ACA500 plus?

[tknice]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Demolition,

the "no Gary adapter" solution applies to most other 2M-expansions, but obviously not to this one, as it lacks the typical F139 chip. Given the visible traces, I am assuming that it does not split the CAS lines, but the RAS lines: The RAS0 line goes to pin#1 of the connector to the Gary-adapter, and four lines are going away from that 10-pin connector. Most even pins are grounded.

tknice may be able to reduce it to a 512k expansion by putting a jumper on pins 1 and 3 of the connector, and only populating one of the four banks. Which one? I'd need a higher-resolution picture of the front side to save you from trying the four possibilities.

Jens

Thanks Jens, here is a higher resolution image of my expansion card. Do you also need to see a closeup of the Gary adapter?

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2416987/Image%20Links/Photo%20Mar%2008%2C%2010%2007%2057%20AM.jpg

EDIT: Here's the Gary adapter:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2416987/Image%20Links/Photo%20Mar%2008%2C%2010%2014%2039%20AM.jpg

[Schoenfeld]

this may be simpler than I thought: Try removing the memory chips from EXT banks 0-2, leave bank 3 populated, set the jumper to "chip only". Just a guess, though; I could not follow the traces like I initially wanted to, because there's too much silkscreen print and components in the way.

Jens

[tknice]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

this may be simpler than I thought: Try removing the memory chips from EXT banks 0-2, leave bank 3 populated, set the jumper to "chip only". Just a guess, though; I could not follow the traces like I initially wanted to, because there's too much silkscreen print and components in the way.

Jens

Got banks 0-2 cleared and the jumper to chip only. Unfortunately, the LED doesn't get past 20 on bootup with this configuration.

[Schoenfeld]

OK, so the "easy solution" did not work.

Please take a look at the attached picture: It shows the location of the four RAS lines and it has a few characters on the pins of the connector.

Please use a continuity tester to find out where pin A of the connector goes: I suppose it goes to one of the 4 pins marked on the "EXT BANK x" chips. For measuring, it's good practise to keep the chips removed, as they may be harmed by the voltage of the continuity tester.

If you have found the connection from A to 1,2,3 or 4, populate only that bank and place a jumper into the connector that connects RAS0 and A. This will make a simple 512k expansion from the AdRAM 520.

Jens

[tknice]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

OK, so the "easy solution" did not work.

Please take a look at the attached picture: It shows the location of the four RAS lines and it has a few characters on the pins of the connector.

Please use a continuity tester to find out where pin A of the connector goes: I suppose it goes to one of the 4 pins marked on the "EXT BANK x" chips. For measuring, it's good practise to keep the chips removed, as they may be harmed by the voltage of the continuity tester.

If you have found the connection from A to 1,2,3 or 4, populate only that bank and place a jumper into the connector that connects RAS0 and A. This will make a simple 512k expansion from the AdRAM 520.

Jens

Thanks for giving me things to try Jens. I don't have a continuity tester so I'd have to buy one if trial and error doesn't work. So I'd actually need two jumpers to connect RAS0 to A, correct? I think I'll go ahead and jump those and then install memory one section at a time and try to boot. Do you think this will work?

Also, what position should the jumper for Chip Only be in?

[E-Penguin]

Whilst I salute those able to get vintage hardware working in unusual situations...

A brand new 512k trapdoor expansion is $35
http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Commodore-...993?nav=SEARCH

I'm morally obliged to say other 512k expansions are available.

I spent the evening debugging something similar with a friend, only to decide the battery on his original trapdoor expansion had killed the card so it didn't work at all.

[tknice]

Originally Posted by E-Penguin

Whilst I salute those able to get vintage hardware working in unusual situations...

A brand new 512k trapdoor expansion is $35
http://m.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Commodore-...993?nav=SEARCH

I'm morally obliged to say other 512k expansions are available.

I spent the evening debugging something similar with a friend, only to decide the battery on his original trapdoor expansion had killed the card so it didn't work at all.

Which is still a distinct possibility. I did replace the battery--the first thing I tried.

This is good to know if I can't get it working. Thanks!

[tknice]

Hey Jens,

Connecting both jumpers RAS0 to A and with the memory banks filled for bank 4, the Amiga does boot up using the card. It doesn't look like the extra memory is active, and I do have the trapdoor enabled in the ACA500+ menu.

Is there anything else I need to do?

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by E-Penguin

A brand new 512k trapdoor expansion is $35

Wow - that's expensive for a design that doesn't even allow adding an RTC, and that has the danger of being plugged in the wrong way. I have a trapdoor memory expansion in production, hopefully coming in may of this year; planned sales price is around 25,- EUR. This allows adding an RTC, and it allows cascading two of them for use in an A500+ (for having the full 2MB chipram).

Originally Posted by tknice

I don't have a continuity tester so I'd have to buy one if trial and error doesn't work. So I'd actually need two jumpers to connect RAS0 to A, correct? I think I'll go ahead and jump those and then install memory one section at a time and try to boot. Do you think this will work?

Yes, try&error is a good approach, as the money you'd spend on a continuity tester is probably the same as what you'd spend on a new trapdoor mem expansion. Worst thing that can happen is a yellow screen and blinking power LED on startup. It's just four possibilities, and you already ruled out one of them.

Originally Posted by tknice

Also, what position should the jumper for Chip Only be in?

I'd keep it in the original position.

Jens

[tknice]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Yes, try&error is a good approach, as the money you'd spend on a continuity tester is probably the same as what you'd spend on a new trapdoor mem expansion. Worst thing that can happen is a yellow screen and blinking power LED on startup. It's just four possibilities, and you already ruled out one of them.


I'd keep it in the original position.

Jens

I apologize to everyone for sidetracking this thread I think I may be at the end of trying to get this card to work. The picture below is the only configuration that will boot and the ram does not work. Can you double check my board one last time and also the ACA500+ screens? Thanks!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%2030%20AM.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%2022%20AM.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%2008%20AM.jpg

[Schoenfeld]

Can't see anything wrong; the TAB screen confirms that trapdoor memory is not seen.

One of the jumpers inside the connector is redundant as it connects two GND pins, but that doesn't do any harm. The only idea I have is that the expansion is not properly switched on - this may be the "Ext/chip" jumper, but once again, although the picture is very nice high-res and focused, I can't follow the trace from pin#32 of the 56-pin connector.

Testing this with the ACA500plus connected may not be the best idea. You should get the expansion as 512k-trapdoor expansion to work first, and then reconnect the ACA500plus.

Jens
(maybe a moderator wants to split this topic off?)

[E-Penguin]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I have a trapdoor memory expansion in production, hopefully coming in may of this year; planned sales price is around 25,- EUR. This allows adding an RTC, and it allows cascading two of them for use in an A500+ (for having the full 2MB chipram).

If you can come up with a 2MB chip solution for the A500 (CPLD remake of DKB MegAChip?) then you can probably retire on the proceeds!

[dirkies]

Originally Posted by E-Penguin

If you can come up with a 2MB chip solution for the A500 (CPLD remake of DKB MegAChip?) then you can probably retire on the proceeds!

Agree!

[pgovotsos]

Originally Posted by E-Penguin

If you can come up with a 2MB chip solution for the A500 (CPLD remake of DKB MegAChip?) then you can probably retire on the proceeds!

Agree also. Alone I'd buy 9.

[Photon]

Hi Jens, is it from post #350 you want to split, to a topic with the title 'ACA500Plus 2M chipmem mod'? Else just specify.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by E-Penguin

If you can come up with a 2MB chip solution for the A500 (CPLD remake of DKB MegAChip?) then you can probably retire on the proceeds!

A nice spinoff from the Clone-A project, since Jens already probably has an FPGA Agnus.. ;-)

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by Jope

A nice spinoff from the Clone-A project, since Jens already probably has an FPGA Agnus.. ;-)

I do have an FPGA Agnus, but such a product would have to be combined with a Gary-replacement, as it can (too) easily be expanded with more (chip-)memory, faster Blitter, DMA-pre-fetching and (way too) many more feature-creep items that require software patches. In other words: Not this year.

ACA500plus menu version 0.97 is online now:

- New feature: User ROM name support, start offset changed. User ROMs must be re-flashed.
- Update: new versions of MMU libraries.
- Fix: entering HRTMon when Action Replay is active
- Fix: launching a profile (=bypassing the menu) on power-up does not crash any more
- New feature: Serial logging F8 option. Default is off.
- New feature: Reset to factory default erases all profiles.
- New Feature: "trapdoor max" setting for creating 1MByte "slow ram" config (not compatible with 1M Chipram option).
- added required patches of Action Replay for using this memory
- fixed memory and autoconfig problem after warm-start with ACA1220, ACA1232 and ACA1233
- added global option for RTC setting
- added global setting for background stars in menu
- (re-)added option "always enter menu on every reset"
- inhibited activating 1M Chipram option in Standard profiles menu if ChipMap is not available
- added shift-F7 in main menu to activate AUX slot during OS-install
- CPU selection with ACA1233n/B1230IV is now part of a saved configuration
- flashing does not require a power-cycle any more

This update fixes most known problems. The RTC auto-detection still does not work 100%, but there is a good workaround: The manual setting. The user knows best where he has plugged the RTC.

Toni agreed to a larger re-arrangement of the menu: Unifying the two expert menus. My goal of doing this is to give visual feedback of what the cloaking device actually does - and of course to reduce the amount of menu items. Once this is done, I think we're close enough to a release candidate to also add localization.

This planned unification is also the reason why the F9-menu is not yet in the online documentation: http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/ACA500plus

Download: http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/ACA500plus_Firmware

Jens

[amigoun]

I can confirm Trapdoor MAX working well with AR3, good job!
Now if you can make 1,5slow, we will be finaly able to snapshot 1MB games!

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by amigoun

I can confirm Trapdoor MAX working well with AR3, good job!
Now if you can make 1,5slow, we will be finaly able to snapshot 1MB games!

Sorry, but 1.5m slowmem is not possible with the hardware layout that we have chosen.

However, AR3 has the "sqmem" command for use with the sq and lq commands. I guess that this is what you are using? If so, please try the following:

- launch a configuration with AR3 enabled, but 7M Fastmem disabled
- enter AR3, type "sqmem 500000"
- exit AR3
- launch your game
- freeze, try to quick-save it

The trick here is that if you are disabling 7M fastmem, the memory is still there, but the OS is not told about it. With the sqmem command, you tell AR3 about it, and thus it can use this expansion memory without interfering with the OS.

Please make sure to run an otherwise-compatible setup that is known-good with AR3: Kickstart 1.3 and 68000 CPU.

Jens

[amigoun]

Yes, that is exactly what I meant!
Works like a charm!
Many thanks Jens