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TransWarpGS Clone Preorders open!

Bummer on that side. Definitely once created I think he'd have something. Wonder if he considered a kickstarter project to raise the funds to get the batch ordered.
 
Hi

OK, well the dust seems to have settled on this situation, I have some questions. If anyone can try to answer them I would appreciate it.

Why was the TranswarpGS the starting board project? It seems it has a lot of complex technologies like SMT and programmable logic which would make cloning very difficult, if not impossible, without the original design information.

How about starting with some of the other simpler A2 accelerators such as the original Transwarp or Saturns Systems Accelerator II? Both of those accelerators appear to be much less complex 2-layer PCBs, standard 7400 series components, DIP, etc.

http://apple2history.org/history/ah13/#08

Does anyone have detailed design information on the A2 accelerators such as schematics, etc? If the device were simple enough the schematic could be extracted from the original hardware assuming someone has access to it. Where things go bad is when there are CPLDs, PALs, GALs, etc where we don't have the programming information.

I think this project could work if the goals were lowered to something more within the realm of hobbyist abilities and resources. I fear Conrad did not fully appreciate the complexities of the project when he undertook such a large and risky venture.

Ideas, thoughts, comments? Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
I’d guess a reason would be demand. The IIgs is pretty slow running GSOS or most GS applications without an accelerator. The IIe doesn’t feel as sluggish. Also a IIgs feels like an accelerated IIe.

If the GALs on a Transwarp are copyable then it’d be a pretty easy project.
 
Wayne Stewart said:
I’d guess a reason would be demand. The IIgs is pretty slow running GSOS or most GS applications without an accelerator. The IIe doesn’t feel as sluggish. Also a IIgs feels like an accelerated IIe.

If the GALs on a Transwarp are copyable then it’d be a pretty easy project.
Click to expand...

Exactly, Not many people want an accelerated //e, but everyone who owns a IIgs and runs GSOS wants an accelerator.

Its too bad whoever owns rights to AE's patents/designs won't/can't release them to the community, I am guessing with the plans/schematics someone could homebrew a new Transwarp compatible device with some CPLD's. Possibly something even faster than the TWGS ever was with the power todays CPLD's have.
 
Hi

Is an A2GS accelerator an improved A2 / A2e accelerator or is it an entirely new device? In other words, could one of the earlier A2 / A2e accelerators be adapted for the A2GS or does it require a "clean sheet" development? I recognize the A2 / A2e used the 6502 whereas the A2GS used the 65816 CPUs.

I suspect that if AE has not released the schematics and/or FPGA firmware they are not going to do so. In other words, cloning that board would be ill-advised both technically and legally.

I don't know if Conrad considered those aspects when he started the project. Is the Transwarp GS FPGA readable or are the protection bits blown? Does anyone know?

If the FPGA is not readable (or the contents otherwise known) then Conrad's clone project never had a chance from the beginning. Likewise if it used 4-layer or more PCB.

While technically possible to reverse engineer a multi-layer PCB or a protected FPGA these are non-trivial undertakings requiring significant lab resources. Not your garden variety hobbyist task!

Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
dorkbert said:
Judging from the availability of PALs, I would think it isn't (or someone went through the trouble of producing a truth table for them.)
Click to expand...

Hi
I agree but that's just an opinion. Does anyone know for certain?

Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
The IIgs accelerator is a totally different design from the II+/IIe accelerator. The IIgs accelerators are caching accelerators. The Transwarp on the other hand takes over a lot of the functions of the computer. When the Transwarp starts up, it copies the ROM to the fast memory on the card. In a IIe it utilizes it's own memory in place of the motherboard RAM and the first 128k on the extended 80 column card. In fact if you have a Transwarp, you can run a II+/IIe without a processor or RAM on the motherboard.

lynchaj said:
Hi

Is an A2GS accelerator an improved A2 / A2e accelerator or is it an entirely new device? In other words, could one of the earlier A2 / A2e accelerators be adapted for the A2GS or does it require a "clean sheet" development? I recognize the A2 / A2e used the 6502 whereas the A2GS used the 65816 CPUs.
Click to expand...
 
Cool beans. Reminds me of the Radius Rockets on the Macintosh. They were essentially an entire Macintosh Quadra 950 on a 12" NuBUS card. It simply copied the host Mac's ROM and booted.
 
Hi

Was Conrad ever able to get the contents of the Transwarp GS FPGA and either duplicate it or translate the functions to a newer part? If the Transwarp GS came out in the late 1980's or early 1990's almost certainly the part is severely obsolete if not unobtainium by now. FPGAs and CPLDs have very short product cycles and go obsolete quickly. After 20+ years it almost has to be a significant problem.

Does anyone know what happened with the Transwarp GS FPGA?

Thanks and have a nice day!

Andrew Lynch
 
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