Jump to content
IGNORED

Redrawing the 1088XEL in KiCad


ivop

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I already mentioned it in another thread, but I started redrawing mytekcontrols' wonderful 1088XEL schematic in KiCad. It's quite an undertaking and prone to errors, so I was hoping if people would want to help by proofreading and comparing it to the original schematic?

 

The idea is to eventually have the whole schematic in an open format that can serve as a basis for other PCBs. Think different form factor (fitting an 800XL case) or SMD instead of THT and have boards assembled by pick-n-place machines in China. Just thinking out loud, the opportunities are endless ;)

 

I have attached the current version, which consists of the first two pages (out of six) fully done. Note that this is schematic capture only for now. I have not drawn any PCB footprints.

1088XEL-redrawn-2017-11-04.pdf

Edited by ivop
  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to let everyone know, ivop has my full blessing and appreciation on this undertaking, which is inline with the spirit of the Creative Commons release of the 1088XEL Project. I believe there is also a planned Eagle version in the works, but due to the size limitations of the FREE license, will likely require a paid upgrade. It's very nice to see the interest in this 'little' project of mine.

 

- Michael

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am currently in the final stages of converting Michael's ExpressPCB schematic and pcb files to Eagle 8 files. All the schematic work is done and now I'm checking footprint and fitting. I think I can transfer most of the silkscreen art too. Once that is done I'll make the library, .sch and .brd files available. You should be able to inport those files into various other programs for further modification.

 

If you want to continue using Eagle, then you will need more than the freeware version of Eagle 8. Due to the complexity of the board (4 layers), number of pins and size, the 1088XEL exceeds the restrictions on the freeware version.

 

Here's a pdf of the current look of the unfinished .brd file

1088XEL.pdf

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say , the more the merrier :) Eagle to KiCad conversion is pretty terrible though, so I will keep continuing my work, too. I used to use Eagle in the past, but found the free version too limited and the paid version too expensive. Now that Autodesk has taken over Eagle, it seems its even worse. You have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription, always need an internet connection (it calls home) and you never really own the software. Anyway, not the time and place to continue ranting about Eagle ;) To each its own and your board looks very nice!! I'm nowhere near routing a PCB yet and I doubt I will recreate Michael's PCB, but schematic capture is at almost 50% now.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update:

 

Readme.txt in the gerbers Michael released indicates 1388, so obviously I'm missing some. I think he added several support holes, maybe eight or so. I'll discover where the extra pins/holes are during fit test.

1388 is counting every hole, includes mounting and vias, and was what the Xcheck program I used reported. Speaking of which, I should re-run it just to be sure I recorded the correct total in the readme text file that was included with the Gerber files. Towards the end of the development process there were a bunch of minor tweaks to dial things in, and along with that came the need to update that file. Its not critical, and is just provided as a general overview, but I'll check it to be sure all is well.

 

- Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just food for thought. When I was first developing the 1088XEL Candle suggested the idea of using two more commonly available 32k SRAM's in place of the not so common 64k part I did use. Because of my size constraints I opted to stick with the 64k version. However if this board design were to be applied to something to go inside a conventional A8 enclosure then there would be plenty of room for the 32k parts, as well as the missing 4051 keyboard matrix MUX chips, which would make perfect sense to include in that scenario. Having stock keyboard support in parallel with the PS2 will not cause any problems, because the TK-II chip firmware was designed with that in mind.

 

- Michael

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: four pages done (4/6).

 

Not sure if people actually proofread this and don't find any errors, but if you do (proofread and not find errors), could you also post it here?

 

Two more pages to go!

 

 

Looking good, but I'm actually waiting for all of the pages, at which time I'll sit down with a print out of your schematic next to mine and go through it. Since you are mimicking what I did page for page it should be pretty easy to spot anything that is wrong or missing.

 

- Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking good, but I'm actually waiting for all of the pages, at which time I'll sit down with a print out of your schematic next to mine and go through it.

 

Ah, okay. The reason I posted the first two pages and now four was that people could proofread in small "portions", but I'm fine with any proofreading at any time of course :)

 

Since you are mimicking what I did page for page it should be pretty easy to spot anything that is wrong or missing.

Yes, that was what I was hoping for when I chose to mimic the exact layout.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Video co-processor ? LOL :D

 

I think ivop is just trying to create an exact duplicate of what is presently there in the 1088XEL, only in an entirely different open source format (KiCad vs ExpressPCB). Changes will come later :) .

 

- Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Huh ? Yeah I know what he's doing but I liked that the ANTIC is also labeled as Video Co-processor, not sure if that was already in the ExpressPCB files :D

 

So sorry. For some reason I thought you were proposing a new video co-processor be designed in (you know something like VBXE or Sophia) :dunce:

 

And to answer your question... yes it was.

 

- Michael

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I figured I would bump this just to let you know I haven't had a good chance to sit down and study this. But I promise I will before next week. Just what I've seen when quickly scanning through it, looks quite good.

 

- Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Update:

 

I think i've finally finished a version of the original 1088XEL schematics in Eagle 8. Due to the size of the board, 4 layer stacking and the number of chips, you will need more than the free version of the software to work on it. However many other EDA programs can import Eagle files and translate.

 

I have checked the footprints as best I can and the approximate positions on the board are very close to the original x,y positions. But as this is meant to be a stepping stone to modification of the original board I advise you to double check everything once you have made your own modifications. I have done a preliminary board layer stackup and have routed to 100% completion. But assume that your first board may still need fixes to function.

 

This is not a turn key option. If you have no interest in changing anything on the board this is NOT for you. Go to the source and get the original gerber files. :)

 

The zip file contains both the .brd and .sch files, as well as .dru and board specific .lbr files. It does not contain any gerber files for obvious reasons. 1088XEL original silkscreen legend is mostly complete and in the _tsilk layer of the .brd file

 

Thanks goes to Michael for a wonderful project and extensive documentation. Otherwise this would not be possible.

Eagle8Original1088XEL.zip

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...