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MegaFlash Progress

Started by Bryce, 20:25, 03 March 11

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OCT

Quote from: Bryce on 21:24, 01 July 11
A steampunk CPC [...] I've just decided what my next project is :)
As a tribute to Zuse, you'll have to rebuild the Z80 from postal relays and port Plankalkül to it of course. ;)
Oh and it does need Nixie tubes somewhere...
Unless you're only using cams (with cranks, for cranks ;)), in Babbage's Analytical Engine or even Posidonius' Antikythera Mechanism style. :D

Ythcal

QuoteA steampunk CPC, what a seriously cool idea. I think I've just decided what my next project is

Damn, I want to do this for a year now but had Not find the time and all parts yet...

spybro

@Bryce (the hardware magician)


have you made any rough estimation on the cost?


also


the rest of your ideas?are they still alive?any news on them?






SyX

I know that MegaFlash is a really sexy project, but this thread has changed to hardcore hardware porn with "a Steampunk CPC", "relays", "Plankalkül" and "Nixie tubes", we need a disk drive with a steam engine!!!  ;D

Quote from: Bryce on 21:24, 01 July 11
A steampunk CPC, what a seriously cool idea. I think I've just decided what my next project is :)
I think i've just decided to emigrate at Bryce town xDDDD

Bryce

#79
@Spybro: The MegaFlash will probably cost around €75 because I will have to have the PCBs produced professionally. But of course, all the plans / files will be online, so if you can make it yourself cheaper, then you can always do that.

Due to the fact that I have very little time at the moment (about 2 hours a week for CPC stuff), none of the other ideas have had any further work done on them up to now. My biggest and best ever project is due to be released in the next few weeks and it's taking so much of my time, that my CPC stuff has to take second place. More about that later though.

As far as Steampunk is concerned, I've never done anything Steampunk before, but I have this seriously cool antique Pifco All In One Multimeter (see picture below). It's real, it works and it seems to be made of brass. I've always wanted to integrate it into something Steampunkish, It would be pretty cool to display the 5V supply or the current consumption on a CPC. It was my Grandfathers (there's a long history of electronics in our family), but I'm sure he wouldn't mind it being put to good use :) It was made in 1930, but it's not worth that much, I've seen them go on ebay for €2.

Bryce.




TFM

#80
Quote from: MiguelSky on 23:00, 30 June 11
Please select the source ROM
Por favor, seleccione la ROM origen

Please select the target ROM
Por favor, seleccione la ROM destino

Btw, now that you are coding in RomManager: the entry of the File menu "Abrir ROM" needs to be changed to "Cargar ROM".

Thank's to both translators a whole lot!!! I will integrate that soon :-)
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

Gryzor

Quote from: Bryce on 16:01, 02 July 11
As far as Steampunk is concerned, I've never done anything Steampunk before, but I have this seriously cool antique Pifco All In One Multimeter (see picture below). It's real, it works and it seems to be made of brass. I've always wanted to integrate it into something Steampunkish, It would be pretty cool to display the 5V supply or the current consumption on a CPC. It was my Grandfathers (there's a long history of electronics in our family), but I'm sure he wouldn't mind it being put to good use :) It was made in 1930, but it's not worth that much, I've seen them go on ebay for €2.

Seriously cool and lovely. I'd just put it somewhere as an ornament, somewhere I could look at it all the time...

Bryce

That's exactly what it does at the moment - Ornament. Although I do use it on occasions just for the fun of it.

Bryce.

OCT

Convert it into the pressure gauge for your steam engine (or is it going to be a Stirling one, to counter SyX's allegations of "steam porn"?). :D
To power a CPC you'll need some 40 watts at 50% generator efficiency after all (which would be high for literal steampunk). ;)

Not a world's first anymore though:
Steam Powered Computer

...and people with way too much time and rack space on their hands have come up with "greater" things, or should I say more monstrous ones indeed:

Frankenstein's Computer

OCT

Quote from: SyX on 15:21, 02 July 11
I know that MegaFlash is a really sexy project, but this thread has changed to hardcore hardware porn with "a Steampunk CPC", "relays", "Plankalkül" and "Nixie tubes", we need a disk drive with a steam engine!!!  ;D
No one had even mentioned Tesla coils... just yet :D http://tesladownunder.com (and even LEDs are somewhat overpowered with this guy - a physician when he's not a hobby physicist BTW: http://tesladownunder.com/LEDs.htm#100%20W%20LED).

At either of which points any other wife (with the exception of geek girls) would have called the divorce attorney... ;)
QuoteI think i've just decided to emigrate at Bryce town xDDDD
They called the place Eureka last time I checked. ;)

SyX

Quote from: OCT on 23:44, 10 July 11
They called the place Eureka last time I checked. ;)
LOL  8) Exquisite timming Mr. Octoate, exquisite timming  ;)
Well, in that case, i think that Carter need a new deputy, i will apply for that job  ;D

Bryce

Seems like a lot of work this Steampunk stuff, I think I'll leave it to others that have lots of time.

Bryce.

@OCT: What good is a Tesla Coil? They don't produce power, they just use up tons of it.

Octoate

Quote from: SyX on 08:28, 11 July 11
LOL  8) Exquisite timming Mr. Octoate, exquisite timming  ;)
Huh? OCT != me ;D.
--

SyX

Ayyyss, sorry Octoate  :( but if you love steampunk, too, that's the thread ;D

TFM

Quote from: SyX on 10:51, 11 July 11
Ayyyss, sorry Octoate  :( but if you love steampunk, too, that's the thread ;D

That's NOT the thread here! And now please got back to topic. Please open your own steam-punk thread! Ok punks? :P
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

OCT

Quote from: Bryce on 08:52, 11 July 11
What good is a Tesla Coil? They don't produce power, they just use up tons of it.
Indispensible for visual effects to set the steampunkish scene, cf. Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927).
(For appropriate audio the AY needs to be complemented by a Theremin of course...)
Nuff said, ;) TFM's rightfully reclaimed (t)his thread.

SyX

No MegaFlash!!! No Future!!!  ;D

TFM, another suggestion for the software, remember that i told you about make an RSX for making fast tests, well i was thinking if your actual rom manager is rom "friendly" (not use self-modify code, etc...), because if it's not very difficult, it would be really great to include it in all the MegaFlash :)

What do you think?

Bryce

We were discussing this lately, what should be on the MegaFlash when it's delivered. Obviously, I will need to write and read back something from each one to test that it's working properly, but populating the entire Flash is time consuming. Due to the fact that everyone will want something different and the owner can easily write their own images to the MegaFlash without any additional hardware anyway, I will probably just flash one image to it for the test and this will most likely be a test pattern rather than a functional program. The owner can then populate it with what they want when it arrives.

I'm also not sure that the ROMManager software can run from directly from ROM, rather it needs to be fully copied to RAM first, but that's a question for TFM.

Bryce.

TFM

Well, SyX and Bryce, first Thanks for the ideas. I'm thinking roughly the same. I try to do the following:

- Finish the FlashROManager

- Create a FlashROManager that fits (in which way ever) into a 16 KB ROM. It will run in RAM though, because a program that is inside a ROM can't flash another ROM at the same time.

- Create a special software, that tests the MegaFlash for integrity and install a pre-choosen set of ROMs

However, I have to celebrate today a bit... so don't expect me to be in working condition again before this weekend ;-)
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

SyX

Interesting things appears in your TODO list, TFM  :)

I hope that you had a great celebration yesterday, here we have the fair of the town all the week  ;D   

TFM

Quote from: SyX on 12:01, 13 July 11
Interesting things appears in your TODO list, TFM  :)

I hope that you had a great celebration yesterday, here we have the fair of the town all the week  ;D

I hope you will make it through it.

Well, yes, at the weekend I try to integrate a Flash-Check function to the FlashROManger, which has been released now (July 12. - hehe) in Version 1.26 (for Basic and FutureOS). I also updated the SF2 ROManager.

Hope really that I find enough time...
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

Bryce

Here it is, the final Prototype and it works perfectly :) For those of you who don't know, this is a 32 ROM, from CPC writable ROMBoard. For either 16 or 32 standard ROMs, or 16 standard ROMs plus 256K flash memory. Jumpers to enable/disable ROMs 0 and 7 and a write-protection switch.

This is just the prototype, the final version will be much smaller (due to double layer PCB). I will be having the PCBs made professionally and will start a "who wants one" thread as soon as I have worked out all the details.

Bryce.



robcfg

Looks so cooooool!  :o


* robcfg wants one!

Kris

Great job !!
I actually use 2 ramcards to have 15 Roms extensions but it takes "a lot of place", megaflash (in its definitive design) will be the right solution.
Thanks for this new piece of hardware.


qbert

I definitively want need one too !!


qbert/.
Quote from: Bryce on 19:57, 16 July 11

Here it is, the final Prototype and it works perfectly :) For those of you who don't know, this is a 32 ROM, from CPC writable ROMBoard. For either 16 or 32 standard ROMs, or 16 standard ROMs plus 256K flash memory. Jumpers to enable/disable ROMs 0 and 7 and a write-protection switch.

This is just the prototype, the final version will be much smaller (due to double layer PCB). I will be having the PCBs made professionally and will start a "who wants one" thread as soon as I have worked out all the details.

Bryce.

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