DFX to Gerber?

You are a braver soul than I, Dan. I wouldn't even consider that short of end of the world conditions!

The mechanical aspects aside, the next step after drilling is replating with another 2 ounces of copper. Or hand solder both sides of every via? Pass!

The tracks on this one are pretty much maxed out at .013. Making them .015 eats up the clearance between pads right quick.

The pads started off as .050 circles, but were soon squished .8 width and 1.25 height (nice pretty ellipses!) to compromise between solder pad size and trace clearance.

The link that Don Foreman offered looks like a winner to me.

I downloaded their PCD program and played with it some last night. Not too bad. Not great, but not too bad. (ok, I'm spoiled rotten)

It will taks some time to get it up and running for real because the library didn't include any of the CPU or mempry parts. Those have to be made properly in order to take full advantage. But I did get all my parts on the board with it.

I think I'll stick with them and give it a try.

Might even get a Happy Meal out of it! :)

You obviously know your stuff, Pete.

It is indeed an old design. An 8088 cpu running at either 5 or 8 Mhz. Basically the central core of a Turbo XT clone.

Yes, all the parts are still available - and cheap!

The only "new" parts on the board are the memory and Max232 level shifter.

(I have an 8256 in my parts box - which would really reduce parts count, but I'm not convinved that one is still easily available)

The memory parts are 512k x 8 static ram (and EPROM) in 32 pin DIPS (awesome stuff!)

I have software for Z80 and 8088 BIOS / monitor. After a lot of head scratching I picked the 8088 over the Z80 because it's code compatable with my host computer. And I like MASM.

And there is less brain dammage potential sticking to a single assembler.

As for board size and complexity, it's a 512K XT (minus video and keyboard) with timer, interupt controller, serial port, switch port,

And a good bit of MSDOS compatable interupt functions.

If you can't blink an LED with all that it's time to take up knitting!

Yehabut, ya get better answere\s here...

Two male mathematicians are in a bar. The first one says to the second that the average person knows very little about basic mathematics. The second one disagrees, and claims that most people can cope with a reasonable amount of math.

The first mathematician goes off to the washroom, and in his absence the second calls over the waitress. He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has returned, he will call her over and ask her a question. All she has to do is answer one third x cubed.

She repeats "one thir -- dex cue"?

He repeats "one third x cubed".

Her: `one thir dex cuebd'? Yes, that's right, he says. So she agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself, "one thir dex cuebd...".

The first guy returns and the second proposes a bet to prove his point, that most people do know something about basic math. He says he will ask the blonde waitress an integral, and the first laughingly agrees.

The second man calls over the waitress and asks "what is the integral of x squared?".

The waitress says "one third x cubed" and while walking away, turns back and says over her shoulder "plus a constant!"

(...)

Those guys have been around forever! Might be just the ticket.

Doesn't work that way. You work with the autorouter interactively to place (and replace) traces. Most of the time, the autorouter leaves a significant number of your connections undone. At least that's how it goes using 'hobby level' autorouters.

I really recommend going to a 4 layer design if the budget will allow. Digital electronics that use high impedance power and ground paths tend to unexpectedly 'branch to ozone'.

--Winston

Might want to pickup that copy of Circuit Cellar and review all the PC type SBCs that are available for a couple hundred dollars complete before you reinvent the wheel.

I've read Circuit Cellar since it was an article in Byte magazine. But they have pretty much gone the way of the OPic.

My intent here IS to reinvent the wheel. Or ACTUALLY, to simplify a wheel.

That's the spirit!

JC

I don't think four layers is really necessary here. Nice, maybe, but not necessary.

Let ya know how it smells after I get one powered up. Film at eleven!

Same here. I subscribed to CCI when it was first announced in Byte as Byte was crashing and burning.

Dunno, if it were me, I'd select a suitable SBC for the couple bills and get on with the project.

The way of the OPic? I don't get the reference.

Is the gerber file format published? You seem like a guy that could write his own translator.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Cavelamb,

I don't normally pass on copyrighted material but if you send an address to my clutch address, I'll forward you a recent pdf copy of Circuit Cellar. I'm a online subscriber, I think Steve Ciarcia will forgive me this one transgression.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Replying to my own post after DAGS.

Wes

subscriber, I

It seems that Cavelamb is also a subscriber. A friend of mine does the cover graphics for CCI. Small world

Hmm ... you posted from a Windows system -- but do you have any unix or linux systems in your collection? There is a program, simply named "pcb" which will produce Gerber plots.

The version which I downloaded and compiled in 2007 was pcb-1.7.3. I wonder what version they are up to by now? The author is: Thomas Nau, but I can't find where I downloaded the source. I could, however, pass the source on to you if you want, since it is GPL'd.

If you want to see an excerpt from a Gerber output file, this is the start of the silkscreen layer:

====================================================================== G04 Title: (unknown), silkscreen component side * G04 Creator: pcb 1.6.3 * G04 CreationDate: Sun Sep 19 02:01:17 2004 UTC * G04 For: dnichols * G04 Format: Gerber/RS-274X * G04 PCB-Dimensions: 3500 1875 * G04 PCB-Coordinate-Origin: lower left * G04 Color: R0 G0 B0 *

• %FSLAX23Y23*% %MOIN*% %ADD11C,0.010*% %ADD12C,0.025*% %ADD13C,0.040*% %ADD14R,0.060X0.060*% %ADD15R,0.090X0.090*% %ADD16C,0.060*% %ADD17C,0.090*% %ADD18C,0.008*% %ADD19C,0.020*% %ADD20R,0.050X0.050*% %ADD21R,0.080X0.080*% %ADD22C,0.050*% %ADD23C,0.080*% %ADD24R,0.110X0.110*% %ADD25C,0.110*% %IPPOS*% G01*

D02*X3177Y1075D01* X3167Y1100D02*X3177D01* X3193Y1075D02*X3208D01* D02*X3213Y1080D01* X3208Y1085D02*X3213Y1080D01* X3193Y1085D02*X3208D01* X3188Y1090D02*X3193Y1085D01* X3188Y1090D02*X3193Y1095D01* D02*X3208D01* D02*X3213Y1090D01* X3188Y1080D02*X3193Y1075D01* D02* M02* ======================================================================

Quite a bit like G-code for CNC work.

Enjoy, DoN.

He does nice covers.

I remember first seeing SC's work in Byte. For a number of years I took the print version but stopped because I have way too many periodicals cluttering the place. I once subscribed to way too many magazines.

When I learned I could subscribe via pdf, I was thrilled, I can keep it on line and on a dvd backup and barely take up a bit of physical space.

I wish the other mags I read would offer the same option.

I see the EAA (experimental aircraft association) is making past magazines available online for members. I wish I could just buy a dvd and toss out my stacks of mags. Same for National Geographic, Air and Space, American Rifleman, ect.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

I've provided props for a few of them :)

print version

I started reading the Byte column around the time of the HCS I, then followed to CCI. I still do the print version since pdfs are somewhat inconvenient to read in the tiled reading room. I also get the CDs so I can more easily find old articles when I want.

Yes, a bit more compact.

Some do. I get Homepower in pdf form.

Eventually print medium will disapear, the technology just isn't quite there yet. The "E paper" stuff is getting closer to making E media practical to read in the tiled reading room.

Reinventing the wheel has a bad rep. It's often fun and occasionally one gets a significantly better wheel.

I love it!