[NTLK] Weekend update.

[Rod Lavington]

Hi Matthias,

I am happy to purchase a serial only dongle plus one of the other
variants.  The serial only one solves my current problem of not being able
to use the keyboard!

Kind regards

Rod

On Mon, 12 May 2025 at 5:26 am, Matthias Melcher <m.melcher at robowerk.de>
wrote:

>
> Newton Dongle weekend update:
>
> Well, first and foremost, thanks to two list members who offered to flip
> the diodes on the boards that I messed up. The current plan is to build a
> hand full of serial-only versions of the dongle where the diodes don't
> matter. This is actually pretty neat, because those dongles will be smaller
> and cheaper. If nobody wants tose, I will gladly take you both up on the
> offer.
>
> All PCBs and controllers should come in on Tuesday, and I hope I will find
> the time to solder at least a few of them this week. The serial port part
> of the firmware works well with macOS and NCX at the highest speed. Unixnpi
> works also very well on macOS. On the classic mac emulator BasiliskII, I
> tested NTK and NCU, and they both work. The only thing I did not get to run
> on any setup is the screenshot function. I can't test Linux and windows
> though.
>
> Oh, and the current working title for the dongle is now NewtCOM. Any
> better suggestions gladly considered.
>
> I also started the documentation for those who plan to build their own
> dongles, or want to base something new on my design. The docs are at
> https://github.com/MatthiasWM/newt_dongle/blob/master/hardware/README.md
> . The PCB is likely going public on Monday, pending review by the Chinese
> host: https://oshwlab.com/matthiasm/interconnecttousb_copy_copy_copy
>
>
> Attempt at a list explaining features
>
> NewtCOM1: Interconnect port serial to USB-C, flat case
> NewtCOM2: NewtCOM1 plus MicroSD slot for installing packages from SD to
> Newton, eventually backup and restore
> NewtCOM3: NewtCOM2 plus powering the Newton from the USB-C port, but no
> charging
>
> Also note that Jakes ESP32, even though it is on pause right now, would
> add Wifi, Bluetooth, and charging.
>
>  - Matthias
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> https://newtontalk.net
> https://bitbang.social/@newtontalk
> https://twitter.com/newtontalk
>