candle Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 there was some pressure in polish Atari scene to create reliable PBI IDE controller that would simply work without the need to tune it up to given Atari computer after some moths of thinkering its finally in development stage with first working unit excpected to appear before the christmass those are still early stages, and its too soon to speak about production, but i wonder, what would AA members say about this main features: - internal space for 2.5" hard drive - externally accessible CF card slot - externally accessible SD card slot (with hardware SPI bridge running at 50mhz) - 512k of Flash ROM for firmware (NewDevice handler + utility programs) - 32k of RAM for disk IO buffering - hot swap feature for CF and SD cards due to enclosure dimensions PCB had to be quite large for my standards - as you can see there is plenty of space on the board being "wasted", but i wanted something that look pro rather than something one should put it a shoe box as you can see the same enclosure type was used as for SDDrive Nuxx and here is more recent view of the board some 3d models (sd card adaptor for example) may be not matched to the footprint, but the footprint is 100% correct - just couldn't find 3d model good enought to reasemble physical connector anyways - it's done in 3d only to make sure everything fits inside and i won't face suprise when the board returns from PCB house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 there was some pressure in polish Atari scene to create reliable PBI IDE controller that would simply work without the need to tune it up to given Atari computer after some moths of thinkering its finally in development stage with first working unit excpected to appear before the christmass those are still early stages, and its too soon to speak about production, but i wonder, what would AA members say about this I'd say... I'll take one! Re: Hard Drive: IDE or SATA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tezz Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) So this is the PBI IDE controller that Zaxon was talking about which was at an early stage? ..and it has very high speed transfer rates that Zaxon mentioned (Hence the name ) I will buy one for sure although I'd be in two minds about including a 2.5" HDD. Any estimates on prices at this early stage? Edited November 24, 2009 by Tezz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Candle What would it cost approximately? Would it be possible to use more then one device on the PBI? (The old version of the MSC-IDE could, IIRC, Stephan Birmanns once tested four interfaces connected to the same computer simultaneously. It had ID-jumpers. At the moment, the MSC-IDE is being redesigned ) Would it be able to use SSD's (solid state discs)? Would it be able to use SDHC cards? Since there is enough space inside, are you planning to add extra's later on? Or an internal port for add-on's? (Like a network interface maybe, MIDI or a memory extension?) greetings Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Sounds good. But, TBH, if a nice full-speed PBI interface for SD cards can be had, why would we ever want to bother with HDDs again, given that SD cards are virtually throwaway items these days and even shitty slow ones would still not be troubled by an Atari fetching maybe 200K/second from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 This looks really cool. I'd love to see some build a PBI device with some empty slots though. It seems like there are enough people out there with the know-how to make it happen. It would be great to see some nice cards like an 80-column card, a 3 1/2 IBM format drive card, a CD-ROM drive card, etc. As far as the SpeedDrive, I'm looking forward to making out the access speed of the PBI interface with your device. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Allan The BlackBox will do 3.5" IBM format drives (up to four of them) if you also have the FloppyBoard. It will do CD-ROM drives even without the FloppyBoard. Check out my BlackBox page and my ASPI page. greetings Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Allan Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Allan The BlackBox will do 3.5" IBM format drives (up to four of them) if you also have the FloppyBoard. It will do CD-ROM drives even without the FloppyBoard. Check out my BlackBox page and my ASPI page. greetings Mathy Yea but it's not easy to get anymore and when it was available it was pretty expensive. Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Looks great: I'd definitely be up for one of these providing the price was reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Alan: Karin Maxi drive is also 720k floppy drive on PBI bus Anyway Gary: yes, SD are cheap and you can find one in Your corn-flakes if you really dig deep in the box, but i wanted IDE device inside because it clicks and make some noise in general - SD is provided because it is much simplier to exchange data between PC and Atari on SD card, than bothering with comparatibly slow SIO emulation on PC side I don't think SIO emulation will die because of this, but transfering lot of files via SD card rather than via SIO might be beneficial Cabel: IDE, not SATA i suppose one could use SATA drive with proper adaptor Tezz, yes it is and no esitmates on this stage - i know it won't be dirt cheap though Mathy: if you can find SSD with IDE interface then there is no diffrence, as for SDHC - its all software, hardwarewise no diffrence between them - just another set of commands to initialise. You could use 1.8" drive with proper adapter - power supply for drives is selectable between 3.3 and 5V I don't think there is a room for feature connector inside considering space requirements for SMT LDO regulators and other parts of power supply regulation, nor it is on any of panels for connectors that would provide some IO for such modules any ID can be set using 3 of 4 dip switches on rear panel (binary encoded), and its using standard flat cable, so multiple devices could be chained Jon: Define reasonable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Jon: Define reasonable There could be some pretty big reasonables depending on whether I keep my job past Christmas or not. Sad to say, but I don't know how tough things will get. VBXE and SatanDisk were the most expensive things I've bought hardware-wise: I'd hope it wouldn't be much more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 This is beginning to look like a sign up list. I'm always up for buying a new toy for my Atari 'HOBBY'. I assume that the sector size for the hard drive will be 256. Or will this be another Atr reader like the SIO2SD, or SIO2USB. So with SpartaDos X I can have 512 sectors and keep full partition size. Will there be a Printer interface like the Blackbox has? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Candle as for SDHC - its all software' date=' hardwarewise no diffrence between them[/quote'] Yes, but as far as I know, all devices that use SD cards on the Atari can only handle SD, not SDHC. Would be nice if yours (and any other new device) would also support SDHC. BTW, the harddisk, will it be "ATR only" like SIO2IDE or can it handle hard disks like classic Atari 8 bit harddisk interfaces (BlackBox, MIO, MSC-IDE, Supra/KPi Interface)? Would be nice if one would be able to copy files from the SD card (ATR structure) to the native hard disk and vice versa. greetings Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Candle as for SDHC - its all software, hardwarewise no diffrence between them Yes, but as far as I know, all devices that use SD cards on the Atari can only handle SD, not SDHC. Would be nice if yours (and any other new device) would also support SDHC. BTW, the harddisk, will it be "ATR only" like SIO2IDE or can it handle hard disks like classic Atari 8 bit harddisk interfaces (BlackBox, MIO, MSC-IDE, Supra/KPi Interface)? Would be nice if one would be able to copy files from the SD card (ATR structure) to the native hard disk and vice versa. greetings Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 atr only? no way hard disks are for files, not for emulator oriented stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 atr only? no way hard disks are for files, not for emulator oriented stuff Absolutely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) Well I'm usually interested in new peripherals. The only reason I missed out on VBXE was because of my financial situation at the time. But it would depend on price. Once my MIO gets here from Ken I'm sure I won't need another HDD interface but that's not to say I wouldn't buy in if the price were right, just out of interest. (And because it sounds cool ) Edited November 24, 2009 by spookt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I'm glad it will support non-solid state hard disks, because I too like the "clicky, whirry" factor. Owing to technical problems (the HDD not working), I had to go down the CF card route with my internal SIO2IDE. For some reason, though, I really wanted the Atari to whirr quietly when I booted it up. I've never experienced PIO data rates on the Atari, so that in itself would be another must-have factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 it is done off to the PCB house you go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+warerat Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Excellent work. I wish I knew Altium Designer like that-- it's a complex piece of software. Want to route a card for my 800 project for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) Sure provided i won't get sacked after 7th of december (my contract expires then, i hope they will extend it for another 2 years, but i really don't know ) ps. if anyone wants any graphics on this it is hight time to say, or better - provide it Edited November 24, 2009 by candle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Hello Candle Why 2181? greetings Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Mathy: this models is widely avaivable throught 3dcontentcentral.com (STEP file) - i needed it to verify clearances inside the case, why author of this model wanted to assign it these number i do not know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Candle, What connector is included to hook it to the a8? Most of the PBI devices coming out of eastern Europe are developed for the 130XE line. Are you going to be including an adaptor or cable to allow use on either the PBI or the ECI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 by default it would be XL connector with ribbon cable XE adapter is being developem right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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