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exxosuk

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Posts posted by exxosuk

  1. Posted

    Have a look here

     

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1171

     

    and here

     

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=330

     

     

    and here

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=71

     

     

    Anyone who wants to keep up with current news, just visit my forum...

     

    I don't post much here (or anywhere else for that matter) as I just end up repeating myself when stuff has already been talked about before.

  3. Posted

    Test layout is about ready for a small run of boards... So if anyone wants to get on board with helping then please watch the main thread in my forum... I need people willing to invest a bit of cash and time in building , testing, debugging etc.

     

     

    This board is Tweaked STF type design. It is currently about half the size of the normal motherboard in order to keep costs down prototype runs.

    There is no RF modulator, and the 32MHz generator circuit is simply been replaced with a 32MHz oscillator chip ( like on the MEGA ST). The RS232 circuit has been simplified now using more integrated solution, but does the same job, using the lot less bits! The ROMs have been replaced with a single 16bit ROM. The CPU is now a PLCC CPU. The RAM is reusing old Falcon RAM cards, either 1MB or 4MB.There is also been various tweaks around the board which I won't go into again.
    For those who want to yet again start with a, why don't I do this or that type discussion, then please see it all has already been talked about in great lengths.. The first step is to create a working clone and then build upon stable platform. People either help at this stage of the project, or it never goes ahead and never gets improved on. Is entirely depends on support from the community.

     

     

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=19

     

     

    post-7597-0-50083100-1532979094_thumb.jpg

    • Like 3

  6. Posted

    I've come up with a solution to replace the horrid push switches.. My test boards have gone out so hopefully I will get some feedback soon on them. I have one in my own JR and it works fantastic and really pleased with the "clicky" result.

     

     

    post-7597-0-23175900-1522487191.jpg

     

    Read more about it here..

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=663

     

     

    I have also designed a JR PAL board (who hasn't right ? :) ) where I am waiting for the PCBs to arrive so I can build the more final board. The bulk of the work is done I think now.

     

     

     

    post-7597-0-46951000-1522487259_thumb.jpg

    Read more about it here with my investigations... https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=701

     

     

    If there is any interest I will get a run of both boards made in the near future.

    • Like 3

  13. Posted

    PCB is almost finished..

     

    Basically the STE booster with more stuff...

     

    We have 8MB of Fast-RAM (32Mhz). 32MHZ 68000 CPU. Fast-Flash 32MHz flashable ROM banks (probably 4 or 8 ROM banks). Simple IDE interface. Also this booster can be set via software or switches. Settings are stored in the small ATTINY flash chip. So if you select TOS206 and write the setting to the tiny-flash, then the STE will boot with TOS206. Also the booster can be turned on/off with software which saves having to mount switches.

     

    post-7597-0-15568100-1511734090_thumb.jpg

     

     

    Progress can be seen here.

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=373

     

     

    Please don't "nag" when this will be finished, I've got like 20 projects on the go already... and no I am not adding anything else to this, so don't ask!

     

     

    Also my simple STE V1.5 plug in (same as V1 STE booster but plug in) is almost finished.

    https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=46

    • Like 7

  18. Posted

    The ports will need testing once the PCB is manufactured. I don't think I have anything anymore which uses any of the ports.

     

    PSU, will be using my own designed PSU. I don't trust any other PSU's out there which I have not designed or tested myself personally. Though if people don't want to do that, they can upgrade their old PSU.

     

    This is a prototype board which uses PLCC ROM like my boosters do. I am looking into flash, but can't work on everything at once by myself so everything takes time.

    • Like 3

  24. Posted

    TOS206 will likely have some adapter PCB as TOS104 is the max OS version which can be installed without modification.

     

    Floppy drives you can use a 1.44 drive if you modify the drive select on the drive (tricky on anything but sony mpf series normally) but you wont be able to to use 1.44 floppies without more modifications to the motherboard.

     

    You can normally find screws and RGB -> Scart cables on evilbay.

     

    Probably best to take images of the insides to show whats going on better......

  25. Posted · Edited by exxosuk

    Problem is as always, nobody hardly can solder, never mind build anything. The ones that can, are generally to busy or not interested in the stuff I do.

     

    There are some people who help out with stuff, like Rodolphe did the motherboard libs for me. Though that is pretty much it in terms of current help. Of course I get some help form various people with various projects, but Basically everything I have to design myself from the ground up. This is why I say "no" to like 90% of projects people want me to do, simply because I just don't have time or funds.

     

    As I said many times before, I don't have time to work on my booster projects anymore, nevermind take on anymore projects, and the boosters was the only thing I was really interested in doing. Though I got side-tracked into keeping existing machines up and running and debugging and doing fixes for them, like the DMA, video issues etc. That is all the time I have. I am working on Atari stuff 10+ hours each and every day. I would love to do everything people want, but I just can't do anymore work.

     

    I am only developing this new motherboard as I am just tired of tracing bugs which are down to noise and bad layout of the motherboard. Not only that, I am spending so much time trying to get things to physically fit that its just become tiresome. Multiply by 20 motherboard variations and the fact almost nobody can solder, or has the motherboard I design upgrades for, and it just becomes pointless to work on existing machines anymore.

     

    If people want to develop addons for this new board, then they will have to do the work for it. Though myself and Rodolphe already tried to get interested in a booster development board, and expansion cards for our boosters over 2 years ago now, and nobody was interested then about developing addons, so it falls back on ourselves to do all the work. Which we don't have time to do.

     

    To be honest, once this new board is done, and my booster tech is added, I really don't plan on developing anything else at all after that. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life only doing Atari projects :)

    • Like 2
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