KevKelley Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 I had been reading about the Atari clones and how they worked and I was curious if there were any modern TIA or VLSI clone chips out there? My understanding is that the TIA is the only thing that kind of stands in the way of new hardware systems from being made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I've been thinking exactly the same thing the last few days. While I don't know of anything out there that can be used as a replacement for the TIA, there still seems to be a fairly large stock of NOS chips available. I was thinking about a FrankenVCS ... with a 65816 and V5998 graphics chip. Kind of like a souped up 7800 with backward compatibility with the 2600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Is it a complicated chip to do an FPGA replacement of? Or is it more of a lack of interest from those who have the knowledge and expertise to actually do it? The Coco community is a small group and I believe they either have or are close to a full GIME chip replacement and I think it's a more complicated chip than the TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevKelley Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 What got me started was seeing how good emulation has gotten over the years and as I surf eBay and come across the various expansions for systems like Coleco or Intellivision. I was curious about the Phoenix because I think it said it was 100% compatible using FPGA, but I was curious as to how that would work. And then of course the Retron 77. Personally, I would love to see a new 7800 with backwards compatibility but with a little something added on (like the XM), so like a progression of the line. A Super 7800. I just didn't know if the components are to difficult to create or there is no interest, like with the C64 and the various SID chip replacements that have come out over the years. I was also thinking about repairing old units. I see many cannibalized and wondered if there was a different way to fix dead systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevKelley Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 (edited) Deleted. Accidentally made duplicate post. Edited March 23, 2019 by KevKelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Looks like there's been a few attempts at recreating the TIA and even the entire 2600 in an FPGA. Here's one: https://hackaday.com/2010/09/15/atari-2600-recreated-in-an-fpga/ The problem with the 7800 is the MARIA chip. I haven't seen a lot of technical information out there about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 I wonder if kevtris has tried tackling this. If anyone could do it I think it would be him 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 V9958 and 65816? Code away your test software... mame apple2gs -sl7 ezcgi9958 XD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 V9958 and 65816? Code away your test software... mame apple2gs -sl7 ezcgi9958 XD? At the moment, I'd be happy just to get a 65816 running with a design that includes an enhanced cartridge port that can handle multi-megabyte ROMs without bank switching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awhite2600 Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 What was used in the Flashback 2? I don't believe that it used an FPGA or emulation. I know that the FB2 wasn't 100% compatible - but it did allow for physical cartridges if you added the cartridge slot. Was it just a fairly close recreation? If so, could a similar chip be designed with improved compatibility? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tickled_Pink Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 What was used in the Flashback 2? I don't believe that it used an FPGA or emulation. I know that the FB2 wasn't 100% compatible - but it did allow for physical cartridges if you added the cartridge slot. Was it just a fairly close recreation? If so, could a similar chip be designed with improved compatibility? According to the Wikipedia article about the Flashback units, the FB2 uses a single-chip design of the 2600 designed by Curt Vendel. I knew that Curt was involved with some of the early FB units but it seems that for the FB2, he essentially recreated the TIA. The article is a little vague on detail. Was it an entire 2600 on a single chip, or just the TIA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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