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C5alive meets Chris Barrie
http://c5alive.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=417.0


Poll

Shall I keep to the old design of Control box or update things considerably?

Keep it original, only change things if you have to.
3 (17.6%)
I want something which will always work; make it do both, please!
12 (70.6%)
New parts all the way! No backwards-compatibility.
2 (11.8%)

Total Members Voted: 9

Author Topic: New Pod and Control box circuit boards; a question.  (Read 4373 times)

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aladds

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New Pod and Control box circuit boards; a question.
« on: 29, December, 2010 - 19:15:28 »
The poll should make clear what I'm going to do here.

As those of you who've had your control boxes open will agree, those circuit boards aren't going to last forever. I'm currently working on loading the old designs up on the computer and sending them off to have some new circuit boards made.

Now, in some places I can't do anything about the old components and I'll need to substitute new ones, but in other places I've got a choice: I can keep it original or replace it with a more modern design. If I do this I can keep it compatible with the old ULA, or leave out some cruft and make it only work with Phil's new AVR replacement (which does away with a few elements of the control box and quite a lot from the pod).

Or, I make it do both. Perhaps I'll fit jumpers to switch between "ULA" and "AVR" modes.

So please; vote away and let me know your opinions!

henzi

  • Guest
Re: New Pod and Control box circuit boards; a question.
« Reply #1 on: 17, July, 2011 - 08:47:03 »
Hi Aladds,
I dont know how far your project already went and how much extra work this will be, but when you design an new POD PCB, instead of making it fit for Phil's AVR replacement, maybe it could contain an "Arduino nano" (that also runs an Atmega), if it's possible to adapt Phil's software regardingly. So you would need only one custom-made board, and it could be designed to work without modifications in the Control-Box. One disadvantage: Arduino and original Ferranti ULA probably can't share the same socket, so if you want to design it to use either of them, the PCB would need two sockets, and then it could be difficult to find place for all the other components. Maybe some of them could be soldered on the backside, but maybe it gets too complex to design. Well, it's just an idea.
Greetings,
Henning

Offline Lancealot

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Re: New Pod and Control box circuit boards; a question.
« Reply #2 on: 17, July, 2011 - 09:21:37 »
I also think if the control board is to be redesigned then you could also include voltage / polarity check / protection. Similar to the quick release connection harness does.....

Lance