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The Ultimate Intellivision Flashback


Byte Knight

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3 hours ago, neverending said:

Can anyone who has repurposed the main board's controller ports confirm that the only components that need to be removed from the board are the ones outlined in red?

I'd imagine that they can be removed.  

 

The pad closest to the connector could be a nice soldering point for your wires going to the UPCI

Edited by fdr4prez
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4 hours ago, neverending said:

Can anyone who has repurposed the main board's controller ports confirm that the only components that need to be removed from the board are the ones outlined in red?

 

IMG_3046.thumb.jpg.961668c73d30994dbe7951b2a211436c.jpg

I have done a ton of them and i removed everything but if i recall these need to be removed as well

13F467B4-5BD7-4B6F-A9E4-EA93D2949DE3.jpeg

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  • 3 months later...

Hey ByteKnight, you mentioned your Ultimate board only works on (I think) Atari Flashback 3 and up. Is that just because of the controller placement? Because I found a broken Atari FB 2 in storage. I'm guessing a regular PC version of the Flashback interface would be better in this case? 

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2 hours ago, marioxb said:

Hey ByteKnight, you mentioned your Ultimate board only works on (I think) Atari Flashback 3 and up. Is that just because of the controller placement? Because I found a broken Atari FB 2 in storage. I'm guessing a regular PC version of the Flashback interface would be better in this case? 

Atgames didnt start making atari flashbacks until the 3. So they are designed different from curt vendell’s flashback 2 and 2+.  

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  • 3 months later...
On 11/16/2019 at 7:40 AM, Byte Knight said:

It's great to see you guys take this project to the "next level" - nice job!!

 

My 8 GB microSD card image for the Ultimate Flashback, compatible with the Pi 2 & 3, is available here for download.

Hey there! I'm thinking of building my own one of these...is your image still available. It looks like it's not available at that link any more.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My issue is input delay as I am very sensitive. I play Atari 800, Commodore 64 all on CRTs because I can notice that response time delay.

 

I have my Intellivision Flashback hooked up to my Commodore 1702 monitor and the response time is instant. Heck even on the Nostalgia emulator too which is slightly more noticeable but not bad. I use that for the Tron games and others that were not included on Flashback.

 

But running a Pi and then through your LCD HDMI seems like there would be some input delay. Thoughts?

Edited by donjn
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Connect your raspberry pi to your 1702 monitor and you should get similar response as the flashback.  How are you running nostalgia on the 1702?  All digital televisions have latency but some models are worse than others, so select the right TV.  You can also improve that latency by turning off picture processing in your TV e.g. game mode.

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5 hours ago, mr_me said:

Connect your raspberry pi to your 1702 monitor and you should get similar response as the flashback.  How are you running nostalgia on the 1702?  All digital televisions have latency but some models are worse than others, so select the right TV.  You can also improve that latency by turning off picture processing in your TV e.g. game mode.

Oh sorry didn't explain. I use the Flashback on the 1702. I have one controller unhooked from the Flashback and attached to my computer via the Vision Daptor to play the games that aren't on Flashback (Tron, etc) on Nostalgia.

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You must have a video card in your computer that outputs composite.  Does it output a proper 240p signal.  You can install the same jzintv emulator and emulationstation frontend that's on the raspberry pi on your computer if you like.  

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33 minutes ago, mr_me said:

You must have a video card in your computer that outputs composite.  Does it output a proper 240p signal.  You can install the same jzintv emulator and emulationstation frontend that's on the raspberry pi on your computer if you like.  

I don't think you are understanding me. I do NOT use my computer to the 1702:

 

I use the Flashback on the Commodore 1702.

I also use my computer to play Nostalgia for the Tron games.

 

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14 minutes ago, donjn said:

I don't think you are understanding me. I do NOT use my computer to the 1702:

 

I use the Flashback on the Commodore 1702.

I also use my computer to play Nostalgia for the Tron games.

 

 

Well I'm confused.

 

 

10 hours ago, donjn said:

But running a Pi and then through your LCD HDMI seems like there would be some input delay. Thoughts?

You state that your Pi is connected to LCD HDMI

 

And mr_me correctly stated:

6 hours ago, mr_me said:

All digital televisions have latency but some models are worse than others, so select the right TV.  You can also improve that latency by turning off picture processing in your TV e.g. game mode.

Do a google search and you can see that this is a quite common issue.

 

So if you don't want lag, then connect your Pi to the 1702, as mr_me recommended:

6 hours ago, mr_me said:

Connect your raspberry pi to your 1702 monitor and you should get similar response as the flashback.

All Pi have composite out, so this will fix your lag issue.

 

You also stated:

21 minutes ago, donjn said:

I also use my computer to play Nostalgia for the Tron games.

So what is your computer's display?  You don't mention if it is an HDMI monitor or not.

 

If it isn't HDMI then you can get a RPi VGA HAT and connect your Pi to the same display as your computer.

 

 

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31 minutes ago, fdr4prez said:

 

Well I'm confused.

 

You state that your Pi is connected to LCD HDMI

 

And mr_me correctly stated:

Do a google search and you can see that this is a quite common issue.

 

So if you don't want lag, then connect your Pi to the 1702, as mr_me recommended:

All Pi have composite out, so this will fix your lag issue.

 

You also stated:

So what is your computer's display?  You don't mention if it is an HDMI monitor or not.

 

If it isn't HDMI then you can get a RPi VGA HAT and connect your Pi to the same display as your computer.

 

 

I am not getting why any of you are confused. Lets start over.

 

1. I never said I owned a Pi. What in this sentence sounds like I own one?: "But running a Pi and then through your LCD HDMI seems like there would be some input delay. Thoughts?"

2. I use the Flashback on the Commodore 1702, but it lacks the Tron games.

3. I also use my computer to play Nostalgia for the Tron games.

4. I would like to have ONE PLACE where I can play all of my Intellivision games (preferably on the 1702). I can do this on the Nostalgia but prefer the 1702.

5. I am thinking of getting my Intellivision Flashback modded (hence, why I posted in this thread) 

6. I was concerned about lag but that seems to have been answered because you can do composite out on the Pi instead of going through an LCD which would introduce some lag.

 

 

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21 minutes ago, donjn said:

I am not getting why any of you are confused. Lets start over.

 

1. I never said I owned a Pi. What in this sentence sounds like I own one?: "But running a Pi and then through your LCD HDMI seems like there would be some input delay. Thoughts?"

2. I use the Flashback on the Commodore 1702, but it lacks the Tron games.

3. I also use my computer to play Nostalgia for the Tron games.

4. I would like to have ONE PLACE where I can play all of my Intellivision games (preferably on the 1702). I can do this on the Nostalgia but prefer the 1702.

5. I am thinking of getting my Intellivision Flashback modded (hence, why I posted in this thread) 

6. I was concerned about lag but that seems to have been answered because you can do composite out on the Pi instead of going through an LCD which would introduce some lag.

 

 

OK, your original post made it sound like you already have a Pi.

 

No worries, we are all here to help.

 

I've never used the composite out from the Pi, but it is there.

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  • 8 months later...

I have a question on power supplies with the Ultimate controller... 

 

In my build, I did some rewiring of the power input.  I now have the power supply internally mounted.  I use a Canakit 5volt unit I broke open and mounted.  I added a laptop power supply style 2 prong connector, which allows me to plug the power supply directly into house power and directly to the Pi3b+.  Much like you would normally have it, completely removing the extra resistance of the Flashback power board.

 

Still... I get low voltage warnings.   I am running a two fan mini cooler, the Ultimate Intellivision to PC board built for the Flashback... the original LED is wired in still using what is already on the board and a Mauseberry is handling all the power downs... Maybe that's my problem, but it works fine in my other unit. 

 

Is there a better PS that gives a little more power to the Pi3b+ without blowing it up?  I put an insane amount of time into this build, but it runs slow and has constant power issues.  Unlike my Retroflag unit.. or my other Retropie set up I built into an Sears Super Video Arcade shell.  I've ready the NorthPada power supply is one of the best.  It's a 3amp unit, 5volts.  Not sure if the .5 amp will make the difference as it's an under-voltage issue.

 

I'll post some pics of the build in a little while and you can see what I did.

 

Thanks!

IMG_20201129_205944559.jpg

IMG_20201129_210008919.jpg

IMG_20201129_210024312.jpg

Edited by IMBerzerk
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The Pi3 seems to like showing the low power symbol.   I tend to ignore it, and on a build I did for a friend I simply disabled these from appearing so I didn't have to hear him complaining about it. 

 

I also always use a Mausberry Circuit and a 3A power supply, but I've never gotten around to actually troubleshooting it. I  suspect the Mausberry Circuit is also reducing the power going into the Pi. 

 

If you measure the voltage directly at the 40 pin header, what do you get? 

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I'll have to try it.  Where do I measure it from?  I do have +5v out of the PS board at the micro USB soldier points.

 

It is an issue.  Even though I did the same as you, as far as disabling the lightning bolt, it still displays the under voltage message and you can visibly see the power stutters when booting and sometimes when playing games.

 

I am considering dumping the mausberry, but is there a safe-shutdown option other than that?  

 

It's not a rush.  I'm STILL working on my build (over 5 years now.. lol).  I'm up to 44 systems!  

 

BTW... I'm a little late, but I could have poked that member donjn a little with this... My Pi3 running lr-vice64 into an LCD with a C1702 monitor overlay created from another artist that I altered to look like my bedroom from 1983. 

 

IMG_20200922_165331266.thumb.jpg.da59685e62da3dd39c1979a5610f31b1.jpg

Edited by IMBerzerk
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16 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

I'll have to try it.  Where do I measure it from?  I do have +5v out of the PS board at the micro USB soldier points.

 

40 pin header - measure between pin 2/4 and and ground pin:

raspbery-pi-3-gpio-pinout-40-pin-header-block-connector.jpg.46e0a32e6a51f8026191f0157d396895.jpg

 

 

16 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

I am considering dumping the mausberry, but is there a safe-shutdown option other than that?  

 

The Mausberry, or one of its competitors, can use an on/off toggle switch really well.  If your on/off is a momentary pushbutton then you can go directly to the GPIO to powerdown and turn on the PI.  

 

13 hours ago, Byte Knight said:

my version is powered through the GPIO, I was constantly getting those low power messages too, even with a 3A power supply.

It just seems to be the nature of the beast with these Pi3.  If you google it, you'd get flooded with results about it.  There just doesn't seem to be a good solution.

 

16 hours ago, IMBerzerk said:

as far as disabling the lightning bolt, it still displays the under voltage message and you can visibly see the power stutters when booting and sometimes when playing games.

 

13 hours ago, Byte Knight said:

I forget how I did it, but I just disabled the message...

 

As far as I know you edit the /boot/config.txt and add avoid_warnings=1 and this is supposed to disable warnings such as undervoltage/overheating messages.

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Thanks for this.  Everything is as it should be.  I guess it's just the Pi itself.  

 

You can disable the underpower icon, but the hard message still displays when you come out of ES and into the actual emulator.

 

I'll play around a little more, but by the looks of it, there is no fix for it.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the image @Byte Knight.

 

Any chance you'd be willing to share the passwords for pi and root?  The password(s) is(are) no longer "raspberry".

 

Edit: `sudo passwd pi` allowed me to set the password for pi back to "raspberry".

 

If you're able to share the root password, that'd be helpful.  Thank you!

Edited by Duttroid
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