you to think I meant a computerized
> search of the board in operation.
> 
I looked and found the following on the bottom of the board.

Art Nr. 1610000
Matgraf MICO
Matrix DateiSytems Gmbh.

	So it is definitely a Matrix MICO board!!! The chips labeled 
T21xM00a are clearly a rom or pla of some sort, and must be unique to
a particular board? No?

The board looks like this:
 ____________________________________________________________
|__  ______________                                         |
|  | |            |                                         |
|  | |upside down |                    empty space          |
|3 | |            |                                       F |
|2 | |    new     |                 old memory???         D |
|8 | |   memory?  |                                       3 |
|0 | |            |                                       4 |
|8 | _____________                                        1 |
|  | __________                                           9 |
|  | |T215M00a |    __________  ___  ___  ________        1 |
|  | ----------    |         | |  | |  | |       |          |
|V | __________    |  A82786 | |  | |  | |       |  ______  |
|M | |T214M00A |   |  SX117  | |  | |  | | MATRIX|  | 15  | |
|E | ----------    | L0202966| |  | |  | |  CHIP |  | pin | |
|  | __________    |         | |  | |  | |       |  |     | |
|  |  T213M00A |   |         | |  | |  | |       |  |     | |
|__  ----------    __________  ___  ___  _________  ------- |
|___________________________________________________________

It's a standard VME size board.The matrix chip was removed, added to a piggy-
back card with standoffs.
The 32808 is on the VME connector. The FD34191 is on the board foil.
The A82786 is the Intel Graphics chip.
	
> >I couldn't find a chip that said ET4000 or anything like that.
> 
> Ok, too bad.  Then it probably can't use NVDI only, and even with the
> proprietary drivers, NVDI (and thus CAB) compatibility is doubtful.
> I'm not saying that it is hopeless, only that the risk exists.
> 
> 
> >> >	System Solutions, who used tohandle them are f__ks and won't 
> >> >even answer me.
> >> 
> >> That's irritating, but are you sure your request really reached them then ?
> >> 
> >YEAH! No question. In desperation, I sent them mails to 8 different addresses.
> >even one thru their web page. I did hear from them once or twice, at first.
> >That was before I knew what kind of board it was. (now I know because 
> >I found a notation "Matrix MICO" on the board!) Their response then was 
> >"never heard of this G/Card", and "can't do a thing without the machine here"
> >Since then not one reply.!!!
> 
> Very bad policy that, but it will probably rebound on them eventually.
> Some get away with this sort of thing for a long time, but since such
> people are unable to plan for long range customer relationships they
> invariably blow it if they ever become dependent on any such.
> 
> 
> About that 'Matrix' diskette:
> 
> Were there only program files on it, and no text files at all ?
	Tiny text files, in German of course, but no installation instructions.

> Some people have a very strange taste in file naming and choice of extensions,
> to a degree sometimes hard to believe.  Eg: naming a file "DOC.TOS" when it is
> actually a doc about TOS, which a more sensible person would name "TOS.DOC"
> 
> Sometimes even program files contain instructions embedded in the code, so that
> too is worth looking at, with some general purpose file editor (not text editor)
> like HEX_EDIT or similar, that can show both text and raw data.
> 
	How does one access the VME board? One of the problems is that 
I don't know if the board works or the connector works, or what.
If I put CXX_INST.PRG from the folder "auto in my auto folder, It
gives a message (in German) that I gather is "unable to access the 
Graphics board", or some such.

Boris

Prof. Boris D. Cahan			bdc2@po.cwru.edu
Dept. of Chemistry
Case Western Reserve Univ.
Cleveland, Ohoho 44106

.
