VOGONS


First post, by Xanxi

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Hi there.

I have this card here which i believe empty sockets at U20 and U21 are for CMS chips upgrade.

032_ati_05a_vgastereo_fx.jpg

I have bought these CMS chips.

IMG-9337.jpg

Could someone tell me which one i should plug in which socket please? Don't want to risk damaging that precious board.

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by Xanxi on 2023-06-10, 14:52. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 8, by Grzyb

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Isn't it obvious?
There's no socket for the GAL, so you don't need it.
And both SAA chips are the same.

Just be careful about orientation.

Nie tylko, jak widzicie, w tym trudność, że nie zdołacie wejść na moją górę, lecz i w tym, że ja do was cały zejść nie mogę, gdyż schodząc, gubię po drodze to, co miałem donieść.

Reply 3 of 8, by keropi

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Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:10:

Ok thanks.
Didn't know the chips were the same, they have different markings.

How come this card does not need the GAL anyway?

the important thing is the SAA1099P marking, the rest are datecodes/factory codes
the GAL is not needed just like the original SB1.0/1.5 cards which this is a clone of
do you also have the original breakout box ?

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 4 of 8, by Xanxi

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keropi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:22:
the important thing is the SAA1099P marking, the rest are datecodes/factory codes the GAL is not needed just like the original S […]
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Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:10:

Ok thanks.
Didn't know the chips were the same, they have different markings.

How come this card does not need the GAL anyway?

the important thing is the SAA1099P marking, the rest are datecodes/factory codes
the GAL is not needed just like the original SB1.0/1.5 cards which this is a clone of
do you also have the original breakout box ?

Hi Keropi.

No i haven't the breakout cable, and remember you were kind enough to modify that board for me about 12 years ago. You made a jack line out through the metal bracket and it also has a 3 pin cable to possibly connect it to the internal header of an Amiga 4000 motherboard 😀

Reply 5 of 8, by Scali

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Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:10:

How come this card does not need the GAL anyway?

It's not entirely clear why Creative chose to use a GAL, and make it part of the optional package for CMS.
The SAA1099 chips don't specifically need a GAL to use them (the original GameBlaster/CMS card doesn't have it either). You just need some basic logic to decode the address and have some registers that allows software to autodetect a GameBlaster or compatible card.
For the SB 2.0 with optional CMS, Creative decided to implement this logic in an optional GAL chip. Possibly to force people to buy the SAA1099 chips from Creative, as you could just get them directly from Philips anyway.
But now you were dependent on the GAL.
The ATi card will already have the required logic on board, and the sockets appear to only be for the two SAA1099 chips (which are identical).

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 6 of 8, by keropi

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Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:48:

Hi Keropi.

No i haven't the breakout cable, and remember you were kind enough to modify that board for me about 12 years ago. You made a jack line out through the metal bracket and it also has a 3 pin cable to possibly connect it to the internal header of an Amiga 4000 motherboard 😀

ah! I totally forgot that it was you that bought the card 🤣
last year I got a 2nd one , I cannot escape the VGA Stereo/FX allure for more than a decade or so 🤣

🎵 🎧 PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 7 of 8, by Xanxi

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keropi wrote on 2023-06-10, 15:49:
Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:48:

Hi Keropi.

No i haven't the breakout cable, and remember you were kind enough to modify that board for me about 12 years ago. You made a jack line out through the metal bracket and it also has a 3 pin cable to possibly connect it to the internal header of an Amiga 4000 motherboard 😀

ah! I totally forgot that it was you that bought the card 🤣
last year I got a 2nd one , I cannot escape the VGA Stereo/FX allure for more than a decade or so 🤣

Nope you didn't sell it to me, i think i bought it from Ebay, but you made the mod for me.

Reply 8 of 8, by Xanxi

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Scali wrote on 2023-06-10, 15:09:
It's not entirely clear why Creative chose to use a GAL, and make it part of the optional package for CMS. The SAA1099 chips don […]
Show full quote
Xanxi wrote on 2023-06-10, 14:10:

How come this card does not need the GAL anyway?

It's not entirely clear why Creative chose to use a GAL, and make it part of the optional package for CMS.
The SAA1099 chips don't specifically need a GAL to use them (the original GameBlaster/CMS card doesn't have it either). You just need some basic logic to decode the address and have some registers that allows software to autodetect a GameBlaster or compatible card.
For the SB 2.0 with optional CMS, Creative decided to implement this logic in an optional GAL chip. Possibly to force people to buy the SAA1099 chips from Creative, as you could just get them directly from Philips anyway.
But now you were dependent on the GAL.
The ATi card will already have the required logic on board, and the sockets appear to only be for the two SAA1099 chips (which are identical).

Yep, so if someone need that GAL chip, he can have it from me for free as i won't need it.