ST536 STE EDITION

[Badwolf]

Is the issue just that the sockets are too tall and therefore there isn't keyoard clearance with the Twister, or is it that they don't fit properly?

If it's the former, then I presume the ROM socket is the only tight thing with the keyboard?

BW

[exxos]

Is the issue just that the sockets are too tall and therefore there isn't keyboard clearance with the Twister, or is it that they don't fit properly?

There is a thread on it all actually viewtopic.php?p=99756#p99756

My two machines here say TZT and FOXCONN... They do actually look slightly different heights... maybe by 1mm. Annoyingly ,they look to be the same revision of motherboard (integrated blitter). So Atari must have used different supplies for the sockets somewhere along the line.

At one point I was designing two or three different versions of the V1 STE booster because of socket differences now I think about it, but cannot really remember why.. Though looking at the two different files it looks like the FOZCONN socket had a wider pin layout than the TZT. I know in the end I only produced one style of socket or maybe I just took the "average" difference between the two sockets and left it at that.. I really cannot remember..

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But there does not seem to be any problems fitting the STE536 in either motherboard anyway..

[exxos]

Got the IDE working today. This is after having a iffy IDE cable, a new IDE adapter which does not work, and my LEXAR CF card seems a sloppy fit and is not recognised half the time!

I have copied files around C: to D: and seems fine with the Lexar and Sandisk cards I have lay around.

I did some quick benchmarks, no idea if they are any good or not, certainly faster than floppy !

Code: Select all

BS ON
615 KB/s STram
1032 KB/s TTram

BS OFF
1630 KB/s STram
2900 KB/s TTram

IMG_2445.JPG

Also noticed the IDE port, by the time it has the connector on, catches the side of the floppy drive :roll: So I'm currently moving the connector downwards a couple of millimetres on the PCB for any future batches. I don't know how to secure the CF adapter inside the case. I assume people will figure that out themselves as will likely need case modifications etc.

That's going to be have to be it for the next few days now, as my hands have been killing me all week , so I need to take a break from the PC for a bit now unfortunately.

[exxos]

Being too hot to concentrate on anything. So I decided to do a mind numbingly boring job in trying to change the PLD I killed on day 1.

Decided to put my new gel flux around the chip and rip it up with my gas soldering iron.

Was unfortunately a minor "casualty"...

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But after cleaning up a little bit and a bit of poking, it wasn't really that bad..

I then ran a blob of solder around all the pins to clean them up. Then flux and desoldering braid to clean the solder off them. This makes sure the pads are all the same height and level! It also makes soldering easier with a bit of fresh solder tinned on the pads!

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Next up, trying to get all the things to align! :pullhair: :crazy:

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I used a bit of SMT paste and use the gas soldering iron to melt it. I wasn't about to go anywhere near the thing with the soldering iron and knock it again!!

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I pushed down on the diagonal opposite and then pasted a couple pins again.

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I went with SMT paste along the edges of the pins. Likely a bit too much in fact. But no big deal.

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I don't "drag solder", don't get on with doing that. I move up and down the pins to melt the solder. Once I've gone down all the pins. I clean my soldering iron tip, put flux on, then go over them all again. Then make sure under a good magnifier there is no oopsies.

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Much time later...

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Will need to have a bath at some point soon, the PCB as well. I also need to change the buffer chips on this board next...

[PhilC]

My least favourite job is lining that feckin Xilinx chip up. The rest are a doddle.

[Steve]

You know, whenever I'm in a situation of having to do this kind of job I often wonder if there is a kind of 'electricians glue' you can just dab on the underneath of the chip, just to be able to put it down and it have enough strength to hold the chip in place (perhaps not a glue, but a tack of sorts)

[exxos]

You know, whenever I'm in a situation of having to do this kind of job I often wonder if there is a kind of 'electricians glue' you can just dab on the underneath of the chip, just to be able to put it down and it have enough strength to hold the chip in place (perhaps not a glue, but a tack of sorts)

Nail varnish ? :shrug:

[coonsgm]

You know, whenever I'm in a situation of having to do this kind of job I often wonder if there is a kind of 'electricians glue' you can just dab on the underneath of the chip, just to be able to put it down and it have enough strength to hold the chip in place (perhaps not a glue, but a tack of sorts)

When I shared my YT video on building the ST536 (non-e version) I commented at length on the difficulty on positioning this chip specifically.

One commenter mentioned placing a coin on top of the chip to give it a little more "weight" to keep it from slipping as easily. I haven't tried it to prove if it works, but it sounds like a good idea.

[Badwolf]

I did some quick benchmarks, no idea if they are any good or not, certainly faster than floppy !

Code: Select all

BS OFF
1630 KB/s STram
2900 KB/s TTram

I think the Falcon gets about 1000kB/s, so I'd say that's very reasonable.

BW

[exxos]

I think the Falcon gets about 1000kB/s, so I'd say that's very reasonable.

:thumbup: