How the components are delivered
Overview of parts
Please also consider the "Aufbau-Thread" (assembly-thread) in the Forum-64. If you are registered in the forum, you can also ask questions. The forum is german, but most of the users speak english as well, so don't hesitate to write in english.
Please keep the given construction sequence. It will make it easier for you.
All pictures can be clicked for an enlarged view.
In case of doubt, please check accurately, how it shall look like!
For the construction the schematics are not necessarily needed. However, if you want to have a look inside, here it is: FE3 schematics (PDF-format, 33kB).
First, you should unpack all components and sort them. This eases the mounting and looks like this:
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Unpacking the parts, you should have found:
Don't try to pull the leaded components (like resistors, diodes, capacitors) out of the carton tape. Instead, cut the wire as near as possible to the tape to let the wire as long as possible. The glue fixes the components immovable from the tape, if you pull them too strong you may pull the wire out of the component but not out of the tape.
Soldering is easier if you put a thin film of solder flux on the pads of the PCB first.
Don't tin the pins of the slot first, just place it "as-is" onto the pcb and make sure, it fits: the SD-slot has therefore two alignment pins. They are located to the left and to the right of the connectors and will be aligned to the two holes in the PCB.
Then the connector line and the connections at the front of the card reader will be soldered: two on one and one on the other side.
Use thin solder (0.56mm)!
For me it worked good, first to heat the pads and pins with the soldering tip, then adding a little solder and move the tip the pin upwards and away from the component.
Don't stay too long on a pad or pin with your solder tip or it may overheated and PCB and/or SD-slot may get damaged.
SD slot soldered (Thanks Björn for the picture)
If you've done the soldering work, you should test the connectivity. These tests are easier to do after having soldered some restistors before, so the checks are postponed.
First get the SMD-IC out of the package, then position it on the PCB. Fix it (e.g. pressing it with a screw driver to the PCB) and solder it. All 4 pins need to be soldered!
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All components with wires like resistors or diodes should be bend with a gauge: the resistors to a spacing of 10 mm and the diodes to a spacing of 7.5 mm.
Diode and resistor in the gauge
The resistors are soldered in the sequence of their numbering, so first R1, then R2, then R3...
Resistors which are mentioned in the same line have equal values.
Three different resistant values are used:
| Type | Value in ohm | Colour code with 5 rings (metal-oxyde resistor) |
Colour code with 4 rings (carbon-film resistor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1k8 | brown-grey-black-brown-brown | brown-grey-red-gold |
| 2. | 3k3 | orange-orange-black-brown-brown | orange-orange-red-gold |
| 3. | 10k | brown-black-black-red-brown | brown-black-orange-gold |
| Resistor number(s) | Value |
|---|---|
| R1, R2, R3 | 3k3 |
| R4, R5, R6 | 1k8 |
| R7 | 10k |
| R8, R9 | 1k8 |
| R10, R11 | 10k |
Please check the SD-slot now and don't wait for the first problems to appear since it is very hard to do this tests if the other components are placed around the SD-slot.
Okay, let's test the SD-slot:
Place the pcb in the way that the golden connector is near to you and the sd-slot is far to you.
Take a ohm meter and measure the resistance between a few points:
Now we do all the pins of the sd-slot in a row, starting from 1 (most left) to 13 (most right):
| SD-slot pin | Signal | Test point | Expected resistance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GND | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 0 Ohm |
| 2 | CD (card detect) | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 0 Ohm if card inserted, else very high |
| 3 | NC | not connected | |
| 4 | DO | Atmel Pin 7 | 0 Ohm |
| 5 | NC | not connected | |
| 6 | SCLK | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 3.3 k Ohm |
| 7 | +3,3V | JP11, Pin 1 *) | 0 Ohm |
| 8 | +3,3V | JP11, Pin 1 *) | 0 Ohm |
| 9 | GND | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 0 Ohm |
| 10 | GND | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 0 Ohm |
| 11 | DI | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 3.3 k Ohm |
| 12 | /CS | GND (e.g. at JP4) | 3.3 k Ohm |
| 13 | NC | not connected |
*) JP11 Pin 1 is the jumper between the CPLD and the Atmel. It has 3 pins and the 3.3V pin is the one of the three on the outer side towards the SD-slot.
If you can't measure a connection where one should be, try to re-solder the pin. If that doesn't help, you can patch it with a wire from the SD-slot to the corresponding pin of the Atmel - or whereever it belongs.
The rest can be soldered with slightly thicker solder (e.g. 1.00mm).
The three diodes have a printed ring on one side of their packaging. This ring is also printed on the PCB next to the diode symbol. It is mandatory that the diode is soldered in the direction so that the ring of the diode is at the same side as printed on the PCB!
Now the PCB should look like this:
Intermediate result 1 of the assembly
This is the bigger, silver crystal.
New kits contain a crystal that shouldn't make any problems:
Older kits contained a crystal that is smaller but somewhat harder to solder:
This clock-crystal has to be unpacked first.
The pins of the clock crystal are tiny in comparison to the connection holes. Place the crystal on the PBC so that the pins are inside the drill holes. Then fill up the holes with solder.
These are the two tiny capacitors with the value of 27pF and a grid of 2.5mm. The PCB print of C6 moved below the SD-slot out of space restrictions. The part belongs on top of the 8-MHz-crystal.
These have all the value 100 nF. It is mandatory to use small packages, so the capacitors are fitting below the sockets and into the module cartridge. So don't take these disc-shaped ceramic condensators, they are too big!
The print of C10 has moved below the resistor R7. He can be found on the upper left side of the 3.3V voltage regulator!
This chip needs to be soldered without socket directly to the PCB, so it fits below the flash. He doesn't like it, if you solder too long at its pins, so be careful. Don't use more than 2-3 seconds per pin - make breaks to let the chip cool down!
To be able to insert the chip to the PCB, you have to carefully bend the pins orthogonal. Then the chip is plugged into the PCB, take care of the notch. It has to fit the printing on the PCB.
Solder the 22pF capacitor to pin 1 and pin 8 of the RTC afterwards. Take care not to overheat the chip. Without this capacitor, the clock runs too fast. The higher the capacity of the capacitor, the slower the clock runs.
The capacitor should not get soldered on solder side of the PCB since the it wouldn't fit in the case then.
Connect the battery holder with two wires to JP10 and insert the battery.
The positive pin belongs into the square pad, which is located in direction of the PCB print "FINAL EXPANSION",
the minus pin has to be connected to the round pad, direction PCB connector.
Voltage reversal will not cause harm due to a build-in diode.
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At the 40-pin socket of IC 5 and the 32-pin socket of IC 1 you have to chop the inner stabilization bars as seen in the picture below. The sockets mustn't stand proud by standing on the parts inside them. They have so sit straight on the PCB otherwise the build FE3 won't fit inside the cartridge case.
The sockets are somewhat fragile. Take care to not break them into parts when removing the bar! If you own a Dremel with cutting disc, this should be your prefered tool. Otherwise a sharp utility knife (Stanley knife / box cutter / razor blade knife) may be used.
The height of the components is critical: you need to use especially flat sockets and these have to be soldered exactly(=not twisted), so the all in all component height will not get too high for the module cabinet.
Solder the sockets in the same orientation, so the notch meets the print on the PCB!
The square PLCC-socket for the CPLD has to be mounted in the correct orientation - it has three rounded edges, but only one skewed edge.
In the PCB there is a hole at one edge of the CPLD. Some PLCC-sockets have an index pin which prevent a wrong placement. But some sockets don't, instead they have only four short pins. Place the socket so, that the skewed edge is at the corner where the index hole in the PCB is (next to JP6). Be careful when soldering the socket. It might be possible, that the socket is not stable due to the index hole! Best is to solder first two pins and then check, if the socket is properly sitting on the PCB!
Now the PCB should look like this:
Intermediate result 2 of the assembly
Be careful at soldering this component. It must not be wired the wrong way around, else there is the danger of explosion!
On the PCB print both pads of C8, positive "+" and negative "-", are marked. On the tantalum capacitor itself on the right side a "+" is printed. Don't worry about two "-", directly on top of this. They shall symbolize a bar which also marks the positive pin.
The positive pin is in direction of the golden plated PCB-connector,
The negative pin is in the direction of the print "C8" at the corner of the PCB.
Missing or wrong jumpers can cause malfunction and even destroy the CPLD chip!
Double-check each jumper before first power-on!
The jumper have to be cut or broken in the needed length (2-pin, 3-pin...) from the multi-pin connector. Take care that you solder them in rectangularly - skewed jumpers will look awful.
The print of JP11 moved below the PLCC-socket due to space restrictions and is hardly readable. It is the 3-pin jumper between the CPLD and the 40-pin Atmel IC5.
Since the CPLD normally will not be changed and a 3.3V type shouldn't be operated with 5V, if you don't want to destroy him, it is also possible to place a fixed wire and solder it.
The pin in the middle of the jumper always has to be connected, since this is the supply of the CPLD.
The framed connector direction SD-slot has a supply voltage of 3.3V,
The other connector direction the PCB-connector has a supply voltage of 5V.
Which connection you have to set (3.3V or 5V) depends on the used CPLD-type, which you can determine from its lable:
| CPLD-type | voltage |
|---|---|
| ATF1504AS ATF1504ASL | 5V |
| ATF1504ASV ATF1504ASVL | 3.3V |
This jumper was designed for the case that the FE3 is used together with other modules within a VIC-1010 or VIC-1020 expansion unit. In order to do this, it is mandatory that the FE3 at least partially can be switched off, which can be done by opening JP12.
In normal operation this jumper must always be closed!
With these two jumpers, the device number, with which the SD2IEC can be addressed can be set in a range from 8 to 11. Both jumpers are at the edges of the 40-pin Atmel.
JP5 is directly next to the connection of the IEC cable.
JP6 is down between Atmel, CPLD and PCB connector.
If you don't solder or plug in anything, device address 8 is selected.
If you don't want to close a jumper, you can also connect the shortcut bridge to only one pin of the jumper and leave the other connection open - in this way you directly have the jumper connector available when you need him.
For setting the device number the following combinations are valid":
| Device number | JP5 | JP6 |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | open | open |
| 9 | open | closed |
| 10 | closed | open |
| 11 | closed | closed |
With this jumper the behavoiur of the SD2IEC when pressing the red reset button is defined: you can select if the SD2IEC shall be reset as well or not.
If you have mounted a D64 image or in other words you "inserted a virtual disk", there will be the question, if the disk shall remain in the drive after pressing the red reset button (which would be without doubt the case when using a real 1541) or if you prefer to have a "clean status" without mounted disk and being in the root directory of the SD-card.
Pressing the yellow reset button resets only the VIC-20 and nothing else: The "disc" always remains in the drive, don't care if the jumper is closed or not!
If JP7 is closed, SD2IEC will be reset as well by pressing the red reset,
If JP7 is open, SD2IEC will never be reset, like it is the case with the MMC2IEC of PeterSieg/LarsP.
JP7 is located between the Atmel and the SD-Slot, between the tantal-capacitor C8 and the small suppressor capacitor 100nF C9.
All other with JP labeled connections are not important for now and can be left open.
JP3 and JP4 can be used to connect pushbuttons for changing the disk image. Since for the VIC-20 there are no games known, which are using multiple disks, you can do it very good without these pushbuttons.
JP8 is designed for future LCD/I2C-bus-extensions and is currently not further supported.
JP9 is the coffee pin (for future use), which is actually ehm... an insider joke.
Assume that are you working with a module to develop programs, e.g. compiler or assembler. Now imagine hat at each program crash the module wouldbe thrown out of the expansion port. Most probably you would leave it outside at the latest after the third time, won't you?
For this reason the Final Expansion has two reset buttons:
On the pictures you can see how to solder the cables:
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With approx. 25 cm the enclosed cable is dimensioned generously. To enable a strain relief, it shall not get shortened.
Prepare the cable as shown in the pictures: first remove the isolation of the wires. Then the shielding will be twisted on the side of the plug and cut on the side of the module.
Afterwards three wires and the shielding will be soldered to the plug as shown in the second picture.
The assignment of colours and connector positions need to be kept, so the correct wires are soldered to JP2.
The fourth wire (yellow) is not used.
| Signal | Cable colour | Pin # at the DIN-plug | Position at JP2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLK | brown | 4 | 1: single framed pad, located direction SD-slot |
| DATA | white | 5 | 2: in the middle |
| ATN | green | 3 | 3: located direction outside of the PCB |
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FE3 works fine without LEDs and there are no holes in the delivered cases for them!
If you insist on having status LEDs, you'll find a green and a red LED and two 560 Ohm resistors in the kit.
+5V are at Atmel Pin 10 and Pin 30. At the picture, +5V were taken from a capacitor.
Connect the longer pin of the LED with the resistor.
You may solder it like this:
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BUSY LED (green):
,,
+5V ---[560]---|>|---- Atmel Pin 40 (PA0)
DIRTY LED (red)
,,
+5V ---[560]---|>|---- Atmel Pin 39 (PA1)
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Measure resistance between +5V and GND, e.g. at the 32 pin socket of IC1 on the top right of the PCB, here between pin 32 (top right) and pin 16 (bottom left).
The resistance must be very high (some megaohms, eventually "OL" or "1.." on some multimeters), else somewhere there is a short, which should be quite easily identified as soldering problem and easily fixed. Re-check all parts and look for short-circuits on solder side. Ask in the forum if you need help.
Please, keep the probes of the multimeter for a few seconds on the measuring points, until the value on your multimeter does not change anymore.
DO NOT PLUG THE FE3 INTO YOUR COMPUTER IF THE MEASURED VALUE ARE NOT CORRECT.
Before inserting the DIL-chips (all except the square CPLD) you have to bend the pins of the chips orthogonally using a firm base (desk top), so they will fit into the sockets. Therefore you firmly hold the chip with both hands at each side between thumb and forefinger and bend all pins on one side simultaneously into the proper direction.
Then just place the chip loosely onto the socket and check, if no pins are exactly where they should be. If this is not the case, they could be bend when inserting the chip to the socket without having contact. In worst case they can even tear off!
The DIL-chips are having a notch which necessarily have to meet with the notches on the PCB print and socket. If the chips are inserted in the opposite direction there is a high risk, that this chip is destroyed, maybe even more!
The square CPLD-chip is skewed at one edge. This edge has to be placed into the according edge of the socket. First align the chip before pressing it inside the socket. It is properly inserted, if the chip completely disappeared in the PLCC-socket, that means from the side view the chip doesn't protude the socket.
| Chip number | Type |
|---|---|
| IC1 | Flash 29F040B |
| IC2 | SRAM 628512 |
| IC3 | 74LS245 |
| IC4 | ATF1504 (CPLD) |
| IC5 | ATmega644 |
The expansion port is, as you might know, directly connected to the CPU, the VIC and everything else that is important and expensive in a VIC-20. If you have ANY doubt that there is a mistake in the board or think that something went wrong while building it, DO NOT PLUG IT IN. AN ERROUNEUS BOARD WILL DESTROY ESSENTIAL PARTS OF YOUR COMPUTER.
While using the FE3,
If possible, get a housing for that cartridge. It is way cheaper then having to repair the VIC-20.
Have a critical look at your work before plugging it in. Be sure that everything is ok. Done? Ok, then you are ready for...
Plug in the module so, that the chips are facing to the top, so they are visible when the module is plugged in.
After powering on after the usual short time the welcome message **** CBM BASIC V2 ****, 3583 BYTES FREE, READY has to appear. If this is not the case, switch of the computer immediately and cry for help!
For the futher implementation of the FE3 you need an SD-card or an MMC-card. It's capacity may not exceed 2GB. A tiny 16 MB MMC card (e.g. from an old mobile phone) offers already enough space for about 100 disk images in 1541 format!
The SD-card must be formatted with FAT16 or FAT32.
Download the file FE_First_SD_Card.zip and unpack it into the root directory of the memory card.
The Atmel-controller is already programmed with a bootloader. You only need to provide the firmware, which is very easy using the prepared SD-card.
After switching power on the bootloader is looking on the SD-card the file sd2iec.bin and flashes the firmware to the controller. This takes less than 10 seconds.
The file can remain on the SD-card. The bootloader will not flash after each power up, because he can recognize, if he flashed this firmware already.
After this the SD2IEC must be adressable under the previously set device number (default 8):
LOAD"$",8 followed by LIST must show the directory od the SD-card!
If you have any questions about the SD2IEC, you should have a look into the file README_sd2iec.txt contained on the SD-card.
The program FE3FLASH contained on the SD-card is used to flash the Firmware FE3FIRMWARE to the Flash-Eprom. This is also the way, how the firmware will be updated, if there is any available.
Enter LOAD"FE3FLASH",8 followed by RUN.
The program reports the vendor- and device-id's of the flash-eprom, erases the flash-eprom, writes new firmware to the flash-eprom and terminates itself.
After pressing one of the reset-buttons, the blue menue of the final expansion should appear.
There's a detailed description of the commands T-WA and T-RA in the file README of the SD2IEC (contained in FE_First_SD_Card.zip).
Take care not to enter a space too much or less or you will end up with an syntax error!
@T-WATHUR 08/13/09 02:48:00 PM @ 00, OK,00,00
@T-RA @ THUR 08/13/09 02:48:03 @T-RA @ THUR 08/13/09 02:48:08
If the FE3 passed all your tests, it's time to put it into the housing.
The three reset cables can lay under the PCB. Remove the nuts from the keys and put them on when you've closed the case later. You may fix the keys through the holes in the case when you're tightening the nuts.
Put the cable tie around the IEC cable but don't tighten it yet. Place the cable as desired, then fix it.
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Close the case and tighten the screw.
Clean the case first, before you glue. Glass cleaner is good for this job. Don't even think about using some solvents like Aceton, Benzine, cleaner's naptha and such since they may harm your case.
Put the cleaner on a paper towel. Don't spray it directly on the case to avoid liquid entering the case.
Put some ordinary glue on the case, but don't use too much!
Let the glue dry for a moment, then put the label on - center it horizontally and place it top-justified.
If some glue flows on the label (I told you: don't use too much!), remove it quickly with a paper towel.
Let the glue dry and your fingers off the case during this time!
Less is more, this is too much.
Now you've done it! The developer team wishes you a lot of fun with the Final Expansion!
Translated by zorro
