[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] '030 Lucas/Frances??

al158305@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx (Gustavo Cordova Avila) (04/06/91)

   I'm thinking in ordering the Lucas/Frances kits
to give some new life into my (ancient :) Amiga 1000,
only that I have a few questions:

* Is there a way to install an '030 on the lucas board?
  From where I see it, it's only a matter of adapting the
  pins of the '030 to an '020 socket, since their both
  32bit data busses and hmmm.. 32? bit address busses,
  just translate a few control and timing signals, but
  I could be quite wrong... what do the hardware gurus say?

* Can an '882 be installed in an '881s socket? If my memory
  serves me (rarely does :) I think I read that an '882 is a
  pin for pin replacement for the '881, only that enhanced.
  ?? is it so ??

* Can the frances board be made to have more than 4 megs ram?

* If there does exist a hack to install an '030, is it compatible
  with the hack to install the original 68000 with the '020?

* One last question: Why does lucas flake out when running at over
  20 mega-hurts? :)

  Any answers will be *very* appreciated. I'm looking seriously
into the lucas/frances pair because: they're cheap (er, I mean, low
cost :), and user buildable/hackable (I'm majoring in Electronics
Systems Eng), and, even though my mouth waters when I see the mega
midget racer, I'm on a students budget :(

Gustavo
-- 
| From Mexico!  Majoring in Electronics Systems Engineering, |
| ITESM presents to you: Gustavo Cordova Avila!!!            |
| And then I woke up :) +------------------------------------+
+-----------------------+

<LEEK@QUCDN.QueensU.CA> (04/07/91)

In article <3118@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx>, al158305@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx (Gustavo
Cordova Avila) says:
>
>   I'm thinking in ordering the Lucas/Frances kits
>to give some new life into my (ancient :) Amiga 1000,
>only that I have a few questions:
>
>* Is there a way to install an '030 on the lucas board?
>  From where I see it, it's only a matter of adapting the
>  pins of the '030 to an '020 socket, since their both
>  32bit data busses and hmmm.. 32? bit address busses,
>  just translate a few control and timing signals, but
>  I could be quite wrong... what do the hardware gurus say?

Someone else was doing it earlier, but couldn't get the data cache part to
work.  Other than that the 030 works fine.

>
>* Can an '882 be installed in an '881s socket? If my memory
>  serves me (rarely does :) I think I read that an '882 is a
>  pin for pin replacement for the '881, only that enhanced.
>  ?? is it so ??
>

Yeap.  You might also want to use a different clock source for your FPU than
the 020.  We have a couple of Lucas/Frances here with 020 at 18.4MHz 1 wait
and 881 at 24MHz.  It beats all the benchmarks Brad Fowles had in his article.
A faster 882 would probably do more, but a 20MHz 881 at $60 is hard to beat. :)

>* Can the frances board be made to have more than 4 megs ram?
>
>* If there does exist a hack to install an '030, is it compatible
>  with the hack to install the original 68000 with the '020?
>
>* One last question: Why does lucas flake out when running at over
>  20 mega-hurts? :)

The design was for 16MHz.  Noise seems to be one of the problems.

>
>  Any answers will be *very* appreciated. I'm looking seriously
>into the lucas/frances pair because: they're cheap (er, I mean, low
>cost :), and user buildable/hackable (I'm majoring in Electronics
>Systems Eng), and, even though my mouth waters when I see the mega
>midget racer, I'm on a students budget :(
>
>Gustavo
>--
>| From Mexico!  Majoring in Electronics Systems Engineering, |
>| ITESM presents to you: Gustavo Cordova Avila!!!            |
>| And then I woke up :) +------------------------------------+
>+-----------------------+
                                   _
K. C. Lee                       / /_\   __ .  _   _
Elec. Eng. Grad. Student     /\/ /   \ ||| | (_| (_<
(Power option.)                               _|

hounsell@nmerh4.BNR.CA (Rob Hounsell) (04/08/91)

In article <3118@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx>, al158305@mtecv2.mty.itesm.mx
(Gustavo Cordova Avila) writes:
|> 
|> * Is there a way to install an '030 on the lucas board?

- yes, if you are willing to wire an adaptor. The '020 and '030 are not
  pin-compatible.

|> * Can an '882 be installed in an '881s socket? If my memory
|>   serves me (rarely does :) I think I read that an '882 is a
|>   pin for pin replacement for the '881, only that enhanced.
|>   ?? is it so ??

- yup. That's what I'm running on mine.


|> * Can the frances board be made to have more than 4 megs ram?
 
- Don't know. Certainly not without lots of hacking 8-(

|> * One last question: Why does lucas flake out when running at over
|>   20 mega-hurts? :)

- it depends upon lots of things: your processor's rated speed, your memory
access speed, quality of construction... 

Rob
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