Building the XT-IDE. Part 3

Thanks to James Pearce I've finally completed my XT-CF v1 card!
James is the designer of this board and he provided me the code (which you can find HERE) to program the Xilinx XC9572XL CLPD to make it usable with recent revisions of the XT-IDE Universal BIOS.

The XT-CF v1, ready to be tested!

Building the GBA1000: Part 0x02

Ok, good news and bad news.
Bad first: I found out that the SRAM chips I got together (CY7C1049CV33-15VXC) with the GBA1000 mobo are not rated for 5v, but for 3.3v. I did not bother to check because the two got sold together as a kit... Lesson learned: ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE DATASHEET!!!

Building the GBA1000: Part 0x01

Finally finished installing the 16 main RAM chips. This was probably one of the hardest SMD components to solder with a standard soldering iron (being of the SOJ type). The next hard one will be the 29F800 flash chip, which has a thin leg pitch.

Next step: make a detailed inventory of what I need and what I'm missing to continue the build...

Building the GBA1000: Part 0x00

The GBA1000 is a replacement motherboard developed by the uber amiga-expert Georg Braun for the A1000 computer by Commodore. The idea is to keep the same form factor of the original motherboard, but reworking the components and the circuit to obtain one of the most powerful ECS-based Amiga available: Motorola 68030 50Mhz processor (vs the 68000 7Mhz of the original A1000), 2Mb Chip RAM + 8Mb Fast RAM (vs 256Kb), onboard IDE (vs nothing), Zorro II expansion slot... etc etc etc.

The (almost) bare GBA1000 PCB

Exhuming an old project: Building the XT-IDE. Part 2

Between all the small packages the postman left at my door today, I got one with a few 74F573 logic ICs inside: just what my XT-IDE was missing to get basic functionality (to get the serial port working I still need the proper oscillator)!

XT-IDE being tested with a Disk-On-Module

Exhuming an old project: Building the XT-IDE. Part 1

I finally received the correct Xilinx CLPD part and the missing 74LVC1G14 for my XT-CF v1 card, so I could complete the build.

Soldering the CLPD avoiding shorts was a bit of a challenge, but a good measure of flux helped immensely. Now the board is ready to be flashed with the correct programming through JTAG. I'm waiting for a BUS PIRATE to accomplish the job.

Apple IIc re-capping. Part 2

Even though there is really no more re-capping needed (for that see Part 0 and Part 1), the Apple IIc still needed some care before being considered ready for use: the keyboard was just too filthy to be used without feeling the sudden urge to scrape away a few layers of skin after use and the floppy drive was still untested.

Apple IIc keyboard with keycaps removed

Apple IIc re-capping. Part 1

Having got some time in my hands, I decided to complete the re-capping of my Apple IIc (see Part 0 here), check if the machine works, upgrade the MON rom and finally run a self-test.

The Apple IIc naked on the table, ready to be tested

Apple IIc re-capping. Part 0

I recently recovered an Apple IIc portable (let's say... luggable) computer in good aesthetic conditions (albeit a bit dusty). Unknown working state.

The recently recovered Apple IIc

The computer lacks the power supply unit, but that is just a small problem, as it is powered by a single ~15v connection. Before worrying about that, best practice dictates that old computers in unknown status (especially ones with a small case, without good airflow) should be re-capped before being turn on: old electrolytic capacitors, which are prone to degradation with age and high-temperatures, could short out the circuit board and cause hard to repair damage.

First prototype of the AKAB (Amiga Keyboard Adapter Board)

I've finally received the printed boards for my prototype of the AKAB: the Amiga Keyboard Adapter Board I designed!
The purpose of this device is connecting a cheap & common PS/2 compatible keyboard to Amiga big-box (like the A1000, A2000 etc.) and Amiga 500 computers. The design is pretty simple, and involves a single active component (an Atmega 328P microcontroller) and a few passive ones. Everything is through-hole, so it's pretty easy to build.

Here is the first built proto:

First AKAB prototype

Exhuming an old project: Building the XT-IDE. Part 0

While cleaning up my closets (a task I make sure to accomplish at least once every ten years) I dug up two bare circuit boards from a project I undertook one or two years ago, and never completed: fitting my old XT computers with a decent and relatively new storage system.
Fitting IDE disks in such old computers can be a daunting task, if one decides to stick with then-contemporary technology the only decent solution would probably require finding an 8bit SCSI controller (with autobooting: hard!).
Lucky me, I did not want to limit myself to old tech and decided to check some homebrew options: the XT-IDE and XT-CF boards:

The two boards, both almost completed...

Both cards allow a modern IDE/CF

The weird Amiga "Cubo" CD32

Before people started thinking that modding consoles to fit them inside an arcade cabinet is a cool thing, a little known Italian company called C.D. Express decided to take standard Amiga CD32s (which, funnily enough, is a consolized version of the Amiga 1200 home computer), slap a sticker on them. fit them with an expansion provided with a JAMMA connector  and sell the resulting combo as multi-game, cd-based arcade boards. The SISTEMA CUBO CD32 was born.

BTW, "cubo" in italian means "cube". Do you see anything remotely cubic in this thing?

Dumping an EPROM using an ATMEGA MCU

I recently built a development board using an ATMEGA 1284-PU microcontroller and some spare components I had lying around. Since then, I searched for fun & cool things to do with it: there are the usual sensors reading/LED matrix lighting/graphic LCD drawing/motor controlling experiments available, but my interest lies in data preservation so, as a first task, I decided dump a few EPROMs that dwelt undisturbed in my junk box for too long.

This mess of wires actually works as an EPROM dumper!