home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Commodore Free 22
/
Commodore_Free_Issue_22_2008_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64
/
t.uiec update
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
2023-02-26
|
5KB
|
152 lines
u
UIEC STATUS UPDATE
Subject: uIEC status update
I apologize for the delay in getting
this out. Here is an update:
Since July 4th, I've been busy
soldering up the remaining uIEC/IDE
and uIEC/CF units. I've shipped all
but one uIEC/IDE unit out (Wizard,
it's yours, but I need a padded
envelope for it), and all but 5 of the
uIEC/CF units out. I have updated the
design to v2.3. This forced moving
the activity LED to another IO pin, to
free up pins for the disk swap
buttons. All units shipped after C4
EXPO have this mod. They also have
the 2008-07 uIEC bootloader. Thus,
any unit sold at the C4 EXPO show
needs to check with me for a timeframe
when I can upgrade their units to v2.3
and install the bootloader and the
newer 7.2.1 firmware.
The bootloader is very important,
since it allows one to upgrade their
firmware simply by copying a file to
the root directory of the first
partition of the primary IDE/CF drive.
On boot, the bootloader will scan for
a newer firmware and flash it into the
uIEC if it finds one. FAT32 support
is enabled now (I held off on shipping
until I had that complete, since
otherwise, folks would need to have a
small FAT16 partition #1 to load new
firmware, which seemed a waste) For
the unfilled CF units, I plan to make
the small IO mods of v2.3 and add a SD
card option and run the next set of
boards. I should be able to order the
boards by next week. It takes 10 days
to run a batch of boards, and a few
days to solder. Thus, it'll probably
be 14-21 days before I can sell more
CF units. I only have 2 unfilled
orders on the CF units. For the
uIEC/IDE units, I need some help.
With the v2.3 mods and a desire to add
buffer drivers to the IEC lines
(requires 4 more IO lines), I'm
running too short on IO to offer
printer port/IEEE port/parallel
speeder port IO. I have two options:
Make the minimal mods needed for the
IEC lines, add the support for SD
cards, and run a batch of boards.
This would be quick and requires very
little thought. Read: takes little
time to prepare to run boards.
Make the larger mods needed to bring
out the additional IO (requires the
100 pin version of the CPU I am using
and some headers). Read, takes more
time.
I'm interested in feedback. I think
50 boards is the smallest prod run I
can economically run, so I'd need to
ensure folks are OK with the decision.
Right now, after mailing all the
uIEC/IDE boards, I have 19 unfilled
orders. I'm leaning towards option
#1, mainly for timing, but I thought
I'd ask the group. The uIEC/CF units
were designed mainly for folks who
plan to "embed" them in designs. As
such, they do not have elegant
connections. I'm not apologizing for
that, just noting why the IEC wires
and power wire are installed as they
are. My intention was for the users
to embed the unit and unsolder those
wires when no longer needed. I will,
though, apologize for the cassette
connector. I forgot to plan for the
little PCB thats needed for that
connector. I will run a batch of
those with my next order. If folks
want one, I can ship one or solder one
up when I see you next. Right now,
there are two "bugs" I am working on.
One is the start-up latency on
uIEC/IDE units when only 1 drive is
connected. Due to the way IDE devices
are initialized, the initialization
sequence must wait > 32 seconds to see
if a drive is present. Thus, on a
setup with only 1 drive, there will be
a 30 second delay on start. It's not
a "bug" per se, but unwanted
behaviour. To counteract, I am
working on a way to disable the second
drive via DOS command. Since we know
later designs might have more than 1
type of storage medium
(ATA/CF/SD/etc.), I am making it
flexible, so it's taking a bit longer
to implement
The other bug is init issues with
master CF card and slave IDE drive. I
think it's just a timing issue. For
now, I recommend putting the IDE drive
as primary, and CF card as slave. I've
set up a mailing list for the unit
(questions, concerns, etc.) It's
unmoderated at present, so play nice.
Details are below. After I get the
designs to the PCB house, I plan to
work on image support. I have WIP
code for D71/D81/DNP images that needs
to be finished and committed.
Although I tend to set my own
priorities, I'm always interested in
which features folks want.
Documentation: Yes, I do plan to
write some up, but I simply need to
get the units shipped first. Since
the drive uses CBM and CMD syntax, I
hope folks can easily find their way
around. I will, though, send a cheat
sheet to the mailing list in a few
days. For the uIEC/CF owners, the two
small pins on the backside of the unit
are the disk-swap switches. Ground
each (via a switch) for operation. I'm
sure I'm leaving something out, but
there's always more email to send.
Jim
Membership to the Mailing List
uiec-users@jbrain.com
On this web page you can subscribe to,
or unsubscribe from, the mailing list
uiec-users@jbrain.com
====