New Buster chip a3000/a4000

[Jope]

I doubt it is possible to make a snap on board in this case.

Existing snap on boards either sample the signals from the sockets and are invisible to the computer in a way, or they plug into chips that can be shut down gracefully (68000 snap on turbos for the a600).

The buster plays an active role between the 030<->Zorro bus, there is no possibility to have it on the bus but not play a part in a way that another chip connected to the same pins would be able to take over from it. So desolder buster + install socket time.

[brett71]

Originally Posted by gdonner

Pure speculation on my part, but I would imagine it's technically possible to create a "snap on" version that sits on top of soldered Busters. I believe CS-Lab's scandoubler/flicker-fixer card(s) for their Warp boards use this method, and they'll definitely be available as a standalone device (or with a Warp board).

Yes, but I would think that the "piggyback" option for soldered Busters wouldn't really work the same as for a scandoubler. In the situation of a scandoubler, the piggyback works because you're just trying to capture the signals and replicate them into another circuit. The original signal paths are still intact and functional.

In the case of the Super Buster, though, it seems to me that trying that method would result in two Busters trying to respond to signals from the rest of the board simultaneously and create some sort of interference. There would have to be a way to disable the soldered-down Buster somehow to prevent this.

[gdonner]

@ Jope/brett71: Very good points well taken!

[Signman]

Sending from the U.S. all the way to New Zealand, that’s saying something. Seems like a very interesting guy, doing work in Antarctica.

[A10001986]

I wasn't aware there were A3000s without sockets for the custom chips. Never seen, even the oldest 6.x MB had sockets, as do all 9.x I came across. Anyone got a picture?

[Jope]

I don't remember any A3000s without sockets either, they are through hole motherboards.

(deliberately not thinking about community designed motherboards here)

[gdonner]

Originally Posted by Jope

I don't remember any A3000s without sockets either, they are through hole motherboards.

(deliberately not thinking about community designed motherboards here)

Yeah, even my A3000 (one of the early 16 MHz models) has a socketed Buster.

[thebajaguy]

It's a fairly good guess that the old Buster will need to be removed as it would likely interfere with any new chip/adapter's bus logic.

[droopy]

Originally Posted by brett71

Yes, but I would think that the "piggyback" option for soldered Busters wouldn't really work the same as for a scandoubler. In the situation of a scandoubler, the piggyback works because you're just trying to capture the signals and replicate them into another circuit. The original signal paths are still intact and functional.

In the case of the Super Buster, though, it seems to me that trying that method would result in two Busters trying to respond to signals from the rest of the board simultaneously and create some sort of interference. There would have to be a way to disable the soldered-down Buster somehow to prevent this.

Would perhaps work if the powerline to the old buster are cut and a separate power for the new..?

[macce2]

Any news ..?
Socketed Buster v. 11 here (rev B A4000 mobo)

[riker77]

No offical word from IComp, but Dave said that the project is on hold.


Dave Haynie on Bil Herd's and Ben Jordan's "The Coriolis Effect"

[ Show youtube player ]

[macce2]

Any news..?!

[grelbfarlk]

From the sound of it, it's not going to really improve Z3 speed, maybe as a side effect of fixing some bugs. Nonarkitten should do it too and add PCI support, and AGP, at local 68040 cache speeds. Also you should be entered to win prizes for each card you install in the slots. Also instead of Buster, the new name should be Staker.

[Mr.Flibble]

Surely that'd be Mr Pointy if we're really leaning into the Buffy references?

[QuikSanz]

It still does not come up for sale?

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by QuikSanz

It still does not come up for sale?

Pro tip: Don’t hold your breath.