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ANNOUNCE: VCF East XIII 8085 Single Board Computer

RizThomas said:
Hello,
I am interested in purchasing one complete kit..either VCF Special Edition or standard board. Please let me know how can I go about it. Thanks
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You'll have to wait for me to get more components in, if you want a full kit. I used up my stock of 8085s and 8251As. They will probably be available in a week or two, since everything has to be shipped.
 
There's one available but it hasn't been committed to GitHub -- the 8251 module can be tweaked for it, but I can also just upload the ROM image if you have an EEPROM programmer. That way, you'll get the ROM FS bootloader, IMSAI BASIC, etc.
 
glitch said:
There's one available but it hasn't been committed to GitHub -- the 8251 module can be tweaked for it, but I can also just upload the ROM image if you have an EEPROM programmer. That way, you'll get the ROM FS bootloader, IMSAI BASIC, etc.
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I do have an EEPROM programmer. I am just learning the 8085 so anything you can provide will be a big help.
 
I'm eagerly awaiting options for bus expansion - I've been running some type in BASIC games on mine for now and found it to be stable.

I'll also be interested when a Shugart type disk interface becomes available :)

-J
 
Had a great time building this kit! Before leaving the hackerspace, I made sure to get the bootrom programmed and we got the user LED flashing.

However, since bringing it home, I haven't been able to successfully establish a serial connection to the computer. I only get garbage on screen, even after hitting the reset button on the SBC. I think I'm missing something pretty obvious; hopefully someone here can help?

serial-garbage.jpg

I'm using a 5V-logic FTDI cable from Amazon and PuTTY on Windows. I made a simple breakout adapter to split the 6-pin connector into six 1-pin connectors.

I've attempted to connect all of the console pins on the board to the cable as well as leaving RTS unconnected.

Below are the settings in Putty at the time I took the above screenshot, but I've also attempted to adjust the speed with the same results.

  • 9600 baud (Matches current jumper setting on board)
  • Data bits: 8
  • Stop bits: 1
  • Parity: none
  • Flow control: none

Should I be using a different cable? Where did I screw up? Thanks!!!
 
I haven't finished building mine, but if I understand correctly then the serial signal is converted to RS-232 by the Max232 chip before it gets sent out. Your cable is likely made for a TTL signal, and needs to be converted to RS-232 by a similar chip in order to communicate. There's some discussion about it in other threads on this site, or google
 
One question that I have regarding the serial output is: since the MAX232 is socketed, is it possible to remove the chip and connect the pins in a way that bypasses the capacitors to use the TTL signal instead? I've found one thread that discusses it, so it at least sounds possible
 
68km said:
One question that I have regarding the serial output is: since the MAX232 is socketed, is it possible to remove the chip and connect the pins in a way that bypasses the capacitors to use the TTL signal instead? I've found one thread that discusses it, so it at least sounds possible
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I'd just plug a DIP header into the MAX232 socket and solder up a cable for your TTL board. You can even deliver +5V power through the MAX232 socket, if you're not using expansion boards.
 
The other option is to get a USB to serial adapter that does real RS-232 instead of 5V FTDI. Just look for the ones that have a USB on one end and a DB-9 on the other. You can pick them up online for under $10.
 
Text of the manual is done, I'm working on the assembly/placement drawing and getting the schematic up to snuff. Should be done this weekend.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Glitch, did you ever have a chance to explore that NSC800 chip? I've still got a bunch of them, I think.
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I bought a bunch off of you a while back. I'm planning a Glitchbus CPU board for it :) Might do a SBC as well.
 
I finally made up kits for the last of these boards. They're available for $75 shipped in the USA. I will ship overseas but it of course costs more. You can visit the above writeup for more information on the board. The EEPROM shipped with the parts kit is pre-programmed with my ROM monitor, GWMON-80, and IMSAI 8K BASIC. The parts kit includes all of the hardware you'll need to assemble it, you need to provide:

* Soldering tools
* +5V power supply (0.5A is sufficient, most phone chargers provide at least this)
* Serial terminal or equivalent (PC running a terminal emulator, etc.)

These are the "VCF East XIII Special Edition" boards, there will be no more produced with the special edition versioning.
 
I'm interested, but they don't seem to be on your store page. How do I get an order in?
 
nib said:
I'm interested, but they don't seem to be on your store page. How do I get an order in?
Click to expand...

You PM me or use the contact form on my website. Since there's only a handful of boards left, I didn't want to go through the trouble of creating Tindie listings -- they take a day or two to get approved, in addition to requiring the effort to set them up.

I do have one assembled + tested 8085 SBC rev 3 as well.
 
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