PI/Arduino Processor Emulator

[smarty]

Cheers Smarty for this, I have been a very quiet recently for a variety of reasons (flat move etc..etc) Anyhow I will drop you a PM later on mate.

No probs thanks for the update Mark This project has so much potential, it would be great to see a little more activity from those that have purchased it.

The ADT does work and should detect faults but will only work on Live chips so if the board is dead or that circuit is not active due to a clock issue then the ADT will not show much.

Yes it works fine, I was actually testing it on a PCB that doesn't have schematics so was hoping to more easily catch some of the faults I was tracking down.

PM me regarding the questions I sent a few days day to save cluttering the thread.

Cheers.

smarty2018-03-03 11:39:16

 

[andrewsm]

Yeah I agree. Most of my testers which have ended up all round world now seem to vanish into a black hole so only get limited feedback which tends to be good. I guess no news is good news as they say.

Will drop you a PM later and sort it all out mate.

 

[andrewsm]

Hey, just another long overdue update.

Im finishing off the 6809E and 8085 emulators and once the circuit has been converted they will be made in pcbs and then available later on if anyone is interested. Designed to work on the AR81 with suitable software upgrades.

Still have an AR81 board ready for building which would be done on a deal like last time.

Further to the above, I have also been working on a 68000 emulator and pleased to say that it is now working. Due to the complexity of this, it wont work on the current AR81 as the tester hasnt got the necessary architecture to handle it without a bucket load of hardware. This will be addressed once I have some more time. Instead, there is a bigger brother to the AR81 which I have now got working in prototype form. Its a full 32bit system and operates using the PI3 and an Arduino DUE to give it the power. Currently under test but successfully working with a 68000 and a Z80A. Im planning on doing a video soon to demonstrate this. Dont panic though as the AR81 will still be supported and be available but the new one allows more complex stuff to be done.

All going well the AR16 will be available middle of this year and again built to order.

 

[andrewsm]

Forgot to add heres the current spec of the AR16.

ADT built in but now on separate bus so can be used as a probe type arrangement using the tester to send signals.

Full 32bit address bus and 16bit data. Selectable for different processors.

Selectable data aquistion modes

Composite video output displaying status screen plus dot addressed graphics.

LCD display has replaced LEDS with 2x16 alphanumeric lines.

Twin CPLDs to handle all the logic.

Arduino DUE running at 84MHz

New front end software and new AOS

Project folders can be created so all board info is stored in a neat way.

Can run 68000 and Z80A processors at present. Both using the CPU so acts as emulator with step functions.

Automatic block reads that allow addresses to be panned up and down.

etc etc

Hopefully a couple of videos soon will show this better

andrewsm2018-03-07 20:51:29

 

[martin8or]

Really interested in the 68000 stuff as I have an HMI-200 68000 emulator. What about the chances of adding HD6303 emulation?

 

[andrewsm]

possible though to do any of these I use a test board. Currently dont have a board with one on. Its in early stages at the moment but planning to have a suite of processors it can support like the AR81. Difference is the new tester can handle up to 32 address lines.

 

[andrewsm]

Just checked out datasheet and yes it should be possible. I have managed a 6809e so a 6303 is similar plus only 8bit so if I can get hold of a semi working test board then it can be tackled.

 

[martin8or]

^ Thanks for your replies.
martin8or2018-03-08 12:00:39

 

[Hurray Banana]

great progress mark

 

[andrewsm]

Cheers guys. I might have gone quiet but still actively working away in background. As always my aim is to provide a useful and powerful debug system for arcade boards and hopefully im getting there with both testers now

 

[chips4sle]

how about adding some more logic to the adt

 

[DKongPete]

Greetings to my fellow collectors across the pond! I joined your wonderful group to follow along the progress of this project (very exciting stuff imho). I’ve reached out to Sarj and will be reaching out to Mark. If my patience can hold up, I hope to join the AR16 owners club early on. This post is just a ‘hello and thank you for having me”, as well as subscribing to the thread to stay up to date...

So, thanks for having me... and keep up the exciting work!

 

[GadgetFreak]

HELP
Is there anybody with a Mark 2/2.1 AR81 that could make an image file of their SD card from the PI in the tester?
I can provide upload access to my NAS to get hold of it.

The website has an old image that boots to black screen and I have not been able to get an email or pm response.

 

[DKongPete]

has no one helped on this? is the AR81 being supported by the current users? this seems like an awesome alternative to a Fluke 9010, I definitely hope to have one on the bench soon...

 

[GadgetFreak]

Isn't there anyone who can help me out with an image copy of the SD card?
Or even a crib list on which PI install to use and which drivers I will need?
Pretty please

 

[andrewsm]

Im back!!

Sorry for the lengthy delay but had all sorts of problems happening at this end. It seems when one thing goes wrong then theres a knock on effect and before you know it...

Anyhow getting back into the arcade stuff again and catching up with stuff. Only apologise to the guys that messaged me and thought I had been abducted by aliens

 

[Hurray Banana]

Glad you are back safe and well Mark and I hope the Alien experiments were not too traumatic

 

[Zektor]

Just a bump for this thread. Anyone else actively using the tester to fix PCB's?

I've used the ADT for check some TTL in a running game, didn't find anything faulty but was interesting to see how it worked.

I'm just about to make a 6502 test pod... How long can I make the cable from the 40pin CPU socket to the DB25's? Was thinking 60cm or so

Also as I've a MK1 tester need to make the VRAM mo, has anyone hacked this mod inside a Mk1 tester, I'm just thinking about how to best go about adding it to the tester.

I'm just about to try mine out on a few boards I need to repair.

 

[Arcadenut]

Bump! Any progress on the new tester?

 

[david_orton_2000]

So...this project now seems dead?...

Anyone heard from Andrew or reached out to him?