Re: AE Transwarp GS & AE Sonic Blaster GS & 14MHz 65c816 & 65c832

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article ToasterKing <ToastBrain@prodigy.net> writes...

>Has anyone had problems with their Transwarp GS accelerator interfering
>with their AE Sonic Blaster sound card in a ROM 01 IIGS?
>
>I hear noise through the speakers, much like the noise heard from the
>headphone jack of a ROM 01 when the volume on the amplifier is increased,
>but much worse.  It's almost like there's a ground loop somewhere.  The
>sound from the headphone jack is not affected by the problem.

    The AE SonicBlaster stereo card was very poorly designed, for one
thing the internal cabling was not shielded and picked up interference.
I also seem to recall it had problems with output at high levels and
would cause sound distortions. Chances are it is picking up "noise"
from the ROM 01 motherboard and other components, which are leaking
into the card's output.

    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?

>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.

>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