XT IDE disk controller
From DP
Contents |
Overview
- "The XT-IDE project is a Vintage Computer forum driven project to develop and manufacturer an 8-bit ISA IDE controller. It allows any PC/XT class machine to use modern IDE hard drives or Compact Flash devices for long term storage."
Our version of the XTIDE controller replaces the 7400-series logic chips with a CPLD, a chip that can be programmed to replace dozens of individual logic chips. The logic is designed in software by drawing a schematic, and then uploaded to the CPLD. New logic circuits can be designed and tested without making new hardware each time.
This project is currently stalled. We had planned to test this in the lab, but we vastly underestimated the difficulty of finding a vintage XT PC. The PCB and CPLD implementation are complete and available in SVN. We've sent out a few boards, but to our knowledge nobody has tested it yet. It's waiting for the right vintage computer enthusiast to give it life.