1088XEL Atari ITX Motherboard DIY Builders Thread

[+DrVenkman]

I think you figured out my issue Dr V. I read earlier that the rn networks would work either way, not thinking about the single row rn's. I bet at least rn2 is backwards.

If that’s the case it’s pretty easy to figure out. Check the little dot above one pin at one end of the SIP resistor networks. That will be pin 1.

[+mytek]

I think you figured out my issue Dr V. I read earlier that the rn networks would work either way, not thinking about the single row rn's. I bet at least rn2 is backwards.

 

Bussed resistor networks (the image on the left) which have a common connection to pin 1 certainly do care how they are inserted, whereas isolated networks (the image on the right) don't care which way you insert them.

 

 

And yes as DrV pointed out PIN 1 is normally marked with a dot or a line.

 

 

PIN 1 designation on PCB silkscreen.

 

[_The Doctor__]

inserting example 1 backwards can damage it by the way, though I'm not sure it would happen in this case. To verify it's all good. (while still out circuit) Take DMM(meter) put a lead on pin 1 of the Resistor Network and hold it there and measure touching the probe to each of the other pins on at a time... all should be in about the same ball park.

Edited February 3, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[+mytek]

inserting example 1 backwards can damage it by the way, though I'm not sure it would happen in this case.

 

Not likely when the resistance is 1k or greater (The resistor network in question is 4.7K). And if you think about it, what will really happen is that you'll be adding one more resistor in series with the common for all but the last one, and it will have a resistor going to the pin next to it, so in this case there will be a 4.7K resistor connected across the last two pins which isn't going to harm any of the logic chips connected to it, but it will most likely cause incorrect signals to exist (instead of a pull-up you might end up with a pull-down under the right circumstances).

 

Still it isn't a good thing to reverse a bussed resistor network, since some of the logic connected to it is probably going to get skewed.

[_The Doctor__]

Popping resistor networks is a random event, sometime you get successive pops, sometimes you get just one... evil grin, power supply connected directly to the RN and slowly increasing the dial, next one set it high and flip the switch!... sorry child hood fun time, next up real lead pencil traces and carbon traces on paper... will it sparkle, burn, or catch fire?..... I vote for all three!

 

Charge up some caps and connect them to the kitchen cabinet doors, watch wife jump.... run!

 

Don't ask

Edited February 3, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[Kyle22]

When I worked in the garage, I would charge ignition distributor condensers and leave them lay around for someone to pick up.

[+DrVenkman]

Thanks to Michael's graphic, I've made a couple tweaks. What do you guys think?

 

 

 

MrsVenkman has given me the go-ahead to order the panels this weekend so I'm going to print some test copies and see how they look (b/w only though - that's a lot of blue ink!). I'm going to attach the back panel to some cardboard for a test fit in case I need to tweak anything.

[+Firedawg]

Looks fantastic DrV! I like the custom touch you've made to your lid and rear panel. Still concern about the wiring and ribbon cable, but if you lengthen the wiring for the LEDs and route it strategically then it could work without the mess I suppose. I'm looking at re-routing mine to allow a cleaner look when taking of the lid.

[chevymad]

Well I bet this is the problem. I actually had 3 of the bussed networks backwards. RN2 being one of them. Funny thing is, I think all the resistor networks that don't matter I put in correctly. I used my hot air station to remove the resistors, no damage to board. But I did pull one pin out of rn2. So I won't be able to test until I can get a new one. Thanks Dr Venkman for the idea, I knew it had to be operator error somewhere. Thanks everyone else for the ideas as well. Hopefully this thing's on it's way to being fully working. Then I need to save up for some kind of case.

[_The Doctor__]

he did say it was a 4.7k network, it would take about 8 minutes to make you own network and install it. he provided the internal view. that's your schematic diagram. old school. just make sure to use close tolerance resistor and pick ones that meter out close to each other I keep the highest resistance next to the 1 pin and work my way down even if it's.1 difference. but hey attention to detail

Edited February 3, 2018 by _The Doctor__

[+mytek]

Thanks to Michael's graphic, I've made a couple tweaks. What do you guys think?

 

TopPanel2.PNG

 

BackPanel2.PNG

 

MrsVenkman has given me the go-ahead to order the panels this weekend so I'm going to print some test copies and see how they look (b/w only though - that's a lot of blue ink!). I'm going to attach the back panel to some cardboard for a test fit in case I need to tweak anything.

 

I'm concerned about the placement of the CF Adapter. it looks like you might have moved it farther towards the front than where I originally had it. I understand that you probably did this to make the 'single' slot version look more symmetrical within the engraved outline, but if you use the recommended mounting hardware you may have moved it too close to the inside of the case for comfort. Time to get out the measuring tools to verify that you have enough room. I'd hate to see you box yourself into a corner. Otherwise it looks great

[AtariNerd]

Thinking maybe this..on a "silver" Realan H60 Case. Anyone have a cart-tunnel already scaled to fit or at least know the dimensions to do so?

 

 

Not an exact match, the FPE rendition might be a touch warmer, but a little closer to realty. It's used on a lot of industrial control panels,etc.

 

Edited February 3, 2018 by Standard User

[+DrVenkman]

 

I'm concerned about the placement of the CF Adapter. it looks like you might have moved it farther towards the front than where I originally had it. I understand that you probably did this to make the 'single' slot version look more symmetrical within the engraved outline, but if you use the recommended mounting hardware you may have moved it too close to the inside of the case for comfort. Time to get out the measuring tools to verify that you have enough room. I'd hate to see you box yourself into a corner. Otherwise it looks great

 

Thanks for that head's up, Michael! I'll do some test prints onto paper and posterboard this weekend to make sure stuff fits and tweak accordingly.

[+mytek]

Standard User I like that. It has a very clean look.

 

No ready made Cart Tunnel for the H60 case yet, although it would need to be 20 mm shorter than the H80 one. I was also thinking of doing a similar thing in my next case, so if you can hold off for a bit, I'll see what I can do. First thing was to go back and scrutinize the original and do a double check on its height which I think is a tiny bit shy of where it truly needs to be (isn't quite flush with the top side of the top panel).

 

BTW, if you would like a more Atari like font (or any other unique font other than what FPD comes with) you can install a plotter print driver and use any true-type font you want as an HPGL import to FPD. Somewhere I have a set of Roland plotter drivers for Windows, when I find it I'll upload it here.

[+mytek]

Thanks for that head's up, Michael! I'll do some test prints onto paper and posterboard this weekend to make sure stuff fits and tweak accordingly.

 

Hi Herb. You might want to consider what Standard User did, and eliminate the outline engraving if you need to move it.

[+DrVenkman]

Hi Herb. You might want to consider what Standard User did, and eliminate the outline engraving if you need to move it.

 

Yeah, his design is nice and clean. I do like the engraving though. I'm considering dropping the Sandisk logo (cool as it is). I really do like the engraving around the "active" elements of the top panel though. Too much fun ...

 

[+mytek]

Nice!

[+Firedawg]

DrV I you tried moving the 1088XEL to the top to have all the elements facing to the front?

[+DrVenkman]

DrV I you tried moving the 1088XEL to the top to have all the elements facing to the front?

 

I did fool around with that idea the other night but with the cartridge slot there on the left, I like the horizontal spacing, underscored by the status panel and CF card. But I may have finally found some keepers. I've gotta razor out the openings and tape it to some poster board for a test before I order though.

 

 

[AtariNerd]

There are a few shades of blue infill that FPE offers, that can subdue / highlight / effect the contrast of the line art-work. The ghost in white or the ATARI logo in a contrasting color, might be nice. I have a tight pocket-book, though, so I tend to go for "tastefully-bland" ,else other aspects of my personalty take hold and I tend to second-guess myself.

[+mytek]

If you decide to do the one with the Atari fuji, it'll be interesting to see if that raises any red flags over at Front Panel Express. I don't know if they screen anything for logos or even care. Doesn't hurt to try, worst case they'll just say they can't do it.

[+DrVenkman]

If you decide to do the one with the Atari fuji, it'll be interesting to see if that raises any red flags over at Front Panel Express. I don't know if they screen anything for logos or even care. Doesn't hurt to try, worst case they'll just say they can't do it.

Yeah I wonder about that too. I saw they did your SanDisk logo though so ... Guess I’ll find out when I submit the panel design.

[flashjazzcat]

My 1088XEL (with Rapidus and a SIDE2 cart attached) has just had the honour of hosting the first real hardware test of the PBI BIOS plugin I'm working on:

 

 

Speed is somewhat sub-optimal, and this has less to do with the machine being NTSC at the moment than it has to do with my complete lack of competence in 65C816 assembly language (currently this is 6502 moved into fast RAM with few changes). I thought it best to write this plugin prior to releasing the U1MB firmware in case problems with the hooks I built into the ROM some years ago were revealed, and sure enough there were a couple. The inspiration for this plugin came directly from Drac030's TURBODRV.SYS for the IDE+, and it's quite a pale imitation at that while I fumble through the WDC 65C816 manual. I must thank Phaeron for his recent work on Rapidus emulation: there is no way on earth I could have got this working at all without Altirra's debugger.

 

Anyway: perhaps of niche interest, but fun nonetheless.

Edited February 3, 2018 by flashjazzcat

[+DrVenkman]

If you decide to do the one with the Atari fuji, it'll be interesting to see if that raises any red flags over at Front Panel Express. I don't know if they screen anything for logos or even care. Doesn't hurt to try, worst case they'll just say they can't do it.

 

 

Yeah I wonder about that too. I saw they did your SanDisk logo though so ... Guess I’ll find out when I submit the panel design.

 

Alright, order submitted this afternoon. I'll find out next week.

 

In any case, I determined two things this afternoon. Number 1, everything lines up okay and should fit just fine once the panels are milled out of real aluminum of the proper thickness and the video connector is screwed through the back for good measure. And there is enough room at the front of the case for the CF card carrier assembly. And number 2, my X-Acto knife desperately needs a new blade. Now that I think about it, this is probably the original blade from my days in college drafting classes.

 

 

 

(These are just printer paper; I forgot to buy a sheet of poster board but everything lines up properly).

[+MacRorie]

Realan Backplane.pdf

 

These went in on an order for more backplanes 2 days ago. Should be here next week.

 

I chose to put the joy ports on it because I want to use the case ports for something else I am designing (as soon as I get the last two kits/builds out the door #18 & #19).

 

Edit: Also, these blue ones are just for my personal PAL build. I currently have an APEX MI-008 that I want to create an entire enclosure for and incorporate some of the awesome things that DropCheck is releasing (SDrive, XF551 board, etc)

Realan Top for PAL Build.pdf