Dennis Bernardo D'Annunzio

My main current project is a S-100/IEEE696 replica computer. The initial version has all new-built boards, a modern power supply, a new card cage and enclosure. I am currently building and testing the board set (including the baseboard). Below are some outlines of my current project and thoughts. I hope to contribute more in the future as things progress and time permits (images, text docs, eda docs, etc.)

  1. Board Set Build and Test (in progress)
    1. S100 Z80 SBC
    2. S100 Propeller based I/O (rear panel)
    3. S100 V4 Baseboard
    4. S100 Monitor (front panel)
  2. Enclosure Design (SW or PRO/E) (in progress)
    1. Card Cage
    2. PS Cage
    3. Main Case/Chassis
    4. Front Panel
    5. Rear Panel
    6. Designed within the constraints of available machining tools
  3. Software Setup/Work (from S100)
    1. Monitor ROM (from S100)
    2. CP/M BIOS and setup (CF on SBC)

Once the computer is completed, I am interested in using the computer for a few projects. The enclosure work will take the longest, but I can start using the computer once the board set is completed and tested. I have a lot of experience with Atmel ATMEGA uC and hope to put some of these devices inside an S100.

  1. MIDI interface - leverage the realtime capability of the S100 system (without interrupts) to create a tight MIDI sequencer
    1. Features and UI similar to Roland MC50 and/or MC80
      1. both of those have 2 line LCD interface that works well (no piano roll)
      2. hardware UI with buttons and scroll wheel
    2. ​Workstation and Live type functions
      1. record/overdub
      2. Looping
      3. rhythm track
      4. Multiple MIDI ports, programmatically assigned (in/out/merge/filter/etc.)
  2. FPGA Personality Driver for CPU (Master/Slave) Board
    1. Emulate one (or multiple) CPU boards, new or vintage
    2. Emulate disk images
    3. Use FPGA/Atmel ATMEGA combo core
    4. Use Atmel for A/D (and D/A)
    5. Use Atmel for user main loops after setup of FPGA, utilize RS232 interface or other between them.
    6. Also possibly use Atmel chip for bootloader interface to S-100 bus (using SIO interface)
    7. Direct bus to FPGA - FPGA for interface logic
    8. i8080
    9. i8085
    10. i8086 (x86): i80186, i80286, i80386,i80486
    11. z80
    12. m6805
    13. m68000?, etc.
    14. specific mfg boards, from Cromemco, IMSAI, Ithaca?, etc.
  3. GPS RTC board
    1. Always correct, based on GPS time and GPS location
    2. Possible DMA/memory mapped interfaces?
  4. Vacuum Tube System Monitor (front panel or external)
    1. programmable display
    2. steampunk
    3. References
      1. http://tubes-store.com/index.php?cPath=32_93
  5. Touch screen System Monitor (front panel) (modern)
  6. Power supply telemetry (voltage, current, temps)
    1. It's about time RFU was used, eh? How about an i2c bus?
  7. (bluesky) Baseboard upgrade with per-slot power supply telemetry (voltage, current)
  8. (bluesky) Baseboard upgrade with programmable per-slot power supply voltages and telemetry
    1. ​ It's about time RFU was used, eh? Ethernet/twisted pair - wist traces on PCB as necessary, slot interconnect interleave