Amiga USB Controller for Zorro II
+++ Product is discontinued, please have a
look at its successor:
Deneb USB Controller. +++
ALGOR/ALGOR PRO is the successor of the well known HIGHWAY
Zorro USB controller. After several months of development there is now a Zorro USB
controller which is tailormade for Amiga Classic systems. For reaching this goal
the most powerful non-PCI USB host controller which is available on the market now
is being used.
As much customer requests in this new product as possible have been considered.
By using the new controller chip most of the USB protocol handling could be
managed completely in hardware which reduces system load in the Amiga multitasking
system. This is especially important for systems with 'small' CPUs.
The request for higher data throughput could also be fulfilled. The ALGOR/ALGOR PRO
internally operates completely in 32bit technology and it addresses with 32bit accesses
on the Zorro II bus. As Amigas usually are operated with 32bit CPUs this implementation
reaches data transfer rates on the USB side which are near to the theoretical maximum values.
The ALGOR/ALGOR PRO compares by this design with comparable PCI DMA solutions, even if only
'small' CPUs like the 040 are used in the system.
ALGOR/ALGOR PRO is shipped with an OEM full license of the famous USB stack Poseidon by
Chris Hodges. The Amiga Award Winner 2002 is completing the ALGOR/ALGOR PRO hardware
with a field-tested software solution operating not only on Amiga Classic systems.
ALGOR/ALGOR PRO is offering next to its USB functionality several expansion possibilities.
The HIGHWAY expansion port is also present on the ALGOR/ALGOR PRO
and can be used to operate the NORWAY ethernet module.
Moreover, a 512 kB FlashROM (ALGOR PRO: 1024 kB) has been integrated on
the ALGOR to transparently include the USB stack Poseidon right after a system cold
powerup. This allows to boot an ALGOR/ALGOR PRO equipped system right off USB mass storage
devices, to use USB mice and keyboards during Early Startup Menu and to include
system patches like those from OS3.9.
Technical data:
- extremely fast Zorro II bus interface by atomic 32bit accesses
- compatible with Zorro II / III busses
- compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 specification (no highspeed mode)
- integrated 3 port hub
- all ports are protected against overvoltage and short circuit
- integrated power management
- power saving 3.3V technology
- compatible with all 68030/040/060 and PPC turbo cards
- integrated 512 kB FlashROM memory (ALGOR PRO: 1024 kB) for Poseidon USB stack integration
- bus interface logic can be updated without hardware modifications!
- 38pin expansion header for ethernet module (10MBit) or
serial/parallel port expansion (hyperCOM 3i)
- expansion header can be used simultanously with USB operations
Software support:
- compatible with AmigaOS 3.1, 3.5 and 3.9
- USB stack is fully compatible with MorphOS
- integration into Amiga OS via system conform drivers
- comfortable control of USB stack by GUI (MUI)
- driver for USB mouse and keyboard (HID devices), parallel interface
(printers) and flash card readers (SCSI emulation) are included
- further drivers (webcam, digicam) are available by third companies
Package contens:
- 1x ALGOR/ALGOR PRO USB controller card
- 2x holding plates with three USB connectors
- 1x detailed English installation manual
- 1x registration card
- 1x disk with driver software
Requirements
- Amiga OS 3.1 or higher
- Processor 68030 (25MHz) or higher
- 100% compatible Zorro II / III bus
- power supply with 1.5 Ampere minimum on 5V (each used USB port
will use a maximum of 500mA, depending on connected device)
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