Unicart64 is the new cartridge for Commodore 64 computers based on FPGA.
Planned Features:
- Altera Cyclone II FPGA EP2C5T144C8N.
- SD card connector
- 3 Reset buttons
- Flash ROM memory 8MB (not in prototype)
- SRAM memory 8MB (not in prototype)
I have created this project because I was inspired by the great EasyFlash3 cartridge possibilities.
But, there are some limitations in EasyFlash3.
Thus, the goal of this project is to extend EF3, not to compare with Ultimate / Chameleon projects with their complexity and price.
I plan to extend:
1) The FPGA logic elements. Comparing EF3 CPLD against Altera FPGA, now there is more space to create various hardware.
2) The flashing time is very long to set up ROM memory with its software content. Instead of this as an alternative it is good to have SD card & larger SRAM.
The EasyFlash image can be loaded very fast from SD card into SRAM and started afterwards. It could be significantly faster.
I have no external memories in this prototype yet, only small piece of RAM inside FPGA to be able to boot software.
The UC64 SD card Commander is developed especially for this cartridge.
Already developed hardaware inside FPGA:
- Boot UC64 Ultimax 512 bytes cartridge - booting system from MBR of SD card.
- SD card reader cartridge.
Watch this video ... :thumbup:
Unicart64 prototype tests
Altera FPGA on universal board
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Resistor Voltage level dividers 5V --> 3.3V
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UC64 SD Commander
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Overview of this ugly prototype ... but working
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