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Parallel I/O Ports for Micro Channel

Source: Parallel I/O ports for the IBM Micro Channel (original)
Authors: C. D. Spencer and E. J. Herrmann
Department of Physics, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York 14850

Eight-bit parallel input/output (I/O) ports for the IBM Micro Channel are described. First, the Micro Channel signals needed for the ports are identified and defined. Next, the states of the data and address lines and the controls during input and output sequences are described. Finally, ports circuitry which responds to the sequences is presented and explained.

Introduction

Since the late 1970s, the vast majority of computer data acquisition papers in the American Journal of Physics, The Physics Teacher, and recently this journal involve interfaces and other circuitry designed by the authors. This is not surprising since electronics and instrumentation are important in physics.

Earlier, we characterized and compared game port, serial, and parallel interfaces, and argued the advantages of the latter ¹. We have also described a comprehensive scheme for computer data acquisition through parallel I/O ports ². Others have presented a variety of instruments and measurements which work off such ports (for instance, Refs. 3-7). Port designs for Apple II's, ^8,9 original PC's, ⁹ and Macintoshes ¹⁰ are in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to present ports for the IBM Micro Channel.

I. I/O On Intel Microprocessors

Intel microprocessors perform input and output through timing sequences (called machine cycles) which involve their data and address lines and several control signals. In a programming language such as QuickBASIC, the output sequence is produced by execution of an OUT port number, value statement. The input sequence occurs when variable = INP(port number) is executed. Parallel port circuitry must respond to the output sequence by storing the value (on the data lines) and making it available to whatever is connected to the ports. The circuitry must respond to the input sequence by supplying a value to the data lines which is subsequently assigned to variable. In both cases, the circuitry only acts when its "wired in" port number matches the port number in the language statement.

II. Micro Channel Operations

The Micro Channel may be thought of as a set of sockets into which circuit boards may be plugged. In the most common case, the sockets have three sections: optional video extension, 8 bit, and 16 bit, as shown in Fig. 1. The 28 connections needed for the parallel ports are

• A₁₅...A₀: 16 address lines contain the port number during I/O operations;

• M/-IO: the memory or input/output control is low during I/O cycles and high during memory read/write cycles;

• d₇...d₀: eight data lines on which values go to and from the ports;

• -S₁ & -S₀: 2 status controls which distinguish input from output cycles (-S0 and –S1, are 1 and 0 during inputs and 0 and 1 during outputs);

• -CMD: CoMmanD is the basic timing control.

Note that IBM uses the convention that signal names with "-" prefixes are active low.

Figure 2 gives the timing for I/O sequences." Before -CMD goes active, two things occur: (1) at least 85 ns before CMD, the port number appears on A₁₅...A₀, and M/-IO indicates an I/O operation; and (2) at least 55 ns before -CMD, S₀ and S₁, indicate an input or output cycle.

Then, if the operation is an input, IBM specifies that the ports circuit must put a data value on d₇...d₀ do no more than 60 ns after -CMD (goes active) and it must be removed between 0 and 40 ns after -CMD.

If the operation is an output, d₇...d₀ contains the data value starting when -CMD goes active and continuing at least 30 ns after -CMD returns inactive.

In the timing diagram: (1) "hatched" areas indicate unpredictable states; (2) double lines on A₁₅...A₀ and d₇...d₀ indicate a set of values, some high and some low; and (3) the half-height lines for d₇...d₀ indicate a Hi-Z "disconnected" state. Note that A₁₅...A₀, M/-IO, S₀, and S₁, begin the next cycle during -CMD. Although not shown, -CMD and the data lines may be finishing a previous cycle as the cycle shown begins.

III. Ports Circuit

We decided to implement two 8-bit input and two 8-bit ports. Perusal of IBM port number assignments for PS/2 Models 50, 60, 70, and 80 ¹¹ reveals that numbers 300 and 301 hex are not used by other devices such as the keyboard, disk controller, printer ports, etc. (However, one must always be sure no other board in a Micro Channel slot uses one of the numbers.)

Fig. 1. Pin assignments for a Micro Channel slot showing the connections needed for parallel I/O ports.

The complete ports circuit in Fig. 3 contains three parts: 74F373 buffers, a port number decoder, and a control generator. Each is discussed separately.

A. 74F373 Latch/Buffers

The heart of the ports are four 74F373 8-bit tri-state latch/buffers (on the right in the figure). The OUT 300 and OUT 301 buffers store and continually make available the last values output to 300 and 301 hex. The IN 300 and IN 301 buffers, upon execution of inputs from 300 and 301 hex, make available to the Micro Channel the 8-bit value supplied to their data inputs.

The buffers require four controls:

1. When E300 (or E301) goes from high-to-low, the OUT300 (or OUT301) buffer stores the value on the Micro Channel's d₇...d₀;

2. activation of -OC300 (or -OC301) causes the IN 300 (or IN 301) buffer to put the value at its data input on d₇...d₀.

The issue is how to generate the controls so that their actions occur at the right point in the input and output sequences.

Fig. 2. Timing diagram for Micro Channel input and output operations

B. Port Number Decoder

The circuit, containing 15 two-input OR gates and two inverters, responds to the following binary values:

The signal -PND (port number decode) is active only when A₁₅...A₀ corresponds to either 300 or 301 hex and when M/-IO is low. (A0 is used in the control generator to distinguish 300 from 301.)

C. Control Generator

As stated earlier, A₀, S₀, S₁, and the signals which produce -PND start their next machine cycle before the end of -CMD. Therefore, it is necessary to temporarily save A₀, S₀, S₁, and -PND. The 7475 latch does this (and the values are held until the next -CMD).

The four 74F373 controls are produced by a 74F138 decoder IC. One of its outputs, - Y_i, is active only while –G_2A and –G_2B are active (-PND is active) and while G₁ is high (during -CMD activation); i equals the binary value of CBA which equals the saved value of S₁S₀A₀. The four cases of interest are:

Fig. 3. Circuit for a pair of 8-bit input/output ports for the Micro Channel.

The final issue is whether or not the controls occur at the right point in the sequences. The three critical times are:

1. The port number decoder gate delays must be less than the 85 ns between A₁₅...A₀, M/-IO, and -CMD. Using 74F IC's, the maximum net delay is 35 ns. ¹²

2. In an input sequence, -OC300 (or -OC301) must place data on d₇...d₀ no more than 60 ns after -CMD. Using specifications for the inverter (for -CMD), the 74F138 and the 74F373, the maximum gate delay is 27 ns. ¹²

3. In an output sequence, E300 (or E301) must go high-to-low within 30 ns after -CMD while data is still on d7...d0. Using gate delay specifications for the inverter (for -CMD), the 74F138, another inverter, and the 74F373, the action occurs a maximum of 20 ns after -CMD. ¹²

IV. Construction and Testing

The ports circuit can be constructed on a Micro Channel wire wrap card for $60. We put a 34-pin wire wrap edge socket on the card and use a ribbon cable to carry the 4*8 = 32 port signals plus ground out of the computer. Power for the circuit comes from Micro Channel connection A7 = +5V.

The I/O ports can be tested as follows:

1. run the ribbon cable to a breadboard;
2. enter and execute a program which outputs 0 to port 300 hex;
3. check all bits with a logic probe;
4. repeat for output values 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 and for output to port 301 hex;
5. enter a program which inputs from 300 hex and prints the value;
6. wire bit 0 low and run program [input 254 (1111 1110) since 74F373's "see" disconnected inputs as high];
7. repeat for the other bits and for input from 301 hex.

V. Comments

Port numbers 300 and 301 hex were somewhat arbitrarily selected. Other numbers could be used by changing the decoder circuit. Also, more than two 8-bit I/O ports are possible by leaving A₁ (and perhaps A₂ and A₃) out of the decoder, adding one or more 74F138's, and using the A's to select which 74F138 responds to the I/O cycles.

All PS/2 machines support 16-bit I/O and higher models support 32-bit operations. However, most popular languages presently available only do 8-bit I/O (QuickBASIC, TurboPascal, etc.). However, if the language does 16-bit I/O, a pair of 16-bit ports can be constructed by adding four 74F373's for data bits d₈...d₁₅. (Pin assignments are: d₈ = B48, d₉ = B48, d₁₀ = A49, d₁₁ = A50, d₁₂ = B51, d₁₃ = A51, d₁₄ = B52, and d₁₅ = B53.) Also, the –CD DS16 control (A55) must be supplied to the Micro Channel. The signal -PND meets timing specifications. However, errors will occur if 8-bit I/O is done but the ports circuit signals via -CD DS 16 that it is a 16-bit device.

The IBM [technical reference] states ¹¹ that Micro Channel boards must respond to a positive port number decode by activating the signal -CD SFDBK (pin B36). We found this unnecessary. However, -PND meets specifications for -CD SFDBK. The ports circuit was tested with QuickBASIC on a PS/2 Model 50 running DOS 4.0. For this situation, no special software or board response to the "setup" cycle is needed. We do not know if this is the case under OS/2. However, a programming language which executes machine code for 8- or 16- or 32-bit I/O to a port number should work independent of the operating system.

Acknowledgment

The design, construction, and testing of the ports was supported by the Clinton Ford Science Research Fund of Ithaca College.

References

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