ekeefe

Hello, I own an original COSMAC 180. Here are a couple of pictures of it: I also own an original Microtutor and Microtutor II: ED

Hello, @FliP... I did not see your previous post about the test cart running in the multicart. Thank you for pointing it out. I haven't looked through the test cart code yet, but I think it would be possible to suppress the "errors" while running tester1 in the multicart. While tester1 is checking the Studio II ROMs I believe it does something like this: Read 0000H (System ROM memory location 1) Read 4000H (Test cart ROM memory location 1) Compare, if good continue If bad, set a flag and continue Then do the same for 0001H/4001H, and so on, right through the system and internal Game ROMs. When the tests are over, display 1,2,3 and/or 4 depending on which ROMs failed. If I can identify the flag byte, and where it's tested, I could force a "pass" so the "OK" is displayed. Of course your other modifications would still be required. Just a thought. @Marcel... Great work! The coin-op games run fine. ED

Hello, I was fortunate enough to have temporary access to the rare RCA Studio II Tester 1 cartridge. While I had it, I created a schematic and dumped all six ROMs inside. The bad news is that it won't work in the multicart the way the code and hardware interact. It may be possible to modify the code so that the Tester 1 code appears to run in the multicart. It could go through the steps the way it does in the Emma 02 emulator, but it would not actually check your Studio II hardware. I have created a web page outlining what I did with the cartridge while I had it. You can find it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/RCA_Tester1/RCA_Tester1.html On that page you can download the schematic I created, the service manual for the Studio II and a zip file with the contents of the six ROMs. I am not the owner of this rare cartridge. Thank you to the actual owner for allowing me to document this awesome piece of RCA 1802 history. I hope you found this useful. ED

Hello, I haven't been able to run the tester 1 code on real hardware either. It just crashes the Studio II. I've made a request to the tester 1 cartridge owner asking about the possibility to open the cartridge and take pictures. It's a "big ask" I know, but I'm hopeful. @flip and extmato: Nice work guys! If I can do anything to help, just ask. ED

Hello, About a month ago, the eBay auction for the RCA Studio II Tester No.1 and Demo cartridges ended. I've been in contact with the purchaser of them and have assisted in dumping both of them. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, and I'm going to honor that wish. Both cartridges dumped successfully. The demo cartridge dump was the same as the existing dump. The Tester 1 dump file was tested in the Emma 02 emulator. The test cartridge identified a couple issues in the emulator, so some changes were needed to run this file correctly. Marcel has made the necessary changes to Emma 02 and plans to make a new version available soon. I have uploaded the "Tester1" st2 file here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/RCA_TEST_CARTRIDGE_TESTER1.st2 I made a post a while back with a link to the RCA Studio II service manual: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209519-rca-studio-ii-gold-mine-an-interview-with-the-studio-2-production-manager/?p=2733743 The Tester 1 cartridge dump works exactly like the instructions indicate, beginning on page 4. I am going to reflash my multicart to include these two files. I will post when I have it tested. ED

Hello, The test cartridge, as far as I know, did not have a power adapter connected to it. Instead it used a regular wall wart, just like the one shipped with the Studio II, but with higher current capacity. Here is a screen clip from the Studio II service manual: ED

Hello Guys, RCA did develop a home computer, the VIP II. Here is a picture of the brochure: I'm not sure if this was the Studio IV or Studio V, but it did use an 1802. It also ran floating point BASIC, had a full keyboard, a hex keypad and had color and sound. It was never released. An old VIPER magazine ran an ad for the VIP II. You can see it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/Volume2Issue03.pdf The ad appears on pages 26-27. Using the information in this ad, and the brochure I had, I built the VIP II. You can see pictures and my design/build process here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/VIP2.php I don't know exactly when the RCA VIS chips (CDP1869, CDP1870 and CDP1876) were released, but they were used in the RCA Interactive Data Terminal and the COMX-35. Here are some pictures related to the terminal: Here is a picture of a COMX-35: You can read more about it here: http://www.comx35.com/comx35.html I built my own COMX-35. Here are a few pictures (My system, graphics and text): If the release dates of the VIS chips is really important to you guys, I can look it up. I have a bunch of old RCA data books from that era. I hope you found this useful. ED

Hello, I downloaded the new files. I will have a look. ED

Hello, After further analysis, there are definitely three different "files" in the "AUD_2464_09_B41_ID01_01.mp3" file and two in "AUD_2464_09_B41_ID01_02.mp3". I am gong to try and hand decode the first few bytes, using the shape of the waveforms, to see if they make sense for a Studio II. ED

Hello, I just took a look at the files provided. They were created as mp3 files, which are lossy. Maybe he can make them again as wave files using the following: 22050 Hz Mono 8-bit uncompressed The sound files look like this: The data seems to be repeated 3 times. Here is a single portion: The important sections of the signal: This gap may be a problem because the input circuit on RCA systems usually expects these equalization pulse right up to the data. I converted the mp3 data into a wave file, and loaded it into one of my systems, but the data looks wrong. Here is what I see: I have a file in my collection that is from an RCA VIP system. It was written by Joseph Weisbecker. He designed the 1802 processor and worked with the Studio II. My file is corrupt, but it is a sword fighting style game. Maybe this file was adapted for the VIP from the Studio II, or the other way around. I have the source code for this file but haven't had a chance to look into it. I hope this is helpful. ED

Hello Tarzilla, Please keep me in mind when you do. Thank you in advance. ED

Hello Tarzilla, That looks real nice! Are you going to share the gcode/stl files? I would love to print one. I can test it with my multicart. ED

Hello, I didn't make the multicart, I'm just offering to reprogram the ones already in people's hands. I'm not sure if any are left, but you can PM flip to check. You can read about the multicart here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/256935-rca-studio-ii-multicart/ Good luck. ED

Hello, That's great news! When this gets dumped, I can help with reflashing the multicarts if people are interested. I am located in the US, so shipping would be inexpensive both ways. Let me know if I can help. Sorry about not getting this dumped before the auction was over. I tried (as some of you know). ED

Hello, No news yet. Doing what I can. ED

Hello Xander1175, I have an RCA Studio II cartridge dumper. Here are some pictures of it: I would be happy to send it overnight to you tomorrow morning. You would have it Wednesday. I can include instructions on how to use it. I can even be available to walk you through using it. Once you have it dumped, just send my dumper back to me. I would pay for all postage both ways. If you'd like to discuss this with me, PM me and I can send you my phone number. ED

Hello guys, Here is an RCA Studio II multicart that I put together. It's basically the same as the one Flip designed, that I helped with, but I replaced the two hex rotary switches with a small Arduino circuit. The Black buttons select which system and game is selected. One of the Red buttons, shows an 'About' screen. The other displays the instructions for the currently selected game. It has a OLED display that indicates which system and game is currently selected. The system and game selection is retained across power cycles in EEPROM. Here are some pictures of it: The PCB front and back: Installed in my test Studio II: Right after power up: Running Paul Robson's version of Asteroids: I'm curious what you think. I hope you found this interesting. ED

Hello, Absolutely! Just let me know when/if they are found and I will send it out. ED

Hello Guys, Not sure if it is needed, but I built an "RCA Studio II Cartridge Dumper" using an Arduino Uno. My hope is that the person who purchased the "Bingo" cartridge will let me ship it to them so they can dump the ROM. I will overnight it if they are in the US. Otherwise, I will ship it the best combination of fast and not overly expensive. It's built, tested and ready to go. It's ready to ship today. Here are some pictures of it: The cartridge connector I used is one sided, so there is no harm inserting the cartridge the wrong way. I removed the metal pins from a dead Studio II and added them to the connector to lift the metal comb that is inside the cartridges off the PCB. The data from the ROM can be read out using either the serial monitor included with the Arduino software: or any other PC or MAC terminal program. Here is a picture using "Terminal" by Bray on a PC: The dump shown is for part of "Space War". I have tested the dumper with 9 different cartridges. I will ship it with a USB cable. I will also include a USB key with the terminal software if needed. I hope this helps get the US "Bingo" cartridge dumped. If you have any questions, please ask. ED

Hello, @slydc You may want to consider using a newer EPROM than the 2716. That chip requires a UV eraser for each programming session and they are sometimes hard to find. Maybe consider an EEPROM which is electrically erased. I use the AT28C256 in a lot of my projects. To 'emulate' the 2716 chip, just ground the upper address lines(A11-A14). The pinout is similar, but the AT28C256 is a 28 pin chip while the 2716 is 24 pins. If you'd like help with this, I can build a small adapter for you. Where are you located? PM is fine. ED

Hello, @slydc If you need help with your cartridge, just ask. I can layout a custom PCB for you, if needed. Feel free to PM me if you like. ED

Hello Guys, I would like to comment on some recent posts. First off, I'd like to share some of my background. I have been working with the 1802 for 40 years. I have built and repaired quite a few systems and consoles that used it. I am now a collector of all things 1802. I mostly collect documentation, some of which I have shared in this (and other) threads on this forum. In particular, I own the "Studio III Programming Manual". Here is a picture that I shared with 'Blazing Lazers' a while back: http://www.avionline.com/rca_studio_ii/rca_studio3_manual.jpg I gave him permission to post it here, and he did a few pages back in this thread. If you are interested, I have a large collection of 1802 hardware/software/parts/documentation. You can see some of it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/GALLERY/GALLERY.php That gallery has not been updated in quite a while and I have a lot more stuff that needs to get posted. Here is a picture of some cover scans I did a while ago: http://www.cosmacvip.com/covers1.jpg This was a screen snip of a directory on my PC. It shows 144 covers from different 1802 related documents I have recently scanned. If you see duplicates, its because I have multiple copies of that document. I have hundreds more covers to scan. I have knowledge of how the Studio III worked. I have built the equivalent of it in the past. I have also built my own Studio II which contained 10 US released games selectable by the little rotary switch: http://www.avionline.com/rca_studio_ii/AVI_Studio_II.jpg Now on to my comments... Toshiba Visicom video... The Toshiba Visicom video is indeed different from a normal Studio II or III. Using the picture posted by 'slydc' as a reference, I've outlined the different sections: http://www.cosmacvip.com/toshiba-visicom-board-outlined.jpg Studio II and III differences... NTSC based RCA Studio II systems use a CDP1861 (also marked TA10171V1) to generate video and a 555 time to generate the unique 'squeak' sound. Video is White on Black. PAL based systems used the CDP1864 chip for both video and sound. This is why European versions have better sound. They can create 256 different tones. The video is White on Blue. The Studio III (and most clones) can have 4 background colors and 7 foreground colors. It can generate the same tones as the PAL units, but instead uses a CDP1863 chip for sound. NTSC video on the Studio III used the CDP1861 to generate the video signal and the CDP1862 to overlay a memory mapped color over it. Color memory was 256 bytes. PAL video on the Studio III used the CDP1864 for both video and sound too, but was programmed differently to allow the 4 background colors and 7 foreground colors. I have datasheets for all of the above chips if needed. Regarding Studio II/III ROMs... CDP1831 are 512 x 8 masked ROMS with 'bank select' lines and a 'CEO' output for daisy chaining ROMs. CDP1832 are 512 x 8 masked ROMS. CDP1833 are 1024 x 8 masked ROMS with 'bank select' lines and a 'CEO' output for daisy chaining ROMs. They all have internal high address latches. A standard EPROM will work with the Studio II/III but will require this latch to be added externally. Regarding VCF-MW... I was there too. I had some of the 1802 stuff I own on display. I also had some of the 1802 stuff I have built on display. One of the systems I displayed was the surface mount Cosmac Elf I built recently. Here are links to some pictures: http://www.cosmacvip.com/smd_cosmac_elf_top.jpg http://www.cosmacvip.com/smd_cosmac_elf_side.jpg http://www.cosmacvip.com/smd_cosmac_elf_bottom.jpg I also displayed my recreation of the never released RCA VIP 2. You can read about it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/VIP2.php Arcade systems... I have no information about an RCA arcade machine, but there were 3 different 1802 based arcade cabinets released in Spain. The company was named Cidelsa. The games were named: Altair Destroyer Draco Here are links to some further information: http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5426 http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=thumbs&db=videodb&id=5427 http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=altair&page=detail&id=7988 http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=destroyer&page=detail&id=7989 http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=draco&page=detail&id=7990 I have built up a Jamma compatible version of Atlair and Destroyer. Here is a picture of it: http://www.cosmacvip.com/cidelsa.jpg Which game to play is selected by the switch in the upper Left. The chip missing in the picture is the CDP1802 itself. The board uses the RCA VIS chips (CDP1869 and CDP1870) for sound and video. Random stuff... Just for the record, I don't own Bingo, the Test or demonstration cartridges. I did help 'flip' with the Studio II multicart. He graciously added my name to the silk screen on the PCB. For those who buy the multicart, if new games are released (or found) I can burn new EPROMs for you, just ask. I am located in the US. I hope you found all this interesting. ED

Hello, @slydc Before you build your Toshiba Visicom cartridge, recheck your schematic. You have the '/CE' line tied to +5 volts. This will make the chip never enter chip enable, rendering it unreadable. The '/' next to the 'CE' indicates the line is active low. For the EPROM to be readable, it need to be enabled with a low (GND) signal. ED

Hello Guys, Here is a link to the information I have for the "programming cart". It will convert a Studio II to an Elf computer. http://www.cosmacvip.com/StudioII_to_Elf.zip It contains: Picture of the front and back of the PCB Instructions for using it Schematic Hex listing for the ROM I hope you find it helpful. ED

Hello, @awcleanout: I curious why you don't have pictures of the game actually running. ED