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PlusCart (an inexpensive DIY WiFi multicart)


Al_Nafuur

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On 12/28/2020 at 8:13 PM, ZeroPage Homebrew said:

I've had to set my Framemeister to the most tolerant setting in the case of frame irregularities in some games. If I have it set to the lowest setting, even a frame or two will drop the video signal similar to what you're experiencing with the RetroTink.

Curious which setting this refers to? Thanks.

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On 5/9/2021 at 2:07 PM, MrZarniwoop said:

Curious which setting this refers to? Thanks.

The setting for that is SYNC_TIME under SYNC_SET:

"SYNC_TIME: adjust the synchronisation time when the signal is lost"

 

But I just read here that they "advise leaving SYNC_TIME set to "3"" so for now I've set back the setting to 3 from 100.

 

I've found that if the game does not have a steady line count it's going to bounce the screen regardless no matter what I've set it to. I'm going to try it on '3' for a while and see how it goes.

 

- James

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Hi

 

Like everyone else, wanted to say thanks for creating and supporting this fantastic project. I purchased the components separately from various sources but have found that chip prices / availability are starting to have an effect - STM boards are around $15 now.

 

My question is that when playing an original game over RF (not composite modded) the image quality is poor, but when playing over the pluscart the image quality is superb - so good in fact that I won't be doing the composite mod - it is really that good. I wondered what the difference is? Maybe the pluscart uses less current than an original cart so puts less stress on the voltage regulator and capacitors? I haven't recapped the console yet.

 

Has anyone else seen this and knows why there is such a difference?

 

Thanks again

 

David.

 

P.S. I ordered an STM32 board from Kmust Store on Aliexpress and they sent me 2 X plastic rotary knobs worth about $0.00001 each!

Edited by Dr Pinball
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1 hour ago, Dr Pinball said:

Like everyone else, wanted to say thanks for creating and supporting this fantastic project.

You're welcome.

 

1 hour ago, Dr Pinball said:

My question is that when playing an original game over RF (not composite modded) the image quality is poor, but when playing over the pluscart the image quality is superb - so good in fact that I won't be doing the composite mod - it is really that good. I wondered what the difference is? Maybe the pluscart uses less current than an original cart so puts less stress on the voltage regulator and capacitors? I haven't recapped the console yet.

 

Has anyone else seen this and knows why there is such a difference?

Maybe you should try to clean the pin connectors of your original game cartridges.

 

 

 

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Just dispatched (second time this week)

 

grafik.thumb.png.5e015ecb5be1f5b78f488af447568e74.png

 

The current batch is expected to be gone in 2 to 3 weeks.

I also only have cartridges with defects or the Red Label Atari cartridges (with the holes under the label). There is only one left of the 3D cartridges. The next batch will be 5 € more expensive because unfortunately the purchase price for the STM32 board has doubled.

 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Al_Nafuur said:

Just dispatched (second time this week)

 

 

The current batch is expected to be gone in 2 to 3 weeks.

I also only have cartridges with defects or the Red Label Atari cartridges (with the holes under the label). There is only one left of the 3D cartridges. The next batch will be 5 € more expensive because unfortunately the purchase price for the STM32 board has doubled.

 

 

 

Price is ridiculously/absurdly/insanely cheap anyway. It should be at least twice as much.

 

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5 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

Price is ridiculously/absurdly/insanely cheap anyway. It should be at least twice as much.

 

I sell them for my purchase price, and produce them in my spare time. This is why the supply is not that good.

 

If someone wants to produce and sell PlusCarts (like @DablioGames) he will of course not sell and ship them for a "ridiculously/absurdly/insanely cheap" price.

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2 hours ago, Al_Nafuur said:

I sell them for my purchase price, and produce them in my spare time. This is why the supply is not that good.

 

If someone wants to produce and sell PlusCarts (like @DablioGames) he will of course not sell and ship them for a "ridiculously/absurdly/insanely cheap" price.

Well, at least anyone buying one from you is getting an absolute bargain!

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Frogger has been modified for the PlusCart High Score Club.
PlusCart user/tester can find the PAL, PAL60, and NTSC versions in the PlusStore directory "Public ROMs\PlusROMs\High Score Club"

 

The NTSC version can be played online in javatari.js. The ROM-file can also be played with Gopher2600.


The "PlusCart High Score Club" page for Frogger:
https://highscore.firmaplus.de/?game_id=36

Frogger.png.1cb2c7d06b7f2758ac1371eb3ea060ae.png

 

 

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I just wanted to say thanks for developing PlusCart(+)!

 

It's nice that the PlusStore is maintained with all the latest homebrews, which makes the whole experience kind of great. If I just read about any 2600 demo, hack, or  homebrew on AtariAge, I find that 99% of the time it's already in the PlusStore so two clicks away from trying out.

 

The idea of Internet-connected games on the 2600 is pretty amazing too, I can't wait to see where Cave Apocalypse goes.

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1 hour ago, MrZarniwoop said:

I just wanted to say thanks for developing PlusCart(+)!

 

It's nice that the PlusStore is maintained with all the latest homebrews, which makes the whole experience kind of great. If I just read about any 2600 demo, hack, or  homebrew on AtariAge, I find that 99% of the time it's already in the PlusStore so two clicks away from trying out.

mostly done by ROM-Admin @Prizrak

 

1 hour ago, MrZarniwoop said:

The idea of Internet-connected games on the 2600 is pretty amazing too, I can't wait to see where Cave Apocalypse goes.

me too ?

 

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Has anybody else had problems with the Pluscart? Soldered mine and connected the finished module to my laptop and programmed it. Starting it up on a 2600Jr results in a black screen.

Short flickering of the WLAN module LED and that's it. I've checked all soldering joints and reprogrammed the ESP board - no change.

The modules WLAN AP is active and I can connect on it - getting a DHCP address (192.168.4.2). Trying to connect to 192.168.4.1 results in a timeout. Guess, I have to activate web interface first, as far as I've read in the docs.

 

Any ideas, what I could check?

 

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1 hour ago, eggimac said:

Any ideas, what I could check?

 

boot0 and boot1 jumper. ?

 

grafik.thumb.png.1620501c7eef6be011a9efcb408028a7.png

 

boot1 should/can be always short:

grafik.thumb.png.48c3466aaf52232be92a2fb537f9aad2.png

 

 

 

1 hour ago, eggimac said:

The modules WLAN AP is active and I can connect on it - getting a DHCP address (192.168.4.2). Trying to connect to 192.168.4.1 results in a timeout. Guess, I have to activate web interface first, as far as I've read in the docs.

If the STM32 boots up normal it deactivates the ESP8266 AP mode and sets it to station mode. Seems like the STM32 is not booting (boot0 and boot1 jumper), so the screen stays "black" and the ESP8266 starts in AP mode.

 

 

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12 hours ago, eggimac said:

Has anybody else had problems with the Pluscart? Soldered mine and connected the finished module to my laptop and programmed it. Starting it up on a 2600Jr results in a black screen.

Short flickering of the WLAN module LED and that's it. I've checked all soldering joints and reprogrammed the ESP board - no change.

The modules WLAN AP is active and I can connect on it - getting a DHCP address (192.168.4.2). Trying to connect to 192.168.4.1 results in a timeout. Guess, I have to activate web interface first, as far as I've read in the docs.

 

Any ideas, what I could check?

 

I had this same problem. I checked continuity between the points on the edge connector and found a short.

 

After examining the soldered connections and re-flowing I could find no issue. So I checked the pins on the stm32 and found a short between 2 pins.

 

I applied a bit of flux and re-flowed around the area which fixed the short. Card booted fine.

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On 5/20/2021 at 12:12 AM, Al_Nafuur said:

boot0 and boot1 jumper. ?

 

grafik.thumb.png.1620501c7eef6be011a9efcb408028a7.png

 

boot1 should/can be always short:

grafik.thumb.png.48c3466aaf52232be92a2fb537f9aad2.png

 

 

 

If the STM32 boots up normal it deactivates the ESP8266 AP mode and sets it to station mode. Seems like the STM32 is not booting (boot0 and boot1 jumper), so the screen stays "black" and the ESP8266 starts in AP mode.

 

 

Checked connection between pins of boot0 and boot1 with multimeter - properly shorted. I'll check all connections between STM32 and PlusCart board. Hope, this helps.

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14 minutes ago, KaeruYojimbo said:

I just discovered the Find Other Users Online option.

20210521_094629.thumb.png.e10744a7e0a8d5670237ae317acd6ce7.png

 

5 minutes ago, Thomas Jentzsch said:

Currently almost permanently. :( 

 

7 minutes ago, Andrew Davie said:

As in real life, this is often the case.

 

There are 15 - 20 PlusCart users active per day, but hardly two of them at the same time.

 

I prefer the PlusStore statistics :

https://pluscart.firmaplus.de/statistics.php

 

 

Edited by Al_Nafuur
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