MicroMac Performer Redux: Cloning a 68030 Accelerator for Compact Macs

[Bolle]

This would have been too easy...

At least it boots but as soon as you try to access the NIC it just freezes. Doesn't matter if I have the RAM plugged in or not.

Also all combinations of accelerator driver, CompactVirtual and Asante drivers do not make a difference.

The accelerator has another port which can be used by a graphics card I think. This should be useable as a PDS passthrough as well.

Time to buzz the connections at that connector out as well. Maybe some slight bending of some signals is needed to pull off the additional PDS card thing.

CompactVirtual will let you set an address range for a custom PDS card, so it can do its magic and move around device addresses while not moving things into the specified address range of the PDS card.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

That Accelerator's way too complicated! KISS! I'll bet an SE PDS expansion card will work without a hiccup on the Performer. We'll see when I get to the point of testing.

1 - confirm my board's functional in the Drexel Plus/Killy Klip

2 - install Killy Klip/Performer on SE CPU - PDS is unblocked in an SE/Killy Klip Config

------- if that works I can test an SE PDS card if I can find one. :/

3 - desolder SE's CPU

4 - install machine pin socket strips in CPU's thruholes

5 - test SE with 68000 in machine pin socket
6 - remove 68000

7 - install tall machine pin header strips into CPU socket

8 - install Performer on machine pins sans 68000

9 - sacrifice lamb on the alter of the digital gods - then flip power switch

Hopefully celebrate over lambchops at dinner. [}]

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Just checked SE vs. SE/30 PDS positioning. Looks like I'll need to scootch the 96 pin connector back from the front edge of the card a bit for the PCB to fit up through the SE/30 chassis opening. But it'll fit, no biggie!

 

[techknight]

Pretty much the same way we (and I use that term very loosely) got ProtoCache1 up and running. joethezombie did the magical job of brute forcing the basic functions of his IIsi Adapter GAL. Then he and our resident wizard Bolle worked out equations to get that IIsi adaptation up and running. Bolle divined the function of the DiiMO adapter GAL, developed the equations (along with Joe?) and now that's up and running on Bolle's SE/30 DiiMO clone boards.

joe's on hiatus for a bit, real life tends to soak up development time. Hoping he'll play with my Performer's GALs upon his return. Bolle has a lot of applicable, open source information from the Amiga side of things and elsewhere for GAL equations needed to interface a 68030 accelerator with a 68000.

Ohh, I didn't know any of that ever took place. I never bother looking at alot of those threads because 99% of the time it turns out to be a bunch of discussion and nothing ever happens or nobody ever does anything (me included alot of times). 

Thats the one big wammy. another big wammy is to me "protocache" is deceiving because I dont know what it is, or own anything related to it. But eh..

I digress...

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

ProtoCache1 was just a code name I picked out of a hat for the wire wrap prototype. joe liked the Rogue One tie in so we stuck with it. Unfortunately, most everything we discussed was in a series of massive email threads, not out in the open forums the way I would prefer it. Bolle jumped into the project with both feet and despite my tangential meanderings, I think we made a good team effort of it.

I'd like to keep this discussion out in the open, lots of folks have something to contribute. I've been leaving a trail Portable crumbs along the thread to see if you'd jump into the game.  []

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

@Bolle

Have you begun buzzing that board?

Does it identify itself as the Gemini Accelerator? Probably as they named the VMem board Mercury.

The 76(?) pin board interconnect would be what I'm eager to explore.

Were you already thinking about using a 72pin SIMM?

My next AI session will be to break the VMem board and Performer out of the unified version onto two 10x10 PCB representations with that interconnect. A block diagram showing the components as is on Performer and Mercury would be one version.

A large scale visual thinker's conceptual layout will place the tandem pairs of Mercury SIMMs in a standard stacked memory bank configuration. I'll append a stretched version of my SIMMspender 30pin SIMM bank to 72pin SIMM converter to that so that three pages aligned will make visualization a snap. I know you like to see things arranged in much the same manner, do you have any suggestions?

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Did the middle part first  .  .  .



.  .  .  so I can start to get a handle on how that crazy board of yours works, Bolle.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

The accelerator has another port which can be used by a graphics card I think. This should be useable as a PDS passthrough as well.

Time to buzz the connections at that connector out as well. Maybe some slight bending of some signals is needed to pull off the additional PDS card thing.

CompactVirtual will let you set an address range for a custom PDS card, so it can do its magic and move around device addresses while not moving things into the specified address range of the PDS card.

I've been thinking about this aspect of CV combined with something like my MaxMemIIsi board. It addresses 72pin SIMMs as replacements for Banks A and B in the IIsi.

Could Compact Virtual be set up to address a second bank of RAM as a silicon Disk? IIRC it's limited to 32MB of VRAM for System Memory. Can it set up the address range for another Bank of RAM as a "custom PDS" Silicon Disk card? Having a 32MB (or more?) SSD equivalent on board would be  .  .  .

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

View attachment 21381

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Spent a nice evening working on the first page of my new coloring book. Started by buzzing GAL-U3

So far, so maybe:

On their way from 68000 to the 68030, the GALs are monitoring:

FC0

FC1

FC2

A19

A20

A21

A22

Disappearing into the GAL maelstrom at U3:

DTAC

Magically emerging from GAL U3:

AVEC - PGA Pin E2 - SMT Pin 7

I'll scan to emailed .PDF from work to post a pretty (confusing) pic later. :lol:

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

 

[IlikeTech]

I may be able to possibly help with PCB layout.  I have some experience.  Would you use an autorouter?  Eagle is out of the question because the new version is crapware.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Could be, thanks. I've posted a dedicated thread for discussion of the pros-n-cons of the various packages available. I've been sitting on a full version of PADs that oP sent my way a while back on my Win98 Dell Pentium Box with the dongle shoved up its  .  .  .





Been thinking about trying something more modern, but am hesitant to give up on playing with design software from my day. That's a hobby unto itself. Gerbers is Gerbers.

Be that as it may, finishing a schematic will be one chip at a time for quite some time. h34r:

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Finished page 2 in the new coloring book. The connections to GAL U4 are documented. No more pretty orange address lines on the page this time. The light green web of inter-GAL connections now extends to all five ICs. Four more control lines disappear into the GAL maelstrom and one emerges from a pin connected to a second GAL, that'll be interesting. AS comes out there, butthe 68000 AS has yet to be pulled into the storm. Maybe on p.3?

Magically emerging from GAL U4 is DSACK1, which isn't on the 68000 pinout menu.

Silly to try to describe any of this in words, I'll just post the p.2 pic from the coloring book when I get a chance tomorrow.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

MicroMac Accelerator Family:



I've been wondering if my Performer was sire or grandson? My statistically insignificant sample of three puts the Performers three years later on the timeline than the one legible Pic I have of a MultiSpeed. The more capable accelerators were based on a cutting edge ASIC of some sort ahd the Performer is a cut to the bone bargain basement accelerator put a little life back into ancient Compacts of the late Quadra era.

Whether the others were built onto the foundations of the Performer or it was torn from their vitals using cheap as components doesen't really matter. Performer looks to be the perfect wedge into the world of 68030 on 68000. I am developing a real hope of boosting its clock to 33MHz. Maybe we can add some features of the others from this blunted "Keystone" wedge.

Can anyone add more model/date data to the mix?

 

[joethezombie]

Good afternoon gents--  I'm back!  Not quite yet fully in the saddle, but at least I got one leg in the stirrups!

Can anyone add more model/date data to the mix?

I think perhaps I can help with that!  Here's a pdf of a MicroMac upgrade booklet I scanned.

View attachment MicroMac_Upgrade_Guide.pdf

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

It's great to see you back at any level of participation at all, joe. You've been much missed.

So wonderful you've shown up at the door of the joint with such a beautiful house gift! THX! []

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Interesting they call it a 32MHz Accelerator:

SE @ 7.8336MHz x 2 = 15.662MHz = SE/30 x 2 = 31.3344MHz which they rounded UP to 32MHz