DirtyHairy Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 (edited) During the past two weeks, I have spend some time disassembling the R77, examining the hardware and digging through the source drop published by Hyperkin. The results are documented in the Stella wiki on GitHub: https://github.com/stella-emu/stella/wiki/Retron-77 It is pretty technical, but that was my intention: to provide a starting point for anybody who'd like to start hacking the device. Please tell me if there is anything missing Edited July 11, 2018 by DirtyHairy 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 if this device can be hacked or modded to add features or compatibility, im all for it. as it is out of the box, it could definitely use some improvement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I've added quite a bit of information on what would be required to get Stella 5 running on this device. While it isn't insurmountable, it will require someone (or a group of someones) that have Linux experience and some fairly cheap hardware to interface with the device. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I don't have the skills, but an interesting read anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 is there some reason the hardware would struggle with it? i assume the gpu is capable of whatever hardware acceleration modes were added in stella v4. whether it is fast enough is another question entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 The CPU is more than powerful enough, even for future Stella versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I don't have the skills, but an interesting read anyway. It's always a good thing to read material like this, even if you (me) don't fully understand it. "Enough" understanding is usually sufficient to prevent pestering the developers by informing you of something they're already working on. On the other hand it may also grease the wheels and promote thought about new and unplanned future features. And "enough" understanding may also help you use a given product differently or better, or simply solve a problem you didn't know you had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Karl G Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Would building X for the system for SDL2 to use as a backend be an alternative to updating the kernel and patching SDL2 to support the graphics hardware? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 is there some reason the hardware would struggle with it? i assume the gpu is capable of whatever hardware acceleration modes were added in stella v4. whether it is fast enough is another question entirely. One of the links I added mentions that this same hardware, with the updated SDL2 and Mali drivers, can run Quake 3 at 90+fps. Quake 3 is much more physically demanding than Stella will ever be. Even with all graphical filters enabled. The problem is strictly getting the software updated. I don't foresee any problems with speed issues, either for the CPU or the GPU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stephena Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Would building X for the system for SDL2 to use as a backend be an alternative to updating the kernel and patching SDL2 to support the graphics hardware? SDL2, Mali and X will result in much slower graphics. And besides, it's much harder to do that, since you still need to get the kernel and SDL2 supporting the GPU. Then after that, you have to get X working with it too. On this type of embedded system, using X is just extra baggage that will slow things down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHairy Posted July 12, 2018 Author Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) Would building X for the system for SDL2 to use as a backend be an alternative to updating the kernel and patching SDL2 to support the graphics hardware? You might also run into issues with RAM: the R77 only has 128MB to start with, and the current setup even uses part of this for the initramfs (which is the *full* rootfs and never gets unmounted). At the very least, you'd have to trade the initiramfs setup (which is pretty elegant imho) for a full-blown ext2/3/4 partition on the SD card, and even then RAM might not be sufficient without adding a swap partition Edited July 12, 2018 by DirtyHairy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman11111 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) So could you run another emulator like the 5200 or colecovision or mame on a separate SD card that boots an os. How would you do this Edited October 25, 2022 by dman11111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman11111 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 Retron question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt300ZXT Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 It blows my mind you guys have the technical ability to take an off the shelf video game console, rip it apart, inspect its guts, and figure out how to make it do what you want as if you had designed it from the ground up. That's awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 37 minutes ago, dman11111 said: So could you run another emulator like the 5200 or colecovision or mame on a separate SD card that boots an os. How would you do this The SD cart boots a Linux system which then boots Stella. I am no expert, but you would have the modify the OS to start your emulator (compiled for the R77 hardware). And if that works, whether it runs performant enough is another question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dman11111 Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 (edited) Oh ok I thought a Linux system on a separate card would work I don't really know enough to compile yet I'll have to study up on this more Some emulators can be set up on an sd card that automatically boot so I'm not sure Edited October 25, 2022 by dman11111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I finally decided to try and fix my cartridge connector and then couldn't find any tools small enough to get to the bent pin jammed at the bottom. It looks like the only option is to replace the whole connector. Does anyone know the part number or who might sell these? I did some searching and only found ones that didn't have the wing screw holes so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluxit Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) 9 hours ago, Atari_Warlord said: I finally decided to try and fix my cartridge connector and then couldn't find any tools small enough to get to the bent pin jammed at the bottom. It looks like the only option is to replace the whole connector. Does anyone know the part number or who might sell these? I did some searching and only found ones that didn't have the wing screw holes so far. It seems as though it would be easy to 3D print a holder with screw standoffs for the non screw type of connector, which could then be epoxied to the connector, so long as the depth and pin spacing are correct. Depending upon how the connector interfaces with the top cover, of course. --edit-- Something like this mockup, for instance: Edited January 15 by fluxit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 AFAIK these are standard connectors. Look for "24 pin edge connector". 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I think I found the part I need. Unfortunately it is sold through AliExpress that has really low ratings and I haven't located an alternative source yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 (edited) I find a lot offers, e.g.: https://retrorewind.ca/24pin-edge-connector https://www.arcadepartsandrepair.com/store/pinball-kits-parts/pinball-parts/24-pin-edge-connector-w-solder-eyelet-leads-ec1002/ https://www.ebay.com/itm/284365908587 https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/CE04W-24 What's wrong with these? Edited January 15 by Thomas Jentzsch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcsrocks Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 20 minutes ago, Atari_Warlord said: I think I found the part I need. Unfortunately it is sold through AliExpress that has really low ratings and I haven't located an alternative source yet. The 2600 cart has two ground pins (12 and 24). Some systems use this to detect if a cart is inserted (and this may well be the case here) but it may be worth trying to swap one of these... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Al_Nafuur Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: I find a lot offers, e.g.: https://retrorewind.ca/24pin-edge-connector https://www.arcadepartsandrepair.com/store/pinball-kits-parts/pinball-parts/24-pin-edge-connector-w-solder-eyelet-leads-ec1002/ https://www.ebay.com/itm/284365908587 https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/CE04W-24 What's wrong with these? Wrong pins or to short pins. (And wrong color 🤣) These are at Amazon, but only in batches of 5 and very expensive: https://www.amazon.de/Liudrpeng-stücke-Stecker-Steckplatz-Montage/dp/B09XX436D4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Atari_Warlord Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 8 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said: I find a lot offers, e.g.: https://retrorewind.ca/24pin-edge-connector https://www.arcadepartsandrepair.com/store/pinball-kits-parts/pinball-parts/24-pin-edge-connector-w-solder-eyelet-leads-ec1002/ https://www.ebay.com/itm/284365908587 https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/CE04W-24 What's wrong with these? I may have to try one. The connector on the Retron 77 sits up a bit from the board and the pins look to be about 13 mm to reach the board and go through the holes. The pins look shorter on these, but maybe it would still work ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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