MrTransistor

lmao, yeah. I'm digging this software, too. Jedimatt is a wizard.

Yes. I recently bought a NanoPEB from you, in fact. Lmao. Incidentally, I fixed it. It was something super simple. The nanoPEB was not being powered correctly, so it was not allowing the access to the on-board 32K. It must have been something intermittent that was causing a short interruption of power, because the LED's were lit. It wasn't until I noticed my power cable was a little loose that I got it working. Thanks!

Hello everyone. I've been trying to get Force Command running on my physical hardware, and I don't really see what's going on here. It loads into the FinalGrom just fine, but it appears that I may have some sort of problem, either configuration or whatever, because it just hangs up and doesn't do anything else. Is there something I am missing? Or is it a hardware issue that I should investigate? Thanks! (Original TI-99/4a, not the locked out version, btw.)

By smaller size, I mean smaller interface cards. The goal is to allow use of existing full size cards. Further, the idea I mentioned earlier of modularity of the boards is that you can daisy chain up to 8 card slots by default, and perhaps in the future I will design a way to expand that further. This is an image of the interface boards. As you can see, the backplane board has two pin headers on either end, allowing a small jumper to be added. These are preliminary designs however, because a lot more refinement must go into it. I'll probably make a couple board layouts, because this one was pretty quickly done. It is also likely that I will design multiple versions to facilitate a "mix and match" solution for more peoples needs, but I don't want feature-creep to destroy the original plans.

here's fdos's readme. You'll need to edit the autoexec file from the boot disk, and set it to 40 column mode. This will allow you to access the system from your TI-99, or classic99. I'm running it right now readmefdos.rtf

Interesting. I will have to dig that up. Thanks!

I appreciate your candor, but for me I haven't been able to find any boxes for a good price. I don't think paying $300 plus shipping for a used and abused box that someone found in their attic that I may have to repair is feasible, and I have all of the tools and equipment necessary to build something like this myself. All this aside, I really do appreciate your time to post. Every comment helps me, especially the dissenting ones.

I'll probably upload a few images later tonight after my son is asleep. I will post a mock-up of some of the boards, and a quick (non-final) design for the case. I am definitely open to suggestions for the case, too.

I like this idea a lot. I'll definitely consider it and maybe offer recommendations for mounting. I think if I make it somewhat universal, then this could be very useful. Noted. I believe that I might have been unclear here, but rest assured, there will be some sort of mechanical restraint in the connection, like a clip on the connector. this is the exact line of thought that gave me the idea of making it modular.

I haven't produced the gerbers yet, and prototyping is a little bit off from here. I'm still hammering out the fine details for things like the power supply, evaluating my options, etc. I will probably make a mockup at some point, either in small scale or in a 3d model version. I will update you when this is available. This is simply an expansion box, like the original PEB. The compatibility requirements will include all standard PEB cards, and I will look into any specific cases that may not be, and I will include compatibility for these as well. I will make sure that they will be included. Computer Science and Engineering. CSE. Lmao, kind of an uncommon major, but it's growing. It's a mix between computer science and electrical engineering. As to your other questions, the modular design is to make it possible to have a smaller box, with the opportunity to expand on this and put more cards in. These will be really cheap, though, because they're just the slots, board, and board-to-board connectors. Unfortunately, I don't have any images right now, but I am going to start making some mockups today, and that's all part of the systems design portion that i'm about ready to move on to. The power supply will be directly compatible with the voltages required for the cards. Again, if there are specific needs, I can add some sort of adapter or something that will bring the voltage where it needs to be. The plan is to have complete compatibility with the original PEB. Sideport boards were something I was planning on adding an adapter for, like a pass-through for the sidecar port or something, but that is just a thought right now, because it would probably complicate the design a bit, and possibly make it a little bigger than I would like. Otherwise, i'd probably just slap a sideport on the back or something like that, but I don't really know at this point. For the sideport interface, it's an internal board which will replace the interface board in the cable of the PEB. Think a flex cable with a standard slot on the end, if you want to picture what i'm picturing. As for the details like fans and stuff for the power supply, I will likely include a brushless fan or something, maybe a thermal cutout to protect the temperature sensitive components. The power supply design is likely going to be linear, to reduce noise and lower the part count for filters, thus reducing cost. This introduces the problem of heat, which could be remedied by a fan and some good heatsinks, but this is a detail I haven't settled on quite yet. As for open source hardware, that is very likely. I'll just have to clean up the schematics and make up some documents to guide development and expansion, in that case. I will update with pictures soon. Thanks everyone!

Hello everyone. I am Mister Transistor. I would like to share with you a project that I have been developing. It is not a nano-peb type of device, and my goal is to allow existing expansion cards in a modern peripheral box. I have the boards designed and played out, and I am still tweaking the power supply design. After this I will be moving on to systems design, i.e. arranging it in a chassis and prototyping. The whole reason I am writing this is to gauge interest in a device like this, and whether or not I will make more than one. Further, if there is interest, I would love to hear about your thoughts on improving the design of the original PEB, such as the cable interface being awkward and bulky sticking out of the side of the console. (this is not a problem with my design however, but just an example.) So far, I have a few things that I have decided on. First, miniaturization of the boards. To accomplish this and still retain backwards compatibility with existing cards, I have decided on a modular expansion slot board, where there are 3 per module, and this allows for a smaller box, or expansion of the existing box if so desired. Of course, expansion would require a beefier power supply, so there's that too. This can also be made smaller by sacrificing slots. I will be making at least one, for my own use, but I am willing and capable of manufacturing more if requested. Please let me know what you think, and if you have any specific questions or input, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks! Your friendly neighborhood CSE