Announcing the new "Gold Card" - QIMSI Gold

[javier2112]

Great job Peter and team, I can't wait to get one and use it on my QL.

I have a question: could some way be implemented to get the video output of the QL through the video port of the QIMSI Gold?

Am I in the list? I'm not sure.

[furellax]

Hola and many thanks!
If I understood correctly, you are from Spain. Please note that the Spanish QL keyboard support for the accellerated CPU ist not yet finished. We have just German and English at the moment. Which means that you might need to use an external keyboard, or a non-Spanish QL when you use the accellerated CPU.

You're correct Peter. I'm from Spain. I've both an English issue 7 and Spanish issue 6 QLs. Good to know that it will work only on the UK version for now.

[furellax]

Hi furellax,

You are on the waiting list now. Kindly be a little bit patient.

Thanks,

Stephan

Great news Stephan! Thanks both of you!

[Maskenlos]

Am I in the list? I'm not sure.

Now you are. Please share your Email address by PN.

Thanks!

[fuasn]

i also want to have that great masterpiece, please add to me also to the list. i'll send you a PM ..

[Peter]

Many thanks for calling QIMSI a masterpiece. The PCB with all its handrouted tracks, and all FPGA balls mapped like a "puzzle solution" for only two routing layers, have indeed cost an insane amount of work. All machine soldered parts are single sided for cost reduction, while still keeping size small. And the prototypes were manually soldered by myself, including the ball grid array chips. In the end, the QIMSI design was more like creating an artwork for me, not just function oriented. I'm quite happy with the result. Maybe except the SMD style micro USB connectors, which do not allow much mistreatment when handling the cables. A throughhole type would have been more robust, but no longer justifies the extra cost and risk of another PCB redesign cycle with new prototyping and new production tooling.

[fiskus]

Please could I be added to the waiting list. Thanks.

[Derek_Stewart]

Many thanks for calling QIMSI a masterpiece. The PCB with all its handrouted tracks, and all FPGA balls mapped like a "puzzle solution" for only two routing layers, have indeed cost an insane amount of work. All machine soldered parts are single sided for cost reduction, while still keeping size small. And the prototypes were manually soldered by myself, including the ball grid array chips. In the end, the QIMSI design was more like creating an artwork for me, not just function oriented. I'm quite happy with the result. Maybe except the SMD style micro USB connectors, which do not allow much mistreatment when handling the cables. A throughhole type would have been more robust, but no longer justifies the extra cost and risk of another PCB redesign cycle with new prototyping and new production tooling.

Hi Peter,

All your PCB designs are a work of art, which I have enjoyed looking at since the Q40.

I must convey a lot of thanks for all your hard work.

[Peter]

All your PCB designs are a work of art, which I have enjoyed looking at since the Q40.

Thanks for the kind words. Also many thanks for your excellent manufacturing. But to be honest, the aesthetics of the Q40 PCB layout are not as good as Q68 and QIMSI. The Q40 PCB was just a "result oriented" layout. Also, I did not have the flexibility of modern FPGAs, when it came to the pin mapping of the logic chips. So the Q40 layout looks more "wild".

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi Peter,

The Q60 boards, that were produced in 2002, were hand soldered with non-temperature controlled soldering irons.

It usually took 8 hours to finish a Q60 board, I used do a couple hours per night, but my friend used solder and a Q60 board in one day.

With today's modern soldering equipment, flux and solder, maybe the time soldering the Through Hole componens would be reduced. But not tge fatigue of soldering hundreds of solder joints.

I was going to get more Q60 PCBs made, but the QIMSI Gold makes it a little redundant.

Or is there a need for a 68060 QL?