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IBM 5160 + Etherlink III - 3C509B COMBO

J

Jotschi

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Sep 13, 2020
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Vienna - Austria
I'm currently trying to add network support to my IBM 5160 by using a 3C509B COMBO card.

The 3CCFG tool detects my card but is unable to flash the configuration. I thus placed the card in a more modern PC and configured it.

Code: 
3CCFG CONFIGURE /INT:5 /IOBASE:0x220 /MODEM:none /OPTIMIZE:dos /XCVR:auto

After that I placed the card back into the 5160 and loaded the 3c509.com with recommended software interrupt 0x7e.

Source of the 3c509.com is from https://github.com/hackerb9/3C509B-nestor

The card works in the more modern PC.

Am I missing anything basic here?
 
Hardware IRQ 5 is your hard disk, so you can't use that. Use 2, 3, 4 (if you have no serial port), or 7. Also, IOBASE of 220 means you can't ever install a Sound Blaster, although there isn't much software that can effectively use an SB on an XT anyway.

The example configuration in https://github.com/hackerb9/3C509B-nestor is more correct for your system, so I'm curious why you changed the interrupt and port in your example. Also, 0x73 isn't the recommended software interrupt; 0x60 is.
 
The github page seems quite useful. But I am a little confused by the write-up. It mentions IRQ 2 as available but "Not allowed by 3C5X9CFG". Actually it is usable by setting IRQ 9, and sticking it into a PC/XT. That is what I did. Disabling the modem option is a good idea too. Nothing else really needs to be changed for it to work in the 5160, as long as you don't conflict in the I/O address and software interrupt.
 
I have no MFM controller card installed. I tried IRQ 3 and 7 and switched back to software interrupt 0x60. Still no luck.

The output of 3c509.com 0x60 contains the information about the previously set IRQ and IO address.

Would I still get this output even if my card would be in EISA mode? Is there a way to confirm the mode of the card?
It seems that the 3C509 COMBO will not list config options to modify this in the 3ccfg tool.

I found this info on this topic:
* http://krusty.dt.e-technik.tu-dortmund.de/~ma/3c509.html
* https://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/eth/cameron-spitzer.txt

I have not tried to reset it yet.
 
I tried pulling the testpoint on the card to GND during reboot, power up. But that has no effect on the EEPROM or the configuration options in the 3ccfg tool.
 
the3dfxdude said:
It mentions IRQ 2 as available but "Not allowed by 3C5X9CFG". Actually it is usable by setting IRQ 9, and sticking it into a PC/XT. That is what I did.
Click to expand...

IRQ 2 chains to IRQ 9 on ATs and later, so that explains it.

Jotschi said:
I have no MFM controller card installed. I tried IRQ 3 and 7 and switched back to software interrupt 0x60. Still no luck.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention IRQ 3 is COM2/COM4 (IRQ 4 is COM1/COM3) so if you have multiple serial ports installed, can't use that.

The output of 3c509.com 0x60 contains the information about the previously set IRQ and IO address.
Click to expand...

The *previously* set address? Meaning, when you try to change the IRQ and IO address, it doesn't stick?

Mine is at IRQ 3 Port 260 and working.

I have not tried to reset it yet.
Click to expand...

I would try to configure it in a 286 or later with the settings you need on the XT.
 
I would try to configure it in a 286 or later with the settings you need on the XT.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm currently using a Pentium to re-configure the card.

Mine is at IRQ 3 Port 260 and working.
Click to expand...

Do you have a 3C509B Combo in your machine?

The *previously* set address? Meaning, when you try to change the IRQ and IO address, it doesn't stick?
Click to expand...

The output from the 5160 contains the IRQ and IO information that have been configured using the Pentium PC. (So the driver can communicate with the card)
When I try to change the IRQ and IO with the card installed in the 5160 the settings are not being updated. (Although the config tool states it has reconfigured the card). I don't mind to re-configure the card in the Pentium PC.

I forgot to mention IRQ 3 is COM2/COM4 (IRQ 4 is COM1/COM3) so if you have multiple serial ports installed, can't use that.
Click to expand...

I have installed:

* One MDA card
* Memory expansion module (also tried it without it being installed)
* Floppy controller card
* XT-IDE-CF Adapter (using IO 0x300)

No MFM, No soundcard, No serial card

Could the EISA / ISA mode setting be a cause of my problem? Or is that unlikely?
 
I want to mention that it is known that only a true 3c509B card is compatible with 8-bit operation. There are other variants. Here is a thread with a "3C509-Combo" that the user thought was compatible, but it appears it wasn't a true 3c509B card and was not 8-bit compatible.
http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?75277-3C509-C(ombo)-Trouble-using-with-8088

Check to make sure it is a true 3c509B. Then my recommendation would be to put the card into a more modern system, and use the original Etherlink III disk's 3c5x9cfg program, set the settings you need, confirm it takes and works, and move it back to the 5160. I am not familiar with how well the new 3ccfg program handles setting the proper settings -- it is fairly new. If you have a 286+ system, then you can just use the original utility anyway. This is what everyone, including myself, were doing more than 6 months ago.

Also, one thing about using the original utility, you can go into the program and make sure PNP is really disabled. I'm not sure if the 3ccfg disables it or there really is a working command line switch there.
 
There is no way a 3c509 card will work in an XT-class system, only the 3c509b cards work, so hopefully you can work it out with the seller.

If your seller can't sell you a 3c509b card, there are always Intel Etherexpress 8/16 cards available for cheap. They are among the slowest of all NICs that work in 808x-class systems, and they don't work in AT&T 6300/Olivetti M24 clones, but they are easy to configure in any system.
 
Another NIC option is a card based on the Realtek 8019a chipset. The packet driver for those works on XTs, with the one minor annoyance that it refuses to accept IRQ2 as a valid setting.
 
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