atarifanboi Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Sleep is way over-rated, IMHO. I could get way more done if it was!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 I could get way more done if it was!! I try to stay awake to finish off whatever I am doing at the time. Normally designing PCB's.. Though late night PCB design is never good as nothing makes sense when I look at it again in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Hopefully nothing multi layer, that must make you go cross eyed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Hopefully nothing multi layer, that must make you go cross eyed!! V2 booster was done on 6 layers. I try to keep to 2 or 4 layers in general as PCB cost doubles each time more layers are added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 V2 booster was done on 6 layers. I try to keep to 2 or 4 layers in general as PCB cost doubles each time more layers are added. 6 layers, damn that must have taken some late nights and headscratching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 6 layers, damn that must have taken some late nights and headscratching! Yeah, I think there was 4 versions of the V2 board before the final one. First 2 layers, then another 2 layers, then 4 layers, then 6 layers. I'm working on a new booster with IDE and alt-ram onboard, thankfully Rodolphe is double checking my schematic and found some silly mistakes, so hopefully will only need 1 prototype this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Wow, that's a lot of work. i need to pull my STF apart i think, see what's under the hood, ot could be a good candidate for one of your boosters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 Wow, that's a lot of work. i need to pull my STF apart i think, see what's under the hood, ot could be a good candidate for one of your boosters. Cool I'm building up the last batch of V2 currently. I started out trying to do a STE version but got distracted with adding IDE and alt-ram on there. If you are on facebook I am posting snippets of info on the ST group as to what I am doing currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 Cool I'm building up the last batch of V2 currently. I started out trying to do a STE version but got distracted with adding IDE and alt-ram on there. If you are on facebook I am posting snippets of info on the ST group as to what I am doing currently. Can you remind me of the facebook group name please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Can you remind me of the facebook group name please https://www.facebook.com/groups/133161394213/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 21, 2016 Author Share Posted April 21, 2016 https://www.facebook.com/groups/133161394213/ Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 So, plans for tinkering with SCART/HDMI adapter with my STE have been nixed this weekend due to the arrival of a couple of foster dogs Hopefully we'll only have them a week, then I'm on holiday first week of May, so with a bit of luck I can get to tinkering next weekend or the following week 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 Still have the 2 extra dogs, hopefully they are off this evening! Picked up a bag full of components for Atari 130xe video repair, and also the ST scart cable, so fingers crossed sometime over the next week I can get modding again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Chris, I added in a 47uf capacitor to the STE today, and even on the hi res display, shadowing is a little improved, but the main issue is interference from the background pattern, possibly refresh related. I'm about to build a SCART lead, and will also try the rf out, but do you have any thoughts on the hi res flicker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Not sure what "hi res flicker" is ? I've never really ran HI res, Though isn't hi-res interlaced so will flicker on a TV but not a proper mono monitor ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 It may be down to the fact I'm running it on a modern vga lcd display, so I think it's worth trying it on different displays, but the background seems to flicker, possibly due to the dotty background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Changing to a pure black background stopped the flickering Chris, so it's definitely related to the background pattern, though I can still see a small amount of banding across the screen, much like the old 8 bit Atari's. On another note, I've moved forward a bit with my scart cable build, hoping to finish by this weekend and if all is good I will test with the scart to HDMI adapter, which works nicely with some of my other kit. Then I can look at how I can interface with the STE internally. Those damn 13 pin plugs are buggers to solder though, especially with no cup on the pin end for the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Yeah the plus I hate soldering them also. Banding issues might be noise on your cable. I did a lot of work on noise a few months back. The only way to really cure it is to add some inline resistors and capacitors on the lines to stablise them. Though its not really a cure by far as it blurs the image also. Also make sure you use individual screened cable as the cable itself can generate crosstalk between signals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 Yeah the plus I hate soldering them also. Banding issues might be noise on your cable. I did a lot of work on noise a few months back. The only way to really cure it is to add some inline resistors and capacitors on the lines to stablise them. Though its not really a cure by far as it blurs the image also. Also make sure you use individual screened cable as the cable itself can generate crosstalk between signals. The Mono VGA cable I bought, but I'll have a look to see if there is space for inline resistors. The scart cable I'm building does have inline resistors I'll let you know what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exxosuk Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 The inline resistors might not do anything other than dim brightness. You need some small RC filter to clamp on noise. Though to clamp it enough also starts to buffer/delay the signals causing blurring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 13, 2016 Author Share Posted May 13, 2016 Another thought here, has anybody tried to build an ST clone out of a case and a raspberry Pi? I was thinking it might be possible to interface the ST keyboard via the GPIO interface on the Pi, or maybe transplant modern keyboard electronics into the ST item. I have a couple of spare Pi atm, so may look into it, though I'm considering a CosmoEx, so one Pi may get used :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted May 28, 2016 Author Share Posted May 28, 2016 Damn, each weekend I try to get some movement on my projects, it fails, maybe this weekend will be the one..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 STE booster ordered , next will be the fast TOS upgrade at the end of the month, followed by Cosmo Ex in September. It's been a busy year Atari wise!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Just as it should be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarifanboi Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 1.44Mb fdd mod. Done (Caveat , worked fine until recently, think I need to replace the fdd ribbon cable) Fast 32Mhz TOS switcher. Done 32Mhz STE booster. Done Maybe I can move onto some of my other Atari related projects now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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