Cartridge port - keep or improve

[anzac]

 

Well, no harm in asking. I am having hard time just to get someone to make the 3D design.. at some cost that maybe possible.. But getting injection mold made.. I doubt community would be able to raise enough cash to fund it.

 

I am just replicating the motherboard, it will use original cases from STFM (maybe STF) there are variations in the cases which need to be taken into consideration. Of course if a new case could be done, I would start making changes.. For example the 19pin DMA port would get replaced with a 25way one.. and have 5V routed on there also...

 

3D printing of cases, possible, £300 each. Nobody is going to pay that, and questionable quality over proper molding.

 

if someone can design the case, i will do my best to find a solution for injecting cases for low cost. i think we should start the kickstarter project and adapt and make any changes as time goes on and things get more defined.

[exxosuk]

 

if someone can design the case, i will do my best to find a solution for injecting cases for low cost. i think we should start the kickstarter project and adapt and make any changes as time goes on and things get more defined.

 

I'm trying to get quotes to design the case. Though can't start a kick starter for it until the cost is actually known.

[leech]

Would it be plausible / possible to upgrade the cartridge port just enough to allow a larger bandwidth for something like the NetUSBee? Which one would think might be the one cartridge that is still being made. That's what I'd like to see on this newer board.

 

Ha, I have to chuckle a little bit about 100% compatibility though, Atari couldn't even get that right themselves! Then again, that's why you're doing a STfm board instead of STe.

[exxosuk]

Would it be plausible / possible to upgrade the cartridge port just enough to allow a larger bandwidth for something like the NetUSBee? Which one would think might be the one cartridge that is still being made. That's what I'd like to see on this newer board.#

 

Ha, I have to chuckle a little bit about 100% compatibility though, Atari couldn't even get that right themselves! Then again, that's why you're doing a STfm board instead of STe.

 

The cartridge port can run faster. It was talked about before with the V2 booster. Though nobody with a booster would test if stuff like midi carts etc would break at higher speeds (or anything for that matter). I guess it could be made switchable anyway.

 

Yes, STE is nice, but larger SMT chip... Just not viable to take it off a scrap board and solder it onto a new one. My board will use all through-hole parts so people can solder it easy.

[leech]

Ha, only SMT soldering I have now done was on a Hard drive controller board. Had to swap the BIOS chips in hope that I could resurrect the drive. After I finally got the balls to do it, it still did the same thing, figured what did I have to lose, opened up the drive and there were some huge scratches along the inner and outer edges. Nothing worse than waking up to hard drive heads crashing....

[exxosuk]

Ha, only SMT soldering I have now done was on a Hard drive controller board. Had to swap the BIOS chips in hope that I could resurrect the drive. After I finally got the balls to do it, it still did the same thing, figured what did I have to lose, opened up the drive and there were some huge scratches along the inner and outer edges. Nothing worse than waking up to hard drive heads crashing....

 

Ah yes. I got a supra drive where the heads "stick" to the disk stopping it from spinning. I could move the head motor and it would unstick and start working again. I decided to buy some untested MFM drives from the USA, which cost a small fortune. Only to find they did not spin up, and while 3 were recognized by the controller, they wouldn't format. Seems to be a common problem with the MFM drives. No surprise really as they are like 700 years old now

[game_player_s]

Please don't bite my head off for suggesting this, but what would be the problem with designing this new clone system as a ATX form factor motherboard so that any existing PC case could be used? And further having a current standard 20/24pin power supply connector so a current standard power supply could be used too?

Edited August 16, 2017 by game_player_s

[exxosuk]

It has been suggested before, though adding ATX form factor holes so the board could be used in both systems along with the ATX power connector. Though I am working with original stuff here. With the board being open source, people can design a ATX design if they want to.

[KLund1]

I would like to have the choice between the two. Backward compatibility would be the ultimate solution.

You might just leave it empty and let the buyer decide which connection to buy. Give them links to Best or Amazon.

I have a HD unit that plugs into the cart slot. It has all my good stuff on it. So It can go from ST to ST. I like that. If your 'upgrade' would not let this work, I would not be for it. But if could choose which way to go, then it would be a major plus.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

 

The cartridge port can run faster. It was talked about before with the V2 booster. Though nobody with a booster would test if stuff like midi carts etc would break at higher speeds (or anything for that matter). I guess it could be made switchable anyway.

 

Yes, STE is nice, but larger SMT chip... Just not viable to take it off a scrap board and solder it onto a new one. My board will use all through-hole parts so people can solder it easy.

Actually, in ST machines it can run only marginally faster. The reason is pretty large delay on control lines, about 60-70 nS. ST Glue chip is just that fast(slow). In STE it is much better - about 30 nS.

So, I would not worry about speeds of 'midi carts' but rather about Glue chip speed if want go faster.