If the goal is preservation, it would maybe be better to preserve the original GUS (GF1 chip) because that one is more essential to run demo’s. And maybe reimplementation would also be a good idea because Interwave chips will not be around forever.

digistorm wrote on 2021-07-04, 13:32:

If the goal is preservation, it would maybe be better to preserve the original GUS (GF1 chip) because that one is more essential to run demo’s. And maybe reimplementation would also be a good idea because Interwave chips will not be around forever.

Yes I think the ultimate goal would be a fpga version of the GF1, hopefully one day someone with the talent and interest can do this.

Stiletto wrote on 2021-07-01, 23:10:

http://hackipedia.org/raw/Computer/Platform/PC,%20IBM%20compatible/Sound%20and%20Music/Advanced%20Micro%20Devices%20(AMD)/Interw […]
Show full quote

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-01, 21:01:

Does anyone have more information on the Am78C201 besides the simple pinout document that can be found everywhere. I have seen references to some Programmer's guide as well. And other documents I should be aware of?

http://hackipedia.org/raw/Computer/Plat ... on%202.pdf

The Interwave DDK (Driver Developer's Kit) and SDK (Software Developer's Kit) are also in the wild.

https://www.alsa-project.org/files/pub/manual … /gus/iw_ddk.zip

https://www.alsa-project.org/files/pub/manual … us/iw_sdk20.zip

I think that's about it, but it's been a while since I looked.

That was incredibly helpful. Thanks a lot!

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-04, 12:37:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-01, 21:01:

Alright, I suppose not. I started designing my own board.

Does anyone have more information on the Am78C201 besides the simple pinout document that can be found everywhere. I have seen references to some Programmer's guide as well. And other documents I should be aware of?

I'm not sure what type of board you plan to do (which ram etc) but the Gravis deserves to be an available card and open hardware with files that can be developed further. I feel like this is an important thing for the future of the demoscene and preservation. These photo's of the Gusar clone might help you along the way. I wish I had the original Philips board to scan but I don't (yet, am trying to buy one) right now none of the clone can be bought. so.. go forth

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z6dDm … R8s?usp=sharing

Hi and thanks! This might actually be something that I could work with.

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-08, 20:55:

Hi and thanks! This might actually be something that I could work with.

No problem, I hope they are good enough, let me know if not. The board (and photo) is 163.9mm x 100. If you get your design done and on github let me know also, it would be great to see it out there.

keropi wrote on 2021-07-02, 05:13:

Didn't some russian guy already made GUSAR that was basically an IW card initially cloning Argus and then moved to their own design?

Isn’t it Still the same design ?

matze79 wrote on 2021-07-08, 23:18:

keropi wrote on 2021-07-02, 05:13:

Didn't some russian guy already made GUSAR that was basically an IW card initially cloning Argus and then moved to their own design?

Isn’t it Still the same design ?

He has the GUSAR light which seems to be much the same as a Philips card I've seen. But yeah we are several clones deep by now. The problem is you can't actually get hold of any of them.

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-04, 12:37:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-01, 21:01:

Alright, I suppose not. I started designing my own board.

Does anyone have more information on the Am78C201 besides the simple pinout document that can be found everywhere. I have seen references to some Programmer's guide as well. And other documents I should be aware of?

I'm not sure what type of board you plan to do (which ram etc) but the Gravis deserves to be an available card and open hardware with files that can be developed further. I feel like this is an important thing for the future of the demoscene and preservation. These photo's of the Gusar clone might help you along the way. I wish I had the original Philips board to scan but I don't (yet, am trying to buy one) right now none of the clone can be bought. so.. go forth

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z6dDm … R8s?usp=sharing

Hey, do you have the BOM to these boards as well? And if you could take even more high-resolution images of the boards, that would be great. It's quite hard to see some of the part markings.

David

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-08, 23:03:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-08, 20:55:

Hi and thanks! This might actually be something that I could work with.

No problem, I hope they are good enough, let me know if not. The board (and photo) is 163.9mm x 100. If you get your design done and on github let me know also, it would be great to see it out there.

Don't matter the images, they are good enough. But what about the Bill of Materials? Do you have that too?

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-24, 10:33:

Don't matter the images, they are good enough. But what about the Bill of Materials? Do you have that too?

The BOM is already mentioned in this thread plenty of times, here's the link http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V. I can help you with close ups of some numbers on the board if you can't make them out.

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-24, 16:16:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-24, 10:33:

Don't matter the images, they are good enough. But what about the Bill of Materials? Do you have that too?

The BOM is already mentioned in this thread plenty of times, here's the link http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V. I can help you with close ups of some numbers on the board if you can't make them out.

That's the BOM for the Argus, not the Gusar, isn't it? Or is the Gusar just a subset of Argus so that the BOM applies to Gusar as well?

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-24, 18:37:

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-24, 16:16:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-24, 10:33:

Don't matter the images, they are good enough. But what about the Bill of Materials? Do you have that too?

The BOM is already mentioned in this thread plenty of times, here's the link http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V. I can help you with close ups of some numbers on the board if you can't make them out.

That's the BOM for the Argus, not the Gusar, isn't it? Or is the Gusar just a subset of Argus so that the BOM applies to Gusar as well?

They are both clones of the original and each other

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-24, 20:32:

kdehl wrote on 2021-07-24, 18:37:

elfoam wrote on 2021-07-24, 16:16:

The BOM is already mentioned in this thread plenty of times, here's the link http://bit.ly/2Ddf89V. I can help you with close ups of some numbers on the board if you can't make them out.

That's the BOM for the Argus, not the Gusar, isn't it? Or is the Gusar just a subset of Argus so that the BOM applies to Gusar as well?

They are both clones of the original and each other

Aha. I thought the Gusar was a smaller version of Argus. My bad.

I haven't been on Vogons since April, what's the status of the Argus?

digistorm wrote on 2021-07-04, 13:32:

If the goal is preservation, it would maybe be better to preserve the original GUS (GF1 chip) because that one is more essential to run demo’s. And maybe reimplementation would also be a good idea because Interwave chips will not be around forever.

eeguru from the vcfed forums is actively making just such a thing. You can have a look here for more info, the video is pretty long but interesting. :
https://www.schrankmonster.de/2019/10/15/one- … -rule-them-all/
It's gone rather quiet on that front though.

I'm finally getting my own card courtesy of someone on ebay selling this for a reasonable price. I never thought I'd find one. This thread has been great for figuring out how I could put 2MB of RAM on there instead of the currently empty 512KB RAM footprint. Really hoping it gets here in one piece and actually works:

Many thanks to shock__ for sharing some of the prototype pictures - this one here confirms that it's possible to get a 42pin soj working on the 40pin footprint as long as those extra address lines are hooked up without shorting VCC/ground:

It's kind of rekindled my interest in having a go at making my own one though, the chips can still be had internationally for about $20. There's enough info in this thread for the now no-longer-available gusar to have been made to a reasonable standard. Personally I'd like a combo OPL3-SAx & GuS if it's possible, kind of like a Gus extreme. With the pin density of the SMD chips, it would be worth learning how to use solder paste + stencil.
Also there are now quite a few cards I can look at for reference that aren't a GuS, there's this cool 8-bit ES1868 sound card: https://github.com/hkzlab/ES1868_ISA8 and some PC104 implementations of the later 'all-in-one' ISA soundchips like this one that rasteri shared after making one for his tinypc build 😀 : Open Source PC104 Soundcard

Hello everyone, I am new to the topic; I couldn't follow the discussion about availability of PCB. Can anyone clarify if a new batch of PCBs are in production or for order?

terryfi wrote on 2021-12-04, 00:31:

Hello everyone, I am new to the topic; I couldn't follow the discussion about availability of PCB. Can anyone clarify if a new batch of PCBs are in production or for order?

As far as I'm aware, the plan is to have a batch for previous donors/contributors first, which has yet to go ahead. Then, there may be more available generally (not for previous donors) afterwards. However, it is unclear if either is still planned, or if the project has been shelved indefinitely.

There might be a great demand after what i've seen on LGR twitter : https://twitter.com/lazygamereviews/status/14 … 908797729181696

Of course there is a demand for GUS. While I understand the project supporters should take priority; it is just matter of time someone else copy or do a new layout. As long as there is demand there will be some supply.

Saddly, given my crappy soldering skills, I myself can't do much but buy already surface-mounted boards (and perhaps only do the last few through-hole component myself).
I can only support such projects mostly with my wallet, but would gladly buy a couple a unit or two if new boards are produced.