Jump to content
Have You Played Atari Today?
2600|5200|7800|Lynx|Jaguar|Forums|Store  

retrobits

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    137

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by retrobits

  2. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    This is interesting discussion on artifacting output of the Super Color CPU Card with the UAV circuit.  I've yet to install mine, but am preparing to do so.  I really appreciate the detailed findings from Krenath and Faicuai and others.

     

    Pretty much I use an original 800 and Ultima III is one of those games I still play, and I was surprised by the sample output.  I did spend some time today in Altirra with the game and was impressed how thorough Phaeron was in emulating the colors.  Under the view menu, you can choose "Adjust Colors..." and then set the preset to many choices, including NTSC, PAL, XE or XL or 800.  I've attached screenshots of the 3 different presets for XE, XL, and 800.  Based on this, I can see why there is so much confusion about which are the "correct colors".  It really depends on the machine you use. 

     

    XE Artifacting: 

    U3_XE.PNG

     

    XL Artifacting:

    U3_XL.PNG

     

    800 Artifacting:

    U3_800.PNG

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

  5. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    I have the exact device from Lotharek and it hung on my 800 too when I first got it.  It worked much better when I downgraded to the 2.5 version of the device firmware.

    It also works much more reliably if the SIO bus has a strong power source (I think my 800 alone was a little weak).  I am running mine with his SIO Splitter with a power supply I got on amazon and it is very stable.

     

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0719GY29M

    • Like 1

  6. Posted

    maybe if enough of us wanted kits in the US we could combine shipping from Germany, sharing the cost, and thus it could be affordable.  Someone would have to act as a trusted middle man in the US on Roland's behalf to ship the individual orders by US Mail once the "Uber" package arrives.

  9. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    Thank you for working on this, its just awesome!

    Any chance you still have a way to make a version of that HHDP_* folder with headers removed & filenames for the Mateos Multi Cart?

    I saw some really old threads where you had provided such a thing, but links are all dead.

    • Like 2

  11. Posted

    Just wanted to report that Ben is still in business and seems to be doing well. 

    He's still providing the great service and attention to detail I remember from way back.

    Yes, you do have to be patient and go along with his limited ways to receive payment, but I think its worth it. 

    Overall, I am very satisfied with my little box of Atari loot I received today from him.

     

     

    IMG_20200601_145138.jpg

    • Like 5

  14. Posted

    I live in North America and still like cassette software.  Its mostly nostalgia I suppose, still like my 410.  For sure I'd buy a new game on cassette.

    Actually, a few days ago I bought a two pack of RadioShack LN-30s and a copy of Atari Space Invaders.  Planning to spin some tape this week!

    IMG_20200503_135851.jpg

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    1 hour ago, _The Doctor__ said:

    assign your sio 2 sd as another device... you can choose 0-3 or is it 4

    Wow, thanks Doc, I just tried this and it worked!  Running both SIO2SD and SDrive-MAX at the same time.

     

    Here's my setup:

     

    Atari 800 (stock)

    SIO Splitter
    SIO2SD (Firmware 2.5) (set DeviceID=1 in device config) (D2:OFF)

    SDrive-MAX (only D2: mounted with ATR)

     

    Loaded and ran programs for about 30 minutes, loaded DOS several times, accessed files on the SDrive-MAX, and back to SIOSD menu, etc.  No crashes nor hangs.

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    2 hours ago, SS said:

    Do you find that you have trouble using the SIO2SD's onscreen menu while the SDrive-MAX is connected in serial via the splitter?  Because I do.  Both devices will communicate with each other just fine if I do not try to load the menu, so I am stuck with the device displays if I want to have both connected at the same time.  

    I typically don't use both devices, but I tried for a while today and I do see an occasional hang in the on screen menu in SIO2SD.

    Its infrequent though on my setup.  Maybe 1 out of 10 game selection/execute cycles.  I had SIO2SD with D2 set to OFF, and SDrive-MAX with all drives off except D2.

    Lately I've been (slowly) going through the source code, converting to mac65 & debugging, the on screen menu for the 2.5 firmware. 

    Mainly for my own education and possibly to make a few tweaks in the display code.  Maybe I can eventually find the cause of the hang.

     

    • Like 1

  17. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    The 2.5 firmware seems to work best with 2GB FAT16 format sdcard, at least in my experience.

    In windows 10, to format the sdcard correctly, right click sdcard drive, choose Format, select File System: FAT and Allocation Size: <Blank> and check "Quick Format".

    firmware for SIO2SD is here http://sio2sd.gucio.pl/wiki/SoftwareAVR_en

    download the 2.5 file named "sio2sd.bin" and put it in the root of your sdcard.

    To enter config mode on firmware 3.1RC?, you tap shift a few times. The instructions say to hold for 5 seconds, but tapping seemed to work for my device.

    The LCD should display the word "config" along with either the current firmware version or "Lotharek".

    At that point, I think you press Shift+K3 to begin the upgrade/downgrade.

    After its done you will need to delete the SIO2SD.CFG file in the root of your sdcard to reset the settings to default.

  18. Posted

    Yes, the SIO2SD seems to work more reliably when connected to the SIO Splitter.
    Also I have the SDrive Max and don't need to use external power when in the Splitter.

    Its very reasonably priced, like $22 I think.  But shipping from Poland to USA is a little much these days.

  19. Posted · Edited by retrobits

    I really like the hardware quality from Lotharek.  I have the "BIGGUS DICKUS" SIO2SD and SIO splitter.

     

    I frequently use SIO2SD with my 800, so I've downgraded the SIO2SD firmware to 2.5 which works fine on my setup.

    I did notice a lot of crashing/hanging with the 3.1RC? versions of SIO2SD firmware when running on the 800.

    Another benefit of the 2.5 firmware is that its much simpler, just D1 - D8, no virtual disks or maps, which makes it more user friendly IMO.

    2.5 also has the "ATR swap" function when you press "Shift + K3" which is very useful (I've never figured out how to do that in the 3.1RC? versions).

     

    biggus_dickus.jpg

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    1 hour ago, darwinmac said:

    I emailed @Gavin1968 about something else. He mentioned that he uses the ili9341 for flashing. I’d start with that one first if you bought it from Vintage Computer Center. 
     

    Bob C

    I can confirm that.  I just flashed my 810S from VCC with ili9341.  Now running the latest 1.2 firmware.

  25. Posted

    Wow, I can't believe it. I actually got it to work. Its now displaying on my Asus HD monitor. I will post some further details soon. However I wanted to ask you guys. I have a switch built in to turn the 5V on and off. When you leave it on and you are working on your ST, do you notice the adapter box getting abnormally hot? I flip the switch off and leave it plugged in and it cools off. Has that happened to you guys? Also I am wondering about the resistor ohms in the scart cable. Are those in place to keep any odd volts from jumping through the cable to protect the Atari from being harmed? If not, what purpose does that serve? Anyway, thank you so much for posting this info. It really is the best solution.

     

    congratulations on building this! Regarding pin 16, it should be disconnected from the Atari. I elected to just desolder pin 16 from the circuit board in the adapter box and pull the pin out of the scart connector.

     

    from my post #8 I desoldered and removed pin 16 (so I don't have to open my scart cables to snip the wire) and wired a switch to +5V and the pin 16 pad. The only tricky bit was that the circuit board pad for pin 16 has connections both on the bottom and top of the board. So I needed to carefully apply a little solder to the top of the board at pin 16 where the wire to the switch came thru. If done right, the pin 16 pad should have connectivity to the diode ZD1 (left side when looking at the back of the scart connector).

     

    The OP described cutting the wire in the scart cable connected to pin 16. Either way should be fine, but the volts should not be allowed to flow back to the Atari.

     

    I've not noticed my adapter box getting warm. How long is it on before you notice its warm?

AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...