VOGONS


Reply 1420 of 3172, by shock__

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Bad news everyone!
Due to changed payment modalities on the PCB manufacturer's side things will get delayed another 3-4 days.
At this point I'm expecting the boards to arrive at my place right around the turn of the year. Therefore better expect your boards in early to mid January.

Current Project: new GUS PnP compatible soundcard

[Z?]

Reply 1421 of 3172, by hard1k

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After reading the first line I nearly got heart attack.

Fortex, the A3D & XG/OPL3 accelerator (Vortex 2 + YMF744 combo sound card)
AWE64 Legacy
Please have a look at my wishlist (hosted on Amibay)

Reply 1422 of 3172, by 640K!enough

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shock__ wrote:

Bad news everyone!
Due to changed payment modalities on the PCB manufacturer's side things will get delayed another 3-4 days.

No problem there. At least the news isn't that there was a design mistake and we'll have 15 paperweights.

Reply 1423 of 3172, by matze79

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No Problem at all.

So its plenty of time to order all the needed parts 😀

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 1424 of 3172, by Synoptic

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640K!enough wrote:

I've been doing a little more testing on my flash programming software, along with a salvaged guinea-pig 29LV160. I haven't added support for the "fast mode" supported by some variants to reduce programming time, but I can successfully write the contents of a ROM image to the chip and verify it. I mention this because, if we can manage to pick up enough of the chips, I will be doing more testing with a newer ROM module and a full 4 MiB bank, with the assistance of at least one other person on the prototype team. Not all of the boards are ready yet, but details and samples will be on the way, though there may be a slight delay, due to holiday shipping schedules.

I'll be able to do that and we're close to eachother.

Reply 1427 of 3172, by Phreeze

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quick question about the "U70" part, it seems that it is a 8pin DAC component, MS6308.

Can someone provide a reference from digikey for this one? Can't really find an 8 pin part similar to this.

I also created a "shared cart" on digikey, please click this link to add material from the list to your digikey shopping cart:
http://www.digikey.lu/short/qqjpw5

NOTE: THIS IS FOR 3 (THREE) CARDS!
It lacks:
- MS6308 part
- DRAM, as you can get it much cheaper elsewhere
- 72pin RAM sockets, as shock__ provides them until he get's out of stock. Use reference from the google-sheet to add it from digikey.
- other sockets. this is for a nonsocketed variant, which should be ok for most users.

Why 3? Because i buy 1 prototype and 2 release boards.

ArGUS Parts list: http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V

Reply 1428 of 3172, by 640K!enough

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Synoptic wrote:

I'll be able to do that and we're close to eachother.

That offer might be useful for the next generation of prototypes, if you wouldn't mind sourcing your own components and assembling the board yourself. With the current batch of designs, it would be prohibitively expensive for me to order enough units to assemble and send to many people for testing. Still, I'll let you know if there is enough hardware left over once everything is sorted, tested and counted.

Reply 1429 of 3172, by Synoptic

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I had the intention to source the components myself already. Just waiting for the build list to be updated with all the needed parts so I don't have to search too much.

Reply 1430 of 3172, by 640K!enough

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Synoptic wrote:

I had the intention to source the components myself already. Just waiting for the build list to be updated with all the needed parts so I don't have to search too much.

I'm not entirely sure we're talking about the same thing, so at the risk of re-stating the obvious, let me try to clarify. What you have contributed to so far is the overall project, and will presumably be assembling an ARGUS prototype. With these boards, one has the option to have no ROM, installing a 1 MiB ROM in the provided footprint or installing an additional ROM module via headers installed in place of the SOP44 IC and X3. I was referring to the third option, which I expect will be a separate, extra-cost option in the final run.

The hardware is currently in a pre-prototype proof-of-concept state. I tried following shock__'s measurements exactly, but there is even some possibility that the board won't fit at all. Furthermore, since I expect interest will be relatively low, I opted to contact only a couple of people directly to ask about their willingness to test the additional hardware. Between the ICs, headers and connectors, it gets too expensive to give them away for testing. To avoid the additional cost, I expect most people will make other arrangements.

So, to make a long story short, only people who end up with the additional boards will be able to test the larger ROM images.

Reply 1431 of 3172, by Phreeze

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i have problems finding the DRAM (and still that MS6308)
https://www.digikey.lu/products/en/integrated … d=0&pageSize=25

which DRAM from digi key can be ordered? they only have much faster and in 16mb form. Argus sheet wants: "DRAM 256K*16 or 1024K*16 (70ns or less) i.e. HY514260BJC-60 (optional Socket: i.e. AMP 3-822265-2) or HY5118160JC-70"

same for MS6308 S08 package

ArGUS Parts list: http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V

Reply 1432 of 3172, by 640K!enough

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Digi-Key does not stock either of those parts. They do have some usable DRAM in their catalogue, but one would likely have to order several hundred to convince them to order the parts from the manufacturer. For reference, Mouser does have stock, but they are not particularly inexpensive; see https://mouser.com/ProductDetail/ISSI/IS41C16105C-50KLI/.

Reply 1433 of 3172, by Synoptic

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640K!enough wrote:
I'm not entirely sure we're talking about the same thing, so at the risk of re-stating the obvious, let me try to clarify. What […]
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Synoptic wrote:

I had the intention to source the components myself already. Just waiting for the build list to be updated with all the needed parts so I don't have to search too much.

I'm not entirely sure we're talking about the same thing, so at the risk of re-stating the obvious, let me try to clarify. What you have contributed to so far is the overall project, and will presumably be assembling an ARGUS prototype. With these boards, one has the option to have no ROM, installing a 1 MiB ROM in the provided footprint or installing an additional ROM module via headers installed in place of the SOP44 IC and X3. I was referring to the third option, which I expect will be a separate, extra-cost option in the final run.

The hardware is currently in a pre-prototype proof-of-concept state. I tried following shock__'s measurements exactly, but there is even some possibility that the board won't fit at all. Furthermore, since I expect interest will be relatively low, I opted to contact only a couple of people directly to ask about their willingness to test the additional hardware. Between the ICs, headers and connectors, it gets too expensive to give them away for testing. To avoid the additional cost, I expect most people will make other arrangements.

So, to make a long story short, only people who end up with the additional boards will be able to test the larger ROM images.

Gotcha. All in.

Reply 1434 of 3172, by Zarchos

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Hi all.

I am new here and just wanted to express my profund and sincere greetings for this A-W-E-S-O-M-E project.
The GUS is truely part of my fondest memories.
What you do is just fantastic.
I love you.

Reply 1436 of 3172, by 640K!enough

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Phreeze wrote:

i have problems finding the DRAM (and still that MS6308)

For the MS6308, you can probably use an equivalent part, like the TDA1308, which is available at Digi-Key (part number 568-11063-1-ND). I haven't yet confirmed that it is a perfect equivalent, so substitute with caution.

Reply 1438 of 3172, by Phreeze

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i updated the shopping basket for 3 cards:
http://www.digikey.lu/short/qq9nnb

btw i can't edit older posts...what's the point....

Last edited by Phreeze on 2017-12-18, 10:39. Edited 1 time in total.

ArGUS Parts list: http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V