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* Jack Twilley <jmt@twilley.org> on Mon, Jan 07, 2002:

>=20
> Sure.  So don't use their firmware.  The traditional way around that
> particular dilemma is to develop other firmware that has sufficient
> capabilities to match the needs of the device driver.
>=20

Please point out a "traditional" situation where someone was forced to
develop their own firmware for a completely proprietary device.

Especially when it's an unknown, proprietary DSP (that only Sega and
Conexant knows about).

>=20
> It's a start.  If more is known about the hardware, then more can be
> written to support it.  I'm not trying to be annoying here, but it's
> possible that the chipset used by this modem could have been used by
> another modem that's supported by another free operating system like
> Linux if not by NetBSD already.  If not, perhaps one related to this
> one has already been done.
>=20

It's a Conexant RP56LD.  It's entirely CPU-driven.  You can find useless
hardware specs on the Conexant at their website.  The modem's interface to
the G2 bus is via a Sega PLD, numbered 315-6137.  You can enable the modem
by writing 0 (use 8- or 32-bit accesses) then 1 to 0xa0600480.  The modem
IRQ is bit 2 of 0xa05f6904.  There is no detailed information *anywhere* on
the PLD used to interface the modem.

Even if a driver does exist in Linux or NetBSD, it won't help you here.

> MR> The modem will not be supported, by *any* non-licensed Sega
> MR> software, period.
>=20
> That's a rather pessimistic assertion, and it flies in the face of the
> whole concept.  But whatever.
>=20

Actually it's quite realistic.  Given the general uselessness of the modem,
the fact that no one (even those with cursory info, like how to detect it
and enable it) has stepped forward yet to take credit for cracking it, and
the amount of man hours it would take to devise a firmware that could drive
it, it's very safe to say it will never be supported.

Keep wishing though.  You want to paint a rosy picture about how we could
derive modem support by doing X and Y, but if I asked you to commit to
reverse-engineering modem-enabled software to prove me wrong, you wouldn't
do it.  That's how I know it's not going to happen, because no one is willi=
ng
to do it.  You can spout off about the theory of it getting done all night
long, I know how it could get done, but the simple fact is, it won't -
there's no point.

>=20
> Is there a known list of burners that can burn DC CD-Rs?  The device
> I'm working with identifies itself on Windows as "TEAC CD-W54E".
>=20

I've been using a Philips PCRW804.

> Is there a known list of media that works in the DC?  The media I have
> is labeled "IMATION CD-R 1x-12x Compatible 700MB/80MIN".
>=20

I have used the same Imation CDRs.

M. R.

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