28 Dec
2008
28 Dec
'08
5:50 p.m.
Anyone willing into a "junior ace"
project?
It's 'Jupiter Ace', or at least the orignal was.
It has some simple milestones:
- 16K RAM if possible
- Reduction of number of ICs without using programable logic
Why? Why change the design at all. All the original parts are, AFAIK,
easy to get still.
Certianly don't use programmable logic, which would make the thing harder
to repair in the future. There arne't that many TTL chips in there anyhow.
As regards the memory, the origianl Ace had 3K of RAM. 3 _separate_ areas
of 1K each (each one a pair of 2114s). One was used for program storage,
one for video RAM, and the last as the character generator. Without a
major redsign, you are goign to have ato keep the last 2 unchanged.
- Single sided board (does not matter how much
jumpers I'll have to put
in this beast)
Double sided PCBs are not much harder, surely?
-tony