[NTLK] NewtCOM Dongle update

[Matthias Melcher]

Hi everyone,

here are the news to my NewtCOM hobby project:

I soldered 18 dongles and they are ready to be sent out into the world. If you are on my list, you should have received a form that you would please fill out and send back to me. I will send in the order in which I *originally* received your requests. If you have not received the form, but are interested, please let me know: m.melcher at robowerk.de <mailto:m.melcher at robowerk.de> .

This is hardware Version 4. I received feedback for the original five beta test units, and in one case, the power-to-Netwon feature failed after a day of testing. I have not found the cause yet, but if this feature is really important for you, I will try to fix whatever is wrong in Hardware Version 5, but it will take at least a month or two.

The NewtCOM dongle V4 connects to the Interconnect Port in the back of the MP2000 and MP2100, and the side of the eMate300. It transfers any kind of data via USB-C to a PC or Mac. There is no need to install any software  first. Maximum tested speed is 115200bps. The dongle has a slot for MicroSD cards. If no Desktop computer is connected, NewtCOM will emulate the Download function of NCU. So in effect, you can browse the SD Card like you would a connected PC, and download and install packages from SD to your Newton.

Oh, and I decided to stick with NewtCOM ;-)

 - Matthias