Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

General "chat", not necessarily MTX related
lezanderson
Posts: 186
Joined: 14 Aug 2012 15:31

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by lezanderson »

More information on the SAM Coupe can be found :


Sam Coupe Wiki Page :


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAM_Coup%C3%A9

The SAM Coupe site from QUAZAR

https://www.samcoupe.com/

Links to SAM Coupe sites:

https://sam.speccy.cz/samweb.html
lezanderson
Posts: 186
Joined: 14 Aug 2012 15:31

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by lezanderson »

CPLDs GALs PLDs and other programmable logic.

Before the days of programmable logic like CPLDs,GALs/PALs and the like, microcomputer systems used TTL or CMOS ICs as ‘Glue’ logic to build a microcomputer system. This greatly increased the chip count and PCB complexity, it also slowed the system down due to delay times of each glue logic chip. And microcomputer systems, especially memory wasn’t that fast anyhow ! This limited a microcomputers operational speed. Programmable logic did away with quite a few of these drawbacks. Obviously the CPLD/GAL etc had to be programmed to perform the function of the Glue logic.

See Wiki : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_logic_device

See Wiki : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_p ... gic_device

Here’s an example of a CPLD being used to generate a video display.

See PyroElectro :

http://www.pyroelectro.com/

http://www.pyroelectro.com/tutorials/fp ... istor_dac/
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Dave
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Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by Dave »

Perhaps more "on topic" for this forum . . . .

Martin has been working on a Commodore PET co-processor board for MTXPlus+

A work in progress, but it also uses a CPLD to generate VGA

http://primrosebank.net/computers/pet/p ... emopet.htm
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lezanderson
Posts: 186
Joined: 14 Aug 2012 15:31

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by lezanderson »

Quazar (For the SAM Coupe) >> https://www.samcoupe.com/

Quazar is currently designig a NEW SAM Coupe ??

Pandemonium - a new SAM!

>>
*** Extract from the Quazar website * below:

************************************************************************************************************************************************************

It started with three tweets on my twitter account on 1st January...

(1of3) 2019. It's now 26 years since I bought my first SAM Coupe and 24 years since I started Quazar and all my frantic developing for the system. It's a shame the SAM didn't thrive, but I often imagine what I could do if I ever got my hands on a handful of SAM's ASIC chips.

(2of3) The ASIC is the unique custom chip at the heart of the SAM Coupe. What could I do if I had some? A new SAM drastically enhanced with my extra peripherals and a faster Z80, plus an eZ80 co-processor? That would surely be some advanced micro! It would be utter pandemonium!

(3of3) I just need those SAM Coupe ASIC chips... Oh wait... I have over 200 ?? Okay... Hmm... Pandemonium... Thats a funky codename for a new SAM! So, I happily announce 'Pandemonium'! I've a long way to go but it's underway! Stay tuned...

While initially sounding a bit cryptic, I did just announce my next hardware project that will follow on from Symbiote!

Codenamed 'Pandemonium' for the time being, this will be a new SAM!

Yes, you did read that right, a new SAM!
Quazar
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Joined: 10 Aug 2019 20:08

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by Quazar »

You missed off the rest of the article that I posted up on my site at http://www.samcoupe.com/ on the 1st of January...

What makes this possible? Well, as covered in my new year tweets, I've got my hands on several hundred of the ASIC chips - that's the customised VLSI logic array designed by Bruce Gordon, that provides all the main system logic of the SAM Coupe - graphics generation, memory paging, interrupts, MIDI, keyboard reading etc, etc.

Why the name 'Pandemonium'? It's expanding on 'Mayhem' the name I used for my prototype SAM accelerator. While interest was very low over a decade ago it never fully progressed into a released unit, however on the basis that I'll be able to make a limited quantity of spanking new SAMs it makes sense to add in whatever I can incorporate, so that does include making it faster if possible. I've already updated my accelerator design, so couple that with most of my other hardware peripherals that I've designed and released over the years, such as the Trinity Ethernet Interface [Ethernet + SD Mass storage] and the forthcoming Symbiote [eZ80 co-processor + advanced sound, backwards compatible with my original SAM Coupe soundcard - the Quazar Surround], it'll be a rather fantastic computer!


:D
Last edited by Quazar on 17 Aug 2019 21:40, edited 1 time in total.
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1024MAK
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Location: Looking forward to summer, in Somerset, UK

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by 1024MAK »

Sounds interesting, I’ll have to visit your site more often.

By the way, you need to include the full link otherwise the forum thinks you are linking to another page on this site, so use http://www.samcoupe.com in the link tags ;-)

Mark
:!: Standby alert :!:
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Step up to red alert. Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb :!:
Looking forward to summer in Somerset later in the year :D

Not as many MTXs as Dave! :lol:
rogerjowett
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Joined: 03 Nov 2019 04:33

Re: Homebrew DIY SAM Coupe ?

Post by rogerjowett »

does n e 1 know n y thing about the fpu chip?

3¼mips...

https://youtu.be/zsjTpFR0oYQ
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