GMT (GGLABS Memory Test) is a new developed memory test for vintage computers optimized for speed and coverage. The code is based on the test algorithms described in "Testing Semiconductor Memories: Theory and Practice" by A.J. van de Goor. The program is mostly in C plus small sections in assembly. It is free software and released under the GPL v3 license.
The NVIDIA Jetson Nano is a great device and its choice of I/O is ideal for user space development. If you are a kernel hacker, however, you will soon feel the need for serial console and a reset button. If you want to hack the bootloader you will also need a recovery button. The Nanobug integrates a UART to USB and buttons into a little board that plugs directly into the nano developer kit.
The 80 column output of the Commodore 128 is the same digital RGBI used by the original IBM CGA graphics adapter. Unfortunately nowadays is quite difficult to find a monitor with the suitable RGBI input. The CGA2RGBv2 adapter will convert the TTL RGBI to analog RGB suitable to be connected directly to a 15KHz capable RGB monitor or to the popular Gonbes GBS-8200 VGA converter.
The Microsoft Softcard was the first card to allow CP/M software to run on the Apple II. It was originally developed to simplify the porting of Microsoft Basic to the Apple II. It turned out to be a great success and at some point in time it was the most popular CP/M platform in use.
This success prompted the development of many compatible cards. Some exact copies, some enhanced or cost reduced. The GZ/80 is a modern implementation of a Softcard compatible card with an additional turbo mode with approximately double the speed of the original card.
We recently acquired a NVIDIA Jetson Nano developer's kit. It's a great, low power, single board computer with plenty of CPU and GPU performance. The default NVIDIA image is based on Ubuntu 18.04 which is a fine distribution but does not fit nicely At GGLABS all our machines run debian and we started hacking at the nano to make fit our standards.
To continue the tradition we started a few year ago, GGLABS will be at the 2019 Bay Area Maker Faire. The faire will run from May 17th to May 19th. As usual Friday is dedicated to educators and makers while Saturday and Sunday are the general admission days. We will be showing the latest GGLABS creations including the GZ/80 Turbo Z-80 card and the A2SCSI card for apple II. If you plan to attend the faire feel free to stop by and say hi.
The Amiga, like many other computers of the late 80s, uses 16-bit wide mask ROMs to store the machine firmware. Unfortunately, the pinout of these ROMs is incompatible with the JEDEC defined EPROM pinout. Memory manufacturers produced "ROM compatible" EPROMS like the 27C400 to allow development and quick turn manufacturing. These EPROMS are however becoming quite hard to find and still require a UV lamp to erase the chips. F2R16 brings all the benefits of modern flash memory technology to any platform designed to use these obsolete devices.
The GGLABS T232 is very popular for debugging legacy RS-232 connections. In this article we will describe a few debugging tips and show how to emulate some of the common cable configurations.
RS232 monitors are quite common but most of them use the standard good old DB25 connectors. The majority of the RS232 ports in use today however use the smaller DB9 connector. This forces the use chains of adapters to get the commercial monitor/breakout boards working. The GGLABS T232 solves the problem by providing native DB9 connections.
This cartridge was originally developed to speed up the manufacturing diagnostic of our GRAM and GLINK232 products. Having to load the diagnostic for every board is pretty tedious and time consuming. The UNICART/D allows to have a custom ROM for both C64 and C128 while allowing to still plug in an additional cartridge.