Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2023-09-19, 08:57
I sent it to you as an attachment to a private message on the forum.
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2023-08-31, 17:59
Well done, Madao ! Good work figuring out the issue. I really haven't had time for my projects (this VGA card included) in the past couple of years -- usual life business, that is. Back in 2021 or so, I also spotted timing issues on the Hewlett Packard 16500C logic analyzer -- it was a pain to …
Re: PC Speaker Driver
Posted on 2023-08-07, 10:12
Ha ha, that was my intention as well. I was once reading about weird hardware cards of the '80s and the '90s and there were all sort of instrumentation adapters and external hardware control. But nothing for the hated PC Speaker. I thought I'd show it some love by designing a card for it. Up until I …
PC Speaker Driver
Posted on 2023-08-07, 09:33
Hi, From the category of weird (and possibly useless) hardware , I've designed an ISA card that can control the volume of the PC Speaker through software. I created it in 2021 and wrote the software at the same time, but I didn't have time to assemble the card or test the driver until this summer. I …
Re: List of open-source PC hardware projects
Posted on 2023-02-16, 10:43
Yes, I know. My first SIMMs in 1.6 mm thickness were a very frustrating experience for me as well. And exactly as you say, some of sockets do accept 1.6 mm PCBs but they look a bit stressed. I re-did mine at JLCPCB in 1.2 mm, they work great and are a perfect fit for the SIMM sockets. On the …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2022-01-24, 13:08
Hi root42, Unfortunately I had to pause the electronics hobby for some time as I am caught with other responsibilities. I put on hold all my projects (including the new ISA-PCI system backplane that I was working on for my next retrocomputing experiments). I haven't had time to read the forum or …
Re: HWiNFO for DOS resurrected !
Posted on 2021-11-02, 15:46
Where is the "computer name" string read from? I have seen that only some mainboards report such a name. Is it an identifier within the BIOS? Or a specific BIOS function that returns this string? Thanks, A.
Re: HWiNFO for DOS resurrected !
Posted on 2021-10-31, 11:19
Hi Martin, Just out of curiosity, I was trying HWiNFO 4.6.4 (I know it's too old, don't ask!) to compare to 6.1.3 on the CX486DLC CPU (well actually I have the TX version but they are basically the same CPU). For the CPU itself HWiNFO 6.1.3 shows the correct and complete name. But for the FPU, …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-10-31, 10:48
Hi root42, I was busy with other stuff (both daily routine and other microelectronics projects) and haven't had time to check on the VOGONS forum. Yes, I finally reprised working on the ISA video card. The goal is to make it more stable and easier to be replicated by hobbyists. I don't have anything …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-07-10, 11:01
root42, one additional question: do I get the right feeling that the card is rendering graphics very slow? Is the PC really slow? Do you happen to know what frequency the ISA bus is running in your machine? For instance, on my 386 DX / 33 MHz, I set the ISA bus speed to 11 MHz and Landmark Speed …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-07-09, 20:18
It looks better already with 270 R. You ae close to getting it stable. I'd say 220 R might be too low. But, let's find out how it turns out while mounted in circuit. PS: Touching the pins alters impedance which is a function of capacitance, resistance, and inductance. So it's hard to pinpoint what …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-07-09, 06:14
pentiumspeed's recommendation is very good (in fact I studied similar books for high-speed PCB design and signal propagation and integrity, which helped a lot for my 80386DX project). The only drawback is that acquiring new skills takes time and involvement. Good thing that you progress with the …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-26, 14:59
Now that I read it, I think what mkarcher has detailed above is actually what is happening. And that is why increasing the values of RA2 and RA3 allowed for a bigger rise time to make up a "wide-enough" pulse for the refresh circuitry to work properly. This is the most plausible explanation. As I …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-26, 06:45
The undershoot (lower bump) is caused mainly by a combination of oscilloscope probe (particularly return signal of probe) and PCB transmission line impedance matching and capacitance adjustment. Slow rise time is caused by resistor array. Once you experimentally go lower then you will be able to see …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-23, 05:25
My initial prototype is well out of discussion, I guess. For its price you could buy two good ISA cards on eBay. However, root42 has built one with a cheaper PCB after the original schematic. When we manage to get it stable, he would be able to tell the final cost.
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-22, 18:22
Yes it is bad DRAM timing as the refresh signals don't arrive cleanly to the chips. I left you a PM a couple of minutes ago. You need to go lower if the artifacts intensify. In my initial case (starting with my original 22R calculation -- which induced very ugly artifacts -- and then experimentally …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-15, 08:37
One additional question though. Does your friend also experience 80 x 25 text-mode font tearing as well? Either in standard DOS prompt or RAM manipulating software such as Dos Navigator? I would say he does, but you can check that, to be sure. My assumption is based on the fact that when I was …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-15, 07:58
That looks strange and indeed very similar to what I was experiencing with /RAS and /CAS small value resistors. I would say, from my experiments, this resembles to a 60R resistor pack. Solder joints should be very finely done (not with big blobs of solder) and thoroughly cleaned of any remaining …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-06-01, 08:38
Video DRAM (and other DRAM as well) have /RAS and /CAS lines that are used to constantly refresh the contents of the memory cells. The tracks between the memory controller and the individual memory chips act like high-speed transmission lines. Furthermore, memory chips row and column strobe signals …
Re: EXCELGRAPH - ISA Video Display Controller (ET4000/W32i)
Posted on 2021-05-30, 16:40
Looks great already. Don't forget about increasing of RA2 and RA3 to reduce artifacts in certain old games.
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