Acorn A3010, Welcome Manual

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Appendix C: Attaching peripheral devices
T
his appendix gives you advice on attaching different
peripheral devices to your computer.
Introduction
There are a number of peripheral devices that you can attach to your computer to
expand its capabilities — for example, printers and modems.
This chapter offers some general guidelines for connecting peripherals to your
computer. Some examples are given for attaching specific peripheral devices, but often
you'll need to use the general information provided to help you decide how to connect a
device. For example, the signal connection diagrams that are given for each hardware
connection act as guidelines which will work with most hardware. Some or all of the
connections shown with dotted lines may be unnecessary, and you must first check the
manual accompanying the peripheral device that you are connecting.
There are two ports available on your system that are used to attach peripheral
devices: the Serial port and the Parallel port.
The characteristics of each of the above ports are described in the following sections
along with information about the types of devices that can be connected to them.
Note: Various third party monitors and other peripheral equipment are depicted or described in this Guide. The
illustration or description of these or any other third party equipment does not imply any recommendation or
endorsement by Acorn Computers Limited, and users must satisfy themselves as to the suitability of any peripheral
equipment (including monitors) on advice from the equipment supplier.
Serial port
The serial port is by far the most versatile and sometimes the most troublesome port to
use. The port supports two different types of peripheral or equipment: Data Terminal
Equipment (or DTE – for example printers and computers), and Data Circuit-
terminating Equipment (or DCE – for example modems). 1t follows that you will need
different cables, depending upon which type of peripheral (DTE or DCE) you are
connecting to your machine. The computer itself is DTE.
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