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EOI: Model III and 4 hi-res graphics board reproduction kits

Did you get this to work though? I could not. I'd love a copy of the finished working product to play. I can't seem to make it work.
 
billdeg said:
Did you get this to work though? I could not. I'd love a copy of the finished working product to play. I can't seem to make it work.
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I got it to work on my emulator but didn't try it on my real Model 4 with a Tandy hi-res graphics board. If I get it running on the real machine I'll let you know.
 
xT.CAD works:

DSCF0879.jpgDSCF0880.jpg

On a side note, this program is supposed to be able to utilise a serial mouse, has anyone tried this? Which driver and mouse works?

Ian.
 
TheCorfiot said:
Not at all my friend.
These boards are completely invisible to all regular software and operating systems in exactly the same way as the original Radio shack upgrades.
A huge plus point is Ian's use of a single modern low power SRAM so these boards will consume a fraction of the power of the originals especially when they sit idle..

:)
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I did the re-design of this board. Ian borrowed me (last year) his Grafyx board, and I reverse-engineered it. The idea was to create a new board, eventually with a CPLD or some modern components. Then to prove the reverse engineering was correct, I routed a PCB using the same old 74LSxx chips, but replaced the 10 memory chips with a single one (obviously also got rid of the decoder). I left this project in the back-burner, until Ian asked me where it was. I gave him the gerber files, and he built the prototype which worked FIRST TIME (I was amazed myself). Ian will do everything, I won't be involved in this one anymore.... unless we want to use a CPLD (which are now hard-to-find in 5V tolerant specs) or move to SOIC parts.

-Fred
 
Thanks for that Fred, it is indeed a great triumph :)

Where would you recomend connecting the flying lead on a model 4p std and GA motherboard?

the reduced size of the repro makes it possible to fit on a GA 4p for sure.

Thx
TC :)
 
And the video is completed and up.


The first one has been listed on eBay to establish the level of enthusiasm and a sell price for these boards:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hi-Res-Graphics-board-for-TRS-80-Model-4-Improved-Grafyx-NEW-/161654761787

The bulk order for PCBs and the rest of the parts has been placed so I should be in a position to start taking orders in around 5 days, at which time I will start a new thread.

Thanks for everyone's interest thus far, but we still have a long way to go... the 4P version of this is next... either that or an adapter kit to fit the new one in the modem bay. And I'm still working on the Model III solution...

Cheers,

Ian.
 
Bonsoir,
Google translate with me
I am looking for information on a card Grafix 5.1
or better a card for a loan of a few weeks
Merci
Pascal
 
Following the sale today of the first one on eBay, as promised I now am taking orders on this great new product, as well as making public the web page which has a small-but-growing number of titles available for downloading is DSK form:

My Hi-Res Graphics Page

Following shortly will be continued work on the Model III hi-res 26-1125 reproduction, and making the current M4 one work on the 4P.

Cheers,

Ian.
 
TheCorfiot said:
...
Where would you recomend connecting the flying lead on a model 4p std and GA motherboard?...
Click to expand...

What is odd is that the 26-1126 board doesn't need (as I recall) the flying lead (the OUT*) signal. Seems to me that OUT* could be generated on-board without the flying lead from the IN* and GEN* signals (if GEN* AND NOT IN* then OUT* working in inverted logic). Thoughts? (GEN* comes from an inverse logic OR of GSEL0* and GSEL1* with an inverse AND of IORQ*). See also paragraph 5.1.12 Graphics Port in the 4P service manual (page 57). In this usage the IN* line becomes a R*/W line. Not sure why MicroLabs would not have used that, unless they wanted to save an IC package on an already large board. Sure would be nice to have the 26-1126 service manual.....

Of course, this being a repro and all, the flying lead does lend 'character' to the installation......
 
Bonsoir,
Google translate with me
I'm not sure that this schematic is correct.
Where is the OUT connection? Yet it is visible on a real card!
http://www.prof-80.fr/grafix-5-1/prototype-grafyx-5-1
http://www.prof-80.fr/grafix-5-1
I will receive a card of Australia to reconstruct the shematic and make a clone.
I do not have of M4 or 4P "gate away", so I'll test this card on a 4P "no gate array"
you know Subsequently!

I hope a card "NEWCLOCK" for M4 / M3, a card "Orchestra-80"

Pascal
http://www.prof-80.fr/
 
lowen said:
... Sure would be nice to have the 26-1126 service manual.....
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Well, color me stupid. The 26-1126 service information is in the 4P service manual, pages 189 through 198 (181-190 in the PDF available in the archives). So we have the schematics, the layout, and the block diagram of the gate array. I'll post photos of the 26-1126 board I acquired this week a bit later, including hopefully what the blue wire fixes on the board are all about. Note that the service information in the 4P service manual documents the so-called undocumented functions of this board including the video intermix and X/Y scrolling.

It's pretty easy to see why you'd have difficulty fitting the Grafyx Solution repro board into a 4P, as the metalwork and the 26-1126 card seem to be fitted for each other, as the 26-1126 juts right up to the metal on the corner next to the motherboard connector.

Oh, and this information includes the PAL equations for the PAL10L8 on the board, and the secret to why the 26-1126 board has no flying lead for the OUT* signal is revealed; 26-1126 generates OUT* by gating GEN* and IN*. It can do this because the GEN* signal is generated on the motherboard from gating GSEL0* and GSEL1* with a board-generated (not CPU-generated) IORQ*. IORQ* is generated by an inverted logic OR of IN* and OUT* on the motherboard, and it is not the CPU IORQ* line (that line is labeled PIORQ* on the NGA M4 schematics).
 
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lowen said:
The 26-1126 service information is in the 4P service manual, pages 189 through 198 (181-190 in the PDF available in the archives). So we have the schematics, the layout, and the block diagram of the gate array.
Click to expand...

However it doesn't seem to detail gate array chip U7 other than a block diagram (unless I'm missing something), which I assume isn't enough to reproduce it, see my post #7.

BTW, both PDFs of the service manual I've found on the net seem to be missing p196 (it's missing in one, and incorrect in another). However, I've confirmed with Gazza (who has a hard copy) that it is actually blank.
 
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gonk23 said:
However it doesn't seem to detail gate array chip U7 other than a block diagram (unless I'm missing something), which I assume isn't enough to reproduce it, see my post #7.
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It would require something of a redesign, yes. But with the block diagram at the level of detail that it has, it wouldn't be terribly difficult. The hard part would be finding programmable gate arrays in 40 pin packages that are compatible with the actual U7 (40 pin programmable and UV erasable gate arrays were at one time available; Intel had at least one). Or building a daughterboard with the logic in discrete chips that would piggyback the 40 pin socket but fit in the form factor available (in the 4P at least there is plenty of room to stack another one or even two small boards on top of the 26-1126 board, but you can't go much if any larger than the 26-1126 board).

BTW, both PDFs of the service manual I've found on the net seem to be missing p196 (it's missing in one, and incorrect in another). However, I've confirmed with Gazza (who has a hard copy) that it is actually blank.
Click to expand...
It should be the backside of the 11x17 schematic on page 195, and it's pretty standard with Radio Shack service manuals' schematics for the back to be blank.

EDIT: I have found a seller with 8 of these gate array chips in stock. Is there any interest by anyone to see about purchasing these? The buyer quoted me a ridiculous price, but lists them on his site for quite a bit less than the price quoted. FURTHER EDIT: Seller won't honor the price listed on their webpage but wants 6 times the price they list; not going to do business with this seller.
 
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The 4P version of my board is only a few sort months away, so there is no need to expensively aquire parts to reproduce Tandy's inferior 26-1126 board.

As part of my work to make software available for the HRG boards on my site, I have two Model 4s set up, one with my Improved Grafyx board and one with a Tandy board. In all instances software which works on both, performs better on the Grafyx Solution than the Tandy. There are a few programs which only work on the Tandy and I'm compiling a list but so far it's pretty short.

Cheers,

Ian.
 
TRS-Ian said:
The 4P version of my board is only a few sort months away, so there is no need to expensively aquire parts to reproduce Tandy's inferior 26-1126 board....
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I'm personally enjoying comparing the approaches of the two designs. The Micro-Labs solution is certainly a bit faster, but it doesn't do the hardware scrolling (and I'm actually thinking about a hi-res demo program that would feature the hardware scrolling). So I wouldn't in the main call either board inferior; they're just different, and have different but overlapping feature sets. For nearly all of the programs, the MicroLabs board is a better deal due to the speed increase, and MicroLabs GBASIC is very much better.

Not having seen a schematic of your board, I would find it interesting if it allows access to the full 32K of RAM instead of just the 20K that the older Grafyx Solution had. I actually wouldn't mind building your board from a kit, and I'd be delighted to buy a bare board from you once the 4P version is available, if you're willing to sell that way.

But there may be folks who would be interested in a Tandy board repro in addition to the Grafyx Solution repro, and it might be an interesting project for an individual to tackle, if nothing more than to have that option available.
 
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