#FujiNet Hardware Discussion

[jamm]

[Mr Robot]

3 hours ago, mozzwald said:

I did not change the uSD socket to a push/push style. I could not find a socket small enough to fit in the same spot as the current one. This upgrade will require putting the socket on the opposite side and a case modification.

I wouldn't worry about it, the uSD is much easier to get in/out than the SDrive-MAX and that has the push/push socket. The scoop on the Fujinet case makes it easy for anyone with at least a sliver of fingernail unchewed

 

[jamm]

1 hour ago, Mr Robot said:

I wouldn't worry about it, the uSD is much easier to get in/out than the SDrive-MAX and that has the push/push socket. The scoop on the Fujinet case makes it easy for anyone with at least a sliver of fingernail unchewed

 

YMMV... I ended up attaching a piece of tape to the end of my uSD card.  I do keep my nails pretty short, though....

[Gavin1968]

On 8/28/2020 at 12:55 PM, jamm said:

piece of tape to the end of my uSD card

What a great idea! I think I might do that for my SDrive-MAX's as well. 

[+DjayBee]

1 hour ago, Gavin1968 said:

What a great idea! I think I might do that for my SDrive-MAX's as well. 

I doubt that this will work. With all All SDrive-Max' I've seen so far, you have to push the card to release it. 

[Gavin1968]

14 minutes ago, DjayBee said:

you have to push the card to release it. 

That is the way the screen works yes, but will still help with inserting and retrieving it since I have something to hold on too. 

[+mytek]

You know this would have been far easier if a standard SD card had been used. I understand that this was probably not an option with the hardware that was purchased, but boy do I hate those uSD cards. I lost a high GB one on the floor, and never did find it (probably got eaten by the vacuum cleaner). There gets to be a point in this whole miniaturization thing that is just impractical, making people resort to putting tape on the damn tiny things in order to grab a hold of it  . That's my rant for today, carry on.

 

BTW, @mozzwald you did an absolutely fantastic job on bringing together the hardware and 3D printed case design. I give you ????? for what you've accomplished.

 

[Gavin1968]

1 hour ago, mytek said:

standard SD card

Size is everything. I happen to love the micro SD cards myself, even with my fat fingers. My SDrive-MAX's use them, my IMSAI 8080 replica uses them, my Raspberry Pie's use them, heck even my Mavic Pro drone uses them.  Plus when you want to keep the size of something small you use them.  Someone had the idea of some clear tape on the end to make it easier to grab and I love that idea too.  Size matters

 

[venom4728a]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TF-Male-To-MicroSD-Female-Card-Reader-Extension-Adapter-Cable-For-Phone-GPS-TV/254628310532?hash=item3b4907ae04:g:sycAAOSwSdFe6tej

 

 

 

I ordered one of these.

[jamm]

Here's my home-made solution with a small piece of clear packing tape:

 

 

[Mr Robot]

9 hours ago, venom4728a said:

I ordered one of these.

Micro to Micro extension?

 

6 hours ago, jamm said:

Here's my home-made solution with a small piece of clear packing tape:

How are people having such problems with these?! I'm old, have fat fingers, and terrible eyesight and I still manage them fine

[jamm]

2 hours ago, Mr Robot said:

 

How are people having such problems with these?! I'm old, have fat fingers, and terrible eyesight and I still manage them fine

In my case, it’s not that it’s difficult, it’s that I’m trying to minimize the amount of force I’m applying against the FujiNet SIO connector. To pull the card out, I have to apply some force inwards towards the card and body of the FN in order to get a “grip” on the end of the card. This force gets translated against the FN SIO connector and the Atari SIO socket in which it’s inserted. Those are two parts which would be difficult to replace, so I want to minimize that force.

 

I may be being overly cautious, but it’s an easy change to make with potentially significant benefits. If I weren’t testing FujiNet and frequently swapping the card I might not bother.

 

[mozzwald]

14 hours ago, mytek said:

BTW, @mozzwald you did an absolutely fantastic job on bringing together the hardware and 3D printed case design. I give you ????? for what you've accomplished.

Thanks! I really wanted this to be a finished product that would work with all the machines and look true to form. I don't take credit for everything, the ideas poured in from the community which shaped the design into what we have now.

 

RE: uSD. I chose micro cuz they are available everywhere and are the standard (due to smart phones). I could have put the socket on the front side but wanted to keep everything on the back for ease of building which leaves limited space for everything.

 

I use the tape method too since I'm constantly testing fujinets after building.

[+DrVenkman]

I keep my fingernails very short and have a hell of a time when using push/pull microSD card sockets. I have had specific problems getting the card out of my FujiNet unit, so the idea of a little tab of tape is great in my book.

 

***

Now to change the subject, if we’re talking about the hardware generally, I need to point out an issue with the FujiNet hardware - it may be an issue with my unit from the first run that may not be shared by others going forward but people should be aware: the pass-through connector on my example is *very* touchy and does not grip my SIO cables very well at all. When plugged into the side of the Atari and a cable plugged in to the rest of my devices, that cable slips out extremely easily. I think part of the problem is the pins inside the FujiNet don’t extend very far; I also think the 3D printed connector housing is simply more slippery (lower coefficient of static friction) than the plastic used for injection-molded originals.

 

I’m not sure how this issue can be alleviated going forward - as I said, it might just be because mine is one of the first units built for distribution and has some quirks that have been corrected already. 

[+mytek]

4 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

RE: uSD. I chose micro cuz they are available everywhere and are the standard (due to smart phones). I could have put the socket on the front side but wanted to keep everything on the back for ease of building which leaves limited space for everything.

I totally get it.

 

I'm not a cell phone user, so I'm more interested in what's compatible with my desktop or laptop PC, both of which have standard SD readers on board. Standard SDs don't require an adapter for this usage in this scenario. I do have an Android tablet that uses uSD, however anything Atari related I tend to just fall back to my desktop or laptop for ease of use and the larger screen. And seriously I lose those uSD cards all the time because of how tiny they are .

 

[mozzwald]

11 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

Now to change the subject, if we’re talking about the hardware generally, I need to point out an issue with the FujiNet hardware - it may be an issue with my unit from the first run that may not be shared by others going forward but people should be aware: the pass-through connector on my example is *very* touchy and does not grip my SIO cables very well at all. When plugged into the side of the Atari and a cable plugged in to the rest of my devices, that cable slips out extremely easily. I think part of the problem is the pins inside the FujiNet don’t extend very far; I also think the 3D printed connector housing is simply more slippery (lower coefficient of static friction) than the plastic used for injection-molded originals.

 

I’m not sure how this issue can be alleviated going forward - as I said, it might just be because mine is one of the first units built for distribution and has some quirks that have been corrected already. 

This was reported early by some users and I modified the SIO receptacle to be a little shorter which appears to correct the issue. In fact, yesterday someone had this problem and printed the newer port themselves and replaced it which fixed their issues. I can swap yours with another and hopefully that will work better for you. Also, I have the v1.1 boards with the fix for 1088XEL since I know you have one.

 

Anyone with a FujiNet made by me should let me know if they have this or any other problem and we'll try figure out a solution.

Edited August 31, 2020 by mozzwald
For others

[Gavin1968]

14 hours ago, venom4728a said:

I ordered one of these.

I would rather use a little bit of tape than have this ugly thing hanging out of anything I own. lol

 

[Fierodoug5]

What is the guys that missed the first 50 units next chance to get a unit, wait till The Brewing Acadamy starts selling them? Now that my wroom unit is absolete, I can't keep up with all the new updates.

[mozzwald]

Just now, Fierodoug5 said:

What is the guys that missed the first 50 units next chance to get a unit, wait till The Brewing Acadamy starts selling them? Now that my wroom unit is absolete, I can't keep up with all the new updates.

@MacRorie is working on a batch of v1.0 as well as @Gavin1968. I will do a batch of v1.1 when everything is confirmed a-ok.

 

 

[tschak909]

The quickest will probably be TBA's run, he's gearing up for a production run in the next few weeks. @mozzwald is still testing the 1.1 rev of the board (which makes things nice for 1088XEL and devices that don't properly bus couple), after which, I think we'll figure out what to do next.

 

-Thom

[tschak909]

dayumn, talk about a race condition!

-Thom

[Gavin1968]

18 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

batch of v1.1

So what is going to be different hardware wise? I have 100 pcbs on their way right now of 1.0

 

[mozzwald]

9 minutes ago, Gavin1968 said:

So what is going to be different hardware wise? I have 100 pcbs on their way right now of 1.0

 

If you read back 1 page all will be revealed

[Gavin1968]

14 minutes ago, mozzwald said:

If you read back 1 page all will be revealed

Gotcha, so nothing major.  By the way, what switch are you using for your power switch? The BOM didn't have any part number listed.  Not sure if I want to add it, since I don't see the point, but just in case. 

 

[mozzwald]

16 minutes ago, Gavin1968 said:

Gotcha, so nothing major.  By the way, what switch are you using for your power switch? The BOM didn't have any part number listed.  Not sure if I want to add it, since I don't see the point, but just in case. 

 

S4 is the power switch and has a part number in the BOM. It does have a point: it allows you to turn off the FujiNet if you don't want to use it but leave it connected. You could omit the pwr switch S4 but would need to bridge SJ1 which makes FujiNet always on.