Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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eslapion
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by eslapion »

levoman wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 4:41 pm should do better as i have tried comparing two PLA's to check the loading but i am getting a lot of ghosted traces.
Your problem appears to be your trigger setting and you're not saying what signals we're looking at here.
It does show that the loading is not quite right. Could be the capacitive load from the veroboard?
I am mystified as to how you can come to this conclusion. I have no idea what I am looking at.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

You don't but I do . Here is a picture of 'FrankenPLA' the PLA with two brains!!!
20200515_095956[1].jpg
And Together.
20200515_100018[1].jpg


This is the /CASRAM output Top trace is in-circuit bottom trace 10k pullup loaded.The data sheet for the hitachi 4164 says that the CAS has a 10pf input capacitance and as the PLA drives this directly there is an 80pf capacitance on that line. I can only assume that it is to ground, There is no mention of resistance though but as the trace is showing a slower rise I am assuming that 10k pullup is not enough. I think i will have to work through individual loading of each line to get as close as i can to the correct output before testing some replacements.

i have tried adjusting the trigger level but it goes to the point of being so dim as to be almost invisible and still has ghosting .
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

After playing around with resistor and capacitor values for a while ( and not getting very far ) i decided to make the load a pulldown and hey presto! the waveforms came to pretty close to what was needed.
100kdown82pframcas_PLA.jpg

This is 10k pulldown and 82pf in parallel. I think it is as close as we will get for /RAMCAS.

Why changing from pullup to pulldown speeds up the rise of the waveform i don't know , but it did!!
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

For a start we need some base-line pictures. I have done them for the first four outputs /ramcas , /basic , /kernel and /charom. The top trace will always be the in-circuit PLA and the bottom trace will be the under-test.

/ramcas
ramcas_baseline.jpg


To get a reading from the /basic line i had to run a program again it will always be the same program.The program was only running for the /basic sample.
basic_program.jpg

/basic
basic_baseline.jpg

/kernel
kernel_baseline.jpg

/charom
charom_baseline.jpg

As you can see all the samples are pretty close except /casram because of the 'active loading' from the ram chips.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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levoman wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 3:15 am You don't but I do . Here is a picture of 'FrankenPLA' the PLA with two brains!!!
I can assure you the heat sink is totally unnecessary.
This is the /CASRAM output Top trace is in-circuit bottom trace 10k pullup loaded.The data sheet for the hitachi 4164 says that the CAS has a 10pf input capacitance and as the PLA drives this directly there is an 80pf capacitance on that line. I can only assume that it is to ground, There is no mention of resistance though but as the trace is showing a slower rise I am assuming that 10k pullup is not enough. I think i will have to work through individual loading of each line to get as close as i can to the correct output before testing some replacements.
CASRAM is probably a line you should just avoid because on the vast majority of C64 boards, there is an RC filter to slow down the rise/fall time on this specific line to give time to the multiplexers to do their job. It's a very unusual impedance loading that doesn't exist in 'normal' land'.
i have tried adjusting the trigger level but it goes to the point of being so dim as to be almost invisible and still has ghosting .
The trigger should always be at TTL level or about 1.3-1.5v.

IMHO, the problem you're having here is you have a cheap scope and you can't have a single capture.

I suggest you go for the kernal chip select line (pin 16 of the PLA) instead of CASRAM which is definitely loaded in the weirdest manner. You need a digital scope so you can zoom in on the transitions and make a single capture instead of the jumble of transitions caused by the fact both the CPU and the video chip access RAM (or whatever else) in a totally irregular manner.

The CPU accesses the kernal very often so this is not a rare event. The CG chip select (pin 15) is also good because the VIC-II will access it often too.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

better to wait for the 100mhz scope then?

any thoughts on why the waveforms normalised with a pull down rather than a pullup?

remember i am trying to compare the timing on 2 PLA's ( or PLA and substitute ) at the same time so getting signals from elsewhere is a definite no go.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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levoman wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 5:52 pm any thoughts on why the waveforms normalised with a pull down rather than a pullup?
Your scope is analog and gives you the illusion you have 'normalized' them. I reality, what you see is different activities superposed because your scope can't provide you with a single capture. The 'good' capture which is representative of what's really going on is the one you consider 'wrong' or 'not normalized'.

Everything you see on that screen is meaningless because your scope is only designed for repetitive signals. All activity on the PLA is irregular. It depends on what data the CPU or VIC wants to fetch at a given cycle. That changes all the time and your scopes just superposes a few hundreds of captures on top of one another by virtue of the persistence of the CRT.

Get the right type of scope.
remember i am trying to compare the timing on 2 PLA's ( or PLA and substitute ) at the same time so getting signals from elsewhere is a definite no go.
I assume when you say compare the 'timing', you mean the response speed to a given input. To do that, you must use a fully digital oscilloscope and since we're talking nanoseconds in difference then yes, a 100MHz scope will definitely help.

Look here for what you should really be seeing when you compare the behavior of different types of PLA on a C64.
http://www.melon64.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 1&start=17
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

as i am only comparing two signals then the multiple trace should not make that much difference in seeing a delay from one to the other as they will be getting the same input the outputs should show any delay from one to the other. I know that is not anywhere near as clear as a single capture , but i cannot afford to pay £300-£400 for a scope. I will have to do what i can with what i have.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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levoman wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 10:17 am ... but i cannot afford to pay £300-£400 for a scope.
You're joking, right ?
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tektronix-TDS21 ... 3582577636

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tektronix-TDS21 ... 2998935846

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tektronix-TDS-2 ... 2829313098

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tektronix-TDS21 ... 3079624388
I will have to do what i can with what i have.
You cannot do what you want to do with an analog scope... at all !

You can't even study a video scanline with an analog scope. The only thing you can check with that type of scope on a C64 is the clock signals.

I don't even understand why you would ever want to check the response speed of a PLA when what matters most is if it will cause spurious outputs or glitches. Since these too are irregular events, there is absolutely no way you will ever see anything on a scope designed for repetitive signals.
Last edited by eslapion on Sat May 16, 2020 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by levoman »

I am in the UK the cheapest i can find here actually comes from america and is £246.00 and £66.14 postage so , no I am not joking!!

unless i want a cheap chinese one , and they start at £200.00.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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levoman wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 6:08 pm I am in the UK the cheapest i can find here actually comes from america and is £246.00 and £66.14 postage so , no I am not joking!!

unless i want a cheap chinese one , and they start at £200.00.
That's incredibly inexpensive for what you want to do.

Besides, you can also check on the response speed of digital signals using a logic analyzer.

Try the DSlogic Plus which is about 100$US from Banggood.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by banman »

Hi eslapion and levoman,

WOW!
That's impressive at what you've achieved levoman. I'm out of my depth here. I'm trying to follow along as best as I can :D.

I am keen to know more!

eslapion wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 4:36 pm The trigger should always be at TTL level or about 1.3-1.5v.
That's a good piece of information with the results I am looking at in this folllowing video I made regarding the Winbond W27c512 EEPROM.

Personally from an oscilloscope perspective I love the the Winbond W27c512 EEPROM. It produces some outstanding compelling visual results.


The C64 board I'm using is a ku-14194hb it has been unaltered is so far as identical replacements of electrolytic capacitors that had leaked and failed. As far as I can tell no alterations were done to the board before it came to me.


Apologies for the rough video. There are a few errors . I quoted pin 13 of the PLA when in fact it is pin10, I miss quoted the oscilloscopes number to mention a few.

Please let me know if I have made mistakes in the testing methodology. I can quite easily go back and retest with the correct method....


https://youtu.be/GA0RS2sTuUw




I did note these following results are taken with the oscilloscope talking readings from a powered off to powered on C64.....

OTP PROM marked CHINA the RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 240mV (I did notice that this chip did not trigger eslapion's glitch tester on startup- this is a significant observation)


Commodore Factory PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.5V

The Ultimate PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.75V

Original ST PLA (From electronics shop) RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.5V

Texas instruments UV EPROM PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 4.5V

Winbond w27c512 PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 4.5V

I am not sure on these RMS voltage readings. I think the big RMS voltage reading is a fact that the oscilloscope is taking the values of an off C64 to an on C64. Someone may be able to shed some light on this issue.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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banman wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 10:08 pm I did note these following results are taken with the oscilloscope talking readings from a powered off to powered on C64.....

OTP PROM marked CHINA the RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 240mV (I did notice that this chip did not trigger eslapion's glitch tester on startup- this is a significant observation)


Commodore Factory PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.5V

The Ultimate PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.75V

Original ST PLA (From electronics shop) RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 3.5V

Texas instruments UV EPROM PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 4.5V

Winbond w27c512 PLA RMS voltage on pin 10 is around 4.5V

I am not sure on these RMS voltage readings. I think the big RMS voltage reading is a fact that the oscilloscope is taking the values of an off C64 to an on C64. Someone may be able to shed some light on this issue.
RMS ?? RMS is to measure the energy from an AC signal such as a power outlet or what comes out of an amplifier.

You're dealing with digital signals. What interests you is the highest DC value, the lowest DC value and the rise/fall time.

RMS is meaningless because it depends on the amount of time the chip is signaling a logic zero and the amount of time it is signaling a logic one. This completely depends on what job it is doing and has nothing to do with it's fundamental characteristics.
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

Post by banman »

Hi eslapion,


Apologies for the delayed response. I was thinking about what you said.
Thank you on the clarification on RMS. It is not required for these observations.😁

I think I've been able to remove RMS Measure and inserted MIN & MAX (I took me a little bit to get this up).


These pictures were of the Winbond W27c612 EEPROM.

I noticed that the minimum voltage got to 860mV and below.

Actually to my eye the graphical trace looks like it's going to zero volts....

IMG_20200517_204518.jpg
IMG_20200517_204534.jpg
IMG_20200517_204622.jpg
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Re: Not quite... The end of the ROM based PLA for the 64

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banman wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 5:00 am I think I've been able to remove RMS Measure and inserted MIN & MAX (I took me a little bit to get this up).
Now you're talking! You're using a digital scope and you've nailed it. A clear notch down exactly where it shouldn't be. This PLA replacement causes problems and you've clearly identified it. This is what triggers the 74LS279 detector.

What signal is this exactly ?

I noticed that the minimum voltage got to 860mV and below.
Which means they fall below the 1.5V TTL level threshold and will cause problems.

Find some resemblance ?
Atmel AT27C512R as PLA - glitch on ROML/ROMH
Atmel AT27C512R as PLA - glitch on ROML/ROMH
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