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Re: AE Transwarp GS & AE Sonic Blaster GS & 14MHz 65c816 & 65c832
In article <17DEC199719421623@vax2.concordia.ca> Mitchell Spector,
spec@vax2.concordia.ca writes:
> The AE SonicBlaster stereo card was very poorly designed, for one
Ya, tell me about it. I love how the GS's power must be off for at least
35 seconds before powering up again, or you get NO SOUND. Well, the
right channel does usually pop on after about a minute. I guess 35
seconds should be standard procedure anyway though.
>thing the internal cabling was not shielded and picked up interference.
You're right. The only cables that are shielded are the ones going to
the "Out" and "In" connectors on the back of the GS. By the way, I never
figured out what the "In" is for. It's a standard 1/8-inch 3-conductor
miniplug jack (like the headphones jack). The Sonic Blaster isn't an
audio digitizer too, is it? I use my dinky little HyperStudio sampling
board for that.
>I also seem to recall it had problems with output at high levels and
>would cause sound distortions.
Well, I've never experienced that problem, as I have a separate amplifier
for my speakers, so the Sonic Blaster's level is near its lowest
possible. I'll keep that in mind though.
>Chances are it is picking up "noise"
>from the ROM 01 motherboard and other components, which are leaking
>into the card's output.
Okay, I guess I'll shield the little cable going from the Ensoniq
connector to the board with some insulated foil wrap connected to the
ground. I'll also try Jeff Blakeney's cute little
holey-box-with-tin-foil-around-the-card trick. No offense, Jeff, it IS a
great idea! Just a little humorous, that's all! :>
> Incidentally, I had a TransWarp GS installed in a ROM 01 for a
>short period of time, it caused no interface with my MDIdeas Super-
>Sonic stereo card (that board gave decent and clean output). Did
>you test the GS without the TWGS present though?
Why of course sir. Noise with card present, no noise with card absent.
Transwarp speed or regular GS speed, Normal or Fast system speed, it
makes no difference.
I guess I should have started a new thread for this -- this has nothing
to do with my problem -- but I was just wondering: What kind of signals
actually come out of the Ensoniq connector? Analog or digital? It
"seems" like analog, judging from how one channel will go out if one side
of the connector is lifted. And what does the Sonic Blaster do to these
signals before they are amplified? It seems to have quite a few IC's on
it for just being an amplifier.
>>Also does anyone know if WDC still makes the high-speed (14MHz+) 65c816
>>(I'm sure they do) and how much they sell for now (I believe it was $115
>>or something in like 1991), or where I could find the info?
>
> I believe so, you can order 65C816's directly from WDC (or Alltech)
>which are rated to run at at least 14 MHz, though most of the time they
>can be overclocked a couple of megahertz higher. The chip costs about
>US$20 today although that does not include shipping and handling.
Thanks. I'll definitely check into that. The 65c816 is still being used
for a few applications today, isn't it? I know the Super Nintendo used a
modified 65c816 with sound and video support on-chip. It is definitely a
great gaming system, BTW. Has there been a major product that fully
utilized it since then?
>>And while I'm on the subject, was the 65c832 ever completed? ...and will
>>it work in the IIGS? ...with what sort of modifications?
>
> The 65C832 was never developed beyond some ideas on paper. It fits
>right up there with vapour items like the Mark Twain/GS+, TurboRez,
>Duet, SoundMeister Pro, GS-DSP, Avatar, etc. In otherwords a great
>idea that never materialized.
>
>Mitchell Spector
>spec@vax2.concordia.ca
I'm very sorry to hear that. Marketing sucks. But the ideas are still
on paper if anyone decides to give it a shot. :>
--
-ToasterKing-
SpongyToast@prodigy.net
"This is your sponge in the toaster. Enough said."