harveymush Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Ok so i've given up on finding someone I can buy this adaptor off, I ordered one from a guy of Atari Forums about 3 months ago and never heard from him in the last 2 months so I guess something happend to him as he hasn't been on here since and he hasn't answered any of my emails. So what I am looking for, does anyone have a break down of parts you need to build one and a details of a suitable chip programmer, I can solder pretty well and was thinking off having a go at building one myself on vero board at least (my 12 yearold mouse has finally died). If any one knows of a step by step guide (that anyone could follow) that would be great. My falcon has been recased now for some months now and I would really like to finish the project. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danwinslow Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 http://perso.orange.fr/didierm/eiffel-e.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patjomki Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Ok so i've given up on finding someone I can buy this adaptor off, I ordered one from a guy of Atari Forums about 3 months ago and never heard from him in the last 2 months so I guess something happend to him as he hasn't been on here since and he hasn't answered any of my emails. So what I am looking for, does anyone have a break down of parts you need to build one and a details of a suitable chip programmer, I can solder pretty well and was thinking off having a go at building one myself on vero board at least (my 12 yearold mouse has finally died). If any one knows of a step by step guide (that anyone could follow) that would be great. My falcon has been recased now for some months now and I would really like to finish the project. Rob So perhaps you bought it from "ATARI Generation one" (Pawel Kaznowski)? This guy ripped me off as well. So beware! Don't buy anything of him! This is his website: http://agone.pl Regards, patjomki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveymush Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 yeah it was him, thanks for the info, its not the money its the fact that i don't like being treated like a mug, i think we need to make sure hes blacklisted then. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) Hi, Rob; I'm about 3/4 finished building Eiffel...right from etching my own PCB. Since I'm learning most of this as I go, it's a slow process. On the Eiffel main site, linked up above, I used the posted schematic for Eiffel 3 as a parts list, though some components don't appear on the basic version (coldfire connector, 74LS174 and LCD). Only thing I'm having trouble figuring out is the resistor packs...whether they're bussed or isolated (I'd love an answer to that if anyone here knows). For programming the PIC, I picked up a cheap Willem eprom programmer off ebay, and made an ICSP connector to program the PIC. 'Course, until it's finished I can't tell if I've done that correctly. The zip file that contains the component layout is here: http://hardware.atari.org/disco/eiffel/eiffelpcb.zip Edited October 15, 2007 by eeun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveymush Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 Hi Eeun Thanks for the info, at least it will let me get started, keep in touch would love to see how you get on, I don't have to much electronic knowledge, but can follow a build plan if its laid out easy to read. Its strange that nobody is making the Eiffel anymore to sell, going by some of the other threads ive read there still seems a demand for them. Thanks again matey Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Holy crap, I actually did it! It took releasing the magic blue smoke from one of the pics I had on hand, but I now have a working Eiffel interface. Since it's not documented anywhere that I could find, I've attached a graphic that shows pin 1 placement for the 10K bussed resistors. I haven't installed any of the optional gear for thermal fan control, and haven't tested the joystick ports yet. One oddity looking at the Eiffel 3 schematic on Didier's home page is the inclusion of 470 ohm resistors on the joystick lines, whereas on all the board layouts I've seen they're absent. I scavenged as many of the parts as possible, like the keyboard din plugs, and the joystick and ISP connectors came off an old ISA multi-IO card. The cable to the ST keyboard is an unattractive mash-up of a CD-ROM audio cable and a connector pulled from an old monitor's innards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 (edited) Something else I had to figure out: the part that made the blue smoke first time around...was the ST to Eiffel cable pin layout. Looking at the graphic I uploaded above, consider the connector pin on the left, where it says C3, as pin 1. For the ST, pin 1 is closest to the front of the case, and you'll see pin 2 is n/c. ST - Eiffel 1 - 4 (Gnd) 4 - 1 (+5V) 5 - 2 (RX) 6 - 3 (TX) For programming the PIC, I had no success using the Willem software. I downloaded WinPic, which is compatible with the Willem programmer, and that did the trick. Edited October 19, 2007 by eeun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christos Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Do you happen to have the schematics of what you did? Great job btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Thanks! No one's more amazed and myself Everything's linked up above, but board layout is in this file: http://hardware.atari.org/disco/eiffel/eiffelpcb.zip and schematics are on Didier's site: http://perso.orange.fr/didierm/eiffel-e.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christos Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Yeah, I know about them but having seen the schematics and the Eiffel I got from the above mentioned source, I think that some things are a bit different. I mostly want to see why my joystick ports are not working properly and if it's because of something I did or something wrong from his part. Plus an idiots guide on how to build such a thing would be greatly appreciated . I' ve done some electronics at the uni but we didn't use a soldering iron, just some raster boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Plus an idiots guide on how to build such a thing would be greatly appreciated I'm not sure what to suggest about a write-up. The etched board is probably the hardest part, and there's plenty of sites on how to do that (which is how I figured it out). I used a method where you print the board pattern from a laser printer onto inkjet glossy paper, then iron that onto the copper board. Etch with an approx 1:1:1 mix of sulphuric acid, hydrogen peroxide (3%) and water, and in about 15-20 minutes I had a board. Holes were drilled with a dremel and a very small bit of undetermined size. Once you've got that, it's pretty much dropping parts onto the board and soldering. Programming the pic was no more complicated that what I outlined above. The cable...I didn't list any parts below for the cable, that's why it's just a partial list. Like I said, I used a CD-ROM audio cable and salvage. My other option if I couldn't find connectors was to solder directly to the ST, making Eiffel a permanent install. Eiffel parts list (partial) ( 1 ) Pic16f876 or equivalent ( 1 ) 28-pin socket for above ( 3 ) 10Kohm bussed resistor, 6-pin ( 1 ) crystal 4 MHz ( 2 ) resistors, 470 Ohm ( 2 ) LED ( 2 ) din-6 PC PS/2 connector, female ( 2 ) capacitors 15pf ( 3 ) 8-pin (4x2) connector ( 1 ) 4-pin (1x4) connector ( 2 ) jumpers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patjomki Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 (edited) yeah it was him, thanks for the info, its not the money its the fact that i don't like being treated like a mug, i think we need to make sure hes blacklisted then. Rob If you like to know how he looks like, well here is a picture: http://atariki.krap.pl/index.php/Vulgar Anyone has an address of him? Regards, patjomki Edited February 8, 2008 by patjomki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eeun Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Well, here's an alternative to buying from that guy... I've listed my Eiffel on ebay, with the hope of covering some of the costs of this learning experience: Item # is 180172700529 I'm also interested in seeing what it goes for, with the thought of making up a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddivita Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I found a company that can make etched boards. http://www.myropcb.com/index.html. They seem pretty resonable considering the small size of the project. I really need one of these and thought it would be fun to start making them. I have no idea what I am doing yet, but I really don't want to work with acids. Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paolo Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Hi, folks! Sorry for bumping this old thread, but I decided to finally solder a thermistor to my Eiffel board, and I don't know where to do it. I bought my board from lookie at satantronic IIRC, but I couldn't manage to contact him. It seems to me that it has to go between pin2 and pin8 of the PIC. Is that right? Thanks for any help! Ciao! Edited February 21, 2015 by Paolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echristopherson Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I'm looking to buy an Eiffel that is advertised as for ST or Falcon, i.e. not Mega or TT. I'd like to use it on a Mega 2 for which I have no keyboard. Would it be possible for someone with little experience to take this ST Eiffel and modify it, or the Mega itself, so it would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoTonah Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 Digging through some of the links at the beginning of this thread... looks like the guy who ripped everyone off committed suicide two years ago. http://www.atari.org.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeless Joe Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 10/22/2007 at 8:35 AM, eeun said: Eiffel parts list (partial) ( 1 ) Pic16f876 or equivalent Over 14 years after this thread was started, I’m also giving up on finding someone to sell me this adapter, and have started gathering parts to make one myself. I don’t know much about microcontrollers, although I have successfully flashed a PIC16F1847 for the wonderful TransKey-II. Any recommendations for a PIC16F876? What are equivalent chips? Thanks! -Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarkdluG Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Funny you started gathering parts. I'm in the process of doing this projects myself as well. I have all the parts, I have programmed a PIC16F876 and my PCB are on the way from China right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeless Joe Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Oo! Which files did you use to order the PCB? I downloaded eiffelpcb.zip that eeun posted above, but OSH Park didn’t seem to recognize them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarkdluG Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) Aha. I made new schematics and made PCB from that, then I ordered from JLCPCB. So I don't know if they will work yet. But the schematics I made is out of the ones that already existed on the web. Edited January 3, 2022 by snarkdluG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeless Joe Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 I am very interested to hear how your PCB works. Best of luck! I’m hoping to test my understanding of the schematic by breadboarding the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeless Joe Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Also, what software did you use to program your PIC16F876? I just got a PICKIT 3 but it didn’t some with any instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarkdluG Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 49 minutes ago, Smokeless Joe said: Also, what software did you use to program your PIC16F876? I just got a PICKIT 3 but it didn’t some with any instructions. Under win10 with Xgpro with the hardware XGecu/MiniPro TL866II Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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