Atari_bbs_fan

Didn't see this mentioned yet so I thought I'd post it. Hmmm.. I don't see how this will be a GOOD thing for the community: Sept. 7, 2023 https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-acquires-atariage --David

Hey TMP, With the new design using an easier-to-source FPGA, does this get you a bigger FPGA with more resources to do more things Putting it another way, will this new board obsolete our previous AVG carts?

Got it.. thanks tmp. Curious, would this new connector be soldered onto THIS side of the PCB or the bottom side? Btw, what is the connector just below the two buttons. Is that an programming/JTAG connector? Since I have you, I'm curious what the expected performance of this "RAMBO" class RAM expansion is supposed to be like. Is it as "fast" as standard 130xe RAM or slower (what I suspect)? I'm also curious that with the RAM expansion enabled, is that "RAM" coming from the AVG cart's FPGA itself or it's onboard RAM? Is 512KB as much as the current AVG cart design can ever offer or is there still some additional space possible with say extreme optimizations / sacrifices?

For a 130xe with this AVG cart version (see attached picture) where I think the required connector is in the LOWER right corner, what ECI cable length will I need?

@mrrobot if my AVG cart came with an SIO connector pre-installed, does this mean I should have the solder holes for this ECI connection? If I order this cable from the UK, does it come with the connector that I would need to most likely solder into the AVG cart?

Is there anyone selling these cables in the US? I need to unpack my AVG cart to see if it has this additional connector on it. mine DOES have the SIO connector.

Ok.. that picture shows a 1000 words. I think it won't be too hard to modify my older AVG cartridge enclosure to allow for the wires out for my 130xe. Is the 9pin JST connector already soldered onto the PCB?

This is great to see Tmp! I'm not sure how you're doing the ordering list but I too would love to have one for my AVG cart. Curious though, my AVG card currently only has the SIO cable port exposed through it's case. What will be required to connect this new cable assembly?

This does sound amazing but I'm curious about performance differences. Would accessing this extended RAM via the PBI and/or ECI interface be slower than how say the U1MB does it's RAM expansion?

Ok, thanks for that confirmation but is there a way to identify the two different boards or is the PCB versions unmarked on the silkscreen?

Ok.. how do I identify which board revision I have? On the bottom of my board, I see "65XE(63X2) C103579-001 REVISED".

Hello Santoshp, Can we get a post that's pinned to the front of this thread highlighting the known errata to different versions of the board?

I bought mine from tmp directly some time ago and while it took a little while to get, the cartridge is just amazing when paired with the SIO cable. It loads everything I can throw at it on my 130XE.

This directly imported into Digikey w/o any work? Did you add any other parts into your BOM since the Santosp BOM wasn't 100% complete?

Ok, we have a number and thank you! While this is higher than I expected, I'm invested in the project. Would you be willing to share your Digikey BOM to other Digikey users? This can be done under your profile using their "BOM Manager" interface. My ID is digikey@trinnet.net. Thanks!