Description

One of Winbond's popular series of I/O chips is the W8381-B3. It is an enhanced version of the W83777F model and integrates a disk drive adapter, serial port (UART), parallel port, IDE bus interface, and game port decoder onto a single chip. The W8381-B3 also comes with additional powerful features such as configurable plug-and-play registers for the whole chip and infrared support in one of the serial ports.

Specifications and features

General:

• Compatible with IBM PC AT disk drive systems
• Variable write pre-compensation with track selectable capability
• DMA enable logic
• Non-burst mode DMA option
• Supports floppy disk drives and tape drives
• Built-in address mark detection circuit to simplify the read electronics
• IBM PC system address decoder
• Single 24 MHz crystal input
• FDD anti-virus functions with software write protect and FDD write enable signal, write data signal force inactive
• Completely compatible with industry standard 82077
• 360K/720K/1.2M/1.44M/2.88M format
• 250K, 300K, 500K, 1M bps data transfer rate
• Supports vertical recording format
• 16-byte data FIFOs

UART:

• Two high-speed 16550 compatible UARTs with 16-byte send/receive FIFOs
• MIDI compatible
• Fully programmable serial-interface characteristics:
• 5, 6, 7 or 8-bit characters
• Even, odd or no parity bit generation/detection
• 1, 1.5 or 2 stop bits generation
• Internal diagnostic capabilities:
• Loop-back controls for communications link fault isolation
• Break, parity, overrun, framing error simulation
• Programmable baud generator allows division of 1.8461 MHz and 24 MHz by 1 to (2^16-1)

Parallel Port:

• Compatible with IBM parallel port
• Supports parallel port with bidirectional lines
• Supports Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) - Compatible with IEEE 1284 specification
• Supports Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) - Compatible with IEEE 1284 specification
• Extension FDD mode supports disk drive B through parallel port
• Extension Adapter Mode supports pocket devices through parallel port
• Extension 2FDD mode supports disk drives A and B through parallel port
• JOYSTICK mode supports joystick through parallel port

Others:

• Programmable configuration settings
• Immediate or automatic power-down mode for power management
• All hardware power-on settings have internal pull-up or pull-down resistors as default value
• Packaged in 100-pin QFP
• Configurable Plug and Play registers
• Infrared communication port

Application Scenarios

The W8381-B3 can be used in various electronic devices that require I/O capabilities. Some examples include:

• Computers
• Printers
• Game consoles
• Industrial control systems

Comparison

• Integration of multiple I/O functionalities onto a single chip
• Enhanced features compared to previous models
• Configurable Plug and Play registers for easy customization
• Infrared support for increased connectivity options

• Packaged in 100-pin QFP, which may have size limitations in some applications
• Requires additional programming for specific functionalities