68kMLA Classic Interface

This is a version of the 68kMLA forums for viewing on your favorite old mac. Visitors on modern platforms may prefer the main site.

Click here to select a new forum.
Help for a nubus Radius PrecisionColor Pro 24X ROM/firmware upgrade
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-24 05:47:39
Oh, BTW, I checked the circuit and they're compatible with 512 byte chips.
Interesting. Found a guy on eBay selling a pair of UV erasable '512s for a little over a fiver, so ordered some. What about EEPROMs? Aren't there pin-compatible ones of those that might work?
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-24 05:54:57
In fact, with a small mod you could use the jumper near the chip
Question - in the pic with the red pcb, don't you need to use the top-most pins on RN6? Those are the only ones that are not connected. 🤔
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-24 06:06:53
Question - in the pic with the red pcb, don't you need to use the top-most pins on RN6? Those are the only ones that are not connected. 🤔
The picture is showing how it is wired at the moment, not suggesting a modification.

The other jumper position connects the pin to the ASIC through the resistor pack - thats what you're looking at. It is either to allow bigger ROMs than they used, just in case, or possibly for supplying Vpp... although the latter is improbable. All cards just have the other jumper position selected, even hard wired. That position is a direct connection to Vcc as a pull up, and is why the extra address line on a 512byte ROM wouldn't be floating. Although you would need to write the ROM to the top half of the oversized ROM if you were planning to use it like that.

I saw the cute windowed ROMs. Went for this instead. Datasheet says erasable.
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-24 08:11:09
I saw the cute windowed ROMs. Went for this instead.
So we're in a race - who gets something first!! 😉 FYI, my laptop that I use to drive my TL866II was flat, charging now, so hope to have some dumps soon.....
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-25 01:33:26
They are 27c256 chips. Brand varies, if you pick a random 27c256, then click ID, it will tell you the chip ID and you can Google the ID to find the manufacturer and product if you're interested.
OK, so... here's the 2.0 dump. CAUTION : I have a feeling this card was not working properly (which is why I have it loose). So be warned if you try this dump and it doesn't work. I will try the card again this coming w/e and report back.

In addition, looking at the HEX, I was expecting to see a clear text "(C) Radius..." or similar, but nothing. I did look at the 24Xp dump @Phipli provided, and that too doesn't show any sign of anything "(C) Radius". I guess YMMV applies here atm.
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-25 02:42:18
Here is a collection of PrecisionColor ROMs - some from the internet, the 8XJ and 24XK are from my cards.

If anyone has more v2.0 ROMs, it would be great to compare the differences!

I suspect some of the big block of difference between @Bolle's v2 ROM and mine is the splash image?
PrecisionColor 24XP ROM 2.0 - this is from a working card. 🙂
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 02:55:30
PrecisionColor 24XP ROM 2.0 - this is from a working card. 🙂
Thanks mg.man - I'll put together a table of the specs at some point. Great that we've managed to go from almost nothing on file to a good selection. It would be amazing if we could get a full portfolio of v2.0 ROMs so anyone who wanted to could get PPC acceleration working.
Posted by: pizzigri on 2023-05-25 02:59:32
Question, how does the Apple Display Card 24AC (3mb with 110MHz ramdac) compare vs the other 68k Nubus cards out there? I know the holy grail is the Village Tronic Picasso 340, that is only for PPC though, but what about this card and the same one not rebranded from Radius?
Does it have value? Not selling mine anytime soon obviously.
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 03:41:24
Question, how does the Apple Display Card 24AC (3mb with 110MHz ramdac) compare vs the other 68k Nubus cards out there? I know the holy grail is the Village Tronic Picasso 340, that is only for PPC though, but what about this card and the same one not rebranded from Radius?
Does it have value? Not selling mine anytime soon obviously.
The Radius cards are pretty good. I suspect SuperMac cards are the best 68k cards.

This table slomacuser posted might be interesting to you :

What's the difference between the various Radius 24 cards?

Is that photo from one you have on hand? If so, any idea what's under the green heat sink, and the memory chip part numbers? Really just idle curiosity, but if the thing under the green heat sink isn't an ender, that card can almost certainly be duplicated.
68kmla.org 68kmla.org
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 03:43:26
Question, how does the Apple Display Card 24AC (3mb with 110MHz ramdac) compare vs the other 68k Nubus cards out there? I know the holy grail is the Village Tronic Picasso 340, that is only for PPC though, but what about this card and the same one not rebranded from Radius?
Does it have value? Not selling mine anytime soon obviously.
One thing to remember is that performance isn't the same in 68k and PPC. I have a card that actually scores worse in PPC than 68k in the same computer. I suspect the driver / ROM is 68k code running in emulation.
Posted by: MJ313 on 2023-05-25 04:44:21
PrecisionColor 24XP ROM 2.0 - this is from a working card. 🙂

You saved my card! Thanks much! It's been a brick and this just brought it back from the dead (w the 2.0 rom as well)!

Thanks Phipli, as well, for your efforts on this front- I've got a couple of 2.0 roms but suspect most of them have been posted. I'll check.
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 04:59:50
Thanks Phipli, as well, for your efforts on this front- I've got a couple of 2.0 roms but suspect most of them have been posted. I'll check.
I'll be over the moon if you have a 24xk!
Posted by: MJ313 on 2023-05-25 05:02:04
I'll be over the moon if you have a 24xk!

Here is the non-Pro XK v2.0 rom which interestingly works fine in a 8-24X, but caps at 1024x768
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 05:06:59
Here is the non-Pro XK v2.0 rom which interestingly works fine in a 8-24X, but caps at 1024x768
I read that Pro and non Pro were just the 7" and 12" cards respectively, although weirdly I see everyone else's 7" cards have non-pro ROMs except mine. Regarding 1152x870, be aware my Pro 24xk doesn't do 1152x870 either, so I don't think that is a difference. Yes, as with many things, LEM is wrong about the resolutions the 24xk supports.

It's likely because the 80MHz RAMDAC doesn't support clock speeds high enough for that higher resolution.
Posted by: MJ313 on 2023-05-25 05:15:30
FWIW I had tried the 12" XP Rom in my 7" XP card and it remained bricked. My XP card has a different layout then mgman's blue one.
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-25 05:47:14
You saved my card! Thanks much! It's been a brick and this just brought it back from the dead
Awesome! Great that it worked for you! 👍
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 06:19:48
I've started compiling data on the cards. @mg.man @MJ313 @Bolle - Do any of you object to me putting your ROM dumps on the page? I'll hold off doing so until I have confirmation. I've also emailed the guy on this website where I found some.
Posted by: mg.man on 2023-05-25 06:22:28
No problem my end. Will be good to have a repo. Do check my 24X dump first. The 24XP has been confirmed working.
Posted by: Phipli on 2023-05-25 06:24:40
No problem my end. Will be good to have a repo. Do check my 24X dump first. The 24XP has been confirmed working.
The 24X will probably work on my XK - they are almost the same, just the X has a faster RAMDAC.
Posted by: MJ313 on 2023-05-25 06:29:36
I've started compiling data on the cards.

Totally fine with me as well!
< 2 >