The 7800GD (New 7800 Flash Cartridge?)

[+Stephen]

Definitely going to buy one - it will sit nicely along my Lynx and Jag carts!

[gambler172]

On 3/6/2022 at 6:28 PM, SainT said:

Not finished yet, no.

 

I would say it should be available sometime this summer. Parts shortages are playing havoc in so many ways at the moment, I'm currently trying to figure out what alternatives I can use for parts which are not otherwise unavailable until 2023. And even then only in small numbers. ?

 

sounds good.

Count me in ?

[gambler172]

Hi Saint

 

Any news about this?

[SainT]

Yes, I mostly post updates on Twitter...

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by SainT

[+darryl1970]

2 hours ago, SainT said:

Yes, I mostly post updates on Twitter...

 

 

 

This look great. I have caught some in my peripheral on Twitter, but life has gotten a little busy and icky. I have trouble following Twitter.. It seemed you had to start over with different components. I am assuming that is due to supply issues. Whatever the case, it's very exciting.

[SainT]

9 hours ago, darryl1970 said:

This look great. I have caught some in my peripheral on Twitter, but life has gotten a little busy and icky. I have trouble following Twitter.. It seemed you had to start over with different components. I am assuming that is due to supply issues. Whatever the case, it's very exciting.

Yes, exactly that. Due to component supply issues I had to basically start again hardware wise, however it’s all been beneficial to the cart in the long run. Just a bit frustrating as it put me back about 6 months!

[CommodoreDecker]

Very exciting!  When it does get released, I'd be interested in one, maybe two if there's a large enough batch available...

 

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

@SainT: a few of us were wondering how the RGB output works over in this thread.  Is there an emulated MARIA doing on-cart video generation and output, or something else entirely?

 

It's an interesting approach - we just don't want to poison the waters with speculation

[SainT]

6 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

@SainT: a few of us were wondering how the RGB output works over in this thread.  Is there an emulated MARIA doing on-cart video generation and output, or something else entirely?

 

It's an interesting approach - we just don't want to poison the waters with speculation

Yes, essentially. It's the same approach Krikzz is using in his latest RGBBlaster for the NES. I have to admit, the inspiration did come from him... 😆

 

I have re-created Maria on the cartridge and it runs in parallel with the Maria on the 7800. So the RGB output is entirely separate from the 7800 and the "real" Maria. This second Maria implementation is entirely firmware-updatable, so if any problems are discovered (I'm sure there will be some) then I can patch them.

[+DrVenkman]

4 hours ago, SainT said:

I have re-created Maria on the cartridge and it runs in parallel with the Maria on the 7800. So the RGB output is entirely separate from the 7800 and the "real" Maria. This second Maria implementation is entirely firmware-updatable, so if any problems are discovered (I'm sure there will be some) then I can patch them.

I’m sure that @RevEng, @Trebor and others can provide plenty of odd-ball edge cases and instances where tiny timing differences become apparent.

[Trebor]

14 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

I’m sure that @RevEng, @Trebor and others can provide plenty of odd-ball edge cases and instances where tiny timing differences become apparent.

Original Retail:

Karateka -> Start of level scanline flicker at bottom floor should be present. A steady strength meter evident throughout with no scanline flicker.

Ace of Aces -> Horizon of sky and dashboard of plane, any scanline flickering should not be present.

Basketbrawl -> Spectator head corrupt movements/alignments from body.

Scrapyard Dog -> Sewer Levels - no floor corruption.

Xenophobe -> Title Screen - no scanline flickering should be present.

Super Huey -> Lower right-hand side green (outside) meets gray (chopper panel) scanline flickering *should* be present.

 

Utilities:

"7800 Test (20141231).a78" from the PROPack 'Utilities' folder - ensure results align.

[Greg2600]

On 9/29/2022 at 3:40 AM, SainT said:

 😆 

So the RGB output is entirely separate from the 7800 and the "real" Maria. 

Ah, and do I assume same goes for 7800 game RGB?  Asking because I figure that *could* alleviate/dodge the color artifacting issues my dumb system has.

[Greg2600]

On 9/29/2022 at 3:40 AM, SainT said:

 😆 

So the RGB output is entirely separate from the 7800 and the "real" Maria. 

Ah, and do I assume same goes for 7800 game RGB?  Asking because I figure that *could* alleviate/dodge the color artifacting issues my dumb system has.

[SainT]

1 hour ago, Greg2600 said:

Ah, and do I assume same goes for 7800 game RGB?  Asking because I figure that *could* alleviate/dodge the color artifacting issues my dumb system has.

The video is entirely produced on the cart, so as long as you use the RGB out on the cart, it should be clean. However it does require a working Maria, so if yours is faulty, it’s possible it will not work for you. There is a lot of testing that needs doing for compatability.

[gambler172]

53 minutes ago, SainT said:

The video is entirely produced on the cart, so as long as you use the RGB out on the cart, it should be clean. However it does require a working Maria, so if yours is faulty, it’s possible it will not work for you. There is a lot of testing that needs doing for compatability.

Well....i own 13 systems with different mods.

Pal, Ntsc and french Secam.

Lmk, if you need a tester

[+x=usr(1536)]

@SainT - any thoughts of doing a 'diet' version of the 7800GD?  What I was thinking of was something that was fully hardware-compatible with the 'regular' version but minus the RGB output.  You know, for those of us who are cheapskates

[SainT]

The cost of the RGB out components is only about £2, and having multiple SKU’s is a pain for stock keeping. Not to mention the fact it would really need a different case as well, and injection moulding tooling is very expensive…

 

So all in all it makes no sense for me to do it. Sorry!

[Trebor]

6 hours ago, SainT said:

The cost of the RGB out components is only about £2...

For us Yankees, that's a whopping $2.45.  

Even if there was an option to exclude, and cost several times that amount, it is well beyond its worth to have present.

Thank you for this @SainT!  Excited and very much looking forward to it.

[+x=usr(1536)]

9 hours ago, SainT said:

The cost of the RGB out components is only about £2, and having multiple SKU’s is a pain for stock keeping. Not to mention the fact it would really need a different case as well, and injection moulding tooling is very expensive…

 

So all in all it makes no sense for me to do it. Sorry!

Absolutely reasonable.  Thank you!

[+Kaboomer]

Having finally cracked open SainT's Jaguar GD, I am wholeheartedly in for buying his 7800 one! Looking forward to it!

[Shawn]

Can the video be taken from the console itself or does it have to come from the cartridge?

[SainT]

It just augments the consoles capabilities, if you want to use composite video, you can!

[+DrVenkman]

3 hours ago, SainT said:

It just augments the consoles capabilities, if you want to use composite video, you can!

Any current estimated availability date?  

[SainT]

I'm aiming for this quarter, we'll see how it goes! 

[Lord_of_Sipan]

Count me in for one!