FE3 - Recovered Technical Documents from lost website

[joshuadenmark]

Just a thought but can't we get the manufacturing files from Donald if he has stopped doing FE3?

Donald just seems to be out of stock, and is ill

[Groovydrifter]

I think Donald is being affected by the Olimex PCB manufacturing temporary shutdown:

Dear Customers,

We are sorry to inform you that the PCB prototype service is temporary suspended due to the lack of free capacity.

As you know we had long vacation in August and people was keep sending PCB prototypes even while we were on vacation, this created so huge backlog that we couldn't repond to all PCB jobs for more than a week after we resumed work.

On top of this our lines usually are loaded close to 100% with the production of our own development boards and having such additional big load start to mess with our production schedules and delay our development boards production and shipments which is unacceptable.

We are sorry for this situation and we expect this to improve in the next months, so we can re-enable this service at fist possibility, but effectively from September 17th the PCB prototype service is suspended.

All orders which are quoted and accepted before with PO forms will be shipped (some of them may be shipped with delay) but new orders will not be processed until we re-enable this service.

Usually PCB's are published @ forum64.de but I can't find any V10 board layout there.

[e5frog]

I asked Donald the other day but he's not 100% so I guess it may take some time.

LiebeKunden/Ueser, danke für Eurer Geduld des Watens. Unsere Aushilfe hat das Handtuch geschmissen und ich liege ncch bis ca. ende des Monat in Hagen in der Rehaklinik. Habe bisher schon Gute Vortschritte gemacht, das ich kommenden Monat wieder loslegen kann soweit es geht.

But I'm almost done with my re-CAD.
There are a lot of other manufacturers than Olimex and I imagine a proper board with silkscreen and chemical gold plating isn't really your ordinary "prototype" kind of board. It would have been nice to make one with electroplated nickel/gold but for myself I might be able to get the chemical version at work.

Groovydrifter: So the Rev9 board and earlier are available for download somewhere (CAD-files, not just images)?
I think the size of the previous revisions is because the free version of EagleCAD only allows for 100x80mm (I think the old versions of EagleCAD allowed for 160x100mm). With 130mm width it requires a registered version for Rev10 if you want to make it from scratch.


Anyway, I'm done, left to do is to check size and do a few checks of everything so nothing has been missed, this is my revised version, it's not exactly like Donald's rev 10, there were some cosmetic details and autorouter-like roundtrips that I removed and rerouted.
I'll clean up the schematic and then I'll add the files to the forum.


Fits pretty well, not sure how consistent sizes are on shells though.

[Groovydrifter]

Sorry... they are not. I thought they were but all that remain are dead links to old Diddl's web.

I tested the sd2iec firmware version in my FE3 and as I thougt it is 0.10.3 So if I'm not wrong, the last one.

User cbmhardware has been working on the firmware and noticed the forbidden problem. He just asked what was happening but there is still no response. Anyway I can't read German so I may have misunderstood something.

[Vic20-Ian]

I speak German if you need a translation. I translated the original FE3 manual and build guide.

[Groovydrifter]

Oh.. good. There is a thread called 'SD2IEC Platinensammelbestellung?'.. in the last two pages there are some mean interaction between Unseen (maybe the hoster of sd2iec.de) and other users. After this cbmhardware notices that the web no longer allows user interaction with firmware files or repository.

May be those two things related? I'm native spanish speaker reading an english translated german site because the german to spanish translation is just a joke... I'm probably missing something but this looks just like the same that happened with the Cortex Gotek firmware for the Amiga...[emoji45]

[e5frog]

Could very well be the same problem, people work for free, other people make money off their work and they get offended (and should be).

I just finished remaking the label, 2014 edition, more like the original with the blocky IEC-logo and the VIC-cartridge font, here's a one layer rendition with some softness on top.



I thought I might just as well upload the copied FE V3 Rev 10 schematics and board layout, in case someone wants to take a chance before me or check for errors (so I don't have to cut traces or solder wires because of some stupid mistake). Both went through the checks (ERC and DRC) so there's nothing big, but I still might have missed some detail somewhere.

Final Expansion V3 Rev10 EagleCAD Pro610.7z

(465.36 KiB) Downloaded 149 times

[Groovydrifter]

Excellent work!

[joshuadenmark]

Yes, this looks really good, super work!

[e5frog]

Found the sd2iec v0.10.3 as well in an upload archive from 2012.
Might as well complete the project and add this currently (in the normal place) missing piece of the puzzle.

I'm guessing it's just the proper bootloader left to find...

sd2iec-0.10.3-binaries.zip

(318.76 KiB) Downloaded 101 times

sd2iec-0.10.3.tar.gz

(229.38 KiB) Downloaded 99 times

[e5frog]

I tidied up the text logo on the board as well, took it from the label that was pieced together from scanned letters off of real carts. Imported as higher resolution bmp and then I also decided to trace the edges and make them into vectors - when running checks it always complains about those thin lines that imported graphics are built from - thousands of them.

Increased thickness a bit as well so it would look more like Donald's version. Turned out sweet.

[e5frog]

How does the SD card holder look on the original, the png image I first used mentions the obsolete Alps SCDA5A0201 which has a stand off of 1.8mm and seems to me that this increase the need for more plastic to be cut away from the already present slot in the back of all C= cartridges I have seen. The PCB is about 1mm above the groove of the bottom shell, PCB is usually 1.6mm so that's where we run out of space and need to cut into the upper shell. Stand off connector adds to the amount of plastic needed to be removed.

The PCB could actually extend into the slot to fill that gap neatly with 4.5x55mm extra space, if PCB was extended outside the shell you could in theory have put buttons and LEDs there without having to drill any holes in the shell. I was really set on combining leds and buttons, a bit of a shame really now that they have gotten their own position there on the left. Haven't really found a good illuminated version of the standard push button switch - I mean there are even illuminated rocker switches...



Which could be a possibility if its (ON)-OFF (momentary ON).
Ideally I'd like illuminated buttons, small height and the type with a middle section pushed in so there's less chance of an accidental reset.


Anyway, I wondered, is the socket flush to the PCB or is it just standing on pins and holders some 1.5mm above the PCB?
There aren't any components under the SD connector so they aren't using the space, perhaps it's for issues with EMI? As far as I could see there seems to be a metal plate on the PCB side of the SD connector so there's some shielding in that direction - if that's important.

I'm trying to find a good replacement for a socket, would be interesting to see what type Donald has used. There are various sorts on eBay but it would be nice to get one that has a readily available footprint drawing etc.


I noticed there already was a PCB with about the same shape as the Rev10 EF3 in this here Speech Synthesizer:
http://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bul ... php?t=1260

Here's even one with a connector, I guess that's why they made all carts with this slot.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... icieee.jpg


EDIT:
Seems the original SD connector is with some amount of stand off, so I'll look for that then... it's the only component left to sort out in the puzzle.

[Groovydrifter]

Yes, I had to cut the cartridge case to leave space for te SD and I also thought how nice it would have been if you could insert and remove the card through the slot that already is there. It could also have been nice if the serial cable had been a flat belt cable and used the same slot to get out of the cartridge case.

But I think that the worst problem is the led and the buttons. Drilling holes so they are half hole in each case half is difficult. In my case I usually install Kernel switchs and resets in the small space left of the cartridge hole (back view left) because there is an empty space on the board there (the c64 has not that space as it has one more joystick port). In the computers I've modded that way the cartridge buttons are too close to the reset/switch ones. The leds in the side are less visible too. If I had to choose I'll try to make those came out of the case by it's front (top inserted).

I know it's more easy criticize than design from the start (we say here something like "It's easy bullfighting an already dead bull"), but if something is going to be redone the stupid thing would be not saying the problems you have noticed to see if they can be fixed...

And talking about cases... does somebody know if there are ready to be 3d printed cases? I don't have a 3d printer, but maybe someone prefers to print (or pay someone to print) a case rather than destroying a cartridge.

[e5frog]

If the SD connector had been mounted in a cut out of the PCB it could use the available slot.
It would require some rerouting, it might be possible - I'll probably try it...

I wonder if intensive LEDs would be visible through the plastic, it could be sanded down a little maybe... label could have indicator texts for the red and green lights...


Don't you drill the holes with the case closed, is it difficult?

If buttons are top mounted there's not much height for the buttons, something like 12-13mm.
I found some decent looking buttons, illuminated, but they're 25mm deep so they won't fit unless room is made on the PCB for a larger cut out.

I remember seeing a VIC-20 case in a blue 3D shape when I googled, don't know if it's a freely available drawing. I could whip one up, I've done a Fairchild Channel F cartridge and also Videobrain cart and some smaller stuff. I was considering a 3D print, I'm expecting it to be a lot more expensive than grabbing the cheapest decent looking cart though.

I guess I can do any changes I want to, PCB can be increased in size a little more, things can be moved around, flat cable for IEC going out through slot sounds neat and "sinking in" the SD connector so it can use the slot as well. Regarding the buttons it could be quite possible to use plain "keyboard push buttons" those little black clicking ones and either use the ones with a long button or if adding LEDs - use a transparent/semi-transparent piece of plastic as a button, hole doesn't need to be more than a few mm, point a LED to it and the LED and buttons are solved with the same hole - on top. Only two holes need to be drilled, push buttons from above. Even better - those micro switches in mouse buttons will fit, two of those, an up-side down mushroom shaped transparent piece of plastic through a small hole and the button is done.

The IEC cable could even have sockets, plain strip - in case you'd want it removable.

So, two of these on the PCB:


Semi-transparent button, perhaps something like this:
http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attac ... 1153794044

Point leds on the plastic button and LEDs should be visible enough - just like they do on mouse scroll wheels with the transparent silicon rubber for that extra cool look.


I understand the decisions on how it was made from start, it needed to be cheap and fairly easy to make and readily available parts. Anything special makes it more expensive and harder to source parts.

[e5frog]

So in theory something like this, the IEC connector is probably better to place left of the SD connector (traces not routed).