The FinalGROM 99

[jrhodes]

That only has the updated .pld, i am looking for the un-updated version.

[+OLD CS1]

7 hours ago, jrhodes said:

That only has the updated .pld, i am looking for the un-updated version.

Direct link to 1.2 (AVR)

 

https://github.com/endlos99/finalgrom99

 

[jrhodes]

That is the .avr ,

I'm wanting the .pld;

Two different kinds of updates there.

Edited September 13, 2020 by jrhodes

[+OLD CS1]

15 hours ago, jrhodes said:

That is the .avr ,

I'm wanting the .pld;

Two different kinds of updates there.

Whoops.  I did not poke around the GitHub link to see what was in there.

[HOME AUTOMATION]

1 hour ago, jrhodes said:

That is the .avr ,

I'm wanting the .pld;

Two different kinds of updates there.

Sorry, I didn't know you were trying to break it!
There is a .pld in the update folder! But it's not the one you want.
Hmm, if/when you find it! How will you know?

[ralphb]

7 hours ago, HOME AUTOMATION said:

Sorry, I didn't know you were trying to break it!
There is a .pld in the update folder! But it's not the one you want.
Hmm, if/when you find it! How will you know?

For the record, I no longer have the original version of the CPLD firmware.  I have tried to reconstruct it, but it's untested.  You can give it a try if you want.  There is a small chance that you'll brick your FinalGROM, though.

 

 

update_1.0_recreated.pld

[+OLD CS1]

Quote

 

 

Six people rolling the die?

[wierd_w]

My unit is fully functional, and suits my needs. Unless somebody makes a "write on grom" based supercart mode for the thing, so that it truly can function as the only cartridge you will ever need-- I have no real reason to update the firmware.

 

But others might have too strong of a tinkering impulse.  Who am I to tell them they should not?  Their hardware, their risk, their loss or gain.

 

I just dont like being an early adopter.

 

 

[ralphb]

On 9/14/2020 at 8:59 AM, wierd_w said:

My unit is fully functional, and suits my needs. Unless somebody makes a "write on grom" based supercart mode for the thing, so that it truly can function as the only cartridge you will ever need-- I have no real reason to update the firmware.

 

But others might have too strong of a tinkering impulse.  Who am I to tell them they should not?  Their hardware, their risk, their loss or gain.

 

I just dont like being an early adopter.

 

 

It should be possible, if you add that mode to the CPLD firmware.  I currently have more important things to do, however, and I also cannot easily build CPLD firmwares at the moment.

[+helocast]

On 9/14/2020 at 1:50 AM, OLD CS1 said:

Six people rolling the die?

I guess I should've sent this zipped when you bought my FinalGrom99 ... didn't think about it at the time.

Consider my PC hard drive like the Wayback Machine when it comes to TI stuff, even though I never use 99.9% of the files I get/find through this forum.

I snapshot'd this back on July 12, 2017, at least that's what the file(s) creation date tells me (well prior to the existence of Ralph's current updates folder published 13 months? ago).

Maybe it contains the originals required (not responsible if people break things). As to "building" the cpld file, there seems to be instructions at the end of the README.md file but it's all alien?️‍?️ to me.

Hopefully it helps someone.

 

Doug

finalgrom99-master.zip

[Pallen38]

Hi,

 

Sorry if this is an easy problem, but no amount of searching I've done can turn up anything.

 

xas99 has been working fine for me, but when I try to run make.py in the ti directory I get the following:

 

> browser.a99 <2> 0218 - !      b    @load             ; branch to menu sender
***** Warning: Possible branch/jump optimization
> --- <2> **** -
***** Warning: Unused constants: C_FF
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./make.py", line 20, in <module>
    f.write(hex(ord(b)) + ",\n");
TypeError: ord() expected string of length 1, but int found

 

I haven't found anything on Atariage, but from the other searching I've done it appears this has something to do with a change from the way Python 2x handles something, but I haven't been able to find any other posts about someone having this problem.

 

What am I missing?

 

Thanks!

Patrick

[ralphb]

Oh, you're right -- I can reproduce this with the latest version of xdt99.  I guess I didn't test it on the FinalGROM.

 

Either you wait for a fix, or you use this older xdt99 version: https://github.com/endlos99/xdt99/releases/tag/2.0.1

 

EDIT:  Actually, the reason is that make.py is still written for Python 2, but xdt99 is using Python 3 now.  If you replace make.py with the attached version, everything should work.

 

make.py

Edited September 29, 2020 by ralphb

[Pallen38]

Thanks Ralph, that took care of it.

[fabrice montupet]

Since some days, my FinalGROM99 has a strange behavior: Sometimes, when I select a letter to open a sub-directory (any of them) or I launch one of the programs listed in it, the screen becomes blank and the LED of the FinalGROM99 flashes four times like this:

(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......

If I  reset (TI reset) the computer, the FinalGROM99 is not recognized anymore and the LED is continuing to blink with the same sequence. To see the FinalGROM99 again, I have to press the FG reset.
After that, if I choose again the sub-directory or launch a program, it sometimes works. But sometimes the problem persists and I have to FG reset again til I can open a sub-directory or launch a program.

I have re formatted the 512Mb SDCARD (FAT16) and also used an other 512Mb SDCARD: the problem is the same.

Someone has encountered a similar problem?

 

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by fabrice montupet

[+Schmitzi]

43 minutes ago, fabrice montupet said:

Since some days, my FinalGROM99 has a strange behavior: Sometimes, when I select a letter to open a sub-directory (any of them) or I launch one of the programs listed in it, the screen becomes blank and the LED of the FinalGROM99 flashes four times like this:

(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......

If I  reset (TI reset) the computer, the FinalGROM99 is not recognized anymore and the LED is continuing to blink with the same sequence. To see the FinalGROM99 again, I have to press the FG reset.
After that, if I choose again the sub-directory or launch a program, it sometimes works. But sometimes the problem persists and I have to FG reset again til I can open a sub-directory or launch a program.

I have re formatted the 512Mb SDCARD (FAT16) and also used an other 512Mb SDCARD: the problem is the same.

Someone has encountered a similar problem?

 

 

 

Do you use any shell/housing for the FinalGROM99 ? Try and take it out of  the shell and plug the bare board into the TI.

I have this problem with my 2 FlashROM99´s, when inside their Romox-housings. Very strange behaviour.

Somehow like a short circuit, or a open contact... As if closing the shell bends the board...

 

 

[fabrice montupet]

It was my first attempt to correct the problem. Before looking after the SDCARD, I tried the FG99 without its shell, cleaned the SDCARD reader and the cartridge connector.

[RXB]

Asking for a understandable manual for FinalGROM is asking for a non hardware view.  (You know examples that explain it.)

I just wanted a manual for FinalGROM that shows how to set up switching 4K or 8K banks and how to stack them for a .bin format to load into FinalGROM.

 

When writing a manual just pretend you have to explain everything step by step like they do not know any of the terms you use.

Take it for granted they do not know hardware of Assembly or GPL thus examples are needed to show how it works.

 

You know like EA manual or GPL manual.

[fabrice montupet]

I desoldered the SDCard slot and replaced it by a new one. Made some tests, since the FG99 works correctly.

[ralphb]

12 hours ago, fabrice montupet said:

[...]  the LED of the FinalGROM99 flashes four times like this:

(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......(o)(o)(o)(o).......

Just for reference: This means you loaded an image with the FinalGROM, but somehow no image was loaded.

 

It's not really a usable error, but more like "internal error".  Glad it worked out for you! ?

[fabrice montupet]

Thank you for the information ?

Before the repair, more I used the FG99 more I had a strange behavior. I could get also this LED sequence:

(o)(o).......(o)(o).......(o)(o).......

Or a no LED activity with a non recognized FG99 after a menu selection (sub-directory or a program).

 

[fabrice montupet]

I think I had some chance after the replacement of the SDCard slot, I tried the FG99  7 or 8 times and it worked, but the problems came again and more I use the FG99 more it has a chaotic behavior.

Now, when I success to launch a program and I do a TI reset (with the FG99 button), the computer restarts but the FG99 is not recognized anymore... I have to shut down the computer to see again the FG99, but it works always randomly. I have the problem on different 99/4A computers I use, that confirms that the problem is not on my computers but on the FG99.

So sad, it is the second time that I have a problem with the FG99. My first FG99 died suddenly, during playing a game. It has been replaced by a new one and now this FG is slowly dying too... None of them have exceeded 1 year and half :'(  I use the FG99 very often.  Have I no chance? Is this hardware fragile? However, I take the maximum care of it.

I have to find a third FG99.

[+Schmitzi]

 

29 minutes ago, fabrice montupet said:

....

 

Now, when I success to launch a program and I do a TI reset (with the FG99 button), the computer restarts but the FG99 is not recognized anymore... I have to shut down the computer to see again the FG99, but it works always randomly. I have the problem on different 99/4A computers I use, that confirms that the problem is not on my computers but on the FG99.

 

....

 

 

This exactly remembers me of my problem I described before (the shell is "bending" the FlashROM-board),

and now I remember that there was this effect too: By lifting the naked board up or? down in the cartridge slot then,

it disappeared from the boot screen. Maybe your "pressing the button" is somehow related to my "lifting up/down" ?

 

PS: Maybe it was not "lifting up/down", but more holding/pressing one finger onto the board, or under the board.

Sorry I cannot remember exactly, but I am sure my consolusion was "it´s NOT a contact problem with the TI´s card slot".

It led me to the FlashROM-board again and again...

 

 

 

[fabrice montupet]

On an original TI-99/4A and the FG99 without its shell: When I press the FG99 reset button, my reflex is before to put my index finger under the cartridge border and to press the button with the thumb, to prevent to make the cartridge moving because that could cause a contact failure on the computer cartridge slot.
On the TIny-99/4Av3, I don't use the FG99 reset button but the reset button of the computer. And the problem is the same: the FG99 is not recognized anymore after the reset.
So the problem is not here. I would have liked!
The FG99 has a hardware problem.

[ralphb]

1 hour ago, fabrice montupet said:

Now, when I success to launch a program and I do a TI reset (with the FG99 button), the computer restarts but the FG99 is not recognized anymore... I have to shut down the computer to see again the FG99, but it works always randomly. I have the problem on different 99/4A computers I use, that confirms that the problem is not on my computers but on the FG99.

While I don't know about your exact problem, I can report that back in the day, I was testing each FlashROM/FinalGROM cart for function using the same TI 99 console.  Eventually, that console no longer was able to recognize the FinalGROM, but other consoles were.  My theory was that the cartridge port of that TI went bad.

 

I finally resolved it by using a Widget with three external slots for testing.

 

But you displaced the cart connector, so you probably have a different issue.  Do you also have problems if you don't use the reset button (e.g., by power cycling the console)?

[fabrice montupet]

On the TIny-99/4A v3, the cartridge connector is brand new. It is not longer than the TI cartridge port that plugs onto the 99/4A motherboard. The problem is also present on the original TI-99/4A computer (I tested on three 99/4A computers).

The FG99 worked fine on any computers (TI-99/4A et TIny-99/4Av2 and v3), I had no any problem. The malfunction suddenly arrived a few days ago.

I have many problems with the FG99 as said before, sometimes I have a crash after the selection of a sub-directory or a program. With different LED blinking sequences. And I have to reset the computer, to try again, to finally success to navigate in a sub-directory or launching a program.