atari8warez Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) Yes Bill, that unassuming looking DB9 shaped USB connector is an FTDI module (DB9-USB-D5-F) which incorporates a sub-miniature FT232RQ IC which does the RS232/TTL conversion. So as you imagined a very simple SIO2PC cable can be build by simply connecting the legs of the module to a cut SIO cable. But the module by itself can not be used as a dual (SIO2PC / 10502PC) device. For 10502PC functionality SIO3 and SIO5 connections must be reversed, also the command line must be switched from DSR to DTR. That's where the second DIP IC comes into play. It's 3x2:1 multiplexer, in other words there are 3 SPDT electronic switches inside the IC. When the SIO cable is plugged into an Atari computer or an Atari peripheral the IC switches input/output and handshaking lines so the correct SIO lines are connected to the DB9 module. Vcc line (pin 16) on the chip is not connected because it doesn't need to be. Here's what's inside that DB9 module Edited June 4, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Looks nice... but, where is the part that is hard to solder? ;') sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) look at the board closely sloop, I photographed it in between my fingers to show the size of the whole thing. The whole board is tiny, and the chip is so tiny you can not even see the writings on it with naked eye (well at least mine can't). The photo was taken in the close-up (macro) mode. Just imagine soldering that tiny chip by hand. I never said I did, i was just saying I am glad I didn't have to. :-). The rest of the board is just a regular soldering job. Edited June 4, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 look at the board closely sloop, I photographed it in between my fingers to show the size of the whole thing. The whole board is tiny, and the chip is so tiny you can not even see the writings on it with naked eye (well at least mine can't). The photo was taken in the close-up (macro) mode. Just imagine soldering that tiny chip by hand. I never said I did, i was just saying I am glad I didn't have to. :-). The rest of the board is just a regular soldering job. Sloopy knows very well, he builds an SIO2PC/USB adapter based on the FT232RL, and other projects requiring SMD skills. http://www.atariage....y-edition-mkii/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) look at the board closely sloop, I photographed it in between my fingers to show the size of the whole thing. The whole board is tiny, and the chip is so tiny you can not even see the writings on it with naked eye (well at least mine can't). The photo was taken in the close-up (macro) mode. Just imagine soldering that tiny chip by hand. I never said I did, i was just saying I am glad I didn't have to. :-). The rest of the board is just a regular soldering job. Sloopy knows very well, he builds an SIO2PC/USB adapter based on the FT232RL, and other projects requiring SMD skills. http://www.atariage....y-edition-mkii/ Yes Bill, I am well aware of his device. FT232RL is a 5.30mm x 10.20mm chip with a 0.65mm pin pitch, the FT232RQ is even smaller at 5.00mm x 5.00mm with a 0.5mm pitch, and there is hardly any space on the tiny PCB to move a soldering iron. I know Sloppy is good at SMD, but this chip is a challenge for anybody who is in soldering electronics. Edited June 4, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) Here's the final layout of the PCB, I will put an order for the boards either today or tomorrow Edited June 4, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 UPDATE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 UPDATE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 look at the board closely sloop, I photographed it in between my fingers to show the size of the whole thing. The whole board is tiny, and the chip is so tiny you can not even see the writings on it with naked eye (well at least mine can't). The photo was taken in the close-up (macro) mode. Just imagine soldering that tiny chip by hand. I never said I did, i was just saying I am glad I didn't have to. :-). The rest of the board is just a regular soldering job. Sloopy knows very well, he builds an SIO2PC/USB adapter based on the FT232RL, and other projects requiring SMD skills. http://www.atariage....y-edition-mkii/ Yes Bill, I am well aware of his device. FT232RL is a 5.30mm x 10.20mm chip with a 0.65mm pin pitch, the FT232RQ is even smaller at 5.00mm x 5.00mm with a 0.5mm pitch, and there is hardly any space on the tiny PCB to move a soldering iron. I know Sloppy is good at SMD, but this chip is a challenge for anybody who is in soldering electronics. Honestly, that IC would be easier then the Alterra used on the VBXE... 20 smaller lines are easier then 144 lines that are the width of a gnats arsehole bigger... sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 (edited) look at the board closely sloop, I photographed it in between my fingers to show the size of the whole thing. The whole board is tiny, and the chip is so tiny you can not even see the writings on it with naked eye (well at least mine can't). The photo was taken in the close-up (macro) mode. Just imagine soldering that tiny chip by hand. I never said I did, i was just saying I am glad I didn't have to. :-). The rest of the board is just a regular soldering job. Sloopy knows very well, he builds an SIO2PC/USB adapter based on the FT232RL, and other projects requiring SMD skills. http://www.atariage....y-edition-mkii/ Yes Bill, I am well aware of his device. FT232RL is a 5.30mm x 10.20mm chip with a 0.65mm pin pitch, the FT232RQ is even smaller at 5.00mm x 5.00mm with a 0.5mm pitch, and there is hardly any space on the tiny PCB to move a soldering iron. I know Sloppy is good at SMD, but this chip is a challenge for anybody who is in soldering electronics. Honestly, that IC would be easier then the Alterra used on the VBXE... 20 smaller lines are easier then 144 lines that are the width of a gnats arsehole bigger... sloopy. Hey sloopy, I have no doubts about your talent in soldering. I was merely pointing-out that it's difficult to work with such a tiny chip on such a tiny pcb (had I needed to do it manually instead of buying them ready made). Anyway ITeadStudio asked me to resend my Gerber files cause I forgot to include an outline. I resent the files and hoping there would not be anything else missing. Altium is a great piece of software which is in fact a huge overkill for my simple project, but in the process I learnt a great deal given I have not had any previous experience with any PCB software (not counting ExpressPCB as it's very much vendor specific) Edited June 6, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 there is a specific layer file for the outline, but i usually just make the outline in the silkscreen layer. The only time they ever kicked back a layout of mine was when I had a trace within .025" of the edge of a board, they wouldnt 'guarantee' it. Within a board .025" spacing is fine, but need a .1" 'no zone' of edge and traces (but silkscreen can go to edge...) and also, I am messing with you (somewhat) about them being easy... They arent as easy as something like a SOJ-36, but the actual soldering part isnt hard like most people say... The hard part is lining them up and tacking two opposite corners, considering when even using an x-acto knife the PCB has slight 'dome' on the pads, and if the legs get 'caught' between them it can 'jump' to a place several positions off... Once the IC is tacked into the right place, its easy to solder the pins... sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 (edited) Altium does not have specific board layer for outline. You have to have it on another layer, so I've put mine on the Top Layer. ITeadStudio doesn't seem to care where it is as long as it is on one of the required layers. Now, checking my board layout again, I think I am OK with traces as none is close to the edges. I ran a DRC (design rule check) and the only problem was "Silkscreen over component pads" on two resistors I have in the design. Apparently resistor shapes on the silkscreen is slightly too close to the resistor pads (7. 87 mils instead of 8 mils). I didn't bother fixing that as it will not really affect soldering as the solder side does not have anything on the silkscreen. Yeah lining those small chips up must be a challenge for old eyes like mine I've seen your irc comment for SMD (my misspelled SMT above), and that's what they are indeed.. :-) Edited June 6, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 SMD = surface mount devices SMT = surface mount technology close enough... sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 UPDATE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 UPDATE All perfboard orders are now built and shipped. PCB layout is submitted to the manufacturer, I will now wait for the PCBs to arrive to fill the last 4 orders. Please let me know when you receive your device so that I can update the status. Thank you all who supported this small project of mine, and I'd like to hear about your experience with this device (positive or negative). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 UPDATE I will have about 4 PCBs left after I fill existing PCB orders, so if anyone is interested in getting one, I can take 4 more orders. Here's the current status of all orders so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Hello Ray Where do I send the money and how much? Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Hi Mathy, I PM'ed you the info. Sorry, I must have missed your May 31 PM, but I will adjust your shipping sequence accordingly. Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 A couple of "Making of..." photos while we wait for the PCBs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) UPDATE Apparently Mathy asked me how to pay on May 31st and I missed his PM. So the sequence # in the list has been updated and he's been assumed to have paid for the device by Jun 1st. This won't really affect the shipment of other orders as I can now build the device faster with PCB professionaly made. A friendly reminder to everyone who have received their device to please let me know so that I can update my status list. Thanks Ray Edited June 15, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) KITS If anybody is interested in getting a kit instead of an assembled device, I can offer a kit for $35 + paypal fee + plus shipping. That's $20 less than the assembled device. The kit will include the PCB, the USB cable, all parts except the enclosure and SIO cable, the DVD with drivers and Atari archives, and assembly instructions. If you want the case (unfinished) and the SIO cable (6" half cable with loose ends tinned) add $10 If you only want the case add $4 (unfinished) If you only want the SIO cable (6" half cable with loose ends tinned) add $6 PM me if interested. Thanks Ray Edited June 15, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 more "making of" pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Monday status UPDATE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) Ok you PCB lovers, I've got news for ya I received these in the mail this morning.... So I will be doing a test assembly this weekend and start building the rest of the boards on Monday. I am hoping to ship all the remaining boards by the end of the next week. Will keep you updated as usual. And anyone who has not paid yet (just one person actually), I'd suggest that they do so after this weekend once I confirm the PCB's are functional. Edited June 22, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari8warez Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 (edited) Monday Update PCBs tested good, building remaining orders. Edited June 25, 2012 by atari8warez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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