Re: Random Dreamcast tomfoolery for Retrochallenge 2012

[Mouse <mouse%Rodents-Montreal.ORG@localhost>]

>> ...and if you're not afraid of a little electronics, it's easy to
>> build your own.  One MAX232 or equivalent and a few discretes is all
>> I needed [...]
> Don't use MAX232, it's for TTL voltages.  MAX3232 is an equivalent
> chip that can be used for CMOS voltages (just give it 3.3V as Vcc).

I actually did use a MAX232, at least partially because I had it on
hand.  The "few discretes" level-shifted the voltages to the 3.3V the
DC expects.  I didn't mind doing so, because in my experience (and it
turned out to be so here too), a MAX232 always gets the levels
backwards, so they need inverting.  I usually use discretes for this
(occasionally an '04); it turned out to be no big deal to use the same
transistors for both level-shifting and inverting.

At least that's how I remember it.  That circuit has been packaged up
in a plastic box for quite a while now; I should probably open it and
see how accurate my memory is.

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