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Simmconn AWE64 Adapter

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Reply 280 of 549, by the Goat

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Batyra wrote:
With a great thanks to Dreamblaster, I had an opportunity to test Gold and Universal SimmConn Revival on my AWE 64. […]
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With a great thanks to Dreamblaster, I had an opportunity to test Gold and Universal SimmConn Revival on my AWE 64.

[snip]

So all 30 tests were 100% succesfull! Of course each time I uploaded soundfont to see it the memory is fully "usable".

It seems that SimmConn Revival Gold and Universal works! And it should works with most of, if not all 32MB duble sided memory sticks.

In my opinion there should't be any jumpers setings etc. Just fixed 32mb - but as I said - that's my point of view.

Wow. Very thorough analysis. Thank you for dedicating the time and effort. Great results too.

Reply 282 of 549, by dreamblaster

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Thanks Batyra for the extensive testing!!
It seems the universal is a good choice, if someone wants a universal instead of his previous reservation, please PM me.
Also at this moment still some additional reservations (max 15) possible, just PM me.
I will contact you individually when the boards are ready.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
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New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
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Reply 283 of 549, by cyclone3d

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Awesome. Good to hear.

Thanks to all who are working and testing for this project.

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Reply 284 of 549, by appiah4

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I guess I should report the memory that worked with my Value board:

32MB SIMM with 16 Vanguard VG2617405DJ modules, double sided.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 285 of 549, by gerwin

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gerwin wrote:

Nice work, as always! If you happen to have one SimmConn to spare in the future, maybe I should upgrade my dusty AWE64Gold.

Reading the reports, it seems like the 'universal' type is preferable, compared to a Gold-specific one.

--> ISA Soundcard Overview // Doom MBF 2.04 // SetMul

Reply 286 of 549, by Kodai

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If its not to late, I would like to reserve two universal kits (I'll do my own soldering). I know I would like to buy a couple other items from the shop, so let me know when to make payment for combined shipping.

Reply 287 of 549, by dreamblaster

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Kodai wrote:

If its not to late, I would like to reserve two universal kits (I'll do my own soldering). I know I would like to buy a couple other items from the shop, so let me know when to make payment for combined shipping.

Hey
okay reserved.
I will PM you when the kits are ready (waiting for more PCB's).
if you like other stuff you can just pm me anytime, i will add it to your reservation

THANKS !
Serge

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 289 of 549, by derSammler

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Tested the Value SimmConn adapter on two slightly different AWE64 cards yesterday (CT4380 + CT4500), works great. Only tested with 32 MB so far, but I guess most people will not go lower anyway. 😁

Reply 290 of 549, by sunaiac

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Serge,

I would take one universal module if still available.

Regards;

R9 3900X/X470 Taichi/32GB 3600CL15/5700XT AE/Marantz PM7005
i7 980X/R9 290X/X-Fi titanium | FX-57/X1950XTX/Audigy 2ZS
Athlon 1000T Slot A/GeForce 3/AWE64G | K5 PR 200/ET6000/AWE32
Ppro 200 1M/Voodoo 3 2000/AWE 32 | iDX4 100/S3 864 VLB/SB16

Reply 291 of 549, by firage

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Could someone please measure the installed height from the AWE64 PCB to the top of the SIMM? Also give us the height of the module used. Thank you!

There's 33mm between the top ISA slot and bottom (non-shared) PCI slot. A flat enough PCI card might fit if the contraption is less than that, otherwise it takes a very low profile PCI card.

Last edited by firage on 2017-10-04, 07:31. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 292 of 549, by dreamblaster

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sunaiac wrote:

Serge,

I would take one universal module if still available.

Regards;

OK, reserved !

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 293 of 549, by appiah4

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firage wrote:

Could someone please measure the installed height from the AWE64 PCB to the top of the SIMM? Also give us the height of the module used. Thank you!

There's 33mm between the top ISA slot and bottom (non-shared) PCI slot. A flat enough PCI card might fit if the contraption is less than that, otherwise it takes a very low profile PCI card.

I can report that in this configuration, you can populate both PCI 4 and ISA 2 with the SIMMCONN and a 32MB module (average height). I use it this way with a Matrox G450 VGA card in PCI4, passive cooling. Since the SIMM socket is angled, the thing does not add much more thickness than a wavetable daughterboard.

===== PCI 1

===== PCI 2

===== PCI 3

===== PCI 4
====== ==== ISA 1 (shared)

====== ==== ISA 2

====== ==== ISA 3

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Reply 294 of 549, by betamax80

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From my experiences I would advise against using the shared PCI / ISA slot as they have shared resources, and it's not quite "true" ISA (uses PCI reserved IRQs, may not be able to secure and int. etc). The first ISA slot (eg ISA 3 in the diagram) seems to be the best option for compatibility. With ISA if there are device conflicts (or strange behaviour with the SIMMconn "loaded" eg with soundfont) such as crashing on game start under DOS, try moving the card physically to another slot and then reinstalling the game.

Reply 295 of 549, by derSammler

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betamax80 wrote:

From my experiences I would advise against using the shared PCI / ISA slot as they have shared resources, and it's not quite "true" ISA

Any sources for that statement? They only share a slot bracket due to limited space, not resources.

Reply 296 of 549, by appiah4

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betamax80 wrote:

From my experiences I would advise against using the shared PCI / ISA slot as they have shared resources, and it's not quite "true" ISA (uses PCI reserved IRQs, may not be able to secure and int. etc). The first ISA slot (eg ISA 3 in the diagram) seems to be the best option for compatibility. With ISA if there are device conflicts (or strange behaviour with the SIMMconn "loaded" eg with soundfont) such as crashing on game start under DOS, try moving the card physically to another slot and then reinstalling the game.

Err.. They are not even on the same bus? And regardless, even if they shared IRQ's, you can't possibly populate both? Never had a single issue with this..

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 297 of 549, by firage

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I wouldn't expect there to be anything wrong with the shared slot in particular, especially if the board has true ISA and enough interrupts/bus mastering resources to spare for the last PCI slot. In general, the last of 5+ PCI slots might be a bus slave and sharing interrupts with other devices, which is still just fine for a Voodoo 1/2 for example.

appiah4 wrote:
I can report that in this configuration, you can populate both PCI 4 and ISA 2 with the SIMMCONN and a 32MB module (average heig […]
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firage wrote:

Could someone please measure the installed height from the AWE64 PCB to the top of the SIMM? Also give us the height of the module used. Thank you!

There's 33mm between the top ISA slot and bottom (non-shared) PCI slot. A flat enough PCI card might fit if the contraption is less than that, otherwise it takes a very low profile PCI card.

I can report that in this configuration, you can populate both PCI 4 and ISA 2 with the SIMMCONN and a 32MB module (average height). I use it this way with a Matrox G450 VGA card in PCI4, passive cooling. Since the SIMM socket is angled, the thing does not add much more thickness than a wavetable daughterboard.

===== PCI 1

===== PCI 2

===== PCI 3

===== PCI 4
====== ==== ISA 1 (shared)

====== ==== ISA 2

====== ==== ISA 3

That's promising, very good to hear. The 33mm distance is obviously the same whether it's ISA1 and PCI3, or ISA2 and PCI4.

My big-red-switch 486

Reply 298 of 549, by BloodyCactus

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Can I reserve 1 universal if there is still one left?

cheers!

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Reply 299 of 549, by appiah4

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Here's a visual proof of the fact:

med_gallery_60983_11505_288939.jpg

G450 in the PCI slot, AWE64 with SIMMCONN on the shared ISA/PCI slot below it, with a Yamaha ISA card below that.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.