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Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:41 am
by Gortho
Hello Sharp people,

I've been recently thinking about getting one of those beauties. Do any of you have idea if they are available from their creators?
I tried to contact them a long while ago but did not get any answer, so I am wondering if it is still possible to get one.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:49 pm
by hlide
You're not the only one to be looking for one. We are all in the same boat: we know nothing.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:31 am
by KnaxMax
A while ago I wrote an email to Mister Novacek, but got no reply. Does not seem he is interested in producing more of this cards.
It was surely a lot of work and he has other priorities.

The project seems to be open source :
https://sourceforge.net/projects/unicardmk3/
http://dzi.n.cz/8bit/mzuni/

But also this contains code, schematic and a plan for the board, I guess it would need some work of a talented maker with enough knowledge about micro electronic to reproduce it.

I have nearly no idea about hardware and can't hardly solder even DIP chips - and this uses an SMD microcontroller with lots of pins :shock:

No idea what it would cost to let the board be produced in small batches and maybe get it with the SMD parts presoldered. But even this would need a lot of knowledgable preparation. The plan is rasterized and does not look like it could directly be used for masks. AFAIK one would need proper Gerber files for production.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:58 am
by KnaxMax
Just looked up the price of the used microcontroller, it is around 11€ in Germany:
http://de.farnell.com/stmicroelectronic ... dp/2393658
https://www.mouser.de/ProductDetail/STM ... gIBEvD_BwE

The RS-232 driver chip is around 5€, crystal oscillators could be around 2€/pc and the Ethernet transceiver should be similar.

Size of the board could be similar to Sharps RAM-disk, so it is roughly 12cm*14cm.
So just googled about it and found this company with a price calculator:
https://aetzwerk.de/kalkulation

A first batch of a dual sided board in 120mm x 140mm would cost (with taxes):

1x : 62,48 €
5x : 169,75 €
10x: 190,76 €
15x: 211,70 €
20x: 232,76 €


No idea if this is cheap or expensive. Guess you can get it much cheaper in China, but than it takes longer an gets more complicated.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:08 am
by hlide
https://dirtypcbs.com/store/designer/de ... 140520-zip

I already know about them and I also bought this one: http://fr.farnell.com/stmicroelectronic ... dp/2517898 which is very close to what Unicard mk3b needs. But the source is not an easy one to read and determine what it is really used and what it is not. So I think I will process step by step to make an equivalent.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 10:10 am
by hlide
Oh also I don't know if the source includes mk3c (that is, MZ-700 version). There are some MZ700 defines but it's not clear if it is just for mk3c or the MZ-700 mode in mk3b for MZ-800.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:03 am
by hlide
The one you can already order on the DirtyPCB website: $11.95 + delivery fee. For me, it will cost $11.95 + $2.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 12:41 pm
by Gortho
Heh I am happy I started this topic. We have discussion here ;)

Regarding sources: Am I blind? Because I can't find any sources on the sourceforge page? Just binaries for STM micro.

And Dirty PCB price, it is not that cheap I am afraid, you have to put custom size 10.6 cm x 11.6 cm and it becomes $44 + shipping (per 10) still not as expensive as EU prices.

From China PCB factories you can order it at reasonable prices... plus they even can assemble it for few more pesos.

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:43 pm
by KnaxMax
The source code is here:
https://sourceforge.net/p/unicardmk3/co ... nk/FW/src/

If I would have any soldering skills, I would instantly order this PCB....

Re: Unicard - is it possible to get it?

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:00 pm
by Gortho
Thanks, I found it at the same time I posted the the question ;)

Smd parts 0.5 mm pitch are easily hand solderable so maybe when I find some time, I will order those parts and pcbs.