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unixdude

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Posts posted by unixdude

  1. Posted · Edited by unixdude
    Added comment about OS ROM chip

    On 3/15/2020 at 12:42 PM, R.Cade said:

    I see you still have Micron RAM on that board (MT). In my experience, those are almost always failed or failing.

     

    Do I understand that this 800XL passes the self-RAM test (all green) but then still only boots back to the self test? If that's the case, then it could be a ROM problem or maybe possibly the MMU PAL/GAL.

     

    Current state:

     

    600XL using Sys-Check

    - boots to Sys-Check and fails the RAM test (of course)

    - boots to qmeg OS

    - set to either of the XL/XE options, it boots to a blue screen w/ cursor (no "READY" prompt), then switches over to self-test

     

    600XL by itself (no Sys-Check plugged in)

    - always boots to black screen

     

    800XL: always boots to black screen no matter what: doesn't matter if I'm using Sys-Check or not, the 800XL won't boot.

     

    I should note that I had to desolder the OS ROM chip from my 800XL, and I destroyed that one while removing it.  In my testing, I have been using the known good OS ROM chip from the 600XL.

     

    I suspect that I burned up the OS ROM chip, and that I need to replace more RAM in the 800XL.  I have ordered some suitable EPROMs, an EPROM eraser, and an EPROM burner, and will try making my own OS ROM chip once those arrive.

     

    All the RAM is original except for the one chip that I changed.  All are soldered in except the one that I desoldered.  I guess it's time to cut out all the old RAM chips and solder in sockets, and buy some different RAM chips.

  2. Posted

    Well, I'm on my way: I have ordered 5x 27C128 EPROMs, a TL866II+ burner, and an eraser.  I should have all of this by ... wait for it... May 27. :) Hopefully much sooner than that. In any case, until that comes I will be playing with my 5200; after all of this arrives, I'll work on my 600XL and 800XL again.

  3. Posted

    Yeah, I'd rather just find chips I can program with it, and it looks like the TMS27C128 is supported by the TL866II+.

     

    I have already downloaded and compiled David Griffith's minipro software, so now all I need is the eraser, programmer, and chips.  I'm going to buy the TL866+ from the authorized eBay distributor, and I'll buy that eraser you suggested.  Now it's just finding the chips, and I am now consulting datasheets and the supported chip list to ensure that the ones I buy are supported.

  5. Posted

    I think OS switching would be fun, yes. 
     

    is it possible to load the XEGS ROM into a chip and have that work in my 600XL/800XL, complete with Missile Command?

     

    Also, I see the Xgecu TL866II+ on eBay. It looks like that plus some of the linked chips plus the XL/XE OS and David Griffith’s minipro software and I should be off to the races. Am I understanding this correctly?

     

    and, good call on the eraser. 

     

    thanks. 

  7. Posted

    Thanks for this info.

     

    I find myself wanting to burn EPROMs for my systems, because I have unfortunately destroyed my OS ROM chips.  It looks like I'd need a 27128 (or 27C128) EPROM, but I can't find those today.  Am I out of luck here?

    It looks like I have everything else I'd need: there's the MiniPro EPROM programmer, and there's the minipro app for Mac OS X.  All I need to find now are the chips.  Thanks.

  9. Posted

    Just as the subject says: Has anyone ever tried laser printing your own overlays?  My color laser printer will take up to 32-pound paper, so I thought of getting a ream and trying it.  Or, printing some on regular paper and then laminating that.  I should probably just buy an overlay set, but before I spend $125 (for a single set, not 2 per game) I figured I'd try printing some of my own.

     

    Also, where's the best place to download them? I think I saw about 20 overlays here on AA. Was there not an overlay for every game?

  10. Posted

    Thanks for the reply.  I learned about how to do the POKEY trimmer calibrate on the 5200 main board, and I did that, and now the controllers seem more sane.

     

    And, thanks for the info on the "TP#" test points!  I do see all those on my CX-53.  Now I'll get back to the troubleshooting in the manual, and hopefully I'll have this thing working perfectly before long.

     

    At this point, the CX-53 works perfectly except for that one fire button -- it works about 75% of the time.  Maybe I just need to clean under the bubble.

  11. Posted · Edited by unixdude
    Edited to add final question

    I recently received my AtariMax Ultimate SD cartridge, and I'm wondering if there's any way back to the game list without power cycling my 5200 or pulling and reinserting the cartridge.  Web and forum searches have failed me.  What do you guys do when you want to change games when using the Ultimate SD cartridge?

     

    Also, I notice that my trackball sometimes will continue to send a left- or right-direction signal to my 5200, even when the ball is not being moved.  At least one of my joysticks also does this, but only in the right-hand direction.  So far, web and forum searches have failed me here too.  Any ideas on what I should look at to fix that?

     

    Also, a newbie question on the trackball: When playing multi-player games like Missile Command, it appears that only the left-side button on the right side of the trackball controller does anything, even for player 2.  I would have thought player 1 used the left side of the controller, and player 2 used the right side, but I don't know, and I never had an Atari 5200 before recently.  Based on the 5200 FSM, it looks like the innermost fire buttons should both work to shoot missiles in Missile Command, and based on the Diagnostic cartridge, it looks like the keypads are identical (it's not independent switches for player 1/player 2 switches, it's just 2 sets of the same switches).  Is that correct?

     

    Regarding the FSM, what is referred to by TP5, TP1, TP2, TP7, etc., on page 7-14?  I'd like to troubleshoot this issue, but I don't know what "TP#" is.  It looks like the A# references are chips in the controller, but I don't know what the TP# references are.

     

    Thanks.

     

    Edited to add: When there is no controller plugged into the 5200, should it detect any directional input?  Mine seems to detect downward input, or maybe it's down-and-to-the-right ... both of my 5200 units do this, so I suspect it's normal, but maybe both of my units are broken the same way.

  13. Posted

    Okay, here are some pics. Usually I wouldn't post full-size pics, but that full resolution might be helpful here.  The work area was only the one chip -- desolder, then solder socket in place, and we had to add some traces because we broke a trace on the top side.  The other pics show the entire board, mostly so you can see the capacitors.

    fr_1560.jpg

    fr_1561.jpg

    fr_1562.jpg

    fr_1563.jpg

    fr_1564.jpg

    fr_1565.jpg

    fr_1566.jpg

  14. Posted

    50 minutes ago, xrbrevin said:

    The MiniPro TL866A is cheap and will serve 99% of your needs. I have one and havent been disappointed yet.

    Many other members on here have the same and there is modded firmware available too 🙂

    Is the TL866II or Plus also a good choice? I’m on a Mac so I need something that will work with flashrom. Happy to try the TL866 if I can find a good one. Amazon has newer units, but I do see some 866A models on eBay. 
     

    This could really be fun, getting into OS switching and trying out new OSes. 
     

    Thanks!

     

    And thanks to mimo for the suggestion about the eraser. I’ll definitely add that if I get a burner. 

  15. Posted

    11 hours ago, Nezgar said:

    Ok good. Now that we have ruled out the power supply that fails with a high voltage, I wonder if yours is failing with a low voltage? I have the left white power supply, and it had a 7805 voltage regulator that would drop voltage randomly, until I replaced that component... does it work OK on the other computer?

     

    Check the voltage from the PSU unloaded, and then with the computer on - you can measure it from a joystick port, both ground and +5V are available there.

    It's possible I guess, I'm not super familiar with all of this.  I have the 2 XLs, but I also have an XEGS which I believe takes the same PS. I guess I could plug that up.

     

    Prior to this week, the PS worked just fine on the 600XL.  As of now, the 600XL boots into Sys-Check, but it fails the RAM test of course (it isn't upgraded).  The 600XL boots to self-test if I use the Sys-Check as an OS switcher with the OS set to XL/XE OS.  The 600XL boots to black screen if I boot without the Sys-Check connected.

  16. Posted

    11 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

    That weird smell you mentioned makes me wonder if one of the small electrolytic caps inside got hit with some heat by accident, or a solder bridge shorted one of them out. Inspect them all really closely, ideally under light and magnification, for any leakage or swelling. 

    Maybe so.  When you say "small electrolytic caps," do you mean the tiny ones next to the RAM, like C37?  Or do you mean other ones, like C22?  I assume you mean the ones next to the RAM -- C34-C41.  Thanks!

  19. Posted · Edited by unixdude
    To give more details about the 600XL boot

    Hey Atari people!

     

    A while ago, I bought an 800XL that turned out to be dead: it started up to a black screen.  In my troubleshooting process, I desoldered the OS chip, and probably destroyed it but I'm not sure.  In any case, the pins are dirty and bent, and I don't want to install it into the socket that I installed in its place.

     

    This week, I checked the 800XL with a Sys-Check, and it identified a dead RAM chip.  I desoldered that and then installed a socket in its place and inserted a new RAM chip.  After that, the 800XL passed all Sys-Check tests with the 600XL's known good OS chip.  I was then able to play some cartridge games.

     

    Maybe this was stupid, but I left the unit powered up.  When I returned to it a while later, I discovered a black screen and a strange smell.  Since then, the 800XL always boots to a blank screen, maybe a dark olive green color, even with the Sys-Check installed.  It doesn't matter which OS the Sys-Check is set to boot, it's always this blank, dark screen.

     

    Also, my 600XL will no longer boot with this OS chip: it boots to black screen when I use the XL/XE OS chip.  Basically, the 600XL now does the same thing the 800XL does, if using the original Atari XL/XE OS chip.  (Using the Sys-Check in the 600XL has slightly different results, keep reading.)

     

    Because of all of this, I suspect I might have killed the OS chip.  But, there's more: using the XL/XE OS in the Sys-Check, the 600XL starts by showing the normal blue screen with cursor, then it always switches to the self-test.  Unfortunately it's my only XL/XE OS chip, so I need to buy another two now... maybe I'll buy three.

     

    Any thoughts about how to revive these systems?  I'd hope that an OS chip would revive the 600XL, but since it won't boot using the Sys-Check's XL/XE OS, I'm not sure what to think about that.  The 600XL boots the Sys-Check OS just fine, and of course it fails the RAM test.  It boots the QMEG OS, and the two XL/XE OSes always boot to self test.  I've googled for it and haven't figured out what makes an XL boot to self-test without any keys pressed.  Anybody here know why that would be?

     

    For the 800XL, I'm suspecting it will require more surgery: maybe it will require the removal and replacement of of more (all?) RAM chips. Of course, I'll socket those rather than soldering the new chips.

     

    Any and all help appreciated.

  20. Posted

    13 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

    We completely reworked the mapping code and this is a side effect. By default the paddles are mapped to the same axis as in the desktop version, but for R77 we have to use different axis. This is a bug we can fix with the next RC.

     

    For now you have to map the paddles manually. Which is a bit complicated:

    1. Open the settings dialog and switch to advanced settings
    2. Open the settings dialog again
    3. Open the input settings
    4. Mark Paddle 0 Analog
    5. Select Map...
    6. Turn the paddle until the Stella detects the movement
    7. Repeat 4..6 for all other paddles you want to use
    8. Close the dialog

    This is excellent info - thanks!  I will need to redo it, since I remapped the fire button as in the original version of this post.  And, I wasn't able to get "Paddle 1 Analog" mapped for the 2nd paddle controller, but the first one does work after this.

     

    Thanks so much to all of you guys who are working on this build.  It really is quite excellent.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

  22. Posted

    Sure thing.  Hope it helps.  I'm happy to try other builds if you like.  I don't mind the letterboxing, because that's better than the cropped image.  But like you I wonder if I've stumbled onto some sort of bug.

     

    I know paddles are supposed to work now too, and they did work better in a previous version, it's just that now the R77 sees my paddles as being turned "far left" and then it never moves from that position.

  23. Posted · Edited by unixdude

    I can select anything from 0 to 10, it just doesn't change the image on the screen.  I've tried basic settings and advanced settings, and I've tried every option between 1 and 10.  I've tried just hitting "OK" after setting the overscan option, and I've tried rebooting my R77 after changing the option (after pressing "OK" of course).  Nothing makes a difference.  Note that one of my screenshots shows 0% and the other shows 10% -- but the black border around the image has not changed in size.  I rebooted my R77 between the first and second screenshots (third is just a closeup of the 2nd), and that makes no difference to the image show on the screen.

     

    Edited to add: Just now I inserted the SD chip into my iMac, and erased /stella/settings.sqlite3* (all 3 files), then inserted the chip back into my R77 and powered it.  Image was cropped again of course, but before setting the overscan, I tried Ciricus Atari.  Paddles don't work when plugged into the DB9 (I don't have a 2600-dapter to try).  I then changed Overscan from "off" to 10%, and hit OK.  No change to display.  Rebooted R77, and now I have black borders as expected.  Any further changes to the overscan setting are ignored, even after a reboot.

  24. Posted

    1 minute ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

    Just to get you right: The Overscan is either full on or full off? And unlike for Nathan, the Overscan percentages make no difference?

     

    Can you post two screenshots with the setting dialog open and with and without Overscan enabled? Like Nathan did above.

    Yes, that's exactly it: overscan is either full on or full off.  Dunno why I couldn't state it so simply before - lol.  Anyway, pics:

     

    I found that in order to have the overscan setting apply the first time, I had to reboot my system after setting it.  After the initial setting of the overscan option, it doesn't seem to do anything anymore.

     

    And, my paddles don't work at all on RC1... not even jittery.  They simply do nothing.

    fr_1425_size640.jpg

    fr_1426_size640.jpg

    fr_1427_size640.jpg

  25. Posted

    Well, I have rebuilt my SD chip with the full RC1 download, and the overscan setting now lets me see the whole image, but none of the overscan percentages do anything.  Basically it's either clipped image (image too large), or i have a huge black border around the entire image.  Definitely having the black border (seeing the entire image) is better than having the clipped image, but it would be nice if the percentages worked on my system.


    Also, the paddles still do not work in RC1 for me. :(

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