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CE-158X, a more modern replacement for the Sharp CE-158 (and TRS-80 version)

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Jeff_Birt

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For months a friend and I have been working on a replacement for the Sharp CE-158 RS-232 serial/parallel interface for the PC-1500 (TRS-80 PC-2). I just put the finishing touches on the enclosure, PCB are on hand and parts will be arriving next week. Note that the case is red as I was using up an old roll of PLA for testing. I'll post more updates in coming days.

I did a video of an earlier prototype last July.

 

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CE-158X Update! I have a small number of completed CE-158X boards on hand now! I have printed 4 colors of covers, experimenting to see which I liked better. There are black, red, grey and a sort of iridescent brown/purple which looks a bit different based on the lighting and angle of viewing. (It is a Prusament filament). Which is your favorite color? I would like to limit the available colors to two at the most. I'm going to get the boards in cases and finish up the manual over the next few days. Let me know your favorite case color.
 

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Due to some of life's little curveballs I just got the CE-158X units ready to ship. Case colors available are RED and BLACK. (They got the most votes.) We only made a small number this first time. It can be powered by the USB connector or an 18650 (not included to make international shipping easier, less expensive.) Price is $80. Send me a PM if interested.

Also have some new memory modules too. Module #1 is an 8x16K RAM, it has some RAM resident firmware to handle restoring the RAM pointers when you switch banks. Module #2 8x16K RAM with 8x16K FLASH same sort of bank switching firmware as well.

I will be finishing up the CE-158X manual this week and will get it and the memory module manual uploaded.
 
I'm still too new to be allowed PM's or unmoderated posts.
Jeff_Birt said:
Due to some of life's little curveballs I just got the CE-158X units ready to ship. Case colors available are RED and BLACK. (They got the most votes.) We only made a small number this first time. It can be powered by the USB connector or an 18650 (not included to make international shipping easier, less expensive.) Price is $80. Send me a PM if interested.

Also have some new memory modules too. Module #1 is an 8x16K RAM, it has some RAM resident firmware to handle restoring the RAM pointers when you switch banks. Module #2 8x16K RAM with 8x16K FLASH same sort of bank switching firmware as well.

I will be finishing up the CE-158X manual this week and will get it and the memory module manual uploaded.
Click to expand...
I am however very interested in the CE158X module in black. I'm located in the Netherlands.
 
The first batch of CE-158Xs is gone. We will have some more sometime in May. I'm doing my best to get the user's manual finished up this weekend and will post a link here to it. I'm also trying to get a new video done showing the final product.
 
In this video we take a look at the CE-158X, a modern serial / parallel interface for the Sharp PC-1500[A], PC-1600 computers. The original Sharp CE-158 interfaces are rare, expensive and limited to 2400bps. We created the CE-158X as a modern higher speed replacement. With a solid transfer speed of 19200bps and an experimental 38400bps it takes far less time to transfer programs. We also incorporated a second serial port with a USB interface and the parallel port is now bidirectional.

Join us and find out more about the CE-158X.


Product page, with link to docs.

https://www.soigeneris.com/ce-158x-serial-parallel-interface-for-sharp-pc-1500
 
Maybe stupid questions but;

Does the CE-158X work in conjunction with the CE-150?

If used in combination with CE-150 and PSU, does it still need external power?
 
HainjeDAF said:
Maybe stupid questions but;

Does the CE-158X work in conjunction with the CE-150?

If used in combination with CE-150 and PSU, does it still need external power?
Click to expand...
It should work with the CE-150, I will confirm this weekend. The CE-150 does not power the original CE-158 or the new CE-158X. Both need their own power source. In the case of the original CE-158 you must use the internal battery pack. With the CE-158X you can add an 18650 internally and use that or you can power it via the micro-USB port.
 
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