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ballyalley

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  1. I did figure out recently that the FujiNet is an on-going, probably never-ending project. This is okay. I just didn't understand this fact from the beginning. The Bally Arcade/Astrocade community is small and there is no equivalent to this open-ended hardware project. There is some hardware activity in the Astrocade world, but it isn't open-source, which seems to make a huge difference. I'm also a huge fan of the Timex/Sinclair 2068, which doesn't have a FujiNet (but I think that there is one for the ZX Spectrum). I just watched my first video about the FujiNet for the Atari. It looks like it will take me a long time to figure out on my own. I have a local friend who I placed a phone call to a short while ago. He is an Atari 8-bit hardware guy and he will be calling me back in an hour or so. I wanna discuss my options with him. He and some others will be here tomorrow evening and we will be calling some BBSs. He told me just now that he got a 1200-Baud modem working with his Atari using a VoIP line, so that's great for us. It's no FujiNet speed, but it's better than the slug-like performance of my XM301 modem Adam
  2. Yeah, I've been eyeing the FujiNet for a long time now. I've been waiting for it to settle into a final version, but I suppose it will always be a WIP. If there is an Astrocade one being proposed, then it's time for me to jump in and get one for a computer that I use on a regular basis: my Atari 600XL and 130XE. I know that documentation is lacking for the FujiNet, but I'm probably just gonna order one and see how it goes. My local Atari buddies can help me figure it out. Adam
  3. Oh, okay, Brewing Academy seems to have version 1.3 in stock. Plus, SO much more. I could drop millions of dollars there-- if I had those funds. Yes, I believe that all the signals are on the 50-pin expansion connector. Pose this question to the Astrocade discussion group (for which I just approved you, Thomas). Ken Lill can answer you there so that you'll know for certain. He co-designed the 32K Lil' White RAM Expansion. Adam
  4. The Astrocade only has 4K of RAM when used with a cartridge and it's all screen RAM. The programmer is left with just a couple of hundred bytes, at most, at the bottom of the screen that are truly useable. Of course, there are RAM expansions for the Astrocade, but the original ones from the 1980s are basically not obtainable and the current ones (such as the 'Lil White Ram) are hard to find. Plus, these RAM expansions could not be used at the same time with the Astrocade and FujiNet, unless a pass-through was made for the Fujinet. The downside (and upside!) is that the cartridge port on the Astrocade only has enough signals to have a cartridge. Luckily, in 1978, the Bally Arcade console was meant to be upgraded to a computer and all of the signals are accessible on (as Thom already noted) a 50-pin connector on the back of the console. The simple solution will be to add 48K of RAM to the FujiNet. There are many knowledgeable folks who can help with common hardware/software questions on the Astrocade discussion group on grousp.io, here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley A couple of my friends got online with my 600XL using BobTerm last week and my buddy created a video segment for it that premiere just a couple of hours ago. The BBS segment begins here: (That's me on the right, looking perplexed, or maybe confused.) It's neat that this FujiNet subject is coming up now, as on March 3, 2024, I started a thread called, "Help Calling a BBS with my Astrocade," here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/topic/help_calling_a_bbs_with_my/104716549 Now I need to get a FujiNet for my Atari 8-bit computers so that I can see how that FujiNet works with software. Where is the best place to buy one? Adam
  5. I don't know what the RP2040 or the ESP32 are for FujiNet, but, yeah, FujuNet on the Astrocade would be cool. I don't even have FujuiNet on my Atari 8-bit yet. Which is why tomorrow for Baud Day (3/12/24) I'm using a 300-baud modem to access Atari and BBSs. Sad, Adam, sad. But fun! Adam
  6. Thanks for sharing your Astrocade joystick adapter update with us. I notice also that you're the first person in the world to enjoy using the Atari 7800 joystick. I can only presume that you fell and bumped your head. I hope that you get better soon. It's always great to see and read when people are not only playing on real hardware, but also using their classic game consoles and computers to actually, you know, play and use them at all. Adam
  7. I have the Astro-dapter, but I've never tried later controllers than the Atari 2600. I wonder if this one has similar issues to the "Sad Girl" adapter; this one: https://sadgirlsrecords.com/products/atari-2600-to-bally-astrocade-controller-adapter Why not just email the creator of these "Sad Girl" adapters, who will forward you the schematic so you can make your own. Or you can just ask why this happens. Contact info is simply: sadgirlsrecords@kittymail.com Good luck! Adam
  8. Yeah, a 512k game could be amazing. Here is a link to the memory map of the 512K unit: ballyalley.com/documentation/bally128k-com/maxflash/Astrocade_Maxflash_512K_Memory_Map.txt You get 128K 4K banks. Here is video made for the earlier, 256K version of the board: Here is an example of full-screen scrolling with the board: Neat, right? Adam
  9. Yes, the MaxFlash cartridge did exist, but, sadly, it was never made available because of the high cost of creating it. Luckily, Michael (128Kgames) did make a cart available to me for a while and I did write some code for it, which is on my site, here: Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files (ballyalley.com) I can't believe this project happened 13 years ago now. Maybe this project can be revived? Adam
  10. It looks like you need to pick up an Astrocade now. It's never too late to join the Astrocade party. Most of the time we chat over on groups.io, here: ballyalley@groups.io | Home I'm a big Astrocade fan, but I didn't get mine until the early 1990s. It seemed old then, and it was only about fifteen years old back then. If it was old then, then how old is it now? Adam
  11. First off, please tell your wife that she is awesome! Sorry about your hardware trouble with the Astrocade. I can't remember reading about this specific problem, but there are at least a few hardware gurus on the Astrocade group on groups.io. Try re-posting your question here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley Good luck! Adam
  12. I made a video about Conan - Adam
  13. I used to think that this came inside every Astrocade box, but now I'm not so sure. It's also neat to hear that someone in this thread saw the Astrocade being displayed at the mall. I wish I had a video of that now. Adam
  14. This is an unusual one. Since some cartridge work, I suspect that RAM at the "bottom" of the screen that holds some data may be going bad. Just a guess...? Adam
  15. Hey, Chris, I'm glad you had fun playing with your Astrocade again. Yes, it's a great system with too few games. You may get more information and faster feedback on the Astrocade discussion group on groups.io, here: ballyalley@groups.io | Home You may even want to repost your message there (in which case, I'll re-post my reply there too). The 8K cartridge ROM size is certainly limiting now, but it was rather large for 1978. The 50-pin edge-connector on the back of the unit was meant to be used for future expansion, but that was never used for any first-party products. It was used for third-party expansions, both in the 1980s (like the Blue Ram) and in modern homebrew products (for example, the Lil' White Ram). There was a bank-switched cartridge made in 2011 called the "MaxFlash," but it never went into final production. It had banks of 512K. You can read more about it here: Bally/Astrocade Maxflash Files (ballyalley.com) I don't know how many colors can be fit on a line. MAME Astrocade emulation isn't accurate enough to figure this out, so you'd have to check on real hardware. You might also be able to get a pseudo hi-res mode if you use the custom chips and program them like the Atari 2600 and "race the beam," but then that might defeat the point of programming for the Bally Arcade. I wrote an article that may help you get going with setting up an IDE for the Astrocade, here: Bally Alley - PS Pad and Zmac Assembler Set-Up One fact to keep in mind is that you can, of course, use any Z80 assembler that you want to program the Astrocade, but the "Home Video-Game Library" equates for use with the Bally Arcade console's built-in subroutines were re-written for using with the ZMac assembler going on 20 years ago. This makes using ZMac a snap to program the Astrocade. Good luck and I hope that you program the next great Astrocade game, utility or whatever program suits your tastes. Adam
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