Thanks for rising Prices for all 8Bit SB 2.0s!

Hi. Unfortunately these PLD equations (latest and previous Rado's versions) are NOT compatible with my SB 2.0 version 06938. Without the upgrade the card works flawlessly. When the upgrade is installed the computer hangs under "paku /cms" at the message "Starting sound". Under Sound Blaster Test Program 1.91 the computer hangs at any FM output test. Tested under pure MSDOS on 386 DX 40 MHz and 386 SX 40/20 MHz motherboards. The hang is most likely at ISA bus level since no reboot is possible. Haven't tried the Chuck(G)'s PLD version yet but already have read it is not compatible with 06938.

Hi, I upgraded lots of 06xxxs and there was never a problem.
The issue you describe is usually caused by choosing an incorrect GAL type when programming the GAL chip.
From my experience - I bought many GAL16V8B chips remarked as GAL16V8D from China and when I tried to program them as GAL16V8 (without the suffix), the upgrade failed in this exact way.

Rado

georgel wrote on 2021-01-29, 07:28:

Hi. Unfortunately these PLD equations (latest and previous Rado's versions) are NOT compatible with my SB 2.0 version 06938. Without the upgrade the card works flawlessly. When the upgrade is installed the computer hangs under "paku /cms" at the message "Starting sound". Under Sound Blaster Test Program 1.91 the computer hangs at any FM output test. Tested under pure MSDOS on 386 DX 40 MHz and 386 SX 40/20 MHz motherboards. The hang is most likely at ISA bus level since no reboot is possible. Haven't tried the Chuck(G)'s PLD version yet but already have read it is not compatible with 06938.

Hi, I am very experienced with these PLDs since I make my own devices with them. I tried with AMD PALCE 16V8H -25 and with Lattice GAL16V8D-25 the results were the same. I have many more PLDs to try with but I am 100% sure the problem is not with the ICs themselves. I am using my reliable old professional HILO Programmer ALL-07C for years, so no issue there too. The PLDss are vintage and not recently purchased from Chinese remarked soldered crap sold on ebay (described as new as usual because nobody leaves negative feedback about these sellers!).

Ok.
Anyway, I don't believe there is any problem with the equations as I've already successfully upgraded hundreds of SB2.0s. Maybe you should use a logic analyzer to find out the real cause of the problem.

Btw, did you disconnect the CMSOFF jumper?

georgel wrote on 2021-01-29, 08:32:

Hi, I am very experienced with these PLDs since I make my own devices with them. I tried with AMD PALCE 16V8H -25 and with Lattice GAL16V8D-25 the results were the same. I have many more PLDs to try with but I am 100% sure the problem is not with the ICs themselves. I am using my reliable old professional HILO Programmer ALL-07C for years, so no issue there too. The ICs are vintage and not recently purchased from Chinese remarked soldered crap sold on ebay (described as new as usual because nobody leaves negative feedback about these sellers!).

Sure, while the kit is installed the jumper is removed and vice versa. I have a friend who purchased a kit from ebay recently, we will make some tests. I will report back after that. By the way, should the Gameblaster's TESTCARD.EXE utility recognize the CMS upgraded SB 2.0s? If you have any advice on which ports to write (or even read?!? despite SAA1099 is only write only) in order to do further testing, please go ahead.

An upgraded SB2.0 is not fully compatible with GameBlaster.
The CMS autodetection feature is not implemented in SB2.0, so the original GameBlaster's testcard utility will never detect an upgraded SB2.0.

The first SAA1099 occupies the I/O ports 2X0h and 2X1h and the second one occupies the ports 2X2h and 2X3h, and all of them are write-only. Feel free to connect a logic analyzer to the OPL2's and SAA1099's /CS and /WR inputs and see what's going on with your card. Maybe even a simple logic probe would do and you'd see a constant 0, should there be something wrong with the card's BIC.

georgel wrote on 2021-01-29, 09:04:

Sure, while the kit is installed the jumper is removed and vice versa. I have a friend who purchased a kit from ebay recently, we will make some tests. I will report back after that. Most likely your equations are not compatible with all SB 2.0s as you claim. By the way, should the Gameblaster's TESTCARD.EXE utility recognize the CMS upgraded SB 2.0s? If you have any advice on which ports to write (or even read?!? despite SAA1099 is only write only) in order to do further testing, please go ahead.

I can confirm for now that write accesses to ports 2x2 or 2x3 halt the machine. The 2x0 and 2x1 addresses do not exhibit this problem.

The ISA bus locks up because the IOCHRDY line doesn't return to a high level after writing to the second SAA.
Try swapping the SAA chips. Then, if the 2X0 or 2x1 would lock the system, the fault would be obvious.

Later you may also try disconnecting the /ENA_IOCHRDY (pin 9) from the socket and connecting it to VCC, it should stop locking the machine. But it won't magically repair any problems with the BIC or the SAAs.

georgel wrote on 2021-01-29, 10:01:

I can confirm for now that write accesses to ports 2x2 or 2x3 halt the machine. The 2x0 and 2x1 addresses do not exhibit this problem.

Thanks for your nice help. Problem solved -the defective SAA is from ebay (China refurbished soldered s..t) . Do you have any information about the autdoetection of Game Blaster? Can't this be fit into a more complicated device plugged into the PAL socket?

Yes, I know exactly how it works. The autodetection circuit is a simple 8-bit R/W register, nothing special.
Unfortunately, it's completely impossible to design a full CMS-upgrade daughterboard that would plug into the 3 sockets, because there is no chip-select signal for that register available, and, what is much worse, there would be an I/O address overlap with the remaining SB circuitry. Were it possible, I'd already have done that.

georgel wrote on 2021-01-29, 11:26:

Thanks for your nice help. Problem solved -the defective SAA is from ebay (China refurbished soldered s..t) . Do you have any information about the autdoetection of Game Blaster? Can't this be fit into a more complicated device plugged into the PAL socket?

Yes' I've already checked there is a conflict between the CMS detecting ports (2x6/7 & 2xA/B) and SB ports (reset and DSP data).

Hello,
I have a question about the cms upgrade. I now have a new GAL16V8D with the .jed file flashed. I also bought 2x2 philips Saa1099p from China. Unfortunately, after installing and testing, it did not work as it should.
I loaded the tsr and the game blaster function was recognized, with the address 220 (80h).
But when I start a game like monkey island with game blaster extension, all I hear is whistling, hissing, strange sounds. With FM there are no problems.
Could the SAA1099 from China be trash?

Dosler wrote on 2022-04-04, 10:34:

[...]
Could the SAA1099 from China be trash?

my money is on this , bad ICs from China is a common thing...

I think so too. But it will also be difficult to get this type of IC within the EU and then I still don't know if it will actually work.

I got mine from the bay a few years ago (2019) from this offer (also from China, though): 400343481835
They were all working fine and it seems they're still available. Definitely no guarantee, though, fakes can happen everywhere and anytime.

Thanks for the answers.
I ordered 4 more from the suggested retailer. I'll report back if it worked.
With regards

Hello, here comes the announced feedback. The new ic's don't work either. It just pops out of the speakers when I start Indy with the g parameter. Do I have to start a special tsr for the sb 2.0 (tried cmsdrv 3.20b)? Is there anything to watch out for when programming the gal? For example a different start address or set the lock bit. Greeting

Hi guys, sorry for the n00b question. I've only used my EPROM burner (TL 866 II Plus) to burn .bin files to my EPROMS etc. Do you burn a .JED file the same way as a .bin? Just needs to be opened and burned to the right IC template?
Thanks,

robbo007 wrote on 2023-03-15, 16:56:

Hi guys, sorry for the n00b question. I've only used my EPROM burner (TL 866 II Plus) to burn .bin files to my EPROMS etc. Do you burn a .JED file the same way as a .bin? Just needs to be opened and burned to the right IC template?
Thanks,

Yes. There are some additional options you can set (ie. Encryption so the file can't be dumped from the IC once written) but the default settings should work.