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So Chart45 isn't crazy... ADAM plays SGM games sans SGM!


NIAD

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Well that is awesome! Now we can just forget about Opcode's SGM since he is MIA. I'll definitely be picking up Galaga now and getting the Adam!

 

 

Makes sense though that the Adam should be able to play SGM coded games since it can support Super Games datapacks. As for the sound, maybe someone can figure out a mod for the sound chip and which model numbers will play them and why so we have a functional alternative to the SGM since Opcode is apparently no longer making them. Good luck guys! Looking forward to the updates on this as it sounds very promising!

 

Have you checked the Opcode subforum lately? It's been active, more organized, and information posted. Where are you getting "MIA" and "Opcode is apparently no longer making them" ?

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Most of my old consoles are pretty quiet, I wish somebody would a post a simple audio amplification circuit someday that could be fit inside a CV or Inty. I hate having to crank up my TV to 3x normal volume

 

That's interesting. I've never had that issue across the countless systems I own, save for the consoles, computers, or handhelds with an actual sound issue (usually cap-related).

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which game you convert cause when i did the test with kings valley its show psg ok even if its not there if my memory is good....

 

let me know i will test it tonight and report

its true the sgm require game you convert dont work with out the sgm ?

Edited by chart45
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sorry for the confusion my english is pretty bad

 

what i wanted to say its when i run the diag test in king's valley on my special adam the result show psg ok so in those special adam there is something that conflic in the port that the sgm use... what nobody seems to know...

 

so when crazy boss said his game detect the ram and the ay chip... i assume the test will pass like the others but after i test his game its a no go... ?

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Most of my old consoles are pretty quiet, I wish somebody would a post a simple audio amplification circuit someday that could be fit inside a CV or Inty. I hate having to crank up my TV to 3x normal volume

 

I could make a schematic for this no problem. I will when I get sometime. A LM386 comes to mind as a quick easy amp to use.

 

Never mind I see someone above linked to an ebay auction for one.. Exactly like I would have designed.

Edited by juice2839
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Only thing about that is I'd like to do away with the pot, Output is: 0.5W~10W.. 10w is way too much, maybe 1/2 a watt would do the trick without distortion..just a fixed amount, a little audio boost. All old 8 bit consoles in general are pretty quiet in my experience, most later consoles are pretty loud (normal), with little volume adjustment. I'm surprised nobody else has dealt with this before. Don't mean to be OT, I had a thread about this over in Hardware, but it didn't really get any replies. Thanks for the info so far guys

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Only thing about that is I'd like to do away with the pot, Output is: 0.5W~10W.. 10w is way too much, maybe 1/2 a watt would do the trick without distortion..just a fixed amount, a little audio boost. All old 8 bit consoles in general are pretty quiet in my experience, most later consoles are pretty loud (normal), with little volume adjustment. I'm surprised nobody else has dealt with this before. Don't mean to be OT, I had a thread about this over in Hardware, but it didn't really get any replies. Thanks for the info so far guys

 

No way the lm386 puts out 10 watts... That circuit would work good I think. adjust the pot for best output then measure the value and replace it with fixed resistors.

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Yeah but as Jim pointed out there's no sound and it's not with every ADAM. I too posted this a little while ago that my ADAM can play SGM games without the module while another ADAM I have can not. I took both apart and still haven't seen what's different.

I'd like to add that the ADAM which allows me to play SGM games will not play them when I attach my 256k memory and addressor cards.

 

The difference is that the Adam that plays the SGM games has a different memory bank switching circuit. It would be easy to add just the AY-3-8910 for sound to one of these Adams.

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If you want to hook a ay-3-8912 sound chip to an adam this is how you do the addressing. I know chart was asking me for this awhile ago.. The first chip is a 74ls138 and the others are 74ls32 and 74ls00. With this your special adam will play all the SGM games with sound. Pin 7 of the 74ls138 is not connected to anything. Ignore the wire from it.12592348_10156402494815307_3321191744290

Edited by juice2839
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I have numerous Coleco made test carts which do check the built-in system RAM, but there is no way they do a byte-for-byte test as far as I can tell because the test only takes about 10 seconds. On all four of my systems (1 EM#3 and 3 Stand-Alone of which 1 can play all SGM games without an SGM), these Coleco test utilitites report the same results and if there was indeed faulty RAM in any of them, issues would be noticed while using other software or carts.

 

So I think it's something other than the actual RAM chips, but maybe the Logic Chips for the RAM. Anyway, I doubt the true reason why some ADAMs can play SGM games without the SGM while other ADAMs can't will ever be discovered. Well, of course, unless Opcode chimes in.

 

The Special Adams are able to bank switch the lower 8k in and out while the others are not. This is one of the things the sgm does along with add the 24k ram. Since the adam already has the 24k ram that passes and says Adam Detected. Then the nanochess test goes on to test the bank switching lower 8k. This fails on most adams, but not your special ones. The test then goes on to check for the ay-3-8910. So for some reason your special adams can bank switch the 8k ram in and out.

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One thing I'd like to add to this that while both of my ADAMs can play the SGM games without sound, when I attach the 256k memory expander I get the "SGM REQUIRED" message. So I assume this won't work for the few that do have a memory expander unless there's another work around not involving unplugging the card.

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One thing I'd like to add to this that while both of my ADAMs can play the SGM games without sound, when I attach the 256k memory expander I get the "SGM REQUIRED" message. So I assume this won't work for the few that do have a memory expander unless there's another work around not involving unplugging the card.

 

I doubt there is a work around because the memory expander takes control of how the ram is bank swtiched.

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I finally got a chance to do some surgery on my ADAM this weekend.

 

Backstory: I had purchased an ADAM from an eBayer a year or so back... got it for cheap, listing stated it as "untested", but it was super clean. It wound up having (most likely) a VRAM issue, as I was getting everything to work except the garbled graphics on-screen.

 

Well, I had already purchased at least two F18A modules, so I was ready to mod! Fast-forward to last night... I was testing my modification, and to my hope and happy surprise, I found that it too is a Super ADAM! Reading through this thread, that makes me Number 6 (I think J-F posted that he was number 4, and then Rey said he had one too).

 

Pics of the serial and logic boards: It's a REV D manufactured in early '84.

 

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post-28334-0-55606400-1454256732_thumb.jpg

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I would. I think my newly restored ADAM is pretty cool. I'm wanting to get farther in my understanding of the ADAM and its computing capabilities.

 

Just wondering how important is to keep supporting the ADAM...

I'm curious… is there particular engineering that is made to the SGM in order for it to work on the ADAM? Are you considering cutting that out of the design?

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