PiStorm

[bwinkel67]

Hi

I have a PiStorm PCB with the SMD chips soldered, just need to solder the GPIO pins and build the SD Card, which was for an Amiga A500 I have that once built an installed will be up for sale, but alas the Amiga power needs repairing, probably capacitord.

I have a PI Zero 2 ready to be fitted as Pi3A is very rare.

Oh cool...I will eventually play with the Amiga 600 interface, which someone has worked to develop.

[XorA]

Claude is the creator of PiStorm and he's always wanted a QL.

Thanks for the info. Did he mainly design the hardware or software or both?

He designed the hardware (interface between Amiga and Pi) and integrated an existing Pi Emulator (Mushashi) which itself required some coding...so both I would say...he just didn't write the 68K emulator from scratch.

This seems to be his initial twitter post (from Oct 2020, so not that long ago):

https://twitter.com/Claude1079/status/1 ... 58530?s=20

And just to add to this, Emu68 was already in development for AROS on Pi so it was natural that Michael Shultz would port it to PiStorm.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi

I have a PiStorm PCB with the SMD chips soldered, just need to solder the GPIO pins and build the SD Card, which was for an Amiga A500 I have that once built an installed will be up for sale, but alas the Amiga power needs repairing, probably capacitord.

I have a PI Zero 2 ready to be fitted as Pi3A is very rare.

Oh cool...I will eventually play with the Amiga 600 interface, which someone has worked to develop.

I have a A600 Vampire,I have to re-Cap my A600...

[bwinkel67]

So I gather that this project is trying to replace the 68008 with a newer processor but aligning with the internal QL's clock to avoid major change:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4077#p46084

I think there was something similar created for the Amiga 500

https://github.com/Mathesar/14mhz-accelerator

...so if we now have a 68010 interface that potentially works for the QL, replaced in its socket, does that make the PiStorm leap even easier?

Edit: Oops, I misread...it's a Motorola 68HC001 in the above QL project which seems to have an 8-bit data bus, if I read that right (it says it "can" operate with 8-bit buses)...it's in a 68-pin package so not the 64-pin of a 68000.

[bwinkel67]

Btw, I inquired on the PiStorm Discord server as I was curious if the more modern MC68HC001 interface could potentially make things easier (esp since it deals with different clock speeds):

Claude — Today at 5:55 AM
So it's up to the CPU emulation to break a e.g. 32bit fetch/read/write I to several 8bit operations
I don't have a QL so can't really help other than giving advice
I think the hardware problem is easy to solve , adapting a 68000 to a 68008 socket (that includes pistorm) . Then it should theoretically just need a small change in the CPU emulation Software

But I'm still at a loss how the CPU speed difference would be handled. Does the PiStorm hardware interface work with the existing clock speed (shouldn't that seriously limit the speed, even on an Amiga)? So not sure if it is so simple :-/

Edit: some further conversation with another QL'er (we are a tiny bunch compared to the rest on the PiStorm Discord server which has so many channels as different hardware is trying it):

Claude — Today at 8:52 AM
"...main issue seemed to be the ql’s use of signals that amiga didn’t use, so weren’t handled in the cpld at the moment"
Yep
But that's "just software"
So doesn't need a complete new pistorm. I guess the first hurdle is that someone actually adapts a pistorm to a 68008 socket trough some sort of adapter. Without that it's more a theoretical discussion if and what needs to be changed to make it work. Some things are obvious (8bit data bus , address line A0) but on other aspects of the QL only someone knowing the QL and 68000 could shed some light. E.g. does the QL needs bus arbitration, function codes and so on . I could look that up in schematics but actually hoped someone would take the initiative and just trys it

[Peter]

The key question seems: Why would one want to plug into the QL mainboard?

If the only answer is "to type on the mediocre QL keyboard" then buy a matrix to USB converter for the Raspi and you are done.

[Popopo]

The key question seems: Why would one want to plug into the QL mainboard?

If the only answer is "to type on the mediocre QL keyboard" then buy a matrix to USB converter for the Raspi and you are done.

Based on your answer... why anybody would like to buy a QL? to use a uncomfortable and useless computer nowadays? ... no sense.
There are people that would like to, useful for us? maybe not, but if somebody want it... it is because somebody like it, for sure there are a reason.

[Peter]

Based on your answer... why anybody would like to buy a QL? to use a uncomfortable and useless computer nowadays? ... no sense.

That's not the point. My question was of course under the assumption that we just use the QL just as a hobby.

The Amiga has a good keyboard and interfaces that people want to keep using with a very fast CPU, making the fascination of the PiStorm more obvious to me than for the QL.

For example if someone says: I want the Raspi to access microdrives, or an EPROM burner for the QL extension port, then fine, I will understand.

But if the answer is "I only need the QL keyboard" and the rest will be attached to the Raspi, then a matrix to USB converter provides an equivalent solution that can still stay in the original case.

[RalfR]

For example if someone says: I want the Raspi to access microdrives

Would be interesting to see, how someone would realise it.

To be honest: I have never got problems with Microdrives (just two or three times). For me, they were always very good and reliable. And...thanks TT for RAMPRT.

[Dave]

My question was of course under the assumption that we just use the QL just as a hobby.

I wonder if a nuclear power station is still using a QL for management tasks