stevee671 Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) Is it possible to create an Ultimate 99? Like the Ultimate64, a drop in replacement motherboard for a /4A? Edited September 3 by stevee671 5 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Throwing out there the idea that, like the U64 project, I think we should see what all can be crammed onto the existing main board form factor as a drop-in replacement. Not saying this must be that, but I think it would be a worthwhile challenge and really awesome if achieved (says the guy who is not going to be doing any layout work ) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevee671 Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 2 hours ago, OLD CS1 said: Throwing out there the idea that, like the U64 project, I think we should see what all can be crammed onto the existing main board form factor as a drop-in replacement. Not saying this must be that, but I think it would be a worthwhile challenge and really awesome if achieved (says the guy who is not going to be doing any layout work ) Me either, I’m just an idea guy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 I want it to have a case with a fullbus like a amiga,appleii, ibmpc 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevee671 Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 That was the cool thing about the /8, it was a full bus and was able to utilize that bus in the expansion box as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 I also think it worth knocking on @matthew180's door to see if he has some spare time to integrate an F18A MkII with HDMI-compatible output. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 (edited) Would 9922 boot to a DOS? Edited September 1 by GDMike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 21 minutes ago, GDMike said: Would 9922 boot to a DOS? This thread is for the Ultimate99 discussion, The U99 is not the same as the TI99/22 discussed in the general thread. That system will run whatever your regular TI will run, plus a bit more depending on Grom capabilities. The U99 hasn't been defined yet, so the DOS question is valid as long as you understand the difference between the two. Not trying to correct you, just keeping it straight for all those who are watching these threads. Have a great Labor Day weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDMike Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 (edited) 36 minutes ago, RickyDean said: This thread is for the Ultimate99 discussion, The U99 is not the same as the TI99/22 discussed in the general thread. That system will run whatever your regular TI will run, plus a bit more depending on Grom capabilities. The U99 hasn't been defined yet, so the DOS question is valid as long as you understand the difference between the two. Not trying to correct you, just keeping it straight for all those who are watching these threads. Have a great Labor Day weekend. No, thanks for correcting me shoot I didn't know the difference... So how many new systems are being made at the same time Edited September 1 by GDMike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary from OPA Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 37 minutes ago, GDMike said: No, thanks for correcting me shoot I didn't know the difference... So how many new systems are being made at the same time Currently, only 99/22 exists at v0.96. This thread more in the pre development stage on what is the next step afterwards to build a ultimate 99 stand alone console, integrating more things in then just a redesigned /4a which 99/22 is basically. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 5 hours ago, GDMike said: Would 9922 boot to a DOS? is forcecommand a dos? your 4/a will boot that from grom/rom cart or fg99 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FarmerPotato Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 I was curious to see how big Geneve 2020 would be if I used only thru-hole components. I arranged the CPU's chips on a P-box card. Both cards are completely full. Rough Comparison: Square Inches 40 Through-hole P-box card 25 Surface mount Eurocard with NuBus This is the CPU card, which assumes that video and audio are on separate cards. Anyhow, I could see this fitting inside a custom console, but probably bigger than a 4A board. Another goal was to determine a layout for wire-wrap -- I think it's worth my time to do a new wire-wrap version of this schematic. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technojunkie Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 (edited) I've also been thinking about this a bit over the last couple years. My wishlist is: Motherboard: mainboard compatible with 99/4a chassis, allow some port changes without cutting repurpose av output port based on vdp solution make cassette port optional change joystick port? - could relocate to tape plug location, then whole left side of board becomes available for expansion use with smaller vdp footprint. rkrenicki's start on a repro board and footprint are a great place to iterate from. https://forums.atariage.com/topic/318064-ti994a-motherboard-replacement-in-progress/ shrink as much footprint as possible with SMT, smaller TTL, rom chips, shrink GROM footprint using TI-GROMMY circuit https://forums.atariage.com/topic/341084-ti-grommy-the-system-grom-replacement/ change power board to a usb-pd supply with buck converters for 5v and 12v rails, could use 3d printed plug in original power port for usb-c and additional port like micro-SD Heck if the power management could be moved to the mainboard, the original power board is a huge area for expansion.... remove VDP and support circuits from mainboard in favor of a pin-header daughterboard in similar location. allows use of f18/pico9918/etc... shift A/V DIN connector to daughterboard, consider denser DIN connector for vga+ audio or mini-hdmi for digital video 32k 16bit ram Expansion: change PEB connection to carry whole 16 bit bus - probably a stretch 2nd daughterboard for misc expansion? I know there's not a lot of space to work with in a 99/4a shell would HexBus be worth adding? generic pio or i2c? If I had all the money in the world I'd also consider a new shell that adds a few inches of depth to the back of the 99/4a shell and breaks out 2-3 expansion cards and new I/O shield. Would it be worth considering switching to TMS9995 from TMS9900? Edited September 8 by technojunkie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FarmerPotato Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 What do you think of this keyboard? I know custom keyboards are pricey. This one looks like a Thinkpad but the seller says it's from TI. If so, probably a TravelMate laptop. They had 50 of them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/325009021927 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 29 minutes ago, FarmerPotato said: What do you think of this keyboard? I know custom keyboards are pricey. This one looks like a Thinkpad but the seller says it's from TI. If so, probably a TravelMate laptop. They had 50 of them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/325009021927 I like them, just so much more functionality than the stock TI OS. Maybe for a Geneve-type operating system which can take full advantage -- not to let anything go to waste. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FarmerPotato Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 1 hour ago, OLD CS1 said: I like them, just so much more functionality than the stock TI OS. Maybe for a Geneve-type operating system which can take full advantage -- not to let anything go to waste. My approach was to map AT keyboard codes to appropriate 4A codes, in the FPGA. For instance, arrows map to Fctn-ESDX, Page Up maps to Fctn-4, Page Down maps to Fctn-6. I want to get back to the FPGA, now that I've mostly got my CPU running. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artoj Posted September 13 Share Posted September 13 I did some more measuring and I think this foot print is the Maximum size of the new drop-in Motherboard, discounting the use of the original keyboard. Instead of not using the round Video, I opted to put in the Midi Ports instead. As you can see the real estate is almost double the original board. I still think we can add another major board underneath the motherboard as well, with about 15mm height space, a board of 140x300 would fit nicely. regards Arto. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabrizio Posted September 17 Share Posted September 17 You are incredible, you drive me crazy..🤩 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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