Hi there,

i really like some of the ideas mentioned here:

- A case sure is a good thing. I have been putting mine into a case built of a analog devices sample ic package. While it looks nice and is transparent, i had to glue it shut. So i like the idea of using a regular case. Do these perhaps exist in shorter versions?

- The connector placement depends on the case question. Lets assume a new pcb about the size of the old one. Mounting the connector at the side is no problem. Placing the hole for the case is also not a a problem. You could then extend the pcb to the rear with a second place to mount a rj45 socket. The entire setup would then look L shaped ... i hope you get the picture. You then have three choices: 1) Mount the connector at the rear side and use a standard case. 2) Mount the connector at the side and use a standard case 3) mount the connector at the side and cut off the pcb part containing the rear connector giving you a pcb looking much like my old version but with the connector sideways

- Configurability: I see that most of you want rr-net compatibility, because it just isn't useful to recompile all rr-net software. I agree. But for exactly the same reason i think we don't need more than the ability to switch between tfe and rrnet. If there isn't too much software compatible with both setup there sure isn't software that expects a completely different memory layout. All existing software expects a tfe or rrnet and won't cope with any another setup. I doubt that any net64 has ever been used with a jumper setting different from the tfe compatible one.

So as i said: I'd be willing to work on a new layout. But i currently don't even have the soldering technology to solder these things manually. Nor do i really want to do them manually So i anyone is willing to help out with cheap parts, knows where to get this amount of pcbs manufactured very cheap or have them soldered for little money is very welcome ...

Regards,
Till

Let me begin by saying Hi Till, and very welcome to the Forum! We're very happy to have you here now that this topic has caught some attention. Now for some of my thoughts...


What I really like about the Net64 is how compact and robust it is. Personaly I don't have a lot of space to fill out with my beloved C= stuff these days, and even if I did, I still wouldn't like to have lots of cables and gear extending out behind, between the C64/128 and the monitor (as with RR+RR-net... not to mention MMC64+RR+RR-Net. Card-house anyone?). I believe this is the situation for most users, unless you have one of those monitor stands where you can shove all the cables in under. And by mounting the RJ45 connector to the right, I would save even more space for the network cable which usually are not that flexible, plus I already have the power and joystick cables going to the right, so one more cable there is no problem really.

The L-shape is a nice idea, but it ruins the compact (and hence robust) design of the Net64 IMHO

Thanks!



Hmm, i probably wasn't clear enough in my explanation. You are right that i do want to add a small extension to the board. But i want to design it in a way that you can just cut it off if you want to. Then it would just look like the old version.

Ok, this sounds a bit controversial but interesting. I'm not 100% sure what you have in mind

Anyway, I've heard rumours that the RR/RR-Net design was very sensitive to timing and hence the somewhat weird layout. If this is true, could this perhaps be a potential problem to the Net64 design aswell?

Welcome Till! Just to summarize my wish-list for the Net64:

• RR-Net compatible
• Able to fit in a standard C64 cartridge case (esp. those new transparent ones)
• Cheaper than a Retro Replay/RR-Net combination.

I like 65coupe's idea of having the RJ45 port on the side, as it would work well for slot expanders or SX64's, but that's less important than the three items I listed above.

As for getting them made cheaply, Adrian Gonzalez (dW)'s been working on similar projects (Super Snapshot clone, clock-port cartridge, etc) and he seems to know where to get them made affordably. I'll point him to this thread (again) and we can hopefully get his input.

If we find someone willing to produce a small set of them i'd really be willing to design the pcb. It should easily be possible to meet those requests you just summarized.

Any progress on this front?

This cart sound great ill be there for 1 when ready.

hmmm mmc card slot there,s an idea.

have fun zap

_________________
Have Fun!!

i would definitely take one if they ever will be built!

Ask Olimex for a quote. They do small runs.

If you'll do such a module i'd wish it to have onboard ram to buffer packets. Thus it is easier to have faster and more flexible transfer. It is really a pain with rr-net when you have read out data form a packet and can't re read it. Same for sending packets. As far as i remember the chip supports that kind of mode. Also a eeprom/flash for storing a Mac-Adress would be a good idea. And if you want to make it perfect, add some extra rom where some helpfull routines can be stored, so that it is not necessary to patch kernals anymore if you want to join a c64 alike network.

Anything new on this?

Haven't heard anything, unfortunately. Very curious though...
Let's hope that Till is just too busy working on his 1541/USB interface

Alright, all. I'm going to hop in here and make a claim that I'm going to try to design this sucker. You want a CS8900a-based ethernet card for the C64 that is:



I can see this getting very expensive with Flash and RAM. I'll see what it will take to add these and maybe we can make these available as options. For now, I'll assume the default will be all of the above without the flash and RAM.

Where would you like the RJ-45 jack mounted? I intend to put it on the right but how far away from the base of the cartridge? Leaving as much room as possible from the top of the cartridge will provide room for future internal expansion like flash and RAM. I have a RAMLink which is pretty tall. If I measure this to find minimum distance of the RJ-45 jack from the base of the cartridge case, is that good enough? Is there any other port expander that needs more clearance than a RAMLink?

Now here's another question for you. Where would you like the LEDs? Included in the RJ-45 jack? Separate but mounted in the case body? If body, which side and where on that side?

And yet another question. Do you want a pass-thru port? Any kind of expansion headers? Possibly the flash/RAM could be an expansion card that plugs into a header but remains internal to the cartridge? (I really have a strong urge to have no pass-thru but to include a header.)

I'm taking all ideas. First attempt will probably end up being as simple and cheap as possible. But I'll see what I can do to include features and expandability.

First of all let me just say: HURRRAAAAY!!
This is good news indeed.

Personally I don't see much advantage of RAM and Flash.. Sure it would be nice but not important from a software point of view and certainly not from a economical point of view. I'd prefer to save those extra bucks.

I'm not sure about the expansion/passthru header, but if it's no extra cost then why not.

About the leds I think it would be nice to have link and tx/rx led on the upper face of the cart (kind of like RR-net). Question is if they should "stick up", hence requiring drilling holes in the cart case or if they should stay just below the case shell so that you don't need to make holes if you don't want (or have a transparent case). I guess I would favour the second option.