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EMS AR+ to PC connection
keropi - Mar 3, 2003
  keropi Mar 3, 2003
Is it possible to connect an EMS ActionReplay+ with the pc, without using a CommsLink card? (an ISA card....) maybe with a null modem cable at the LPT1 and some special software? anyone has any info on it?

 antime Mar 3, 2003
You can build yourself a FreeWing... which connects to the parallel port, but you have to write the software yourself. Plugging the AR directly to the parallel port won't work and could fry your hardware.

 ExCyber Mar 3, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			You can build yourself a FreeWing which connects to the parallel port


Free Wing... is the designer (not sure if it's a group or individual) of the interface, and is still doing some neat stuff, like "hardware emulation" of Galaxian....


  
	
	

		
		

			but you have to write the software yourself


I think the "PAR-Communicate TOOL" here... might support the interface, but it's been a while since I've messed with it.

 antime Mar 3, 2003
Most of the existing FreeWing tools I've seen were written for the Caetla protocol which IIRC is slightly different even for those functions which both support.

I know at least one other parallel port interface (the ExStand) which is very similar to FreeWing's exist, but I lost the bookmark when Mozilla decided I had too many good ones. The latest/last versions of K-Comm's PSX tools has support for this interface and based on a disassembly the only difference between the two (from a programming point of view) is a slightly different pin assignment.

 ExCyber Mar 3, 2003
I can't test this since I don't have the interface, but running it showed this:

/l: Link Device 0=ComsLink default=ComsLink

1=LPT_PC(def.=0378H)

2=LPT_98(fix =0140H)

 antime Mar 3, 2003
That's for suport for the Japanese PC98 standard parallel ports.


  
	
	

		
		

			chkcomms.com version 0.07E ©1998 K-Comm.



usage : chkcomm [switch]



switch: -P     PC CommsLink Port # (def=2)



            CommsLink 0:300 1:310 2:320 3:330



            ExStand 4:LPT1 5:LPT2 6:LPT3



            FreeWing 7:LPT1 8:LPT2 9:LPT3



    -T     Test item to use (def=0)



            0: Send/Rec. test (PAR protocol)



            1: Send/Rec. test (caetla)



            2: Module: PortIO



            3: Module: PortIOPhaseX



            4: Module: SendDatas



            5: Module: RecvDatas



func. : Checks communication between PC <--> PSX.


The PAR protocol functions might work with the Saturn as well, I haven't bothered finding out.

EDIT: Didn't you adapt the Linux Commlink driver for Saturn use? What changes did you have to make?

 ExCyber Mar 3, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			That's for suport for the Japanese PC98 standard parallel ports.


I assume that's what LPT_98 refers to. I'm a little skeptical that LPT_PC means the same, especially considering that it specifically refers to port address 0x378.


  
	
	

		
		

			EDIT: Didn't you adapt the Linux Commlink driver for Saturn use? What changes did you have to make?


I didn't adapt the driver (for those who don't know, it's the /dev/pccl driver from Daniel Balster's psxdev...), but wrote a userland utility that uses some of its low-level functions. It was largely copy/paste/edit from TyRaNiD's debugger. It can be found at my derelict..., if you want to look at the code, but it's really completely unaware of the physical protocol; that's taken care of by /dev/pccl.

 antime Mar 3, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by ExCyber@Mar 3, 2003 @ 07:15 PM



I assume that's what LPT_98 refers to. I'm a little skeptical that LPT_PC means the same, especially considering that it specifically refers to port address 0x378.


I was referring to the LPT_98 option. LPT_PC should mean the standard PC parallel ports, but it still doesn't say what interface it uses. FreeWing, ExStand, Xploder or something else? (Xploder is a PSX cartridge that connects directly to the parallel port.)


  
	
	

		
		

			I didn't adapt the driver (for those who don't know, it's the /dev/pccl driver from Daniel Balster's psxdev...), but wrote a userland utility that uses some of its low-level functions. It was largely copy/paste/edit from TyRaNiD's debugger. It can be found at my derelict..., if you want to look at the code, but it's really completely unaware of the physical protocol; that's taken care of by /dev/pccl.


OK, then the driver probably only provides direct access to the Commlink hardware. I remember that the documentation talks about the Caetla functions, but support for those might have been through a library.

(By the way, it seems psxdev.de is gone and the Wayback Machine... doesn't have a copy.)

 ExCyber Mar 3, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			LPT_PC should mean the standard PC parallel ports, but it still doesn't say what interface it uses. FreeWing, ExStand, Xploder or something else?


Well, it is a Free Wing program...


  
	
	

		
		

			OK, then the driver probably only provides direct access to the Commlink hardware. I remember that the documentation talks about the Caetla functions, but support for those might have been through a library.


No, there are also quite a few PSX/Caetla-specific functions in the driver, I just didn't use them.

 antime Mar 3, 2003

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by ExCyber@Mar 3, 2003 @ 08:22 PM



 Well, it is a Free Wing program...


Ah, yes, that would settle it.

 keropi Mar 4, 2003
so I can build a Freewing interface, but we do not know if it works for saturn.... The site says it is for PSX...

 antime Mar 4, 2003
The FreeWing will work, it is designed as a Commlink replacement.

 AntiPasta Mar 5, 2003
LPT98 actually refers to the printer port of the PC98 series of computers... special PC-like (but different) architectures only released in Japan... but I think that we might as well write our own SSFEXE or even a CatFlap port, and include full support for Freewing and the like