ballyalley Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 3 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said: my first question would be would Fujinet even be able to be run on such low spec hardware [like the Astrocade]? It's only been developed for/ported to computers (and one 16-bit handheld console) that have plenty (relative) of working RAM to this point, among other advantages over something like the Astrocade. The Astrocade only has 4K of RAM when used with a cartridge and it's all screen RAM. The programmer is left with just a couple of hundred bytes, at most, at the bottom of the screen that are truly useable. Of course, there are RAM expansions for the Astrocade, but the original ones from the 1980s are basically not obtainable and the current ones (such as the 'Lil White Ram) are hard to find. Plus, these RAM expansions could not be used at the same time with the Astrocade and FujiNet, unless a pass-through was made for the Fujinet. The downside (and upside!) is that the cartridge port on the Astrocade only has enough signals to have a cartridge. Luckily, in 1978, the Bally Arcade console was meant to be upgraded to a computer and all of the signals are accessible on (as Thom already noted) a 50-pin connector on the back of the console. The simple solution will be to add 48K of RAM to the FujiNet. There are many knowledgeable folks who can help with common hardware/software questions on the Astrocade discussion group on grousp.io, here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley A couple of my friends got online with my 600XL using BobTerm last week and my buddy created a video segment for it that premiere just a couple of hours ago. The BBS segment begins here: (That's me on the right, looking perplexed, or maybe confused.) It's neat that this FujiNet subject is coming up now, as on March 3, 2024, I started a thread called, "Help Calling a BBS with my Astrocade," here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/topic/help_calling_a_bbs_with_my/104716549 Now I need to get a FujiNet for my Atari 8-bit computers so that I can see how that FujiNet works with software. Where is the best place to buy one? Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 1 hour ago, ballyalley said: The Astrocade only has 4K of RAM when used with a cartridge and it's all screen RAM. The programmer is left with just a couple of hundred bytes, at most, at the bottom of the screen that are truly useable. Of course, there are RAM expansions for the Astrocade, but the original ones from the 1980s are basically not obtainable and the current ones (such as the 'Lil White Ram) are hard to find. Plus, these RAM expansions could not be used at the same time with the Astrocade and FujiNet, unless a pass-through was made for the Fujinet. The downside (and upside!) is that the cartridge port on the Astrocade only has enough signals to have a cartridge. Luckily, in 1978, the Bally Arcade console was meant to be upgraded to a computer and all of the signals are accessible on (as Thom already noted) a 50-pin connector on the back of the console. The simple solution will be to add 48K of RAM to the FujiNet. There are many knowledgeable folks who can help with common hardware/software questions on the Astrocade discussion group on grousp.io, here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley A couple of my friends got online with my 600XL using BobTerm last week and my buddy created a video segment for it that premiere just a couple of hours ago. The BBS segment begins here: (That's me on the right, looking perplexed, or maybe confused.) It's neat that this FujiNet subject is coming up now, as on March 3, 2024, I started a thread called, "Help Calling a BBS with my Astrocade," here: https://groups.io/g/ballyalley/topic/help_calling_a_bbs_with_my/104716549 Now I need to get a FujiNet for my Atari 8-bit computers so that I can see how that FujiNet works with software. Where is the best place to buy one? Adam We don't build them ourselves, but work with vendors to ensure they can build and make them available, a list of them are here: https://fujinet.online/purchase/ (if your favorite vendor is out, ask them to make more) As for the Astrocade, unless I am missing something, the whole processor bus is available at the expansion slot, no? -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballyalley Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 14 minutes ago, tschak909 said: We don't build them ourselves, but work with vendors to ensure they can build and make them available, a list of them are here: As for the Astrocade, unless I am missing something, the whole processor bus is available at the expansion slot, no? Oh, okay, Brewing Academy seems to have version 1.3 in stock. Plus, SO much more. I could drop millions of dollars there-- if I had those funds. Yes, I believe that all the signals are on the 50-pin expansion connector. Pose this question to the Astrocade discussion group (for which I just approved you, Thomas). Ken Lill can answer you there so that you'll know for certain. He co-designed the 32K Lil' White RAM Expansion. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timdu Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 2 minutes ago, ballyalley said: Oh, okay, Brewing Academy seems to have version 1.3 in stock. Plus, SO much more. I could drop millions of dollars there-- if I had those funds. Yes, I believe that all the signals are on the 50-pin expansion connector. Pose this question to the Astrocade discussion group (for which I just approved you, Thomas). Ken Lill can answer you there so that you'll know for certain. He co-designed the 32K Lil' White RAM Expansion. Adam Hey Adam, I bought my Fujinet 1.3 for my Atari 130XE from Marlin Bates this past September. Excellent service and communication! It is a great accessory to have for your Atari 8-bit computer. It opens up so many possibilities. I have not begun to even scratch the surface! -Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballyalley Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 2 minutes ago, timdu said: I bought my Fujinet 1.3 for my Atari 130XE from Marlin Bates this past September. Excellent service and communication! It is a great accessory to have for your Atari 8-bit computer. It opens up so many possibilities. I have not begun to even scratch the surface! Yeah, I've been eyeing the FujiNet for a long time now. I've been waiting for it to settle into a final version, but I suppose it will always be a WIP. If there is an Astrocade one being proposed, then it's time for me to jump in and get one for a computer that I use on a regular basis: my Atari 600XL and 130XE. I know that documentation is lacking for the FujiNet, but I'm probably just gonna order one and see how it goes. My local Atari buddies can help me figure it out. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 13 minutes ago, ballyalley said: Yeah, I've been eyeing the FujiNet for a long time now. I've been waiting for it to settle into a final version, but I suppose it will always be a WIP. If there is an Astrocade one being proposed, then it's time for me to jump in and get one for a computer that I use on a regular basis: my Atari 600XL and 130XE. I know that documentation is lacking for the FujiNet, but I'm probably just gonna order one and see how it goes. My local Atari buddies can help me figure it out. Adam Because the platform itself is built around a stable microcontroller, while there will be hardware changes (e.g. changing from micro-USB to USB-C), the firmware will always be in development, as new features are added. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballyalley Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 7 minutes ago, tschak909 said: Because the platform itself is built around a stable microcontroller, while there will be hardware changes (e.g. changing from micro-USB to USB-C), the firmware will always be in development, as new features are added. I did figure out recently that the FujiNet is an on-going, probably never-ending project. This is okay. I just didn't understand this fact from the beginning. The Bally Arcade/Astrocade community is small and there is no equivalent to this open-ended hardware project. There is some hardware activity in the Astrocade world, but it isn't open-source, which seems to make a huge difference. I'm also a huge fan of the Timex/Sinclair 2068, which doesn't have a FujiNet (but I think that there is one for the ZX Spectrum). I just watched my first video about the FujiNet for the Atari. It looks like it will take me a long time to figure out on my own. I have a local friend who I placed a phone call to a short while ago. He is an Atari 8-bit hardware guy and he will be calling me back in an hour or so. I wanna discuss my options with him. He and some others will be here tomorrow evening and we will be calling some BBSs. He told me just now that he got a 1200-Baud modem working with his Atari using a VoIP line, so that's great for us. It's no FujiNet speed, but it's better than the slug-like performance of my XM301 modem Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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