MiSTer FPGA Forum

Sorry for the late reply folks, project is still alive.
We are ordering some parts and fixing a couple of issues (pcb design) so the time frame is a little off compared to what we first wanted. Update regarding OLED and fixes should come later this month so we will update you accordingly.

Again, sorry for the lack of updates.

Sorry for the lack of updates!
More will come this month...

At first I was thinking about using an e-ink for my project C717F50E-BAE8-4919-8E52-B4EF9F896945.jpeg But no animation possible. The 3-Color e-ink (with yellow) needs about 25secs for the picture to be shown completely. That was too long for me. Red‘s are a bit faster but I like the yellow color. Btw, the Picture was written to the Display about t...

What do people think about using a e-ink color display instead of OLED? It is just a question, not saying we will use it. Interesting, what would the advantages be in using one rather than the other? I mean, I know the strengths and weaknesses of both types of display it's more that I'm not really sure if there's a benefit of one over the other in...

The cassette will hold the mt32-pi, correct. Please be sure it will fit both RPI A and B models. While it's likely most mt32-pi users have the A model, I had a spare B model I didn't used, so perhaps others are in the same situation, it would be nice if the case could fit both. The idea is to make it as universal as possible so we know people use ...

Milspex wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 8:48 am No way the case is going to be big enough to fit the Mister, the custom boards, a hdd and a raspberry pi for mt32-pi though right?

Oh wait or is there going to be a mt32-pi cassette? I think I misunderstood.

The cassette will hold the mt32-pi, correct.
To be fair though it takes planning to be able to fit everything, but it will be ok.

What do people think about using a e-ink color display instead of OLED? It is just a question, not saying we will use it. Looking good to me. I would think that a wheel makes more sense than the initial slider youare getting pretty limited in terms of space on the front of the case. Seeing the OLED for me it is very much about the mt32-pi for me as...

Yeah I understand. The MT32-pi display will be on the cassette so maybe we should have some way of shutting off the main display if people don't want to see it, not everyone likes a glowing display. I'll look into it. Wait doesn´t every one want a bright blinding screen and 87 mini suns blinding you when you play? Ps. Post could conatain small amo...

ok back to how cool the MSTR case is please.. I'm just curious how it's gonna pan out when they decide to use the 2nd header as well for adding more ram. I don't think anything like that is on the cards as of yet If we start using 256mb ram then a new type of I/O board needs to be developed, VGA/RGB would probably not be available. Not sure when w...

So most likely we will use this OLED display (2.08"), 256x64. It is more rectangular and will fit better with the bottom part of the case. Notice also that the headset jack and "slider" are on the left side and the slider has turned into a wheel instead to make everything more compact and nothing is protruding. OLED256x64.png OLED2In...

venice wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 5:19 pm

akicus wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 5:02 pm ...
We have a way of presenting a specific ROM on the main OLED screen as well, more on that later.

I am curious to see how this will work.

It is a little limited but I think people will like it. Love your project btw, fantastic work.

Hi, We are still working on it, not dead yet ;). We will post something by next week as we are adding a OLED screen to it thus changing a little to the front of the case (case should still be of the same size). We thought that since more people want this feature why not include it? A possible second OLED screen on cassette (MT-32 for example) would...

ok back to how cool the MSTR case is please.. I'm just curious how it's gonna pan out when they decide to use the 2nd header as well for adding more ram. I don't think anything like that is on the cards as of yet If we start using 256mb ram then a new type of I/O board needs to be developed, VGA/RGB would probably not be available. Not sure when w...

callanabrown wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:20 pm Thanks for the feedback lol, yes I don't have industrial design experience.

DIY projects are always intetesting to look at and it had some nice things about it for sure like the keyboard and have everything built together into one case, I know some people want this for sure.
Maybe some day...

Good work! I love what I'm seeing. The I/O shield is indeed the way to go. I imagine the the Cartridge will have it's own I/O shield making it more upgradable and modular? Could the USB ports on the back and the one for the internal HD be USB3? What do you think of the option of two M.2 slots? One for a wireless/bluetooth card and one for storage?...

caseLED.gif Testing - Player Cartridge System (PCS) We have four SNES ports working now. It always starts in USB-mode so all menus can be controlled. Reboot also starts in USB-mode. Pressing Start + Select + Down makes it go into SNAC mode. Pressing Start + Select + Up makes it go into SNAC+ mode. If SNAC/SNAC+ is not used by the Player Cartridge ...

How my controllers can you connect to a single cassette? Does it vary from system to system depending on the number of active pins? Will there be any user definable buttons on the actual cassettes? I was just thinking that for arcade systems it could have been good to have something like a P1, P2 or a Insert Coin button on there. Ah, forget it, I'...

Testing

Player Cassette System (PCS) is being tested now.
SNAC works great it seems, tested with a couple of different controllers.
Next is testing SNAC/USB switching...

We tested loading games through a phone (PlayZX app) and it works great. Wait a minute! What exactly do you mean by loading games? Cores only or Roms too? In the Retroarch tread and some others there have been a discussion on using a different GUI for the mister and deemed almost useless. Since you can only load Cores over the network and not Roms...

Testing

Audio in - We tested loading games through a phone (PlayZX app) and it works great. Only problem is the game Knight Lore, not sure why but will look into it some more (the game loads fine but crashes once you try to start playing it).

Testing

VGA - We tested VGA on a computer monitor and a CRT TV, works great. Will do more testing just to make sure nothing is wrong.

Testing

Front Audio - Works great, fantastic audio. We use a wheel instead of a slider in the picture if you are wondering, it is testing after all...

Tested

1. 2nd USB-Hub (on the back) is working great it seems. Tested with a keyboard but will test with more stuff later.

2. Player Cassette (with headers for testing) is being tested, more info soon.

3. Sound from the back is working as well.

More to follow...

Thanks again for the long post, a very interesting and informative read. Since the start of this thread we have gotten comments, PM’s and e-mails asking us about this case. ”Can you do this”, ”implement that” and so on. It has been super helpful in terms of guiding us down a path that is more true to what the MiSTer audience wants but at the same t...

That is a long text sir .
I'm off to bed, will make a reply tomorrow.

Tandy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:07 pm Will there be a way to get composite video out of this board for older CRTs?

If I remember correctly we have thought of doing a adapter cable (VGA to Composite) with a electronic circuit built in. So yes, it is possible.

Coming alive...
https://akicus.co/LEDs.mp4

Milspex wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:54 am What are the dimensions of the case?

It is not final yet, we need to see first if everything is working as it should or if we need to change anything, BUT the idea is to have it as flat as possible. I could write a number that is around what we are going for but I will wait a little longer to avoid any confusion.

So here is a short update. The boards were soldered with components and with the time we had this week we tested: 1. SD-Card. At first it did not work but we found the problem so now it works. We designed a new SD-Card pcb though with high speed SD-Card specs so the next/final version of the pcb will be even better. 2. Front USB-Board. Working as n...

Been doing some testing with the DE10 Nano and our PCBs. Small update tomorrow, hopefully with some pics.

siskavard wrote: ↑Sat Feb 27, 2021 7:27 pm I really like the console-esque design!

Thank you.