[Coco] An FPGA GIME project, and CoCo FPGA Experimenter's Board

[Brendan Donahe]

They both sound interesting, but the latter sounds especially cool.

Brendan

On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 9:44 PM, Zippster <zippster278 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Good point Bill, I’m definitely considering complete CoCo3 compatibility
> to be a must.
>
> A CoCo3 mode would be baseline operation for sure.  We will stick to
> normal GIME behavior and stock CPU speeds for that.
>
> - Ed
>
>
> > On Oct 21, 2015, at 9:22 PM, Bill Nobel <b_nobel at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > You know what Ed, GO FOR IT…  You would be the one to do this.  One
> suggestion, make a mode switch like the 6309 to enable the enhanced
> features beyond the Coco3.
> >
> > Bill Nobel
> >
> >> On Oct 21, 2015, at 7:28 PM, Zippster <zippster278 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi guys, these are a couple of cross posts from the Facebook group for
> people on the mailing list that don’t use Facebook.
> >> I’m planning another project to follow the MC6847 FPG VGA boards, and
> there’s been a little discussion over there.
> >>
> >>
> >> FPGA GIME PROJECT
> >>
> >> I've started doing some of the prep work for an FPGA GIME chip
> replacement project. This is a stepping stone toward a CoCo4 project.
> >>
> >> What I'm planning on is to develop a drop in board for the CoCo3 that
> will implement a GIME in FPGA, with 2MB of static RAM, and direct VGA out.
> >>
> >> I'll be using an Altera Cyclone IV FPGA for the project. Since more I/O
> pins will be needed than are available on Cyclone IV QFP packages, this is
> going to require me to use a BGA256 packaged FPGA and a four layer PCB.
> Toward this end I have a reflow oven on the way, and I'm entering the
> needed parts into Eagle. This will give us quite a few pins to work with in
> implementing new features later.
> >>
> >> This is going to be a very interesting and challenging project in
> several ways, but it's the big missing part of the puzzle hardware-wise to
> a fully CoCo3 compatible CoCo4, so hopefully it will be worth the effort.
> :)
> >>
> >>
> >> COCO FPGA EXPERIMENTER’S BOARD
> >>
> >> As I've been entering parts preparing for the FPGA GIME project, I had
> an idea. With the work I'm having to do for that project, it would be
> relatively easy to develop an "FPGA Experimenter's Board" that would plug
> into the CoCo cartridge port along the way.
> >>
> >> Kind of an FPGA development board that could be used for interfacing
> projects. With an Altera device, some bi-directional level shifters, maybe
> an ADC chip, a couple of resistor DACs, and some other support circuitry,
> we could have a pretty cool board for people interested in CoCo/FPGA
> projects. Maybe help get some more hardware developed.  :)
> >>
> >> Is there enough interest in something like this for me to pursue it on
> the way to doing the GIME replacement?
> >>
> >> What do you guys think?
> >>
> >>
> >> - Ed
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
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> >
> >
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