"Dragonfly" my version of the Atari 7800 SD cartridge

[+darryl1970]

9 hours ago, Eagle said:

Thanks @Trebor  

Must be something wrong with my emulator. 
 

Not sure if you caught this in the thread, but the A7800 has to be run in standard console mode. I have a habit of running in XM mode, which caused my issue. I have sound when in standard mode.

[juansolo]

On 8/27/2022 at 10:42 AM, -^CrossBow^- said:

@rj1307 I have found a small bug in the new 1.08 FW. The DF cart NO longer turns off the 7800 as it used to when you navigate and choose a different rom image. It will just try and load it up causing havoc in the process. So currently, before loading up a different ROM, you have to manually power off the 7800. This wasn't required previously as the DF cart would handle the power shut down automatically and I only had to power on the 7800 when the DF cart was ready and asking me to turn on the 7800.

On 8/27/2022 at 1:58 PM, rj1307 said:

I will check and correct  

@rj1307 this might help. Flashed a friends DF and it worked fine, powered off as it should. The only difference between his cart and ours is that we've got the YM reset bodge wire in ours. Added it to his and it now has the same problem with the cart not shutting off the power of the 7800 when you change images. Now I know that like us, @-^CrossBow^- has the same bodge on his cart. So somehow the problem appears to be linked to having the YM reset bodge. If all else fails it's easy enough to remove the bodge wire then remember to switch off after you play a YM game so it doesn't continue playing a tone.

Edited September 3, 2022 by juansolo

[+-^CrossBow^-]

3 hours ago, juansolo said:

@rj1307 this might help. Flashed a friends DF and it worked fine, powered off as it should. The only difference between his cart and ours is that we've got the YM reset bodge wire in ours. Added it to his and it now has the same problem with the cart not shutting off the power of the 7800 when you change images. Now I know that like us, @-^CrossBow^- has the same bodge on his cart. So somehow the problem appears to be linked to having the YM reset bodge. If all else fails it's easy enough to remove the bodge wire then remember to switch off after you play a YM game so it doesn't continue playing a tone.

Nice find! I had not thought of that being part of the issue. I did find that YM stuck note thing to be quite annoying at the time hence why I did the wire fix and even did a video on the process on how to do it if you have an early made DF cart. @juansolo have you tried to turn off or disable the YM in the DF to see if that makes it shut off properly again to confirm this?

 

Also for the record, but those reading this. It was only like the first 112 DF carts that are effected by this hardware bug. The stuck tone issue would only occur when you swapped out games in the middle of your 7800 being powered on. As an example. Playing Pac-man 40th with the YM enabled and then suddenly using the DF cart to swap over to a different game without powering off the 7800 in the process. When you did that in the past, it would cause the DF to continue playing the last few notes of whatever might have been playing through the YM module until you power cycled the DF to clear it, or played another YM based game that reset the YM in the process. The bodge wire corrects that but does NOT correct it if you actually switch off the 7800 itself in the middle of a YM game playing. At least, I think that is what I found. I know that I've managed to still make it happen and I believe it is only corrected if the DF shuts off power to the 7800 and not if you power off the 7800 yourself directly.

 

[juansolo]

Same behaviour (as in the the DF doesn't turn off the console) if I disable the YM.

[rj1307]

I completely forgot about this reset for YM!
You're right, after updating the CPLD, remove this hack, now it is fixed software. Therefore, the problem did not occur to me.

[juansolo]

Awesome, will do.

[+darryl1970]

@rj1307, did you say that the pins do not need soldered into the board? Can the pins just be plugged into USB Blaster and held to the port?

 

I soldered mine, but I wouldn't want to solder somebody else's Dragonfly. Just wondering, in order to help someone else out.

[+darryl1970]

I found a possible issue since upgrading. When I would disable POKEY on the DF, Pengo would detect if POKEY was not present. Now I always get a POKEY DETECTED message.

 

Has anybody else tried this with any games? I am using the POKEY detection built-into 7800 BASIC.

 

@RevEng has the Pokey detection changed in any 7800Basic updates since we last discussed this? I expected it from Concerto, but I still get POKEY detected from Dragonfly (Pokey disabled) and A7800 in "High Score Cart" mode.  POKEY music doesn't play, but it still reads as "pokeydetected".

[RevEng]

If you'v specified an address with your pokeysupport statement, then the autodetection is turned off and pokey is hard-coded to that address. If you're just using "set pokeysupport on", the old autodetection code runs, and this code hasn't been changed.

[+darryl1970]

47 minutes ago, RevEng said:

If you'v specified an address with your pokeysupport statement, then the autodetection is turned off and pokey is hard-coded to that address. If you're just using "set pokeysupport on", the old autodetection code runs, and this code hasn't been changed.

That's it! Thanks AGAIN!

[+DrVenkman]

So ... about updating my DF cart ...

 

Has anyone managed to get a driver for the Altera USB Blaster (original, not the later USB Blaster II) installed under Win11? A quick Google shows I'm not alone in having issues trying to get a driver installed for this stupid little widget installed under Win10 or Win11. Lots of people are suggesting to disable digitally signed drivers in Windows, but of course that opens the door to any number of potential security issues and in some combos of hardware/motherboard firmware may actually brick your PC because you've fucked around with the secure boot environment.

 

I finally managed to find a post on an Intel user forum from a guy who threw together a kludge using an earlier version of the driver that had a valid signature, and that installed on my older Win10 laptop. But of course, I've already jumped through the installation hoops with Quartus on my Win11 desktop. I'll re-download and reinstall Quartus on the laptop I guess, but it would be better if there was a way to install a driver for this thing with Win11.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

3 minutes ago, DrVenkman said:

So ... about updating my DF cart ...

 

Has anyone managed to get a driver for the Altera USB Blaster (original, not the later USB Blaster II) installed under Win11? A quick Google shows I'm not alone in having issues trying to get a driver installed for this stupid little widget installed under Win10 or Win11. Lots of people are suggesting to disable digitally signed drivers in Windows, but of course that opens the door to any number of potential security issues and in some combos of hardware/motherboard firmware may actually brick your PC because you've fucked around with the secure boot environment.

 

I finally managed to find a post on an Intel user forum from a guy who threw together a kludge using an earlier version of the driver that had a valid signature, and that installed on my older Win10 laptop. But of course, I've already jumped through the installation hoops with Quartus on my Win11 desktop. I'll re-download and reinstall Quartus on the laptop I guess, but it would be better if there was a way to install a driver for this thing with Win11.

I have not. In fact my laptop in the work lab is stuck on Win10 since it lacks the needed TPM stuff to use win11. So I didn't have any issues getting stuff installed or anything like that. I also verified that even thought the trial period has expired, I'm still able to choose a different option when presented with the notification and continue to use it for what is needed.

 

[+DrVenkman]

All it would take would be for Intel to just release a digitally-signed Win11 driver. The kludge I mentioned does attempt to install in Win11 but afterwards, there's still an exclamation mark through the device icon, and "This device has a problem ..." type message when you examine the properties. 

 

In any case, I'm downloading Quartus on the Win10 box and we'll see how it goes. With luck, I'll never need it again, lol.

[+DrVenkman]

Okay, after an hour or so downloading and installing Quartus onto the Win10 laptop, I tried updating the CPLD on my cart but no dice. I thought maybe it was because I was trying to hold the JTAG pins by hand, so I went down to my workbench and soldered in the pins. Still no dice. So I decided to read back in the thread and found these posts I hadn't really noticed.

 

On 8/25/2022 at 1:05 AM, larryleffaovell said:

Do I have to get the Dragonfly powered or is the CPLD powered by the USB Blaster?

 

On 8/25/2022 at 4:12 AM, Eagle said:

Yes. But not plugged in A7800

D'oh. As soon as I powered the cart, programming was done in like 5 seconds without issue. Put the new bootloader on my card, updated that, now good to go. 👍🏼

 

 

[ricky]

I would like to know if a next CPLD + firmware update will be available to correct the problem of the 7800 stopping when we validate another rom ?

Edited October 9, 2022 by ricky

[+-^CrossBow^-]

17 hours ago, ricky said:

I would like to know if a next CPLD + firmware update will be available to correct the problem of the 7800 stopping when we validate another rom ?

What do you mean by this?

 

If you mean when you choose a different rom and the 7800 powers off automatically, that is by design. The 7800 has to be powered off and everything reset to a known state before a new rom image can be loaded up. I had a wire bodge in place to correct stuck notes when playing games or demos that used the YM that actually did NOT power the 7800 between ROM changes and it would basically cause the 7800 to go nuts. So yeah... stopping or powering off the 7800 between ROM changes is by design and needed.

 

[ricky]

Ok, but before the last update, the DragonFly turned off the 7800 each time the rom was changed, which was handy.

But according to some comments above, this is no longer the case with the latest update.

For my part, I haven't done this update yet, because I can't flash the CPLD for the moment.

So I would like to be sure that this update is the right one so that I don't have to do it again later...

[+-^CrossBow^-]

46 minutes ago, ricky said:

Ok, but before the last update, the DragonFly turned off the 7800 each time the rom was changed, which was handy.

But according to some comments above, this is no longer the case with the latest update.

For my part, I haven't done this update yet, because I can't flash the CPLD for the moment.

So I would like to be sure that this update is the right one so that I don't have to do it again later...

Oh... you are talking about how the 7800 wasn't getting powered off when changing roms?!

 

Yes, that was an issue with mine as a matter of fact. But that was because I had a wire bodge in place to correct for a different issue that used to exist on the DF on early versions of the carts. The newest update actually corrects for that old issue so I had to remove the wire bodge I had in place and that took care of the issue. Now my DF powers off the 7800 properly when changing roms. 

 

If you never had the bodge wire installed to correct for stuck notes from the FM synth chip when changing games that used it, then you shouldn't be effected by that issue.

 

[Mauro Rodriguez]

On 8/15/2020 at 3:52 PM, rj1307 said:

Hi, I wanted to present to you my version of the Atari 7800 SD cartridge. 

What you can see in the photos is a prototype version on which I learn how to use. The cartridge will be operated using four buttons and the display, of course, it will be in the housing.

 

 

 

For correct configuration, the cartridge uses .a78 files and the header.

As of today, it supports 4k, 8k, 16k, 32k, 48k files - without banking, 64k, 128k, 256k, 512k with banking. In addition, 16k RAM for $ 4000 and POKEY for $ 4000 and $ 0450. Various combinations are possible. Also supports Absolute and Activision.

Below is some evidence that I am writing the truth:

 

Demo Multi-Lock On, 512k + Pokey $4000

 

Demo 1E78, 128k + RAM

 

Double Dragon, 128k, Activision

 

F18-Hornet, 128k, Absolute

 

E.X.O, 256k + RAM

 

Donkey Kong XM, 144k + POKEY $0450

 

Bentley Bear's Crystal Quest, 144k + POKEY $4000 or $0450

 

 

Rescue on Fractalus, 32k + RAM. Can you confirm that the graphics are displayed correctly? The lower bands are due to the fact that the game is NTSC and I run it in PAL.

 

Ultimately, the cartridge will also have a USB connector that will allow you to load files directly from a computer. I've already tested it and it worked.

I'll be back from vacation in two weeks, I'll spend a few more days testing with different files and designing the final version. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please write.

 

And there is also a sticker on the cartridge, designed by a colleague of MotionRide:

where to buy? with credit card

[Mauro Rodriguez]

On 9/4/2022 at 1:38 PM, rj1307 said:

I completely forgot about this reset for YM!
You're right, after updating the CPLD, remove this hack, now it is fixed software. Therefore, the problem did not occur to me.

link to buy with credit card and international shipping and with YM chip to play 1942

[+DrVenkman]

4 minutes ago, Mauro Rodriguez said:

link to buy with credit card and international shipping and with YM chip to play 1942

Spend a few minutes and read through the Forum. Here's the thread but it's closed, as RJ does not currently have access to the components necessary to make more due to global supply chain issues.

 

 

[ricky]

5 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Oh... you are talking about how the 7800 wasn't getting powered off when changing roms?!

 

Yes, that was an issue with mine as a matter of fact. But that was because I had a wire bodge in place to correct for a different issue that used to exist on the DF on early versions of the carts. The newest update actually corrects for that old issue so I had to remove the wire bodge I had in place and that took care of the issue. Now my DF powers off the 7800 properly when changing roms. 

 

If you never had the bodge wire installed to correct for stuck notes from the FM synth chip when changing games that used it, then you shouldn't be effected by that issue.

 

Thanks for the clarification, I understand better now.
I have the latest DF (last batch) so no need for the wire bodge.
Therefore, I will be able to try the CPLD + firmware update 👍

[Paul Holbrook]

Can you still order the Dragonfly?

[+Muddyfunster]

I do not think they are currently available to order due to the parts shortage.

[rj1307]

SOFTWARE UPDATE!

 

This is an update of both the AVR and CPLD programs.

 

ATTENTION!
***Do not update AVR to v1.09 if you will not update CPLD.***

***In the first step, update AVR to v1.09, only then you can update CPLD.***

 

 

Changes:

- added BANKSET 2x128k+RAM+POKEY banking scheme used in "Attack of the PETSCII Robots".

 

The update procedure is the same as before. The attachment contains the necessary files and instructions for updating. Please see the ReadMe.txt files first.

 

Link to the Altera Max Plus II program: https://megawrzuta.pl/download/88d9fdc523fa7c121df93442c5f27399.html

 

Quartus II can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/software-kit/711920/intel-quartus-ii-subscription-edition-design-software-version-13-0sp1-for-windows.html

Quartus can also be downloaded for Linux.

You do not need to download everything, as I remember correctly, all you need is the main program (Intel® Quartus® II Software (includes Nios® II EDS)) and the addition to the Max7000 series (Intel® MAX® II, Intel® MAX® V, Intel® MAX® 3000, Intel® MAX® 7000 Device Support).

 

DragonFly.zip Bankset Test.zip