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Finally, data (Fun with Transputers)
I finally managed to get data into and out of the transputer module (TRAM). To do this I used an Arduino Micro I had (as it’s 5V) and some breadboard. Now the TRAM pulls 800mA at 5V and the breadboard struggles with this, so I ended up using 4 links for 0V and 4 links for 5V and pushing the power supply to 5.5V to get 5V on the TRAM (not a problem on a PCB). I added some LEDs to various signals just so I had some confirmation that it was actually doing something.I also ran the transputer links at 10Mbps rather than 20 as I was concerned about…
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Retro computing and projects
I have, as many of you probably know, a bit of a thing for retro computing. This doesn’t help with my ongoing stack of projects. But it is what it is. Lately I’ve dived deep into the world of Transputers. I also have a PC104 form factor PC (Celeron).Now I kinda like the PC104 form factor, it’s cute and PCBs are cheap (being under 100mm by 100mm), but it’s not without it’s challenges. The Transputer connects to a host via a Link controller (C012 or C011), this turns 8 bit data into 32bit streams which in turn gets passed to the first Transputer. The Transputer Module (called a TRAM) is…