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[Quaksna]

My microphone freakin' broke, rendering me crippled in terms of movie making. Since I don't have time, nor money, nor nerves to find a new one, no singing for the time being.

So here you go. The main theme of the project, which seems would serve better as comic now. I could share with you way easier!

https://soundcloud.com/vojtech-peyerl/kevekiii-kawavaka-instrumental/s-PgJzx

It's a hymn on Velakaii and their deeds. Somewhere near 1:03 minutes is place for singer, all way to 2:30.

I don't have the lyrics written in Kewekiii Kvakeii, in latin script it would be:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kevekiii Kawavae eka Velakaii
Wakeevi daliivii ve Varvluwuki
Eka Džaabul, dal Aavakiii Vaal
Dal Weuvaivii owvaukeve Giihatal
Qv'uaksna Waurak, lovookiii Dakvaiii dal
Muleel dal aavake ve Rivool Voolatal
Eka Haadees, oodaliii daliii Tejoo Laivukii
ve ouūā dal owvaukeve Kevekii

Sawavk Rikaaiii Akvaraji
ua waknuve Dakvaii
ve keibuuke Kauamii

Translated :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Frogs tell tales about The Mighty Ones (Velakaii)
about their deeds
About Džábul, the Lord of Truth
He gave us all the Sun
Q'uaksna, warrior of complex mindset
Thanks to him the Moon shines in night
About Haadees, and all of his numerous children
and about all, that he gave to the frogfolk

The Herb of Serpentine Wisdom
it cleanses minds
and cures bodies

(The Herb of Serpentine Wisdom is name of the project and plays crucial role in the story)

[Urist McScoopbeard]

Some screens from a game I'm working on! Woot!

[Cathar]

So I did a bunch of stuff. I can't really do more than just doodle right now...but I'm happy of my progress

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Quaksna]

Bay Watchers and Watchresses,

the one and only

Me

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Not my first autoportrait, not the best one. But it makes me feel proud...

[wierd]

So..

MORE work on the PEB model.



Still so much more to do...

[King Zultan]

MORE work on the PEB model.

So what are you going to do when you finish it, are you gonna build one or what?

[wierd]

Possibly.  It would be an excellent test of the reverse engineering.

Mostly though, this project is for the purpose stated in the atariage thread i linked.  To facilitate the creation of community made modern upgrades.  One frequently discussed one is replacing the PSU inside with something more modern.

[King Zultan]

What about all the internal components, like the circuit boards and chipsets, are you going to buy those or are you planning to try to make those as well?

[wierd]

Those are already documented. I could make one if i wanted.

There are also modern PEB cards being made by the community.  See for instance the TIPI card, the HRD9000 ramdrive card, the various SAMS cards, etc.  The only old part needed is the sidecar interface card (or "firehose" card.) There are diagrams for that card already.

The PEB itself is just a PSU and dumb backplane. No real chips on it just slots and bus traces. The firehose card is where the interface circuits live.

[King Zultan]

Those are already documented. I could make one if i wanted.

How hard would it be to make one?

[wierd]

1 sheet perfboard
BoM list of ICs and connectors
NoClean flux
A spool of solder friendly wire
Appropriate replacement for firehose data cable (a db50 and a solderable cup end 44pin female card edge connector)
Rosin core silver bearing solder
A circuit tester
A day of free time

I would use chip sockets to avoid overheating any ICs.

I would personally try ebay first though. Getting the card and cable cheaper than the BoM needed to fabricate one is a real possibility.

Not so much for the PEB itself because of demand and cost of shipping.  Getting the materials will certainly be cheaper.

[King Zultan]

So its cheaper to build your own one of these things that it is to buy one?

Also what does BoM and PEB stand for.

[wierd]

Bill of Materials

EG, the stuff you need to make one. 

(For the interface card, you can derive the BoM from the nice writeup and documentation about the card found here.)

In the case of a PEB, you need 3 20in square sheet metal sheets that are .0545 inches thick, cutting tools, some form of .063in radius forming surface, and at the very least, a deep bench vise.  You will also need 8 60-pin 2.54mm pitch card slot connectors, a long sheet of perf board, wire, solder, suitable screws, a PSU that can output the correct voltages, a power switch, and a 3d printer, in addition to an electric drill, and a cutting disc tool of some kind.

A PEB typically costs about 350$ + 70$ shipping if you get one off ebay. 

This is a fairly typical offering;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Texas-Instruments-TI-99-4A-Peripheral-Expansion-System-Manuals-Games/143399376220?hash=item216344d55c:g:eAoAAOSwibddk1M8

219.99$ + 92.17$ shipping.


That's a big hunk of change.  The card edge connectors cost between 1.50 and 3$ each, the perfboard should not cost over 10$, the sheet metal (combined) should be around 40$, and a spool of material for a consumer printer is around 30$.  Combined that's about 1/3 the price of your typical PEB off ebay.  Plenty of budget for the PSU, switches, solder, and wire.

If you buy the stuff in bulk, you could make several of them, and if you know any desperate buyers, you could sell them for quite a penny.

That is not my intention here though.  More, the models are for doing digital part design for things like "add an i2c display on the front bezel!" projects, where a nice little sheet metal bracket, a small printed plastic fascade, and the module itself are included in the kit, with nice drafted instructions on where and how to modify your case.

OR--  "Replace that 30 year old PSU with this newer, smaller, quieter, and more energy efficient one!" with an appropriate sheet metal bracket to enclose the new PSU that just so happens to mate up with the original parts-- etc.

This is an enabling technological tool I am making--

[King Zultan]

So if you do end up building this are you gonna modernize it, or are you going as close to the original as possible?

[wierd]

That topic came up in the atariage thread.  For now, I am being as "Faithful data collection as possible" in the operation, with the assertion that "Custom parts design" can be done effortlessly after, since the herculean effort to reverse-engineer the original will have already been completed.