pcb

In my previous blog, I have written a bit about the remake of the PCB board for Atari 800XL computer. Now I will describe the process of acquiring all the parts needed to build it. 

As a child I have owned an Atari 800XL. This 8-bit computer always had a special place in my heart. After almost 35 years I have decided to dive a bit deeper into the circuitry of this now called retro computer. What better way to start is to remake the PCB from scratch.

When you need to connect more then one USB device to your DE10-Nano FPGA board then you need to use a powered USB hub. It is possible to use normal hub, but it is way cooler to connect the one that is custom designed for the MiSTer project.

MiSTer project that is installed on the DE10-Nano board can only output video using the on-board HDMI connector. However if you want to get the real retro gaming experience then you can attach the MiSTer IO Board. Among other things, this add-on board let's you output 15KHz analog RGB video and audio signals that will let you connect to a CRT monitor. This blog post describes how to build such a board.

In order to connect your DE10-Nano board to VGA or other RGB output, you need an I/O Board. This PCB board and assembly instructions are available on the GitHub pages of the MiSTer project.

If you want to save your valuable space and don’t want to put a real Xmas tree in your room, there is always an option to make one out of PCB and LEDs and during the process learn something about electronics.

There is something about blinking leds. Numerous projects are created with the 555 timer chip. To continue the tradition I will describe in detail the creation of a 555 astable timer board that was designed in the previous blog post.

KiCad is a great schematic and PCB design tool. It is easy to learn and fun to use, above all it is free. In this blog post we are going to design a simple circuit based on the 555-timer chip in astable mode.

After the dry film is applied to the copper layer, it can be etched. There is an option to use ferric chloride (FeCl₃), but it can not be reutilised and needs to be disposed.

Being able to make your own printed circuits boards is a skill that can come in handy. There are several ways to do this and I will describe the one that I use. First part of the process is the creation of a layer on top of the copper that prevents the solvent to dissolve it.