Subject: REVIEW: MultiFaceCard III
From: [email-masked] (David J. Birdsong)
Date: 10 Mar 1994 01:58:17 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	MultiFaceCard III ("MF3")

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	Adds multiple "high-speed" serial and parallel ports to your Amiga
1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3000T, or and 4000.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:           Alfa Data US
	Address:        P.O. Box 6990
			Champaign, Il 61826

	Telephone:      ++49-89-357130-80

	E-mail:         mfc@bscmuc,bsc.sub.com

LIST PRICE

	$119.00 (US).  I paid $79.95.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		1 MB RAM required.
		I recommend a hard drive.

	SOFTWARE

		Kickstart 2.04 or above.

COPY PROTECTION

	None

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	A2500/020, 1 meg Chip RAM, 6 megs Fast RAM
	Kickstart 2.04, Workbench 2.1
	Trifecta controller with 2 IDE drives.
	386 Bridgeboard

INSTALLATION

	Installation was rather easy.  Turn the machine off and put the card
into a slot.  You'll need to find a place to put the extra ports that are on
extra card end (or what ever they call the metal thing that screws into the
back of the case to keep the card from falling out...).  Then came the best
part:  I turned the machine on, and it works.  (COOL, no smoke!)

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  If you are not comfortable opening up your
	Amiga, then you should have the work done by an authorized Amiga
	service center.  Opening your Amiga yourself may void your warranty,
	and careless work may even damage the machine.  - Dan]

	The software uses the Commodore installer, complete with removal of
software in case you need to reinstall.  I did twice, and I guess I should
have read the manual a little better the first time.  I must be honest:
reading documentation is not my favorite thing to do (is it anyone's?), but
I read the first few pages and then went for it.  The Installer asked me if
I wanted to set the card up for PiaNet (their version of Parnet), and I said
no.  Next, it asked if I wanted to direct the printer port to the MultiFace
port, and to that I said yes.  Next, it asked if I needed to add any
drivers, and this was the sticky part!  Make sure you read the documentation
well on this part.  I installed mine about 2 months ago, so I am going by
memory now, but I made a mistake in the drivers part and I could not get the
system to boot all the way from the hard drive.  So I had to interrupt the
startup, remove the software, and redo the installation.

REVIEW

	The reason I wanted a Multiface III was that I had just started
running a BBS (MidiLand -- shameless plug (810)887-4357).  I had connected
my CDTV to my A2500 with Parnet and wanted to be able to print something
while the CDTV was being used by BBS users.

	After hearing that the GVP I/O Extender card doesn't support Parnet,
I decided to check out the Multiface III card.  After posting on USENET
about it, I received several replies saying that it was the best thing since
sliced bread.  I called the local Amiga dealer and asked if he had any.  He
said that he had sold a couple and had more on order.  3 days later he
called to say that my card was in.

	The installation was easy (as long you know how to plug in a card),
as described in the INSTALLATION section, above.

	I had Parnet working really well, and I didn't want to chance that it
wouldn't work for me with the MF3, so that was the reason for not using the
MF3 for that.  The first test was to try printing something, and it WORKED!
Hot DOG!  Next was to get the serial ports changed to see the new device.
and that was easy from the Prefs, as it put in the Duart Prefs and you just
opened it and set it up the way I wanted it.  Then came time to set up
Term.  Being a Point and Click kind of guy, I looked for the Duart.device the
same way I did with Serial and Baud-Bandit, and guess what.. it is not
there!  Oh boy, what did I do wrong?  NOTHING -- it seems that the
Duart.device is in memory from the startup of the system.  So I typed it in,
and it worked.  COOL!

	Next, I set up the BBS for the new Duart.device.  That went easy.
Now to check and see if it works.  For some reason that I never figured out,
it took some doing to get the Supra 14.4 modem to answer on the
Duart.device, yet it worked fine if I went back to the serial.device, and the
next thing I knew it was working.  HOW?  I don't really know, but it started
working.

	The real test would be next to have someone on line downloading from
the CDTV via Parnet and to try and print something.  IT WORKED!!  COOL!  I am
a happy camper now, and Peace has returned to my house.  I can have the BBS,
and my wife can call her favorite BBS and use the printer.  Now all I need
is one of those new 28.8K modems to really test the thing out.  The card can
handle up to 115200 baud, and that would be really cool to have working for a
BBS....

DOCUMENTATION

	Book (95 pages English and 95 pages German?), about half an inch
thick.

	I have to say that the book could have been written a little better;
but if I could get it to work, anyone can.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	I like the thing a lot.  I have no dislikes other than easier
documentation.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	From what I have read about the GVP I/O card, the MF3 is the way to
go.  Not only does it work well with Parnet and as a printer port, but also
it costs a lot less.

BUGS

	None that I have found.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I have had not reason to contact them.

WARRANTY

	1 year.

CONCLUSIONS

	Would I buy another?  YOU BET!  The MF3 is great.  On a scale of 1
to 5, I would give it a 5.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	No copyright.

- David J. Birdsong
  [email-masked]

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