3Com 3c509

3Com 3c509 is a line of Ethernet IEEE 802.3 network cards for the ISA, EISA, MCA and PCMCIA computer buses.^[1] It was designed by 3Com and put on the market in 1992, followed by the improved version 3c509B in 1994.^[1][2]

3Com 3c509B-Combo card (3C509BC), second generation for the ISA 16-bit bus and 10BASE-T, AUI and 10BASE-2.

Features

The 3Com 3c5x9 family of network controllers has various interface combinations of computer bus including ISA, EISA, MCA, and PCMCIA. For network connection, 10BASE-2, AUI and 10BASE-T are used.

Physical card configurations

Combinations for Etherlink III [1] Adapter number Bus Network Connector 3C509-TPO ISA 10BASE-T 8P8C 3C509B-TPO ISA 10BASE-T 8P8C 3C509-TP ISA 10BASE-T, AUI 8P8C, DA-15 3C509B-TP ISA 10BASE-T, AUI 8P8C, DA-15 3C509B-TPC ISA 10BASE-T, 10BASE2 8P8C, BNC 3C509-Coax ISA AUI, 10BASE2 DA-15, BNC 3C509B-Coax ISA AUI, 10BASE2 DA-15, BNC 3C509-Combo ISA 10BASE-T, AUI, 10BASE2 8P8C, DA-15, BNC 3C509B-Combo ISA 10BASE-T, AUI, 10BASE2 8P8C, DA-15, BNC 3C579 EISA AUI, 10BASE2 DA-15, BNC 3C579-TP EISA 10BASE-T, AUI 8P8C, DA-15 3C529 MCA AUI, 10BASE2 DA-15, BNC 3C529-TP MCA 10BASE-T, AUI 8P8C, DA-15 3C589-TP PCMCIA 10BASE-T 8P8C 3C589B-TP PCMCIA 10BASE-T 8P8C 3C589-Combo PCMCIA 10BASE-T, 10BASE2 8P8C, BNC 3C589B-Combo PCMCIA 10BASE-T, 10BASE2 8P8C, BNC B = On ISA and PCMCIA, adapter numbers indicate that these adapters are part of the second generation of the Parallel Tasking EtherLink III technology.[1]

The DIP-28 (U1) EPROM for network booting may be 8, 16, or 32 KB in size.^[1] This means EPROMs of type 64, 128, and 256 kbit (2^10) are compatible, like the 27C256.

Boot ROM address is located between 0xC0000 - 0xDE000.^[1]

Teardown example, the 3c509B-Combo

The Etherlink III 3C509B-Combo is registered with the FCC ID DF63C509B. The main components on the card are Y1: crystal oscillator 20 MHz, U50: coaxial transceiver interface DP8392, U4: main controller 3Com 9513S (or 9545S etc.), U6: 8 kB 70 ns CMOS static RAM, U1: DIP-28 27C256 style EPROM for boot code, U3: 1024 bit 5V CMOS Serial EEPROM (configuration).

Detailed teardown

3C509B-Combo 1994 ASSY 03-0021-001 REV-A 3C509B-Combo 1996 ASSY 03-0021-004 REV-B Label: Etherlink III (C) 1994 3C509B-C ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ASSY 03-0021-001 REV-A FCC ID: DF63C509B Barcode: EA=0020AFDCC34C SN=6AHDCC34C MADE IN U.S.A. R = Resistor C = Capacitor L = Inductance Q = Transistor CR = Transistor FL = Transformer T = Transformer U = Integrated circuit J = Jumper or connector VR F FL70: Pulse transformer bel9509 A 0556-3873-03 * HIPOTTED Y1: 20 MHz crystal 20.000M 652DA U50: P9512BR DP8392CN Coaxial Transceiver Interface T50: Pulse transformer, pinout: 2x8 VALOR ST7033 x00: Pulse transformer VALOR PT0018 CHINA M 9449 C U4: Plastic package 33x33 pins Parallel Tasking TM 3Com 40-0130-002 9513S 22050553 AT&T 40-01302 Another chip with the same function: 40-0130-003 9545S 48324401 AT&T 40-01303 U6: 8192 x 8-bit 70 ns CMOS static RAM HY 6264A LJ-70 9509B KOREA Another chip with the same function: CY6264-70OSC (photo) U1: Boot ROM DIP-28 EPROM 8, 16, or 32 KB (27/28C256) for boot code. U3: 256 Bit/1K 5.0V CMOS Serial EEPROM B 52AH 93C46 M8 Q41: N-Channel Logic level Power MOSFET 60V, 11A, 107 mΩ (using ASSY 03-0021-004 due to obscured view) F3055L 96 45 (H)H VR41: 3-Terminal 0.5 A Negative Voltage Regulator (-5V) in D2PAK KA79 M05 ASSY 03-0021-004 REV-B has written on it: U.S. Patents: U.S. patent 5,307,459

Connector for the computer bus: ISA 16-bit

Connections for networking: 10BASE-T (8P8C), AUI (DA-15), 10BASE2 (BNC)

Driver setup

Some of the possible ISA I/O bases are 0x280, 0x300, 0x310, 0x320, 0x330, 0x340, 0x350. And IRQ 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. The driver for OpenBSD,^[3] NetBSD and FreeBSD is "ep";^[4][5] for Linux it is "eth".^[6][7]

Patents

3c509B-C from 1996 specify the use of U.S. patent 5,307,459 with a priority date of 1992-07-28.

The patent describes a method where a data transfer counter triggers a threshold logic that generates an early indication or interrupt signal before the transfer is completed. The adapter also writes timing information into status registers such that a device driver can optimize for any latency.^[8]

Uses

• PC/TCP Packet Driver for use with MS-DOS or PC DOS on X86
• Amiga networking (Miami Network Interface MNI, gg2-3c509.mni)

See also

• AMD Lance Am7990 - 1985, AMD Am7990 network chip
• NE2000 - 1987, Novell's NE2000 network card
• RTL8139 - 1999, Realtek 8139 PCI network chip