+FALCOR4 Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 Still having a great time exploring the HRD 4000B board. I modded this one to extend the DSR from 8k to 16k. With the Phoenix configuration, both logical drives get 16k of DSR so that makes complete use of the 32k ROS memory. I wrote some very simple assembly routines to exercise the memory and id them and then used the Explorer to look around, making sure that all memory was accessible and working properly. It's a little bit embarrassing how long our wonderful little TI 99 takes to fill 8M of memory! But, that's also the beauty of it, too! The RAMBO configuration is very interesting. Did anyone actually write software to take advantage of it? Also, can someone tell me how the >6000->7FFF cartridge ROM space is disabled so that the RAMBO memory can reside there? I found that to be very interesting. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4397371 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dhe Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 The only program I can remember was maybe a demo program on the ROS 8.14 disk. Had the RAMBO development package been released, we would have seen more better usage. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4397614 Share on other sites More sharing options...
budz2355 Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Sorry I'm so late. I want at least 1 8 meg card assembled please. You just want me to PayPal you Jim? I probably missed the amount and a lot of good discussion but I dont want to miss the card 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4413603 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 You won't miss them--we've just about finished testing. It was an interesting journey to find a good source of in-spec 1N34A diodes. Most of the ones you can buy today are horribly off-spec Chinese knockoffs. I went on a cross-reference hunt and found out that the old Soviet D9K is a suitable sub, and the test lot I bought were well within the specifications for a 1N34A. I'll be building a test board using them during the holidays that incorporates all of the board changes identified during the initial testing. I'll then order the production boards sometime in January, with board production done as time allows once I receive them (a lot of folks asked for one or more of these). I'm not accepting money until I have assembled boards in-hand (or for those who want to build their own, bare boards in-hand). All bare boards will include six D9K diodes to ensure folks have as few problems as possible with this critical part. 11 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4413677 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 I have finished the trace modifications on the layout to match our functional test boards. Now I need to update the schematic and the manual to match it. I'm still shooting for a late January board order, as that will let me get enough of all the required parts in stock before the boards arrive. 8 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4418721 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 (edited) Here is the updated schematic set for the HRD4000B. I'm still working on the manual updates and I'll be placing a board order soon. They still won't be available to anyone before the end of January or the first part of February. A3-Horizon RAMDisk 4000B-P1(R1).pdf A3-Horizon RAMDisk 4000B-P2(R1).pdf A3-Horizon RAMDisk 4000B-P3(R1).pdf Edited January 1, 2020 by Ksarul 4 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4421752 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Ohhhh...did you say ORDER form ..OMG your quick!! Within 12 months this was wrapped up. Sweeet. Thank so much for your dedication. Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4421773 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Ohhhh...did you say ORDER form ..OMG your quick!! Within 12 months this was wrapped up. Sweeet. Thank so much for your dedication.He said he's ordering pcboards. Then they get shipped to him then he builds the working boards.Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4421789 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Yeah..so it's looking like March could be a rollout! Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4422050 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FALCOR4 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 1/1/2020 at 9:14 AM, GDMike said: Yeah..so it's looking like March could be a rollout! Jim is doing an incredible job on these boards, for sure. Not just the boards but going back to update the schematics and the construction manual! Tim has taken another look at the ROS to close the loop on some lingering issues, that will be a great compliment to the new board (no pressure, Tim ?). It's all worth it, I use my test board almost every day now and love it! It has been playing well with the other cards in one of my PEBs. Here's a video of an assembly running from the SAMS using the RamDisk, the IDE drive, the HDX RS232/PC connection and the CorComp FDC. 20191214_182539.mp4 1 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4422909 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mehridian Sanders Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 even though I have no PEB yet. I'm gonna say put me down for one. Preassembled if you please :-). Thank you kindly for your work on this. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4422996 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FALCOR4 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 On 11/24/2019 at 3:57 AM, dhe said: The only program I can remember was maybe a demo program on the ROS 8.14 disk. Had the RAMBO development package been released, we would have seen more better usage. Dan, the only other use of RAMBO that I've run across since your post is RECALLIT 2001 by OPA. I agree with you, if the development package ever saw the light of day there might be more apps. RECALLIT, was originally a simple Name & Address lister, but is fast becoming a powerful database. Using the RAMBO PRO- GRAM SPACE from 8K to 512K it can store up to 4000 records, each with 10 defined fields. Searching for strings can be done in any field combination. A variety of printouts from labels to two-column are supported. Re-indexing by any field is possible.Like other 2001 software it has easy-to-learn menus, all contained in a 100% Assembly program. An amazing thing about RECALLIT combined with RAMBO is the XERO-TIME sorter, you will never have to wait. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4436524 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 I have now gotten all three of my initial test boards fully operational (that makes a total of four new HRD4000Bs, counting the first one that @FALCOR4 built), and the design is now frozen. All necessary layout changes based on our testing have been incorporated, the schematics just need a few more tweaks to match the layout, and the manual updates are nearly complete. I've also been working on building an editable copy of the ROS 8.14 manual so that we can update it to the current 8.4x version of ROS. We're still looking at the possibility of extending functionality to 16M, but that would require a ROS update to allow many more disks or using the split function originally used for the Phoenix mod to make the board into a logical pair of 8M Horizons. The hardware won't need modification to expand a Horizon this way, but it is not actively supported in the software. 8 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4440710 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FALCOR4 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Ksarul said: I have now gotten all three of my initial test boards fully operational (that makes a total of four new HRD4000Bs, counting the first one that @FALCOR4 built), and the design is now frozen. All necessary layout changes based on our testing have been incorporated, the schematics just need a few more tweaks to match the layout, and the manual updates are nearly complete. I've also been working on building an editable copy of the ROS 8.14 manual so that we can update it to the current 8.4x version of ROS. We're still looking at the possibility of extending functionality to 16M, but that would require a ROS update to allow many more disks or using the split function originally used for the Phoenix mod to make the board into a logical pair of 8M Horizons. The hardware won't need modification to expand a Horizon this way, but it is not actively supported in the software. Thanks for all the hard work on this! The board is absolutely beautiful and very well laid out. The expand-ability will extend it's life and maintaining features such as RAMBO and PHOENIX offer even more programming options for those of us who like to "tinker". That along with Tim's hard work on the ROS is really making this a great production! Can't wait to see them ship, getting close!? 4 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4440861 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Quick update: the production boards are on order and should be in my hands by the end of the month. 7 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4450311 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift838 Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Ksarul said: Quick update: the production boards are on order and should be in my hands by the end of the month. Any word on price and options yet? 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4450399 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 I'm still scouting around for a good source of 512K chips for a price better than what I've found so far (most reliable sources are in the vicinity of $8 a chip, shipped to me). That puts the cost of memory alone at over $125 for an 8M board. I have a limited number of 128K chips that I purchased for $2.50 each ($40 for the memory on a 2M board). I still have to calculate the costs for all of the other components, sockets, and bare boards to figure out what the assembled cost would be. Right now, the rough estimate would be between $225 and $240 for a fully-populated 8M board (this includes shipping to a US address). Bare boards would be about $30 each, shipped to a US address. The bare board price includes a .300 wide 74HCT154 chip and six D7K diodes, as both of these parts are somewhat hard to source. The D7K replaces the 1N34A, as most 1N34A stocks available today are fakes that fail to meet the minimum specifications for that diode. D7Ks are an old, high-quality Soviet substitute for the 1N34A. I have several thousand of the D7Ks, and not one of the ones I've tested were out of spec. The D7K isn't too hard to find in quantities of 200 to 1,000 or so, but most folks don't need that many of them. The 74HCT154 is almost unobtanium in the channel, but I have enough of them to build several hundred boards, so no worries there. 4 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4450433 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift838 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 i know i'll be ordering one prebuilt and one bare.. as soon as they are ready! Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4451756 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 8, 2020 Author Share Posted February 8, 2020 I still have about ten to twelve unfinished boards from my test run. I've been debating making the ten or so changes needed to bring them to the production board spec and sell them to interested folks. They are rock-solid once complete, they just have a few wires and resistors added in places where they would fit to mimic the circuits on the production board and several other components have values different from the test board silk screen values. Let me know if there is interest in this. It would also get boards into user hands at least a month before the other boards begin the assembly process (and possibly longer with a lot of the factories in China in shut-down mode due to coronavirus restrictions there). 3 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4453264 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 I still have about ten to twelve unfinished boards from my test run. I've been debating making the ten or so changes needed to bring them to the production board spec and sell them to interested folks. They are rock-solid once complete, they just have a few wires and resistors added in places where they would fit to mimic the circuits on the production board and several other components have values different from the test board silk screen values. Let me know if there is interest in this. It would also get boards into user hands at least a month before the other boards begin the assembly process (and possibly longer with a lot of the factories in China in shut-down mode due to coronavirus restrictions there).Yes pleaseSent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4453268 Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Yup, I can assemble as long as there's a sheet to follow with parts list and or where to get parts direct..I'd be happy to place the components..if it comes down to just that..I'm in Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4453276 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 (edited) Note--these will be fully assembled by me before I release them into the wild, with the exception of boards I sent to specific testers. That way I'm sure of the build quality. I also got a better deal on memory chips this week than I suspect any of you will ever find. . .but once I run out of this inbound batch of chips, the memory price will double (best case). I've been working on eight of the boards I had begun assembly testing on over the last two days. All of them are now nearly halfway done, with one or two further along in the assembly process. Edited February 9, 2020 by Ksarul 6 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4453282 Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolhess Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 On 2/9/2020 at 12:42 AM, Ksarul said: I still have about ten to twelve unfinished boards from my test run Hi Ksarul, I,m interested in such a Board if they have 8MB and the RAMBO feature. 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4454774 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 All boards from the 3000 on have the RAMBO features installed. I received enough memory chips to complete ten 8M boards in the mail today, so yes, I can build it to the specification you want. As noted before, I got a better deal on RAM than I expected to find. These boards will be $175 each, plus shipping. I have sufficient chips on order to build another 40 or so boards at this price--but the price will change after that, as the chips on order now were a one-time lucky-find bargain that is unlikely to repeat. . .as I bought every chip that source had in stock. 2 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4454949 Share on other sites More sharing options...
+9640News Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I want 2 x 8M units, but that is on the 'finished' board that doesn't require any wires. I can prepay if you are setup, etc. Beery 1 Quote Link to comment https://forums.atariage.com/topic/294844-hrd-4000b/page/4/#findComment-4454984 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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