Marius Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 1: This version I am currently offering incorporates the correction. 2: Pro-Wizard, I bury the hatchet if you do. Hi Dropcheck! Thanks for your outstanding reply. It was a pleasure to read it and it made a lot things clear. I agree with you and I honestly appreciate the time you took to write it! Thanks! To come back to two things in your post: 1) Ah! That comes also very close to what I was asking for in fact. A corrected board is excellent news too. If you are still willing to sell one or two to me (see point #2 below) than I would be glad to be on the list. 2) Of course. Not to repeat things, but I wrote several times that I understand that the fault is on my side. I already wrote you are a good person. So don't worry, no hard feelings from my side. Please keep enjoying your projects and your atari hobby! Thanks again! Pro! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) So... I have a bare XF551 case, no mechanism, no PCB....so no original parts. So far I have found 8040 and WD1772 for reasonable prices. The EPROM I should have in my stack of EPROMS and I can burn myself. Apart from th choke, I dont see any very special parts, so wouldnt this board also allow a fresh build up ? In fact....for once, I think I would ignore the power supply section and simply use a dedicated HD drive PSU like this: http://s.aliexpress.com/RnMRVjAB So....do I miss any very special parts outside of the choke (is that choke really so much needed by the way ? I guess its there to filter out bad stuff from the AC input ? Could be done on the mains side of the transformer too. I could look into that Polish one but I like the extras this board offers, display and 2in 1 Oh...and what mechanism should I look for ? Would any PC mechanism work ? I read about the index hole needed for formatting ? Edited October 27, 2018 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 Hi Dropcheck! Thanks for your outstanding reply. It was a pleasure to read it and it made a lot things clear. I agree with you and I honestly appreciate the time you took to write it! Thanks! To come back to two things in your post: 1) Ah! That comes also very close to what I was asking for in fact. A corrected board is excellent news too. If you are still willing to sell one or two to me (see point #2 below) than I would be glad to be on the list. 2) Of course. Not to repeat things, but I wrote several times that I understand that the fault is on my side. I already wrote you are a good person. So don't worry, no hard feelings from my side. Please keep enjoying your projects and your atari hobby! Thanks again! Pro! No problems. I'm currently almost ready to send a 2nd board order out. Four of 10 have been backordered. Enough to justify the second board order. Go ahead and place your order on the website. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Just noticed that the last revision of the schematics omits the choke so yeah....don’t think that is really needed. The crystal was hard to find I understood ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) So... I have a bare XF551 case, no mechanism, no PCB....so no original parts. So far I have found 8040 and WD1772 for reasonable prices. The EPROM I should have in my stack of EPROMS and I can burn myself. Apart from th choke, I dont see any very special parts, so wouldnt this board also allow a fresh build up ? In fact....for once, I think I would ignore the power supply section and simply use a dedicated HD drive PSU like this: http://s.aliexpress.com/RnMRVjAB So....do I miss any very special parts outside of the choke (is that choke really so much needed by the way ? I guess its there to filter out bad stuff from the AC input ? Could be done on the mains side of the transformer too. I could look into that Polish one but I like the extras this board offers, display and 2in 1 Oh...and what mechanism should I look for ? Would any PC mechanism work ? I read about the index hole needed for formatting ? There are a few parts that follow the original part footprint, which while you could find functionally correct 'new' parts they might not fit on the board very well or at all. That's the bane of designing a board for original part footprints to allow salvaging of old parts. The pdf in the first post should give you an idea of what original parts the board is designed to reuse. As I said before, everything is a compromise. Some people wanted to use the original external power brick, others had no problem with a more modern IC based DC based power supply. Still others wanted to use as many original parts as possible and the original power supply brick. I don't think the board is specific to any particular mech version, as long as it meets the basic requirements. Edited October 27, 2018 by Dropcheck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Level42 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) Mmm.....I have to be honest to myself that I probably wont have time to build this for the next year or so... Seeing the rather simplicity of it all.....it should be able to be put in a FPGA......but I cant seem to find VHDL for the 8040 or WD1772..... ...seeing the compactness of your design (I really like the TTL chips under the larger chips idea) iit could also be turned into an add-on PCB for Michaels 1088XLD in a 1050 case project Edited October 27, 2018 by Level42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 (edited) ...seeing the compactness of your design (I really like the TTL chips under the larger chips idea) iit could also be turned into an add-on PCB for Michaels 1088XLD in a 1050 case project An addon board already done for internal installation into a ITX case or slightly bigger with a 5 1/4 drive bay. Edited October 27, 2018 by Dropcheck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Hello Andre Mmm.....I have to be honest to myself that I probably wont have time to build this for the next year or so... Problem with most hardware that's developed and sold right now is that it might not be available anymore when we are ready for it in a couple of years. So we have to hoard that stuff when it's available. Sincerely Mathy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentarian Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Hello Andre Problem with most hardware that's developed and sold right now is that it might not be available anymore when we are ready for it in a couple of years. So we have to hoard that stuff when it's available. Sincerely Mathy Exactly. Incognito is a great example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 New info on ordering from across the pond. tf_hh and I are working out details to have him manage pcb ordering and shipping from Germany for all of Europe. Essentially he'll place orders with the board house for a run and then those in Europe who want a board can contact him and arraign payment and shipping. The cost of the board each will most likely remain the same, but the US to Europe extreme shipping costs will be eliminated. More details to follow. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Now that's the most common sense heard in a while, good reciprocal hobby business move! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I'd love to get a syscheck or ram expansion from Lenore.. are you planning to do something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Shipping from Europe is not much more than from US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 I'd love to get a syscheck or ram expansion from Lenore.. are you planning to do something like that? Some of the boards that tf_hh has done require versions of Atari computers that I don't have to test function, such as Atari 400 and 800 versions. I am not in a position financially to afford to buy them either. On the other hand some other boards are a definite possibility. Something that I will raise with him. It's totally his call. Any current inventory he has invested in will need to be used up, before I take over for the US market. It's only fair. It looks like it's a go for the XF551 pcb option. Here's the ABBUC forum link: http://www.abbuc.de/community/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9725 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I would love to get one of those XF551 boards, but I don't see how I can desolder all parts needed from my XF551 without a good investment in tools, in order to not destroy the components. I have really struggled desoldering 40 pins Antic once in the past and thirty something pins of an OSROM in a second opportunity with a better soldering iron, I am glad those two computers are still working after my amateur job... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+tf_hh Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Shipping from Europe is not much more than from US. Hmm, IMHO this is not correct. For example, I can sent up to 500 grams of weight in a box sized 25 cm x 20 xm x 5 cm (length x wide x height) for <7 Euros incl. tracking number and insurance up to approx. 35 Euros (the exact value varies, it´s called "SZR" and a synthetical currency of the international post services). That´s enough for a lof of PCBs and parts, and you can use real boxes, not just aircushioned envelopes. Higher insurance is possible up to 1000 Euros with extra costs. On the other hand, already the smallest envelope with 50 grams will costs 11 US-Dollar from U.S. to Europe. Without any tracking number, without insurance. Today the US-Dollar and Euro are near by 1:1, so it´s more safer and cheaper to sent goods from Europe to U.S. than the other way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 I would love to get one of those XF551 boards, but I don't see how I can desolder all parts needed from my XF551 without a good investment in tools, in order to not destroy the components. I have really struggled desoldering 40 pins Antic once in the past and thirty something pins of an OSROM in a second opportunity with a better soldering iron, I am glad those two computers are still working after my amateur job... All is not lost. Most salvageable parts are relatively easy to desolder from the original XF551 board due to the relative crappy nature of the board. It's far easier to destroy the board than the parts. You do need to take care for the OSC. All the chips can be sourced through Mouser.com and Ebay.com. The rom chip is usually socketed. Except for the SIO connectors, power switch, AC choke, OSC, internal power and data cables to the drive mech, all the other parts can also be source through Mouser.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 First board order has been mailed out. Those individuals should have received notification emails. 2nd batch is now at the board house. Currently I will have six available boards when they come in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) I would love to get one of those XF551 boards, but I don't see how I can desolder all parts needed from my XF551 without a good investment in tools, in order to not destroy the components. I have really struggled desoldering 40 pins Antic once in the past and thirty something pins of an OSROM in a second opportunity with a better soldering iron, I am glad those two computers are still working after my amateur job... Desoldering a XF-board is a little bit easier than desoldering an ANTIC from a computer, because the XF-board is an one-sided pcb without vias; the computer-boards are double-sided with vias. Sleepy Edited November 5, 2018 by Sleepy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMartian Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 If the crystal is the biggest problem, generating 8.33Mhz is not that difficult a problem, it's easily produced by 25Mhz divided by 3. An oscillator and some logic, possibly a GAL type device.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted November 7, 2018 Author Share Posted November 7, 2018 Latest board batch came in today. Those who have boards on backorder with me should see their orders in a few days, (a week or so for the Canada order) I have four boards left of this batch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Got my board last week while I was away. Also received an order from Mouser on the extra parts I'll need, and got a disassembled XF551 from Bob Woolley, as well as a 3.5" drive mechanism and faceplate. Any idea where I can download the custom 3.5" ROM firmware? Yes I know Bob was the original guy behind that, but he didn't know where to look in all of his piles of Atari stuff, but I presume it's got to be available somewhere online. Thanks a bunch for the board . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle_jedi Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Got my board last week while I was away. Also received an order from Mouser on the extra parts I'll need, and got a disassembled XF551 from Bob Woolley, as well as a 3.5" drive mechanism and faceplate. Any idea where I can download the custom 3.5" ROM firmware? Yes I know Bob was the original guy behind that, but he didn't know where to look in all of his piles of Atari stuff, but I presume it's got to be available somewhere online. Thanks a bunch for the board . Is this what you need? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/108472-xf551-oses/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Is this what you need? http://atariage.com/forums/topic/108472-xf551-oses/ Yep. Thank you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dropcheck Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 FYI: I have now finally gotten a 8.3333MHz XF551 OSC clone working rather consistently. What this means is that one of the hardest parts to locate is now finally relatively easy to get. This is a SMT parts board, so those who barely can solder TH would be advised to order a completely assembled board rather than a bare pcb, but it is your choice. Essentially it is three parts assembled onto a plug in board to the main XF551 board. You would simply solder it into the original OSC footprint on the main board. The bare board is running around $2.00 per and assembled will be around $7.00 plus shipping. tf_hh should be able to offer the bare boards as well to those in europe. I don't know if he wants to assemble them. I currently have 8 bare pcbs available, with the usual option to order more if there is demand. Website should be updated in 24hrs or less. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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