QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

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mk79
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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by mk79 »

Peter wrote:
mk79 wrote:Same with QPC, that hasn't ever stopped you from bashing its closed-sourceness.
No, I didn't even mention QPC and don't care if it is closed or not.
I appologize, must have been a different Peter who always post things like
Peter wrote:As a free emulator my recommendation would be SMSQmulator. Unlike QPC and Qemulator, it is open source.
and
Peter wrote:the dependency on proprietary / closed-source emulators is a bit sad
The point I was trying to make is I don't go around bashing Q68 for its closedness, so maybe you could stop, too.
Apart from that, small scale hardware production of comprehensive circuits is a completely different issue than distributing software.
I completely get that. I have a whole box full of QL-VGAs next to me that didn't come out of thin air (which funnily enough uses a slightly bigger FPGA than Q68. Some more RAM and a keyboard connector and I'm halve-way to a QL). Fortunately it's a lot easier and cheaper these days than it used to be.

Martyn, sorry for sidetracking the thread. I've ordered a Teensy 2.0++ (and by accident a Teensy 2.0 which is too small to hold your code ;)) and will eventually have something productive to say :P


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Peter
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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by Peter »

mk79 wrote:
Peter wrote:
mk79 wrote:Same with QPC, that hasn't ever stopped you from bashing its closed-sourceness.
No, I didn't even mention QPC and don't care if it is closed or not.
I appologize, must have been a different Peter who always post things like
Peter wrote:As a free emulator my recommendation would be SMSQmulator. Unlike QPC and Qemulator, it is open source.
Obviously you had to dig deep to find a far-fetched excuse for accusing me of "bashing" QPC. Yes I do like SMSQmulator, and for projects that aim open source, people often prefer open tools also, which was the context. I also like Qemulator and obviously mention it in the same manner as QPC there. With your logic, I would "bash" Qemulator as well, which is ridiculous. Again I really don't care if QPC is closed or not. And I didn't even mention QPC here before you brought this up.
mk79 wrote:
Peter wrote:the dependency on proprietary / closed-source emulators is a bit sad
The point I was trying to make is I don't go around bashing Q68 for its closedness, so maybe you could stop, too.
That you had to cut a fraction of my sentence out of context speaks for itself. I was referring to Martin's (not my own) emphasis of open source for his project and constructively considering how SMSQmulator can use it. I didn't even think of QPC at first, rather Qemulator which is relevant for me personally. Which I bought, like and obviously don't bash.


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M68008
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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by M68008 »

I got the Teensy board and wired the circuit, but it's not working for me, yet. I hope to start troubleshooting in the weekend. Hopefully just an error connecting the circuit.

The "bridge reset" succeeds, which looks like a good sign, but transmission in either direction is not working. I see some flashes of the Teensy LED, but both the QL and emulator are stuck without showing any progress.

Btw, I was not able to find a NOT_L keyword, I created one myself using the AND_L in TK3 as a starting point. (In hindsight, I could have used a EOR_L with -1).


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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by martyn_hill »

Ciao Danielle!

It's great to hear that you've started the journey! I'd be very happy to use your setup and trouble-shoot together, if you like?

Attached is my own 32-bit bit-wise toolkit - might be worth trying that in place of your own as a first easy step, in case I'm relying on (a quirk in) my own toolkit.
long_ops_v20.zip
(2.85 KiB) Downloaded 162 times
Would you care for a Zoom session one evening to work through it together? Just PM me if so...

M.


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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by martyn_hill »

EDITED 17:50 GMT:

... some adjustments that may be necessary to the QLUB firmware as published (v2.1e) relates to the bit-timings, which I modified very slightly to suit the ZX Interface-1 in my later testing.

To revert to default QL bit-timings, you could make the following changes to the firmware and re-flash the Teensy...

Around line 120:

Currently:

Code: Select all

const unsigned int BIT_TIME_SEND=15;
const unsigned int BIT0_TIME_SEND=20;

const unsigned int BIT_TIME_RECV=13;
const unsigned int BIT0_TIME_RECV=22;
Change to:

Code: Select all

const unsigned int BIT_TIME_SEND=14;
const unsigned int BIT0_TIME_SEND=20;

const unsigned int BIT_TIME_RECV=11;
const unsigned int BIT0_TIME_RECV=18;
By way of explanation, the default ZX bit-timings are very slightly longer than those used in the QL and, between the IO contention present in some early QLs as well as all ZX Interface-1s, make for bit-frame timing issues. I have long since adjusted the bit-timing in my TK2 code on the QL to better align with the ZX timings and the values in the current QLUB firmware represent those adjusted timings.

By reverting to the values shown in the 'Change to' box above, the QLUB firmware should better match the default QL/TK2 timings. I've tested these timing params again this evening, having reverted the changes to my QLs and both sGC QL and BBQL (Minerva w TK2) now receive and send again :-)

I've updated the firmware as v2.1f - attached here:
QLAN-USB_v21f.zip
(24.33 KiB) Downloaded 160 times
Let me know how you get on :-)
Last edited by martyn_hill on Thu Jan 07, 2021 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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XorA
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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by XorA »

I have vanpeebles bugging me to support this in sQLux, is there a guide of what needs done?


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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by martyn_hill »

Hi!
XorA wrote:I have vanpeebles bugging me to support this in sQLux, is there a guide of what needs done?
Yes, he's a bit like that, isn't he :-)

I don't have sufficient experience with uQLx - nor sQLux - having last played with uQLx several versions since, but the following two points will need to be addressed if the QLUB Adapter is to be usable on uQLX:

1. My reading of the uQLx manual suggests that the COM port is accessible and as such, as long as a Unix driver exists for the USB Virtual COM Port device with which the emulator will then communicate, this should be perfectly doable.
2. The current SBASIC SendFileMQ application is written for SMSQE and will crash on QDOS (Minerva should survive) due to the gratuitous use of >9 parameters and LOCal variables. For QDOS some re-work would be needed, but again, doable...

In general, I have consciously avoided testing against all the possible permutations of emulator at this stage simply to focus on getting the final fully OS-integrated software ready, and so would welcome your findings (and will try to answer questions as best I can) testing with uQLx/sQLux.

Regards,
M.


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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by XorA »

Ok I have ordered the bits to build the hardware, lets see how this goes!


martyn_hill
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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by martyn_hill »

XorA wrote:Ok I have ordered the bits to build the hardware, lets see how this goes!
Good luck!

As more of our friends here build and try out the device, I intend to capture any feedback I receive and document it ready for others to follow :-)

I understand that Danielle T has already built the adapter and beginning to make progress, so we should have some real-world feedback very soon (no pressure, Danielle!) :-)


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Re: QLUB Adapter - Initial Release...

Post by Chr$ »

What equivalent PNP bi-polar high-speed switching transistor is suitable instead of a ZTX-510? I'm a noob looking at datasheets and none of the PNP transistors I can find are quite the same. ZTX-510 seems to be a tricky one to find.


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