• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

XT IDE Ordering interest? (Was: Xt-ide

XT IDE Ordering interest? (Was: Xt-ide

  • 1

    Votes: 59 52.7%

  • 2

    Votes: 38 33.9%

  • 3

    Votes: 8 7.1%

  • 4

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • 5+ (please post how many below)

    Votes: 2 1.8%
  • Total voters
    112
Seeq parts suck.
Out of a batch of 10, I had 3 go bad, although it seems that if you have one that works, they do work for the long haul. I have not had one fail despite hundreds of reflashes during the BIOS development.

However, the biggest difference is that the atmel parts have a software based write protect on them that the seeq parts lack. It's really easy to corrupt either part's contents by just re-writing to them, and it seems that lots of software out there for these old machines does do stray writes to BIOS areas in memory.

With the software write protect we can implement that only when re-flashing the BIOS and that allows you to not have to move any jumpers when you're upgrading the BIOS.

I guess it boils down to atmel parts are great because we're all too lazy to move a jumper on our cards on the fairly rare occasion that we're going to do a BIOS upgrade on the XTIDE card. :D
 
i'm confused, i see postings saying to add to the spreadsheet, but i can't find said spreadsheet,i have been looking forward to getting the cards, but have no idea on how i go about ordering them, can one point me the right direction?
 
hargle said:
Seeq parts suck.
Out of a batch of 10, I had 3 go bad, although it seems that if you have one that works, they do work for the long haul. I have not had one fail despite hundreds of reflashes during the BIOS development.

However, the biggest difference is that the atmel parts have a software based write protect on them that the seeq parts lack. It's really easy to corrupt either part's contents by just re-writing to them, and it seems that lots of software out there for these old machines does do stray writes to BIOS areas in memory.

With the software write protect we can implement that only when re-flashing the BIOS and that allows you to not have to move any jumpers when you're upgrading the BIOS.

I guess it boils down to atmel parts are great because we're all too lazy to move a jumper on our cards on the fairly rare occasion that we're going to do a BIOS upgrade on the XTIDE card. :D
Click to expand...

Have not looked at the parts list or schematic yet, but, can't the board just run an ordinary EPROM, UV erasable EPROM and avoid the problem with stray signals clobbering the code??
 
ZOBEX said:
Have not looked at the parts list or schematic yet, but, can't the board just run an ordinary EPROM, UV erasable EPROM and avoid the problem with stray signals clobbering the code??
Click to expand...
I guess it could, but it would make upgrading BIOS too difficult.
 
ZOBEX said:
Have not looked at the parts list or schematic yet, but, can't the board just run an ordinary EPROM, UV erasable EPROM and avoid the problem with stray signals clobbering the code??
Click to expand...

Hi! Yes, just program a 2764 EPROM and use it instead of the EEPROM. It is my preferred method because it is immune to corruption in circuit.

Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
The PCBs are here! Got a fedex note yesterday, and left the signature thingy on the door this morning.

lutiana and i need to get organized, but i suspect we can be shipping in two weeks.
 
Right, some decisions have been made:

1. The EPROMs will be coming from Mouser so that we can get the ATMEL parts. Nicely enough this won't affect the overall cost. Does anyone need a spare ATMEL chip to replace their SEEQ part?

2. We will be buying the rest of the parts from Jameco wholesale. This will save us about $1 per card on sales tax, but it means that if you are in California you will have to pay sales tax on the cards. It looks like this will only affect about 3 or 4 of the people on the list. Also since I am picking up the parts from Jameco rather than getting them shipped to me there is a further 50c savings per card.

Once we have all the parts paid for I am going to be able to calculate a cost of each kit and each card and hopefully I'll have payment information up by the end of the weekend.

We are getting very close to shipping, so stay tuned for more updates.
 
I'd like to replace the SEEQ parts on the two units I have. Can I just ask (and pay) for two extra when I pay for the other 2 kits?

Kelly
 
I'd like a spare eeprom as well. I marked the spreadsheet saying as much already.
I can almost smell the burning rosin already! :D
I'll make sure my soldering iron's tip isn't all fubar this go-round so I don't have tons of dry solder points. grrrr
__
Trevor
 
kb2syd said:
I'd like to replace the SEEQ parts on the two units I have. Can I just ask (and pay) for two extra when I pay for the other 2 kits?

Kelly
Click to expand...

Put it in the notes section of the spreadsheet. We had inteded to buy some spare ones aways, and can add them into the total for the kit.

EDIT: I just saw that there is a column to put it in. So put there.
 
Last edited:
I've just ordered 110 atmel parts from mouser. If we need a few more, I do have some additional seeq parts that I'm ok using for my own personal stash of cards.

They will be coming to me, and I will be pre-programming them with aitotat latest XTIDE BIOS before shipping them over to lutiana for adding into the kits, so that will take a little additional time.
It will probably take about 2 weeks for all of the parts to get over to lutiana for assembly into kits and then we can start taking orders!
So, just to be safe, have your paypal accounts open and ready by Feb 1st.

The new PCBs look fantastic. The silkscreen on the back side is bold and beautiful, and it now has mounting holes for the bracket pre-drilled. It's ready to roll. I haven't built one up yet though (I don't have all the parts required) but I don't see any reason this one shouldn't work considering the last 2 batches we did were perfect.
 
Hi Hargle!

Thanks! That's great news! I am very happy your project is working out so well! Congratulation! Excellent work!

Have you tried connecting the bracket to the PCB? If so, how did it fit in your computer? I am curious to know if the dimensions are right. They should be but you never know until the real stuff arrives.

Please post a photo of PCB with bracket installed and your impressions of its fit into a PC/XT/clone

Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top