Reverse engineering rare hardware

[Mr_Navigator]

Kickstarter was mentioned before and can be successful for the right people with the right projects, but it has to be quite clear upfront. If Dave/Nasta are limited by funds then that may be a consideration.

Hi Adrian, hope all is well with you, I do on the odd occasion, drop by Memory Lane Computing, just on the off chance something something new appears

[Dave]

Here's my position:

I would love to do something SD-card based, but my understanding was that the system wasn't reliable on every system. SGCs are something of a black box to me, although with Nasta's fantastically detailed explanations that cloak is being lifted...

I have a few things in the fire already and I'm eager to finish one or two before committing to anything else.

I have also continually stated that my QL 020 board project is 'for personal entertainment only' because it's a huge undertaking, and without assistance there are limits to what I can achieve.

But there's something else going on too. I do appreciate cleverness, really I do. The idea of doing writes through a port that doesn't have a write pin by using trickery and cleverness is called elegant by some. However, it's called complicated by me. The very next expansion port to the left has everything that's needed. No compromises or cunning techniques required for a simpler, faster interface.

I think what I'm looking at is trying to get as much functionality onto one half eurocard as I can. Floppy, IDE, a chunk of static RAM and either a CF or SD card slot or two. I visualise a cable for SD card signals going to a carrier board that screws into position over the microdrives - four mounting holes provided. It should also have ethernet and a USB device, and a ROM image storage/management area that is writable.

One of the points I'm trying to make is that the incremental cost of manufacture of this sort of card is only marginally higher than the simplest card, since most of that work takes place in one IC that's fitted anyway - the CPLD. The expanding costs are more the time and effort to develop software and drivers for it all.

Here's something I have going in my favour: I'm not Nasta or Tony Firshman. They spend a huge amount of time and intellectual effort iteratively redesigning their boards to get not just the correct RF behaviour, but also a tiny board size. I take a different view, that the PCB is one of the lower cost components, and I'd rather it be larger. It's not going into space or a car, where space/weight is at a premium, and there's a standard size for cards that the QL and PC-cased versions have already provisioned for, so use it.

So my efforts are that: a multi-purpose card with a lot of features, unified logic, that would cost a lot less than each card separately.

Then, stage two, is to make that half eurocard into a double-half eurocard (end on end) so it can be a QL replacement board, and with the help of the community, get a 68020 in there. Something that can be used in a QL, but will be as happy in an ATX case.

I am mildly restricted by funds. I have sold some items and used the funds to order PCBs and components for prototyping and MPlanes. I have dipped into savings. I'm doing okay. I don't feel I have the skills or experience to ask people to just give me money and feel if Quanta or whoever want to fund someone, Nasta is the best target. If they could create a financial incentive programme to help designs that are at least mostly complete and functional and demonstrated to them to get manufactured, that might be nice. They did that before with Miracle cards and Jan Jones' excellent book.

What I would really like to see is an end to one of the great divisions of the QL world. A software/firmware division of the haves and have nots. I'd like to see everyone on Minerva or SMSQ/E. AH and JM ROMs should be a choice, not a necessity. A base QL should have 640k and Minerva 1.98 out the gate.

Ok, I'm headed outside to help work on a neighbor's lorry. He's selling it, and when it sells I'll be getting a chunk of cash to put towards THINGS! I'm trying to fill the hole I'm in after buying around $800 of components for these MPlanes, and then selling three!

Oh, that's another thing (random scattered thoughts this morning) I've made a lot of progress on the server for the sinclairql.com website. It currently has joomla and a store installed and configured, and I'm developing the site behind closed doors in the evenings. I've made the conscious decision to NOT install forum software but to work with and direct people to here. I am building a file storage area like Dilwyn's and an area designed to let people distribute their QL software for free or a charge they set - it's like an iTunes for QL software...

Okay, time for me to go work on that lorry

[JonB]

If only I had your level of expertise, Dave!

I have had to buy a Trump card and disk drives. Maybe I can chip in some cash or drivers? I need to get familiar with the QL architecture first, of course, and for that I need documentation and time. But I am very interested in it, so who knows? Once I get the drives set up, I can start building a tool chain.

Sorry, rambling. Only just got the serial cable running with help from the guys on that other thread, then tan out of time. Next session, I hope to actually transfer a file!

Oh well, "from small acorns", and all that!