Mateos cart thoughts? (Podcast help. :) )

[Dauber]

HA! Thought I'd change things up a bit.

But anyhoo...episode 36 of The Atari 7800 Homebrew Podcast will be focusing on a piece of homebrew hardware, specifically Juan Mateos' 16-in-1 rewritable Atari 7800 multicart. You can find the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, the website http://homebrew78.fab4it.com, or use this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/homebrew78.

What are your thoughts on the Mateos cart?

You can also e-mail text or audio to homebrew78 -at- fab4it -dot- com. I'm looking at Wednesday, May 16, 11:59pm CDT as the deadline for this one.

Comments are welcome any time, including after the deadline; any feedback from after the deadline will simply be addressed during a later episode.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Simply put the Mateos 16 in 1 (8 in 1 in 144k mode) is the most compatible flash multicart available for the 7800 currently. I love mine! It isn't the easiest multicart I've worked with since:

 

- it requires the additional burner/dumper module to be plugged onto it and then into your computer in order to update the data on it

- it is finicky to get working on anything newer than windows 7 without some old school DOS command knowledge

- you are restricted due to flash space as you can only store 16 games at once if they are 128k or less in size, or 8 games max if you have the cart set to 144k mode for larger games

 

Physically the cart is built well with proper components, but some might find the overall bulk of the cartridge to be bit much. Especially if you want to house it in an old 7800 cartridge shell as it requires cutting the cart shell to fit it in properly, or modification of the mateos cart itself for it to fit better in a standard 7800 shell.

 

It is supposedly possible to mix and match roms of different sizes to be able to mix both 128k and lesser games in addition to 144k games and have more than the 8 game limitation, but I believe it to be most stable if you just stick to only 16 games or 8 games depending on the mode you have it set to. Additionally, it can't accept anything larger than 144k so any newer homebrews in the future that use larger bank switch methods etc. obviously can't be loaded onto this cart. But so far there are only a small select homebrews or WIP games where this would be an issue. But at least for everything I wanted to play and new WIP homebrews I've been interested in checking out, Mateos cart for the 7800 has been excellent! It is also quite affordable as well when compared to other flash carts for other systems.

 

So again, for my needs it has been great and works just as I expect and need it to and until something better comes along that has a better track record of working, it is the best option available as a flash multicart for the 7800.

Edited May 10, 2018 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[+save2600]

As neat as it is, I skipped buying into this for the reasons above. And is there no Mac support? Even still, and at this point, all I want to do is pop an SD card full of programs into a cart and that's it. Have been "patiently" waiting for Conerto now for some time. Hope it sees the light of day sometime soon.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

And is there no Mac support?

 

there is but like the WIntel architecture, it is OS specific on what else you have to do to make it work or not. I will say that on Win 7 and XP, the Mateos works great and is pretty much just plug n play and copy over the Rom you want to that memory bank. I created a batch file to help with the hidden file nonsense that started with Win 8 and especially with Win 10 so it is much easier to use now.

[+SmittyB]

Programming for the 7800 using emulators to test is okay, but the Mateos 16-in-1 is exactly what I was looking for to play and test my code on real hardware where the fun is really at. I imagine most people who are used to SD card adaptors for other consoles will find it a bit clunky to set up, and you do need to find a process that works for you, but for my uses it's perfect. The real cherry on top for me is the slot for a POKEY chip which I've filled with one salvaged from a dead 8-bit (no commandos or ballblazers where harmed in the POKEY-fying of my Mateos 16-in-1). I think everyone should have one.

[Dauber]

As a Mac user, I can DEFINITIVELY say it works on a Mac. There are some extra steps you have to do, especially if you're using Sierra or higher, but it works. You have to remove some extraneous stuff the OS adds when it copies files to USB devices.

[tep392]

I loved mine before I broke it. Sadly, I made the careless mistake of plugging the programmer into the wrong end and fried my cart. That's something to be very careful about if you have one of these. I found that putting it in a cart shell was necessary because it would shake and cause the game to crash if the console got bumped. You have to cut open the end of the cart but it's pretty easy if you have a Dremel.

 

With the Cuttlecart2 being unobtainium and the Concerto having no line of site to completion, it's a great option and very reasonably priced. I've used mine to put all the pokey homebrew games on a single cart. BBCQ, DKPK, Froggy, Beef Drop, Pac-man Collection, Pac-man 320 and Ms. Pac-man 320 make for a great POKEY multi-cart.

 

TEP392

[gambler172]

Mateos cart is great.Especially for the good price.

Most roms are working and it is great for testing own

programs.

greetings Walter

[+sramirez2008]

I love my Mateos Rewritable Multigame Cartridge! Juan provides everything you'll need to load your cart (e.g. burner, a78 file converter and file extensions) and I have found it very easy to use. The ability to add a POKEY chip, is a HUGE plus and made this an insta-buy for me. Honestly, the only issue with this cart is its limitation to store 8-16 games, and that's not a big deal. I use it often and recommend it.

 

Shout-out to Juan for making this cart and to vectrexroli for bringing it to our attention.

 

*Full disclosure, I have a Windows 7 laptop that I keep around for stuff like this.

 

[PacManPlus]

I can't get mine to work... no matter what I do. I have the switch set to 128K, copy a 16K file to slot 0, rename the extension to .16K, and I get nothing. I really wanted this to work, since I no longer have my Cuttle Cart.

[Swami]

Works great, except never got BBCQ to have sound. I believe tep392 made a special version of DKXM to work on the Mateos and that works great. Both are extra large sized POKEY roms.

[tep392]

Works great, except never got BBCQ to have sound. I believe tep392 made a special version of DKXM to work on the Mateos and that works great. Both are extra large sized POKEY roms.

The Mateos POKEY support is at $4000. It reads from Flash ROM at $4000 but writes goto POKEY. BBCQ should work if it's built for POKEY at $4000. I think the source code has the option to use $450 or $4000.

[Swami]

The Mateos POKEY support is at $4000. It reads from Flash ROM at $4000 but writes goto POKEY. BBCQ should work if it's built for POKEY at $4000. I think the source code has the option to use $450 or $4000.

 

Tried that one. I think that was probably the fishnet pattern.

[CPUWIZ]

The Mateos POKEY support is at $4000. It reads from Flash ROM at $4000 but writes goto POKEY. BBCQ should work if it's built for POKEY at $4000. I think the source code has the option to use $450 or $4000.

 

Negative, that is what sets BBCQ aside from anything Atari ever made, the full address space from $4000-$FFFF is used by the game, the POKEY can not live @ $4000. In fact, the player graphics are in the $4000 region.

[Swami]

Okay. So, $4000 one plays normal, but has no sound. $450 is just the fishnet pattern. The stripped a78 plays normal, but no sound. Maybe has to do with the way the code is arranged. I just use the BBCQ cart, but it appears to be an issue. Someone said to try a shorter usb cable...1ft instead of 3ft, may try it some time.

[tep392]

Negative, that is what sets BBCQ aside from anything Atari ever made, the full address space from $4000-$FFFF is used by the game, the POKEY can not live @ $4000. In fact, the player graphics are in the $4000 region.

DKPK has rom at $4000 but works on the Mateos. The Mateos cart does a hack of reads enabling the ROM and writes enabling the POKEY. This was how Prosystem emulator managed to have POKEY sound with both BBCQ and DKPK.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Bentley does work on the mateos with pokey sound, provided you have a slightly newer Mateos that supports the .s9P extention needed for Bentley to work.

 

I can't get mine to work... no matter what I do. I have the switch set to 128K, copy a 16K file to slot 0, rename the extension to .16K, and I get nothing. I really wanted this to work, since I no longer have my Cuttle Cart.

 

PMP - perhaps we can get yours working for your needs because it really isn't that difficult to get up and running. PM me for some additional info so we can try and get that working for you. As the most prominent 7800 home brewer currently, you of all people need to have a working mateos!

[Swami]

Bentley does work on the mateos with pokey sound, provided you have a slightly newer Mateos that supports the .s9P extention needed for Bentley to work.

 

 

PMP - perhaps we can get yours working for your needs because it really isn't that difficult to get up and running. PM me for some additional info so we can try and get that working for you. As the most prominent 7800 home brewer currently, you of all people need to have a working mateos!

 

DKXM works flawlessly but BBCQ does not, so it is not something that basic.

[PacManPlus]

DKPK has rom at $4000 but works on the Mateos. The Mateos cart does a hack of reads enabling the ROM and writes enabling the POKEY. This was how Prosystem emulator managed to have POKEY sound with both BBCQ and DKPK.

 

 

DKXM works flawlessly but BBCQ does not, so it is not something that basic.

 

Ok, here is BBCQ compiled with Pokey at $4000... Please let me know if this works.

Bentley.a78

Bentley.BIN

[Trebor]

Bentley does work on the mateos with pokey sound, provided you have a slightly newer Mateos that supports the .s9P extention needed for Bentley to work.

 

Just a heads up, that extension has to be all uppercase (*.S9P) for the cart to recognize it properly. In fact, all extensions currently supported must be in uppercase.

 

You probably already know, as well as many others, but for the newbies, it is an important point.

[tep392]

Just a heads up, that extension has to be all uppercase (*.S9P) for the cart to recognize it properly. In fact, all extensions currently supported must be in uppercase.

 

You probably already know, as well as many others, but for the newbies, it is an important point.

And we use the .bin, not the .a78 with header.

[Swami]

And we use the .bin, not the .a78 with header.

 

Also, I've seen the extension with often change from upper-case to lower case when you copy the file to another folder and comes out lower case from the Mateos page converter/header stripper.

[Swami]

 

 

Ok, here is BBCQ compiled with Pokey at $4000... Please let me know if this works.

 

Sorry. Gives the grey and black fishnet pattern. Thanks anyway.

[PacManPlus]

Ok, I know what is going on.

The .BIN for carts requires the $4000 area in a different place than the .A78 file. In the .BIN, $4000-$7FFF needs to be at the end. For .A78, the $4000-$7FFF area needs to be at the beginning. So his cart is a little different in that it requires the .A78 bank order, but with the header stripped. We can't use the straight .BIN for this.

I can't try this myself, as I can't get my cart to work, but try this one.

BBCQ-NEW.zip

[PacManPlus]

BTW, I apologize for derailing this thread. For anything other than Dauber's request for opinions about the cart, please - let's start another thread.