WarpSE: 25 MHz 68HC000-based accelerator for Mac SE

[Zane Kaminski]

Got the WarpSEs reworked and the big connector put on. The first four I tried have been successfully programmed in the programmer fixture!



Great! I will try them out in the Mac in the next few days. There have only been small changes to the board and CPLD firmware since the last prototypes, so any issues oughta just be like, typos. If these work well then it'll be time for beta testing and the first early production batch.

Oh, also it only took 6 minutes and 46 seconds to flash the firmware. Not super fast but not as bad as I thought it'd be.

 

[mg.man]

If these work well then it'll be time for beta testing and the first early production batch.

Woo hoo! Watching with bated breath!

 

[Zane Kaminski]

Works! Here’s a screenshot of the latest WarpSE prototype booted to desktop.

Now we will begin beta testing!

 

[Zane Kaminski]

Just secured 265 more 2Mx8 DRAM chips which makes for about 520 total we own. I'm expanding the production run to around 280 boards. Currently I am working on a deal for some MC68HC000s from the well-reputed Eric Woo. Unlike most of the Shenzhen-based chip sellers I've worked with, he is always super honest about the quality of his chips. I'm hoping to acquire about 250 socket pull CPUs made in Motorola's 0.8 micron (800 nm) process. I think the MC68HC000 originally shipped with 1.5 micron or 2 micron lithography, so these will have pretty low power consumption and will definitely run at 25 MHz or even faster no matter what the marked speed grade is.

 

[retr01]

AMAZING!

I'd love to help with the beta testing, but I am busy with school this Fall semester. @Zane Kaminski, I realize I am back here after a period of absence and have not caught up yet. I am wondering what pricing would look like.

 

[chriskuta]

I just found this project, was actually searching to see if anyone had got a PiStorm working on an SE. This might be a better approach to be honest, since us SE owners just want an SE/30

 

[Zane Kaminski]

So far I've sent the board to three beta testers: James Wages (@JDW), Petar Puskarich (@ppuskari), and Jeff "JT737". Too bad Jeff isn't on TinkerDifferent. Maybe I can get him on here then we can all discuss our test results. A few more testers might be required in the future but first let's make sure everything is working for the current beta testers. Petar and Jeff's WarpSEs should be arriving tomorrow but James's card will take another week or two to get to Japan.

I'm excited to hear the test results!

 

[chriskuta]

@Zane Kaminski - what will be the process to order one when the time comes...

 

[Zane Kaminski]

@Zane Kaminski - what will be the process to order one when the time comes...

The WarpSE will be available on our eBay and Tindie stores:
https://www.ebay.com/str/garrettsworkshop
https://www.tindie.com/stores/garrettswrkshp/

 

[Zane Kaminski]

Small update on testing—Petar and Jeff have received their WarpSEs and @techknight has joined as a beta tester too. Hoping to get @Crutch as a tester as well since he did a fantastic job testing our ROM SIMM a few years ago and his utility apps are super useful.

 

[JDW]

Hoping to get @Crutch... his utility apps are super useful.

Wow. I've been oblivious to the fact that @Crutch was Steve Crutchfield all this time. Fabulous apps indeed!

Glad to hear @techknight has also joined the testing team. Great!

Zane, the package which you very graciously shipped to me will likely arrive tomorrow, since today is a national holiday here in Japan. I'm bursting at the seams to test it.

 

[Crutch]

Why thank you sir @JDW

 

[Zane Kaminski]

Just got the CPUs today! As we all know, these MC68HC000 chips are considered legacy and were discontinued by Motorola/Freescale/NXP years ago. Fortunately Eric Woo was able to come through with 253 chips with good provenance:

My main criteria was that the chips should have original markings, not "remanufactured" chips with fake new date codes. That way the printed mask code is accurate. To increase the number of chips we could buy, my instructions were to ignore the printed speed grade and instead check for a mask code indicating 800 nm (0.8 micron) geometry or finer. Like I said before, 68HC000 originally debuted at 20 MHz with 1.5 micron lithography or maybe even larger. So all 800 nm parts should run at 25 MHz with no issues, no matter the printed speed grade. Some of the chips have white paint markings and some have the modern marking style—dark colored, laser etched markings. I find the white paint kinda ugly so we will be covering the CPU up with a big sticker:

Hmm I don't think I put that sticker on quite straight. Hopefully I can get better at that before we go into production haha

 

[JDW]

Zane, just a quick update to say I've not done any testing yet because the package is still stuck in Chicago, according to the tracking info. Japan Post tracking says the same. Hopefully, nobody in Chicago nabs it!