💾 Archived View for mirrors.apple2.org.za › archive › ftp.gno.org › doc › FAQs › zip.txt captured on 2024-05-10 at 16:00:18.

View Raw

More Information

⬅️ Previous capture (2023-05-25)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

From: nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2,comp.answers,news.answers
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Followup-To: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Apple II Accelerator Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Archive-name: apple2/accel
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: Mar 1 1997
Version: 1.3
URL: http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/zip.html

                 Mini-FAQ for upgrading TransWarp GS or Zip GS
                                       
   Will Baguhn has made a page with a slightly simpler and cleaner
   version of this FAQ. It's available here. Now that I'm the maintainer
   of this FAQ, there may be some merging of things.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Disclaimer

   Copyright (c) 1993-96, by Frank M. Lin, Nathan Mates
   All rights reserved.
   
   Feel free to distribute original copies of this to anywhere you think
   it might be of help. However, I'd like to keep a master version of
   this document available at
   http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq/zip.html, so I'd much appreciate it
   if you made links to this page than duplicating it.
   
   I make no guarantee about any of the information provided below. If
   you choose to do any part of the upgrade, you are taking the risk. I
   will not responsible for anything.
   
   Please do not modify this FAQ. Let me know (send email to
   nathan@visi.com) if any information is incorrect and/or misleading.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Table of Contents

    1. Where can I buy the 32 KB cache for Transwarp GS?
    2. Does it really run at 14 MHz?
    3. Where can I buy the high-speed 65816?
    4. What GALs version do I need for my TWGS?
    5. Where can I buy the GALs?
    6. Where can I buy crystal oscillators?
    7. What speed of static cache RAMs do I need?
    8. Where can I buy the SRAMs?
    9. Do I really need to increase the voltage?
   10. How do I increase the voltage?
   11. Where can I buy the heavy duty power supply?
   12. Is it true that Zip can only go about 12.5 Mhz?
   13. Where can I get replacement 7400 for my Zip?
   14. What kind of performance increase can one expect?
   15. Is it reliable?
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy the 32 KB cache for Transwarp GS?

   ///SHH Systeme, http://users.ids.net/~kerwood/shh.html (Write to: SHH
   SYSTEME, Dipl. Ing. Joachim Lange, Bergstrasse 95, 82131 Stockdorf,
   Germany) is now making a 32K cache addon board for TWGS boards. You
   may wish to contact them and check on pricing and availability.
   
   [It used to be available from LRO Computer Sales (800) ASK-4LRO, with
   price about $80. It requires you to cut two little traces at the back
   of TWGS. Cut it _lightly_, it's fairly easy to cut too deep. So just
   take it easy. Note: Not too sure if LRO exists; I know they are
   around, under a different name. Do they deal with Apple II stuff
   anymore? If you have the old TWGS (with 8 KB cache, and/or older
   GALs), you should look for a new or used Zip GS.]
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Does it really run at 14 MHz?

   WDC now has true 14 MHz parts, they will run 14 MHz at the stock 5 V.
   It is possible because of the 0.8 micron chip fabrication process.
   (formerly 1.0 micron I believe)
   
   If you run it with 5+ volts, higher speeds should be possible.
   
   Note: Apparently, WDC does not warrent these new 14 MHz chips even
   though they are production parts. This sucks because the chip I have
   does not work correctly even at 12.5 MHz.
   
   Toshi Morita's new chip doesn't work at all! I'm not that much better
   neither since the chip isn't worth anything if it isn't stable. Heck,
   my older engineering sample crashes less.
   
   Couple of others have reported good success with the new parts though,
   so I'm just noting that you may get a bad chip!
   
   Others have suggested that it isn't actually a bad chip. It's just a
   chip with lower environment tolerance compare to other chips. So you
   may have to do additional modifications to the TWGS/Zip board to make
   it really stable.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy the high-speed 65816?

   Western Design Center has a WWW Home Page at http://www.wdesignc.com
   if you want to contact them directly, or you can email them at
   information@wdesignc.com directly. As of 8/15/96, one other email
   address for single chip orders is lad@wdesignc.com
   
   If you prefer snailmail:
        The Western Design Center, Inc.
        2166 East Brown Road
        Mesa, Arizona 85213

        (602) 962-4545 voice
        (602) 835-6442 fax

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
What GALs version do I need for my TWGS?

   Basically, you have to have the following GALs to go over 10 MHz:
   
        1A, 2B, 3E, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8B

   All TWGS should have the A GALs. So you need:
   
        
        2B - DMA fix
        3E - for above 10 MHz operation
        4B - dunno
        8B - dunno

   Note: Some people are running 12+ MHz with older GALs than the ones
   listed above.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy the GALs?

   AE is gone, completely (no more Macintosh products neither). You can
   not get GALs from AE anymore. If you get lucky, you might find used
   TWGS with the correct GAL revisions.
   
   If you can not find a TWGS with the latest GALs, you are probably
   better off buying a Zip GS.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy crystal oscillators?

        Digi-Key Corporation

        (800) 344-4539 voice
        (218) 681-3380 fax

   For TWGS and Zip GS, the crystal oscillators runs at 4 times the speed
   of the 65816.
   
   For example, you need a 40 MHz oscillator to run a TWGS/Zip GS at 10
   MHz.
   
   From March/April 1995 Digi-Key catalog: price dropped by about 30
   cents for the Epson's, no price change for CTS'.
   
        Epson America, Inc.: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
        Part No.        Frequency       Price ($)       TWGS speed
        SE1101-ND       32 MHz          3.30            8 MHz
        SE1102-ND       33.3333         3.30            8.3333
        SE1103-ND       36              3.30            9
        SE1104-ND       40              3.30            10
        SE1105-ND       42              3.30            10.5
        SE1106-ND       46              3.30            11.5
        SE1107-ND       48              3.30            12
        SE1108-ND       50              3.30            12.5
        SE1109-ND       55              3.30            13.75
        SE1110-ND       60              3.45            15

   I have the CTS oscillators, 64, 66.6, and 80. So they will work fine
   with TWGS.
   
        CTS Clock Oscillators: 1/2 TTL for TWGS
        Part No.        Frequency       Price ($)       TWGS speed
        CTX174          32 MHz          3.25            8 MHz
        CTX175          40              3.25            10
        CTX177          64              4.45            16
        CTX178          66.6666         4.45            16.6667
        CTX179          80              10.01           20

   Orders under $25 costs $5 to ship, over $25 is free..
   
   My understanding is that, if you over clock a CPU. It just won't
   function. You can't damage it. As the disclaimer said, do it at your
   own risk.I have tried to run my TWGS at 20 MHz, system won't boot at
   all. No damage.
   
   for Zip you need: (by Long)
   
   The Zip can use three types of crystals including the common 4-pin
   full TTL crystal oscillator, 4-pin 1/2 TTL crystal oscillator (also
   used on TWGS) and 2-pin crystal (little metal canister about 1/4 the
   size of 1/2 TTL). To be able to use a 2-pin crystal, your Zip must
   have a resistor at R1 and capacitors at C13 and C14. I've found these
   three parts to be missing from current Zips. No big loss since 2-pin
   crystals are less common and are only available up to a certain
   frequency. I have the values of those parts written down somewhere and
   will post them when I find them.
   
   For experimenting with different frequencies it makes it easier if you
   install a socket for the crystal oscillator. It's also a good idea to
   secure it down with one of those zip tie bands. Only 6 of the 14 pins
   are used (picture A). The ground (GND) pins 1, 4 and 7 are connected
   together. The power pins 11 and 14 are connected together. Full TTL
   crystal oscillators use pins 1, 7, 8 and 14 (refer to picture B). 1/2
   TTL crystal oscillators use the bottom four pine (4, 7, 8 and 14;
   picture C). Make sure it's oriented correctly with the corner (usually
   with a dot printed next to it) at about 11 o'clock.
   
  *WARNING* The crystal oscillator will be damaged if installed incorrectly.
  
                                         _______
        GND  1 o  \/  o 14  POWER     1 |o      \  14
        NC     x      x     NC          |        |
        NC     x      x     NC          |  FULL  |           ______
        GND  4 o      o 11  POWER       |  TTL   |        4 |o     \  14
        NC     x      x     NC          |        |          |  1/2  |
        NC     x      x     NC          |        |          |  TTL  |
        GND  7 o      o  8  CLOCK     7  \______/   8     7  \_____/   8

                 (A)                       (B)                 (C)

        x - no connection (NC)

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
What speed of static cache RAMs do I need?

   I have read 35ns is enough for 12.5 MHz. I'm not sure about the
   requirement of 13.75 MHz or 15 MHz. 15ns costs only slightly more than
   20ns, so I recommand getting 15ns.
   
   For TWGS with the 32 KB cache:
   3 - 32 KB x 8 SRAM .3 mils (also called half size) try to get
   low-power models if possible.
   
   for TWGS with older 8k cache:
   upgrade to 32 KB cache first. big speed improvements!
   
   for Zip you need: (by Long)
   
   <me, Frank: Zips uses wide SRAM (.6 mil) standard. You can use wide
   SRAMs if you can find them (they're harder to come by). Below, Long
   has a good illustration of how to make it accept wide or skinny (.3
   mil) SRAMs>
   
   I've found Japanese and American static rams to work the best (20 ns
   in tag and 25 ns in data). The Zip can use narrow (.3 mil) or wide (.6
   mil) static rams. It all depends on the sockets that are installed on
   your Zip. With a little modification you can make a Zip with wide
   sockets accept both wide and skinny SRAMs. Ground yourself then
   carefully pry out the static rams. Look at the socket and you will
   notice two or three horizontal bars holding both sides of the socket
   together (picture D). Carefully cut those out. This will expose a
   column of holes where you will solder in half of a socket. Refer to
   picture E, position skinny (.3 mil) static rams over the left and
   center columns and wide static rams over outer most columns and making
   sure the notch on the static ram is facing 12 o'clock.
   
  *WARNING* Plug the static rams in wrong and you will destroy them.
  
            CUT
            ___           ___________ Skinny (.3 mil)
           |   |         |   |
         ____ ____       _   _   _
        |o __V__ o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|__o__|o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o _____ o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|  o  |o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o|__o__|o|     |o| |o| |o|
        |o _____ o|     |o| |o| |o|

                         |_______|___ Wide (.6 mil)

            (D)             (E)

   Toshi's (tm@netcom.com) notes: I've pulled out all four of my SRAM
   sockets and installed carefully cut machine-pin SIPP sockets in mine
   and seems to work pretty well.
   
   Frank: Toshi's had to de-solder all the sockets and, so it isn't
   easier than Long's way. Toshi's came out looking cleaner and neater
   though.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy the SRAMs?

   02-23-95: I haven't picked up MicroTimes in a while... but I think
   SRAM/DRAM prices haven't changed much.
   
   From June 27, 1994 MicroTimes, note IMD appears to have the best
   price, but other are listed if you wish to call...
   
        International Micro Devices (IMD)
        1630 Oakland Road A108
        San Jose, CA 95131

        (408) 452-7700 voice
        (408) 452-7771 fax

        Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM (Pacific time)

        32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 25ns   $4.00 each
        32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 20ns   $5.00 each
        32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 15ns   $5.50 each

        ---
        AMT International
        2393 Qume Drive
        San Jose, CA 95131

        (408) 383-9044 voice
        (408) 383-9047 fax
        (408) 944 9801 fax

        Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5 PM (Pafific time)

        32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 20ns   $5.95 each
        32 KB x 8 SRAM @ 15ns   $6.95 each
        
        ---
        C. B. Memory & Computers
        1319 Jacklin Road
        Milpitas, CA 95035

        (408) 946-5174 voice
        (408) 946-5175 voice
        (408) 946-5376 fax
        
        Hours unkown, probably same as AMT International.

   Note: SRAM prices went up recently (and isn't stable), so call for the
   latest prices...
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Do I really need to increase the voltage?

   With the new 14 MHz parts, you should not need to mess with the
   voltage at all. Unless you want to try 15 MHz, 16 Mhz, or even 20 MHz.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
10. How do I increase the voltage (with the heavy duty power supply)?

  WARNING: generally, it's not recommended to do this. You might decrease the
  life of your GS. Adjusting the pot expose you to HIGH-VOLTAGES which can be
  FATAL!!! If you feel at all in-competent, it is recommended you stick to 5v,
  or let a qualified electrician do it ($$).
  
  Another reason is, performance increase from ~12 MHz to 13.75 or 15 MHz isn't
  as impressive as from 7 to 9/10 MHz, probably because the GS's 1 MHz bus
  limit. So it might not worth the risk/time/effort to try beyond 5v. You're
  also at a much higher risk of damanging your TWGS/Zip/GS.
  
   Note: I've drove my GS to as high as 6 volts. Nothing blow up, except
   the computer just sorta reset it self. I don't recommend you to try
   this. :-) It's just a side note.
   
   The easiest way would be to purchase AE's heavy duty power supply.
   Memory Plus Distributor (MPD sells the exact same supply (except
   without the AE sticker & price) for slightly cheaper. LRO also carries
   the MPD power supply.
   
   The power connector on the mother board:
   
         _______
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 1: ground
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 2: ground
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 3: no connection; not used
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 4: +5  volt supply
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 5: +12 volt supply
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 6: -12 volt supply
        |       |
        |  _   _|
        | |_| |_        pin 7: -5 volt supply
        |_______|

   Attach the volt meter's gound to either gound pin, then the positive
   to the +5v supply. That should give a reading of 5v.
   
   To turn up the voltage, simply open the HD (heavy duty) power supply.
   There is a pot (which you can turn with a screw) to adjust the
   voltage.
   
               ||      - power cord
        -------------
        |           |
        |           |  ||  - 7 pin connector on your motherboard
        |           |  ||
        |           |
        |           |
        |           |
        |           |
        |oooooooooo =  - wires to your motherboard
        |oooooooooo |
        |oooooooooo |
        |oooooooooo |  - pot is located about 3" from the bottom &
        |oooooooooo |                   about 1" from the right
        |oooooooooo |
        |oooooooooo |       turn clock wise to increase the voltage
        -------------    counter clock wise to decrease the voltage

                         turn it SLOWLY!  supplying over 5.5v is not
                         recommended.

   If you have a skinny, long screw driver, you can adjust the pot with
   out opening the power supply. However, I think it's actually easier if
   you open it. Just don't touch anything but the pot.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I buy the heavy duty power supply?

        Memory Plus Distributors, Inc.
        7902 East Pierce Street
        Scottsdale, Arizona 85257

        (602) 820-8819 voice
        (602) 968-3211 fax

        Monday through Friday 9 am to 4 pm (MST)

        7 amp GS power supply - $75
        GS internal cooling fan - $19.95

   Internal cooling fan is highly recommended for a TWGS, or if you have
   a few cards in your GS.
   
   Note: If anybody has called MPD lately, perhaps you can check these
   prices are still relevent. These prices were from last issue(s) of
   inCider/A+.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Is it true that Zip can only go about 12.5 MHz?

   The Zip need to have the 74F00 replaced with 74HC00. You might also
   need faster SRAM and additional voltage.
   
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Where can I get replacement 7400 for my Zip?

   Digi-Key Corporation (800) 344-4539 voice (218) 681-3380 fax ---
   National Semiconductor - 74HC00 Series CMOS (last updated 07-08-94)
   Digi-Key part number description chip package price MM74HC00N-ND quad
   2-In NAND Gate 14-dip .28
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
What kind of performance increase can one expect?

   This is just to give you a rough estimate of how much faster you might
   go...
   
        BenchMark v5.0 results:

        cpu         stock   twgs   twgs   twgs      zip    zip   zip
        version    ROM 01   1.8s   1.8s   1.8s    1.0.2  1.0.2  1.0.2
        cache/spd         32k/15 32k/15 32k/15   64k/?? 64k/?? 64k/??
        clock spd     2.8     15  13.75   12.5       16     15     14
                  ======= ====== ====== ======   ====== ====== ======
        Sieve      410.00  99.00 108.00 117.00    98.00  99.00 110.00
        String    1151.20 270.00 292.00 303.67   259.00 262.00 282.00
        Float 1    472.00  92.33  87.00 111.33   123.00 128.00 135.00
        Float 2   1535.00 317.00 394.00 381.67   395.00 415.00 432.00
        Fibinacci 2006.00 605.00 634.00 645.33   507.00 523.00 548.00
        Integer   1553.40 307.00 330.00 346.67   420.00 431.00 443.00

        Dhrystone     236   1136   1063   1000       NA     NA     NA
                *           1351          1183     1282     NA     NA

        * Dhrystone v1.1 re-compiled under ORCA/C v2.0.1

   If you look at the numbers, a 12 MHz or faster TWGS/Zip will make
   everything just about 4x faster than a stock //gs.
   
        System Software 5.0 QuickDraw II improvement test:

        stock //gs:     5648 ticks
        TWGS 15 MHz:    1332 ticks (over 4x faster than stock)

     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Is it reliable?

   I will need to collect more data for this. Over all, most people have
   been successful and they are running they TWGS/Zip at 12+ MHz with no
   problems. I vaguely remember one or two people have problems with the
   upgrade.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
Last updated:   08-15-96   Western Design Center sent me their new
                           email address and Home Page Location.
                           Updated.

                02-23-95   It's been almost 6 months since the last
                           release.  A new Digi-Key catalog came today,
                           plus I was cleaning my file system; both led
                           me to get what ever else needed to update done.

                           Not much news lately, and I think this FAQ will
                           remain like this for a while...

                12-27-94 - I've been lagging greatly on the update.  Today
                           I quickly looked though the FAQ and quickly updated
                           what ever was missing...  This is a quick release.

                11-16-94 - Added some comments about new WDC 14 MHz parts.
                           (not released)

        =============================================================

                08-22-94 - Major update, availability of true 14 MHz parts!!
                         - New feature for table of content, hope you like
                           it!
                08-02-94 - Updated reliability. (~~15)
                07-26-94 - Toshi Morita (tm@netcom.com) added some comments
                           Zip GS. (~~7 ~~8)
                07-08-94 - Updated/checked prices on osciallators and SRAM,
                           and some minor changes which hopefully made it
                            easier to read.
                06-24-94 - AE is dead now, so GALs are probably not available
                           anymore.  Parts like 32 KB cache should still be
                           obtainable from resellers.
                03-14-94 - Replaced all mHz with MHz.
                01-22-94 - Included which 74HC00 to get for the zip. (~~13)
                12-22-93 - Minor appearence update, and some new test results.
                12-11-93 - Finally cleaned it up!
                12-09-93 - Update the crystal oscillators, SRAM, & RAM prices.
                ??-??-93 - First version...

     _________________________________________________________________
                                  
 Email suggestions to nathan@visi.com. As always, let me know of any
 mistakes, updates, corrections, additions, etc.
 
 There are a lot more questions with answers not included directly in
 this FAQ; please see http://www.visi.com/~nathan/a2/faq for more of
 them.
 
 Copyright 1997 by Nathan Mates ( Nathan Mates)