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avatar_Gryzor

VDrive - CPC USB host?

Started by Gryzor, 18:59, 22 March 09

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Gryzor


Octoate

#1
Well, I have the VMusic 1 module here connected with the CPC Booster+ since 2 years. Works fine with the terminal program of the Booster :) which means loading and writing files and of course playing MP3 music works. Unfortunately I had no time to write a ROM for the Vinculum boards, but it's good to see that they found this nice USB host hardware.
You can find more about the Vinculum devices on http://www.vinculum.com
P.S.: To connect this board to the Booster you just need a simple MAX232 RS232 level shifter.
--

DaDMaN

#2
Hi!!!

I'm DaDMaN. First I'm sorry for my bad english :P I'm spanish and... :D

Maybe someone knowns me for my graphics on CEZ games (Infinity, AQUA Load Screen, Betiled!) etc. I'm the owner of this USB interface too and is my first Amstrad CPC hardware project.

As Octotae says, I'm using a VDIP2 module in my development, but connected in parallel with a microcontroler (no serial connection). VDIP has own firmware to control FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32 filesystems on USB Devices. My idea is to control "all" possible situations with the microcontroller and leave our old Z80 free of work handling USB devices.

By the moment, microcontroller ensures correct comunication with USB devices, manage "hot" insertion and extraction of dispositives on all two ports (usb mouses, keyboards, joypads too). You can insert and extract a pendrive with your CPC powered on and exchange information with your PC without problems. Microcontroller adds new features to the original Vinculum's firmware, like "directory path processing" (20 directories long) or devices management. All without any kind of CPC process.

Next is incorporate the RTC chip and the EEPROM with the final ROM to manage the interface. We are working to patch FIRMWARE (not AMSDOS). It will run ok on an Amstrad CPC 464 machine without AMSDOS ROM.

You only need a bit set of OUT instrucctions to make it work anyway ;)  You don't need control reads and writes to be completed on the CPC thanks to the microcontroller embedded program. No control of #RD or #WR lines of Vinculum's USB interface are needed on the Z80 side. My idea is make programming of the interface easiest possible.

Here you can see a new clip of the interface reading a "video" from a 16gb pendrive:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB5o4-LbFs4

If there is any question, you can contact me to my personal mail (you can see it on my forum profile).

Cheers!!!

DaDMaN

Devilmarkus

Hi DaDMaN!

This is cool and awesome!
keep on going!

For the others: if you like to see video quality, see this (very short) demo:
click
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Ygdrazil

This is awsome..

Will there be something like a commercial product?

/Ygdrazil

Quote from: DaDMaN on 20:52, 27 March 09
Hi!!!

I'm DaDMaN. First I'm sorry for my bad english :P I'm spanish and... :D

Maybe someone knowns me for my graphics on CEZ games (Infinity, AQUA Load Screen, Betiled!) etc. I'm the owner of this USB interface too and is my first Amstrad CPC hardware project.

As Octotae says, I'm using a VDIP2 module in my development, but connected in parallel with a microcontroler (no serial connection). VDIP has own firmware to control FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32 filesystems on USB Devices. My idea is to control "all" possible situations with the microcontroller and leave our old Z80 free of work handling USB devices.

By the moment, microcontroller ensures correct comunication with USB devices, manage "hot" insertion and extraction of dispositives on all two ports (usb mouses, keyboards, joypads too). You can insert and extract a pendrive with your CPC powered on and exchange information with your PC without problems. Microcontroller adds new features to the original Vinculum's firmware, like "directory path processing" (20 directories long) or devices management. All without any kind of CPC process.

Next is incorporate the RTC chip and the EEPROM with the final ROM to manage the interface. We are working to patch FIRMWARE (not AMSDOS). It will run ok on an Amstrad CPC 464 machine without AMSDOS ROM.

You only need a bit set of OUT instrucctions to make it work anyway ;)  You don't need control reads and writes to be completed on the CPC thanks to the microcontroller embedded program. No control of #RD or #WR lines of Vinculum's USB interface are needed on the Z80 side. My idea is make programming of the interface easiest possible.

Here you can see a new clip of the interface reading a "video" from a 16gb pendrive:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB5o4-LbFs4

If there is any question, you can contact me to my personal mail (you can see it on my forum profile).

Cheers!!!

DaDMaN

Octoate

@DaDMaN: It's really cool to see that you are working on it. As Ygdrazil already asked: Will it be possible to buy it some day or will you release the schematics to the public? Do you plan any additional features (in your last message you wrote something about RTC and EEPROM)?
--

DaDMaN

#6
Hi everybody!
Yes, the final version will be RTC and EEPROM friendly :P with the management ROM.
About comercialize this project, I don't known. I will post all the necessary files to "make yourself" sure. But I understand that is not a "easy" project: you need an EEPROM / GAL / AVR Microcontroller programmer and not everybody has it.
If there are so many people with buying intention, maybe I can pay to others to manufacture the board for me. I don't known pricing of PCB manufacturing anyway.
It's only a homebrew project!!! :D
Cheers
DaDMaN

the KING


Ygdrazil


Gryzor

+1, naturally!

I bet you can find enough users to have a decent run of printed PCBs...

RockRiver

#10
Please, register one more for me? NO!...for my CPC  ;D
I think it`s peripheral necesary for our CPCs in this XXI century...Yeahhh!!!!

Ynot.zer0

I notice this thread is a couple of years old..... did this VDrive to CPC USB Host ever appear? (If so I'd like one aswell!)

Apollo

Good question as it seems an interesting project I would be interested as well!
CPC - My beloved first computer!

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