Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

Lavalamp

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    164

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Lavalamp

  3. Posted

    When I was perusing AliExpress this morning I came across this retro game machine that had some similarities to LavaLamp's case design. So I thought I'd put it out there just for grins. Not that we want our Atari's to look like a toy as this one does (which has a lot to do with the color choices), but it did have some interesting aspects, such as the door that can be closed for the cartridge port when not in use, and the docks for the controllers.

     

    attachicon.gifRetroPlay1.png

     

    attachicon.gifRetroPlay2.png

     

    More Info and Pics

     

     

     

     

    Haha that is funny, now I'm worried it would look like that...

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    Ok I think I was been pulled in too many directions at once, I have settled on this design for the prototype, I changed the air vents to a diagonal design to reflect the XE/ST design, this was trickier than i thought, removed the additional buttons on the front panel as I'm going to be using an external SIO2SD and 1050, once I'm sure it works and fits the mother board, I can share the 3D object and you can modify to your hearts content :-D Judging from the quotes Im getting it may be cheaper for me to buy a 3D Printer....wife may not approve ;)

     

    post-61762-0-84186500-1516074097_thumb.png

    • Like 6

  6. Posted

    All fixed now, so let's get back to what this topic is all about :) .

     

    On LavaLamp's case design, another possible cartridge position might be to do it like a 1200XL, with a tunnel on the side. Dropcheck's buffered cart extender could be adapted to work for this, by simply creating a custom tunnel that would mate up with it. I always liked the 1200XL idea, since it remains very stealth when not in use (and even a bit when a cart is plugged in).

     

    I could certainly place a cut out option over the plug directly, I actually used Dropchecks model as a guide.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    My opinion would be to put the cart port between the joystick ports, if that’s possible.

     

    It would be cool to have the supports for a SSD in case someone wants to put a PC ITX board in the case.

     

    The cart could be placed in between the ports , but I would be concerned about forcing carts from the front, it would push the case back every time and cause stress points. I could place a cut out there if there is interest on this option.

     

    PC ITX would open up all sorts of other issues, among them would be cooling etc...

    • Like 2

  10. Posted · Edited by Lavalamp

    I prefer this design, the label is now optional, you have an inset area to place one if wanted. The 5 front panel buttons could be removed and a single custom panel fitted if preferred. added some mounts for boards, but unsure how high to make these. Factors I guess would be

     

    height of preferred button (recommendations?) + thicknesses of PCB (2mm?) + Impact point on under side of button

     

    post-61762-0-75401200-1515888003.png

     

     

    Underneath:

     

    post-61762-0-82905600-1515888842_thumb.png

    • Like 2

  12. Posted · Edited by Lavalamp

    Resigned power button to be slightly raised above the case and support a power LED and stronger spring/mount

     

     

    post-61762-0-59781600-1515746941.png

     

    post-61762-0-13766900-1515746973.png

     

     

    Moved the power button to the side and added 5 option buttons along the top in the style of the XE. A PCB would need to be deigned to make use of these, I will add mount points under the top case for the PCB under the option buttons and a separate one for the power button.

     

    post-61762-0-28889500-1515749779.png

    • Like 4

  16. Posted

    I like it a lot :thumbsup: :)

     

    Was wondering what it would look like with the bottom side corners rounded as well?

     

    If those are not functional cooling slots towards the back on the top panel, perhaps a few more 'real' cooling slots should be added to the bottom and top (don't want to overheat).

     

    BTW, nice placement for the joystick ports.

     

     

    All those vents along the sides and back are all functional. Great suggestion for the bevel along the bottom case, looks a lot better, also changed the 1088XEL label to the Atari Classic font.

     

    post-61762-0-80120600-1515714514_thumb.png

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    Hi, been on Tinkercad and designed the case I had in mind, this pays homage to the XL and ST range. It features a cutaway rear panel for any additional mods, plenty of room being 200mm x 200mm x 76mm (This could be revised) . I haven't added anywhere for LEDs but it would be a simple matter of adding MKs Status Panel to the front. But I'm thinking maybe just two LEDs, TX and RX I don't want to clutter it. This version doesn't sport a cartridge port, i think there is room for one in the middle, depends on clearance from the components underneath. Waiting on prices from the 3D printer. Any thoughts? Tim.

     

    post-61762-0-99289400-1515707694_thumb.png

     

    post-61762-0-43534800-1515707712_thumb.png

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 8

  18. Posted

     

    Yes, I had the same questions (a couple pages back now in the thread). Michael helpfully posted a video where he shows how he did it. So, with two of those big extra-tall 20 x 2 female headers, you cut one down to 15 x 2, and the other into a 10 x 2 and a 5 x 2 header.

     

    So, what I did after watching Michael do it on video was use blue painters tape to mask off the part I want to preserve. On the first header, I taped off the first 15 spaces. I then used a sharp razor box cutter to score both sides of the 16th hole in the header. Once I'd scored both sides well, I used my sharp cutters to cut through that 16th hole right where my score marks were. So I had a nice 15 x 2 header with some plastic bits on one end, and then a scrap piece. I then sanded the plastic remains of the 16th hole smooth.

     

    For the second header, I masked off the first 10 spaces, scored the 11th hole, cut and sanded to length. Then I took the remaining 9 x 2 piece (plus the scrap on one end), masked off 5 spaces to save, cut through the 6th space and sanded smooth. You end up with three pieces of the right lengths to use for the U1MB.

     

    attachicon.gifIMG_9495.JPG

     

    Fantastic! Thanks so much for this, I have been through this forum but didn't spot this, Ill review it again!, Cheers!

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

     

    If you are referring to the BOM I have for download at my website, the U1MB straight male headers were left out intentionally. Primarily because it does not apply if you are using a Black Candle board (which a lot people do have, and are re-purposing for this project to save $$$), and I was also hoping that by the time people were building these things that the U1MB's that Lotharek sells would also be coming with straight headers. Unfortunately that last part hasn't happened, at least not yet.

     

     

     

    As DrV already posted, those need to be cut down into 3 smaller headers. If they had come in the specific sizes required, I would have certainly spec'ed them that way in the BOM, because I hate having to modify stuff. But I wasn't able to find anything that exactly fit the bill, hence the reason for the 2x20 versions that require modification before use.

     

     

    Thanks Michael, all good, makes sense. :thumbsup:

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    Okay guys and gals, so here's where I stand right now. After installing my Sparkfun breakout board, I appear to be running short of male SIL header pins, almost as if I am missing maybe an entire strip of them. I still have a number of important jumper and header blocks to install, yet I've only got 12 pins left. That can't be right. :)

     

    So ... what have I done wrong? Or did I lose a third strip of header pins? My kit came with two strips of 40 - I used 50 of them for the U1MB headers, and 18 of them for the Sparkfun headers; that's 68 pins. I have 12 left, out of the 80. But with all the jumpers left to install, 12 doesn't seem nearly enough. :?

     

    attachicon.gifIMG_9504.JPG

     

     

    Ah interesting you mentioned that, the BOM should state 40 x 2 Male SIL and included the female SIL both caught me short.

  22. Posted

    None of this would be a problem if it weren't for the fact that computers now days are tied together via the internet. This is really the only reason that the A8's are immune at present. It's not because they are based on older technology. Also the A8's OS is ROM based, so rather difficult to affect any permanent damage (just power down and back up). However as the A8 gets networked and connected to the internet, and as applications begin to have key parts written to the disk, they become vulnerable.

     

    In the remake of Battlestar Galactica they made a big deal out of this aspect, and Adama's ship survived the Cylon attack because they had kept their computers non-networked.

     

     

    Great reference, shame that show went on to be a commentary on modern politics (season 3) killed it with that one season. Maybe i should store my important info on my A8...

  24. Posted · Edited by Lavalamp

    Took some time yesterday to hook up some of Dropcheck devices, which by the way worked great, and played around a bit with my DB9 joystick connections.

     

    attachicon.gif1088xelCartExt.jpg

    attachicon.gif1088xelSDdrive.jpg

    attachicon.gifPac-manScrn.jpg

     

    I like the idea of extending the cartridge port out like that, so you can mount it anywhere, nice, is the PCB/BOM available for this mod? Is that the original A8 tunnel? I have one of those available.

  25. Posted

    Waiting on components from all round the world to progress any further, its my first full size PCB project so be kind ;) I was planning on building the JOY2PIC first to get into it, but EasyEDA were way faster, 3 days, than OSHPark which 10 days later is still a no show. EasyEDA were very good to deal with when I noticed their site hadn't picked up the Gerbers file correctly. OSH seem very expensive too. I've convinced my mate to build one, but asked him to hold off until I go through the process, already found many gotchyas. Whatever the outcome still enjoying it. :thumbsup:

     

    post-61762-0-96437800-1515524596_thumb.jpg

    • Like 4
AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...