PicoCPC

[abalore]

@FreddyV I'm very interested in the PicoCPC, could you please add me to the interest list?

Regards,
Abalore

[FreddyV]

Thanks for the update, sounds good! (btw. SymbOS doesn't need #C3)

I know that I always ask this annoying question to any hardware guy, but would it be possible to add USB for a mouse?

Is it possible to provide direct sector I/O access to the SD card? Then SymbOS could access it directly without the need to use DSKs or so.

Hi,

Maybe not needed, but work better with it.
Again, I did the HW Design and low lever software, so I am not an expert in CPC, not at all

The board is software defined hardware.
Everything is possible, even emulate a CH376 to not need special software.

USB Mouse is also extremely simple to add.

The Focus now is to validate hardware fonction to work on another revision closer to the Final one.

The Final board will be really different, with RP2350B Directly soldered.
Then, more fonctionality.

[Prodatron]

(btw. SymbOS doesn't need #C3)

not yet, but in the future...

Not even in the future, SymbOS would never use this mode.

[Lastic]

@FreddyV I'm very interested in the PicoCPC, could you please add me to the interest list?

Regards,
Abalore

I didn't even know there was an interest list, well if there is one, I am interested also

Thanks,

LaSTiC

[Rodrik]

Hello here.

The PicoCPC is my joy, the thing I spend my time on for the pure pleasure of writing C in the Pico and Z80 assembly for the interaction with the CPC.
Frankly speaking, I don't like forums much, just because of what just did happen here, so don't expect me to post any time soon again.

I wanted to clarify few things, there is no interest list, nowhere to register to. When the card is ready enough, it will be made available via resellers in France, UK and maybe US.
I still don't know when this will happen, the card did progress of lot since the start in December last year, this means 4 months ago. But I think 3 more months at least are required to make it work properly on all CPC flavors.

The card is currently limited by the RB2350, I do not have enough gpio, so I either use an oled screen, either I2S DAC, either use the pins to drive some signals on the bus. So it requires a new revision with e 2350B soldered on board.

Feature list is unknown yet, but it will grow over time. The card will be available with lot of hardware, but only future firmware revision may make use of it.

Rodrik

[FreddyV]

Hi,

Also, to be clear, I wrote this multiple time, but.
The PicoCPC is not my board.

It is Rodrik project,
My contribution is significant, of course.
I give him the Idea to do it and the PicoCPC is based on my PicoMEM.


I don't know why Rodrik don't post here, he does not communicate a lot, so I wanted to post PicoCPC news here.

[Gryzor]

JESUS CHRIST!!!! It's like going for my weekly shopping (as I actually did) and having to rush back home because the neighbour called to tell me the toddlers are fighting and trashing the house and I have to get back right now because I don't have any other things to do!!! What. the actual. fuck.

Thread cleaned. Keep it clean. This is an interesting project. Let's focus on that.

Can I ask, pretty please with cherries on top (which I forgot to buy because I WAS FUCKING RUSHING TO GET BACK HOME AND MODERATE THIS MESS), to stop with the insults? You know who you are.

[abalore]

@FreddyV is the ARM compatible with 5V I/O or do you use bidirectional voltage converters for all the lines?

[Rodrik]

@FreddyV is the ARM compatible with 5V I/O or do you use bidirectional voltage converters for all the lines?

No 5V pin go to the pico. We use some 1 buffer, 1 level shifter, 3 multiplexers. We write to the CPC with 3.3V, we use 5V to the CPC only to drive some signal like A15 for C3 memory mode and IOReq to disable intern floppy.

[GUNHED]

not yet, but in the future...

why?

Evolution 

[FreddyV]

@FreddyV is the ARM compatible with 5V I/O or do you use bidirectional voltage converters for all the lines?

Hi,

It seems it is highly 5V compatible.

There are now some Pin directly from the Pico to the CPC (RAMDIS and ROMDIS)

Anyway, the "Secret" of the PicoMEM/PicoCPC is its multiplexers.
It allow to limint the number of I/O needed and act as a Voltage converter at the same time.
The Pi Pico allow to have multiple PIO core, plus the main core working together in parallel,so the PIO manage the Multiplexer, reconstruct the Address, while CPU core detect and manage the Control signals, Read in advance the High part of the address to jupt to the correct code.
(IO MEM Read or Write, Bank number)
So, when the Main core is in the correct code section, it can read directly the full Address from the PIO.

The PicoCPC use only 12 I/O to manage all the address, Data and Control signals. We can add 2 pin only to control the multiplexer.
Then, the CPC bus is "manipulated" Via ROMDIS, RAMDIS, RD, A15, IOREQ (Pico Output)

With this way to do, it is possible to be almost as fast with multiplexing that without.

To go back to 5V, We prefer to have somerthing between the Pico and the CPC, as even if it work now, there is no guarantee that the boards will work after some years of intensive usage.
It is really better to be carefull

[abalore]

@FreddyV is the ARM compatible with 5V I/O or do you use bidirectional voltage converters for all the lines?

Hi,

It seems it is highly 5V compatible.

There are now some Pin directly from the Pico to the CPC (RAMDIS and ROMDIS)

Anyway, the "Secret" of the PicoMEM/PicoCPC is its multiplexers.
It allow to limint the number of I/O needed and act as a Voltage converter at the same time.
The Pi Pico allow to have multiple PIO core, plus the main core working together in parallel,so the PIO manage the Multiplexer, reconstruct the Address, while CPU core detect and manage the Control signals, Read in advance the High part of the address to jupt to the correct code.
(IO MEM Read or Write, Bank number)
So, when the Main core is in the correct code section, it can read directly the full Address from the PIO.

The PicoCPC use only 12 I/O to manage all the address, Data and Control signals. We can add 2 pin only to control the multiplexer.
Then, the CPC bus is "manipulated" Via ROMDIS, RAMDIS, RD, A15, IOREQ (Pico Output)

With this way to do, it is possible to be almost as fast with multiplexing that without.

To go back to 5V, We prefer to have somerthing between the Pico and the CPC, as even if it work now, there is no guarantee that the boards will work after some years of intensive usage.
It is really better to be carefull

In some projects I use 3v3 CPLDs with 5V tolerant inputs, direct connection, and never had a single issue, so at least in the Board -> CPC direction it should be ok.

[retro space]

I hope someone will package the 2350 chip inside a 40 pin or 48 pin DIP housing with level shifters on the output.
That would help to get the awkward feel away we are upgrading an 8-bit 3,5 MHz Z80 with a dual core 150MHz 32-bit system, blowing away basically any computer until the late 90s.

[FreddyV]

I hope someone will package the 2350 chip inside a 40 pin or 48 pin DIP housing with level shifters on the output.
That would help to get the awkward feel away we are upgrading an 8-bit 3,5 MHz Z80 with a dual core 150MHz 32-bit system, blowing away basically any computer until the late 90s.

Hi,

It is extremely different to use a microcontroller for pure CPU calculation or to emulate Hardware.
Speed is needed for Software emulation of Hardware, to be able to answer to any electrical signal sent by the CPC or something else on time......

Even if it is "a Dual 150MHz" CPU, Assembly code is requires and even overclocking so that it is able to respond on time.

There is no problem to put on a modern PC graphic processors 10x faster than the CPU, but it is for retro.

[retro space]

My post was merely an aesthetic request. Instead of miniscule bal grid chips or qfpa, I would love to see chips like this repackaged in DIP.

[abalore]

My post was merely an aesthetic request. Instead of miniscule bal grid chips or qfpa, I would love to see chips like this repackaged in DIP.

Hard to see in our modern throw-away society. Through-hole components, DIP and even regular size SMD are easy to handle, test and fix. Currently we trash perfectly fine phones (thousands of times more powerful than a CPC) just to get the wheel spinning.

We are a living an exponential techno-decadence. Think about the information storage, back in the day we cared for every precious byte in our discs, currently we store TBs of pictures we never look at, music that we never hear, movies we don't watch, and sadly, games we'll never play.

The useful, instructive Internet content is replaced with infinite scrolling of cats, propaganda, memes and non-sense in general. Perfectly social engineered stuff to keep us stuck to the screen. As in the prophetic quote of Tron (1982):

"Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop"

[abalore]

...

[FreddyV]

I have 4TB of disk on my PC, full of Data I almost never use, like everything in my house... World is like that

So, Go back to the Root and code for the old machines, to keep them alive and allow the new generation to see them is "important" for me...

The CPC and all other started to contribute on all this.

A Big portion of 50 Year old + engineer started thanks to the Amstrad CPC in france...

Now, we have AI that even their conceptor does not understand.
They are trained on Data, and at the end, it is the surprise.

[retro space]

My post was merely an aesthetic request. Instead of miniscule bal grid chips or qfpa, I would love to see chips like this repackaged in DIP.

Hard to see in our modern throw-away society. Through-hole components, DIP and even regular size SMD are easy to handle, test and fix. Currently we trash perfectly fine phones (thousands of times more powerful than a CPC) just to get the wheel spinning.

On the other hand, with a super connected world, there are weirder things I see succeed as kickstarter. There is a niche for everything. So there must be a weirdo Chinese garage box firm willing to dip RP2350's in a blob of black plastic with 2,54mm spaced feet. I think the next step of the JLC-PCBs is making very cheap custom IC's in runs of 100 pieces at 1€ a piece. If you see how the revolutioned PCB making, I think IC making could be next.