Krock cart's serial connection...

[racer raul]

I am getting close to finally upgrading my computer. However, finding a MB that has a serial port is quite a challege. I have picked an Nforce 9300 chipset board and while this board has a pin header for the serial port, the internal serial cable is hard to find.

 

I did find another solution that brings me to this post.

 

There are quite a few USB to serial adapters available and I would like to know if anyone is using them with their Kroc cart.

 

Thx in advance...

[yuppicide]

You can just purchase a serial port and plug it into ANY motherboard with an open PCI slot. Here's a website for example:

 

http://www.usbgear.com/USB-SERIAL-ADAPTER-1x-Serial-PCI.html

 

I've never used them, so do your own research.

[Albert]

I have a Keyspan High Speed USB Serial Adapter that I use with my Krokodile Cart in a Windows 2000 virtual machine running in OS X.

 

Here's the actual model:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Keyspan-Speed-Serial...5308&sr=8-1

 

You can find them cheaper if you hunt around.

 

..Al

[Mirage]

I have a Keyspan High Speed USB Serial Adapter that I use with my Krokodile Cart in a Windows 2000 virtual machine running in OS X.

 

Here's the actual model:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Keyspan-Speed-Serial...5308&sr=8-1

 

You can find them cheaper if you hunt around.

 

..Al

 

It'll work with the OS X Krok software, won't it? Or is there some other reason you use the Windows Krokodile Commander app instead... is it better? (I've never tried the OS X version, because I use it with the serial port on my old PC, but would rather not).

[Albert]

It'll work with the OS X Krok software, won't it? Or is there some other reason you use the Windows Krokodile Commander app instead... is it better? (I've never tried the OS X version, because I use it with the serial port on my old PC, but would rather not).

If you're talking about Darrell Spice Jr.'s KrokCom, then it probably would work fine. However, that's a command-line interface and it's easier for me to just run the Windows Krokodile Commander since I always have a Windows VM open anyway. Is there an OS X Krokodile Commander with a user interface?

 

..Al

[Mirage]

It'll work with the OS X Krok software, won't it? Or is there some other reason you use the Windows Krokodile Commander app instead... is it better? (I've never tried the OS X version, because I use it with the serial port on my old PC, but would rather not).

If you're talking about Darrell Spice Jr.'s KrokCom, then it probably would work fine. However, that's a command-line interface and it's easier for me to just run the Windows Krokodile Commander since I always have a Windows VM open anyway. Is there an OS X Krokodile Commander with a user interface?

 

..Al

 

Maybe not, like I said I've never tried it. I'm sure the one I was thinking of is the one you mention. I guess I'll just keep using the old PC then, since I still have a G4 PowerBook, so Windows on it isn't a viable option! Thanks!

[+Nathan Strum]

That's the same adapter I use with OS X and Darrell's KrokCom. Works just fine! There's no GUI for it (yet), but even a Terminal-phobe like myself can use it.

[Mirage]

That's the same adapter I use with OS X and Darrell's KrokCom. Works just fine! There's no GUI for it (yet), but even a Terminal-phobe like myself can use it.

 

I'm actually not a terminal-phobe at all (I've even been learning Obj-C from Terminal instead of using X-Code), but I guess when I want to play Atari games, I don't want to deal with that stuff. Sort of ironic in an anti-retro way, but... eh...

[+Nathan Strum]

It really only takes a few seconds to use. Just launch it, type a few keystrokes, drag-n-drop the binary into terminal (to set the file path), type a couple more keystrokes, and it uploads it. Quit, unplug it, and you're playing.

[Mirage]

It really only takes a few seconds to use. Just launch it, type a few keystrokes, drag-n-drop the binary into terminal (to set the file path), type a couple more keystrokes, and it uploads it. Quit, unplug it, and you're playing.

 

A bunch of binaries though, like I can with the Windows GUI one? That's the key. I don't usually just want one. BUT, I'll take your word for it, and once I get a Serial->USB connector, I'll try it out. I'll need the adapter soon for the SIO2PC anyway.

[+SpiceWare]

Yes, krokcom will let you load multicarts. I've attached the instructions, you'll have to download it to view it correctly as Safari doesn't decode the formatting in the RTF.

Read_Me.rtf

Edited February 16, 2009 by SpiceWare

[Albert]

It really only takes a few seconds to use. Just launch it, type a few keystrokes, drag-n-drop the binary into terminal (to set the file path), type a couple more keystrokes, and it uploads it. Quit, unplug it, and you're playing.

Still easier and faster to use the GUI.

 

..Al

[+SpiceWare]

someday...

[Albert]

someday...

That would be great, as I'd much prefer to use my Krokodile Cart in OS X natively rather than in a Windows 2000 VM.

 

..Al

[+stephena]

someday...

That would be great, as I'd much prefer to use my Krokodile Cart in OS X natively rather than in a Windows 2000 VM.

 

..Al

Since I recently got an extended loan of a KrokCart and use Linux pretty much exclusively, I've been thinking of ways to use the cart in Linux. Thanks to SpiceWare releasing the KrokCom source code, I've ported it to Java and have a working implementation that is fully cross-platform! As such, I may be releasing a Java version of KrokCom sometime soon.

 

Currently, it's still a commandline-only version, the same as KrokCom. But it's pretty easy to add a GUI around it. In fact, that's why I chose Java for the project. I plan to include some of the recent improvements from Stella as well, such as autodetecting the bankswitch type, so you don't have to manually select it.

 

Anyway, I decided to take on this little project as a diversion from Stella for a while (where I was starting to get a little burnt out). I'm absolutely horrible at predicting release dates, so I'll be extremely generous and say sometime in the next month or so

Edited April 3, 2009 by stephena

[cd-w]

Since I recently got an extended loan of a KrokCart and use Linux pretty much exclusively, I've been thinking of ways to use the cart in Linux. Thanks to SpiceWare releasing the KrokCom source code, I've ported it to Java and have a working implementation that is fully cross-platform! As such, I may be releasing a Java version of KrokCom sometime soon.

 

Currently, it's still a commandline-only version, the same as KrokCom. But it's pretty easy to add a GUI around it. In fact, that's why I chose Java for the project. I plan to include some of the recent improvements from Stella as well, such as autodetecting the bankswitch type, so you don't have to manually select it.

 

Anyway, I decided to take on this little project as a diversion from Stella for a while (where I was starting to get a little burnt out). I'm absolutely horrible at predicting release dates, so I'll be extremely generous and say sometime in the next month or so

 

I actually wrote some Java-based Krokodile cart software a while back. My version is also command-line based, but it works well enough for development purposes. I was originally planning to write a GUI, but it didn't generate much interest, so I never got around to it.

 

Chris

Edited April 3, 2009 by cd-w

[+stephena]

Since I recently got an extended loan of a KrokCart and use Linux pretty much exclusively, I've been thinking of ways to use the cart in Linux. Thanks to SpiceWare releasing the KrokCom source code, I've ported it to Java and have a working implementation that is fully cross-platform! As such, I may be releasing a Java version of KrokCom sometime soon.

 

Currently, it's still a commandline-only version, the same as KrokCom. But it's pretty easy to add a GUI around it. In fact, that's why I chose Java for the project. I plan to include some of the recent improvements from Stella as well, such as autodetecting the bankswitch type, so you don't have to manually select it.

 

Anyway, I decided to take on this little project as a diversion from Stella for a while (where I was starting to get a little burnt out). I'm absolutely horrible at predicting release dates, so I'll be extremely generous and say sometime in the next month or so

 

I actually wrote some Java-based Krokodile cart software a while back. My version is also command-line based, but it works well enough for development purposes. I was originally planning to write a GUI, but it didn't generate much interest, so I never got around to it.

 

Chris

Well, I guess I should have searched through the forums first Anyway, are you interested in releasing the source under the GPL (same license as Stella uses)? Maybe I can combine some of your code and some from KrokCom to complete the Java port with a GUI. That way, the Linux and OSX people can have the same features as with the Windows software.

 

Personally, I'm not even polling to see if there's interest. I need it for myself, so that's all the interest that's required

[+batari]

I haven't tried downloading either of the Java ports, but I wondered if they have multicart support?

 

Also, a GUI based in html would be really easy to write except for one issue. In windows, we could get away with a hard-coded list of COMx. But in Unix, it seems USB-to-serial devices call themselves whatever they want, so one needs to dynamically build a list of menu items (as /dev/tty.*) or use some other mechanism. That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

[+stephena]

I haven't tried downloading either of the Java ports, but I wondered if they have multicart support?

Yes, both have multicart support.

Also, a GUI based in html would be really easy to write except for one issue. In windows, we could get away with a hard-coded list of COMx. But in Unix, it seems USB-to-serial devices call themselves whatever they want, so one needs to dynamically build a list of menu items (as /dev/tty.*) or use some other mechanism.

Java uses a package which can detect which communication ports are available on a system, whatever they may be named. Each one can be tested in turn to determine if it really is a serial port (vs. a parallel port), and they can even be checked to see if they're currently in use. In fact, it could go one step further, and do a Krokodile cart recognition 'handshake' on these available ports, and auto-detect exactly which one the KrokCart is connected to.

That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

I'm just wondering why you make reference to HTML (a web page language). The program I'd develop and release would be a standalone Java application; it wouldn't be a Java applet or relate to a web page at all.

[+batari]

That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

I'm just wondering why you make reference to HTML (a web page language). The program I'd develop and release would be a standalone Java application; it wouldn't be a Java applet or relate to a web page at all.

So it's not possible to call your app via html? I guess it's possible such things exist, even though I've never personally encountered them.

[+stephena]

That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

I'm just wondering why you make reference to HTML (a web page language). The program I'd develop and release would be a standalone Java application; it wouldn't be a Java applet or relate to a web page at all.

So it's not possible to call your app via html? I guess it's possible such things exist, even though I've never personally encountered them.

I suppose it could be possible, but I just never considered it. This would be a standalone application that doesn't have anything to do with a web browser. There are many such applications; Eclipse (Java IDE) and Azureus (Bittorrent client) are probably the most popular. Those are huge and slow, though, so probably not the best example to illustrate Java. Programs written in Java don't have to be run in a browser.

 

Truth be told, I'd normally write such a thing in portable C++ (like how Stella is written). But Java is the only language I can find that has cross-platform support for serial port communication, GUI, and is relatively self-contained (ie, doesn't carry a lot of other dependencies). The fact that someone else (cd-w) independently came to the same conclusion makes me feel this is the right choice.

[+batari]

That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

I'm just wondering why you make reference to HTML (a web page language). The program I'd develop and release would be a standalone Java application; it wouldn't be a Java applet or relate to a web page at all.

So it's not possible to call your app via html? I guess it's possible such things exist, even though I've never personally encountered them.

I suppose it could be possible, but I just never considered it. This would be a standalone application that doesn't have anything to do with a web browser. There are many such applications; Eclipse (Java IDE) and Azureus (Bittorrent client) are probably the most popular. Those are huge and slow, though, so probably not the best example to illustrate Java. Programs written in Java don't have to be run in a browser.

 

Truth be told, I'd normally write such a thing in portable C++ (like how Stella is written). But Java is the only language I can find that has cross-platform support for serial port communication, GUI, and is relatively self-contained (ie, doesn't carry a lot of other dependencies). The fact that someone else (cd-w) independently came to the same conclusion makes me feel this is the right choice.

I'm aware that Java programs can be run without a browser, and i've done it with jStella for example. However, I would personally find it easier to whip up a web page with buttons and pulldown menus than to do that all in Java.

[+stephena]

That might make an html frontend kind of hard to create, unless I am missing something.

I'm just wondering why you make reference to HTML (a web page language). The program I'd develop and release would be a standalone Java application; it wouldn't be a Java applet or relate to a web page at all.

So it's not possible to call your app via html? I guess it's possible such things exist, even though I've never personally encountered them.

I suppose it could be possible, but I just never considered it. This would be a standalone application that doesn't have anything to do with a web browser. There are many such applications; Eclipse (Java IDE) and Azureus (Bittorrent client) are probably the most popular. Those are huge and slow, though, so probably not the best example to illustrate Java. Programs written in Java don't have to be run in a browser.

 

Truth be told, I'd normally write such a thing in portable C++ (like how Stella is written). But Java is the only language I can find that has cross-platform support for serial port communication, GUI, and is relatively self-contained (ie, doesn't carry a lot of other dependencies). The fact that someone else (cd-w) independently came to the same conclusion makes me feel this is the right choice.

I'm aware that Java programs can be run without a browser, and i've done it with jStella for example. However, I would personally find it easier to whip up a web page with buttons and pulldown menus than to do that all in Java.

Oh OK, I see what you're talking about. You mean that HTML forms would be used instead of doing it with Swing or AWT (Java GUI toolkits). I guess that could be done, but the form options would be quite limited (you'd never be able to make it have all the functionality of the Windows version of the Krok software). And you lose the quick commandline functionality when you tie it to a browser.

 

As well, I wouldn't personally be interested in doing web programming. I spent almost a year in that type of job, and I absolutely hated it. There are so many different toolkits to consider (Java, HTML, Javascript 'glue', etc), and they're all mish-mashed together. Now there's 11 months of my life I'll never get back

 

Not to mention that there are Java IDEs that basically let you 'draw' the interface and have it automatically generate code. Much easier than HTML, and a lot more powerful.

[cd-w]

Well, I guess I should have searched through the forums first Anyway, are you interested in releasing the source under the GPL (same license as Stella uses)? Maybe I can combine some of your code and some from KrokCom to complete the Java port with a GUI. That way, the Linux and OSX people can have the same features as with the Windows software.

Personally, I'm not even polling to see if there's interest. I need it for myself, so that's all the interest that's required

 

Yes, I'm happy to GPL-license my code if you can make use of it - it would be nice to have a version with a proper GUI. However, my code could probably use a bit of an update (I think it is pre-1.5 syntax).

 

Chris

[+batari]

So do either of you guys know anything about serial ports in C? Harmony's software is written in C and working, but since I don't know how to detect ports in Linux/OSX, I capture the output of "ls /dev/tty.*" and it works, but it seems there should be a better way. It would also be nice if there was something that also worked in Windows, as I'd rather know what ports were detected instead of using a list of COMx (as with Win2k and above, x can be 1-255.)