[N8VEM: 20013] Re: N8-2312

[Wayne Warthen]

Hi Jeff,

Well, the N8 does not really have a primary support contact. It was
originally designed by Andrew Lynch with support from some others. The N8
is one of many boards that have been produced by the N8VEM community.
N8VEM is the amateur radio call sign of Andrew Lynch. Even though Andrew
is no longer active, there is a significant group of people that refer to
themselves as the N8VEM Community. This online community provides
volunteer support and assistance for the boards. Although there is no
formal support process for these boards, you will find the community to be
very helpful.

N8-2312 refers to the second generation of the board which is indeed what
you would receive if you order one now. I am the author of RomWBW which is
the ROM-based code that provides a BIOS, CP/M, and a ROM file system.

There are two places you will find support for the board. First of all,
there is an active Google Group called "N8VEM". Any questions you have
during building and setup of the board can be posted there and you are
likely to get good support. I am happy to help myself, but may not be able
to respond in a timely way all of the time. If you search the Google
Group, you will find a lot of old postings that will help you with possible
issues. Takes a little hunting sometimes, but it is worth searching the
Group message history. Note that I have copied the Google Group on my
reply so this reply will show up there. I strongly urge you to use the
Google Group for further interaction so others can be of assistance in
addition to me.

The second place that you want to refer to is the N8VEM Wiki. This is
found at http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/. Unfortunately, the Wiki was
recently made "private". You can still get access to it, but when you go
there you will need to request access. It is a bit murky who is approving
the requests at this point, but I think people are still getting access --
it just might take a few days.

Within the Wiki, there is a location devoted to each of the different PCBs
that the N8VEM community has produced (there are quite a few). The N8 page
can be found at
http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/browse/#view=ViewFolder&param=ECB%20N8%20previously%20known%20as%20the%20Home%20Computer.
The information in this location is not well organized, but if you spend
some time going through it and pay attention to the dates things were
posted (newer overrides older), you can learn most of what you need to
know. There is a detailed parts list and jumper settings for the N8-2511
which is the earlier variant of the board. Fortunately, the N8-2511 is
pretty similar to the N8-2312. I have a detailed parts list that I used
when I built my N8-2312 that I can send you.

Also on the Wiki, is a page that lists the inventory of boards available
for purchase along with the person to contact. This page is found at
http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/page/35044530/PCB%20Inventory. There appear
to be 30 of the current N8 PCB available from Todd Goodman for $20 per
board plus shipping. You can email him at tsg <at> bonedaddy.net or
tacoman656 <at> gmail.com. To be clear, Todd is distributing the boards,
but I don't think he is providing any special support beyond that.

I hope this is enough to get you started. Please post follow-up questions
to the Google Group without hesitation. It is a great group and everyone
is very helpful.

--Wayne

Hi Wayne,
There doesn't seem to be a way to contact Andrew Lynch anymore. Are you
the main point-of-contact for the "N8-2312"? I'm interested in building
one, assuming the board is still available for purchase. I haven't seen a
central repository for information (design files, schematics, source codes,
bios files, etc) yet, but maybe that's because I've only been browsing with
my phone, and can't open all the .zip files.
I'd appreciate it, if you could point me to wherever I need to go to buy
the pcb, parts, and the enclosure.
Thanks,
Jeff Kerner
Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone