Programming manual - where?

[Dan Oelke]

>> I have a need to hack the driver for a specialized application 
>> using the 3c905B-FX card.  *Hopefully* the card will do what
>> I want it to - but I need to see a register map first.  
>
>Remeber that the driver is licensed under the GPL, and may only be used with
>GPL OSes.

Not a problem - this is a demo only setup (for now) and 
running on Linux boxes.  The only machines that will
have the binary are those that have the source.

I also have some very tight timing requirements and 
wouldn't even think of attempting this on an OS that I 
don't have complete source access to.

I do understand the whole GPL thing so it won't be a problem.

>> In case anyone knows - is there a way to turn off the 
>> transmitter completely - so the fiber goes completely dark,
>> under software control?
>
>This is under the control of the MII transceiver.
>Run 'mii-diag' (or just look at the board) to find the transceiver type.
>
>You may be able to do this by modifying mii-diag, without understanding the
>driver or modifying the kernel.

Ooooooo - thanks for the hint.  I will need to still modify the 
driver as I will be making the fiber go dark, and then turning 
it on while I transmit, then making it go dark again.  And this
will be under some tight timing control so that it only happens
at specific intervals.

Time to open up mii-diag.c !

>> Where or how do I get hold of a copy of the programming manual
>> for these cards? Searching 3com's web site has not worked for me.  
>
>Ask 3Com.  You have to sign a NDA for pre-release/draft manual versions.

Ahhhhh - so the programming manual is still "pre-release" even though
they sell the cards.... makes sense - sure <snicker>.

Thanks for the help!

Dan