Jump to content
IGNORED

ZENOBOARD


sparkdrummer

Recommended Posts

post-41593-0-79983900-1443802752_thumb.jpgpost-41593-0-96504900-1443802751_thumb.jpgYou know I was examining my unfinished zeno boards last night and I believe that it would be possible to either shoehorn the components onboard or to attach the ubergrom as a daughter board and still mount it into the console on top or underneath the Zeno and attached to it. There is still plenty of unpopulated real estate on the board and some can be worked around. Would regular cartridges still work with the ubergrom attached in this manner?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

Would regular cartridges still work with the ubergrom attached in this manner?

 

Probably not, it would answer to any cartridge space GROM requests, causing conflicts. I always toyed with the idea of a version that read the cartridge port and turned itself off automatically, but I haven't had time to build anything for a while now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

I am Noob. That being established, the Zenoboard looks like a solution for (as was previously mentioned), saving space. Is there a working version? the notes state that there was a single trace line where a fault existed but should be easy to overcome. This looks like a very fun project to undertake. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Mehridian Sanders said:

I am Noob. That being established, the Zenoboard looks like a solution for (as was previously mentioned), saving space. Is there a working version? the notes state that there was a single trace line where a fault existed but should be easy to overcome. This looks like a very fun project to undertake. 

The board hasn't been produced in 25 years or so. A few of us have boards from the original run, but that's pretty much it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The board has spaces on it for the TI Extended BASIC chips and for the Speech Synthesizer chips. Some of those are obviously larger than the GROM chips. Probably the biggest issue I have with this board is that there are two places that run a pair of traces between two of the chip pads. That is some tight spacing when you want to avoid accidental shorts. I looked at respinning this board at one point, but I never took the project that far.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know what's even more rare then a Zeno board?  One that's actually in a console and working. I knew when I saw one it was way above my pay grade. So I had one of the guys in the Hugger U.G. build it for me. He had 30 years of experience as an electronics tech and an electronics hobbyist.. He was really good and said it was the most difficult board he ever worked on. Amongst the problems, mounting, no solder masks, small traces, super small pads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm if I am looking at this correctly it shoots off the cart slot. Why would you do this? Wouldn't it be more effective to utilize the sidecar port? oh wait ... adding XB to it would be the reason. Hmm.. so .. then the Cart slot connects the speech and the 32k Ram as well? Wow that seems .. highly complicated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the book - rework... More working and less talking! ?

In addition to all the other mounting issues, most of the working ones have a rotary knob at the top of the console   that selects the module.

I think most people gave up and had John Wilforth from the PA UG build it for them.

Which is why I think he quit the TI hobby to never be heard from again.....

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Just re-reading this thread. To me, the Zeno board always was, and possibly still is, the ultimate upgrade to real in-the-flesh TI consoles. It's a shame we can't re-do this board. It's surely possible, right?

 

Question: The 32K ram on the Zeno board - is it 8 or 16 bit?

 

I ask, because the second most awesome upgrade to a TI (IMHO, YMMV etc.) is placing the 32k RAM on the 16-bit bus.

 

There was one other upgrade that I saw (and owned for a while) with my own eyes: Colin Hinson, an ex TI Bedford (UK) engineer and 4A nut, replaced the 9900 on the TI motherboard with a plug-in daughter board that contained a TMS9995. This was summer 1994. I can't remember what clock speed it ran at - but it was FAST. According to Colin, the board didn't do much - the board was modified to disable the 8-bit to 16-bit multiplexor (the 9995 having an 8-bit data bus) and there were maybe two PALs/GALs on the board, and a crystal. Not much. It's long gone now, I'm afraid, and Colin would be in his 80s if he's still alive. I never saw, or even heard of anything similar in the TI community. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...