IR Port Hardware Specs
One of the Newton 2.x OS Q&As
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This document was exported on 7/23/97.
IR Port Hardware Specs (6/15/94)
- Q: What are the hardware specifications for the Newton IR port?
A: In the Apple MessagePad 100, 110, and 120, the Sharp ExpertPad, and the Motorola Marco, the IR transmitter/receiver is a Sharp Infrared Data Communication Unit model RY5BD11 connected to channel B of a Zilog 85C30 SCC. Data is communicated along a 500 KHz carrier frequency at 9600 or 19200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, odd parity. The IR hardware requires a minimum of 5 milliseconds settling time when transitioning between sending and receiving. Sharp's CE-IR2 wireless interface unit may be used to connect the Newton to MacOS or DOS machines, with the appropriate software.
The Newton supports four IR software data modes:
Sharp encoding, NewtIR protocol (specifications are NOT releaseable)
Sharp encoding, SharpIR protocol
Plain Serial
38 KHz encoding ("TV Remote Control")