Trying to get a ADE working help please

[traindriver69]

Hi all

I have been trying to get a ADE working with my Coleco adam Expansion 3 but losing badly I have put everything together and installed the software into the arduino and everything looks ok but when I use the reset button on the adam nothing.

I live inthe uk so could not get a socket for the adam cable so I cut the end off a spare adam keyboard cable I had and wired it to the arduino but it does not work.

According to the connection diagram there should be 1 5v 3 grounds and a data and reset wire but checking my cable 2 wires show 5v and one 0.09v which is confusing the hell out of me.

Could anyone please help me as I am desperate to get this working.

many thanks.

 

[Tekman]

The most common mistake is getting the ADAMnet connections configured in reverse.

You are seeing two +5v reading because one is the reset line which is always high until the ADAM reset button is pulled and the other is obviously +5V power. When the ADAMnet connections are reversed, you are trying to power the ADE from the data line and reset is always being held low because it is directly connected to ground. You’ll also notice your keyboard will not work when this happens and is also a good indication that you have the connections reversed at the ADE.

 

When using a proper ADAMnet reverse cable, the ADE ADAMnet pinout should be:

1 – Data
2 – Reset
3-5 – GND
6 – VCC

[traindriver69]

Hi

Thanks for the reply I have had another go and still cant get it to work when I pull the reset it just boots to the typewriter again.

I have connected white to data blue which shows the 5v reset and red as ground which is the opposite.

I have put some images of my set up.

many thanks

 

[Tekman]

I need to know what the cable looks like on the ADAM side with the tab facing down. Being a reverse cable, there is no way to tell what it would be on the ADAM side from the pictures. Is it white to blue or blue to white from left to right?

[traindriver69]

Adam end.

[Tekman]

****I made a mistake on the ADAMnet colors and corrected it below***

 

Your PNP transistor and resistor wiring is out of view, but we’ll assume it is correct right now.

 

This is the correct wiring in your case by ADAMnet cable color:

 

Blue – No connect (+5v)
Yellow,Green,Red (ALL TIED TOGETHER) – GND
Black – Reset
White – ADAMnet Data

Edited April 7, 2022 by Tekman

[Tekman]

I made a mistake on ADAMnet wire colors and corrected it. Sorry about that.

[traindriver69]

Hi

Thanks for the information and I agree with colour of the wires you have stated but still wont work just out of intrest could you tell me how you have set up the sd card incase thats an issue.

many thanks

[Tekman]

I see your display has boot.dsk displayed and your SD card must be fine. 

 

I’ll attach an ADE operators guide to see if that helps you out.

 

If it’s a hardware problem still, you should probably verify your PNP transistor and resistors are correctly wired. If you have a multimeter, I’d check continuity from the ADAMnet cable jack all the way to where it goes in the ADE design to verify no wiring is broken/open/missing.

ADE Operators Guide_B.pdf

[traindriver69]

This has been driving me mad for weeks I know I was doing everything right but could not work out why it was not working I had brought all of the parts off amazon including a box of mixed transitors but yesterday I decided to pop into a electronics parts store we have and brought another transistor and two resistors just to set my mind at rest.

I put them into the ADE and booted first time I dont know if it was a scream of delight or one of belated frustration but everything is good.

[Tekman]

Pure awesomeness! Enjoy your ADE!