The Sinclair QL Forum

Does anyone know if there was every, or indeed is now, an IO board for the QL, something that can be used to connect to the likes of LEDs, Relays and input sensors?
Mark

QL World (or was it QL User?) used to have a series on the so-called "Quontrol Board" that provided a number of GPIO lines, and, I think, A/D and D/A conversion. I'm pretty sure they provided schematics and a PCB layout, and I also think there was a limited run of boards they sold. That was pretty early in the QL history, if I recall right. It's unlikely you'll find such a board, but the magazines should be a possible find, I guess and with tools available today and PCB manufacturers providing PCBs for cheap, there could be a way to reproduce this board.

There was this: Probably easiest to go with Minerva mkII and I2C (or Q68).

tofro wrote: Sun Jul 16, 2023 5:02 pm QL World (or was it QL User?) used to have a series on the so-called "Quontrol Board" that provided a number of GPIO lines, and, I think, A/D and D/A conversion. I'm pretty sure they provided schematics and a PCB layout, and I also think there was a limited run of boards they sold. That was pretty early in the QL history, if I recall right. It's unlikely you'll find such a board, but the magazines should be a possible find, I guess and with tools available today and PCB manufacturers providing PCBs for cheap, there could be a way to reproduce this board.

The Connexions series ran from December 1986 to September 1987 issues of QL World. Read them as PDF files at https://dilwyn.theqlforum.com/mags/index.html

Ql Wiki has a short article on the Qontrol II board, at https://qlwiki.theqlforum.com/doku.php?i ... l_ii_board

Here's a picture of the board. I used to have one many moons ago, which I bought ready-made from (I think) Care Electronics. I sold it in the end after the novelty of using it had worn off, although I did have fun connecting a few simple bits of hardware to it (without destroying my QL!). Afraid I don't remember much about it, it was in the 1980s after all.

Thanks all

dilwyn wrote: Sun Jul 16, 2023 7:20 pm

tofro wrote: Sun Jul 16, 2023 5:02 pm QL World (or was it QL User?) used to have a series on the so-called "Quontrol Board" that provided a number of GPIO lines, and, I think, A/D and D/A conversion. I'm pretty sure they provided schematics and a PCB layout, and I also think there was a limited run of boards they sold. That was pretty early in the QL history, if I recall right. It's unlikely you'll find such a board, but the magazines should be a possible find, I guess and with tools available today and PCB manufacturers providing PCBs for cheap, there could be a way to reproduce this board.

The Connexions series ran from December 1986 to September 1987 issues of QL World. Read them as PDF files at https://dilwyn.theqlforum.com/mags/index.html

Ql Wiki has a short article on the Qontrol II board, at https://qlwiki.theqlforum.com/doku.php?i ... l_ii_board

Here's a picture of the board. I used to have one many moons ago, which I bought ready-made from (I think) Care Electronics. I sold it in the end after the novelty of using it had worn off, although I did have fun connecting a few simple bits of hardware to it (without destroying my QL!). Afraid I don't remember much about it, it was in the 1980s after all.
QControl Board.jpg

Hi Dilwyn,

I can not find any PCB layouts or circuit diagrams, just article and photographs of the top side of the PCB.

Here is a PDF of the QL Wordl article: Do you still have the QControl board?

Hi,

There was also Serial I/O board originally published in QL Today March-May 2008, QL Today Vol 14, Issue 4, June-August 2010

With reference to Everyday Practical Electronics August, September 2007, January 2009

I have PDFs for the magazine, which do include circuit diagrams and PCB were available for order, but I do not know now.

I was in the process of copying the circuit diagram in KiCad, but never finished it. Would this be of interest?

Derek_Stewart wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:50 am
Hi Dilwyn,

I can not find any PCB layouts or circuit diagrams, just article and photographs of the top side of the PCB.

Here is a PDF of the QL Wordl article:
qontrolii.pdf

Do you still have the QControl board?

Sadly, I haven't got the board nowadays, and I can't remember who bought it off me. Otherwise I'd ask them to try to take good quality photos of the circuit board to see if it could be reverse-engineered.

dilwyn wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:16 am [Sadly, I haven't got the board nowadays, and I can't remember who bought it off me. Otherwise I'd ask them to try to take good quality photos of the circuit board to see if it could be reverse-engineered.

Pity, as the QL World articles imply the idea to interface BBC MIcro interfaces via QontrolII

I doubt the ROM software would be accessible.

Maybe a 6522 VIA could be interfaced on the Q68 I/O port.

Derek_Stewart wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:19 am

dilwyn wrote: Mon Jul 17, 2023 9:16 am [Sadly, I haven't got the board nowadays, and I can't remember who bought it off me. Otherwise I'd ask them to try to take good quality photos of the circuit board to see if it could be reverse-engineered.

Pity, as the QL World articles imply the idea to interface BBC MIcro interfaces via QontrolII

I doubt the ROM software would be accessible.

Maybe a 6522 VIA could be interfaced on the Q68 I/O port.

At the time, I had a BBC Micro (used to work for the BBC in those days, we used them to some extent at work).

I did do a few simple hardware projects, one example was a grid of multiplexed LEDs working as a "disco" light running lightshow. I had it working from both BBC micro and QL (can't remember if it was the same interface to both machines or not), also a Spectrum, but the Spectrum one was different to the other two, just a project I copied from a magazine and built on veroboard - I remember struggling to make that one work, it took me several days to spot my soldering mistake. I never took it further than a matrix of LEDs on a veroboard before the novelty wore off and I diverged into more serious software projects once my employer got me writing some early office software on BBC micro.

I also connected a few devices to a QL via serial ports - I think I got the circuit diagram for that interface from Elektor or possibly one of the other electronics mags around in those days. The beauty of connecting via serial ports was that although slow, it was easy to program.

There's also the Minerva I2C interfaces for anyone able to get hold of those nowadays.