Sunday with my SuperBoard II

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BillO
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm
Location: Canada
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Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by BillO »

Update: 2019/12/09
Finally got around to making up some new boards. Now in RED. Contact me through PM if you want one.

Image


Update: 2015/07/16
The boards are in from manufacture!! I have built one of each and extensively tested the RAM only board.

Here is what the RAM only board looks like
ME10.jpg
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Built up
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And in my 600B
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This is what you'll need to build one
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SMBE Parts list

1 - Bare SBME board (supplied)
1 - SMBE-GLU GAL (supplied)
1 - Winbond W24257AK 32k static RAM (or equivalent)
1 - 20-pin DIP socket
1 - 28-pin DIP socket (narrow)
1 - 2N7000 MOSFET
2 - 0.1uF ceramic capacitors
4 - 10-pin female headers with long pins
1 - 3-pin male header
1 - jumper block

They are ready to go out to anyone that wants one. 6 have already gone, so that leaves 4. You can contact me here via PM to get them, or simply go here: http://oms.onebytecpu.com/catalog/vintage.php



Here is what the RAM/EPROM board looks like. Unfortunately there was SNAFU with the silk screen gerber file and the whole thing just got painted white. In any case, you can refer to the layout near the bottom of this post for more information.
ME14.jpg
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For building this one I pulled the plastic off the female headers once they were soldered in and cut the contacts off the top of the board.
ME16.jpg
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And I used a ZIF socket and a right-angle header for the expansion bus pass -through. I had to solder in the resistor and one of the bypass caps from the bottom to get the ZIF socket on.
ME17.jpg
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This is basically what you'll need to build one.
ME15.jpg
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SMBE+ Parts list

1 - Bare SBME+ board (supplied)
1 - SMBE+-GLU GAL (supplied)
1 - Winbond W24257AK 32k static RAM (or equivalent)
1 - 2764 EPROM
1 - 20-pin DIP socket
1 - 28-pin DIP socket (narrow)
1 - 28-pin DIP socket (wide)
1 - 2K 1/4 watt resistor
4 - 0.1uF ceramic capacitors
4 - 10-pin female headers with long pins
1 - 20x2 male header
2 - 3-pin male headers
2 - jumper blocks




Update: 2015/06/24
I've gotten my KLyball replica 600D completed and tested. My memory expansion prototype works without error on it in all modes (both as expansion and as the sole memory). I'll be sending both models off for manufacture of a small quantity (10 each) shortly. Once I get them back and build up a sample of each for final test, I'll update all the pictures and code below. I'll also put them up on my website for sale to buyers in the US and Canada. Everyone else can contact me through PM or at the email on my website. The reason for this is that the Paypal checkout cannot correctly calculate shipping outside the US and Canada. The RAM only bare board with a programmed PLD will be $5 + shipping, the RAM/ROM bare board with programmed PLD will be $7 + shipping. Shipping anywhere in the US and Canada will be $5. Other countries will be a bit higher.

Update: 2015/05/04
I'M not having much luck tracking down the source of the errors with the memory board. However, the design is so simple and I have used it successfully before with a Superboard and with various other computer including a SYM-1, and I have also checked it over and over again for shorts or other problems, that now I suspect my Superboard. The memory errors occur in roughly the same blocks in memory. The blocks may only vary by a few bytes here and there. The error rate is also dependent on the CPU used. I get the most errors with a NMOS cpu, far less with and older R65C02, and the fewest using a WDC65C02. The nature of the errors is such that it appears that writing to certain locations causes the data to be written to more than one location. In trying to track down exactly where this happens and what is causing it I found two faults on the Superboard. One memory chip was holding A6 low (so low I am surprised it worked at all) and a bad socket that had a significant resistance in one pin (~5K ohms), however, these problems did not effect the memory errors. Right now I have a program running to try to determine where/how these errors are being caused, but it is taking a long time to run. In any case, I have a set of Klyball's replica boards, so I am working hard to get the 600D replica up and running to test the memory board prototype on that. At this point I'm just waiting on some of the harder to find parts.

Update: 2015/04/25
Okay, back from both my trips, but I have some troubling news. For some very strange and odd reason, I am having random errors on the expansion card. This is driving me nuts as the basic design is taken from the expansion module I created about a million years ago. The only change is using the PLD for glue, which should make things even better as it's faster than the gates and 74LS138 I used before. I mean, this is butt simple!!! Next step is to scope the 5V bus for noise. Even if I see nothing, I'll use more 0.1uF caps and remove the ferrite bead on the supply line (even though it worked in the stone age!). Any and all suggestions welcome!

Update: 20015/03/08
Things continue to progress.
I have added the ability to locate the RAM at $0000 or $2000 on both boards as suggested by Steve Gray. I thought this was a good idea and will help out those who have only 4K, no memory or non-functioning mmemory. Just make sure the ram on the main board is removed, and you will get 32K of RAM.
I recently noticed that the is a hole in the MB between the expansion connector and keyboard that is used to mount the 600 board into a C1P cabinet. right now, both of my layouts cover that hole, so I'm going to have to re-do them. No big deal, but I'm not going to be able to get to it for a little while as I'm going on vacation on the 13th and have much to do before I go.


Update: 20015/02/22

Things have progressed and now there are two board designs.

This is the unit with RAM and EPROM. There is a pair of jumpers to chose between ram only (for a total of up to 40K) or up to 32K of RAM (for a total of 32K) and 8K of EPROM. With this one I have changed the pass-through expansion connector to a dual-inline 40-pin header. This will allow the use of far more common 40-pin IDC connectors. The DD line is split and run through the PLD to allow logically 'OR-ing' the DD signal from any further I/O with that of the memory board itself. The incoming DD line has a 2K pull-up to facilitate OR tying other I/O using open collector devices or small transistors. With this final version, I added some configurable jumper points so that small traces can be cut so that other signals can be potentially brought out the Expansion connector. Here are the schematic and layout.
ME6.jpg
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This was supposed to be how the silk screen looked, but something weird happened when DipTrace wrote the gerber file. You can see the result in the pictures at the top of this post. You will need to use this layout for proper assembly.
ME7.jpg
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Here's the code for the RAM/EPROM board.

Code: Select all

Name     SBME_PLUS_GLU ;
PartNo   002 ;
Date     7/21/2015 ;
Revision 01 ;
Designer Bill ;
Company  BOP ;
Assembly SBME+ ;
Location  ;
Device   g16v8a ;

/* *************** INPUT PINS *********************/
PIN   2  =  A15                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   3  =  A14                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   4  =  A13                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   5  =  Phi2                      ; /* Phase 2 clock                   */ 
PIN   6  =  !WE                       ; /* R/W from CPU                    */
PIN   7  =  SEL                       ; /* RAM/EPROM or RAM only           */
PIN   8  =  !DDI                      ; /* Data Direction In               */
PIN   9  =  LCN                       ; /* RAM Location jumper             */

/* *************** OUTPUT PINS *********************/
PIN   12  =  !RAM                     ; /* RAM Chip Enable                 */ 
PIN   13  =  !OE                      ; /* Memory Ouput Enable             */ 
PIN   14  =  !P2RW                    ; /* Phase 2 qualified Write Enable  */ 
PIN   15  =  EA14                     ; /* A14 to Memory                   */
PIN   16  =  EA13                     ; /* A13 to Memory                   */
PIN   17  =  !ROM                     ; /* EPROM Chip Enable               */
PIN   18  =  !DDO                     ; /* Data Direction Out              */


/*Intermediate Values */

a = LCN & !SEL & (A15 $ (A14 # A13))
  # LCN & SEL & !A15 & (A14 # A13)
  # !LCN & !A15;

b = SEL & A15 & !A14 & !A13;

/* Output Definitions */
P2RW = Phi2 & WE;
RAM = a;
ROM = b;
OE = (a # b) & Phi2 & !WE;

DDO = DDI # (a # b) & !WE;

EA13 = LCN & (!A15 & A14 & !A13 # A15 & !A14 & !A13)
     # !LCN & A13;

EA14 = LCN & (!A15 & A14 & A13 # A15 & !A14 & !A13)
     # !LCN & A14;

Here is the board with just RAM. This one has the advantage of being tiny. It allows the 32K of ram to be placed either at $0000 or at $2000.
ME8.jpg
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In the manufactured boards the address are not readily visible. Use this diagram to better see the jumper positions.
ME9.jpg
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And here is the CUPL code for the RAM only board

Code: Select all

Name     SBME_GLU ;
PartNo   002 ;
Date     7/16/2015 ;
Revision 01 ;
Designer Bill ;
Company  OMS ;
Assembly SBME ;
Location  ;
Device   g16v8a ;

/* *************** INPUT PINS *********************/
PIN   2  =  A15                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   3  =  A14                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   4  =  A13                       ; /* Address from CPU                */ 
PIN   5  =  Phi2                      ; /* Phase 2 clock                   */ 
PIN   6  =  !RW                       ; /* R/W from CPU                    */
PIN   7  =  LCN                       ; /* Location jumper                 */

/* *************** OUTPUT PINS *********************/
PIN   12  =  !CE                      ; /* Memory Chip Enable              */ 
PIN   13  =  !OE                      ; /* Memory Ouput Enable             */ 
PIN   14  =  !P2RW                    ; /* Phase 2 qualified Write Enable  */ 
PIN   15  =  EA14                     ; /* A14 to Memory                   */
PIN   16  =  EA13                     ; /* A13 to Memory                   */
PIN   17  =  DD                       ; /* Data direction                  */


/*Intermediate Values */

a = LCN & (A15 $ (A14 # A13))
  # !LCN & !A15;

/* Output Definitions */
P2RW = Phi2 & RW;
CE = a;
OE = a & Phi2 & !RW;

DD = a & !RW;

EA13 = LCN & (!A15 & A14 & !A13
     # A15 & !A14 & !A13)
     # !LCN & A13;

EA14 = LCN & (!A15 & A14 & A13
     # A15 & !A14 & !A13)
     # !LCN & A14;

Original Post 2015/02/16

So, early yesterday while spending quality time with my 600, I yet again, for the thousandth time, got that dreaded out of memory error. Well, I decided I was tired of seeing that. It's not as though I write huge programs or anything, but a lot of the stuff I do requires numerical arrays. They eat memory quickly, so 8K just evaporates in no time. Anyway, I decided to take off my software nerd cap and put on my hardware nerd cap and put my mind to expanding the memory a little bit. Rummaging through my parts drawers I found a Winbond W24257AK-15 (32k x 8 CMOS SRAM - 15ns), a Lattice GAL16V8D (PLD) for 'glue', some 10-pin stackable headers (all the rage with the Ardu-weenies) and a suitable piece of DIP PCB. The PLD was used to decode the the /CE & /OE, translate the addressing and provide a Phi2 qualified R/W signal. Pin 11 of the 40-pin socket (J1) is jumpered to the adjacent 5V bus. The result ... by 4:00 pm I had 40191 bytes free on a cold boot! The pictures below tell the story. I've included the CUPL code for the PLD. I've not yet done a schematic, but will when I get time.

If anyone is interested, I'd be willing to have a PCB board made up and supply pre-programed PLDs. But I'd have to have at least 9 other people commit to it to make it worth while. Not sure exactly what the cost would be, but if enough people are interested I'll figure it 0ut. Can't see it being much though. The PLDs cost about $2, shipping anywhere in north America is about $5, the rest of the world for under $10, the PCB I'm guessing would be about $10 or less.
ME1.jpg
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Last edited by BillO on Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:08 pm, edited 26 times in total.
Box stock Superboard II Rev. B
KLyball replica 600D, replica 610 & KLyball Data Separator
OMS SBME and SBME+ memory cards
OMS Digi-Mule expansion bus
KLyball memory card
stm
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by stm »

That looks great! I'd be definitely interested.

Do I see it correctly that this plugs into the expansion socket, and that the socket on top of your board can still be used for other expansions?
C1P Model 600 CPU 1978 REV B, 40K (8K original and 32K BillO memory expansion), RS-232
Maintainer of cc65 OSI target and llvm-mos-sdk C1P target
Jeff
Posts: 370
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2014 4:44 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by Jeff »

Interested!

I wonder if this can also be adapted to the C4P. I have one of those with only 8K as well!

/Jeff
Image
MK14HAK
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:49 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by MK14HAK »

Interested too.
Ive had a ROM RAM board design kicking around for a while now. Its taken me an age to get a paddle/data separator board done with Phils help but that's now shortly to go to the PCB manufacturer ( allows standard floppy attachment 5 and 8" ). So maybe I would run with your design to speed things up.
Are you interested to go a bit further with this and add 8K ROM socket @$8000 (optional) and 40 pin expansion with DD gating. ?
This allows use of Premier ROMS B5 Toolkit Exmon and User code in ROM and expansion for other goodies. ( FDC, sound board etc)
Mike
600RevB:16K,2MHz,64x32,470,CEGMON
SuperKit:502,540B,542B,CEGMON, 8" and 5" FDDs
Cards:PE IO,6522 D-A-D, AY3-8910,ProgramGraphics,Color,UK101
WIP:HexDOS,FDD Emulator
MK14HAK
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:49 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by MK14HAK »

Another alternative if Grant is willing to share the 610 netlist is to add your memory and decoder to the 610 FDC circuitry along with ROM , sound and 40 pin expansion. That would be very useful. Anyone ??
Grant has also hinted at colour. I wonder what that entails ?

Mike
600RevB:16K,2MHz,64x32,470,CEGMON
SuperKit:502,540B,542B,CEGMON, 8" and 5" FDDs
Cards:PE IO,6522 D-A-D, AY3-8910,ProgramGraphics,Color,UK101
WIP:HexDOS,FDD Emulator
BillO
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by BillO »

stm wrote:That looks great! I'd be definitely interested.

Do I see it correctly that this plugs into the expansion socket, and that the socket on top of your board can still be used for other expansions?
Yes, it plugs into the 40-pin expansion socket and provides a feed-through socket on top. With this in place RAM fills from $0000 to $9FFF. A full 40K. Right up to the BASIC ROM. There are still tons of space in the memory map for further expansion ($C000 - $CFFF, $DF01 - $EFFF, $F002 - $F7FF).
Box stock Superboard II Rev. B
KLyball replica 600D, replica 610 & KLyball Data Separator
OMS SBME and SBME+ memory cards
OMS Digi-Mule expansion bus
KLyball memory card
BillO
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by BillO »

Jeff wrote:Interested!

I wonder if this can also be adapted to the C4P. I have one of those with only 8K as well!

/Jeff
If the pin-out of the C4P expansion socket is the same as the C1/SB and it's memory map is open from $2000 to $9FFF, then it should work just fine. Keep in mind, pin-11 of the expansion socket needs to be connected to 5V to supply power to the board.
Box stock Superboard II Rev. B
KLyball replica 600D, replica 610 & KLyball Data Separator
OMS SBME and SBME+ memory cards
OMS Digi-Mule expansion bus
KLyball memory card
BillO
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by BillO »

MK14HAK wrote:Interested too.
Ive had a ROM RAM board design kicking around for a while now. Its taken me an age to get a paddle/data separator board done with Phils help but that's now shortly to go to the PCB manufacturer ( allows standard floppy attachment 5 and 8" ). So maybe I would run with your design to speed things up.
Are you interested to go a bit further with this and add 8K ROM socket @$8000 (optional) and 40 pin expansion with DD gating. ?
This allows use of Premier ROMS B5 Toolkit Exmon and User code in ROM and expansion for other goodies. ( FDC, sound board etc)
Mike
This board adds 32K to the 8K that is already there so it fills the map out to $9FFF. It already does the DD gating via the /OE signal. I could consider another board that uses the same 32K RAM with but adds a socket for an 8K EPROM, but it would require removing the 8K on the 600 board. That would give 32K RAM instead of the 40K RAM.
Box stock Superboard II Rev. B
KLyball replica 600D, replica 610 & KLyball Data Separator
OMS SBME and SBME+ memory cards
OMS Digi-Mule expansion bus
KLyball memory card
BillO
Posts: 216
Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by BillO »

MK14HAK wrote:Another alternative if Grant is willing to share the 610 netlist is to add your memory and decoder to the 610 FDC circuitry along with ROM , sound and 40 pin expansion. That would be very useful. Anyone ??
Grant has also hinted at colour. I wonder what that entails ?

Mike
Where does the FDC I/O go in the memory map?
Box stock Superboard II Rev. B
KLyball replica 600D, replica 610 & KLyball Data Separator
OMS SBME and SBME+ memory cards
OMS Digi-Mule expansion bus
KLyball memory card
nama
Posts: 357
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:44 am
Location: New Zealand
Contact:

Re: Sunday with my SuperBoard II

Post by nama »

I'd be keen on anything new made for the C1/2/4...so count me in
:-)

2P (1mhz 32k) - 502 + 8k + CEGMON + garbage collector fix BASIC, D&N MEM-CM9 + 24k, 540 (mono) [SOLD]
4PMF (2mhz 24k) - 505, 540, 527, D13 + 5.25" + Gotek
Superboard RevD - CEGMON + 610 board 24k + D13
Spares - 3 x 527, 1 x 505, Backplane
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