Atari XE Remake Pre Order Thread

[wildstar87]

7 hours ago, wildstar87 said:

Got my board the other day, looks good.  Have a few questions..

 

Can UAV and VBXE be run at the same time, or is it one or the other?

 

Are there VBXE install instructions for this?  The normal 130XE installation is calling out a bunch of parts that need removing, not sure if parts needed to be removed, and if so, which ones.

 

I'm assuming the Video Setup 10pos header is for the VBXE connections, not sure which ones to connect to which.  I could back trace, and make some educated guesses, but if you have a list already, that would be better..

 

Can Ferrite beads be reused from original 130XE MB?

Completely missed the note in the original BOM about reusing the Ferrites, duh..

 

I do have one other question, along with those left above.  What is the SJ1 surface mount component on the backside? Seems that it goes to the 5V to Pin4 on the UAV/VBXE jumpers.  Seems kind of critical since it's an open otherwise.  I don't see it in the BOM, or in the Mouser cart.

[Dinadan67]

8 hours ago, wildstar87 said:

Can UAV and VBXE be run at the same time, or is it one or the other?

They can coexist, my XEGS has both.

 

 

[Dropcheck]

12 hours ago, adam242 said:

My board arrived today! Time to get to work.

 

This is the largest project of it's kind that I've taken on. Can anyone recommend an order of assembly? I was thinking I'd start with all the low-profile passives, then the IC sockets and taller caps, then the larger connectors and switches.

 

 

  I would do all SMT/SMD components first if Panos didn't do it for you already.  Then do the resistors, short caps, (axial parts), etc as you listed. 

[santosp]

[wildstar87]

7 hours ago, santosp said:

So SJ1 isn't a component, but a jumper?  Does anything need to be removed component wise from the motherboard (like the standard 130XE), or is it taken into account already?  VBXE install instructions aren't very clear on which components either, it just has a red square that says remove all components in the picture, but that includes Freddie, which I don't think is the case.

 

If I'm understanding correctly, in order to use UAV, first have to remove jumpers from 4-5, and 7-8 used for VBXE, then place jumpers for UAV.  Both VBXE and UAV cannot be connected at the same time with this configuration, of course adding a separate connector for one or the other would allow that I believe.  But no tying 1-4-5 and 3-7-8 together.  To do this without opening the case, could wire in a DPDT switch for this purpose.

 

 

16 hours ago, Dinadan67 said:

They can coexist, my XEGS has both.

 

The question was for this board specifically, using the built-in connections, not in a general case, I was aware that they can be used together, as I had them working on 1088XEL.

Edited June 18, 2021 by wildstar87

[santosp]

@wildstar87

Yes the video connector here is one, to serve one of three implementations at a time. My main concept when I designed the board, was to use a video out connector that without modifications to the wiring, it can serve the existing cables of the users. 

If, for example, I was using a 13-pin video connector, each user would have to build a new cable for each use! I mean one for the UAV, STOCK, VBXE!

Even if he had the skills to do it, finding and purchasing such a connector would be difficult and expensive!

Unfortunately or fortunately, when someone are planning something new, it will have to think about all the factors around it. 

 

I think that the instructions for VBXE, refer to a specific version of XE board only.  To check what exact it need to change on this revised board, I must to find some free time as to prepare a file.

 

For now I suggest you to try to assemble the board in stock form, and after to check for good working operation. After when all are look that work good as the original Atari, check the UAV and HIAS memory upgrade! One step at a time.  Now, when all these have finished with success, you can proceed with any add on you wish.

 

Note: In reality the SJ1 is a "solder pad" type jumper.

 

[venom4728a]

I have made it past initial power on stage. Mine powered up with clear video but no color.  I resoldered the components in the UAV circuitry and the connections feeding video to the UAV.  Now I have color and nice video.  My stock Atari video output blurry when checked.  I have not tested it again since I did the resolder work.

 

Sophia 2 video is working well too.  

 

Having trouble getting my Gal to program.  The programmer is id'ing and reading the chip fine but fails every verify.  I am running it from my old laptop so it may be a power/current issue from the old usb ports.  I will try again on my desktop pc tomorrow.

 

 

[venom4728a]

7 hours ago, santosp said:

 

 After when all are look that work good as the original Atari, check the UAV and HIAS memory upgrade! One step at a time.  Now, when all these have finished with success, you can proceed with any add on you wish.

 

 

Do you recommend any specific programs for testing out functionality of the computer?

[santosp]

About the GAL, have you uncheck the "LOCK Bit" from your programmer?

[santosp]

To check the computer I use joysticks, paddles, a SIO device, cartridges, and a program given to me from HIAS to check the extra ram.

[wildstar87]

22 hours ago, venom4728a said:

Having trouble getting my Gal to program.  The programmer is id'ing and reading the chip fine but fails every verify.  I am running it from my old laptop so it may be a power/current issue from the old usb ports.  I will try again on my desktop pc tomorrow.

 

 

I can't remember, but if there is an encrypt selection, that will also cause it to fail on verify.  The other thing is if you are trying to do vector tests on the TL866II+, there was a slight issue on the configuration of the test that caused it to also fail.  You can see the issue, and solution here:

I'm assuming that XRAM should be able to test the 576k for functionality.

Edited June 20, 2021 by wildstar87

[wildstar87]

Santos, I actually thought the upgrade of the video connector to 8 pin DIN was very clever.  I think that it might have worked with both at the same time.  I think you can use composite video as substitute for CSYNC (I could be wrong about that), so you would only need the RGB connections, as Sync (Composite), Audio, and Gnd are already available, without having to disconnect UAV, not sure why you have +5V there, I don't see that connection on VBXE output.  After I get everything working, I may actually try this to see if it works, using composite for sync.

On another note, I noticed a 75ohm resistor silkscreen on the board (not part of UAV portion), but it wasn't listed in the BOM, was it just missed, or is this actually supposed to be a different value?  Looking at the two revs, it seems this is only on the Rev2 board.  After checking the Mouser project, it does seem that the 75ohm resistor is there however.

Edited June 20, 2021 by wildstar87

[+mytek]

5 hours ago, wildstar87 said:

Santos, I actually thought the upgrade of the video connector to 8 pin DIN was very clever.  I think that it might have worked with both at the same time.  I think you can use composite video as substitute for CSYNC (I could be wrong about that), so you would only need the RGB connections, as Sync (Composite), Audio, and Gnd are already available, without having to disconnect UAV, not sure why you have +5V there, I don't see that connection on VBXE output.  After I get everything working, I may actually try this to see if it works, using composite for sync.

I did something similar for the 576NUC+ when we thought we could squeeze stereo into the package. It was actually an idea put forth by @tf_hh who is one of the people on the project team. So you'll see below that we have the 3 extra connections from the DIN-8 jack broken out to a 3-pin header marked as 'Stereo'. These could be easily repurposed as RGB like you mentioned, but I'm not sure if the composite output would serve well for the VBXE CSYNC-IN requirements. maybe someone in the know can verify that.

 

Anyway the part number shown for the DIN-8 jack gives us a 'universal' 5 or 8-pin DIN plug jack, so that a standard Atari DIN-5 audio/video cable will still work, with the option to use a custom DIN-8 cable for the extra features.

 

 

BTW, this is the view looking directly into the same side of the jack as you would plug into.

[santosp]

1 hour ago, mytek said:

Anyway the part number shown for the DIN-8 jack gives us a 'universal' 5 or 8-pin DIN plug jack, so that a standard Atari DIN-5 audio/video cable will still work, with the option to use a custom DIN-8 cable for the extra features.

Exactly the same  applies here too! The only thing you have to choose through switches, is one of the three options! Stock, or UAV, or VBXE video out. 

 

IMHO ?

What I can not understand is why someone to want to alternate from option to option all the time....  ?

The switches were placed there simply to make it easy to choose if someone is doing an upgrade, and not as a way of jumping from one state to another. 

Consider this pcb board as a assembled like a original Atari one, and anything else it supports as an upgrade, including and the UAV.  So the jumpers are there to permit the upgrade and not as a means to go back and forth.

[santosp]

Important Info

 

Completing today the assembly of a board from this last batch for a  buyer, I discovered something that I should inform you. This has to do with the "Basic rom" of the computer.

First of all I must to say that back then during the design, I was thinking about the difficulty that someone will face in the "seemingly" easy finding of the Basic rom, in case it does not have the original from a donnor Atari.

So I decided to make a change in the second and last version of the board, to give the option to someone to use a usual 27C64 or 128 or 256 or 512 eprom for this purpose. Now I realize that I made a small mistake regarding a signal, the pin Nr 2 of Basic rom. I have connect it to 5 volts.

So you need to follow the photo below to fix it.

So this board can not work using the custom Atari OTP rom, but with any 27C..... as desribed above.

Once again to apologize for my negligence .... ?

 

 

[Dropcheck]

Just realized that I completely missed the indication that the ferrite beads were supposed to be salvaged from an existing 130XE.  I checked the Sams manual and of course there is no value listed for them.  All my 130XEs are still working, (knock on wood) and I have no desire to open them up and kill them just for the beads.  Does anyone know what the value or part # would be for substitutes from Mouser or Digikey?

[adam242]

1 hour ago, Dropcheck said:

Just realized that I completely missed the indication that the ferrite beads were supposed to be salvaged from an existing 130XE.  I checked the Sams manual and of course there is no value listed for them.  All my 130XEs are still working, (knock on wood) and I have no desire to open them up and kill them just for the beads.  Does anyone know what the value or part # would be for substitutes from Mouser or Digikey?

This is the part that santosp included in his Mouser basket.. Glad I ordered my basket when I did, they're on a long back-order now.

 

edit: Digikey shows over 2200 in stock.

Edited June 21, 2021 by adam242

[Dropcheck]

20 minutes ago, adam242 said:

This is the part that santosp included in his Mouser basket.. Glad I ordered my basket when I did, they're on a long back-order now.

 

edit: Digikey shows over 2200 in stock.

Thanks!

[venom4728a]

On 6/20/2021 at 6:33 AM, wildstar87 said:

I can't remember, but if there is an encrypt selection, that will also cause it to fail on verify.  The other thing is if you are trying to do vector tests on the TL866II+, there was a slight issue on the configuration of the test that caused it to also fail.  You can see the issue, and solution here:

I'm assuming that XRAM should be able to test the 576k for functionality.

Thank You.  I was able to skip the encrypt process.  I purchased 5 Gal22v10b pre-owned for $10. Of the 5,  I could only get one take take the JED file correctly  The other 4 pass programming but when I read the file back it's doesnt match the source.

 

The one that did program,is working in my 130xe.  Just need to find a expanded memory testor.

 

I am using the G540 Genius programmer with the latest software on windows 10.

[venom4728a]

There are 2 pin locations near the PS/2 connector.  Can these be used with pokeymax v3 clk and data pins?  

 

If I have pokey max v3 should I remove tk-II pic or will they not interfere with each other?

[foft]

15 minutes ago, venom4728a said:

There are 2 pin locations near the PS/2 connector.  Can these be used with pokeymax v3 clk and data pins?  

 

If I have pokey max v3 should I remove tk-II pic or will they not interfere with each other?

It wouldn't make sense to use both PS2 interfaces at once, also they would both try to access the keyboard at once which would conflict. The TKII is a more full featured PS2 solution. The pokeymax PS2 has a fixed keyboard map that matches 800XL locations (for now) and is like the XEGS - i.e. its the pokey keys only, no console keys.

[venom4728a]

11 minutes ago, foft said:

It wouldn't make sense to use both PS2 interfaces at once, also they would both try to access the keyboard at once which would conflict. The TKII is a more full featured PS2 solution. The pokeymax PS2 has a fixed keyboard map that matches 800XL locations (for now) and is like the XEGS - i.e. its the pokey keys only, no console keys.

I have a pokey max v3 installed In my remake 130xe board.  Do I need to disable the pokey max keyboard function or will simply not connecting the be suffucient?

 

Thank You for the quick response.

 

 

[foft]

18 minutes ago, venom4728a said:

I have a pokey max v3 installed In my remake 130xe board.  Do I need to disable the pokey max keyboard function or will simply not connecting the be suffucient?

 

Thank You for the quick response.

 

 

Simply not connecting it is fine.

[+orpheuswaking]

On 6/20/2021 at 8:06 PM, adam242 said:

This is the part that santosp included in his Mouser basket.. Glad I ordered my basket when I did, they're on a long back-order now.

 

edit: Digikey shows over 2200 in stock.

I ended up swapping them out for a similar part number. Exact same ferrite bead but the leads are pre bent a little shorter, I can just adjust those manually. I should have looked at digikey first though DOH

[santosp]

An almost complete NTSC board for a member here. ?