[N8VEM: 19466] SBC to start with - N8VEM v2 or Mark IV?

Discussion:

John Snowdon

2015-04-09 08:07:01 UTC

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to build a system based on the N8VEM design, purely for tinkering and playing around with CP/M.

I was all set to put a request in for the N8VEM v2 pcb but after reading up a little more it seems that the Z180 based Mark IV is a little later design (faster cpu and SD storage built in) and may be the better one to go for, for a newbie? Any pros or cons to be aware of when comparing the two boards?

I'll probably be building my own enclosure and would like to add the 8 slot backplane and VGA + PS/2 (probably PropIO) to make the system self-hosted, as well as have room for future expansion.

Does this sound like a sensible combination? Mark IV + PropIO?

Cheers,
John

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John Coffman

2015-04-09 14:13:37 UTC

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On 04/09/2015 01:07 AM, John Snowdon wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:a6cf35fb-5129-4d71-b054-***@googlegroups.com"
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<pre wrap="">Hi everyone,

I'm looking to build a system based on the N8VEM design, purely for tinkering and playing around with CP/M.

I was all set to put a request in for the N8VEM v2 pcb but after reading up a little more it seems that the Z180 based Mark IV is a little later design (faster cpu and SD storage built in) and may be the better one to go for, for a newbie? Any pros or cons to be aware of when comparing the two boards?

I'll probably be building my own enclosure and would like to add the 8 slot backplane and VGA + PS/2 (probably PropIO) to make the system self-hosted, as well as have room for future expansion.

Does this sound like a sensible combination? Mark IV + PropIO?
</pre>
</blockquote>
John, 
 
As the designer of the Z180 Mark IV, my reply is slightly biased. 
;-)    The Mark IV has been meant to be a higher-speed update to the
SBC v2, the Z80 flagship for so many years.  The ideas behind the
Mark IV were several:  a.) faster processor, b.) on-board
peripherals (SDcard & IDE), c.) expansion via the N8VEM/Kontron
external bus. 
 
The SD card interface on the Mark IV has, for me, proved very
versatile.  With a $3 adapter from eBay (or other source) the IDE
interface is good for fast CF card support.  This 8-bit IDE
implementation does not support hard drives, all of which seem to be
16-bit.  The serial interface is compatible with the SBC v2 serial
interface, so there is no difference there.  Both boards can use the
PropIO v2 as a console. 
 
SBC v2 and Mark IV run both the RomWBW BIOS and UNA BIOS.  A
development version of Fuzix (Unix-like) is now bootable on the Mark
IV. 
 
--John 
 
 
 
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John Snowdon

2015-04-09 14:33:01 UTC

Permalink

Biased replies are fine, and that sounds like all the justification I need
:-)

I must say that I'm rather impressed by how much love there is for
developing these new 'vintage' systems; I just wish another area that I'm
interested in - the Inmos Transputer - had a fraction of the interest.

Now, where to get the components delivered to so that they don't get
spotted by my better half....

John Snowdon

2015-04-18 08:47:44 UTC

Permalink

Hi John, Mark IV arrived safely today, thanks!

Post by John Snowdon
Hi everyone,
I'm looking to build a system based on the N8VEM design, purely for tinkering and playing around with CP/M.
I was all set to put a request in for the N8VEM v2 pcb but after reading up a little more it seems that the Z180 based Mark IV is a little later design (faster cpu and SD storage built in) and may be the better one to go for, for a newbie? Any pros or cons to be aware of when comparing the two boards?
I'll probably be building my own enclosure and would like to add the 8 slot backplane and VGA + PS/2 (probably PropIO) to make the system self-hosted, as well as have room for future expansion.
Does this sound like a sensible combination? Mark IV + PropIO?
John,
As the designer of the Z180 Mark IV, my reply is slightly biased. ;-)
The Mark IV has been meant to be a higher-speed update to the SBC v2, the
Z80 flagship for so many years. The ideas behind the Mark IV were
several: a.) faster processor, b.) on-board peripherals (SDcard & IDE),
c.) expansion via the N8VEM/Kontron external bus.
The SD card interface on the Mark IV has, for me, proved very versatile.
With a $3 adapter from eBay (or other source) the IDE interface is good for
fast CF card support. This 8-bit IDE implementation does not support hard
drives, all of which seem to be 16-bit. The serial interface is compatible
with the SBC v2 serial interface, so there is no difference there. Both
boards can use the PropIO v2 as a console.
SBC v2 and Mark IV run both the RomWBW BIOS and UNA BIOS. A development
version of Fuzix (Unix-like) is now bootable on the Mark IV.
--John

Jack Weatherilt

2015-05-09 11:08:11 UTC

Permalink

Hi,

I'm an absolute newbie for the topic, but I'm really interested, just a bit
lost in where to start. I would like to buy a Mark IV PCB, where can I get
one?

Thanks,
Jack

William R Sowerbutts

2015-05-09 13:53:46 UTC

Permalink

Hi Jack

There's an inventory of available PCBs here;

http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/page/35044530/PCB%20Inventory

The wiki used to be public but has recently become subscriber-only, which I
hope is a only transient problem.

Anyway the answer to your query is: Send $25 plus shipping to John Coffman
(whom you've CC'd). The Mark IV PCB is a little more expensive as it requires
a four-PCB board due to the high level of integration.

If you look in the mailing list archives on google I have posted a list of
the parts to order from Farnell required to assemble the board --
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/n8vem/xY8YC9Q0VKI/MA3pPIvk_FkJ -- suggest you
check this against John's latest bill of materials before ordering, in
particular several of the quantities will be in excess of what is actually
required.

Will

Post by Jack Weatherilt
Hi,
I'm an absolute newbie for the topic, but I'm really interested, just a bit
lost in where to start. I would like to buy a Mark IV PCB, where can I get
one?
Thanks,
Jack
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_________________________________________________________________________
William R Sowerbutts ***@sowerbutts.com
"Carpe post meridiem" http://sowerbutts.com
main(){char*s=">#=0> ^#X@#@^7=",c=0,m;for(;c<15;c++)for
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William R Sowerbutts

2015-05-09 13:56:35 UTC

Permalink

The Mark IV PCB is a little more expensive as it requires a four-PCB board
due to the high level of integration.

I mean of course "four-layer PCB" rather than "four-PCB board".

Will

_________________________________________________________________________
William R Sowerbutts ***@sowerbutts.com
"Carpe post meridiem" http://sowerbutts.com
main(){char*s=">#=0> ^#X@#@^7=",c=0,m;for(;c<15;c++)for
(m=-1;m<7;putchar(m++/6&c%3/2?10:s[c]-31&1<<m?42:32));}