ABBUC hardeware-contest

[Sleepy]

Hi,

 

here´s the english version of the description found in the ABBUC-magazin 106.

While my english is not very good, I hope I didn´t make too many mistakes and you understand the description well.

 

Thanx Phil for the suggestion to translate the text into english. :-)

 

Marc „Sleeπ“ Brings

 

 

 

Hardware contest 2011

 

This year, in the category „hardware“, there are four contributions. Two ones in category „final“ and two ones in category „in prorgress“.

 

The „final“ products are:

• Freezer 2011
  
• USB 2 SIO
  

In „progress“ are the following products:

• 65C816 Board for XL / XE
  
• IIC-bus-adapter with realtime-clock for the joystickport
  

 

 

 

 

Hereafter a short description of each development.

 

 

Category „final“

 

1) Turbo Freezer XL/XE 2011

 

The Turbo Freezer is a versatillity extension for the PBI respectively ECI of the Atari XL/XE computer. Strictly speaking, the Turbo Freezer combined four different extensions in one:

 

- Freezer (freeze a running programm, save or load the snapshopt, integrated debugger & DOS)

- Oldrunner mode

- Cartridge emulation

- Battery-backed 512k RamDisk

 

All functions could be used independent from each other and can be (dis-)abled by switches.

 

In comparison to the Turbo Freezer 2005, there are a lot of improvements:

Completely new designed hardware and logic, the cartridge-emulation´s menu and the flasher-software are new from the scratch.

 

The Turbo Freezer´s core is the Xilinx XC95144XL CPLD with 144 macro cells, 1MB flash and 1MB battery-backed RAM (for comparison: the Turbo Freezer 2005 used 512k flash, 128k RAM and a CPLD with 64 macro cells).

 

The hardware now is protected by a case, the switches are comfortably accessible from the front.

 

Instead of two different versions for XL and XE, the Freezer now comes along with an interchangeable adapter pcb, wich also can be purchased alone. This means you need only one Freezer for XL and XE, and a matching adapter for your system. The Freezer himself fits to both adapters (PBI & ECI). An adapter pcb for internal use is in progress.

 

Both adapter-pcb offers a loop through-PBI, the XE-adapter offers an additional cartridge-port. PBI-devices can be used parallel with the Freezer.

 

With the "Stereo Pokey" mode-switch you can force the Freezer to save the state of the second pokey if a stereo-upgrade is installed and you take a snapshot.

 

A crash of the Freezer freezing a few programms (eg Galaxian) are prevented by a new logic. The debugger now has full PORTB-control; this enables easy access to RamDisks and OS/BASIC. Also new: the report-function - all debugger-outputs can be send to a printer.

 

Thanks to the battery-backing the snapshots in Freezer´s RAM doesn´t get lost with power down the system.

 

For cartridge-emulation up to 960k flash and 384k battery-backed RAM are available. 8k, 16k and OSS-cartridges can be emulated. Current versions of SDX (up to 512k) are also supported - you can emulate SDX with a hooked-on Action! or MAC/65 cart.

 

Also new is an AtariMax-compatible 8k mode and an 8k mode with optional 8k RAM bank at $8000 - future cartridge-software can use up to 384k.

 

The integrated 512k RamDisk is 100% compatibele to the popular PORTB/$D301 standard and uses Bits 2,3,5,6,7 for bank-selecting.

 

by Matthias Reichl / Wolfram Fischer

 

 

2) USB 2 SIO

 

This is a small pcb which enables the direct connection between the ATARI and PC/Mac with USB. It relaced the combination of a sio2pc with seperated RS232-USB-Dongle. The pcb is designed to fit into a SIO-jack. You can choose with a solder strap between „RI“ and „CTS“ mode. Connected to the PC/Mac by an affixed cable with USB A-jack, the device is powered by the USB-port.

 

by Wolfram Fischer

 

 

Category „in progress“

 

1) 65C816 bord for all XL/XE

 

This project speeds up the ATARI up to 7MHz using a 6502-compatible 16Bit-CPU, this means increasing the operating speed up to 400%. It´s a further development based on Bob Wooley´s 65C816 upgrade for the 1200XL, as seen at the hardware contest in 2008.

 

As against Bob´s version this set-up works with all XL/XE. PBI could be used with normal speed.

 

BASIC & OS are now found on the set-up and available with full speed immediately after power up. Copying BASIC & OS into the extension´s RAM as before are not longer required.

 

Following issues are in progress:

 

- choose between the original Atari 6502C-CPU and 65C816. Booting the computer is necessary.

- Using RAM direct by the CPU with full speed, boosting RAM up to 4MB (or more). RAM could be acessed without bank-switching.

- Guus is exploring if speeding up the clock to 14MHz is possible; this would mean a acceleration of 800%.

 

Guus shows a working prototype at the annual meeting.

 

by Guus Assmann

 

2) IIC-Adapter

 

The II2C-adapter enables to connect a circuit/chip using the II2C or TWI-bus for communication to the ATARI´s joystickport. Proper software provided, you can connect a realtime-clock, an eeprom, an adc/dac or something similar to your ATARI. The usage as dongle would be also possible.

 

Guus shows a working prototype with rtc at the annual meeting.

 

by Guus Assmann

 

 

Closing date for postal vote is the 26th of october 2011 (remind delivery time from your country!), submit it at the annual meeting, or scan & send it via email to wolfgang or me.

Edited October 5, 2011 by Sleepy

[Tezz]

65C816 board

[sloopy]

65C816 board

 

yes i must agree that will be cool!...

 

guess i can stop working on mine tho :'(

sloopy.

[+Philsan]

Thank you very much for your translation Marc!

[guus.assmann]

Hello Sleepy and others.

 

One thing must be said, becasue credit has to be where credit is due.

The 65C816 project is not only my dooing.

Bob Wooley had the original idea and made the first version.

 

I meerly tested it in a PAL system and changed it a little so the Basic is in there again. (Basic is not present in the 1200XL.)

And now I'm trying to get the Sally on the PCB as well.

This means that switching between "standard" and "enhanced" is possible. Without any plugging, just a switch.

But actually this is a bit arbitrary. The only use is for games.

And for that, a second system can be used just as well.

 

Another thing that I thought could be improved is the position of the operating system.

In the original concept, the OS needs to be copied to RAM in order to get the speed.

This is not very convenient and also has some issues with a program like SDX. There's no free RAM below the OS anymore.

So I also try to get the OS next to the CPU. This does need a fast Eprom, but those are available.

 

The actual status is that only the addition of Basic was successfull.

I'm having problems getting the latest version to work. There must be an (elusive) defect somewhere in the PCB.

[Tezz]

The 65C816 upgrade is someting that's been on my wish list for years Guss, with switching between the standard 6502C CPU and the 65C816.

[+therealbountybob]

Thanks Sleepy

[Sleepy]

One thing must be said, becasue credit has to be where credit is due.The 65C816 project is not only my dooing.

 

Yes, because of this I wrote "It´s a further development based on Bob Wooley´s 65C816 upgrade".

 

Sleepy

[sloopy]

once completed, will these be available for sale?

 

:'D

 

sloopy.

[guus.assmann]

Hello Sloopy,

 

The point of the ABBUC contest, as I have always understood it, is to help create things to become available.

So Yes, the intention is to sell boards. This is of course as far as I have a say in it.

But in any case, all information will be made available for anyone who wants it.

[sloopy]

Hello Sloopy,

 

The point of the ABBUC contest, as I have always understood it, is to help create things to become available.

So Yes, the intention is to sell boards. This is of course as far as I have a say in it.

But in any case, all information will be made available for anyone who wants it.

 

yeah i have always seen it as a betterment for the community, but sometimes the products get sold, and sometimes, just the info is made available, and a person can make one, but they arnt sold pre-made...

 

sloopy.