Analog Devices AD1848 and Compatible Devices

The features and interfaces that are supported by the Solaris sbpro driver are described in the audio(7I) andsbpro(7D) man pages.

Compatible Device Information

Selected AD1848-based devices are supported by the sbpro device driver. Some audio devices based on other compatible chips are also supported.

Although many audio devices claim to be compatible with other audio devices, they are not always compatible at the hardware level and are not supported by the Solaris software. "Tested Compatible Devices" shows which devices have been tested with the Solaris operating environment.

Some cards based on the AD1848 or compatible chips also support advanced audio features that the sbpro driver does not currently support.

Tested Compatible Devices

The following AD1848 and compatible devices have been tested:

• Compaq Deskpro XL Business Audio with built-in AD1847 chip

• Turtle Beach Tropez card with CS4231 chip

Some other 100 percent hardware-compatible devices may also function using the sbpro driver; however, they have not been tested or certified with the Solaris operating environment.

The Turtle Beach Tropez card may interfere with the operation of other ISA devices in the system, such as the 3Com 3C509 and SMC Elite 16 Ethernet adapters. If installing a Tropez card in the system causes such devices to fail, run the configuration program that came with the device to select a different I/O base address for the card.

Preconfiguration Information

Many audio devices come with a software utility that allows you to select the IRQ and DMA settings. Often, this utility does not record parameters in nonvolatile memory but in a configuration file used by DOS to set the card's configuration at each reboot. This type of configuration file is not used by the Solaris software and does not affect the operation of the card with the Solaris operating environment.

• Output volume is controlled by software. Turn the volume thumbwheel to the maximum volume setting if you don't hear any sound.

• Consult the manufacturer's documentation to determine if the microphone jack for your device is a mono jack or a stereo jack. Be sure your microphone plug matches; if it doesn't, use a suitable adapter.

• Line-in and aux jacks typically require line level voltages, such as output from a tape or CD player line-out jack or from a powered (battery-operated) microphone. Mic jacks typically require lower voltages. Consult the manufacturer's documentation for your device's requirements.

Supported Settings

If your card supports Plug and Play, your device resources are configured automatically. Use the following settings for devices that don't support Plug and Play. Defaults are shown in this typeface.

Compaq Deskpro XL Business Audio With Built-in AD1847 Chip

The sbpro driver automatically chooses an unused DMA channel and IRQ line for the device.

The sbpro support for the AD1848 and compatibles uses one DMA channel for both play and record; simultaneous play/record is not supported.

Turtle Beach Tropez Card With CS4231 Chip

The sbpro driver automatically chooses an unused DMA channel and IRQ line for the device.

The Tropez card comes with a software utility for selecting the IRQ, DMA, and MWSS compatibility I/O address settings used by the card. However, that utility does not record those parameters in nonvolatile memory, but in a configuration file used by DOS to set the card's configuration at each reboot. This type of configuration file is not used by the Solaris software and does not affect the operation of the card with the Solaris operating environment.

Known Problems and Limitations

• Any Crystal Semiconductor CS4231-based devices supported by this driver are programmed in AD1848-compatibility mode. This driver does not include support for advanced CS4231 features; in particular, simultaneous play/record.

• Some devices can detect that the IRQ is "in use" by another device in the system. If this occurs, the driver prints an error message like the following, and you must change the IRQ setting of either the audio device or the conflicting device.

  sbpro: MWSS_AD184x IRQ 7 is 'in use.'

  Some devices are not able to detect such a conflict. The driver will try to use the card, but that will likely result in the system hanging when the card is first used. Thus, it is important to check that the IRQ that does not conflict with another device.

• Although the sbpro driver supports A-law encoding on AD1848 and compatible devices, audiotool does not and produces an error message if you select A-law encoding. Useaudioplay(1)  to play A-law encoded audio files, or use audioconvert(1)  to convert the A-law sample into a format that audiotool will accept, such as 16-bit linear. User-written applications can select A-law format using the sbpro driver on AD1848 and compatible devices.

Compaq Deskpro XL Business Audio With Built-in AD184x Chip

• Some system units have the headphone jack wired with its Left and Right channels reversed, so you hear Left output in your right ear and vice versa. The line-out jack at the back of the unit works as expected.

• The quality of sound is better when using an external microphone and speakers, not the ones built into the keyboard.