Currently,\u00c2\u00a0the following\u00c2\u00a0boards are supported:<\/p>\n
- \n
- plipbox nano: Arduino Nano based (production) version<\/li>\n
- plipbox: Arduino 2009 based (prototype) version<\/li>\n
- plipbox on AVR-NET-IO board<\/li>\n
- a1k forum user crasbe has created an own board<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hardware Gallery<\/h2>\n
1. plipbox nano<\/h3>\n
The plipbox nano is realized with stock components:<\/p>\n
- \n
- An Arduino Nano v3 (with ATmega 328 @ 16MHz)<\/li>\n
- An Arduino Nano Ethernet shield with ENC28j60 chip<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I added a small (single-layer PCB) base board with the parallel port connector \u00c2\u00a0and two pin headers for the pins of the Ethernet shield:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano08-300x187.jpg?resize=300%2C187\" "\\"plipbox_nano08\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano ingredients: Arduino Nano, Nano Ethernet shield, and custom base board<\/p><\/div>\n
As a result you get a very compact plipbox setup that fits nicely directly into your classic Amiga: (Use a cell phone power supply with a mini USB connector to power your plipbox nano)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano01-300x222.jpg?resize=300%2C222\" "\\"plipbox_nano01\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano: Arduino Nano, Nano Ethernet Shield, and base board<\/p><\/div>\n
The long pin headers of the Ethernet shield work well here as they raise the Ethernet connector a little bit so it does not obscure the Amiga’s serial port.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano02-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" "\\"plipbox_nano02\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano04-300x192.jpg?resize=300%2C192\" "\\"plipbox_nano04\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano attached to an A1200 (top view)<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano05-300x180.jpg?resize=300%2C180\" "\\"plipbox_nano05\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano attached to an A1200 (side view)<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano06-300x152.jpg?resize=300%2C152\" "\\"plipbox_nano06\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano attached to an A1200 (rear view)<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano07-300x177.jpg?resize=300%2C177\" "\\"plipbox_nano07\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano attached<\/p><\/div>\n
The base board is very simple: it routes the parallel port lines from the Ethernet shield pins to the Amiga’s parallel port connector.<\/p>\n
I provide a layout and a single-layer PCB design for this base board:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/nano_adapter_sch5-300x211.png?resize=300%2C211\" "\\"nano_adapter_sch\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano base board schematics<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/nano_adapter_brd-300x252.png?resize=300%2C252\" "\\"nano_adapter_brd\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano base board (bottom layer)<\/p><\/div>\n
Note: the PCB is single layer but you need to add four parallel wires to connect the vias between the Ethernet headers.<\/p>\n
Here are some shots of the v1.0 base board prototype<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Note<\/strong>: the wires fixed some issues in v1.0 and are corrected in v1.1 above. Also the jumper on the left side is obsolete and was removed.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano09-300x245.jpg?resize=300%2C245\" "\\"plipbox_nano09\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano 1.0 prototype base board (bottom side)<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox_nano10-300x262.jpg?resize=300%2C262\" "\\"plipbox_nano10\\"")
<\/a>plipbox nano 1.0 base board (top side)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
2. plipbox on Arduino Board<\/h3>\n
The Arduino 2009 board and the ENC28J60 Ethernet Module:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox-parts1.jpg?resize=384%2C288\" "\\"plipbox")
<\/a><\/p>\nI used an Arduino prototype board to connect the Amiga parallel cable there (in the middle you can see the 5v to 3.3v converter IC I soldered with some caps on a little extra board):<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox-parts2.jpg?resize=384%2C288\" "\\"plipbox")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe prototype board also has the connections between network module and Arduino board:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox-parts3.jpg?resize=384%2C288\" "\\"plipbox")
<\/a><\/p>\nAll boards connected to build the final device:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox.jpg?resize=384%2C189\" "\\"plipbox\\"")
<\/a><\/h5>\n3. plipbox on AVR-NET-IO Board<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox-avrnetio.jpg?resize=384%2C196\" "\\"plipbox-avrnetio\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe AVR-NET-IO board with attached USB-Serial Adapter (and some gender changers to make it possible to attach the serial adapter), connected Ethernet and the power supply with 5V (This is the modified power supply that replaces the 9V connector). Please note it is essential to power the board with external power as the parallel port is not capable to do so.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/plipbox-avrnetio2.jpg?resize=192%2C384\" "\\"plipbox-avrnetio2\\"")
<\/a>The AVR-NET-IO board connected to my development machine, an Amiga 1200. I build a small DB25 connector to make sure only the actually used lines are connected to the Amiga (and have access to the pins for debugging with a scope).<\/p>\n![\"Strobe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/avrnetio_strobe-208x300.jpg?resize=208%2C300\")
<\/a>Strobe wire for AVR NET IO board<\/p><\/div>\n
This image shows how to add the missing strobe wire.<\/p>\n
4. crasbe’s plipbox<\/h3>\n
User crasbe<\/strong> of the german Amiga Forum a1k.org<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0has created his own board with a very compact layout. Its fully compatible with the plipbox nano.<\/p>\n
See a1k.org Post<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n
crasbe was so kind and donated me a Rev.2 board!<\/p>\n
![\"crasbe's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/crasbe01-279x300.jpg?resize=279%2C300\")
<\/a>crasbe’s plipbox with power supply cable and usb2serial dongle attached<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/crasbe02-225x300.jpg?resize=225%2C300\")
<\/a>A close up of crasbe’s plipbox<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"My](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lallafa.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/crasbe03-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\")
<\/a>My development setup A500, logic analyzer, and crasbe’s plipbox<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hardware used to build a plipbox device. See the hardware page on GitHub for details. Currently,\u00c2\u00a0the following\u00c2\u00a0boards are supported: plipbox nano: Arduino Nano based (production) version plipbox: Arduino 2009 based (prototype) version plipbox on AVR-NET-IO board a1k forum user crasbe … Continue reading