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Installation

Test system

Since none of the evaluation boards currently under review boasts an ISA slot, I had to install the ClockCard on my main system:

• Shuttle HOT 603
• AMD K6-III 450 (6x 75MHz)
• 256 MB Corsair PC 100 system memory (single DIMM)
• Diamond Monster Fusion PCI
• IBM DTTA 10G
• Acer 32x Max CDROM
• Analog Devices AD1816 soundcard
• SMC 9332BDT Etherpower

Installation is straightforward. All it takes is to insert the card into an empty ISA slot, install the software from the CDROM included and reboot to let it take effect. Unfortunately, there was no registration code supplied with the sample, therefore, it was not possible to run the card in any but the 30 day trial version.

After installation of the Clock Card, the test system developed a tendency for spontaneous rebooting after reading the clock card during the bootup. These reboots occurred in a random fashion, most of the time, a single reboot occurred, in other instances, the system rebooted up to three times before loading Windows. The reasons for the spontaneous reboot are not entirely clear. According to BeagleSoft, this is the first time they were facing this problem, which could relate to a defective card (I just sent it back for internal testing). Another possibility could very well be that the HOT 603 is using the AMD640 chipset which, admittedly, is not exactly a mainstream core logic and, thus, it could be a simple compatibility issue. A base memory overlap is a third possible reason, there was no indication for this, though, and the fact that the system took a few times but then booted and ran flawlessly, argues against this possibility. At least, if it were the case that the DMI pool dynamically reassigned the resources, there is no way of checking it since the only verification can be done once the system has booted (after a non-conflicting pool was built). Last not least, since the system is running at 75 MHz bus, the ISA bus is running at 9.3 MHz as opposed to the 8.3 MHz specified for the ISA bus. So far, there have never been any problems with other ISA devices (sound, modem), even when I was running at 83 MHz bus but then again, those weren't clocks. Whatever reason is accountable for the glitch, it was somewhat a nuisance but apparently unique to the test system.

Other (non-technical) problems

The main problem with the current solution is that it requires an ISA slot. At present, I am not aware of a single mainboard featuring more than one ISA slot. This ISA slot is, for most users, the most valuable asset of the board since it is the only expansion slot to hold an ISA hardware modem, still the most robust and fastest solution for standard internet connection. If the ClockCard were available in a format fitting into any of the, otherwise useless AMR slots, the incentive for purchasing one of these cards would be much greater. I brought the issue up with BeagleSoft, supposedly, they are working on a PCI version and they were also willing to listen to the AMR suggestion, for whatever it is worth.

Conclusion

It sure is nice to know that your PC is keeping the exact time, likewise, for system administrators, the Clock Card may be an alternative to online capturing the atomic time. On the other hand, with the present scarcity of ISA slots, I am not sure where the market for the current format would be. As mentioned, an AMR interface would make more sense since there are hardly any devices out there that would fit this interface. In addition, the price tag for the card and the software is, with prices ranging from $70 for the hardware alone, to $143 for the server version (software package for server/client configuration and synchronization), quite hefty.

There is, however, a market for the BeagleSoft Clock Card in environments where the Year 2000 bug still prevails. Some 18 months ago, there must have been a huge demand for anything like the BeagleSoft real time clock and, since only older systems were affected, the ISA interface was certainly the best choice. It is hard to say, how many systems are still suffering in the wake of the Y2K bug but for those, the BeagleSoft card is certainly worth a consideration. This actually is the main reason to review this card after all, since there should be enough people out there who are not aware of a device that could possibly be the solution to (one of) their problems.

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