Stuart's DFB1 Build

Discussion and support for the DSTB1 & DFB1 boosters by BadWolf..
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Badwolf
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by Badwolf »

sety wrote: Tue May 10, 2022 12:22 pm I cant fault dfbflash.c no matter how many times I look at it. The erase and write sequence is correct. It should just work.

I'm leaning towards a shitty solder on my behalf. :(
Ah, but did you try the flash.ttp I posted here? I've seen that work for sure with rev5, whereas dfbflash.c might be targetting a different hardware configuration (I don't recall).

BW
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by sety »

Badwolf wrote: Tue May 10, 2022 12:36 pm Ah, but did you try the flash.ttp I posted here? I've seen that work for sure with rev5, whereas dfbflash.c might be targetting a different hardware configuration (I don't recall).
Hi BW. Yep. I did. Still doesn't verify. I'm using an eBay 5 for $10 CPLD though so I'm starting to suspect that. The $50 genuine one is still stuck to that faulty board I had made (the one where I skipped the two inside layers)

The RAM and bus switches arrived so I've fitted that but it's not detected. I might make tonight's project to recover and fit the genuine CPLD. I also made a bit of a stuff-up and accidently ordered and fitted 4k7 resistor arrays instead of 10K. I don't know if that would cause any problems. I have the correct ones on order now. :)
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by Badwolf »

sety wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 10:08 am Hi BW. Yep. I did. Still doesn't verify. I'm using an eBay 5 for $10 CPLD though so I'm starting to suspect that. The $50 genuine one is still stuck to that faulty board I had made (the one where I skipped the two inside layers)
It's possible (I've seen some ebay chips simply have some pins not working), but the odds of it being one of the few pins that controlls the flash seems low.

One obvious test, I suppose, it to see if the chip select pin is toggling when you run flash.ttp. Can do that with a multimeter even if you don't have a scope (the average voltage will drop a little from 3V3).
The RAM and bus switches arrived so I've fitted that but it's not detected. I might make tonight's project to recover and fit the genuine CPLD. I also made a bit of a stuff-up and accidently ordered and fitted 4k7 resistor arrays instead of 10K. I don't know if that would cause any problems. I have the correct ones on order now. :)
4k7 will be fine. Don't change 'em if they're on there.

When you say 'not detected', just to be clear, unless you're using (hardware booted!) EmuTOS, the TT-RAM isn't auto-detected. You have to run FASTRAM.PRG or MAPROM.PRG (https://github.com/agranlund/tftools) or their equivalents from the auto folder.

The RAM, however, should be available, though (it doesn't need activating or anything). SYSINFO in 32 bit mode should show something at 0x10000000 onwards. If it's not all FFs, then there's probably something there.

YAARRTT in 'secret' memory mode should also yield results. Run YAARTTT, press 'M' when asked if you want ST or TT memory checked. Enter 0x10000000 to, say, 0x20000000 and cross your fingers.

BW
DFB1 Open source 50MHz 030 and TT-RAM accelerator for the Falcon
DSTB1 Open source 16Mhz 68k and AltRAM accelerator for the ST
Smalliermouse ST-optimised USB mouse adapter based on SmallyMouse2
FrontBench The Frontier: Elite 2 intro as a benchmark
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by sety »

Badwolf wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 10:19 am When you say 'not detected', just to be clear, unless you're using (hardware booted!) EmuTOS, the TT-RAM isn't auto-detected. You have to run FASTRAM.PRG or MAPROM.PRG (https://github.com/agranlund/tftools) or their equivalents from the auto folder.
OMG Sweet! I didn't even stop to think about whether TOS 4.x supports Alt-RAM. I guess CT60-TOS has made me take things for granted. ;)

IMG_3034.JPG
IMG_3034.JPG (150.36 KiB) Viewed 1565 times

I'll run some tests and if all good, I think I'm going to call this DFB1r5 built and working. :)

The flash will be good fun once it's working. I might order a 29f400 if I can find one. I can mail you a spare 29f800 (no cost, I'll pay postage) if you'd like one for testing/development.
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

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sety wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 12:24 pm
Badwolf wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 10:19 am When you say 'not detected', just to be clear, unless you're using (hardware booted!) EmuTOS, the TT-RAM isn't auto-detected. You have to run FASTRAM.PRG or MAPROM.PRG (https://github.com/agranlund/tftools) or their equivalents from the auto folder.
OMG Sweet! I didn't even stop to think about whether TOS 4.x supports Alt-RAM. I guess CT60-TOS has made me take things for granted. ;)
IMG_3034.JPG

I'll run some tests and if all good, I think I'm going to call this DFB1r5 built and working. :)
Excellent.

Yes, do run plenty of YAARTTT and also programs that really thash TT-RAM. Failure modes can be subtle.

I like PM-DOOM as a test myself, but it only needs a few megabytes at the start of TT-RAM. Combining it in MiNT with YAARRTT is excellent as a test, though.
The flash will be good fun once it's working. I might order a 29f400 if I can find one. I can mail you a spare 29f800 (no cost, I'll pay postage) if you'd like one for testing/development.
That's very kind but I reckon the postage would be more than the chip. I need to put an order in when they're back in stock.

To be honest, I've got a partially working flash set up here. Probably best I nail that down first. It's quite far down the list, though. Rewriting the SDRAM controller in DSTB1 and then backporting it to DFB1 (to hopefully sort out Frank's problem) is the priority ATM.

Fingers crossed on the tests!

BW
DFB1 Open source 50MHz 030 and TT-RAM accelerator for the Falcon
DSTB1 Open source 16Mhz 68k and AltRAM accelerator for the ST
Smalliermouse ST-optimised USB mouse adapter based on SmallyMouse2
FrontBench The Frontier: Elite 2 intro as a benchmark
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by exxos »

@Badwolf @dml I've moved the badmood post to a new topic viewtopic.php?f=112&t=5847
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viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by dml »

sety wrote: Wed May 04, 2022 4:16 pm Yours is a new born baby! Perhaps collectively we can put a tiny bit of pressure on DML to release the sources? ;)
Posting a reply here, to this specific question.

The source for the project has been made available as of this weekend. I'll post a repo link in the 'DFB1 BadMooD issues' thread later today.

Meantime, I have posted experimental binaries for DFB1 there if anyone finds time to try them out and report what works/doesn't.
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Re: Stuart's DFB1 Build

Post by Badwolf »

dml wrote: Mon Nov 07, 2022 4:42 pm The source for the project has been made available as of this weekend. I'll post a repo link in the 'DFB1 BadMooD issues' thread later today.

Meantime, I have posted experimental binaries for DFB1 there if anyone finds time to try them out and report what works/doesn't.
:excited: !!

BW
DFB1 Open source 50MHz 030 and TT-RAM accelerator for the Falcon
DSTB1 Open source 16Mhz 68k and AltRAM accelerator for the ST
Smalliermouse ST-optimised USB mouse adapter based on SmallyMouse2
FrontBench The Frontier: Elite 2 intro as a benchmark
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