commander Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Hi Folks, is it possible to put a VBXE into a Atari 800 Have anybody done this and can post some pictures Thanks Klaus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I have been wanting to do just that, but I'm not going to buy a VBXE until I know it will work. It should be electrically and logically possible, at least if you have an Incognito. What I want to know about is the physical installation. I don't think there is room for it to sit on top of the CPU card, so a ribbon cable from the GTIA socket would be needed. This ribbon cable may cause RF problems. It also may not. We need to know... Any volunteers to attempt this? Lotharek, Candle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I never had a spare VBXE to try this with but it would be a good project. You just need to pick off or generate EXTSEL and it will certainly work. All the difficulties are logistical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 what kind of vbxe will be better "fitting" ? a) xl version b) xe version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 I have a Incognito and want to put in both: vbxe and Incognito cheers from germany 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I'll be more than happy to attempt the job. I should think a cable-based ANTIC adapter will need to be fabbed up, so the choice of adapter is probably academic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 will the existing XE or XL adapter fit at all? might be possible to use a small piece of an IDE ribbon cable to route it out to the VBXE. Then just change the connector on the VBXE from a female to a male header... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 I'd suggest a Harting connector in the ANTIC socket with a 40 way ribbon cable and an IDC connector on the other end. You can then position the VBXE wherever you like. Otherwise you'll probably end up milling bits out of the shield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venom4728a Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 When I installed my VBXE in my 800xl, I used a short IDE cable. So that Idea does work. Robert 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I wonder if you could use the "Test Points" located at the rear of the Main board on the 800? Then you could use a card edge connector with a ribbon cable. You might even be able to run the ribbon cable out of the back of the case of the 800, making it an external expansion port of sorts. ...or you could make a dummy-card that fits into a slot where RAM would normally go, and just run the ribbon cable from the Test Points over the top of the OS board & use a card-edge connector to hook it up to a multi-conductor edge on the top of the dummy RAM card. That is, if the signals that you need are accessible from the Test Points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Z Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) I wonder if you could use the "Test Points" located at the rear of the Main board on the 800? Then you could use a card edge connector with a ribbon cable. You might even be able to run the ribbon cable out of the back of the case of the 800, making it an external expansion port of sorts. ...or you could make a dummy-card that fits into a slot where RAM would normally go, and just run the ribbon cable from the Test Points over the top of the OS board & use a card-edge connector to hook it up to a multi-conductor edge on the top of the dummy RAM card. That is, if the signals that you need are accessible from the Test Points. nope, signals you need are on the antic socket. mostly. Also, there's not room to get on the test points connector with the machine closed I think. Edited May 29, 2015 by Joey Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Do we need any signals that aren't on the Incognito PBI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) EXTSEL should be there, so we should be good to go. Edited May 29, 2015 by flashjazzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Considering the VBXE will work in a 5200, why wouldn't it work in an 800? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Hopefully the fact it will work is not in question: what's debatable is how tricky it will be to fit the board in the case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 There is plenty of extra space in the 800, also the hole in the back for the RF cable could be used for the VBXE out. There is even enough room in there that a VGA converter could also fit. My idea has always been a custom CPU card with VBXE AND Rapidus on it, as a perfect companion to the the Incognito. Yeah, I know I have said this many times now, bit I think it's a good idea, and I hope it catches on so others will think about it (and produce it)... If I ever would happen into a large sum of money (which is unlikely, but nevertheless remotely possible), the above mentioned card, and a 1450XLD remake would be my top priorities. A decent place to live would by necessity be also included in the priorities, but hopefully the sum would be large enough to cover all of the above 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 My Problem is to find the needed signals on the PCBs for make vbxe working. Can somebody post some pictures with "solder points" cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 i'll attempt to install it next week seems doable without using a mill 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 I am looking forward to it A true Atari 800 with RGB output Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 It will work, I did it as a test for someone when Incognito was released, havnt gotten to actually finish the install by putting it together yet. But if you work out the logistic of physical install it works beautifully. I used a ~5inch 40 pin ribbon cable on the Antic/VBXE and planned on making a small slit in the shield to mount the VBXE in the open space on the left side, three people have acutally asked me to do this when its complete. sloopy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 As Sloopy said, 4-5 inch extension cable and standard xe (or just simply vbxe 2.1 board) is fittable standard version, without extension cable - no matther how hard i would try ends up 3mm too tall fo fit inside metal shielding - and i would not want to use either mill nor hacksaw for this kind of job one side of the cable would have connector like this: http://www.tme.eu/pl/details/awhp-40b/zlacza-idc/connfly/ds1015-40nn0a/#tb76f961d2435db20d8191a0563221819 and the other, plain idc40 connector: http://www.tme.eu/pl/details/awp-40/zlacza-idc/ninigi/#t1694d75015d31d0debb7ac6f7cdd77a8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 That looks like standard IDE extension. Would that work? http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-inch-40-Pin-IDE-Male-to-Female-Extension-Cable-FI-006-/270752545769 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Does the 800 need to keep the shield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I think it'll basically fall to pieces without it. It's more like a chassis than a shield. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 It seems that you would need to keep the bottom plate, but the top shield could be removed. I'll dig into an 800, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't a technical issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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