Announcement - new QL Interface

Nagging hardware related question? Post here!
georgeo
Bent Pin Expansion Port
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:49 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by georgeo »

Derek_Stewart wrote:HI George,

I updated the Altera Firmware with the v13.0 SP1 of the programming software, as Rich says, v9.1 software would not work very on my 64 bit Windows 10 Pro machine.

The Eprom is actually a Winbond W27C512 EEPROM, I used a Minipro TL866CS programmer to erase the EEPROM and programme the chip with the supplied ROM image.

See my picture of the system booting up.

Note, if you update the ROM and not the Firmware, the system gives errors relating the the wrong GALS and you have to move Jumpers 3,4,5 to 1,2,3 or the system will not work.

If you have any problems, I can update the firmware and EEPROM.
Hi Derek,

Thanks for the advice. I should be able to upgrade the firmware and hope the microelectronics team at work can update the EPROM for me.

I'll keep people posted on my progress.

Thanks again,
George,


User avatar
Cristian
Aurora
Posts: 960
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:40 pm
Location: Veneto

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by Cristian »

tetroid wrote:
Peter wrote: Maybe an SD card socket on PCB bottom?
But what about software support ?
And about address conflicts ( can not work at the same time ? ).
These questions are so crucial!


User avatar
Peter
QL Wafer Drive
Posts: 1953
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:47 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by Peter »

tetroid wrote:
Peter wrote:Would there be enough pins left to add four SD card signals?
Maybe an SD card socket on PCB bottom?
Thank you, very good idea !
Can fit SD socket connector on PCB bottom ( can be located standard SD or micro SD ).

Only one pin of EPM7128 not connected, but several pins is connected but not used by firmware. 4-6 pins - no problem.
Used only 66 of 128 macrocell in EPM7128.

But what about software support ?
And about address conflicts ( can not work at the same time ? ).
The format on QL-SD images is actually Qubide, so an enhanced driver could handle the SDHC card like an additional IDE drive.
At the block access level, QL-SD and Qubide are identical.
The driver would require SDHC low-level support, and basic FAT32 support to locate the image on the SDHC card.
(Sources publicly available in Dilwyn's QL-SD section.)

The Verilog source for the QL-SD CPLD is also available. But since the QL-SD registers had to work without write access (ROM socket) the hardware should be simplified in this system which has full bus access. The logic should be quite easy, not much more than a buffered shift register.

It depends on wether someone wants to do the driver work. If not, you could in the worst case use the existing QL-SD driver. But thats waste of memory, effectively running two Qubide style drivers at once.

As for sockets, my personal preference would normal size, not microSD. But thats matter of taste.


georgeo
Bent Pin Expansion Port
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:49 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by georgeo »

Derek_Stewart wrote:HI George,

I updated the Altera Firmware with the v13.0 SP1 of the programming software, as Rich says, v9.1 software would not work very on my 64 bit Windows 10 Pro machine.

The Eprom is actually a Winbond W27C512 EEPROM, I used a Minipro TL866CS programmer to erase the EEPROM and programme the chip with the supplied ROM image.

Note, if you update the ROM and not the Firmware, the system gives errors relating the the wrong GALS and you have to move Jumpers 3,4,5 to 1,2,3 or the system will not work.

If you have any problems, I can update the firmware and EEPROM.
Hi Derek (everyone),

I now have an Altera USB Blaster courtesy of eBay (which Tetroid confirmed should work). However, I have no instructions. My plan, for tonight (Mon 6th), is to plug everything together and load up the Quartus Programmer Setup recommended by Rich. Hopefully the software will guide me through the process of installing the new firmware onto the device.

I do have a couple of quick questions, if anyone is able to help:

- I believe my QUBIDE device needs to be powered during the firmware upgrade? That is, I should plug the USB Blaster into header socket, reseat the QUBIDE interface in my QL and power up my QL, before attempting to upgrade the device?

- Should I remove my SD card to prevent corruption -- or perhaps it will need to be reformatted anyway, to work with the new firmware.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
George.


RWAP
RWAP Master
Posts: 2834
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:51 pm
Location: Stone, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by RWAP »

georgeo wrote:
I do have a couple of quick questions, if anyone is able to help:

- I believe my QUBIDE device needs to be powered during the firmware upgrade? That is, I should plug the USB Blaster into header socket, reseat the QUBIDE interface in my QL and power up my QL, before attempting to upgrade the device?
Yes that is correct.

georgeo wrote: - Should I remove my SD card to prevent corruption -- or perhaps it will need to be reformatted anyway, to work with the new firmware.
Not strictly necessary but I would just in case.

After programming, you will need to turn off the QL and then change the jumpers on the interface (so there is a jumper on 1,2 and 3 and none on 4, 5).

Then change the EPROM over to the latest version, re-connect and power on the QL.


georgeo
Bent Pin Expansion Port
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:49 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by georgeo »

RWAP wrote:After programming, you will need to turn off the QL and then change the jumpers on the interface (so there is a jumper on 1,2 and 3 and none on 4, 5).

Then change the EPROM over to the latest version, re-connect and power on the QL.
Hi Rich,

Thanks. I don't have a copy of the new EPROM, though I infer from your earlier post that I can still do the firmware update and then test the QUBIDE, even with the old EPROM image. If so, are the jumper settings still correct?

Thanks again,
George.


RWAP
RWAP Master
Posts: 2834
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:51 pm
Location: Stone, United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by RWAP »

georgeo wrote:
Thanks. I don't have a copy of the new EPROM, though I infer from your earlier post that I can still do the firmware update and then test the QUBIDE, even with the old EPROM image. If so, are the jumper settings still correct?
Yes you can still test the new firmware without updating the EPROM - but you must alter the jumper settings as these are dependent on the firmware version (not the EPROM software).


georgeo
Bent Pin Expansion Port
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:49 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by georgeo »

Thank. I'll let everyone know how I get on. :?
George.


Derek_Stewart
Font of All Knowledge
Posts: 3932
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 11:40 am
Location: Sunny Runcorn, Cheshire, UK

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by Derek_Stewart »

HI,

Use the Altera 13.0 software in Rich's link.

The Altera firmware can be updated with the QL and Interface powered on. After the firmware has updated, power the QL down.

Remove the EEPROM and update the EEPROM with the new ROM software.

Change the Jumpers on the Trump Card to 1-2-3 rather than 3-4-5

If you do not update the EEPROM there will be problems on startup. Also if the Jumpers on the Interface are not 1-2-3 the Interface will not startup correctly.

I have some spare EEPROMs if you need one programmed.


Regards,

Derek
georgeo
Bent Pin Expansion Port
Posts: 95
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:49 am

Re: Announcement - new QL Interface

Post by georgeo »

Derek_Stewart wrote:HI,

Use the Altera 13.0 software in Rich's link.

The Altera firmware can be updated with the QL and Interface powered on. After the firmware has updated, power the QL down.

Remove the EEPROM and update the EEPROM with the new ROM software.

Change the Jumpers on the Trump Card to 1-2-3 rather than 3-4-5

If you do not update the EEPROM there will be problems on startup. Also if the Jumpers on the Interface are not 1-2-3 the Interface will not startup correctly.

I have some spare EEPROMs if you need one programmed.
Hi Derek,

Thanks again. My first stupid question is 'Do I need to open the QL case to seat the interface with the USB Blaster ribbon cable in place. It fouls against the top of the interface opening, and doesn't look as if it will fit without lifting the top half of the case.' I'm slightly less enthusiastic to update the firmware just now, if it will produce problems. I don't have an option to upgrade the EPROM software, and I'm in the process of testing an early version of the Akalabeth adventure I'm trying to port (see thread on adventures).

My second stupid question is 'Can the EPROM be removed from the board, by just pulling it out of its socket, or is it soldered or otherwise fixed in place?'

As you can see, hardware is not my strong point!

Thanks again,
George.


Post Reply