Re: VSDRIVE stand alone host (no pc) thread

[Kevin <kevin@hackaday.com>]

woot!

finally got reading and writing to work with the ADTpro 1.2.4 version (no date time, likes to clash with just about everything, but simpler version) ... so yea, this is a real thing now!

Software wise I have a bunch of optimization to do, its a bit chuggy now, not slow but there's a bit of latency from the AVR, but in fairness its idea vomit code. Course getting the host up to date with the current version of ADTpro, that's exactly 6 bytes of data on the host end.

Getting the RTC running is pretty simple, when it gets here sometime next week, its I2c which there are plenty of libraries for, and then after that its a matter of reading the date&time and plopping them in the proper slots for the apple to read.

Utility software is like 10 lines of applesoft, and maybe a page of simple menu commands over serial to the AVR.

Once I get software sorted, which is scheduled for next weekend, maybe a bit sooner, I will produce schematics and documentation, if you wanted to build one yourself using an arduino ... or if you have AVR programming tools, all from scratch.

from there its finalizing the BOM, getting a hard number on component prices, then I have to make a generic PCB. Once I know how much space I need to eat on the board I can go though my list of enclosures, and their space requirements, fit the board to the box and send it off to fab.

PCB fab is the unknown in time vs cost vs interest ... at some point I will put up a "sign up sheet" maybe ask for a small refundable deposit, I don't want to order a panel of 25 and have 3 people want them.

To drum up interest, keep in mind this will run on any apple II that can run ADTpro currently (with an ADT compatible modem cable, not included) ... II's with a SSC, IIc, IIc+, GS. I have no idea about the III, I have only seen one in person once, in a closet at school while I was in 5th grade back in the late 80's

My model... Heres a snapshot of the model I made

http://cheesefactory.us/apple2/PA040003.JPG

On the far left you can see the RS232 connection from my //c to the model.

It then hits a MAX232 level shifter/inverter ... this is a TI part, the maxim part is like 4 bucks, the TI has a better performance and cost's 56 cents ... which would you choose?

in the middle is a crappy arduino MEGA clone, its totally overkill but it has 4 serial ports, so I can dump debuging info to my pc.

to the right of the arduino is a 74HC4050, thats taking the 5 volt signals and dropping them to 3.3v for the SD card at 8Mhz,

on the far right is a sd card socket slapped on some perfboard, its running on its own 3.3 volt power bus provided from the arduino.