BigO
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Posts posted by BigO
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When you take a break, you do a thorough job of it.
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1 hour ago, 1980gamer said:You can cut your cable cost with these:
https://console5.com/store/atari-sega-commodore-6-1-8m-joystick-controller-extension-cable-cord.html
I've cut up quite a few of those to make a retrogaming product.
I dissected the connectors on the first one to see how they were made. They aren't the most robust contruction I've seen but they seem to work fine. I've used about 15 and haven't encountered any bad ones.
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On 4/30/2020 at 6:59 PM, SegaSnatcher said:I'm interested in trying out a subscription for a couple months, but I was just wondering if I'll get back full site privileges again to take full advantage of my subscription. I was thinking maybe try it for 5 months and if I like it I'll just pay for a year subscription.
I feel like its about time I gave back and plus some of the benefits are pretty good.Do you mean to ask if your post-expiration privileges will be the same as your pre-subscription privileges? If so, then the answer is yes. You just revert back to the standard privileges after the subscription expires. At least that's what happened to me.
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On 5/3/2020 at 12:28 PM, SegaSnatcher said:Also, how do I do a status update? I can't seem to find this feature.
As far as I can tell, the only way to do this is to go to your profile page. Click the dropdown next to your login name at the top of the page.
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Cool. I missed reading that.
I never found an LCD module that I thought I could mount in a Microvision easily. So I didn't pursue it, but thought about a replacement controller/LCD module as a solution to the dead LCD issue.
I did once wire up a relatively huge, square aspect ratio LCD out of some toy to a Microvision. At about 3"x3", maybe bigger, it had 5 times the resolution. I tied together each 5 adjacent row and 5 column contacts to create 5x5 pixel groupings.
Apparently the LCD doesn't take much current as the uVision controller drove that LCD.
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33 minutes ago, nickle241 said:fair enough, i knew about the cartridge processor, but the lcd controller is often described as a processor so my confusion. it doesnt have that many pins and it seems that its a fairly simple input format, do you think it might be possible to use an led board instead of an lcd? it might be easier to produce and its not like the pixel count is high enough to shoot the idea down immediately and it seems like it could be interesting
There were a few considerations that I allowed to talk me out trying the LED array.
1 - power consumption would be higher
2 - the row and column outputs switch polarity frequently to protect the LCD from some sort of damage. It needs to maintain about a 50/50 swap of polarity. This would significantly impact the brightness of the LEDs.
3 - I'm guessing that some of the "readability" of the screen relies on the persistence of LCD pixels that don't turn off instantly. LEDs turn off faster.
I did verify my protocol discoveries by capturing frames with a logic analyzer and using a c# program to display the image on a PC, so am fairly sure a decent microcontroller could be used to drive whatever display one could conjure up.
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8 minutes ago, nickle241 said:my understanding of it is that there are two processors, the one on the main board and the one with the game stuff on it on the cartridge, the console one was originally a higher spec one that needed a higher voltage, but the later replacement while less capable needs less power and apparently the split processing meant that the games ran fine despite the downgrade, that or the first one was overkill
There's an LCD controller in the console. Definitely no CPU. The CPU is in the cartridge.
Dan Boris has put together a lot of great information: http://www.atarihq.com/danb/Microvision.shtml
I've reverse engineered the protocol between the cartridge and the LCD controller and subsequently wrote enough code to display whatever I want on the LCD so can confirm the architecture from that perspective.
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17 hours ago, nickle241 said:wrong actually, the 2x9 was the first version, then a supply dispute made them change the processor and they found that they could get away with just one battery for about the same battery life
It's interesting that they chose to eliminate the second battery. It had to always be optional whether or not to install it. The processor is in the cartridge, not the console. So battery life will still be relatively poor when playing a game with the less efficient processor.
I guess they saved the cost of the contacts and labor to install them.
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I really thought I wanted a Colecovision, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted an Intellivision, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted an Odyssey 2, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted a 7800, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted a 5200, but have barely played it after I pieced it together from a pile of scraps.
I really thought I wanted an NES, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted an SNES, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted a Genesis, but have barely played it.
I really thought I wanted a Wii, but have barely played it.
But, what a pain it is to sell stuff. And I really am not looking for anything else that I could trade for.
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"Apr. 13: I have a Microvision pretty much ready to go. I just need to make sure it's exactly how I want it to be, to make it easy for them to evaluate (without the shell, but with a cartridge attached - which normally isn't do-able). As per the plan from a couple of weeks ago, my self-imposed deadline is to send them the Microvision within 1 week (Apr. 20). I'll update when it's been sent."
I have a working unit to which I added a card slot and cobbled up keypad for some tinkering I was doing. The bare card from a cartridge plugs in. Mounted to a rigid backing. Probably something close to this would be workable for your purposes. Added a 1/8" jack to connect a battery through.
(I was working on understanding the protocol between the cartridge and LCD controller. I thought I might build a new LCD controller that translated between that protocol and a modern LCD panel. Got sidetracked writing a game on a PIC to prove to myself that I understood the protocol. I got about 25% through writing the game then moved on other things. Maybe I'll pick it up again some day.)
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On 3/24/2020 at 12:16 PM, thevnaguy said:Glen has resources that can help get this done, just need the specs.
Does Glen have access to a Microvision LCD? I imagine that's where 5-11 started. It seems unlikely that there is a set of published specifications from back in the day that anyone could work from.
Not that 5-11 couldn't share what he's learned through his original research, but I don't feel like he has any real obligation to do so.
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10 hours ago, Curt Vendel said:Atari has ZERO standing on that. This case is a no win for them.
So...today's Atari is equally adept at making legal maneuvers and game consoles?
I hope that, in the long run, the legal boondoggles don't end up costing the console backers (not me) all of their money, but that's sorta starting to smell like a possibility.If the console does ultimately come to fruition, maybe it will usher in a series of games featuring a brand new hero: The MisAdventures of Ichabod Phineas Troll.
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On 2/21/2020 at 2:47 AM, polyex said:I hope no one bought a Microvision on ebay or wherever thinking they could get a replacement screen from this April fools joke of a thread!
Meh. Stuff happens in life. I understand if somebody experiences some disappointment about this not moving ahead. But no money taken, no promises broken. There are other ways to skin this cat.
If you happen to be sitting on a pile of spare money, you might be able to ease the pain of making it happen. I know I'd appreciate being able to revive a couple of dead units I own.
I'm undecided as to whether a sudden increase in the number of working units would damage the value of my working units, or raise enough interest in the Microvision to increase the demand thereby increasing the value of all of my units. The ones with the new screen might even end up being worth more than the ones with the original, functioning displays. Then again, I don't buy this stuff as an investment, so I guess it doesn't matter.
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On 1/29/2020 at 7:35 PM, Shawn said:So come to find out the sound track comes out the earphone line and the data comes out of the speaker line. Gonna have to plug both in to mix them together on the computer.
That's interesting, though it sounds backward to what I would have expected. Doesn't the human targeted audio play from the KidVid speaker? Or am I just misinterpreting something?
Do you actually mean to mix the channels? Or do you mean to capture both streams, one to each stereo channel?
So, are there actual audio frequencies being fed into the console controller port? Or does the deck internally convert the tones to digital 1's and 0's?
Wish I'd kept my KidVid now. Maybe I'll stumble across another one at a thrift store again some day.
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Thanks for all of your work on this.
If you get bored and want to add a menu to another classic, I vote for Circus Atari. It doesn't have a zillion variants. It's just a game I like.
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17 minutes ago, Karl G said:There's likely a minimum monetary investment for printing boxes, so in Al's shoes, I would want to make sure to recoup that investment before offering a no box option. He seems to offer the no box option when the next batch of games has been added.
That's pretty much the way I see it. I don't have a problem with the business model. He's got an investment to recoup. He may never even get to breakeven if he tries to cater to cheapskates like me while also serving those who find value in the more expensive (and hopefully more profitable) offering.
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On 1/2/2020 at 5:05 PM, StephenJ said:Sure wish there was a no-box option.
I'm waiting for that myself. I have no boxes in my collection. Back in the olden days, we threw the packaging materials away. I'd have serious heartburn about throwing away a $10-$20 box.
I understand why people want boxes, and I want to support the authors of games that I like, but the boxes don't add value for me so they end up being a hindrance to me buying for now. It's just video games. I can wait.
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On 12/28/2019 at 3:13 PM, Omegamatrix said:After several years hiatus I have decided to restart Circus AtariAge in 2020. I am shooting for a WIP release in about 4-6 months for now. Currently I am just pondering whether or not to port it to CDFJ. In any case it needs to re-booted with a re-write from scratch.
Whatever you decide to build in the vein of a Circus style paddle game, I'll play it.
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On 10/22/2019 at 4:15 PM, ChildOfCv said:That's an interesting potential solution, and theoretically it should work, since analog states shouldn't pull any extra power from the multiplexer. Might be fun to try. Heck, it may even work better than the digital solution.
I think it's worth a try. I think I may even have suggested an analog switch early on in this thread.
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58 minutes ago, SoundGammon said:I'm trying a couple of ideas and see what works!
One idea. Pretty generic output can be used with many systems. If someone wrote a game to directly detect and respond to digital inputs, that would include the 5200.
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I failed to see the part that says touching the solder point on the board also stops the jittering. In that case, I don't know what the problem is. Since that circuit is already feeding a .1 uf capacitor, I would expect that adding a few picofarad by touching it would have much effect.
If it really is only a problem with Kaboom as observed by willis, then there's not really any reason to do anything. If so, also does make me curious exactly what the cause of the jitter is in Kaboom. I always assumed that it was programmed to be overly sensitive to a minute change in resistance, or something like that. I haven't really studied the problem, but guess that it jitters at resistance values very near the threshold of a change to the next screen position.
Now I'll have to poke around and see if anyone has determined the actual root cause of the Kaboom jitters. I hadn't thought to check that behavior with the digital paddle experiments I've been tinkering with. I might try to use a high precision potentiometer which is not so subject to slight movements as the standard paddle. Does the jitter only happen after a movement, or will it continue to jitter with a completely stable input. Does it jitter when bombs are not dropping? (just some notes for my future self)
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Try touching that contact with something nonconductive like a wooden skewer. If you can reproduce the results using that, then there is probably a mechanical problem with how that terminal connects to the resistive material in the potentiometer.
If you know how to solder, you could also try replacing that pot with the one from the other controller to confirm that the problem is directly with the potentiometer. I suppose you could even just move that wire over to the unused terminal on that pot. It would make the paddle work backward, but it would help identify the problem.
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I can probably find an unmarked one if that would be useful.
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I wouldn't put much faith in those markings. I may have marked them at different times for different reasons after acquiring different information.
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Storage/Display for Console Collection
in Show Us Your Collection!
Posted · Edited by BigO
Not exactly my collection, but something I built to allow dragging part of my console collection out of the closet.
Still working on placement of consoles, and switching/selection and a couple of other accessory items.
The resident consoles are expected to be (all with multi-carts):
Probably will have to fab up another shelf beside the Vectrex, above the 2600 to fit everything in.
Started with the TV stand below the 32" TV. Added on the two platforms above which were copies of the base. Built mostly out of leftovers and scraps.
Well, at least I thought it turned out well. Probably looks better in person.