Piotr D. Kaczorowski

Thank you for your comment. If you haven't suggested another palette, then NTSC_Contempt remains the release candidate.

(1) In another thread, I found the NTSC_Contempt proposal. From what I see, this is also a palette that is used in Ultimate 1MB. I suggest treating it as release candidate 1. Does anyone have other suggestions or accept this choice? I've also attached a short program that converts an ACT file to a DAT file, as well as 'plugin.s'—a part of the Ultimate 1MB plugin package. This package includes a DAT file and uses it to change the VBXE palette. (2) Let's determine what the resulting file should be that we need. I understand that we need: core FX with the NTSC palette core FX with the NTSC palette + 320KB Rambo extension Do we need GTIA cores with PAL Blending for the NTSC region (NTSC palette)? Probably not... And if someone wants to mix everything freely, I recommend purchasing Ultimate 1MB, where thanks to Jon's efforts you can set the selected palette to any core that is currently being used. NTSC_Contemp.dat.hex NTSC_Contemp.dat NTSC_Contemp.act act2datConverter.py plugin.s

Another 600XL with VBXL installed

Is there any other option besides the NTSC palette that is included in the plugin for Ultimate 1MB?

I see it differently. It's not a matter of reinventing the wheel, but rather of patenting the wheel... But I don't know what the ultimate intentions are. In my opinion, everyone can do what they want. May the best win. There is a certain problem with the FPGA version - you could say it's generic. If I had any retro computer today in a full FPGA version, for me this is a good time to throw it in the trash and end the play. For many people who are engaged or want to engage in hardware hacking, it's kind of the end of the game. For the time being, I see room for doing new things, hooking up oscilloscopes to processors, and solving problems. If someone closes everything in one chip and only leads ports to it for people who are passionate about hardware, then the play is over or a start of another project, which in its entirety will not be compatible with the one I'm talking about. Essentially, I believe that there is a division into a) retro b) modern-retro c) neo-retro. I am interested in b) modern-retro.

Correct. It could be too much...

I have doubts about the timeline for the RM 800XL project, which I consider unrealistic compared to similar past projects. However, one must admit that having several people working full-time and using new technologies could make up for the time. It's hard for me to fully assess this. I simply find it questionable.

Hi! This is a spin-off of the thread 'NTSC core for VBXE?' . Since it looks like we're approaching the moment when an official VBXE core with a built-in NTSC palette will be released, I'd like to ask if there are any other NTSC palette suggestions other than the one that comes with the Ultimate 1MB extension plugin? (cc: @flashjazzcat, @candle, @tebe)

It's probably the best choice indeed. I just need to find out if that's the palette that was sent. In the case of PAL, as you can see, the choice wasn't so obvious since two palettes were created (standard + Rocky).

Yes. Standard procedure for uploading the core. Maybe for now try uploading cores with the Rocky palette for practice.

@E474 The "F" series circuits operate up to 125MHz. They achieve this speed due to the technology they are made of. One of the factors is that they introduce low capacitance. Therefore, on the Atari board, by replacing the 74LS08, you eliminate the increase in parasitic capacitance on the clock signal lines. I checked almost 20 Atari boards with various LS, HCT, and F series circuits. The relationships between the O0 and BO2 signals measured on Antic were different. Sometimes, for example, Side3 did not work at the shortest response time. So it's not speed that matters, but capacitance. The 74F08N changes the capacitance on the line and improves stability. However, this is not enough if you have an Ultimate 1MB, VBXE, Rapidus in your computer and additionally connect something like Side3 externally. O2/Fixer has even better characteristics and allows the use of an additional four twin BO2 signals. The stability issue has therefore been solved. BTW.. I made own 15cm wires 😜

Emotionality and romanticism are our national traits 😜

It may be too long. It also depends on what type of cables you're using - multicore or single core, and the thickness of the cable. Remember, the limitations for the O2 bus are 130pF for the Sally processor. Of course, the cartridge is connected to BO2 (Buffered Phase 2), but still, connecting higher capacitances to these lines creates interference. Actually, I wanted to do a similar test but anticipated similar problems. Try to shorten the cables as much as possible and use good quality ones. Alternatively, you can also run BO2 through a 74F08 gate, or even replace the 74LS08 with a 74F08, or best with an O2/Fixer. This will reduce the number of issues.

Good news! I spoke with Electron over the phone in the early afternoon today. @tebe has also recently been in touch with him (possibly after my conversation with Piesiu, whose Atari I am currently upgrading after his win at Lost Party). An NTSC palette is to be agreed upon in the coming days, and a complete set of cores with the NTSC palette is planned for release in September. There is both agreement and willingness to proceed. It's just a matter of finalizing the palette. I also talked about this with @flashjazzcat today. Thanks also @candle for re-engaging on this topic. Perhaps we can finish this topic together with combined efforts.

As far as I know, the manufacturer (who claims to have the rights to the project) asked for all materials to be removed from the PIGWA server, and this has been done. So, all in all, there's no point in delving into it, but it is what it is.

Check out Rocky Palette cores: https://madteam.atari8.info/index.php?prod=vbxe https://madteam.atari8.info/vbxe/rocky_pal.7z Your image will always look more like the second one (on the right) than the one with faded colors on the left. Although, of course, it's a matter of taste.

Agree. Unfortunately, I don't know whether it's the fault of the postal service, the sender, an oversight, or simply that the producer has so much on their plate that it's sometimes hard for them to manage it all. I simply don't know, but it shouldn't be like this. I will say from my own experience that doing many things at once (and completely different things at that) ends up in delays and stress. Think about it: on one hand, you have to promote the product, create the current one, develop a new one, make shipments, help people with problems, sometimes answer not-so-smart questions, and in the end, some people still have complaints about you. When you do nothing, you make no mistakes.

I don't want to argue. Copyright and intellectual property is a highly interpretive area. One lawyer will say yes, another no, and a third maybe. From my 20 years of professional experience in IT business and collaboration with law firms, I'll say this... I don't know the terms of the agreements, but if the original creator made the project public and then removed it and transferred the rights to someone else (e.g., the current producer), this can also be considered as terminating the granted license with those who publicly downloaded the project. Basically, moral rights always belong to the original author, and economic rights could have been transferred. Regardless, I believe this is not the essence of this thread, nor is it about cross-marketing my projects. The problem to be solved is the NTSC palette for customers in the USA. To some extent, I feel somewhat responsible because at one point, in a good relationship with Gavin Haubelt of Vintage Computer Center (CA/USA), I persuaded him to purchase and distribute things from Lothar in Poland. I did not expect at the time that various problems would arise, such as lack of support, instabilities, etc... Anyway, there's no point in expanding on this.

Given the scale of production at Lotharek's (I'll become his spokesperson in a moment), answering all questions (and the level of user questions, for example from the Atari 8-bit Computers group on FB, is such that they ask whether the J1 connector with a marked square on pin #1 is definitely pin #1, and where pin #2 is located?) would result in a doubling of products' prices, because an entire support department would have to be financed.

Some people have access to various resources... I at least use them for analytics and service. I also do not have the right to share them in a way that would enable the violation of the rights of individuals/institutions that hold licenses. As for whether it's possible to replace the PCB? Even though there was no official answer, I will say that it's definitely not possible. The only option today is to buy a new VBXE from Lotharek or send him to repair it, which will likely cost about the same. Additionally, I'll mention that there were several versions of these boards, even with layout 2.1, so that's another topic. Cost reduction is probably possible when software problems are solved and more people will want to buy VBXE. Then a group purchase can be organized. By buying more than 10 units and making a bank transfer, you can get a price reduction down to 63% of the original price. In my opinion, that's quite a lot.

It will work

Of course, my opinion won't be fully objective, but this is how I see it. Sophia 2 (which I also have and it's lying in the R&D box) produces digital video, and this is generally accepted by modern monitors. VBXE provides an analog RGB image, and results can vary here. On my monitor, the image is fantastic, although I'm in the process of resolving one issue with noise on the synchronization. When it comes to sharpness and colors, it's excellent! I also have another old TV with Euroscart, and when I connect the same computer to it, the image is terrible. After sitting for half an hour and tinkering with the TV settings, you can achieve a good result, but it's far from what I get with the previous TV (Panasonic Viera 20"). The reason is the cheap RGB-to-digital converters in old TVs. In new ones, RGB inputs have been removed altogether. However, I am working on a solution to this problem as well.

Certainly. I understand perfectly well. Hence my interest in the subject as well. Look at the SAVO - (Sega) Saturn Atari Video Output) and HAVO - (Micro) HDMI Atari Video Output projects in other threads. For the time being, VBXE seems much more future-oriented to me, but that is, of course, a matter of several other factors. For now, I am trying to find contact with Electron and determine the possibility of creating an NTSC core. I read what @flashjazzcat sent. It seems that Electron was indeed struggling with the size of the compiled FPGA code. If I manage to talk to him, I'd also like to ask if he could do something intermediate, for example, an NTSC core without FX and without artifacting, but perhaps having 80 columns. This could, for example, be attractive for BBS users, of which there are/were many in the USA, and virtually none in Europe. As for the core FX, I definitely recommend the Rocky palette. I think it is something between the standard VBXE palette and NTSC. Somewhere halfway.

@flashjazzcat, @xxl I'd also like to ask Electron about MapRAM for VBXE...