RetroN 77 Community Build Image

[fluxit]

You need a 2600-daptor II and connect it to the USB port. That's why you need that cable above.

 

... and the latest community build intstalled.

[fluxit]

I tried to determine why my CX-80 trak-ball isn't detected as a joystick when in joystick(JS) mode by the Retron 77 when plugged into one of the front ports.

 

Power pin to ground on the R77 front ports was measured at 3.4 volts instead of the Atari standard 5 volts. When supplied with 5v, the CX-80 draws about 30ma. When Supplied with 3.4v, the CX-80 draws about 15ma. The CX-80 starts producing coherent output at around 3.15v, and seems to work just as well at 3.4v as it does at 5.

 

The CX-80 is virtually silent electrically on my scope when plugged, and when not in use, just as a standard 2600 stick should be.

 

So, why does the R77 ignore the CX-80 in joystick mode? Perhaps the pulses it produces are too short?

 

I didn't try testing the CX-80 while attached to the R77, perhaps the R77 doesn't allow any 'significant' current to be drawn from the joystick ports, not even 10-15ma?

 

--Oops. I meant to post this in the main Retron thread.

Edited January 31, 2019 by fluxit

[WishItWas1984]

As mentioned in the RetroN 77 thread, here's a RetroN 77 Community Build test image with USB support enabled via the RetroN 77s Micro USB power jack. This will allow you to plug in a USB keyboard and USB adapter devices such as the Stelladaptor/2600-daptor and use real paddles and other devices that may be supported by your adapter.

 

You will need a Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power, and a (preferably powered) USB hub if using more than one device or anything that requires a decent amount of USB power. DO NOT attempt to plug anything other than a very low power device into the OTG cable without using a powered USB hub. You have been warned...

 

I'm confused about two things.

 

1) I know the jitter of original paddles on the 77 is supposedly caused by Hyperkin's code, so is the recommendation viable because going through the daptor+microUSB means the daptor is handling control translation, bypassing the faulty code?

 

2) If the above is true, then would my setup work with the OTG cable? I power my 77 via a microUSB cable plugged into a USB Type-A 5V/1A charging port on my TV. No AC adapter. So would paddles and power for the 77 function through the OTG?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

1) I know the jitter of original paddles on the 77 is supposedly caused by Hyperkin's code, so is the recommendation viable because going through the daptor+microUSB means the daptor is handling control translation, bypassing the faulty code?

 

2) If the above is true, then would my setup work with the OTG cable? I power my 77 via a microUSB cable plugged into a USB Type-A 5V/1A charging port on my TV. No AC adapter. So would paddles and power for the 77 function through the OTG?

1. Yes. Via USB you directly communicate with he Stella emulator and thus circumvent Hyperkin's hardware and code which converts the input data for Stella.
2. Yes. The power would still come from your TV (though 1A is pretty much on the edge), but the required split cable (~1€ at eBay if you can wait) allows you to attach a 2600-daptor via USB in parallel.

[WishItWas1984]

 

1. Yes. Via USB you directly communicate with he Stella emulator and thus circumvent Hyperkin's hardware and code which converts the input data for Stella.
2. Yes. The power would still come from your TV (though 1A is pretty much on the edge), but the required split cable (~1€ at eBay if you can wait) allows you to attach a 2600-daptor via USB in parallel.

 

 

Thanks. The power so far has not been an issue for me *knocks on wood*. I had a long enough microUSB cable already so I'm glad I don't have to hunt down an even longer micro-to-USB-A cable and buy an adapter.

 

Sweet on the paddles!! So does that mean cartridges will work too in this scenario, since the ROM dump is essentially using Stella and not Hyperkin code as well?

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Sweet on the paddles!! So does that mean cartridges will work too in this scenario, since the ROM dump is essentially using Stella and not Hyperkin code as well?

Yup.

[WishItWas1984]

Yup.

 

Schaweeet. Daptor and cables ordered!

 

Now I can finally see how well I cleaned those damned paddles!

 

I appreciate the info

[Dionoid]

Anyone knows where I can order an 2600-daptor in Europe?

 

Thanks!

[dualcam]

Anyone knows where I can order an 2600-daptor in Europe?

 

Thanks!

 

I ship to Europe.

 

Tom

http://2600-daptor.com/

[WishItWas1984]

Well thank you to all involved in figuring out how to get around the Retron 77 paddle problem. Just tested my OTG and new 2600-daptorII, and my cleaned paddles work perfectly. New high score in Kaboom to boot! lol

 

I mean, at this point I should've just got the damned daptor and gone through my Pi to get my 2600 back, but it's still cool to physically pop in a cart and have some faux woodgrain on the table.

 

Oh and whoever the hell makes the daptors is a god damned hero. I also looooove my Vision-daptor on the Pi.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I tried to determine why my CX-80 trak-ball isn't detected as a joystick when in joystick(JS) mode by the Retron 77 when plugged into one of the front ports.

 

Power pin to ground on the R77 front ports was measured at 3.4 volts instead of the Atari standard 5 volts. When supplied with 5v, the CX-80 draws about 30ma. When Supplied with 3.4v, the CX-80 draws about 15ma. The CX-80 starts producing coherent output at around 3.15v, and seems to work just as well at 3.4v as it does at 5.

 

The CX-80 is virtually silent electrically on my scope when plugged, and when not in use, just as a standard 2600 stick should be.

 

So, why does the R77 ignore the CX-80 in joystick mode? Perhaps the pulses it produces are too short?

 

I didn't try testing the CX-80 while attached to the R77, perhaps the R77 doesn't allow any 'significant' current to be drawn from the joystick ports, not even 10-15ma?

 

--Oops. I meant to post this in the main Retron thread.

One potential issue here is that you are driving 5V logic off of a 3.3V VCC bus. Most vintage electronics run on 5V supply, though they will operate reliably from about 4-6V. You are running the logic below spec. While "browning out" solid state logic chips will not cause damage like overvolting can, the chips are operating at marginal capacity, with greatly increased latency and eventually potential malfunction of the logic gate or failure to produce valid output. And the CX-80 has a lot of chips in it. So one CX-80 might function normally, whereas another might not.

 

Remember the Retron77 was only designed to function with stock paddles and joysticks, which do not contain any active circuits. Controllers with turbo function might also malfunction at 3.3V, though 555 timers can generally be operated over a wider range of voltage input than standard digital logic.

 

A bog standard joystick or paddle that only closes a circuit or outputs a resistance would happily operate at 3.3V, 5V, 12V, or any other low voltage/current logic level.

[+Atari_Warlord]

Does this work with the 2600 D9 adapter? It doesn't seem to recognize the plugged in controller for me.

 

Here is the setup:

 

1. Updated the Micro SD card image to the test build (sdcard.remo.20190119-1727.test)

2. The USB power cable plugged into the powered USB connector

3. The USB connector plugged into the micro USB port on the Retron77

4. The USB connector plugged into a USB A/B converter

5. The 2600 D9 adapter plugged into the USB A/B converter

6. A Joystick plugged into the 2600 D9 adapter (set to auto detect mode)

 

The Retron77 boots up but stella can't be navigated without a Joystick plugged into the front panel.

[fluxit]

Try the joystick in a game that supports joystick, not the menu. If you only have one (Atari type)joystick, you don't need the D9. The R77 already supports basic joysticks well enough for most games.

 

Make sure that you read the "Auto Sense" portion of http://2600-daptor.com/2600-daptor%20D9.htm

 

It may be possible to reconfigure Stella on the R77 to allow a 2600-daptor connected joystick to navigate the menu in addition to being used in game, but I haven't tried.

 

-+-+-Edit: I just tried the above on my desktop(Linux) machine in Stella, and it didn't work. The UI ignored the inputs. The 2600-daptor D9 connected joystick continues to work in game.-+-+-

Edited February 13, 2019 by fluxit

[+Atari_Warlord]

Try the joystick in a game that supports joystick, not the menu. If you only have one (Atari type)joystick, you don't need the D9. The R77 already supports basic joysticks well enough for most games.

 

Make sure that you read the "Auto Sense" portion of http://2600-daptor.com/2600-daptor%20D9.htm

 

It may be possible to reconfigure Stella on the R77 to allow a 2600-daptor connected joystick to navigate the menu in addition to being used in game, but I haven't tried.

 

-+-+-Edit: I just tried the above on my desktop(Linux) machine in Stella, and it didn't work. The UI ignored the inputs. The 2600-daptor D9 connected joystick continues to work in game.-+-+-

 

Thanks, I'll give this a try. Looking forward to finally getting good paddle play.

[+Kaboomer]

Does this work with the 2600 D9 adapter? It doesn't seem to recognize the plugged in controller for me.

 

Here is the setup:

 

1. Updated the Micro SD card image to the test build (sdcard.remo.20190119-1727.test)

2. The USB power cable plugged into the powered USB connector

3. The USB connector plugged into the micro USB port on the Retron77

4. The USB connector plugged into a USB A/B converter

5. The 2600 D9 adapter plugged into the USB A/B converter

6. A Joystick plugged into the 2600 D9 adapter (set to auto detect mode)

 

The Retron77 boots up but stella can't be navigated without a Joystick plugged into the front panel.

 

Same situation here. Paddle works with this setup in USB input, but can only navigate the menu with Joystick in the Retron 77... but I'm ok with that too.

[+stephena]

This will be fixed in a future release. When that will be, I can't say.

[Sneakyturtleegg]

Would an OTG adapter with multiple ports work with the new firmware? So I could have 2 sets of paddles hooked up for 4-player Warlords? Would the D9 adaptor also work?

Edited February 20, 2019 by Sneakyturtleegg

[DirtyHairy]

Would an OTG adapter with multiple ports work with the new firmware? So I could have 2 sets of paddles hooked up for 4-player Warlords? Would the D9 adaptor also work?

 

 

Those things are essentially OTG adapters with an integrated USB hub, so, yes

[+Atari_Warlord]

Would an OTG adapter with multiple ports work with the new firmware? So I could have 2 sets of paddles hooked up for 4-player Warlords? Would the D9 adaptor also work?

 

I bought this adapter from Amazon and it worked perfectly with the Retron 77 and D9 in charge mode. I was able to play 4 player paddle games and Indy 500 with both driving controllers. The number of games that aren't playable continues to shrink and is making this a pretty nice HDMI emulation box. Probably the biggest item remaining is getting stella 6.+ on it. Thanks to everyone that has contributed to making this better!

 

How do I change the default controller for a game on this device? I have one that is set at the default joystick, but needs to be paddles.

[fluxit]

You need to either plug a keyboard into the R77, or setup the game in Stella on another computer and copy over the configuration for that game.

[+Atari_Warlord]

You need to either plug a keyboard into the R77, or setup the game in Stella on another computer and copy over the configuration for that game.

 

Thanks, I'll try a USB keyboard since I have one additional connector on the adapter.

[+stephena]

Probably the biggest item remaining is getting stella 6.+ on it.

 

This is being worked on.

 

You need to either plug a keyboard into the R77, or setup the game in Stella on another computer and copy over the configuration for that game.

 

This is also being worked on.

[Dionoid]

 

This is being worked on.

 

 

This is also being worked on.

 

I had to read your answer twice, Steve.... Wow!!! Does this mean you are working on a SDL1.x port of Stella 6? Or did you somehow manage to get SDL2 working on the device? Or is Hyperkin involved and did you team up?

 

So many questions :-)

[DirtyHairy]

 

I had to read your answer twice, Steve.... Wow!!! Does this mean you are working on a SDL1.x port of Stella 6? Or did you somehow manage to get SDL2 working on the device? Or is Hyperkin involved and did you team up?

 

So many questions :-)

 

 

Some answers:

• We have 3D acceleration and SDL2 running on the R77
• We have Stella mainline (=6.x) running merrily on the device at full speed
• We still have to port several of the R77-specific changes from 3.x to the mainline
• We don't have an ETA

Hyperkin is not involved in this in any way.

 

EDIT: If anyone is curious, you can find the source of the updated firmware on github. The firmware is not suitable for playing yet, though, and there is currently no prebuild image, either.

Edited February 25, 2019 by DirtyHairy

[Keatah]

Sounds like all that remains is dot the i's and cross the T's. Remarkable.