JohnPCAE

Now that I've fully assembled it, I've had to tweak the models a little. I had to lower the mounting pegs back to where they were and snip out a corner from a couple of internal supports (if you already printed it you can accomplish both with some cutters). The mounting is very tight inside. In fact I'd recommend directly soldering a cable between the two boards instead of using IDC connectors, but it can be made to fit. Intellivoice_II.zip

If you're bench-testing an 8915, take note that the outputs are open-collector. You need pull-up resistors to properly bench-test it.

Now we're cooking with gas!

I've updated the included example. It has a proper detection and initialization sequence now and is a proper example on how a new game should detect the ACC and set up video. I also added some utility routines for setting up 40-column and 80-column text mode and clearing the screen, and updated the comments for some routines. EDIT: I updated the included ZIP with a minor addition. I added support for the new MVIF@ instruction in the acc_coprocessor.src macro file. Advanced Console Component 20221106.zip

I spent part of the afternoon crawling through JoeZ's code. It's next-level stuff. I'd love to enhance it to support the ACC but I'm not sure where to begin. The big issue is carving out the D000-DFFF address range for the ACC's memory buffer.

Here's what the final version of the board looks like when assembled, but I'm not showing the cartridge board yet because I'm still waiting for those to arrive in the mail (I'm using an ACC cartridge board in the meantime). Take special note of the two jumper wires plugged into the expansion port. Just like a normal Intellivoice with the expansion connector, you have to jumper those specific pins. Also, when installing the potentiometer, take care to not short its case against resistor R2. The potentiometer itself has loops instead of pins, so I had to use some short sections of wire to mount it to the board. You have a few options here: the potentiometers come with mounting hardware, so with some large washers you can also potentially mount them to the top part of the case instead and use longer wire to run them to the board. You could even make them detachable in that case with connectors. I went for the simpler route. I suppose you could also carefully snip off part of the loops to turn them into legs. The potentiometer itself comes with a full shaft that's divided into two halves. You'll have to turn it halfway and twist off half of the shaft with a pair of small pliers. A thin screwdriver to spread them out a bit is helpful as well.

If you but two controllers together, you can get a decent keyboard this way as well. Three of the side buttons could have these functions (and we have six at our disposal with two controllers): - change mode (letters <---> numbers and symbols) - backspace - hold for alternate letter (R/T, F/G, etc.)

The point is that I wouldn't fret too much about the lack of a keyboard. I believe that part to be solvable with a very small add-on.

Another project I'm working on would be an add-on that would give you a USB port. You'd plug it into the cartridge port like an Intellivoice. It only gives a single powered USB port, but you could use a small hub to give you enough ports for a keyboard and mouse. I just ordered some experimental circuit boards for it this afternoon. Component-wise, it only requires a Raspberry Pi Pico and three level-shifter IC's. My thinking is that it would take over addresses $007C and $007D. Like the ACC, $007C would be a register index and $007D would be a register value. That would be enough to support multiple HID devices (keyboard, mouse, gamepads, etc.)

It uses ECS bankswitching. It's over 400k in size.

My parts arrived today! I've finished building the board and I've tested it -- it works! I can also pronounce the BOM as good. The potentiometer works well and fits well, with one caveat. The shaft on the knob is way too short (and the hole for the pot shaft is too big) and I've had to revise the model. The rest of the case is fine, though. Attached below is an updated ZIP with all of the models, including the updated volume knob. Needless to say the first thing I'll be doing after posting this is ordering a new one from Shapeways. EDIT: I've also taken the liberty of updating the bottom of the case with better mounting pegs. They should be the correct length now and not require spacers. Intellivoice_II.zip

Will there be a bug-fixed version?

Lately I've been digging into Colossal Cave Adventure and I ran across a BASIC port of it (I think it's for the TRS-80 Color Computer). I've never messed with IntyBasic. What do people think about an Inty port? Anyone interested in taking a stab at it? Here is the original Youtube video of it in action, and after that is a link to the BASIC source. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jggames/trs80mc10/master/quicktype/Text Adventures/ColossalCave/COLOSSAL16.TXT

I've completed the BOM and it's attached here. Good news: you can use a new LM324 if it's manufactured by TI and you get the same sound quality as the original. So there's no need to cannibalize that chip. The part number I list for the 200k potentiometer is somewhat tentative as I haven't received those yet. They should be arriving tomorrow. Intellivoice2_BOM.txt

This is a picture of the experimental version of the board, but it shows what you're generally shooting for when it's all assembled (except for the potentiometer -- this was just what I could scrounge at the time). I've tested it ("Mattel Electronics presents Space Spartans!")

You can't reuse the one from an old Intellivoice because the style is different. My design calls for a right-angle connector, whereas an Intellivoice uses a straight connector. You could reuse one from an Intellivision or ECS (but why would you want to?) I also should emphasize that my schematic differs from the standard Intellivoice in one important way. The Intellivoice uses a 74LS12 chip, which is an open-collector 3-input NAND and is totally unavailable these days. I've altered the schematic to use a 74LS10 chip instead, which has push-pull outputs instead of open-collector and *is* readily available. So you cannot and should not cannibalize the 74LS12 from an Intellivoice. Just get a new 74LS10 chip instead (Mouser has gobs of them in stock). The change to the schematic also means that three pull-up resistors in the original schematic are no longer necessary. Otherwise, the behavior is the same. The general layout of components in my circuit board closely mirrors the layout of the original Intellivoice, so when assembling it you can even compare them side-by-side to make sure you're getting it right. Just bear in mind that my design deletes some resistors. A final note: because I provide an expansion port, bear in mind that you MUST jumper two pairs of pins the same way that the original Intellivoice did. For mine I plug short jumper wires into the expansion connector.

Here's a picture of what the latest board revision looks like when you install it. I haven't completely assembled it yet because I'm out of ribbon connector parts, and those should arrive tomorrow. I have a fully assembled and tested one of the previous board design as well, but this is the final revision that you would be using. I noticed that my mounting pegs under the board are a little on the short side. You'll probably have to use some short spacers (4-5mm) to get the board positioned properly. By far, the HARDEST part to acquire is the cartridge connector. There are a few choices you can try and ebay might be a good source, but these EDAC ones are a great fit and EXTREMELY high quality. They can take a very long time to arrive, though, on the order of months. The part number is 392-044-558-201. I only just received them. Prior to this I was using 44-position right-angle edge connectors from ebay. They crop up from time to time. The major problem with the EDAC ones is the minimum order size: Digi-Key specifies a minimum order of 25 and Mouser wants you to order 100! It took me a long time to find a different site that let me order just a handful, and it took over six months to get them. onlinecomponents.com has a few in stock and the minimum order is 3. This is who I bought them from. https://www.onlinecomponents.com/en/edac/392044558201-52866453.html If you go the ebay route, be VERY careful to get ones with the right pin pitch. The pitch should be 0.1" (2.54mm). 95% of the ones on ebay typically have much wider spacing. And lo and behold, there's an ebay auction for the right ones. It's a minimum order of 10, but it is what it is. They're so cheap because they aren't anywhere near the quality of the EDAC ones, but they do the trick. The major difference is that the legs on the EDAC ones (that you solder to the board) are MUCH thicker and resist flexing. They're as good as the ones that Mattel used. I don't know how well the ebay ones hold up over hundreds of insertions but the EDAC ones are as close to bomb-proof as you can get. https://www.ebay.com/itm/144445251361?hash=item21a19b9f21:g:SvcAAOSwAclbo0IG&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoCqwR00g1LQNt%2BtSCs4JsxqJ39FnImnivaMwfIV2spDzRUhkcHui7xacDXkfqOCSe3WwewXEFrFGCkV9MItZ%2BM%2FJl2Gk69NxHu%2BKfeCnEQ0OJjiHfk0GHe2K9b0LJEKmS5rAY0%2FvfZxAhw2533iRPMb0f2FfStUILfrouc%2F%2FyCkJQTo9LR6GcQU5igsTh1Ls0zmEu7owDdIC6qs%2F8%2Fc9kJ0%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-SmoeuFYQ In the screenshot below, I'm experimenting with a couple of capacitors (the two large blue ones in the bottom left). The schematic calls for electrolytic caps for the 10uF and 4.7uF caps, but I'm giving MLCC ones a try. I'm curious to see how they work out. If the sound isn't right I can always desolder them and put in standard electrolytic ones instead.

Let me put together a BOM for the parts. I'll post something tonight (first I really need to get some sleep as I've been up all night working on something else). As for the ribbon connector, I suggest this: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Samtec/IDSD-22-D-03.00-T?qs=PB6%2FjmICvI0Gxg8eKrFUhw%3D%3D It's the only one Mouser has in stock and they don't have many. You can use sockets, and indeed I do in mine. As for cannibalizing, you need three chips from an existing Intellivoice: the SP0256, the SPB640, and the LM324N (I tried a third-party LM324N and it gave me a terrible high-pitched whine, but the one from an actual Intellivoice worked fine). Aside from those three chips, you can source the other two chips from anywhere. For resistors, I use Yageo 1/4-watt ones from Mouser, except for the large 2W resistor. You can get that from Mouser as well. Indeed you can get all of the necessary parts from Mouser. I'm still trying to find the perfect potentiometer for the project. I have one on order and it should arrive tomorrow. There is a possibility that I might have to revise the volume knob depending on the shaft coming out of the potentiometer. I won't know until I do a fitment test. I plan to try a different LM324N (but one still made by TI) to see if we can source those without having to cannibalize them from an Intellivoice. I really hope so since those aren't typically socketed and would be a pain to extract for someone without a desoldering gun. The ribbon cable and associated connectors are the same as those used in my ACC project. So feel free to consult the ACC BOM for appropriate part numbers for those three parts until I can put together a BOM specific to this project. The same is true for the ferrite core part.

Are all 70 copies spoken for?

Now if you were really diabolical, you would have had the Inty play the Benny Hill theme 😆

Got my boards today! They look good and fit great, so here are the gerber files for them. The IntyCartExtend board plugs into the cartridge slot and the IntellivoiceII board does all the work. A ribbon cable connects the two boards. IntellivoiceII_Gerber.zip IntyCartExtend_Gerber.zip

Will these games be available on your store or are they all spoken for?

Well...I found that the version of TinyUSB that comes with the Pi Pico SDK is several revisions behind. I went and grabbed the newest version, and now everything magically works. I can plug in a hub, plug a keyboard and mouse into it (in any order) and it simply sees everything. I can unplug them and plug them back in, and it all just works. The interesting thing is that it sees my Logitech M545 wireless mouse as three USB HID devices instead of just one. I'll have to delve into that later to see what it's seeing.

Slow progress. My board had some extra room and three leftover Pi Pico I/O lines, so I gave it a BCD-to-7-segment decoder and a 7-segment display. It lets me display 0-7 that I can use for debugging. It also has I2C pins broken out that I can use for a separate LCD display but I haven't tried that yet. In this pic it's displaying the number of connected devices. It's not working correctly for hubs yet, but it's handling a single USB device without hanging.

Go to the very end of the Bird's Nest thread and it's in the last ZIP that I attached. The code in question is in the first half of main.cpp, specifically the code for core 1. 95% of that code can be discarded since it's concerned with the coprocessor emulation, but there's a switch statement that handles bus traffic to the Inty. Basically if I was doing it I'd use that bit of code to interface to the Inty bus.