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

ralphb

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    828

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by ralphb

  1. Posted

     

    Jetpac is a 64K ROM because it includes the full Turbo Forth environment. Not sure if the Finalgrom-99 supports ROM images greater than 32K...

     

    I think I played Jetpac on the FinalGROM 99 ... I need to check the image tonight.

  2. Posted

    I suppose I could just email Ralph and asking him what he used for the buttons :)

     

    Sure you could. :) I used this button, although I could swear I paid more then €5 each. Anyway, they're quite expensive, but they're also the shortest buttons that are flush to the mounted surface I could find here.

     

    The manufacturer is APEM, the part number is IBR3SAD600.

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

     

    Good idea! I have some time later this evening (day off) and probably the whole day Thursday (my other day off), so I'll try to make something suitable and get it uploaded by 11pm on the 20th.

     

     

    Functionally, with the little I've used it so far, it works the same as the development model I'm used to, except this one has twice the memory capacity, an extra reset button and I believe some additional features not yet exploited by the community, plus it'll fill into a standard cartridge shell. It's a visual and functional work of art, even so I cannot wait to protect it with a case.

     

    Your race is quite funny to read. :)

     

    But I just want to chime in so say that the FinalGROM 99's memory is 32 times that of the FlashROM 99 -- 1024 KB vs. 32 KB. ;) You could fit the Mega Demo twice.

  5. Posted

    I am assuming that is this one:

    "[    ] assembled FinalGROM 99 board, buttons and LED soldered    €45"

    Correct? Just want to be sure. I want the LED and SMD buttons already on the board. Will it fit in a TI cart shell like that? I want to glue a clear lens in the hole I drill in the top of cart shell. And I will 3D print some buttons that press the SMD buttons down.

     

    Yes, that's the one. This one can, of course, also be mount in a shell, but you'd have to make sure to see the LED somehow, and to push the buttons by some contraption.

     

    And just to clarify the mounting in a shell: At the very least, you have to add a slit for the SD socket, and cut down one little "finger" inside the shell. For both you can use a rasp. For LED and buttons, you'll need holes.

  6. Posted · Edited by ralphb

    Can I share an SD card between the two?

     

    Theoretically, yes.

     

    The FlashROM 99 didn't have any filename restrictions, though, so some FlashROM 99 programs may be missing (short filename ending in D) or not working (short filename ending in G) when used in the FinalGROM 99. The details are in the "Filenames" section of the homepage, which sounds more complicated that it is.

    The other way around will list GROM images, but the FlashROM 99 will think they're ROM images.

     

    To avoid confusion, I'd would not mix them personally, but it works if you know what you're doing.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    One, check your larger card in a Windows system to see if the card is formatted exFAT. If it is, reformat it to FAT32 and it should work. Due to copyright and patent encumbrances, I know of no open source exFAT code.

    If not, then I'll see if I can grab Ralph's source tree and see what FAT library he is using. I wholeheartedly recommend FatFS, as it's lean, works impressively well, and is open source.

     

    I use the Petit FatFS.

     

    But Roland's problem is that some SD card won't work when powering up, but they do after a reset. Maybe they don't initialize fast enough, or the power is still too low during initialization?

     

    If we get more reports, I can have a look at this.

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    Is there a list of games that don't work with the FinalGROM somewhere?

     

    There is on the homepage, in section "Troubleshooting", and "Programs with known issues". It's currently empty.

     

    Although I know that the XB2.7 Suite won't work. Not because of issues, but the program's GROM is too large. Besides, I strongly recommend to use individual programs instead of program suites, as the loading times will be much shorter.

    • Like 2

  11. Posted · Edited by ralphb

    Finally. This is it:


    post-35214-0-64011500-1499611887.jpg


    You may notice a few last-minute changes to the final prototype. The FinalGROM 99 now uses plain SD sockets, although you can still fit an Arduino shield if you want. Also, a second reset button resets the TI 99. This is useful for programs that don't react to FCTN-=. Finally, the 5V SRAM was replaced by its 3.3V couterpart, which is cheaper and easier to get.


    As already mentioned, with only a few modifications, the FinalGROM 99 fits a standard cart shell.


    post-35214-0-73345900-1499611901.jpg


    You can also combine both reset buttons by getting a DPST switch for your case.


    I updated the homepage to include the additional hardware features and some software changes I did (mostly, advanced modes, help viewer texts, and image dumping). The latter allows you to write the contents of the image in SRAM back to SD cart. This is useful for saving high scores, progress, or preferences.


    You'll also find ordering information on the homepage. Please allow a few days for me to reply, especially in the beginning. While the boards are mostly complete, I need to add a few components, and, more significantly, program and test the final carts.


    Thanks go to Jim (brain) for nudging me to use real SD sockets and introducing me to a cheap model, and to Eric (speccery) for analyzing an electrical program on the first prototype!





    EDIT: added links

    • Like 22

  13. Posted

    Thanks for the tipp! I already have a 28" CRT television that does NTSC and SECAM, but I'm looking for a computer monitor I can put on my desk (and sit quite closely in front of). ;)

     

    My guru said that some (later) converters in monitors were prepared for both NTSC and PAL with one possible IC, but a PAL IC was put in. If so, I need to check some schematics to find a good monitor that I can commutate.

  14. Posted

    Michael, it seems that there is a small bug in the TIMT GPL disassembler. This statement

    .

    MOVE  12,@>8300,[email protected]>7000

    .

    generates the byte code

    .

    25 00 0C 70 00 00

    .

    but your latest TIMT disassembles to

    .

    601F: MOVE  >000C BYTES FROM @>8300 TO [email protected]>8370                25 00 0C 70 00 
6024: RTN                                                        00

    .

    Not sure what happens, but the GROM address takes two bytes, not just >70 (meaning >8370 for CPU addresses).

  21. Posted

    Regarding the error messages counting as a word: If the error only happens in pass <2>, like for LIMI, which ignores its expression in pass <1> and reserves space for "LIMI 0" instead, erroneous statements will not generate code, but affect all other symbol values. Of course, the nonsense will fail in pass <2>.

     

    Pass <1> is meant only to find symbol values (unlike xga99, which assembles over and over until the object code doesn't change any more).

     

    Your four steps look great! I think the generated FIAD files have more information like the filename in them than the Classic99 default, but I think Classic99 tolerates them.

AtariAge
Forums
Store
General
Follow AtariAge

Copyright ©1998-2021 AtariAge

×
×
  • Create New...