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Dennis Bernardo D'Annunzio
My main current project is a S-100/IEEE696 replica computer. The initial version has all new-built boards, a modern power supply, a new card cage and enclosure. I am currently building and testing the board set (including the baseboard). Below are some outlines of my current project and thoughts. I hope to contribute more in the future as things progress and time permits (images, text docs, eda docs, etc.)
Board Set Build and Test (in progress)
S100 Z80 SBC
S100 Propeller based I/O (rear panel)
S100 V4 Baseboard
S100 Monitor (front panel)
Enclosure Design (SW or PRO/E) (in progress)
Card Cage
PS Cage
Main Case/Chassis
Front Panel
Rear Panel
Designed within the constraints of available machining tools
Software Setup/Work (from S100)
Monitor ROM (from S100)
CP/M BIOS and setup (CF on SBC)
Once the computer is completed, I am interested in using the computer for a few projects. The enclosure work will take the longest, but I can start using the computer once the board set is completed and tested. I have a lot of experience with Atmel ATMEGA uC and hope to put some of these devices inside an S100.
MIDI interface - leverage the realtime capability of the S100 system (without interrupts) to create a tight MIDI sequencer
Features and UI similar to Roland MC50 and/or MC80
both of those have 2 line LCD interface that works well (no piano roll)
hardware UI with buttons and scroll wheel
Workstation and Live type functions
record/overdub
Looping
rhythm track
Multiple MIDI ports, programmatically assigned (in/out/merge/filter/etc.)
FPGA Personality Driver for CPU (Master/Slave) Board
Emulate one (or multiple) CPU boards, new or vintage
Emulate disk images
Use FPGA/Atmel ATMEGA combo core
Use Atmel for A/D (and D/A)
Use Atmel for user main loops after setup of FPGA, utilize RS232 interface or other between them.
Also possibly use Atmel chip for bootloader interface to S-100 bus (using SIO interface)
Direct bus to FPGA - FPGA for interface logic
i8080
i8085
i8086 (x86): i80186, i80286, i80386,i80486
z80
m6805
m68000?, etc.
specific mfg boards, from Cromemco, IMSAI, Ithaca?, etc.
GPS RTC board
Always correct, based on GPS time and GPS location
Possible DMA/memory mapped interfaces?
Vacuum Tube System Monitor (front panel or external)
programmable display
steampunk
References
http://tubes-store.com/index.php?cPath=32_93
Touch screen System Monitor (front panel) (modern)
Power supply telemetry (voltage, current, temps)
It's about time RFU was used, eh? How about an i2c bus?
(bluesky) Baseboard upgrade with per-slot power supply telemetry (voltage, current)
(bluesky) Baseboard upgrade with programmable per-slot power supply voltages and telemetry
It's about time RFU was used, eh? Ethernet/twisted pair - wist traces on PCB as necessary, slot interconnect interleave