Posts by ljmarent

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  • Indivision ECS V4: New features, development progress

    How do we get around the "JTAG - factory use only!" marking on the ACA500plus JTAG connector ?



    Will there be a sticker in the kit to cover this warning .. or oh .. maybe .. you know how countries have embassies ..
    Maybe you ship a square of paper with the programmer that is officially sanctioned as an iComp factory embassy,
    and then anything that happens on that slip of paper is in fact happening at the factory.
    We place our ACA500plus's into our personal factory embassy before attaching the update dongle, to preserve future support.

    Seems complicated though .. maybe iComp has other plans :)

  • Indivision ECS V4: New features, development progress

    Quote from Jens

    Correct, but it's used from the other side.


    Unfortunately not, as the CPU that does the pin wiggling on the parallel port will crash immediately once the CPLDs are put into JTAG mode. It's like cutting off the branch you're sitting on.


    Jens

    I'd be using a second independant Amiga, just like I did with the ACA1234.
    Not sure how the second Amiga's CPU would be negatively affected by the toggling of JTAG pins on the independent target ACA500plus board.
    I think your answer requires the base assumption that I would be doing something completely unintuitive ..
    Like performing brain surgery on one's self.

  • Indivision ECS v4 vs. v3

    Just completed my second Indivison ECS v4 upgrade, tossed out the old v3, stuffed in the new v4.


    I'm really curious as to how the ECS v4 solves a specific issue I had with the Indivision ECS v2 and v3 models ?


    With v2 and v3 at initial power-up, my ACA500plus startup screen was off centre horizontally and even if I used the horizontal shift feature, the left most edge of the screen was lost to me...

    With ECS v4, the image is perfectly aligned at power on..
    I no longer have to memorize what the left hand menu option switch keys are...

    How, why, who, magic ? :D

  • Indivision ECS V4: New features, development progress

    Not only is the new VGA cable black ... it has more pins than before...
    Which is only a problem for me because in most of my systems, there is a ECS v2/v3 compatible 10pin header that takes the VGA signal over to my RTG cards.
    So, now with the ECS v4 upgrades... I'm going to have to remake those jumper ribbon cables.


    I don't see the ECS v4 12 pin header pinout in the Wiki yet.
    Just the ECS v3 one


    ECS v3


    Can we please have the ECS v4 version ?

  • ECS V2 firmware revisions - general inquiry

    I've run into brand new 74LS157 chips on a Raemixx500++ board with ECS v2 and a new wireless Tank Mouse via Tikus adaptor that simply would not work...
    Swapped out the 74LS157 .. same pointer jumping issue...
    Replaced with a 74HC157 .. problems gone, mouse working as it should..

    I have twenty or so 74HCT157's in stock now just no motivation to rip everything apart to change that chip .. again.. 8o


    Oddly .. that 74LS157 chip worked perfectly with a PS2 mouse on Micromys v5 adaptor ...
    It wasn't until I was trying to use a Tikus USB adaptor that the pointer jumping showed up ...


    Power was fine .. I even bypassed the 4.7R mouse port resistor to see if maybe it would help.. nope..
    The only fix that seemed to work was ditching the 'LS' chip

  • Shipping option "Parcel One" temporarily disabled

    Quote from Jens

    The requirement for PayPal is "tracked, arriving in 7 days or less" - UPS is fulfilling that easily. Care to specify what you're talking about?


    Jens

    1) You have a link to where PayPal states that the total shipping time 'must' be seven days or less ?

    2) "A delayed shipping chargeback is when a customer files a chargeback with their bank or credit card

    company because their order arrived later than expected or hadn't arrived yet."


    My experience:

    When courier shipping costs are a significant portion of the total purchase price,

    I've found VISA customer service reps agree that the shipping delivery standard

    (two days, three days, etc) is a significant component of the overall purchase.

    Having the item arrive on or before the courier service standard is part of what makes the goods worth their full purchase price.

    Arriving a day later than the courier service standard can mean free shipping and a negotiated product discount.


    Retail psychology...

    That's a whole thing right there... I'd not want to be a small online retailer today...

    Trying to figure out the nature of your customers and predict how they will perceive your comments and practices...

    VISA enabled transaction outcomes are subject to the customers nature and mood.

    Will they gift you the ability to fix a problem,

    Will they gift you co-operation in troubleshooting,

    Will they gift you additional time when you need it,


    I don't know that there is much you can do to 'fix' an evil nature resulting in loss, but the customers mood...

    That seems like a place where the retailer could have significant leverage, if they are perceptive.

  • Shipping option "Parcel One" temporarily disabled

    JasonE
    Failing you finding an option that costs less than $50CDN, to ship an envelope from iComp, which meets the ever increasing requirements. (Even though the UPS option currently offered does not strictly meet those)


    I'm placing an order with two other customers stuff, you could add your item if you want.
    That may move your costs down from "Wait... How Much! ???" to ... "That's Normal"

  • ACA500plus & ACA1234 & Gotek HxC or FlashFloppy Crash

    From what I can see, these Gotek boards have all been hobby projects, especially the good looking ones, that have OpenSource Hardware badges.

    I do not expect there has ever been EMI (conducted or radiated) emissions testing... or anything that resembles formal testing..

    "Just works for me, should work for thee"


    In my case... they 'function' ... but who's to say how marginally...

    except when they don't function, which is when I have the ACA1234 running.


    I think I'm picking up the floppy power for the Checkmate from the motherboard right now.

    I can move it over to the PSU's dedicated drive power header.. might make a difference, slightly stronger 5V rail.

    While power (good, bad, or silly) is a common theme on the iComp support site, my initial thoughts are signalling issues or timing.

    I've yet to have bad power as the root of my own setup issues.


    I did not see this issue with the OEM A500 Motherboard.. I think it appeared after the Raemixx A500++ board showed up.

    So, It could be related to the Raemixx A500++ motherboard and its drive switcher as well..




    I've got lots of places to probe and lots of things I can swap and try...

  • ACA500plus & ACA1234 & Gotek HxC or FlashFloppy Crash

    My A500 setup is an amazingly fun Amiga...

    If it wasn't for the crazy expense, I wish everyone could do this :)


    I already have a rock solid PSU,

    Independent regulation on each supply rail

    First order LC (film) filtering on +5V@10A rail

    On the latest revision, I separated the audio power from system power.

    I'm now getting the audio +/- 12V from a separate pair of +/-15V SMPS and using Analog Devices highest quality precision linear regulators to step that down to +\- 12V through a second order LC (film) filter, exclusively for Paula's audio out amplifier circuit.

    Those two linear regulator IC's alone add over $30 CDN to the PSU BOM

    I don't really hear the difference of course... but It's 'impressive' (maybe that's not the word) to burn this much effort and money in the name of audiophilia ... for 1980's digital sound... ;)


    The mains power switch is an NKK on-off-mom rocker switch, so when I use this same PSU design in my A2000, I now have soft-power-on-off without the need to bodge an ATX style power button to the case.

    All supply rails are monitored and the monitor IC controls the fan, will shutdown the PSU in over-voltage, over-current, over-temp conditions using the primary SSR and logs performance and reports out to the Amiga via I2C

    Such a power supply would need too many quality and feature compromises to make it cost effective for commercial production.

    And I think I know your mind well enough...

    You'd not want to go to production with something if you couldn't have the best offering... :D


    Making a better version of the 100pin riser board with a Buster socket or Bluster CPLD, buffer ICs and Zorro II RC termination would be great.

    I could see paying ~$200 CDN for such a board.

    I imagine a fair number of the Checkmate case purchasers would opt to upgrade to that, especially as we could then have two Zorro slots (case supports this) and not just one 100pin slot.

    I don't think I'm the guy to round them all up though and get them to pool their money.

    Also... not entirely sure that this alone would resolve my OP.


    I'll just leave this post up, in case anyone else spots an issue with their Gotek in the ACA500plus & ACA1234 accelerator in a Checkmate case... And If I find a fix on my journey, I'll post that too.