XT-IDE rev 4B Prototypes Are In!

[glitch]

Just a slight revision, doesn't warrant a major version bump. Biggest change is increasing the hole diameter for the option jumper headers. They're no longer press-fit, but a free fit like the 40-pin header. PCBcart apparently can't hold tolerances on the holes like they used to, and the last run of rev 4A boards were so tight that jumper headers often couldn't be forced in.

We'll be bringing a bunch of kits to VCF East in April for the kit-building workshop! Hoping to keep the kit price at $40, but a lot of parts have gotten more expensive since the last run :/

Oh, and we're running them in green this time. Blue was originally chosen because, back then, the board houses we were using had a blue that was closer to teal and provided superior trace contrast to their green. Now, the blues have all gotten darker, and green is the clear winner. I double checked with Amy to make sure it wasn't just my perception

 

[Malc]

Cool, Nice to see the "Original's" available again, Just curious why 'prototype'

 

[Quagmire]

Excellent work as always.

 

[ayandon]

Keep up the good work.

One suggestion: I do not like the placement of the 'Product Details'. Pls sift it to the right (towards the metal bracket)

 

[glitch]

Cool, Nice to see the "Original's" available again, Just curious why 'prototype'

You never order 100x boards with selective hard gold plating without a prototype!

Excellent work as always.

Thanks!

Keep up the good work.

Thanks!

One suggestion: I do not like the placement of the 'Product Details'. Pls sift it to the right (towards the metal bracket)

It is where it is because then the silkscreen isn't broken by any vias, so it's going to stay there.

 

[modem7]

Oh, and we're running them in green this time. Blue was originally chosen because, back then, the board houses we were using had a blue that was closer to teal and provided superior trace contrast to their green. Now, the blues have all gotten darker, and green is the clear winner.

Not red?
Red cards run faster.

 

[glitch]

Not red?
Red cards run faster.

I already drilled speed holes in it though!

 

[modem7]

I was going to suggest oxygen-free traces, but the last thing we want is for the media to declare that, "traces of performance enhancement have been detected."

 

[ayandon]

Not red?
Red cards run faster.

RGB cards run fastest

 

[sergey]

Have you considered replacing EEPROM with a Flash ROM? These 28C64 are getting expensive.

 

[NeXT]

RGB cards run fastest

I asked him about ringing both sides of the board with high-intensity multi-color LED's that cycle constantly but glitch said that would impose a problem with reliable power delivery, rather than a practical issue.

 

[modem7]

I asked him about ringing both sides of the board with high-intensity multi-color LED's that cycle constantly ...

Image the resulting confusion. People would start referring to XT-IDE cards as CF cards (Constantly Flashing cards).

 

[glitch]

Have you considered replacing EEPROM with a Flash ROM? These 28C64 are getting expensive.

Yeah, there's a thing in the works. Only reason I'm doing this run as-is, I have a good stock of AT28C64Bs at the moment.

 

[mdh]

All fine and dandy, but is it gluten free?

 

[gerpux]

Sorry, maybe a stupid question, but why there's no update of the repo with version 4a and 4b gerbers? Those are not open?
Best!

 

[mockingbird]

Can someone confirm LED indicator operation on these Glitchworks cards please? My card's working perfectly other than the LED. Not the on-board one nor one attached to the connector. Which chip is responsible for it?

Thanks

 

[modem7]

Can someone confirm LED indicator operation on these Glitchworks cards please? My card's working perfectly other than the LED. Not the on-board one nor one attached to the connector. Which chip is responsible for it?
Thanks

Per the diagram below, the driving signal originates from whatever IDE device it is that you are using.

On my various XT-IDE/XT-CF cards, sometimes I do not notice the on-card LED flash when I kind of expect it to. That might be for something simple, like doing a 'DIR' command. For certain activities, like formatting a CF card, or copying lots/large files, the LED flashes noticeably.

 

[mockingbird]

Ok thanks. I have an XT-CF, the light there works fine. I am testing with a CF-IDE adapter, maybe that is not passing the signal through.

 

[mockingbird]

Per the diagram below, the driving signal originates from whatever IDE device it is that you are using.

On my various XT-IDE/XT-CF cards, sometimes I do not notice the on-card LED flash when I kind of expect it to. That might be for something simple, like doing a 'DIR' command. For certain activities, like formatting a CF card, or copying lots/large files, the LED flashes noticeably.

View attachment 1283054

Ok, I just confirmed it was my adapter blocking the activity light. With a different CF adapter, I get activity with the LED. Everything works perfectly. Thanks

 

[eeguru]

Yeah, there's a thing in the works. Only reason I'm doing this run as-is, I have a good stock of AT28C64Bs at the moment.

I doubt you are planning on in-circuit flash/reflash, but if you are, keep in mind the preambles need to be written at offsets beyond 16KB. JR-IDE is reflashable in-circuit, but only because I can pan an additional 16KB page frame around the entire 512KB part.