Re: Need help with my CP290

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dan Lanciani" <ddl@danlan.*com> wrote in message
news:1338524@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> In article <mpGdnV5v-8cudU7YnZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx (Robert Green) writes:
>
> | Good call!  But I thought that the CP290 had serious timing issues
outside
> | of the DOS environment in which it was born?  Am I misremembering
something?
>
> The CP290's supposed timing issues are frequently mentioned, but I've used
> one with a variety of unix systems without problem.  (I've never actually
> used one with DOS. :)  I have to think that at least the faster Sun system
> can send back-to-back bytes over the serial port (and I've never added a
> delay) so that can't be the problem.  The CP290 does generate a response
> to each command and you have to wait until that is done before sending an
> additional command.  I think some software ignores the response and uses
> busy-loop delays instead; that may be the source of the rumors.

I've been Googling and there seem to be at least a few reports about the
timing loop issues.  How credible they are is not known, but I assume these
people were hitting some sort of wall when they posted:

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=x-10+cp290+timing+loops

Timing loops plagued a number of programs that never expected to be running
on anything faster than an XT.  IIRC, (and I often don't) lots of games
wouldn't pause long enough for input in certain situations.

I have two CP290's that I use just as stand-alone controllers because the
buttons are nice and big, unlike other X-10 devices.  I may just have to see
if I can resurrect one - if I can find any free or cheap software for it,
that is.  I don't see any listed on Ebay.  Maybe they're worth something
since they're becoming scarce.

--
Bobby G.