mamejay Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Hey guys, I am having an issue with a Sdrive-max I put together. I cannot get the unit to start the sdrive.atr file. I have made 3 of these for friends with no issues at all but for some reason now I cannot get this one working. I have tested 2 x different UNO's I have and also 2 x screens. The sdcard is a known working card as this was used on my initial 3 I made. I am sure I am missing something. Can you please check pictures and let me what you think. Please disregard the soldering. I have removed and added the cables over and over again so doesn't look great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 (edited) you missed out the +5v wire? see here: https://atari8bit.net/everything-sdrive-max/ Edited September 25, 2019 by xrbrevin link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 OK I'm going to guess you're using external power or else it wouldn't work at all... sdrive.str not loading... have you got the D0: button selected on the touchscreen? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 40 minutes ago, Mr Robot said: OK I'm going to guess you're using external power or else it wouldn't work at all... sdrive.str not loading... have you got the D0: button selected on the touchscreen? Yes you are correct I am using an external power supply. D0 is selected on the touch screen. Have now just tested using D1 as the boot device and mounting sdrive.atr but get the same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Does it boot OTHER boot disks? Try a basic DOS 2.5 or a simple game and see if the thing works at all. If you haven’t already, you might consider reflashing the Arduino. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricortes Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Check the diode polarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavin1968 Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Hello, Were you able to flash the Arduino and get it to run? That can be done without connecting any wires or to the 8bit. Does that work? The SDrive-MAX will still start up even with no SDCard if it is working. Disconnect all that "wiring" and hook up the screen and flash it, if it doesn't work at that point you have a bad UNI or screen. Could have fried it with that soldering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Your pins are not pushed all the way into the SIO connector, double check your wiring on the everything site link to Robots informative and easy to follow color coded pictures... You are bridging connection on the header pad, just use the one pad for each wire method to start... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwc Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I had the same issue when I put mine together last week. I overwrote the sdrive.atr with another one I found online and it then worked. Could be as simple as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 Thanks everyone. Yes of course I get the display up after flashing the device. I have replaced the diode twice now. I have re-crimped a new SIO connections. Re-formatted SDcard and downloaded a fresh copy of sdrive.atr I have used a second UNO board. The last thing I will try is opening up my Atari and check continuity direct from the pinheader back to the ardunio. Running out of ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 (edited) can we see the board with your changes done? it's possible the diode is dead or the wrong type... with nothing else on the sio line you can leave it out to test your sdrive.... I don't like the wires covering other pads and even laying down sometime screw holes or the area near via , planes near pads can have scratches or nicks... try to only solder the wire and the pad is belong on, clean up the rest and use a cell phone camera zoomed in to inspect for flakes and whiskers.... clean them up if you see them Edited September 26, 2019 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 26, 2019 Author Share Posted September 26, 2019 Thanks for that. I will revisit this tomorrow. I am grabbing one of my known working ones from a friend and will be working backwards to determine where I have gone wrong. This is so simple and in the past has taken me 10 minutes to solder up the cable. Anyway I will let you know my findings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 can you try it without the diode? also, can you try it in another atari? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 I still haven't seen an answer to my question: Does it work to boot ANYTHING? Forget the menu program disk. Put DOS 2.5 or a disk game like Zork I into the D1: slot and see if the thing will boot, period. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricortes Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 Does it use the same connections as the Sdrive <no Max>? Looks like you are switching white and black leads. That is, the black lead should be going to the diode if I read it right. SCHEME.PDF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted September 26, 2019 Share Posted September 26, 2019 On @mamejay wiring, on the UNO end, black is GND, white is A5, at the SIO end, Black is pin 4 (GND), white is pin 7 (CMD), that's correct. TX (Red) on the uno is going to RX on the SIO RX (Yellow) on the uno is going to TX on the SIO VCC isn't connected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 8 hours ago, Mr Robot said: On @mamejay wiring, on the UNO end, black is GND, white is A5, at the SIO end, Black is pin 4 (GND), white is pin 7 (CMD), that's correct. TX (Red) on the uno is going to RX on the SIO RX (Yellow) on the uno is going to TX on the SIO VCC isn't connected. yes, we directed him to check his wires with your site... not much more can be done short of remote robotically making the revisions through the interwebs... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 Ok guys. New development. I grabbed my friends known working SDrive max and found that is DOES not work on my 130XE. I have a Sdrive2 I grabbed from here some time ago which works fine on my 130XE. I remembered I had a atari xegs and keyboard so decided to try it out on that. My Sdrive Max works on this no problem. So looks like a issue with my 130XE. What are the differences with the Sdrive2 and the Sdrive Max which would allow the Sdrive2 to work on the 130XE and the Max to not. What controls the SIO ports in Atari? Suspect whatever is controlling the SIO has a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 (edited) on some 130XE the speed killing caps on rx and tx need to be removed. after that it's the PIA and Pokey chips you check ... but there is one other possibility, ditch the external power and use Atari power to run the sdrive max... I do know that some of them do not and should not be powered by their usb port (which should only be used for programming) If one uses Atari power or the actual power jack they seem much better behaved. USB power problems might come down to the usb power adapter and what version uno/ardy a person uses and how they wire them.. so I avoid that method entirely and avoid any headache now or down the line... Edited September 27, 2019 by _The Doctor__ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 27, 2019 Author Share Posted September 27, 2019 Thanks for that. Well looks like the Pokey chip. I had a dead XEGS here and desoldered the Pokey and installed into the XE. Now everything is working again. Just strange that the original Pokey works fine with the Sdrive2 and not the Max. I had concerns about using the 5V from the Atari to power the uno and screen. That is why I am using the usb cable instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Robot Posted September 27, 2019 Share Posted September 27, 2019 I've not had any issues running and SDM on Atari power, if your Atari has a modern power supply it's probably going to be fine unless you have half a dozen devices in the chain. A lot of people choose the external power option because they want to be able to turn off the Atari and keep their drive selections without having to save them, those people don't tend to be users of the SDrive software, preferring the touchscreen to the Atari menu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamejay Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share Posted September 28, 2019 On 9/27/2019 at 5:42 PM, _The Doctor__ said: on some 130XE the speed killing caps on rx and tx need to be removed. after that it's the PIA and Pokey chips you check ... but there is one other possibility, ditch the external power and use Atari power to run the sdrive max... I do know that some of them do not and should not be powered by their usb port (which should only be used for programming) If one uses Atari power or the actual power jack they seem much better behaved. USB power problems might come down to the usb power adapter and what version uno/ardy a person uses and how they wire them.. so I avoid that method entirely and avoid any headache now or down the line... Should I remove these caps anyway as a preventative measure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted September 28, 2019 Share Posted September 28, 2019 (edited) I always remove them as the only thing they do is kill SIO timing (rise) and cause high speeds to fail.. also please consider using the power jack on the uno/ardy... it was put there for a reason. USB power is for programming. I only use Power Jack or Atari power for operation... as I stated USB power has been hit or miss depending on multiple variables. Just avoid that headache all together. Edited September 28, 2019 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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