Macintosh LC Hardware Book Recommendations

[danifunker]

Greetings!

I recently came across the Guide to Macintosh Family Hardware 2nd Edition which has a lot of details pertaining to low-level hardware things on the Macintosh II. Unfortunately the book was published about a month after the Macintosh LC was launched so they didn't include any of those details in that book. I'm hoping to get something at that level for the Macintosh LC.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks a lot!

 

[joevt]

Service Source?
Developer Note?
https://www.macdat.net/repair/apple_docs.html
Looks like there's no developer note pdf there.

Here's some docks in Microsoft Word 4 (for Macintosh) format. I guess you can open them in Infinite Mac. There's also a PDF converted version. You might want to try Infinite Mac, install the Garamond font, open the files in Microsoft Word 4, then print to PDF either using an emulated printer or using the PrintToPDF system extension.
https://68kmla.org/bb/threads/lc-developer-note.41114/

 

[danifunker]

Here's the macintosh LC developer notes in PDF

 

[joevt]

Illustration not supplied in digital file

Where does one find the missing figures?

 

[Arbee]

I know a fair amount about the LC given MAME emulates it register-level throughout and supports PDS cards. What do you need to know beyond what's in the developer note?

 

[danifunker]

I'm building an MiSTerFPGA core for the LC, and it is getting stuck in the STM. Is there anything STM emits or something that I can query to figure out what the issue might be?

 

[danifunker]

I'm getting
<E0>*APPLE*00117B340A02*D*

Off the Serial port, not sure if that helps

 

[danifunker]

Now it's
<E0>*APPLE*00117B340302*D*

 

[joevt]

I'm building an MiSTerFPGA core for the LC, and it is getting stuck in the STM. Is there anything STM emits or something that I can query to figure out what the issue might be?

Try this?
https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/new-diagnostic-tool.4593/

MiSTerFPGA core for the LC means you are emulating an LC on the MiSTerFPGA? Does the MiSTerFPGA have a serial port you can connect to?

 

[Arbee]

Are you intending it to go into STM TechStep mode or is the problem that it's going into that instead of booting? That's controlled by bit 0 of VIA port A, 1 = normal boot, 0 = STM.

 

[danifunker]

I think it’s being dropped into STM and was hoping to get some details on sending commands over SCC to get further details.

 

[Arbee]

Just for reference, it won't normally drop into STM unless PA0 tells it to. So if you weren't intending it to do that, now you know why.

As far as commands, mac68k.info is currently down, but this Wayback Machine link should work: https://web.archive.org/web/20210310172429/https://mac68k.info/wiki/display/mac68k/Diagnostic+Mode

 

[danifunker]

This is a goldmine of information, thanks so much. I hope this helps to unblock my progress

 

[Arbee]

LC's not the easiest to get going but far from the hardest. The early hang-ups are:

1) Egret (the 68HC05 microcontroller) has to exist or you probably won't chime
2) The memory sizing routine will get angry in a hurry if the V8 bank sizing registers don't do what they're supposed to
3) The 24/32 bit switch has to work (it just blocks the A31 address line from the '020 for 24-bit mode). The motherboard ignores A24-A30 (not A31 if it's enabled!) but most of those lines are available to PDS cards.