FALCON CLOCK BUFFER PATCH NEW

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FALCON CLOCK BUFFER PATCH NEW

Post by exxos »

buff1.jpg
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My buffer board replaces any other/older boards/hacks which may be in the Falcon already. There are so many "versions" of this mod its unreal. All of which are old outdated designs and should now be "forgotten" about. I designed this board in 2017 to clean the clock lines up and buffer them while reducing ringing in the signals. I have had nothing but good feedback about this mod resolving problems.

The problem with the Falcon is the source of the 16MHz clock came from a single source which wasn't really strong enough to drive everything which was connected to it. Atari split this clock line 3 ways and added some small resistors (which is a good idea). Though unfortunately, this resulted in "back ringing" on the signals where noise on one line would couple to noise from another. With such low resistor values and various lengths of tracks running all over the place, it basically turned into a mess. All buffer boards aim to buffer these 3 signals but in multiple ways, where some could actually make things worse!

Some (or most) buffer the signals with a small buffer IC. This is great, but the signals still had bad ringing and only "better" buffer mods aimed to reduce this, mostly C-lab and Steinberg etc. I had not heard of any Falcons having this mod, so not sure what the outcome was.

In anycase, I started with a buffer IC and added in resistors to reducing the ringing on the inputs and outputs of the clock lines. Each resistor was chosen for the best "compromise" between voltage levels and noise levels (both are conflicting requirements unfortunately) on each signal patch. This way all 3 clock lines are driven separately and have the buffer resistors to reduce the ringing which could cause "double clock pulses" and cause glitches in some parts of the Falcons DMA circuit.

These boards offer a low cost compact solution to solving the noise on the clock lines and have solved a lot of various issues people have been having.

MORE INFO
http://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/last/f ... m#EXXOSMOD

WEB STORE LINK
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/#0073

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viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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Re: FALCON CLOCK BUFFER PATCH NEW

Post by exxos »

A slightly better image of the install (plus my RTC module :) )

IMG_1994.JPG
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https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
User avatar
exxos
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Re: FALCON CLOCK BUFFER PATCH NEW

Post by exxos »

I have done a revised design which should address the noise on the SDMA clock better. This mostly seems to rear its head with boosters such as the phantom etc. Though I do not own one so I am unable to test.

This design will replace my original clock patch design. It has the option to add a small 7ns delay to the SDMA clock to help with boosters.

a9a33c36379dc5ded41086ff57ad3043.png
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https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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