tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-17, 15:41:

Would been nice to be able to get hold on SOM-128-EX somewhere near, the shipping fee is a killer 😁 and after that the customs will add fee and tax on it.

I’m just absolutely thrilled they’re available at all! If you are in the US I might have a spare…for the shipping costs, it was worth it for me to purchase two sets.

bd1308 wrote on 2022-10-17, 16:02:

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-17, 15:41:

Would been nice to be able to get hold on SOM-128-EX somewhere near, the shipping fee is a killer 😁 and after that the customs will add fee and tax on it.

I’m just absolutely thrilled they’re available at all! If you are in the US I might have a spare…for the shipping costs, it was worth it for me to purchase two sets.

Thanks but sadly im located in Sweden, but i did purchase 3 of each but will do 5 bords as that is normally the amount you need to buy form pcb sites.

Bad part was I did not think about buying extra pin pads for the other boards 😀

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-17, 16:15:

Thanks but sadly im located in Sweden, but i did purchase 3 of each but will do 5 bords as that is normally the amount you need to buy form pcb sites.

Bad part was I did not think about buying extra pin pads for the other boards 😀

Pretty sure those pin headers are available from Digi-Key/Mouser as well. Might be super expensive, though... They're each 2x32 pins, 0.05" / 1.27mm pitch & row spacing, 2.50mm insulator height, 1.80mm contact pin height.

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-17, 10:49:

I went over my big box 'o stuff today, looks like I have parts for 24 complete kits. […]
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I went over my big box 'o stuff today, looks like I have parts for 24 complete kits.

Each kit will include:

• The TinyLlama v1.1 PCB with Micro-USB and MicroSD connectors + resistors, most of the capacitors, diodes, EMI filters, a transistor and 3.3V regulator chip already soldered on.
• Parts you'll need to solder yourself: 9 x 0603 capacitors, 1 x double-USB Type A connector, 1 x DE9M connector, 1 x Mini-PCIe connector, 1 x 3.5mm audio jack, 1 x pc speaker, 4 x buttons, 1 x sound chip, 3 x fuses, 4 x pin headers, 1 x Pi receptacle, 1 x crystal, 1 x RS232 transceiver chip, 1 x battery holder, 1 x eeprom chip, 1 x DAC module.
• Pin jumper for configuring the pc speaker on/off/volume.
• 3D-printed screws, washers and nuts for holding the VGA module in place.
• 0.91 inch yellow-monochrome OLED display for that sweet MT-32 feel.

Parts not included, that you'll need to order separately (check the BOM: https://github.com/eivindbohler/tinyllama/wiki/BOM):

• 86Duino SOM-128-EX system-on-module
• Pin headers for the SOC
• Vortex86VGA module
• CR1220 battery
• Raspberry Pi Zero 2
• USB flash drives, MicroSD cards

I have no idea what people are willing to pay for these kits, so I'm asking US $150 + shipping, and we'll see how that goes. 😀

It goes without saying you'll end up paying less if you're willing to go through the hassle of getting boards manufactured and ordering all parts from various sources yourself - so if you're on a tight budget, that's what I would recommend.

If you're interested, drop me a mail at ordertinyllama@gmail.com

Great job on the Github page. The wiki looks great.

About the MT-32 subsystem, I know the wiki says you can just leave that out along with the DAC and some other parts if you don't want it. But if you do want it but are not installing a Pi Zero 2 W because you can't currently get one, is it as simple as just not plugging the Pi in or will firmware changes be needed?

Also, I know the Vortex86EX SOM has SATA pins, but I read somewhere that the pins are multiplexed so I was wondering if the SATA pins are still available. Would it be possible to modify the board to add a SATA port and can the BIOS be configured to boot from a SATA drive?

brentward wrote on 2022-10-17, 17:58:

About the MT-32 subsystem, I know the wiki says you can just leave that out along with the DAC and some other parts if you don't want it. But if you do want it but are not installing a Pi Zero 2 W because you can't currently get one, is it as simple as just not plugging the Pi in or will firmware changes be needed?

Yes, just plug it in when you get hold of it! No harm done leaving it out, you just won't get any MT-32 or MIDI music.

brentward wrote on 2022-10-17, 17:58:

Also, I know the Vortex86EX SOM has SATA pins, but I read somewhere that the pins are multiplexed so I was wondering if the SATA pins are still available. Would it be possible to modify the board to add a SATA port and can the BIOS be configured to boot from a SATA drive?

The SATA pins are not multiplexed, look at the KiCad schematics. You can modify the board and add a SATA connector, sure. Haven't looked at booting from SATA while tinkering with Coreboot/SeaBIOS, but I'm sure it'd be pretty trivial.
The reason I didn't bother with SATA myself was that it didn't seem to serve any purpose in such a small form-factor system.

@Eivind: Is this the CPU module needed? --> https://shop.dmp.com.tw/INT/products/25

Also, is that a reputable shop to get it from?

EDIT: Just saw the Github page, with the WIKI and all... what a work! Thanks for all the time you put on all this, really!

vanfanel wrote on 2022-10-18, 20:12:

@Eivind: Is this the CPU module needed? --> https://shop.dmp.com.tw/INT/products/25

Also, is that a reputable shop to get it from?

EDIT: Just saw the Github page, with the WIKI and all... what a work! Thanks for all the time you put on all this, really!

Yep, that's the one. Make sure to buy the SMD pin headers as well, they're actually cheaper than what you'll be able to find on electronics stores like Digi-Key for example.
DM&P is definitely reputable. They've been around since the late 80's and I've ordered from them many times, no problemo!

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-18, 20:38:

vanfanel wrote on 2022-10-18, 20:12:

@Eivind: Is this the CPU module needed? --> https://shop.dmp.com.tw/INT/products/25

Also, is that a reputable shop to get it from?

EDIT: Just saw the Github page, with the WIKI and all... what a work! Thanks for all the time you put on all this, really!

Yep, that's the one. Make sure to buy the SMD pin headers as well, they're actually cheaper than what you'll be able to find on electronics stores like Digi-Key for example.
DM&P is definitely reputable. They've been around since the late 80's and I've ordered from them many times, no problemo!

DMP is also fast, im getting my delivery on Friday already 😀

And if any one does find the SMP pin headers on other sites feel free to post here as i forgot to buy some extra on my order 😁

Silly question, but is there any way to wire a 15-pin joystick port? This is the reason why I'm still sporting a Pentium-class laptop with a docking station 😀

hadess wrote on 2022-10-19, 08:31:

Silly question, but is there any way to wire a 15-pin joystick port? This is the reason why I'm still sporting a Pentium-class laptop with a docking station 😀

The Crystal audio chip has joystick support, but the board would need to be modified to add the supporting circuitry

hadess wrote on 2022-10-19, 08:31:

Silly question, but is there any way to wire a 15-pin joystick port? This is the reason why I'm still sporting a Pentium-class laptop with a docking station 😀

Like rasteri said, yes it's possible to add - but not on this particular board.
There are actually quite a few things I could conceivably add in a later revision, like Ethernet, IDE, SATA, Joystick, line in, floppy, etc. Problem is, the TinyLlama wouldn't be so tiny anymore.
Maybe I should start working on a FatLlama? 😜

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-19, 09:07:

Like rasteri said, yes it's possible to add - but not on this particular board. There are actually quite a few things I could co […]
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hadess wrote on 2022-10-19, 08:31:

Silly question, but is there any way to wire a 15-pin joystick port? This is the reason why I'm still sporting a Pentium-class laptop with a docking station 😀

Like rasteri said, yes it's possible to add - but not on this particular board.
There are actually quite a few things I could conceivably add in a later revision, like Ethernet, IDE, SATA, Joystick, line in, floppy, etc. Problem is, the TinyLlama wouldn't be so tiny anymore.
Maybe I should start working on a FatLlama? 😜

Time to make it pc104 style :p mainboard with possibility to ad extension board with example all the port that are mentioned 😀

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-19, 07:35:

And if any one does find the SMP pin headers on other sites feel free to post here as i forgot to buy some extra on my order 😁

rasteri - I think you might have mentioned a UK-based ICOP dealer in one of your videos...? They might have these specialty pin headers for sale separately?

I would say that most of those possible expansions don't "enable" more games to be played, but maybe I'm biased as I don't expect to be able to play X-Wing without a proper joystick 😀

I don't know the pinout for the Pi Zero 2 add-on for MIDI, but maybe the joystick port (and supporting circuitry) could be done as an add-on replacing the MT-32 support.

hadess wrote on 2022-10-19, 10:02:

I would say that most of those possible expansions don't "enable" more games to be played, but maybe I'm biased as I don't expect to be able to play X-Wing without a proper joystick 😀

I'm with you on this!
Got a P2 Dell laptop the other day specifically because it came with the port replicator which has DB15. There just don't seem to be a lot of easy solutions in this space.

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-19, 09:22:

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-19, 07:35:

And if any one does find the SMP pin headers on other sites feel free to post here as i forgot to buy some extra on my order 😁

rasteri - I think you might have mentioned a UK-based ICOP dealer in one of your videos...? They might have these specialty pin headers for sale separately?

I found some now when digi key site started to work .

https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-F-DV/6693679 but not in stock
https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-L-DV/1110211 is in stuck but a bit higher

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-19, 11:13:

I found some now when digi key site started to work .

https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-F-DV/6693679 but not in stock
https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-L-DV/1110211 is in stuck but a bit higher

Those are 32-pin headers, you need the 64-pin version.
I think this might work: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sa … 01-L-DV/1110195
Insanely expensive, though - 2 x $12.44!

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-19, 11:40:

Those are 32-pin headers, you need the 64-pin version.
I think this might work: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sa … 01-L-DV/1110195
Insanely expensive, though - 2 x $12.44!

You can get them super-cheap on ebay/aliexpress/etc. IF you can't find 64pin ones then just use two 32-pin ones 😀 (or one-and-a-bit 50-pin ones)

Eivind wrote on 2022-10-19, 11:40:

Those are 32-pin headers, you need the 64-pin version. I think this might work: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sa … […]
Show full quote

tabm0de wrote on 2022-10-19, 11:13:

I found some now when digi key site started to work .

https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-F-DV/6693679 but not in stock
https://www.digikey.se/en/products/detail/sam … 01-L-DV/1110211 is in stuck but a bit higher

Those are 32-pin headers, you need the 64-pin version.
I think this might work: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sa … 01-L-DV/1110195
Insanely expensive, though - 2 x $12.44!

I was just thinking about 2x32, did not think about "Number of Positions" for some reason.

rasteri wrote on 2022-10-19, 12:06:

You can get them super-cheap on ebay/aliexpress/etc. IF you can't find 64pin ones then just use two 32-pin ones 😀 (or one-and-a-bit 50-pin ones)

I'm sure you can, the trick is just finding one with the correct mating pin height - though, I suppose you could use longer pins, it just wouldn't look as good. 😜

Edit: If anyone can find one of these on Aliexpress (2-row, 64 position, 1.27mm row spacing, 1.27mm pitch, 2.50mm insulation height, 1.80mm mating pin height) that'd be awesome and I could add it to the BOM as an alternative to DMP's one.