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I want to make my own CPC 8bit

Started by cpc4eva, 22:01, 04 February 11

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Bryce

If it's arcade games you want, then the Multi Jamma is the only one http://www.arcadomaniashop.com/Happy-Fish-JAMMA-Platine
302 Arcade games on a single PCB and a standard interface for Jamma standard controls :)

Ok, it doesn't do ST / Amiga or anything, but that's not it's goal.

Bryce.

redbox

Quote from: Bryce on 10:09, 07 April 11
If it's arcade games you want, then the Multi Jamma is the only one http://www.arcadomaniashop.com/Happy-Fish-JAMMA-Platine
302 Arcade games on a single PCB and a standard interface for Jamma standard controls :)


Ah yeah, that is EPIC.   :)


A mate of mine has a mini-MAME cabinet and I wanted to build something similar - this could be a simpler option for me.

Gryzor

Why get a multi-game JAMMA board instead of putting a nice little PC in the cab? Voila-thousands of games, not only those the maker decided were worth it. Sure, more expensive, but most of the classic games (MAME/SMS/SMD/NES/SNES and all the 8- and 16-bitters) run fine on spare parts these days...

Bryce

Because I hate waiting for things to boot :)

Bryce.

Gryzor

A lean XP system like the one I have in my cab takes as long to boot as I need to fetch something to sit on, my coffee and an ashtray. And provides several hundreds of *selected* games. And has great attract modes. And I can add more games if I fancy something new. Well worth the booting time, methinks...

TFM

Hmmm.... then only one main-problem remains.... PCs like to crash... :(
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

Gryzor

Never crashed on me in the year and a half that I have set it up.

AMSDOS

I read the Amstrad PC20 wasn't released in the UK - strange since Amstrad released it here (or at least I think they did since it was reviewed in an Australian magazine), though felt the CPC Plus wouldn't happen. Amstrad must of felt that IBM like PCs were becomming the fad by the late 80s!
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* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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Bryce

Where did you read that? I had several friends in Ireland who had PC20s, and they rarely sell something in the Ireland and not in the UK.

Bryce.

AMSDOS

Quote from: Bryce on 10:46, 08 April 11
Where did you read that? I had several friends in Ireland who had PC20s, and they rarely sell something in the Ireland and not in the UK.

Bryce.

On this site. But course it could be rubbish, the page is based in the UK.
* Using the old Amstrad Languages :D   * with the Firmware :P
* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

Home Computing Weekly Programs
Popular Computing Weekly Programs
Your Computer Programs
Updated Other Program Links on Profile Page (Update April 16/15 phew!)
Programs for Turbo Pascal 3

steve

@CPCOxygen, it's funny you should mention the propeller chip as I have been thinking about trying to use it as a co-processor attached to the CPC expansion bus.

I would use the cogs (processors) as follows

8 cogs.
1, SD card interface with amsdos compatible filing system.
2, serial port, ethernet port if easy to do.
3, SID emulation or better
4, Floating point processor.
5, DMA, blitter emulation
6, 3D graphics processor
7, CPC Program analyser similar to Hackit or multiface.
8, PLUS emulator, adds plus features to cpc 464/664/6128

The box would also contain 512KB battery backed ram and Real-time-clock, and maybe stereo digiblaster run from one cog in its spare time.

TFM

Sorry Steve, but most of your ideas can't be realized without a lot of soldering on the CPC's motherboard.
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

steve

#63
The board is expected to plug onto the expansion connector, no soldering to the CPC at all.
The board itself would be relatively simple just the propeller, an eeprom, 512KB ram/rtc and a few connectors for the SD card and serial port/ethernet port, audio output connector with mixer to combine AY sound with cog sound, and interface circuitry to connect the two systems together.
The propeller would occasionally take control of the CPC bus to R/W data to CPC ram, it may be necessary for one cog to emulate a Z80 to compensate for the real Z80's reduced access to the busses.

CPCOxygen

@steve That sounds like fun but seems very complex, to me at least. I think the propeller chip do have a lot of uses for improving old 8 and 16 bit machines.

Some of the others things I was thinking of working on with the propeller chip:

An ROM board with propeller chip and SD card would be a nice easy enough project - put all the ROM files on an SD card and have the propeller emulate a ROM board.

Also a cheaper version of the HxC drive would be possible with the propeller chip, emulating a floppy drive is the hardest part.
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TFM

I'm not sure about the latter... the chips used on the HxC are not that expansive. The HxC is produced in a very proffessional way. My guess is... there is not much space to make it cheaper.k

Regarding the HxC IMHO, considering the hardware and the software, the price is really fair. Don't forget all the support you get.
TFM of FutureSoft
Also visit the CPC and Plus users favorite OS: FutureOS - The Revolution on CPC6128 and 6128Plus

Bryce

The PIC used on the HxC is much cheaper than a Propellor chip and the HxC design is already very efficient, the only way of reducing the price further would be to have them bulk made in China, changing components wouldn't reduce the price. A Propellor based ROMBoard is a really complicated way of doing something simple. Considering the low amount of actual ROM programs available for the CPC and the price of large Flash ROMs, this would also be an expensive solution.

Bryce.

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