Oh no! Not another ULA.

Any discussions related to the creation of new hardware or software for the ZX80 or ZX81
User avatar
Paul
Posts: 1517
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 8:15 am
Location: Germanys west end

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Paul »

Andy Rea wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:16 pm @paul... re write protect rom..

so my idea then is ~RAMcs remains untouched... you add ram its your problem to solve addressing ect.

~ROMCS to be selectable option a) as is.. OR option b) the following conditions have to be met. 1) address =< $1FFF. 2) Mreq ( or stretched Mreq ) has to be low. 3) @WR has to be high.

i think that will eliminate all rom ghosting and make it write protect.

regards Andy
Fair enough ;)
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
Moggy
Posts: 3267
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Moggy »

@Kelly

@Mark

Thank you both for that information very grateful. :D
User avatar
Andy Rea
Posts: 1606
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 2:48 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Andy Rea »

Well i didn't expect that, keyboard reads are screwed up at 13Mhz !!!
what's that Smell.... smells like fresh flux and solder fumes...
Moggy
Posts: 3267
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Moggy »

I'll settle for half that speed as I'm old and not as quick as I used to be!! :lol:
User avatar
Paul
Posts: 1517
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 8:15 am
Location: Germanys west end

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Paul »

Andy Rea wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 9:59 pm Well i didn't expect that, keyboard reads are screwed up at 13Mhz !!!
Both? Memotech and Keyboard connector?
You had it going at 20MHz as far as I remember.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
Moggy
Posts: 3267
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Moggy »

I'm sure Andy will provide more detail but just for reference the 20mhz computer he showed me used a custom made board made by himself not a standard ZX81 board so may have had other things built in to reach that speed, again I'm sure Andy will say more on this. :D
User avatar
Andy Rea
Posts: 1606
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 2:48 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Andy Rea »

haven't really tried it on a standard keyboard.. so definitely the memotech at the moment.

oh the 20Mhz zx81 had a completely split address and data bus all done inside the cold, so no resistor blocking and digging signal improving signal integrity massivly not to mention improving the amount of switching noise on the screen rails. IIRC I also had to implement extra wait states on IO operations .



I am currently thinking of a way to either temporarily stop the cpu clock... or add wait states , the latter wod require yet another wire as the wait line is not present at tbe
ula pins

regards Andy
what's that Smell.... smells like fresh flux and solder fumes...
User avatar
1024MAK
Posts: 5118
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:56 am
Location: Looking forward to summer in Somerset, UK...

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by 1024MAK »

For the normal keyboard, the stray capacitance of the membrane will have more of an effect as the frequency of the Z80 increases. With the existing 10kΩ pull-up resistors (resistor pack RP3), the inputs to the (replacement) ULA have less time for the voltage to get beyond the threshold value.

Using a lower value for the pull-up resistors should help. It may be necessary to use transistors in place of diodes D1 to D8 as well (so speed up and provide more current instead of directly driving from the Z80 address bus).

Alternatively, as Andy suggests, insert a delay when reading the keyboard.

Mark
ZX81 Variations
ZX81 Chip Pin-outs
ZX81 Video Transistor Buffer Amp

:!: Standby alert :!:
There are four lights!
Step up to red alert. Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb :!:
Looking forward to summer later in the year.
User avatar
1024MAK
Posts: 5118
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 10:56 am
Location: Looking forward to summer in Somerset, UK...

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by 1024MAK »

With the Memotech keyboard buffer, this blog page gives details of the circuitry.

Of your board has capacitors (C1 to C8) and resistors or wire links) (R1 to R8) between the 74LS244 and the keyboard, these should be removed and replaced with signal diodes.

Plus, five pull-up resistors should be fitted at the input lines to the 74LS365.

That may help.

Mark
ZX81 Variations
ZX81 Chip Pin-outs
ZX81 Video Transistor Buffer Amp

:!: Standby alert :!:
There are four lights!
Step up to red alert. Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb :!:
Looking forward to summer later in the year.
User avatar
Andy Rea
Posts: 1606
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 2:48 pm
Location: Planet Earth
Contact:

Re: Oh no! Not another ULA.

Post by Andy Rea »

that's rather interesting, however I don't think I want to modify my memotech keyboard just yet...

right this minute I'm having a bit of fun trying various ideas

regards andy
what's that Smell.... smells like fresh flux and solder fumes...
Post Reply