650 replies to this topic

[flashjazzcat]

atari8warez, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:42 AM, said:

That's exactly what I was refering to 1.33 for the goods 9.25 for shipping......post offices make a killing..

I ordered a bag full of turned pins (c. 10 x 40 header rows) from Hong Kong for a few Green Queens, free p&p. Well worth having in the spares box. If the upgrade arrives with square header pins, I take them off and replace them with the turned ones. Anyone with the skill to transplant a machine socket from one board to another can remove a row of square pins. The fact is the machine sockets are effectively destroyed the first time you push the square pins into them, so although machine sockets may seem like a good idea at the time, the next time you want to put a regular IC or turned-pin adapter in there, the socket will need replacing anyway. I once removed an IntSDX board from an 800XL's OS ROM socket, and thereafter the OS ROM chip itself literally sprung out of the ruined socket at the merest touch.

[enito]

Hi,

i see photo of ultimate here, and mine ultimate, have less options. Is something about new fw in there or something...here a photo..thx!

Edited by enito, Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:38 PM.

[rdea6]

enito, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:37 PM, said:

Hi,

i see photo of ultimate here, and mine ultimate, have less options. Is something about new fw in there or something...here a photo..thx!

This is the first run Ultimate version of BIOS..

[enito]

I see , now how i can update to last one? I mean the tools need.. thx

[atari8warez]

Marius1976, on Sat Jul 14, 2012 1:42 PM, said:

Oh and ray....

If that is the original document from Bob puff? Keep in mind that there are mistakes in pin numbers in that doc!

Marius, what are the mistakes in pin numbers? For example Modification# 1 calls for wiring pin 4 of the AND GATE (74LS08) to pin 13 of the same. Is that incorrect?
I can check the SAMS but if you have a quick answer that would be cool.

[ProWizard]

check www.mathyvannisselroy.nl and found the fixed document.

[rdemming]

enito, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:49 PM, said:

I see , now how i can update to last one? I mean the tools need.. thx

There are two things to update. First the flash rom with the firmware which can be done in system with a flasher program. But the flasher program is not yet officially released because it is not yet user friendly and fool proof. You can also program the flash chip by pulling it from the board and program it in an eprom progammer.

The second thing to update is the Xilinx CPLD chip (programmable logic chip) which is more difficult. For that you need a JTAG cable to be connected the the small header on the board and programming software on the PC. I believe FJC is working on a how-to guide but he is very busy so we have to be patient. The CPLD needs to be upgraded for the SIDE PBI emulation support.
I wonder if the new BIOS would work without upgrading the CPLD chip with new logic.

Robert

[ProWizard]

@atari8warez

It is now on a more guessing point. candle already wrote that you might have a problem with the MAIN RAM of your Atari, you best start checking (Again) on the MMU connector, then try to replace the different TTL components (start with the LS08) on the mainboard. And ANTIC.

[enito]

Hi Robert,

thx for the reply, i see..we need to wait ... jtag, i have cable, but need correct tools, is better to wait..

greets

[atari8warez]

Ok a strange thing happened today. Out of the blue (well maybe not completely out of the blue as I was thinking the garbled characters on the U1MB Setup screen may be due to some problems with the display circuitry) I thought why not swap the 1979 model ANTIC that I have in my 800XL with a 1983 one I had as a spare (from a broken 130XE). That didn't fix the problem actually seems like made them worse, HOWEVER now when I move the OS ribbon cable I can see the screen changing, that didn't happen before. I think we may be into something so I'll check that cable once again and maybe even re-crimp it and see what happens.

Edited by atari8warez, Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:25 PM.

[ProWizard]

In an 800XL does not belong an old ANTIC (!) ... The older Antics do not refresh right in 64KB machine.

[atari8warez]

But that's what the computer came with, unless the previous owner changed it. Anyway I was too fast to point the cable as it appears moving it around doesn't always cause screen to change.... however the computer now also crashes with this ANTIC swap.   I am back to stock config again and doimg RAM check and everything seems fine with RAM

Edited by atari8warez, Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:56 PM.

[rdemming]

atari8warez, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:50 AM, said:

I am currently busy assembling my last 3 SIO2PC orders and I am waiting for Robert's photos of his solution.

Here they are
As you can see I attached a 3K1 resistor between pin 1 (5V) and pin 10 (A15). The value of the resistor does not need to be exact 3K1.
This solved my problem but I still want to try it with another cable. Maybe the resistor only compensates for a problem elsewhere on the bus

Robert

Attached Thumbnails

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[atari8warez]

Marius1976, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:12 PM, said:

check www.mathyvannisselroy.nl and found the fixed document.

Ok Mathy says that the pin numbers mentioned in Bob's Mod#1 is wrong for 600XL, so pin 4 to pin 13 is OK for 800XL  (will check my SAMS schematics anyway)

[atari8warez]

rdemming, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:05 PM, said:

atari8warez, on Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:50 AM, said:

I am currently busy assembling my last 3 SIO2PC orders and I am waiting for Robert's photos of his solution.

Here they are
As you can see I attached a 3K1 resistor between pin 1 (5V) and pin 10 (A15). The value of the resistor does not need to be exact 3K1.
This solved my problem but I still want to try it with another cable. Maybe the resistor only compensates for a problem elsewhere on the bus

Robert

That's great Robert at this point I am ready to try just about anything to see this U1MB working with my 800XL.
I suppose a 5.6K would also work.. I have a lot of those as spares

Edited by atari8warez, Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:19 PM.

[chrislynn5]

wood_jl, on Mon Jul 16, 2012 4:53 PM, said:

10-4.

(or I suppose "ACK" would be more appropriate for this crowd!)

Really, you felt the need to drag this conversation to a totally unrelated post:
http://www.atariage....50#entry2562891

chrislynn5, on Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:34 PM, said:

I, for one, am tired of reading “You rock; You’re the best; You’re the greatest; Without you we couldn’t…”.
Oh, so very very sorry (and very concerned) about that!

Edited by chrislynn5, Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:30 AM.

[candle]

is this thread some kind of trashcan when all can throw their garbage?
Chris, why you brought that up after so long time? if You have any issues with James, work them out in private
you start responding like this and we'll have to read next 5 pages of nonsence

[chrislynn5]

Sorry, you're right. I was just amazed.

[atari8warez]

@Candle

Sebastian, which cable did you say you had some issues with, was it the cable going to the OS socket or the one going to MMU?

[candle]

for me and Rob Patton it was OS ROM cable
i've opened emulation connector, and press each wire into its recess deeper with a flat headed screwdriver - just don't use too wide one or you'll damage those little metal blades that make connections

[atari8warez]

My troubles seem to be with the OS ROM Cable. After Robert's resistor fix didn't do the trick for me, I played with the cables a bit more and noticed that when I moved the cable a certain way the screen garbled and when the cable returned to its previous position the screen was back to normal again, and it was consistently so. So I did exactly what you described above on both ends of the cable (using a precision/jewelers flat head), that did not fix the problem either, and now I am simply replacing the whole cable. As you know IDC connectors once disassembled the strain relief is junked, but if the test gives me the good result I am looking for I could replace that IDC with a new one. Well, back to fixing/testing now, will report the result.

Edited by atari8warez, Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:08 PM.

[rdemming]

atari8warez, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:08 PM, said:

After Robert's resistor fix didn't do the trick for me

Try the finger fix

Here is a small video of my problematic U1MB without the resistor fix applied. If you look carefully at the screen you see that the self-test menu is not correct. All entries are orange and you can't select another option. But with a light touch at the resistor, the problems go away and you will see that the menu shows correctly one blinking orange line and three blue lines instead of 4 orange lines.
If you look carefully at the video you will see that the menu colors change every time I touch the area of the resistor. This only works when I use my finger. Using plastic or a screwdriver does not work. The conclusion is thus that I have a magic finger

But your problem seems indeed something else.

Robert

[ProWizard]

rdemming, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:13 PM, said:

The conclusion is thus that I have a magic finger

That's what your girlfriend told me   

[atari8warez]

rdemming, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:13 PM, said:

atari8warez, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:08 PM, said:

After Robert's resistor fix didn't do the trick for me

Try the finger fix

Latest update: changing the ribbon cabe didn't work either and at one point I was almost certain that the problem was the cable, U1MB in this machine simply refuses to play nice!!!... Even tried Bob Puff Mod#1 with no success...

and I fingered my U1MB too , mine however likes double-finger treatment . When I squeezed the flash-memory (Amic 29040) with my index finger and thumb my garbled screen would go away, when I release my fingers it would come back. Interestingly my problems don't start right after a cold boot but appear only after a few minutes of warm-up although I don't think it's a heat related issue. I followed FJC's suggestion and pushed lightly againt Xilinc too to check for cold solder joints but that does not make any difference. At this point I am still clueless as to why all this is happening!!.

[bob1200xl]

What you probably have is the difference in CPU vs. ANTIC timings. The garbage on the screen is likely ANTIC pulling the character data out of the flash memory - fails with ANTIC access, works with CPU access. Putting your big, old fingers on the pins alters timings just enough for ANTIC to latch good data from the flash memory. (I usually test designs by laying fingers on it to see if it brings up a failure)

Try moving the OS into RAM and see if the characters clean up. That won't fix anything, of course, but it may point you in the right direction.

Bob

This is all just guesswork, of course...

atari8warez, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:51 PM, said:

rdemming, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:13 PM, said:

atari8warez, on Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:08 PM, said:

After Robert's resistor fix didn't do the trick for me

Try the finger fix

Latest update: changing the ribbon cabe didn't work either and at one point I was almost certain that the problem was the cable, U1MB in this machine simply refuses to play nice!!!... Even tried Bob Puff Mod#1 with no success...

and I fingered my U1MB too , mine however likes double-finger treatment . When I squeezed the flash-memory (Amic 29040) with my index finger and thumb my garbled screen would go away, when I release my fingers it would come back. Interestingly my problems don't start right after a cold boot but appear only after a few minutes of warm-up although I don't think it's a heat related issue. I followed FJC's suggestion and pushed lightly againt Xilinc too to check for cold solder joints but that does not make any difference. At this point I am still clueless as to why all this is happening!!.