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Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Oct 28, 2024, 10:23:55 PM10/28/24
to se...@googlegroups.com, Richard Davis Jr., Joseph Travis, Eric Mack

Hello Joe, Richard,

 

I’m almost done with Eric Mack H8 system with the new DCF H8 board as I’m expecting additional IC’s (see attached picture).

 

His H8 system configuration is as follows;

 

  1. Heath Z80 board
  2. My Z80 64KB board
  3. H8-4 Serial Port
  4. DCF card when done
  5. Heathkit H37/H67 board

 

Once I finalized the DCF card, How I can boot from the CF card on port 110Q and/or 114Q using the H8 front panel….

 

This DCF card is using the reversed connector.

 

Thanks for all your support.

 

Norberto

IMG_6261.jpg

Joseph Travis

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Oct 28, 2024, 10:47:29 PM10/28/24
to norberto.collado koyado.com, se...@googlegroups.com, Richard Davis Jr., Eric Mack
The H8-DCF board doesn't (currently) support the H37/H67 configuration, it is H17 only.  You might be better off using your H67-CF board instead as the Heathkit BIOS can be made to support that H17/H37/H67 configuration (with some massaging).

The ROM(s) needed were available on your website.  There is one for the 8080 CPU board and one for the Z80 CPU board.  Since you will be using the PAM37 ROM, the front panel boot procedure for the CF is:
MEM 000 362
REG PC ALTER
020 000 ALTER
GO

Joe

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Oct 28, 2024, 10:47:30 PM10/28/24
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IO ports schematic here:

 

Joseph Travis

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Oct 28, 2024, 10:50:37 PM10/28/24
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Yes, those I/O port addresses are correct.  110Q and 114Q.

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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Oct 28, 2024, 11:32:59 PM10/28/24
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The EPROM is a 2532 and not compatible with 2732 EPROM…. I can erase it, but need to check if my old EPROM programmer is still functional.

 

 

Norby

Joseph Travis

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Oct 29, 2024, 5:45:54 AM10/29/24
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I responded to your other email with a boot ROM image.  On the 8080 CPU board, you can change the jumpering around to accommodate a variety of ROMs / EPROMs.  

Both of my 8080 CPU boards use the 28C256 adapter board we did a couple years ago.  One of the nice things about that is I can have 4 different ROM images stored in the 28C256 and select the desired one using the jumpers.  I can have PAM8, PAMGo, PAMAT and XCON8 along with the H17 ROM for each one.  I like using the PAM8 ROM when doing tape I/O because it continuously displays the byte count / status on the front panel.

Joe


glenn.f...@gmail.com

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Oct 29, 2024, 7:11:38 AM10/29/24
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Cool idea joe. it would be nice if there was information (e.g. gerbers) for ordering the adaptor board, or maybe Todd could stock them.

 

And since you mention the byte count and Tape I/O: as far as I know all of the Heath ROMs will display the byte count during a tape LOAD operation (or paper tape/H-10 for that matter). What’s different is that the original PAM8 would leave the front panel display in “memory” (address) display mode on power-up. The later ROMs leave it in “register display” mode (specifically the Stack Pointer, which is set to the top of RAM so essentially this lets you see how much RAM you have).

 

If you have one of the later ROMs all you have to do is put it in “memory” display mode (push the MEM key) before you do your LOAD operation and you will see the byte count information displayed on the LEDs.

 

  • Glenn
image001.png
image002.png

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Oct 30, 2024, 3:00:29 AM10/30/24
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Joe,

 

Can you send me the ROM address lines true table to select the different ROM FW: PAM8, PAMGo, PAMAT and XCON8???

 

For example:

A11, A12

0      ,   0 = XCON8

Etc..

 

Great that you did this.

 

Norberto

Joseph Travis

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Nov 1, 2024, 1:44:44 PM11/1/24
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I apologize for the delay in response.  I figured if I am going to make this available to the general public, I should organize it better than I did originally.  As it is for the moment, the 32K EEPROM image is organized as:

A14  A13  ROM image
  0     0     XCON8+H17+DCF
  0     1     PAM8AT+H17
  1     0     PAM8GO+H17
  1     1     PAM8+H17

NOTE:  For those not old enough to remember how to boot the H17 prior to the PAM8GO or XCON8 ROM, the sequence is:
Reg PC, ALTER, 030 000, ALTER, Go

Joe


XCON8+DCF+H17+PAM8AT+PAM8GO+PAM8.bin

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Nov 1, 2024, 2:33:02 PM11/1/24
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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Nov 1, 2024, 6:53:19 PM11/1/24
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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Nov 2, 2024, 12:30:14 AM11/2/24
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Joe,

 

Rather than wasting the 28C256 adapter, I decided to order from the Atari team the following adapter. It will allow me to burn the 2532 using the 2732 EPROM programmer. My S4 Dataman programmer is working now after so many years being in storage, but it only supports the 2732/27C32 EPROMS. So, the adapter will allow me to burn the 2532 with the 2732 settings.

 

Hopefully, it will work fine. If not, I will burn then a 2732 to replace such IC.

 

 

 

Norby

 

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 1, 2025, 10:44:35 PMJan 1
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Joe,

 

Finally I got the Atari 2532 to 2732 adapter working on the Heath Z80 board. I had to remove a header jumper to get it to work properly. I will add the changes to the website when done.

 

Now, I’m ready to boot from the H8-CF card with the new changes. Can I use the H89-CF image to boot HDOS/CPM/HDOS3??

 

Here is a picture of the new H8-CF board.

 

Thanks,

Norberto

 

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 1, 2025, 11:46:59 PMJan 1
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Joe,

 

After selecting 0 or 1 to boot, I do not get any I/O activity on such board and it gets stuck…

 

Back to the drawing board…

 

Norberto

.

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 1, 2025, 11:49:40 PMJan 1
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Heath Z80 Adapter rework!

Joseph Travis

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Jan 2, 2025, 11:33:46 AMJan 2
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Looks good, Norberto!  Unfortunately, boot code is different for the H8 and H89, therefore the H89 CF won't work for the H8.  I believe Rick needs to update some stuff for the H8 DCF board and it should be ready to go.  He's been tied up working a couple jobs and hasn't gotten to it yet.


The first two in the list should work.  They are position dependent, the HDOS image should go on the left and the CP/M image should go on the right.

BR,
Joe



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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 2, 2025, 4:46:25 PMJan 2
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Thanks Joe!

 

Found four issues with the board assembly:

 

  1. Missed some solder on some IC’s pins.
  2. The new CF adapter will not detect power on pin 20. I had to order some cables to fix that. In the meantime, using my double adapter to continue testing.
  3. There was a short on +5V, which was causing the 7805 to overheat. It took a while to find.
  4. GAL IO decoding was not working. Fixed that.

 

Still cannot boot from the CF card as there still no I/O activity on the CF card. Any steps to debug further with the front panel?

 

Thanks,

Norberto

Joseph Travis

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Jan 2, 2025, 5:20:14 PMJan 2
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There are 3 LEDs on each CF-IDE adapter.  The RED one is for +5, I believe the GREEN one is the CF Enable and the YELLOW one is on whenever the CF is being accessed.  The RED and GREEN LEDs should be ON when the computer is powered up.  If you don't have both of those, I'd double check the IDE connector layout as compared to the previous design.  I believe you reversed the pinout to change the orientation of the IDE-CF adapter.

You should be able to read / write the 8255 registers from the front panel to verify their presence.  Good luck!

Joe


Glenn Roberts

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Jan 2, 2025, 6:31:22 PMJan 2
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So on Norberto’s site the 8255 version of the dual CF board is marked “not supported anymore, just for information.” So why was this version built in this case, vs the newer one?


Sent from my iPad

On Jan 2, 2025, at 5:20 PM, Joseph Travis <jtravi...@gmail.com> wrote:


There are 3 LEDs on each CF-IDE adapter.  The RED one is for +5, I believe the GREEN one is the CF Enable and the YELLOW one is on whenever the CF is being accessed.  The RED and GREEN LEDs should be ON when the computer is powered up.  If you don't have both of those, I'd double check the IDE connector layout as compared to the previous design.  I believe you reversed the pinout to change the orientation of the IDE-CF adapter.

You should be able to read / write the 8255 registers from the front panel to verify their presence.  Good luck!

Joe


On Thu, Jan 2, 2025 at 4:46 PM norberto.collado koyado.com <norberto...@koyado.com> wrote:

Thanks Joe!

 

Found four issues with the board assembly:

 

  1. Missed some solder on some IC’s pins.
  2. The new CF adapter will not detect power on pin 20. I had to order some cables to fix that. In the meantime, using my double adapter to continue testing.
  3. There was a short on +5V, which was causing the 7805 to overheat. It took a while to find.
  4. GAL IO decoding was not working. Fixed that.

 

Still cannot boot from the CF card as there still no I/O activity on the CF card. Any steps to debug further with the front panel?

 

Thanks,

Norberto

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Joseph Travis
Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2025 8:33 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Looks good, Norberto!  Unfortunately, boot code is different for the H8 and H89, therefore the H89 CF won't work for the H8.  I believe Rick needs to update some stuff for the H8 DCF board and it should be ready to go.  He's been tied up working a couple jobs and hasn't gotten to it yet.

 

 

The first two in the list should work.  They are position dependent, the HDOS image should go on the left and the CP/M image should go on the right.

 

BR,

Joe

 

 

 

On Wed, Jan 1, 2025 at 11:49PM norberto.collado koyado.com <norberto...@koyado.com> wrote:

Heath Z80 Adapter rework!

 

<image001.png>

 

From: norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 1, 2025 8:47 PM
To: 'se...@googlegroups.com' <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Joe,

 

After selecting 0 or 1 to boot, I do not get any I/O activity on such board and it gets stuck…

 

Back to the drawing board…

 

Norberto

 

<image002.png>

 

From: norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 1, 2025 7:44 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Joe,

 

Finally I got the Atari 2532 to 2732 adapter working on the Heath Z80 board. I had to remove a header jumper to get it to work properly. I will add the changes to the website when done.

 

Now, I’m ready to boot from the H8-CF card with the new changes. Can I use the H89-CF image to boot HDOS/CPM/HDOS3??

 

Here is a picture of the new H8-CF board.

 

Thanks,

Norberto

 

<image003.png>

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2024 9:30 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Joe,

 

Rather than wasting the 28C256 adapter, I decided to order from the Atari team the following adapter. It will allow me to burn the 2532 using the 2732 EPROM programmer. My S4 Dataman programmer is working now after so many years being in storage, but it only supports the 2732/27C32 EPROMS. So, the adapter will allow me to burn the 2532 with the 2732 settings.

 

Hopefully, it will work fine. If not, I will burn then a 2732 to replace such IC.

 

<image004.png>

 

 

Norby

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Joseph Travis <jtravi...@gmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 2:46 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

I responded to your other email with a boot ROM image.  On the 8080 CPU board, you can change the jumpering around to accommodate a variety of ROMs / EPROMs.  

 

Both of my 8080 CPU boards use the 28C256 adapter board we did a couple years ago.  One of the nice things about that is I can have 4 different ROM images stored in the 28C256 and select the desired one using the jumpers.  I can have PAM8, PAMGo, PAMAT and XCON8 along with the H17 ROM for each one.  I like using the PAM8 ROM when doing tape I/O because it continuously displays the byte count / status on the front panel.

 

Joe

 

 

On Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 11:33PM norberto.collado koyado.com <norberto...@koyado.com> wrote:

The EPROM is a 2532 and not compatible with 2732 EPROM…. I can erase it, but need to check if my old EPROM programmer is still functional.

 

<image005.png>

 

Norby

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Joseph Travis
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2024 7:50 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Yes, those I/O port addresses are correct.  110Q and 114Q.

 

On Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 10:47PM norberto.collado koyado.com <norberto...@koyado.com> wrote:

IO ports schematic here:

 

<image006.png>

--

.

Joseph Travis

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Jan 2, 2025, 6:37:07 PMJan 2
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It is easier to build (the CF sockets were very difficult to solder due to pin spacing), takes less I/O space and compatibilty with the H89 version.

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 3, 2025, 2:22:06 AMJan 3
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Joe,

 

I used the S-100 design and the pinout are the same. I put a power cable and the CF adapter stills fails to power-up. The dual CF adapter powers up nicely using pin 20 as the power-pin.

 

I think the 2x small CF adapter that I ordered are bad.

 

Next step is to check the 82C55 using the H8 front panel as I still do not have any I/O activity on the dual CF card.

 

 

Norberto

 

Get Outlook for iOS


norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 3, 2025, 2:33:47 AMJan 3
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Joe,

 

I’m using ports 110Q and 114Q. I wonder if the H8-ROM (http://koyado.com/heathkit/New-H8-Website/download/hcf-444-70.hex.zip) is using the ports for the newer CF adapter (200Q and 210Q-217Q). Can you check?

 

Norberto

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 3, 2025, 4:19:43 PMJan 3
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Found unsoldered pins on the CF cards, but that did not fixed the power-up issue.

 

Joseph Travis

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Jan 3, 2025, 4:56:44 PMJan 3
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'Sorry for the slow response, I didn't see the previous message.  BTW - Good find on the soldering issues.

The DCF board uses 110Q (48H) and 114Q (4CH).  The HCF board uses 200Q (80H).  You can't boot the DCF board with the HCF ROM.

If you use the first 8K image of the 32K 8080 EPROM, it has boot code for both.  From the front panel, press 3 to get the CF boot selection menu.  Press 0 for the DCF (or 1 for the HCF).  Next it will ask which CH(annel) to boot from, press 0 for the left side or 1 for the right side.  The next selection is for the Logical Drive (0-7).  After making your selection, press # to boot.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions (just remember about the 3 hour time difference).

BR,
Joe


Peter Higgins

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Jan 6, 2025, 2:37:26 AMJan 6
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Norberto - over time I've lost track of what version of CF/IDE adapter the "H8 Dual CF Storage Controller" was designed to be compatible with.

The photo you posted a few days ago shows what you have called the "small CF adapter" - which is the most common generic version of the adapter currently being sold.
The current "small CF/IDE adapter" has a pinout which is the mirror image of the original "SYBA CF/IDE adapter".

Which version of the CF/IDE adapter is the "H8 Dual CF Storage Controller" intended to be used with?

Between the "adapterless" and the "adapter-based" dual CF boards, things are getting very confusing. I have built one of the "adapterless" boards. I hadn't realized until I read this discussion that if I now build an "adapter-based" board for another system, it will require a different driver and therefore the boot disks will not be interchangeable between systems?

Peter Higgins

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Jan 6, 2025, 10:32:27 AMJan 6
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Correction - the pinout of the "small CF/IDE adapter" that is currently being sold is flipped 180 degrees (ie not a mirror image as I said above) compared to the pinout of the CF/IDE adapter that was sold up until a few years ago.

Joseph Travis

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Jan 6, 2025, 2:40:56 PMJan 6
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Peter,

No, unfortunately the two versions aren't compatible due to hardware differences.  If you have the HCF board (without the IDE-CF adapters), stick with it.  It already has the latest ROM and CF images with HDOS 3.02, HDOS 2.0 and CP/M 2.204.   It's also faster than the DCF board.   If you happen to have Les Bird's latest Color Graphics board, I also have a CF image with ~500 MSX games.

Joe


norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 6, 2025, 4:38:21 PMJan 6
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Peter, please follow Joe’s feedback. I’m just trying to enable the older version for the H8. I’m just realizing that is better to stay with the HCF board instead.
Sent: Monday, January 6, 2025 11:40:41 AM

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 11, 2025, 11:00:53 PMJan 11
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Received additional CF adapters from China (eBay) from two different resources. Two of the CF adapters have pin 20 blocked an cannot install on such board. The other adapter are OK and they power-up without any issues. The ones I bought at Amazon are defective from this source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TXBMLB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

 

This one from Amazon, comes with pin 20 blocked and cannot use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BQT544Z?psc=1&ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_product_details_2

 

This one from eBay also has pin 20 blocked: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284675797534

 

In eBay this one powers up fine, but need to do the boot test to confirm 100% functionality: https://www.ebay.com/itm/204974677665

 

Here is the board with the ones from eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/204974677665).

 

 

 

Norbeto

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 11, 2025, 11:23:55 PMJan 11
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Also, as the Heath Z80 board uses 2532 EPROMS instead of the 2732, I have an adapter to use the 28C256 EEPROM to be able to keep multiple images if needed.

 

I will test it out once I get this H8 booting from the HCF board.

 

 

 

Norberto

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2025 8:01 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Received additional CF adapters from China (eBay) from two different resources. Two of the CF adapters have pin 20 blocked an cannot install on such board. The other adapter are OK and they power-up without any issues. The ones I bought at Amazon are defective from this source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TXBMLB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

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glenn.f...@gmail.com

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Jan 12, 2025, 9:29:01 AMJan 12
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So for people interested in the dual-CF board I would encourage you to consider the “New Improved” version from Norberto’s site:

H8-DUAL-CF-CONTROLLER

 

While it does require some detailed soldering work on the compact flash card connector, it’s quite do-able with a little patience and the right tools: very fine solder, a good soldering iron with a very fine tip, and probably a good magnifying glass work stand. Hey if I can do it (I’ve built two of these boards) I think most anyone on the group should be able to…

 

This avoids the need for the CF adapter, and the board operates faster by avoiding the 8255 I/o overhead.

 

There are two versions of the boot code (and device drivers/BIOS), depending on which board is being used…

 

I believe that Todd is only stocking the “New Improved” boards (Rev 2.1) on his site:

https://retrobrewcomputers.org/doku.php?id=boardinventory#norberto_collado_s_heathkit_h8_h89_boards

 

 

  • Glenn

 

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2025 11:01 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Received additional CF adapters from China (eBay) from two different resources. Two of the CF adapters have pin 20 blocked an cannot install on such board. The other adapter are OK and they power-up without any issues. The ones I bought at Amazon are defective from this source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TXBMLB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

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image001.png

norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 12, 2025, 3:13:05 PMJan 12
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Please follow-up Glenn’s feedback an use latest design.

 

Norberto

Joseph Travis

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Jan 12, 2025, 7:22:57 PMJan 12
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Here's a link to the 256MB CF cards I've been using from Amazon.  They have worked very well for me.


Joe


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norberto.collado koyado.com

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Jan 13, 2025, 3:59:28 AMJan 13
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Eric,

 

With a lot of help, your H8 Heath Z80-PAM-36 system booted HDOS 3.0 and CP/M without any issues. I will need to take some pictures, test the floppies, and should be ready to go back home. Here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

Norberto

Joseph Travis

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Jan 13, 2025, 8:18:06 AMJan 13
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Congrats!


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Eric Mack

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Jan 13, 2025, 6:52:22 PMJan 13
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Thank you, Norberto, for your expertise and for chasing down the issues. Hopefully, your experience with my machine will be of service to you or the next person that does this.

Eric

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of norberto.collado koyado.com
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2025 12:59 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] RE: Enabling Eric Mack H8 system!

 

Eric,

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