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5-11under

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Posts posted by 5-11under

  1. Posted

    10 minutes ago, bluejay said:

    Huh, there is a limit to how much current pass through the diode?

    The current through the diode will vary depending on the pull-up resistor, and of course the input level. There will be a limit depending on the diode, but besides that, the pull-up resistor will also limit the output current.

    • Like 1

  2. Posted

    5 minutes ago, youxia said:

    Today I read that the first instance of  Attract Mode frontend is available. S'funny, I recall that in the past some of the more zealous fans saying that they don't want any frontends like in emulation, because MiSTer is more "pure" this way :)

    I do like the current simplicity, but on the other hand, if things like manuals and pictures were available (and easily added/downloaded), that would be pretty cool, too.

     

  3. Posted

    1 hour ago, wongojack said:

     

    "The article erred in a number of ways.

    The demonstration uses an LED with a current limiting resistor as a test indicator. While a current limiting resistor in series with an LED is always a good idea, in this case the 470Ω resistor is 20 times lower than the 10kΩ pull-up resistor. Hence the 470Ω resistor has little effect.

    With 10kΩ pull-up resistor, the max current available to the LED is 5V/10kΩ = 0.5mA which is barely enough to turn on a high efficiency LED. It would make more sense to interchange the two values.

    I would have chosen a 1kΩ pullup resistor and a 2.2kΩ LED series resistor.

    Yeah... diode logic can be useful, but you've got to be careful. I use it in some of my game boards. To reduce risk, I make sure I have logic chips on both ends. For example, I wouldn't drive an LED with it, and I wouldn't go from one diode logic "gate" to another directly. It can be done, but you've got to be more careful in the math and voltage levels. In your example shown, for robustness, I'd be adding a transistor or IC inverter between the diode logic and the LED. As you've shown, you can make it work, but with the transistor/inverter added, you can drive more power to the LED, or hook up other items, such as motors (within power limits), etc.

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    1 hour ago, doubledown said:

     

    ...well for me, I grew up playing a lot of Galaga at my local Pizza Hut, and that's the only choice (as was the case for many arcade cabinets).  But as I also grew up with a 2600, if I'm playing with any handheld joystick (versus a lap-top or table-top "arcade" stick), something akin to a CX-40, then I hold the base with my left hand, and manipulate the joystick with my right.  You gotta work with the tools that you're given!  😄

    Same for me for the 2600. For that Galaga machine, I would have used the hand over hand method.

  5. Posted

    I sell boards... I'm in Canada, but can mail to most places. The boards are reprogrammable, easy to program with a simple edge connector and EPROM programmer, and are fully assembled and tested.

  6. Posted

    I'm really loving my MiSTer FPGA system. I did a write-up here, where I describe what I bought, how much it cost, and some other details: 

    I also talk about the arcade controller I built, and issue with having a USB encoder board that assumes 2 players, but the MiSTer can only use inputs from a single controller.

     

    I still have a lot of curating to do, to get all the systems working well, such as getting rid of useless ROMs, and getting the correct type of ROM files, that sort of thing, but this thing is everything I've wanted in a "living room" type of system. If it played Star Castle (and maybe Qix, Pole Position, Omega Race, Super Sprint), my childhood would be complete. ;)

     

    A big thanks to all who have contributed to the MiSTer FPGA project!!

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    My MiSTer FPGA set-up, and some questions/issues...

     

    First of all, here's my MiSTer FPGA set-up, in a basic aluminum box that I found in the garage. I had a smaller box available, but the USB hub would have had difficulty in fitting, and I didn't want this to be an exercise in getting something to fit into something really small. It's not too fancy, but it'll only sit behind or underneath the TV anyway. Maybe I'll paint it red, or better yet, put an Atari logo on it. ;) :grin:

     

    With many of these types of boards, it can be annoying that there's I/O on several sides of the board, making it sometimes difficult to put the thing in a generic box. I opted to put the board in a corner, so on the left side in the pictures, there's power and HDMI, and on the front is the MicroSD card, and breakout from the USB hub. I did make sure the USB hub only had inputs on one end. I forgot to buy an OTG hub with microSD connection, so I have a separate OTG adapter cable plugged in between the MiSTer and the USB hub. Plugged into the USB hub I have a wi-fi dongle, and mini-keyboard dongle. There's of course space for USB controller. I have a 32 MB SDRAM board plugged into the DE10-nano board. This SDRAM will play about 98% of the games/systems available, and only cost about $20-25 instead of $80-100.

     

    Apparently when you buy the DE10-nano board from different places, there are different extras such as power supply, cable, and 8 GB microSD card. I bought from Digi-Key, and it came with all these. I'm using a 32GB card, but I think the supplied 8 GB card likely would have been enough (at least enough to start with), unless getting into CD based games, and that sort of thing. The MiSTer also seems to play well with zip files, which is a bonus.

     

    I'm also currently using an HDMI to VGA adapter. This a ~$10 device. I made sure it included a 3.5mm audio output. Note that my MiSTer does not have the standard stack of 3 boards that you'll often see. That's too pricey for me. I'll probably switch to HDMI to a large TV, but for now, the VGA adapter works well on my desk. One thing I'll be looking for is a heatsink for the FPGA. I'm still looking for one that is cheap and uses tape to connect.


    mister2.thumb.jpg.2ab7fcbb156991db913ba416f5a5901e.jpg  mister1.thumb.jpg.b0139e33caa3095c0e4c2ade1118d22a.jpg

     

    If you want a simple set-up that can play thousands and thousands of games, get the DE10-nano from Digi-Key ($135), 32MB SDRAM ($20), OTG USB hub ($10), wired keyboard (you have already?), wired mouse if you want (you have already?), USB SNES controller ($15), case ($10), heatsink ($10). All prices estimated. Total is about $200 US. Not too cheap, but in my opinion, great value, for a very stable system.

     

    So far I've been pretty happy with the system. There's definitely some growing pains, setting up different things, though.

     

    It took me a while, with a few false start with some of the scripts out there, but I found a script that downloads all the arcade ROMs, as well as updating other things. Search for "All-in-one script for updating your MiSTer".

     

    Next is the good news, bad news, for the controller. I had been testing with a cheap SNEZ USB controller, which worked okay for what it was, but I really wanted to make my own controller... one that fits my style of play, and my style of games that I like to play. So, I built this:

     

    mister3.thumb.jpg.7d5fffec4d69398328649eb1a950d4c1.jpg

     

    The thing is huge. I'm not compensating for anything, except for years of trying to use controllers for all sorts of systems, most of which don't work well for me. I wanted a single controller that would do all the things I wanted it to do. I grew up with early '80s arcade games, and CX-10 style joysticks, and really, anything else doesn't work for me at all. Don't get me started on D-Pads where I can only effectively move in one of 4 directions successfully. That's just me... my kids seem to do just fine. Anyway, I've got a digital joystick, analog joystick, paddle, keypad for Intellivision/ColecoVision, menu/select/start buttons, a shift button (for some reason), and a bunch of multi-colored buttons. Also space for a keyboard, that I'll Velcro on at some point. I'm not likely to get into the computers too much, but if I do, I'd be using a different keyboard than this one. This one was lying around, so here it is. If I had to buy another mini keyboard today, I'd find one a bit bigger, with clearer lettering (for computers, I'd buy something at or near full size). The digital joystick and main buttons use leaf switches, so they're pretty quiet, which works best for me. The joystick has a circular "gate" - for me this is fine, as I've never had a problem playing Pac-Man or Time Pilot or whatever else on this type of joystick. I don't need 2/4/8 way gates. Your mileage may vary.

     

    I haven't built a case yet, but so far I'm happy with it physically. If I can get it working well, I'll build a simple wooden frame for it. The panel is built from an aluminum/plastic/aluminum laminated sheet that I had in the garage. I quickly painted it black. It holds fingerprints well. ;) If I like the joystick the way it is, maybe I'll fix it up so it looks better. Maybe not - it's not too bad right now.

     

    Unfortunately, however, I seem to have spent money on the wrong thing. I bought an Ultimarc A-PAC which can handle up to 4 analog controls and quite a few buttons, including enough for the keypad. I thought it had a couple more, actually, but I was able to double up on some of the buttons vs. keypad, so it's okay. It's perfect, except that the A-PAC is intended to be used for 2 players on the one USB input, but the MiSTer FPGA is intended to be used one player per USB input. There doesn't seem to be a way to use two joysticks for one player. I did some quick rewiring, so at the moment the analog controller and the keypad can't really be used, but the basic digital controls can be.

     

    If anyone has any suggestions on how best to proceed on getting all the controls to work, that would be awesome! Ideally with the existing A-PAC, but if I need to build/buy something else, that's not the end of the world, either.

     

    There's a few other quirks in the MiSTer FPGA, but I'm sure I'll get those figured out at some point... coin and start buttons for the arcade games, and getting the paddle controller set up for the Atari 2600 core simply/easily.

     

    Other than the controller issues I've got, I'm very happy with the MiSTer FPGA. This is basically my Zimba 3000 system. It's got everything I need in one package, and hopefully one day, I'll be able to control all the systems with one controller, which for me, will be pretty awesome!

     

    A big thank you to anyone who's contributed to the MiSTer FPGA project!

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    2 hours ago, Shawn said:

    Really cool project. Be sure to chime in when you get around to Star Wars. Even as a novelty it would be really fun to have a copy of the full movie on a 2600 cart.

    The "despecialized" version, of course.

    Also, all these movies:

     

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    4 minutes ago, youxia said:

    Well, yeah, I got it too, and it's something which can save you ~50USD. Unfortunately most of these "guides" just parrot each other and follow the expensive template. Meanwhile  you don't actually need the USB board either, and for many 32 MB instead 128 is also a great option (still runs 98% of software). Skipping these  can save you even more money, but I guess  single board  does not look so good in the videos.

    My cheap USB hub works well, too, except I forgot to get the OTG Micro-USB version, so I needed to use an existing adapter I had. There's at least one video out there that shows a minimal set-up.

  13. Posted

    1 hour ago, youxia said:

    I skimmed it but did not see any mention of Direct Video, which is a much cheaper method of getting VGA output than buying the I/O board. How come?

     

    Also, "this is the type of TV this game was meant to be played on". Come again? This is PVM evangelism at its worst.

    I haven't watched the video yet, but I'm currently using a cheap HDMI to VGA adapter ("Direct Video"). I made sure the adapter had the option for 3.5mm audio connection, as well.

  16. Posted

    I've got a bare-bones set-up started. Played Atari 2600 Activision Skiing, and was able to get a "patch" in less than 20 starts (which for me is way better than usual). I haven't tried any NES or newer consoles yet (still waiting for SDRAM), but I've discovered that for older systems, I prefer big, square, clear pixels, without than any sort of raster effects.

  17. Posted

    8 hours ago, Matt_B said:

    Regarding the Raspberry Pi, I'd think that the main thing that's always been going for it is that it's very cheap. Having low power consumption and being very compact helps, but it's usually to be found filling the sort of niches that people don't fancy paying the thick end of $400 to get something that might do the job a little bit better.

     

    8 hours ago, leech said:

    Ha, now days you can't even get a low end GPU for 400. 

     

    In my mind the VCS is NOT for Atari 2600/7800 etc games.  As you say, you can buy a sub 50 dollar set uo, including a cheap ass gamepad and play those on an RPi. 

    The VCS is kind of like the Switch.  It is for low to medium graphical indie games, or if you are so inclined, install Linux and use it as a Steam Machine. 

    I personally don't see the usefulness of installing Windows on it as you can get any old cheap laptop at Wal-mart for that (a friend of mine did that and it had Windows in 'S' mode...)

    The Raspberry Pi has a market space... it's cheap and in this application, can play thousands of games.

    I've heard the VCS compared to Amico and Switch now. I don't think so. The Amico market will be family friendly entertainment. The Switch market is typically kids who want to play usually modern games, including many with the classic Nintendo characters, and can be played portable or docked. The markets aren't limited, of course, and I'm sure there's plenty of other reasons a person could buy a Pi, Amico, or Switch. (I also don't mean to argue the market space - what I wrote is just my opinion, and I don't have time to write a whole essay about them). Anyway, the VCS, from what I've read in this thread, is basically just a PC... which is perfectly fine, of course, but that's nothing special, as someone can buy one of hundreds of new and used models in all sorts of shapes and sizes and budgets.

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    46 minutes ago, zzip said:

    Now that the thing has actually started shipping, and people who got one seem to like it.   A lot of the hate and hostility towards it has died down.   Give it time

    The only think I really dislike about this new console is the name, VCS. It annoys me every time I see it.

     

    Besides that, though, what's the thing that's special about the VCS? I'm looking around my office here, and I can comment on all the things... a guitar that was super cheap but sounds great to me... a stereo receiver that is simple and sounds good... a synthesizer that is rare yet unpopular, sounds huge and would probably fall apart if I opened it... a guitar tuner that is accurate, which is enough to overcome the lack of backlight on the LCD screen... behind me a Wii U that plays a bunch of games featuring Zelda and Nintendo characters that my son likes, and can play games that his grandparents can enjoy... a Microvision that has only a 16x16 monochrome display, but has a quirkiness that appeals to me for some reason, and a paddle, which I find is a fun and often neglected controller type. So, after all that, what's the VCS about?

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    Over the past week or so, I've ordered all the parts for a MiSTer FPGA setup. I overspent on the controller, by buying parts from 4 different places, with 3 shipping costs, and some customs and duty charges, but oh well, I guess. I'll post details on the hardware and the install results when it's finished, but the controller will have digital joystick, analog joystick, paddle, keypad, and a bunch of buttons (TBD), all hooked up with an Ultimarc A-PAC, that can handle all the inputs.

  21. Posted

    First of all, great work, PaperJam! Now on to the updates...

     

    The online store is currently sold out. I'll be mailing out a batch of orders tonight, and then I should have a dozen or so left... I'm holding them back, for a few more weeks, in case of breakage or other unforeseen events.

     

    If you haven't ordered any, and would still like one or more, please send me a PM. I'll put you on the list for the remainder of my stock. Depending on future demand, I might also order another batch. We'll see what happens.

     

    At some point recently, I did send out a thanks to all of you who ordered and helped make the project a success. I'd like to also thank those who are assisting with those who are having connection or other issues. I'm not a expert on Microvision repairs, so all help provided is awesome. Feel free to continue to reply with questions & answers, successful install pictures, high scores, or whatever else.

  25. Posted

    1 hour ago, JihemB said:

    Hello there.

     

    Sorry not to have read the previous 14 pages for this forum, maybe you can lead me directly to the right place : I'm in search for a multicart for a Soundic MPT-03 console which is (if I understood well) compatible with the Arcadia 2001 console although the cartridges don't have the same form factor and some titles were only available on MPT-03 and its clone.

     

    Could someone tell me if this kind of multicart exists for MPT-03 ?

    BTW : I bough the 8/16 "multicart" board from Rollo which is compliant with TRS80/Dragon32 and Odyssey2/Videopac (with a special connector adapter) and also Arcadia 2001 (with a special adapter... which is not compliant with MPT-03 connector) :-(.

     

    Thanks in advance.

    There's probably something out there that would work, but not my Arcadia multicart. Sorry.

     

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