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New csa2 FAQs: F002ACCEL (Part 2 of 2)
From: Andrew Roughan
013- Now that faster 65C816's are available, can I upgrade my
Transwarp to run at a higher speed?
Hot news travels fast these days, and seemingly none travels faster than
the news of "14Mhz" 65C816 chips. The undercurrent at Kansasfest always
brimmed with comments about Tim Meekins running his Transwarp GS
accelerator (TWGS) at 13.75Mhz or Steven Chiang running at 14Mhz. For
those of us without accelerators, running at 2.8Mhz, this is mind
bogglingly fast!
The chips in question originated from Sanyo who re-engineered the 65C816
to boost its performance. The Sanyo chips run at higher speeds without
needing higher voltages or cooling systems. Western Design Center (WDC -
the company behind development of the 65xxx series) purchased a large
batch of these chips directly from Sanyo and has made them available to
people wishing to upgrade their TWGS boards.
WDC has always been able to provide limited quantities of 'engineering
parts' which performed better than 7Mhz, but the Sanyo batch has brought
the average performance to greater than 12Mhz.
So with a faster processor available, are manufacturers offering faster
accelerators? Zip Technology offered an upgrade for a short time and now
lists a 14Mhz Zip GSX card. Applied Engineering has folded, but,
fortunately, it is easy enough to do it yourself.
The article by Andrew Hall, prepared for Western Design Center and
published in September 1991 "Applecations", outlines four steps for
getting the best possible speed out of the TWGS.
The National AppleWorks Users Group (NAUG) publication 'AppleWorks
Forum' has three articles containing very detailed, accurate and
informative information written by John Link. The issues are March,
April and May 1991. These three issues are considered 'must read'
material and are supplied by WDC to any prospective TWGS upgrader. When
you contact WDC to purchase a 65C816 chip, they will insist on sending
this document (by fax or mail) before processing your order.
The aim of this article is to give additional information not generally
available. The upgrading steps are still the same, but now the faster
parts available make it easier to get a faster speed which may tempt
more Transwarp GS owners to break the 10Mhz barrier.
Prerequisites
The TWGS needs ROM version 1.5 (or greater) to work at speeds greater
than 7Mhz. The current ROM can be obtained directly from Applied
Engineering for US$20. The NAUG document describes how to replace the
ROM. It is recommended that the TWGS have the 32k Cache upgrade. This
will give you the latest ROM, faster cache memory and complimentary
performance improvements. The 32k Cache upgrade can be purchased locally
from Two Series Software for $99.
The other speed dependent parts on the TWGS are the GAL chips which are
seated together on the right hand side of the card. The minimum versions
that are known to work are TWGS1A1, TWGS2B1, TWGS3E1, TWGS4B1, TWGS5A1,
TWGS6A1, TWGS7A1, TWGS8B1. A fast GAL chip set is available from LRO
Computer Sales for $79 + shipping.
Applied Engineering's code for the set is 10MHZPALKIT. Obtaining the
Microprocessor Replacement 65C816 chips are obtained directly from WDC.
The processors cost US$95. Shipping by airmail is an extra US$5. NAUG
members can obtain 65C816 chips for US$71.25.
I really shouldn't point out that if a group got together to purchase
65C816s in one shipment, that it would be worthwhile for one person to
join NAUG - membership is US$31. Obtaining the Crystal oscillator The
WDC supplied document explains why the oscillator must be four times the
speed that you wish to run your system at. The shmoo plot supplied with
the processor will enable you to identify what speed the processor can
run at.
You then must obtain the appropriate oscillator. Oscillators are
available on this side of the Pacific Ocean from Clarke & Severn
Electronics. Different speed oscillators have different prices ranging
up to $12. Contact them for information as to pricing and availability.
Non "off the shelf" speed oscillators can also be ordered at a cost of
$21 each. The TWGS uses a 1/2 TTL oscillator.
The oscillators supplied by Clarke & Severn are standard size TTL
oscillators. This means you will need to modify the oscillator to fit
the TWGS. The WDC supplied document describes one method of doing this.
Another is to obtain a 16 pin DIP socket from Dick Smith Electronics for
40 cents. Cut 8 pins off of one end, and solder a jumper wire between
the 8th pin (cut off) and the 4th pin (not cut off) on each side.
This method has the added advantage of making oscillator swapping an
effortless task whereas the NAUG method involves modifying the actual
oscillator. As an alternative to Clarke & Severn, you may like to try
Digi-Key in the USA. Digi-Key have the following 1/2 TTL oscillators
which fit into the TWGS with no modifications:
Mhz Part Price (US$)
------ ------ -----
32 SE1101 3.60
33.33 SE1102 3.60
36 SE1103 3.60
40 SE1104 3.60
42 SE1105 3.60
46 SE1106 3.60
48 SE1107 3.60
50 SE1108 3.60
55 SE1109 3.60
60 SE1110 3.75
If you wish to look for other alternatives, make sure that you get TTL
or CMOS oscillators. Sizes are 1/2 or standard. They come in metal and
plastic bodies. The plastic ones work just fine and are possibly
cheaper.
Obtaining faster cache memory
The standard TWGS 8k cache memory is 45 nanoseconds (ns). The 32k cache
memory is 35ns. 35ns is supposedly fast enough for 14Mhz so you may not
need faster SRAMs than this. Experimentation is still continuing in this
area. SRAMs used by the TWGS and Zip GS are 32768x8 general purpose
SRAMs. Try and get chips needing the lowest power requirements.
Sony makes a very low power 25ns chip, CXK58258B-25LL, and a 15ns chip
CXK58258A-15. VLSI Tech make 25ns, 20ns and 15ns chips: VT62832UHL-25,
VT62832UHL-20, VT62832UHL-15. Other 25ns chips are Mosel, MS62256-25,
and Paradigm, PDM41256L-25.
All the chips mentioned are available in 28 pin DIPS, with tri-state
outputs. Some may only be available in .3 inch or .6 inch widebody
packages. My TWGS 32k Cache upgrade takes the .3 inch packages but you
should check yours to make sure you get the correct size, otherwise some
messy soldering could be involved.
Increasing the Power Supply Increasing the power supply increases the
performance of the processor, oscillator and GAL chip components thereby
giving improved system performance. There are two methods of increasing
the power supply to the TWGS. The first is to increase the voltage level
output from the power supply which affects the whole system.
Adjusting the power supply output is not a user servicable operation.
Applied Engineering sell a 5.25 volt supply to NAUG members. The second
is to use the 12 volt supply line on the TWGS edge connector, see Andrew
Hall's article for this procedure. Running your 65C816 higher than 5.5
volts is asking for trouble.
The buffer chips in the TWGS and the IIgs are TTL and the design
tolerances on those don't guarantee they will survive anything above 5.5
volts. There's going to be some drop, so feeding the 65C816 5.6 volts
would probably work since the rest of the machine will still see 5.5
volts, but it is not recommended to go above 5.6 volts under any
circumstances.
System testing
You should allow a significant period of running time to make sure that
your system is reliable. Your system may work well when cool but crash
unmercilessly when warm.
Success Stories
Steven Chiang (DreamWorld Software) 14Mhz
Tim Meekins (Procyon) 13.75Mhz
Chris Deschu (Internet user) 13.75Mhz
Chris Nelligan (AUG Vice-president) 12.5Mhz
Cameron Brawn (AUG Apple // sysop) 11.5Mhz
I am currently running my ROM 3 system at 12.5Mhz. I purchased a ROM
1.8S Transwarp GS with the 32k cache upgrade directly from Two Series
Software.
The GAL versions are TWGS1A1, TWGS2B1, TWGS3E1, TWGS4B1, TWGS5A1,
TWGS6A1, TWGS7A1, TWGS8B1. I bought a WDC engineering part 65C816 for
$180 (including UPS freight and duty), a 50Mhz oscillator (to run my
system at 12.5Mhz) from Clarke & Severn for $7.50. I have not purchased
faster SRAMs or modified the power supply.
PARTS SUPPLIERS
High speed 65C816 processors are available from
Western Design Center Inc. (WDC) (602) 962-4545
Oscillators are available from:
Clarke & Severn Electronics (02) 482-1944
PO Box 1
Hornsby NSW 2077
Digi-Key (218) 681-6674
US$5 handling charge on orders under US$25.
Fast GAL chip sets were available from:
LRO Computer Sales (815) 338-8658
It is recommended to make sure that the item is in stock before
offering payment details.
Transwarp GS 32k cache upgrades are available from:
Two Series Software (02) 606-9343
PO Box 1
West Hoxton NSW 2171
Fast SRAMs are available from:
Sony (714) 220-9100 or VLSI Tech (408) 434-3100
National AppleWorks Users Group
Box 87453
Canton, MI 48187
(313) 454-1115
____________________________
From: Scott G.
014- How do I do the 14 MHz ZipGS upgrade?
The process is very simple.
Alltech Electronics stocks the WDC65C816-14MHz for $20. You need one of
this part. Alltech's web site is http://www.allelec.com/
Digi-Key stocks 0.3mil to 0.6mil adapter sockets for about $7 each. The
ones you want are part number A502-ND. You can plug a 28 pin SRAM into
the 0.3mil adapter socket and the adapter in turn plugs into the 0.6mil
socket on the Zip. Digi-Key web site http://www.digikey.com/ (If you
have some spare sockets lying around, you can build your own cheap, but
that's another story.)
JDR Microdevices is a good source of SRAMs. You'll want 15ns in tag
(HM62832-15, $5 each) and, usually, you can transfer your original tag
chips to the data sockets. JDR's web site is http://www.jdr.com/
A full size oscillator. Both Digi-Key and JDR has these. Divide
oscillator speed by four to get Zip speed. JDR has the OSC50.0 (50MHz
oscillator), which will make a 12.5MHz Zip. Digi-Key has faster parts.
Now Nate's FAQ says that you need to replace the 74F00 with 74HC00. I
did NOT have to do this to get it running at 13.75MHz.
Also, it is possible to use your original tag chips in the data
sockets. Data should always be slower than tag. Barry Rees posted his
experiences on this matter (that data should be significantly slower
than tag) and I found that the original tag chips were in the right
speed range. So, you just take out your original data chips and put
them aside. Remove your tag chips and plug them into the data sockets.
Plug your new 15ns chips into the Digi-Key adapters and plug the
adapters into the tag sockets of the Zip. Install the new CPU and
oscillator. That's it, done completely without soldering.
____________________________
From: Frank M. Lin
015- What GALs version do I need to speed up my TWGS?
Basically, you have to have the following GALs to go over 10 MHz:
1A, 2B, 3E, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8B
All TWGS should have the A GALs. So you need:
2B - DMA fix
3E - for above 10 MHz operation
4B - dunno
8B - dunno
Note: Some people are running 12+ MHz with older GALs than
the ones listed above.
-----------------------------
016- Where can I get the correct GALs for the TWGS speed upgrade?
AE is gone; so, you can not get GALs from AE anymore. If you get lucky,
you might find a used TWGS with the correct GAL revisions.
----------------------------
017- What Oscillator freq corresponds to what TWGS/ZipGS
operating speed?
For TWGS and ZipGS, the crystal oscillators runs at 4 times the speed of
the 65816. Below is a chart showing part#, frequency, price, and
possible TWGS speed for several oscillator modules from Digi-Key (800
344-4539):
From March/April 1995 Digi-Key catalog:
Epson America, Inc.: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
Part No. Frequency Price ($) TWGS speed
SE1101-ND 32 MHz 3.30 8 MHz
SE1102-ND 33.3333 3.30 8.3333
SE1103-ND 36 3.30 9
SE1104-ND 40 3.30 10
SE1105-ND 42 3.30 10.5
SE1106-ND 46 3.30 11.5
SE1107-ND 48 3.30 12
SE1108-ND 50 3.30 12.5
SE1109-ND 55 3.30 13.75
SE1110-ND 60 3.45 15
I have the CTS oscillators, 64, 66.6, and 80. So they will
work fine with TWGS.
CTS Clock Oscillators: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
Part No. Frequency Price ($) TWGS speed
CTX174 32 MHz 3.25 8 MHz
CTX175 40 3.25 10
CTX177 64 4.45 16
CTX178 66.6666 4.45 16.6667
CTX179 80 10.01 20
My understanding is that, if you over-clock a CPU. It just won't
function. You can't damage it. As the disclaimer said, do it at your
own risk. I have tried to run my TWGS at 20 MHz, system won't boot at
all. No damage.
---
for Zip you need: (by Long)
The Zip can use three types of crystals including the common 4-pin full
TTL crystal oscillator, 4-pin 1/2 TTL crystal oscillator (also used on
TWGS) and 2-pin crystal (little metal canister about 1/4 the size of 1/2
TTL). To be able to use a 2-pin crystal, your Zip must have a resistor
at R1 and capacitors at C13 and C14. I've found these three parts to be
missing from current Zips. No big loss since 2-pin crystals are less
common and are only available up to a certain frequency. I have the
values of those parts written down somewhere and will post them when I
find them.
For experimenting with different frequencies it makes it easier if you
install a socket for the crystal oscillator. It's also a good idea to
secure it down with one of those zip tie bands. Only 6 of the 14 pins
are used (picture A). The ground (GND) pins 1, 4 and 7 are connected
together. The power pins 11 and 14 are connected together. Full TTL
crystal oscillators use pins 1, 7, 8 and 14 (refer to picture B). 1/2
TTL crystal oscillators use the bottom four pine (4, 7, 8 and 14;
picture C). Make sure it's oriented correctly with the corner (usually
with a dot printed next to it) at about 11 o'clock.
*WARNING* The crystal oscillator will be damaged if installed
incorrectly.
_______
GND 1 o \/ o 14 POWER 1 |o \ 14
NC x x NC | |
NC x x NC | FULL | ______
GND 4 o o 11 POWER | TTL | 4 |o \ 14
NC x x NC | | | 1/2 |
NC x x NC | | | TTL |
GND 7 o o 8 CLOCK 7 \______/ 8 7 \_____/ 8
(A) (B) (C)
x - no connection (NC)
-----------------------------
018- What kind of static cache RAMs and speed do I need for a
TWGS or ZipGS speedup?
I have read 35ns is enough for 12.5 MHz. I'm not sure about the
requirement of 13.75 MHz or 15 MHz. 15ns costs only slightly more than
20ns, so I recommand getting 15ns.
---
For TWGS with the 32 KB cache: 3 - 32 KB x 8 SRAM .3 mils (also called
half size) try to get low-power models if possible. For TWGS with older
8k cache: Upgrade to 32 KB cache first. big speed improvements!
---
<Frank: Zips uses wide SRAM (.6 mil) standard. You can use wide SRAMs
if you can find them (they're harder to come by). Below, Long has a good
illustration of how to make it accept wide or skinny (.3 mil) SRAMs> For
Zip you need: (by Long) I've found Japanese and American static rams to
work the best (20 ns in tag and 25 ns in data). The Zip can use narrow
(.3 mil) or wide (.6 mil) static rams. It all depends on the sockets
that are installed on your Zip.
With a little modification you can make a Zip with wide sockets accept
both wide and skinny SRAMs. Ground yourself then carefully pry out the
static rams. Look at the socket and you will notice two or three
horizontal bars holding both sides of the socket together (picture D).
Carefully cut those out. This will expose a column of holes where you
will solder in half of a socket. Refer to picture E, position skinny
(.3 mil) static rams over the left and center columns and wide static
rams over outer most columns and making sure the notch on the static ram
is facing 12 o'clock.
*WARNING* Plug the static rams in wrong and you will destroy them.
CUT
___ ___________ Skinny (.3 mil)
| | | |
____ ____ _ _ _
|o __V__ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o| o |o| |o| |o| |o|
|o|__o__|o| |o| |o| |o|
|o _____ o| |o| |o| |o|
|_______|___ Wide (.6 mil)
(D) (E)
---
Toshi's (tm@netcom.com) notes: I've pulled out all four of my SRAM
sockets and installed carefully cut machine-pin SIPP sockets in mine and
seems to work pretty well.
Frank: Toshi's had to de-solder all the sockets and, so it isn't easier
than Long's way. Toshi's came out looking cleaner and neater though.
-----------------------------
019- Is it really necessary to increase board voltage
to do a TWGS/ZipGS speedup?
With the new 14 MHz parts, you should not need to mess with the voltage
at all, unless you want to try 15 MHz, 16 Mhz, or even 20 MHz.
-----------------------------
020- If I do a TWGS/ZipGS speedup mod, what kind of performance
increase can I expect?
This is just to give you a rough estimate of how much faster you might
be able to achieve...
BenchMark v5.0 results:
CPU Stock TWGS TWGS TWGS Zip Zip Zip
Version ROM 01 1.8s 1.8s 1.8s 1.0.2 1.0.2 1.0.2
Cache/Spd 32k/15 32k/15 32k/15 64k/?? 64k/?? 64k/??
Clock Spd 2.8 15 13.75 12.5 16 15 14
======= ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ======
Sieve 410.00 99.00 108.00 117.00 98.00 99.00 110.00
String 1151.20 270.00 292.00 303.67 259.00 262.00 282.00
Float 1 472.00 92.33 87.00 111.33 123.00 128.00 135.00
Float 2 1535.00 317.00 394.00 381.67 395.00 415.00 432.00
Fibinacci 2006.00 605.00 634.00 645.33 507.00 523.00 548.00
Integer 1553.40 307.00 330.00 346.67 420.00 431.00 443.00
Dhrystone 236 1136 1063 1000 NA NA NA
* 1351 1183 1282 NA NA
* Dhrystone v1.1 re-compiled under ORCA/C v2.0.1
System Software 5.0 QuickDraw II improvement test:
Stock //gs: 5648 ticks
TWGS 15 MHz: 1332 ticks (over 4x faster than stock)
If you look at the numbers, a 12 MHz or faster TWGS/Zip will make
everything just about 4x faster than a stock //gs.
___________________________
From: Mark Munson (mmunson@animal.es.com)
021- How do I change from 5v to 5.25v for some of the ZipGS
and TWGS speedups I've heard about?
Your power supply won't give you 5.25 Volts directly. It only supplies
+/- 5 Volts and +/- 12 Volts. So you've have to get the 5.25 Volts that
you want from the 12 Volt line.
First off, you've have to remove the current 5 V line to the CPU by
cutting a trace on the accelerator card. The new power supply will be
connected to the line where you just cut it, supplying the chip with
power from your new source.
If I recall correctly, the ZipGS (9 MHz) came with some circuitry built
in to boost the voltage up. 7 MHz ZipGS cards don't have the
components, but the circuit board shows where a transistor and a few
resistors could go. If you have a 7 MHz zip card, find someone with a
9+ MHz version and add the components that they have on thier board and
you don't have on yours.
On a TWGS, you must add the extra circuitry yourself. This can be done
by building a small breadboard with the compnents attached.
A sample circuit to get a variable voltage supply might look like the
following:
12 V 12 V 12 V = +12 Volt line (from BUS line)
| | T = NPN type Transistor (2N2222)
| | R1 = Resistor ( ~ 100 Kilo-Ohm )
R1 R3 R2 = Micro miniature pot (variabl
| | (resistor 100 K Ohm)
| ___C--- R3 & R4 = Resistor ( ~ 10 Kilo-Ohm )
--> R2 --B( T ) B = Base lead
| ---E [output] C = Collector lead
| ---+---- 0 - ~5.3 Volts E = Emitter lead
| |
| R4
| |
| |
GND GND
Current will flow through R1 and R2, with the voltage at point B beind
calculated by
Vb = 12 V * (R2 / (R1 + R2))
When R2 is at its maximum value of 100 K, the voltage at point B will be
half that of the original 12 V, resulting in a Base lead voltage of 6
V. The voltage at the Emitter lead of the transistor will follow that
of the Base, but it will be ~ .6 to ..7 less. As a result, the MAXIMUM
voltage at the output should be 5.3 - 5.4 volts. This should prevent you
from "accidently" giving your expensive CPU too much power.
R2 can be manually tuned to vary the voltage from 0 to MAXIMUM. Start
with 5V, and move up slowly. You'll want to have a good digital
voltmeter attached when you are doing this. An anolog voltmeter will do
OK, if it has a high-precision scale (and you have good eyes).
R3 represents the output load from the transistor circuit. You can omit
this if desired, but it will be necessary to have some load when the
circuit is being tested prior to hooking this up to your CPU.
R3 and R4 are matched, so a complete failure of T will result in a
maximum voltage of ~ 6.0 V. By increasing the value of R3 relative to
R4, you can reduce this down even further. With a new CPU being so
expensive, why take chances that a 20 cent part might fail?
When purchasing your parts, you can get small 1/8 Watt resistors,
because the power level you are working with is small. 1/4 and 1/2 Watt
resistors are OK, but they are larger and bulkier, and will be a slight
overkill for this application.
If you purchase a transistor with a metal package (not platic), you will
see a small square tab next to one of the leads. The lead neares the
tab is the Emitter, and if you look at the transistor from the top
(wires exiting at the bottom), then you can orient the device as shown
in the illustration above to locate the Collector and Base leads.
If you go to a local electronics shop, you can purchase everything
needed for less than a dollar. Radio shack will expect you to hand over
several $$ for the same parts.
Build the circuit seperately from you computer. Use and external power
supply (car battery or charger will do) to test the circuit. When you
know it works right, cut the 5 V power to your CPU and replace it with
your new 'boosted' source. Start increasing the frequency and only
increase the power if the CPU can't run at the current voltage.
You may want to increase the resistor values to reduce the overall power
drain. I don't know how much current the CPU will require, but it
couldn't be much.
____________________________
From: Rubywand
022- When I change my ZipGS's Speed, Misc, and Slot settings via
the Zip CDA, they are always lost after turning OFF the GS.
What's wrong? Do I need a new BatRAM battery?
No. The reason the settings are forgotten is that they are not
saved in BatRAM or on-disk. ZipGS settings made via the Zip CDA or via
the Zip Control Panel are only in effect for the current session of
computing.
----------------------------
023- What do the check-marks mean next to settings in the ZipGS
CDA? Are they original factory settings or what?
More like "or what". The check-marks indicate the settings of the
DIP switches on your ZipGS board.
----------------------------
024- After installing my ZipGS along with the ZipGS CDA and other
software I've noticed that my ZipGS settings never seem to
match the ones I originally set via the on-board DIP
switches!?
There are two likely explanations. One is that your interpretation
of the settings is confused due to the rather poor explanations provided
in the Zip on-disk HyperStudio 'manual'. It does not help that
names/descriptions of the settings are not quite the same in the
'manual' and in the CDA or NDA.
For info on setting your on-board DIP switches, see question 001.
Another possibility is that when you installed the ZipGS software,
you installed ZipInit in your SYSTEM/SYSTEM.SETUP folder. If you did,
then whatever settings ZipInit is set up for will be the settings for
your ZipGS after booting. That is, ZipInit will over-ride your DIP
switch settings.
ZipInit is intended for use on diskettes which, when booted, will
set up the ZipGS in some special way to match the software on the
diskette. For example, you might want to turn OFF the ZipGS or reduce
its speed when booting an arcade games diskette.
The cure for unwanted influence from ZipInit is to delete it from
your SYSTEM/SYSTEM.SETUP folder.