• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Expert for GAL/PAL JEDEC files needed... no success burning a GAL for a Trantor T130

Z

z80eu

Experienced Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
51
Location
Germany
Hi,

I read the blog entry http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/entry.php?330-Cloning-a-PAL-HAL-Part-13 which includes at the end a zipped JEDEC file for a Trantor T130(B).
Because my Eprom Programmer do not understand the JEDEC file, I tried to alter the structure a bit to make it compatible.
See also my own blog entry about it in full length: http://www.z80.eu/blog/index.php?m=07&y=14&entry=entry140719-120000

The bottom line: I am curious somebody else burned the above mentioned zipped GAL16V8 and had success with it with inserting it in a Trantor T130.
With my altered JEDEC file ( http://www.z80.eu/downloads/t130b_mod.zip ), I was able to burn it too, but the SCSI controller did not work properly. The drive which runs with an other Seagate SCSI Controller already is not recognized by the controller at BIOS / boot time. I'm talking about device recognition, not booting something like DOS... this will be the next step if it will work, but first the controller has to detect the drive.
I have to make sure the altered JEDEC file produces the same GAL content. May be somebody else can test it, too - this would be very helpful.
 
Last edited:
Well, if it helps, I use the GAL that I burned and the BIOS on a once-"naked" T130B on an ATT 6300 and it sees my 1GB Jaz drive just fine. But I think that the limit on size is 1GB.

Do you get the signon from the T130B BIOS?
 
z80eu said:
Because my Eprom Programmer do not understand the JEDEC file, I tried to alter the structure a bit to make it compatible.
See also my own blog entry about it in full length: http://www.z80.eu/blog/index.php?m=07&y=14&entry=entry140719-120000
<Also, I was unsure about the sum of fuses for a 16V8 GAL, but it seems there must be 2048 fuses and NOT 2194.>
Click to expand...

While an original PAL16L8 has 2048 fuses, a GAL16V8 has 2194 fuses. The additional 146 fuses on a a GAL16V8 are used as the following:

Electronic Signature Fuses: 64
Output Logic Macrocell Fuses: 16
Product Term Disable Fuses: 64
Global Macrocell Control Fuses: 2
 
gslick said:
While an original PAL16L8 has 2048 fuses, a GAL16V8 has 2194 fuses. The additional 146 fuses on a a GAL16V8 are used as the following:

Electronic Signature Fuses: 64
Output Logic Macrocell Fuses: 16
Product Term Disable Fuses: 64
Global Macrocell Control Fuses: 2
Click to expand...

That helps for a better understanding, thanks. But I still need someone who is able to compare the JEDEC files I mentioned above (the original file and the modified one which I can load).
 
Chuck(G) said:
Well, if it helps, I use the GAL that I burned and the BIOS on a once-"naked" T130B on an ATT 6300 and it sees my 1GB Jaz drive just fine. But I think that the limit on size is 1GB.

Do you get the signon from the T130B BIOS?
Click to expand...

The sign on message (vendor message) appears, but this is related to BIOS (Eprom burning is no problem).

I get no SCSI ID device detection message. It seems to be related with the GAL.
 
Part of the EPROM decoding is contained in the GAL logic, so at least that's working. If you pull the GAL, you get nothing from the EPROM BIOS. The remainder of the logic in the GAL is to change the normally memory-mapped operation of the 53C400 to port-mapped.
 
z80eu said:
That helps for a better understanding, thanks. But I still need someone who is able to compare the JEDEC files I mentioned above (the original file and the modified one which I can load).
Click to expand...

I read both the original file T130B.JED and your modified file T130B1.JED into my device programmer software (BPWin 5.41.0 for my BPM Microsystems BP-1410) and the result does appear identical. I don't have a Trantor T130 myself to actually test the result of programming an EPROM and PAL for the adapter.
 
gslick said:
I read both the original file T130B.JED and your modified file T130B1.JED into my device programmer software (BPWin 5.41.0 for my BPM Microsystems BP-1410) and the result does appear identical. I don't have a Trantor T130 myself to actually test the result of programming an EPROM and PAL for the adapter.
Click to expand...

So if it seems to be identical, that's good and bad news for me. First, good news because my G840 produced a working GAL, bad news because it must be related with an other problem, or the controller is broken in a different way.
Unfortunately I didn't have an other floppy disk controller (because I had to boot from floppy, you know, harddisk can't be used yet with the Trantor) except a "multi i/o card with a floppy controller chip", but I didn't have a documentation of all the jumper, see attached image. So may be it can be related with an already used IRQ or an already used I/O address as well :-(
 

Attachments

  • multi-io-fdd-isa.jpg
    multi-io-fdd-isa.jpg
    97.8 KB · Views: 2
What is the system that you're trying to run the T130B in? My ATT installation, as well as my XTs all use NEC V-series (V20/V30) chips, which may make a difference, if you're just trying to run with an 8088 or 8086. The floppy controller's on the motherboard in the 6300.
 
Chuck(G) said:
What is the system that you're trying to run the T130B in? My ATT installation, as well as my XTs all use NEC V-series (V20/V30) chips, which may make a difference, if you're just trying to run with an 8088 or 8086. The floppy controller's on the motherboard in the 6300.
Click to expand...

It's well known - it's an IBM 5160 (a PC/XT), CPU is still the first (original) one, an Intel 8088. The same HDD runs with a Seagate ST02 without problems, so I can exclude this as a reason for failure.
 
The T130B was sold ROM-less and PAL-less for use with CD-ROM drives and scanners. Given that, it could be that the BIOS may require support for some 286 instructions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top