66 replies to this topic

[sloopy]

so, where the 'cheap china PCB's' up to snuff for you?

;')
sloopy.

[atari8warez]

They're actually pretty good considering  the loowww price, no manufacturing defects and the boards are pretty sturdy and well built. Check 2-3 messages back and you'll see some photos.
I will definitely be a repeat customer.

Ray

[atari8warez]

The last 5 units and 1 kit are ready for packaging and shipping. I will update the shipping  status tomorrow.

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[atari8warez]

Update

All orders have now been shipped. Thank you to everyone who supported this project.

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[Mathy]

Hello Ray

Mine finally arrived today.  Looks good, haven't tried it yet.

Mathy

[atari8warez]

Thank you for letting me know Mathy. I'll update my list

[atari8warez]

ATTENTION TO ALL PURCHASERS:

The USB Mini-B connector of the FTDI DB9-USB-D5-F module used in my SIO2PC/10502PC Dual-USB devices has a very tight fit.
During a recent test I have noticed that the metal shield of the Mini-B end of the USB cable supplied with the device may come apart if the cable is forcefully pulled out of the connector. Even though the metal shield left in the connector then can be carefuly pulled out using a needle nosed plier and re-inserted into the Mini-B end of the cable, repeated such occurance may render the cable unusable.

So please follow these guidelines when pulling the cable out of the device, or better yet do not disconnect the cable if not absolutely necessary:

DO NOT HOLD THE PLUG AS ILLUSTRATED ON THE FIRST PHOTO, DO HOLD IT AS SHOWN ON THE SECOND PHOTO INSTEAD.
Hold the plug with a firm grip as illustrated on the second photo and slowly wiggle it side-by-side while you pull it from the connector.

This seems to be not a defect with the cable but an unusually tight fit with the FTDI module as I also tried it with other cables and the fit was still too tight. Sorry about this and if anybody has already experienced this and the shield can not be put back, I would be happy to replace the cable with a new one free of charge (a small regular postage fee applies).

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Edited by atari8warez, Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:34 PM.

[atari8warez]

Here's the latest status:

I still have 1 more PCB left if anyone is interested with either a kit or an assembled device, and
Thank you to everyone who let me know that they received their package...

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[atari8warez]

The last one of my SIO2PC devices is now sold and you may now consider this thread closed. I will however post latest updates after I ship the last one ordered here at Atariage, and I am always open to constructive critisizm (not bashing)  and questions (no matter how simple the answer maybe).

Thank you to everybody who made this possible for me.
Ray

Edited by atari8warez, Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:47 PM.

[Fratzengeballer]

noooo, I soooo much would have loved one... silly me is too late.

[atari8warez]

Fratzengeballer, on Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:09 PM, said:

noooo, I soooo much would have loved one... silly me is too late.

Currently I am out of SIO cables and PCBs, but as soon as I get more of those I will be assembling more. So you may want to check back in a few week's time.
I am also playing with the idea of making some changes on the PCB and go with separate FTDI chip and a USB connector combination instead of the FTDI module that combines both in one unit. The advantage of the combined module is it makes easier to assemble (a lot less and through-hole type soldering compared to more and SMD soldering) and less likely to have assembly errors due to simplified process, the disadvantage is it's expensive.

Anyway the change is just an idea but what's certain is I will make more of these SIO2PC/10502PC combination devices.

Edited by atari8warez, Wed Jul 18, 2012 3:22 PM.

[atari8warez]

Update:

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Edited by atari8warez, Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:00 PM.

[Firedawg]

Ray,

Received my kit last Saturday.  Sorry, I'm just now letting you know.  Top quality, as expected.

Thanks,
Mike

[atari8warez]

No problem Mike, enjoy...

[sharkcz]

for the record, /me is also interested in getting one, thanks in advance

[jakeLearns]

I'm interested in a 10502pc type cable - don't know that it has to be usb, but usb or serial is fine, if any become available.

[atari8warez]

jakeLearns, on Sun Aug 19, 2012 6:56 PM, said:

I'm interested in a 10502pc type cable - don't know that it has to be usb, but usb or serial is fine, if any become available.

If the PC you intend to use the interface with has a USB connection, a USB version is the way to go (it allows you to reach maximum speed of 6xSIO). If you already have a USB-to-Serial converter cable (and it is FTDI chip based) then a Serial version will give you the flexibility of using it with all kinds of PCs with or without a USB connection. Also the USB version I provide (so is the serial version) can be used with AspeQt which is free and open source and can run under multiple OSes.

If you are interested with the USB version PM me and I'll give you the details.

For all other parties who are interested in one I would like to announce that I now have the SIO cables available and I can run another batch of 10 devices if there is enough interest. So please PM me if you want one.

As a reminder, the device is auto-sensing dual function (SIO2PC/10502PC) interface which is based on FTDI USB-Serial converter chip, allows up to 6xSIO speeds, comes with an enclosure and SIO cable and a DVD with the drivers, instructions, AspeQt, and a library of Atari software (all software are individually available for download from various sources, but the library includes thousands of titles which will save you countless hours of searching and downloading)

Edited by atari8warez, Sun Aug 19, 2012 7:13 PM.