rockdoc2010 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 For information, here are the VIAs I used when installing the Ultimate 1MB: 1200XL_Ultimate1MB_Hookup_Points.jpg Sorry the picture isn't better. hey FJC, I am totally interested in what you did to this 1200 XL as far as power supply issues.. youve pulled major components and your providing power somehow and I think this is worthy of a new thread. I am planning on doing the same and need your guidance.. Thank You for your continued AWESOME support! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockdoc2010 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Flashjazzcat, Additionally I am intending on installing the vbxe into the same 1200xl, did you install the 1200xl clearpic mod prior to the installation of the vbxe? Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) hey FJC, I am totally interested in what you did to this 1200 XL as far as power supply issues.. youve pulled major components and your providing power somehow and I think this is worthy of a new thread. I am planning on doing the same and need your guidance.. Have a look at my blog entries entitled "The poor man's 1400XL". I tried to describe things as best I could there. If you have any queries I'll be happy to try and answer them, of course. I'm really proud of that 1200XL. Additionally I am intending on installing the vbxe into the same 1200xl, did you install the 1200xl clearpic mod prior to the installation of the vbxe? I did, but although Clearpic improves stock Y/C output (especially so after the machine was converted to PAL), note that it has absolutely no impact on RGB video quality (which is great anyway). Edited January 29, 2015 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Here's where I made the connections to the CPU on my 1200XL: Of course, I can't remember where each one goes, but if you're doing a 1200XL upgrade it's easier than I thought to follow the traces on the motherboard. (The electrical tape is because that pin is almost on the resistor.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Just fitted another Ultimate in a 1200XL and am getting the old intermittent "BIOS menu full of reverse video quotes" problem. Can't remember the suggested cause of this, but I recall open address lines being mentioned. However, swapped out the OS ROM ribbon cable for another one and the problem persists (when using either 28 pin OS ROM socket, so that eliminates an issue with the sockets). Maybe one time out of a dozen the BIOS menu is full of quotes. In addition, the RTC occasionally gets reset/scrambled. Gonna try a different battery (although the board is brand new) and MMU cable, but any other suggestions are appreciated. Long time since I had any issues with one of these boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Just fitted another Ultimate in a 1200XL and am getting the old intermittent "BIOS menu full of reverse video quotes" problem. Can't remember the suggested cause of this, but I recall open address lines being mentioned. However, swapped out the OS ROM ribbon cable for another one and the problem persists (when using either 28 pin OS ROM socket, so that eliminates an issue with the sockets). Maybe one time out of a dozen the BIOS menu is full of quotes. In addition, the RTC occasionally gets reset/scrambled. Gonna try a different battery (although the board is brand new) and MMU cable, but any other suggestions are appreciated. Long time since I had any issues with one of these boards. Hi FJC! It's a mircale. I pick up a free WIFI signal here (I'm not at home as I told you), so I hope it will last during this message. 1) Test your 1200XL with a cartridge connected. Does this thix the issue? 2) A corrupted RTC is pretty weird. For (re)setting the RTC there is a certain data sequence needed (I2C serial data sequence). The only thing I can think of is or a power issue in the atari, or an issue in the battery-backup circuit. Is there a chance you could test the board in a known good working 1200XL? The RTC is used for storing the U1MB settings in the NVRAM of the DS1305. If this component is defect or instable (or there are other issues with the RTC), it could lead to unexpected and/or unwanted behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Thanks Marius! That was quick. I'm suspicious of DS1305 since other settings are indeed sometimes lost. The issues actually crop up with or without a SIDE cart attached. Fortunately (though not for my other machines, which are tired of being taken apart) I have other Ultimates to test as well as another 1200XL. As usual, the main expenditure with these troubles is time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Is there a chance you can send a reset string to the rtc? Perhaps the nvram is so garbaged that the bios of ultimate can't operate flawless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I guess I'll try pulling the battery for a while. Got a busy Sunday lined up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Tested board in my 1200XL and it was flaky there too, so I removed the battery, resoldered the header connectors and the PLCC socket, reflowed DS1305, washed the board in acetone with a toothbrush, rinsed it, dried it, reassembled it, and it's behaved itself so far. So far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 I had this once too btw with an IDE+ board. I had to resolder the RTC on that one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I have seem the same thing on my 1200XL + Ultimate... but I'm afraid of doing anything in this list of magic "...so I removed the battery, resoldered the header connectors and the PLCC socket, reflowed DS1305, washed the board in acetone with a toothbrush, rinsed it, dried it, reassembled it..." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 - put pal GTIA and pal ANTIC in there and run the best demos ever made! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Westphal Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 With the pal's in there, you can run it on a commie 1702, and they will run in color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 You'll need an adapter board with an oscillator to drive GTIA's OSC pin at the correct frequency to generate a proper PAL colour signal. Dropcheck and Pasiu both make them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suleske Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I purchased an U1MB for install in the 800XL I've had since I was 14. Then in a box of 8 bit stuff I've been moving from home to home for 25+ years, I found a NOS 1200XL keyboard, still in the bag - and fell in love. Must have bought it at Radio Shack for like $5. Wow it's nice. It was suggested to me I install the U1MB into the system with the best keyboard and I couldn't get that 1200XL KB out of my mind. So I went and bought a couple nice 1200XLs in their boxes, with working keyboards. I've read of the problems some are having with the mod, but I'm determined and in no rush. Probably more important I prioritize migrating the floppies to backed up hard disk / flash. I'll update this thread as I get the project underway, perhaps next week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I put one in a 1200XL and it works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) Most of the issues people have probably revolve around jumper configurations and replacing short OS ROM sockets. There seems to be some urban myth on Facebook that Ultimate and the 1200XL are an uneasy pairing, but I've done four 1200XL installs and never had a problem (aside from the aforementioned rare case of a faulted board, at least). Most of the detailed info is in this thread anyway. Edited January 27, 2016 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Most of the issues people have probably revolve around jumper configurations and replacing short OS ROM sockets. There seems to be some urban myth on Facebook that Ultimate and the 1200XL are an uneasy pairing, but I've done four 1200XL installs and never had a problem (aside from the aforementioned rare case of a faulted board, at least). Most of the detailed info is in this thread anyway. Not an Urban Myth, Jon. Those were my FB posts, pointing out the problems I myself have had (in both of my previously-working 1200XL's). Further, just read this very thread (and others turned up by Googling) for people that have had the same problems. Yes, I'm sure the U1MB can work in 1200XL's. I've seen photos of yours and others that seem to be working just fine. But I am also asserting based on personal experience that some 1200XL's don't seem to get along with the U1MB. No myth about it. Can either or both of my boards be made to work with the U1MB? Possibly. Hell, I'll go so far as to say probably. But I also know the same U1MB works perfectly with zero glitches of any kind on two different 800XL's I have, of two different board revisions. So go figure. At some point I might obtain a second U1MB and try again with my 1200XL's. Or I may just find a volunteer here among the cognoscenti and ask them to just "make it work, please." Because it's not nearly as easy to do so as with other XL machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) What I'm aiming to deflect is the notion that there's some kind of innate incompatibility, because there is none that I'm aware of, and until someone with a scope can prove that there is, that will remain my opinion. The fact that the 1200XL installation is a little more involved (owing to the necessity of effectively turning the machine into an 800XL before proceeding) probably invites a whole lot of extra pitfalls, and just because the board works in another machine does not automatically imply a hardware incompatibility. Reading through this thread - as you suggest - I don't see many issues (aside from my own extensive troubleshooting of a confirmed faulty board) which fall outside of the general installation pitfalls I mention. I certainly see nothing here to suggest that problems are any more likely in a 1200XL than in any other A8 providing the installation is performed correctly. And of course we mustn't forget that there have been and will continue to be 800XLs and 130XEs which just don't seem to "get along" with various upgrades, for reasons which are not always conclusively identified, not to mention folks who had to source different hook-up locations on their 800XL or XE because things weren't quite working right. Edited January 27, 2016 by flashjazzcat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokeless Joe Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Or I may just find a volunteer here among the cognoscenti and ask them to just "make it work, please." Because it's not nearly as easy to do so as with other XL machines. Oo! Is this a real option? I've got one 1200xl board that works with my U1MB and one that doesn't (or rather, it works poorly). I'm almost out of ideas and I'd hate to just mothball the poorly working one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Oo! Is this a real option? You might try PM'ing Paul Westphal (post 38-39). There should be plenty of people within reasonable postal distance who'd be happy to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 You might try PM'ing Paul Westphal (post 38-39). There should be plenty of people within reasonable postal distance who'd be happy to help you out. That would be who I would suggest. I am probably going to have one more go with one of my 1200XL's this spring or summer, and if I can't get it working reliably I will seek help. In the meantime, there's always another project. I'm going to install one of Bryan's new video mods in an 800XL and another in a Woody VCS. The joy of old machines - there's always something to fix or tinker with. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 invites a whole lot of extra pitfalls, With other words: it is not as smooth as expected? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 With other words: it is not as smooth as expected? No, but it has been extensively beta tested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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