yorgle Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I don't suppose there is any cheap way to make a case for this is there? I always hate having bare electronics sitting out (one good static electrcity zap and it's fried). Tempest Personally, if I was going for the absolute kewlest looking installation,I'd GASP saw a second 1200XL case up and make something that looks like a perfect "side car" from it. Put the 1200XL-PBI board inside it, along with my hardisk controller, and mill two perfect "cart slots" in the top... Maybe even graft in cart-slot areas cut from 800XL cases (the ones with the spring-loaded polished aluminum "doors")... Oh, oh, I think Guitarman still has one of my 1200xl cases... Anyway, payment sent for my bare pcb. Thanks for all your effort in offering things like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Guitarman Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Oh, oh, I think Guitarman still has one of my 1200xl cases... Anyway, payment sent for my bare pcb. Thanks for all your effort in offering things like this. Geez!!! Why don't you tell him to get off his a** and send it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I don't suppose there is any cheap way to make a case for this is there? I always hate having bare electronics sitting out (one good static electrcity zap and it's fried). Tempest What?!?!? Dude, you have got to be kidding.. The only way static electricity is gonna fry anything used in an MIO, BLACKBOX, ATARI1200XL, or on this PBI adaptor card is if you LITERALLY have a lightning rod hooked to it in the middle of a thunderstorm.. Good to hear. I've fried more than my fair share of electronics through static electricity (I guess I'm naturally staticy or something), so I'm a bit gunshy about the whole thing. I didn't think custom cases were an option. Maybe I can find something around the house to use... Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danwinslow Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 For some reason all the electronics education and manuals and so forth make a big deal out of static electricity...always a lot of dire warnings about 'grounding' yourself properly and using the 'anti-static wrist device', the implication being that even a stray electron will seek out your tender circuitry and blow it up. Being normally disdainful of advice ( ie., stupid ) I ignored all such warnings, and I've never had any kind of a problem with static. If you wrap yourself in tin foil and stand in a bucket of water while petting your cat you might not want to go stick a wet, hairy finger on your motherboard until you have had a chance to discharge, but other than that you won't have a problem. I did once lose a modem, but lightning actually HIT THE HOUSE and I *saw* a blue arc come out of the phone jack and fry my modem, but thats the only trouble I've hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl0re Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 For some reason all the electronics education and manuals and so forth make a big deal out of static electricity...always a lot of dire warnings about 'grounding' yourself properly and using the 'anti-static wrist device', the implication being that even a stray electron will seek out your tender circuitry and blow it up. Being normally disdainful of advice ( ie., stupid ) I ignored all such warnings, and I've never had any kind of a problem with static. If you wrap yourself in tin foil and stand in a bucket of water while petting your cat you might not want to go stick a wet, hairy finger on your motherboard until you have had a chance to discharge, but other than that you won't have a problem. I did once lose a modem, but lightning actually HIT THE HOUSE and I *saw* a blue arc come out of the phone jack and fry my modem, but thats the only trouble I've hand. I've lost a couple things (that I know of; others might have limped on sort of working) to static. It was / is a real problem. Of course, they blow it (ha) out of proportion. Touching a plugged in (and grounded) PC power supply (then unplug) before taking out the ram will do the same as the dumb wrist strap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 I've lost a couple things (that I know of; others might have limped on sort of working) to static. It was / is a real problem. Of course, they blow it (ha) out of proportion. Touching a plugged in (and grounded) PC power supply (then unplug) before taking out the ram will do the same as the dumb wrist strap. Some devices are ALOT more sensitive to static than others.. But nothing in a stock ATARI, MIO, or BLACKBOX.. Certainly, in today's world of super-high-scale integration, low-power devices, programmable logic, non-volatile memory technologies, etc. etc. etc... Static is a real concern.. But not with ancient 5v 74-series logic, and ATARI chips.. Not to say you couldnt purposely create a situation to fry an atari system with static if you REALLY TRIED.. But the practical chances of it happening are non-existant.. It takes quite a surge.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Ask all the former BBS sysops out there who used 130XEs with MIO XTENDR boards (exactly like what we are doing here, the exact same exposed PCB area when installed, and in fact 90% of the layout is a COPY of it) for 20 years if they ever had an issue with static electricity entering through the PBI extender and killing their hardware.. I used a 130XE to run a BBS with an MIO and the XE Extender board and I never had any issues. It's not something I'd worry about at all. Especially if the boards have soldermask. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl0re Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I've lost a couple things (that I know of; others might have limped on sort of working) to static. It was / is a real problem. Of course, they blow it (ha) out of proportion. Touching a plugged in (and grounded) PC power supply (then unplug) before taking out the ram will do the same as the dumb wrist strap. Some devices are ALOT more sensitive to static than others.. But nothing in a stock ATARI, MIO, or BLACKBOX.. Certainly, in today's world of super-high-scale integration, low-power devices, programmable logic, non-volatile memory technologies, etc. etc. etc... Static is a real concern.. But not with ancient 5v 74-series logic, and ATARI chips.. Not to say you couldnt purposely create a situation to fry an atari system with static if you REALLY TRIED.. But the practical chances of it happening are non-existant.. It takes quite a surge.. Good to know. Yeah, the items I did have problems with were not Atari and made after the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 You just made me think of something though.. Im gonna add 2 more mounting holes to the layout so the board can be supoorted on all 4 corners if someone decides to mount it in some sort of case.. Hey, Thanks for the mounting holes. Now I can have it mounted and supported inside a case. Payment sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 By the way, Im submitting a request to several companies for a quote on some cart connectors. If anyone wants to "get in" on a bulk order of these, PM me. I really dont wanna start a long-assed order list for this as well, so Im gonna restrict this to "orders" of 10 or more.. I dont know what kind of price we'll get (I'm shooting for $2.00 per connector and prepared to pay up to $10.00 per connector), but the part numbers I'm requesting are for 3M or AMPHENOL High quality, "earless" with gold contacts.. Are the ones Best sells for $1.50 poorer quality or don't they have any more available? Just buy two blank PCBs and get your own parts.. (They really are very common and EASY to find).. OK, that is fair, and thanks for the advice. I was just trying to reduce your workload, I know you are working on so many items for people. I will order four in stead and source the parts locally... the only electronics store around here is a Radio Shack, but like you said the parts are common. I probably have most of them in my parts bins. Does the 7408 need to be the HC, a 74LS08 should be ok? The mounting holes are a nice addition. Payment sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 I was just trying to reduce your workload, I know you are working on so many items for people. I am a soldering fool... An MIO has somewhere around 1400 solder joints. These have 88 (including the cart connectors). They wont even be half a day's work.. Does the 7408 need to be the HC, a 74LS08 should be ok? It'd probably work fine with an LS series.. Just use a socket, and if you have problems, order the HCs from jameco or something.. The mounting holes are a nice addition. Yep.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Some devices are ALOT more sensitive to static than others.. But nothing in a stock ATARI, MIO, or BLACKBOX.. Certainly, in today's world of super-high-scale integration, low-power devices, programmable logic, non-volatile memory technologies, etc. etc. etc... Static is a real concern.. But not with ancient 5v 74-series logic, and ATARI chips.. Not to say you couldnt purposely create a situation to fry an atari system with static if you REALLY TRIED.. But the practical chances of it happening are non-existant.. It takes quite a surge.. I seem to recall the dire warnings started coming with the 256k upgrades... I believe they were a lot more sensitive to static. I actually opened up my working 800xl that has a Rambo in it and it's got 7 256k chips of one type and an 8th of another. I vaguely seem to recall fixing that... --Kurt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 Some devices are ALOT more sensitive to static than others.. But nothing in a stock ATARI, MIO, or BLACKBOX.. Certainly, in today's world of super-high-scale integration, low-power devices, programmable logic, non-volatile memory technologies, etc. etc. etc... Static is a real concern.. But not with ancient 5v 74-series logic, and ATARI chips.. Not to say you couldnt purposely create a situation to fry an atari system with static if you REALLY TRIED.. But the practical chances of it happening are non-existant.. It takes quite a surge.. I seem to recall the dire warnings started coming with the 256k upgrades... I believe they were a lot more sensitive to static. I actually opened up my working 800xl that has a Rambo in it and it's got 7 256k chips of one type and an 8th of another. I vaguely seem to recall fixing that... --Kurt Ive never heard/read those warnings, and Ive installed quite a few ram upgrades, and manhandled hundreds (if not thousands) of 256kx1 drams, with no anti-static precautions whatsoever, both with the machine on and off.. and never fried a single one that way.. Ive seen them come "flakey" straight out of the tube, but once I got 8 that worked in a given machine, Ive put them through hell and never fried one.. In fact, on certain brands of 256k x1 drams, If you load a realtime memory monitor, you can move your finger over the top of them and watch the contents of memory change and change back due to the inductive influence of your finger on the state of the dram, but it doesn't hurt them... Anywayze.. You guys go start an "anti-static" thread or something.. This one is for questions/comments related to ordering this board... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) The mounting holes are a nice addition. Yep.. Another idea for improvement for this and the 130XE extender is if there was a simple way to mount the old shell (or something similar) which opens the old brown Atari brand carts' dust covers.... Edited January 21, 2009 by Defender II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 The mounting holes are a nice addition. Yep.. Another idea for improvement for this and the 130XE extender is if there was a simple way to mount the old shell (or something similar) which opens the old brown Atari brand carts' dust covers.... I'll see what I can do.. But no promises.. Board real-estate is at a premium, on this thing, and theres ALOT of traces.. Assuming the board is actually wide enough to accomadate the cart-opener boss (I assume you mean the "snap-in" style used in the 600xl/800xl,) and I can reroute all the traces around the holes without making too much of a mess, I'll do it.. I'll measure the stuff when I get home tonight and see what I can do.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) That would be great, but I think the old shell is probably too big. Like you said there are many runs to reroute for the holes. Maybe someone could, or has, thought of something simple that would do the trick and still look nice. I had read somewhere, one person epoxied some pins on the 130XE PBI PCB to open the dust cover but that sounds too crass for such a sharp looking board. Edited January 21, 2009 by Defender II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuf Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Just ordered 1x the Full Monty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 That would be great, but I think the old shell is probably too big. Like you said there are many runs to reroute for the holes. Maybe someone could, or has, thought of something simple that would do the trick and still look nice. I had read somewhere, one person epoxied some pins on the 130XE PBI PCB to open the dust cover but that sounds too crass for such a sharp looking board. Yeah you are right.. They are way too big.. The cart connectors on the board are too close together for those "shells" to fit, and the board is not wide enough on the right hand side to keep the "shell" from hanging off the edge.. Heres something to consider though: you dont actually NEED a "blade" shaped object to engage the mechanisms in those carts.. a "pin" on both sides will work. And it would be easy to put a small diameter hole on each side of the connector, in just the right place, to solder in a steel pin.. say 20-22ga in thickness, and then trim it to the correct height to engage the "keyways" in those old ATARI carts, but not effect other carts. This would allow us to assemble the board with or without "opener pins"... What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookt Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I'd say do it. It gives those who want it the option and doesn't hurt those who don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) a "pin" on both sides will work. And it would be easy to put a small diameter hole on each side of the connector, in just the right place, to solder in a steel pin.. say 20-22ga in thickness, and then trim it to the correct height to engage the "keyways" in those old ATARI carts, but not effect other carts. This would allow us to assemble the board with or without "opener pins"...What do you think? Sounds good, much better than epoxy. Edited January 22, 2009 by Defender II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER THIS BOARD At midnight tonight, I will submit the order to have the boards made, and once that's done, I can't add any more.. So if you want to get in on this, and haven't yet, today is the last day... ordering will be closed at 11:59PM CST.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hello Ken, guys If I remember correctly 11:59pm CST is 5:59 in the morning in central europe. greetings Mathy (who doesn't have a 1200XL, so he doesn't need the board) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Money sent for two bare boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEtalGuy66 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 ORDERING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PRODUCTION RUN I should have the PCBs within 10 business days, and I'll ship them out directly.. Many thanks to everyone who went in on this deal.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuf Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 ORDERING IS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS PRODUCTION RUN I should have the PCBs within 10 business days, and I'll ship them out directly.. Many thanks to everyone who went in on this deal.. Hope you made a little something for your efforts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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