c0nsumer Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) Hey there everyone. I'm new around here, but I've been working on a project that I thought you all may be interested in, which kurtm alluded to a few days ago: PCBs for the SDrive by C.P.U.. I'm sure most of you are aware of SDrive, but just in case, to quote the site: The SDrive is a device that connects to Atari XL/XE's serial (SIO) port and simulates an Atari floppy disk drive with full read/write access to programs and data stored on a SecureDigital flash card (SD). My goals for this project are to create a PCB which fits into an off the shelf enclosure, is readily available, and easy to assemble. It is also going to have a dual footprint so that the builder may fit the board with either an SIO connector (new or salvaged) or DB15. All parts are through-hole except for the SD connector will be positioned for ease of assembly. Space for a low-cost parallel port based AVR programmer is also included on the board to help out those who don't have a programmer. I also plan on making all the design documents (schematic, board layout, EAGLE files, etc) available after I've completed the project so others may build on it as they desire. I'm still finalizing the details (part selection, footprint, etc), but here's what is currently known: Case: Hammond 1455L1201 Front and rear panels will be available via Front Panel Express. LEDs on front to indicate R, W, and D1-D4. Read Only / Read Write toggle switch on front panel. Tactile switches on front panel for Left, Right, and Boot Buttons. Rear panel switch for Reset. Piano DIP switches on rear for configuring device ID and enabling or disabling SD Card Lock Override. Uses the exact same firmware as the original SDrive, to maintain compatibility. After I've got the prototype boards working properly I'll finalize the design, then I'd like to open up a group buy for PCBs. I'm not really sure what the cost will be yet, but an off-the-top-of-my-head estimate of $20/board (shipped in the US) seems reasonable. If any of you have any SIO connectors you can loan (or give me), they'd help me with one of the biggest difficulties I'm having: ensuring that my SIO footprint will work for all the different types of connectors that people might have. I currently have parts from an old Okidata printer, but I'd also like to get new or used ones (even if they are still attached to a PCB) of whatever different styles that you all may have. So, if you want to loan (or give?) me some connectors, please PM me. I can mail them back when I'm done with them, or if you are eventually wanting a PCB I'll just ship them back to you with your PCB. -Steve (UPDATE: I'm getting two connectors from B & C ComputerVisions so I won't need whatever type of SIO connectors they provide.) Edited February 3, 2009 by c0nsumer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Ready to buy 2 boards, preferably with pre programmed ICs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Excellent! If you're up for shipping to the UK I'll be in for a couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I would be up for two. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 mimo and spookt: I've got no problems shipping to the UK, but I'm not quite sure about preprogrammed ICs yet. I'll give that some thought over the next couple of days. That said, the board has a programmer built in which is connected to the AVR by tossing five jumpers on J4, then a DB25 M-M cable can be used off of any old PC running PonyProg to get the firmware on there. It looks like it's going to be about a week before I get the first order of parts from Digi-Key for validation, then hopefully within a week of that time I'll be ordering the prototype batch of PCBs (5). After I confirm that these work and I'm happy with the design I'll both contact folks directly and open up the group buy with pricing info and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I'll take 2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I got one from b&c a while back and it looks the same SIO as the ones I took from a fried 1050. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 I got one from b&c a while back and it looks the same SIO as the ones I took from a fried 1050. Sorry to be so pedantic, but did you happen to compare them side by side and be sure that the pins, pin spacing, mounting holes, and all of that sort of stuff are the same? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 -Steve Quoted because that picture looks so danm cool I'd be interested in one. Stephen Anderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Quoted because that picture looks so danm cool I'd be interested in one. Stephen Anderson Hehe, thanks. That's just an export out of EAGLE, where the red is top copper and blue is bottom. All the grey and white will end up being silkscreen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Quoted because that picture looks so danm cool I'd be interested in one. Stephen Anderson Hehe, thanks. That's just an export out of EAGLE, where the red is top copper and blue is bottom. All the grey and white will end up being silkscreen. Yeah - the color scheme is nice though. Reminded me of TRON. I'll make it my wallpaper at work It will give me something to stare at while I am spending half the day tomorrow writing documentation and filling out BS paperwork so I can release my code on my group's servers Stephen Anderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I love the images of the Atari 8-bit computers on the silkscreening. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bcombee Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'm very interested. I just read through the SDrive documentation, and it looks like a very nice project. It also seems like it would be doable as a shield for an Arduino board, although there might be problems with the clock rate being different, since it uses a 16MHz oscillator instead of the 14.31818 MHz one in the SDrive schematic. I assume that was picked to sync up with the clock rate used by the Atari, but I've not read the source yet to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I love the images of the Atari 8-bit computers on the silkscreening. ..Al He asked me if there I had an icon of an 800xl. I had just seen those images on an Atari Classics disk, so I took en emulator shot and gave him all of them. They look real nice, don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 He asked me if there I had an icon of an 800xl. I had just seen those images on an Atari Classics disk, so I took en emulator shot and gave him all of them. They look real nice, don't they? Thanks again for finding those. Pixel art is just about perfect for putting on a PCB, because with reasonably large pixels (as seen there) there isn't much worry about losing detail of the artwork if the screens aren't fine enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Jefferson Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'd be interested in one if the price isn't too high... less than $100? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) I'd be interested in one if the price isn't too high... less than $100? I don't have any intention of selling completed devices, only unpopulated PCBs. That said, if I'm able to keep with the $20 price point for the PCB and parts should add another $30 or so (excluding the case), the price for a completed board will be about $50 or so. That said, I intend to provide files for ordering front and rear panels as well, so that the whole SDrive NUXX can be made into a nice, complete unit. This, an accessible finishing step is something that I feel is all too often missing from DIY electronics projects. Edited February 4, 2009 by c0nsumer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) I thought you all might like one more image (300dpi), so here's what I'm calling v0.1, or Done Until I Receive Parts From Digi-Key. That's shown without the main (GND1) groundplane, to add clarity. Here is a 300dpi PNG of the current schematic, and or a PDF is also available here. Tomorrow night I'll probably start working on drafts of the front and rear panel designs. Edited February 4, 2009 by c0nsumer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl0re Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Hey there everyone. I'm new around here, but I've been working on a project that I thought you all may be interested in, which kurtm alluded to a few days ago: PCBs for the SDrive by C.P.U.. I'm sure most of you are aware of SDrive, but just in case, to quote the site: The SDrive is a device that connects to Atari XL/XE's serial (SIO) port and simulates an Atari floppy disk drive with full read/write access to programs and data stored on a SecureDigital flash card (SD). My goals for this project are to create a PCB which fits into an off the shelf enclosure, is readily available, and easy to assemble. It is also going to have a dual footprint so that the builder may fit the board with either an SIO connector (new or salvaged) or DB15. All parts are through-hole except for the SD connector will be positioned for ease of assembly. Space for a low-cost parallel port based AVR programmer is also included on the board to help out those who don't have a programmer. I also plan on making all the design documents (schematic, board layout, EAGLE files, etc) available after I've completed the project so others may build on it as they desire. I'm still finalizing the details (part selection, footprint, etc), but here's what is currently known: Case: Hammond 1455L1201 Front and rear panels will be available via Front Panel Express. LEDs on front to indicate R, W, and D1-D4. Read Only / Read Write toggle switch on front panel. Tactile switches on front panel for Left, Right, and Boot Buttons. Rear panel switch for Reset. Piano DIP switches on rear for configuring device ID and enabling or disabling SD Card Lock Override. Uses the exact same firmware as the original SDrive, to maintain compatibility. After I've got the prototype boards working properly I'll finalize the design, then I'd like to open up a group buy for PCBs. I'm not really sure what the cost will be yet, but an off-the-top-of-my-head estimate of $20/board (shipped in the US) seems reasonable. If any of you have any SIO connectors you can loan (or give me), they'd help me with one of the biggest difficulties I'm having: ensuring that my SIO footprint will work for all the different types of connectors that people might have. I currently have parts from an old Okidata printer, but I'd also like to get new or used ones (even if they are still attached to a PCB) of whatever different styles that you all may have. So, if you want to loan (or give?) me some connectors, please PM me. I can mail them back when I'm done with them, or if you are eventually wanting a PCB I'll just ship them back to you with your PCB. -Steve (UPDATE: I'm getting two connectors from B & C ComputerVisions so I won't need whatever type of SIO connectors they provide.) Provided it is $20 or less, I'll take three please. PS Maybe throw an atari age logo on it too. Someday someone who finds one of your PCBs can google it and find this thread (between 'atari age and sdrive'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 In case any of you are interested in how things are progressing, this is the first draft of the front panel. Here is the rear panel. The first batch of parts (for protos / SDrive NUXXs for kurtm and I) arrived from Digi-Key today and all the part footprints matched. Some of the layout was slightly shuffled, panels drawn, etc as needed. So, it's all coming along nicely. I just need to confirm the SIO connector footprints against a few more parts, triple-check things some more, and then I'll be ready to order the prototype boards. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarian63 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 In case any of you are interested in how things are progressing, this is the first draft of the front panel. Here is the rear panel. The first batch of parts (for protos / SDrive NUXXs for kurtm and I) arrived from Digi-Key today and all the part footprints matched. Some of the layout was slightly shuffled, panels drawn, etc as needed. So, it's all coming along nicely. I just need to confirm the SIO connector footprints against a few more parts, triple-check things some more, and then I'll be ready to order the prototype boards. Yay! I'll take one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 That said, if I'm able to keep with the $20 price point for the PCB and parts should add another $30 or so (excluding the case), the price for a completed board will be about $50 or so. I'd definitely go for a populated unit if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0nsumer Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 (edited) Hey! Look! Curvy 80s traces and teardrops. (Large image here.) The board is coming along nicely. I'm just waiting for a couple enclosures to arrive (Monday) so I can look them over before ordering the prototype batch of PCBs. Edited February 6, 2009 by c0nsumer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You do really nice work! Great project pics on your site. Excellent stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Guitarman Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Let me know when they are available. Would like 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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