Who wants IDE drives on the PCW?

[JonB]

Mark, have you been smoking toenails again?   

[Bryce]

Oh my, he's on about Trimmer again almost as bad as going on about Rimmer....!

It's cold outside
There's no kind of atmosphere
We're all alone
More or less

Let me fly
Far far away from here
Fun fun fun
In the sun sun sun

I want to lie
Shipwrecked and comatouse
Drinking fresh mango juice
Gold fish shoals nipping at my toes

Fun fun fun
In the sun sun sun
Fun fun fun
In the sun sun sun...

Mark

Tell your dealer to put me down for 5 gramms of whatever you're on Must be good stuff.

Bryce.

[JonB]

Bryce, it's probably parsley, pulled from a hedgerow in Somerset.

[SteveH]

@JonB

Quick question about the uIDE-8 BOM.  C1 and C2 are listed as radial ceramic caps, but your notes say tantalum preferred.  Assusming they are just for decoupling, wouldn't you want non-polarised caps?  i.e. not tantalums.

[JonB]

Yes, no tants.

[JonB]

Another wrinkle for self builders.


Due to a problem with the circuit implemented by R5, R6 and Q1 (a single NOT gate which worked for the prototype and first production builds but only if a certain brand of 74LS02 was used), I have had to remove these components and substitute them with a single inverter IC - SN74LVC1G04DBVR, which costs 23p from Farnell: http://uk.farnell.com/texas-instruments/sn74lvc1g04dbvr/ic-inverter-single-smd-sot-23/dp/1287591. The BOM on the WIKI page is updated.

This tiny IC should fit directly on the Collector / Emitter pads of Q1 if oriented correctly; then two jump leads are needed to connect pins on the IC to nearby pads.

I ordered a bunch of these ICs and will try it out. If successful I'll post details of the fitting method.

(If you ordered an assembled board, this doesn't affect you, because I'll fit it myself.)


Oh, the joys of prototyping and production... 

[JonB]

Some more boards arrived today. They are the original batch that I thought were wrongly specified. But they look OK.


[attach=2]


So now I have about 45 uIDE-8 cards...


[attach=3]


Quite a few!

[JonB]

Update on the single inverter fix for TI '02s - it didn't work.


So I took a look at the datasheet for the Mitsubishi part and discovered it has a very high propagation rate (for an LS part), so I am now thinking I should try a high speed ALS '02.



That's next on the list. Please don't order any parts from the BOM until I know what works and what doesn't...

[Edit: Some 74ALS02s arrived today but they didn't work, either. They are even slower than the LS02 in my prototype, so I have had a good look at the propagation times for various 74--02s. There is a huge range of timings between the different manufacturers, but it is looking like the part should be a 74F02 ("fast"). I'll get one and try it.]Cheers
JonB

[JonB]

Well, turns out you can use cpmtools to access files on the uIDE image, so I have updated the wiki page to show you how. It also has the uIDE download files, and shows you how to get the uide image onto a CF card or DOM.


With these instructions and utilities, you can copy stuff to / from your PCW's uIDE drive without using a serial interface.


http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/UIDE_Universal_IDE_adapter_cards_for_Z-80_computers

[JonB]

Hi all

I have now solved the 74LS02 problem with the uIDE-8 board and as a result will soon be building them to send to those who asked for assembled units. I will reach out to you all (including board only guys) via PM to ask for order confirmation of the items you wanted and give a PP address for payment. Self builders should use a 74F02 for U2 and the BOM has been updated accordingly. The transistorised inverter stays as-is.

While you're waiting, please review the information on the wiki page as there are some things you can do now to prepare for your board (such as enter the BASIC program to get the driver onto a floppy disk and - if you are not having a DOM - sort out a transfer cable to get the image onto your CF card or DOM). You should also check you have a 40 way IDC cable to connect uIDE to your ExpensionPort adapter or Z80 LHS Shim. As I explain on the wiki page, this is just a bog standard IDE cable such as you will find in any old PC.

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/UIDE_Universal_IDE_adapter_cards_for_Z-80_computers

Thank you for your patience!

Cheers all
JonB

[greatwolf1283]

Excellent news Jon.  Bet you're really pleased that the bugs have been ironed out.  Must say my PCW8256 is really looking forward to having it's one fitted.

[JonB]

Bet you're really pleased that the bugs have been ironed out.

Too right! There's nothing worse than thinking all is fine and dandy, then discovering a so called "standard" part insn't. So the lesson here, kids, is "always read the datasheets"!

[SteveH]

Well done Jon.   

Just curious, what is the difference between the F and the LS part that makes the difference?

<edit>
Forget the question - I should have read the updated Wiki first 
</edit>

[JonB]

For the benefit of our thread lurkers, the answer is "speed", or more correctly "propagation time". The F part is about 4 times faster than the LS part. My prototype was built with an uncommonly fast LS part made by Mistsubishi. That was very lucky, because if I couldn't get the prototype going I wouldn't be offering them to other people.


Anyway, it's a great relief to get to the bottom of this and move forward with the project. 

[JonB]

Oh heck, more bad news. This is beginning to be a habit!


There's a pair of mistakes on the PCW Expansion board's video circuit. To fix them, run jumper wires from

   
• Expansion port connector Pin 44 to U1 pin 1
• Expansion port connector Pin 46 to U1 pin 4

Like this: http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/File:PCW_Expansion_port_adapter_video_fix.JPG


However, once fixed, it works nicely: http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/File:PCW_Expansion_port_video.JPG

If you wanted an assembled board, I will do this and you need not worry.


Really sorry about this. I updated the Wiki page, too.


Cheers
JonB

[JonB]

uIDE Wiki page now has postage prices.

[JonB]

More board pr0n..


[attach=2]

[Sebastian Blanco]

So sexyyyyyyyyyy 

[JonB]

Wait till you see it working on your own machine.


Powwwwwwwwwweeeerrrrr!! 

[sucram]

Hello Jon,

great job, the uIDE drives very well with my PCW 8512! 
First I had problems because of the CP/M version J14GCPM.EMS, but with J15CPM the XDRV.FID works.

A question:
Does anyone have a German version of the file J15CPM? Unfortunately the keyboard layout does not fit.


Best regards,
Marcus

[JonB]

I've got one somewhere... hang on..


Oh no, that's for the 6128. Tried Googling for it?

[sucram]

I've got one somewhere... hang on..


Oh no, that's for the 6128. Tried Googling for it?

Unfortunately, google has found nothing useful.
If necessary, I will define with setkeys something.

[JonB]

Yeah, put it in your PROFILE.SUB on A:, but call C:SETKEYS for speed.

That's what I do in mine:

Code Select Expand


C:SANSERIF
C:SETDEF M:,C:,* [ORDER = (SUB,COM)]
C: SETSIO 9600 HANDSHAKE OFF


The first line sets a nice font.
Second sets up the search order for COM and SUB files: M: first, then C: then default; SUBMIT files first, then COM files.
Third line sets up my serial port adapter.

Because the COM files are on C: it is much faster.

[sucram]

Now I have define a setkeys-file for the german keybord.

I add the two following lines to the profile.sub:

Code Select Expand


C:LANGUAGE 2
C:SETKEYS TASTATUR.PCW


[JonB]

Hi Sucram


Could you share more of your experience with uIDE? What type of bus cable are you using?