810 replies to this topic

[retroclouds]

Excellent!

[moulinaie]

Finally !!!

I hope to get mine soon.
A test with photos will be added to my WEB page as soon as I install it, let's spread the news!

Guillaume.

[ti99userclub]

WOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW !!! ... i love this news !!!

[5-11under]

Matthew, I'm wondering what the 4 jumpers are for?
Looking forward to trying this out!

[Tempest]

Sweet!

[matthew180]

5-11under, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:19 AM, said:

Matthew, I'm wondering what the 4 jumpers are for?
Looking forward to trying this out!

The jumper block was added by user request.  Currently only 3 of the 4 are used.

JP1 - CPUCLK
When the jumper is on, the CPUCLK signal is not generated.  Most systems do not use the CPUCLK and the default is to have it disabled.  Removing the jumper enables the CPUCLK for systems that use it (SpectraVideo 328 for example.)

JP2 - Max Sprites on a line defalt
Sets the power-on default for the maximum number of sprites that show on a horizontal line.  The max number is changeable via software after power on.  With the jumper on the Sprite Max per-line is 32, jumper off is the original VDP functionality of 4 sprites per line.

JP3 - Blank Enable
This is mostly just for the curious.  With the jumper OFF, the blank bit is ignored and the screen always displays.  This lets you see some behind the scenes stuff in games and such.

JP4 - Currently Unused

[acadiel]

Preordered mine!

[Willsy]

I'm in!

[moulinaie]

Matthew: If I'm right, your board will increase the VDP Ram access for all software. (TI BASIC or XB when using String space, scrolling, etc...).

Guillaume.

[matthew180]

Depends on what you mean by "increase".  The F18A does not have any *more* RAM than the original VDP, i.e. there is still only 16K of VRAM.  This was a board space and power constraint that I really could not do anything about.

If you mean will the F18A "speed up" anything in the 99/4A, then no, it won't do that.  What the F18A does do, however, is removed any limitations as to how fast you can access the VDP from the host system.  In certain circumstances it is possible to over-run the 9918A by not giving it enough time to perform its memory access before trying to access it again.  The F18A is internally faster than the original VDP, so you can't over-run the F18A until you hit about 25MHz or so.

The way BASIC and XB are written, and any software that uses the ROM-based VDP routines, will not run fast enough to over-run the original VDP, and will not see any "enhancement" with the F18A other than the VGA output, and no sprite limitation of course. :-)

Edited by matthew180, Fri Feb 10, 2012 10:49 AM.

[retroclouds]

How about the enhanced graphics mode. Is it still included (80 columns and hardware scrolling)?

Either way, mighty impressive work!

[matthew180]

Of Course! :-)  There are plenty of enhancements, but they do not interfere with the original functionality, therefore they will not affect existing software like BASIC or XB.

[retroillucid]

I'm in for sure!  

Do you have a pic of it installed on a ColecoVision?
Would love to see this mounted to a CV

[matthew180]

Here you go.  The CV is definitely a system with a fast power-on reset, so I'll have a few more photos later after I make some firmware updates to help with the issue.

Attached Files

•  cv1.jpg   97.61K   52 downloads
•  cv2.jpg   93.59K   66 downloads
•  cv3.jpg   51.81K   74 downloads
•  cv4.jpg   52.15K   65 downloads

[retroillucid]

Thanks for the pics  


Pre-Ordered mine!  

[Tempest]

matthew180, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:17 PM, said:

Here you go.  The CV is definitely a system with a fast power-on reset, so I'll have a few more photos later after I make some firmware updates to help with the issue.

Did the ADAM have the same fast power issue?

[retroclouds]

There you go, pre-ordered mine!  

[matthew180]

Tempest, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:33 PM, said:

matthew180, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:17 PM, said:

Here you go.  The CV is definitely a system with a fast power-on reset, so I'll have a few more photos later after I make some firmware updates to help with the issue.

Did the ADAM have the same fast power issue?

Yes, the Adam would have the same fast (meaning very short) power-on reset time.  I'm working doing what I can to help over come the problem in the FPGA, but I also plan to recommend a capacitor people can install in their CV and Adam to add a few milliseconds to the reset time.

This is what I had to do to your SpectraVideo 328.  I doubled the RC-time constant and all the problems went away. :-)

[matthew180]

Thank you everyone who has pre-ordered!  I see a lot of familiar names in the list. :-)

[Ikrananka]

Pre-order sent.

Just curious, will additional boards be available for sale later if the pre-order is successful?  I have pre-ordered one but may well want to buy a second later in the year.

[retroillucid]

Ikrananka, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 1:28 PM, said:

Pre-order sent.

Just curious, will additional boards be available for sale later if the pre-order is successful?  I have pre-ordered one but may well want to buy a second later in the year.

Same here  

[matthew180]

I hope so.  If I don't reach the 100 minimum for a batch assembly, I'm seriously considering making them by hand... (holy crap, did I say that out loud???)  It will take a little longer, but I would really like everyone to have one (more more) who want them.

[moulinaie]

matthew180, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:14 PM, said:

I hope so.  If I don't reach the 100 minimum for a batch assembly, I'm seriously considering making them by hand... (holy crap, did I say that out loud???)  It will take a little longer, but I would really like everyone to have one (more more) who want them.

How many orders for that first day?

[matthew180]

15 so far.  I started the product stock quantity at 500, and it goes down for every board pre-ordered.  You can start getting excited when it gets close to 400.  I'd be really excited if it reached 0. :-)

[5-11under]

matthew180, on Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:11 PM, said:

15 so far.  I started the product stock quantity at 500, and it goes down for every board pre-ordered.  You can start getting excited when it gets close to 400.  I'd be really excited if it reached 0. :-)

I hope you're advertising this at a bunch of places. The good thing is that this project is good for a number of different consoles, making the market for it that much bigger. I'd hate to see this project get this far, and not get produced.