Re: Hardware Project

[mairsil@my-dejanews.com]

In article <364919f0.0@news.cgocable.net>,
  "Terence J. Boldt" <apple2@cgocable.net> wrote:
> Thanks to all who e-mailed about their interest in my first major hardware
> project for the Apple II.  Special thanks to Dave Wilson for pointing me in
> the direction of making it a ProDOS drive.
>
> What's is it?
>
> I decided to make a bootable ROM drive that plugs into any slot in an Apple
> II. My original design was to just copy a block of memory on startup from
> the card to RAM and execute it.  Now I may make it a bootable ProDOS drive.
> It's designed to support up to 512K, but the current prototype is running
> with only 32K due to the small prototyping board and since the mess of wires
> is getting confusing.
>
> Why make it?
>
> It's the ultimate ego trip for a nerdy Apple II enthusiast.  ;-)  Seriously
> I've always wanted a ROM drive since I was 11 when I got my Apple IIe.  It
> just seemed like a cool idea that was an all but unobtainable dream.
>
> What's the status?
>
> It wasn't working until this evening.  I replaced the 373 latches with 374
> latches since they were being corrupted.  Of course then my enable lines
> were inverted.  A quick change of a couple of AND's to NAND's and now it
> works.  Working is a relative term.  Data can be read off the card with a
> few lines of assembler or BASIC.  Tonight I'll add new code to the EPROM so
> it will boot to H.E.R.O by Activision.  :-)
>
> What's left to do?
>
> Write the controlling code for it and squeeze it into 256 bytes.  Make it
> work with ProDOS.  Design a PCB so I don't have to have a nest of wires
> hanging all over.  Get the PCB's manufactured.  Sell the extras below my
> cost to cut my expenses a bit.  The cost of making 10 boards is about $500
> Canadian or less plus the EPROM's which are mostly used ones bought from
> flea markets.  A few support chips are needed but will run less than $5 per
> card.  With used EPROM's, each card should cost me about $60 or so to
> produce.
>
> What can you do to help?
>
> I need to know how ProDOS accesses a block device for read and write.  I
> know about all the ID and info bytes required in ROM (thanks Dave Wilson),
> but what do I need to handle as far as calls from ProDOS to my card?
>
> -- Terence J. Boldt (apple2@cgocable.net)
>
>

What's the status on this, now? I was also wondering, would it be possible to
make the board so it could be installed through the memory port (Slot 4) on
the //c and //c+? This might be a way we //c owners could finally put
something like a hard drive in our //c's.



Ralph Glatt

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