Sapieha pointed out to me that I missed your second question...
I don't yet know how much a fully build PropCade will cost. After I finish testing all features, I will have to make a bill of materials (BOM) and figure out my parts costs, and other associated costs; after which I will have to see how much it costs to build one.
I do intend to price it competitively.
PropCade will be offered as:
- full kit
- assembled and tested full system
and possibly
- partial kits (exact composition to be decided later)
william chan said...
Bill,
Why not DS1307 for the RTC since it can share the I2C bus with the EEPROM and it is cheaper?
I have tested the "base" feature set, I will leave the remaining tests until after I solve the SPI RAM issue.
From testing so far, I know the problem is NOT:
- /CS decoding
- /HOLD
- a short between CLK/MOSI/MISO as uSD would then not work
- a cold solder joint
- bad ram chips
I am adding a CLK/MOSI/MISO test to PropCadeDiag to see if there is a missing connection to the SPI RAM's
I will keep updating this thread with my progress.
Features still to be tested:
- HCOMM (PropPlug/SerPlug/485Plug) interface not tested yet, I'll pull the CP3232 and test it later
- S-Video not tested yet - I have to find the test I used last time [noparse]:)[/noparse] but video works
- Joystick ports
- 2 user LED's
- RS485 networking
- IR Receive
- IR Xmit
Features that have been tested and work:
- voltage regulation
- EEPROM
- Real Time Clock
- VGA
- TV Out (RCA)
- keyboard
- mouse
- built in RS232 programming port
- audio output
- 74HC138 SPI device selection
- uSD
Sorry, I was distracted by some rush consulting work... but now I've received a new shipment of 74HC138's, and I was able to attack the bug with a fresh outlook [noparse]:)[/noparse]
As I suspected in my last post, it WAS a software issue. The code, which used to initialize all 6 ram chips, for some reason no longer initialized the first one.
After some minor code changes, the net effect of which was setting the chip select address a bit earlier, the initialization code now works!
I will now resume testing the rest of the features... and adding the initial FlexMem driver to VMCOG [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Unfortunately not, but I will play some more with your drivers (and others) after I get RS485 working ... the video circuitry is unchanged from the previous prototype run, and I was able to verify it on that one.
I want to order a production run ASAP [noparse]:)[/noparse]
I built a little test board for the RS485 plug's so I can try to talk to PropCade over RS485.
Unfortunately I only have 5V SP485's in stock, so real RS485 testing will have to wait a couple of days while Digikey ships me some MAX3485's [noparse]:([/noparse]
Meanwhile I think I'll go back to S-Video for now...
Everyone: Sorry for the lack of posts, I am having "issues" getting a new password to my old transferred accounts due to it pointing to an old out of service email... and my creating "bhenning" instead of trying to reset the password on "Bill Henning" did not help.
UPDATES:
PropCade is now 100% verified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
485Plug is now 100% verified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be ordering production runs of the PCB's for PropCade and 485Plug, and should have them available for sale in 2-3 weeks.
While waiting for the forums to stabilize I also resumed working on VMCOG.
The version posted in the VMCOG thread will be renumbered v1.00 - I think it is solid enough, but if people find bugs, I will fix them.
Meanwhile, I've started a v1.500 tree on my server - this is the "big" VM version, with a hub-based page present lookup table. It even saves 64 longs in VMCOG!
As soon as I have it passing the assorted tests in VMCOG I will be creating a new thread for it and posting it.
Comments
Guess what I will be soldering?
Pics later today.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
OBC
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Propeller Feature Projects: PropellerPowered.com
Visit the: PROPELLERPOWERED SIG forum kindly hosted by Savage Circuits.
I am building it today...
I also updated the feature list in the first post so that it reflects the new PCB revision!
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 7/6/2010 6:00:38 PM GMT
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Links to other interesting threads:
· Home of the MultiBladeProps: TriBlade,·RamBlade,·SixBlade, website
· Single Board Computer:·3 Propeller ICs·and a·TriBladeProp board (ZiCog Z80 Emulator)
· Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
· Emulators: CPUs Z80 etc; Micros Altair etc;· Terminals·VT100 etc; (Index) ZiCog (Z80) , MoCog (6809)·
· Prop OS: SphinxOS·, PropDos , PropCmd··· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBlade Props: www.cluso.bluemagic.biz
I have one about 60% built; I will have to finish it tomorrow.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Why not DS1307 for the RTC since it can share the I2C bus with the EEPROM and it is cheaper?
How much would the fully built PropCade cost?
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www.fd.com.my
www.mercedes.com.my
That board looks like it has a lot of goodies. Please keep us updated as you get each one working.
All very exciting! Well done.
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www.smarthome.viviti.com/propeller
The PCF8563 is also on the I2C bus with the EEPROM, and from the sources I have is cheaper than the DS1307.
Example:
Digikey DS1307+ $3.74
Digikey PCF8563P $2.33
Both are dip8 qty.1 prices, but the PCF stays cheaper in larger quantities too.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Thanks! I will definitely keep this thread updated with the progress.
I can't wait to get it running.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
This board is configured for gaming, and I added all the options except for the Profinet balancing resistors.
Now to start adding chips and testing it all...
I will keep this thread updated; and I also plan to upload some pics tonight.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Sapieha pointed out to me that I missed your second question...
I don't yet know how much a fully build PropCade will cost. After I finish testing all features, I will have to make a bill of materials (BOM) and figure out my parts costs, and other associated costs; after which I will have to see how much it costs to build one.
I do intend to price it competitively.
PropCade will be offered as:
- full kit
- assembled and tested full system
and possibly
- partial kits (exact composition to be decided later)
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 7/7/2010 7:49:52 PM GMT
- power ok
- propeller found
- eeprom ok
- rs232 programming port ok
- vga ok
- uSD ok
Now back to more testing...
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
- SPI RAM ... problem ... I will trouble shoot later, after testing rest of features.
- audio ok
- keyboard ok
- video out ok
- mouse ok
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 7/8/2010 12:06:05 AM GMT
I have tested the "base" feature set, I will leave the remaining tests until after I solve the SPI RAM issue.
From testing so far, I know the problem is NOT:
- /CS decoding
- /HOLD
- a short between CLK/MOSI/MISO as uSD would then not work
- a cold solder joint
- bad ram chips
I am adding a CLK/MOSI/MISO test to PropCadeDiag to see if there is a missing connection to the SPI RAM's
I will keep updating this thread with my progress.
Features still to be tested:
- HCOMM (PropPlug/SerPlug/485Plug) interface not tested yet, I'll pull the CP3232 and test it later
- S-Video not tested yet - I have to find the test I used last time [noparse]:)[/noparse] but video works
- Joystick ports
- 2 user LED's
- RS485 networking
- IR Receive
- IR Xmit
Features that have been tested and work:
- voltage regulation
- EEPROM
- Real Time Clock
- VGA
- TV Out (RCA)
- keyboard
- mouse
- built in RS232 programming port
- audio output
- 74HC138 SPI device selection
- uSD
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 7/8/2010 3:32:07 PM GMT
Perhaps I busted something in VMCOG a couple of weeks ago, or maybe it is a noise issue. Stay tuned...
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
1) I have exhaustively tested the SPI RAM connections. Everything is fine at the hardware level.
2) Problem must be in the software. ARGH.
Update:
On a hunch, based on the output, I commented out the "initialize spi ram" section of code - and got the same results!
Conclusion: for some reason the chip's are not getting initialized properly on this board.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 7/8/2010 7:47:19 PM GMT
Sorry, I was distracted by some rush consulting work... but now I've received a new shipment of 74HC138's, and I was able to attack the bug with a fresh outlook [noparse]:)[/noparse]
As I suspected in my last post, it WAS a software issue. The code, which used to initialize all 6 ram chips, for some reason no longer initialized the first one.
After some minor code changes, the net effect of which was setting the chip select address a bit earlier, the initialization code now works!
I will now resume testing the rest of the features... and adding the initial FlexMem driver to VMCOG [noparse]:)[/noparse]
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
So far, I only have software for the 3 button mode (UP,DOWN,LEFT,RIGHT,START,A,B,C), I will add support for the X,Y,Z buttons later.
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
I am about to test IR out...
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Ok, now I have to test RS485... once that tests out, I can order a production run of PropCade PCB's!
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Did you find your S-video test?
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Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
8x8 color 80 Column NTSC Text Object
Wondering how to set tile colors in the graphics_demo.spin?
Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
I want to order a production run ASAP [noparse]:)[/noparse]
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
I built a little test board for the RS485 plug's so I can try to talk to PropCade over RS485.
Unfortunately I only have 5V SP485's in stock, so real RS485 testing will have to wait a couple of days while Digikey ships me some MAX3485's [noparse]:([/noparse]
Meanwhile I think I'll go back to S-Video for now...
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
Post Edited (Bill Henning) : 8/3/2010 5:52:24 PM GMT
While I am waiting for the MAX3485's to arrive, I decided to test 485Plug using 5V (to keep my SP485's in spec).
Worked just fine [noparse]:)[/noparse]
In other news, my new UTD2102CEL 100MHz (1Gsps) scope arrived... and I like it! It takes up FAR less desk space then my old Tek and HP!
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www.mikronauts.com E-mail: mikronauts _at_ gmail _dot_ com
My products: Morpheus / Mem+ / PropCade / FlexMem / VMCOG / Propteus / Proteus / SerPlug
and 6.250MHz Crystals to run Propellers at 100MHz & 5.0" OEM TFT VGA LCD modules
Las - Large model assembler Largos - upcoming nano operating system
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Links to other interesting threads:
· Home of the MultiBladeProps: TriBlade,·RamBlade,·SixBlade, website
· Single Board Computer:·3 Propeller ICs·and a·TriBladeProp board (ZiCog Z80 Emulator)
· Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
· Emulators: CPUs Z80 etc; Micros Altair etc;· Terminals·VT100 etc; (Index) ZiCog (Z80) , MoCog (6809)·
· Prop OS: SphinxOS·, PropDos , PropCmd··· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBlade Props: www.cluso.bluemagic.biz
Everyone: Sorry for the lack of posts, I am having "issues" getting a new password to my old transferred accounts due to it pointing to an old out of service email... and my creating "bhenning" instead of trying to reset the password on "Bill Henning" did not help.
UPDATES:
PropCade is now 100% verified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
485Plug is now 100% verified!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will be ordering production runs of the PCB's for PropCade and 485Plug, and should have them available for sale in 2-3 weeks.
Great news on the PropCade.
Now I only have 13 other boards to finish qualifying...
While waiting for the forums to stabilize I also resumed working on VMCOG.
The version posted in the VMCOG thread will be renumbered v1.00 - I think it is solid enough, but if people find bugs, I will fix them.
Meanwhile, I've started a v1.500 tree on my server - this is the "big" VM version, with a hub-based page present lookup table. It even saves 64 longs in VMCOG!
As soon as I have it passing the assorted tests in VMCOG I will be creating a new thread for it and posting it.