XEP80-II a new beginning

[+Stephen]

57 minutes ago, mytek said:

However for those that enjoy waiting an incredibly long time to view a 1/2 screen at graphics mode 8 or want to pan a window of text around the screen, I guess this is a Fail. So currently if that's what you need, I wouldn't recommend buying or building the XEP80-II

 

Maybe in the future this can get resolved.

COUGH COUGH - VBXE - COUGH COUGH

[+Stephen]

24 minutes ago, mytek said:

Aww the WINDOW Demo does work ?

 

It requires that the XEP80-II be plugged into Joystick port #1, and the joystick in port #2.

 

 

So apparently the only mode not working would be the graphics 8 one.

 

Holy shit - that's impressive.  I suppose I should take a good look at this thing.

[+Stephen]

On 11/29/2021 at 9:36 PM, tep392 said:

It's fixed.

As much as I love your sentiment here, please for the love of JMiner - please display your Atari content in 4:3!!!!!!!  Also, as a side note - NO DAMN VERTICAL VIDEOS

[+mytek]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

Holy shit - that's impressive.  I suppose I should take a good look at this thing.

It even impressed me when I ran that DEMO80 for the first time. It really shows off the combination and extra speed made possible by Altirra Basic, Altirra Fast Math Pack, and the XEP80 UltraSpeed Driver, all thanks to @phaeron. That demo is doing a lot, and doing so very rapidly. Most likely that's as fast as it can go through the bottleneck of the bit-banged serial interface, so I doubt if substituting machine code for the Basic would make much difference at this point. But obviously even at its present display update speed, it's not too shabby ?

 

Edit: It would be especially nice if someone could do an even better patch to the AW80 code to include the UltraSpeed driver.

 

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

As much as I love your sentiment here, please for the love of JMiner - please display your Atari content in 4:3!!!!!!!  Also, as a side note - NO DAMN VERTICAL VIDEOS

The HDMI converter has that ability, irrelevant of what HDTV you are using as the monitor.

 

Quoting from my website...

Quote

The button shown on the right side of the HDMI converter board is dual function. Momentary presses step you through the HD resolution (720P/1080P), and sustained presses select aspect ratio (Wide, Full, 4:3). For our Atari systems it's recommended that the converter be set to 1080P with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Setup only needs to happen once, and those settings will be retained between power-ups.

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by mytek

[tep392]

11 hours ago, mytek said:

Quoting from my website...

  Quote

The button shown on the right side of the HDMI converter board is dual function. Momentary presses step you through the HD resolution (720P/1080P), and sustained presses select aspect ratio (Wide, Full, 4:3). For our Atari systems it's recommended that the converter be set to 1080P with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Setup only needs to happen once, and those settings will be retained between power-ups.

 

 

I missed this bit of info.  Thanks!

 

@Stephen Is this better?

[_The Doctor__]

the window demo really needs to conform to the default or preferred use of stick in 1 / XEP in port 2... with it was on the fly select-able as 1-4 with 2 being the default/preferred port.

Edited December 3, 2021 by _The Doctor__

[+mytek]

1 hour ago, tep392 said:

I missed this bit of info.  Thanks!

 

@Stephen Is this better?

DigiKey immortalized

 

So I've been thinking about that Graphics demo that fails, and it's got me rather perplexed as to the cause. The XEP80-II for all practically purposes should mimic the original Atari XEP80 in this regard, because the hardware that's responsible for display is not all that different. As I pointed out earlier I'm not in tears about it, since the main purpose of this device as an 80 column text display seems to be working correctly in all regards.

 

56 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

the window demo really needs to conform to the default or preferred use of stick in 1 XEP in port 2 or 4 for those doing strange 800 things

Well I don't think that's the way it was written, since it only seems to recognize the joystick when it's in port 2. Since the demo was written in Basic, it should be easy enough to figure out and correct it. The main point was... why wasn't it scrolling within the XEP's wider than 80 column display memory window, and that has definitely been confirmed as working. Not my fault if Atari's demo isn't supporting either joystick port, let alone the extra ones on an 400/800 (not sure about that last part since I don't have one of those units to test with).

 

EDIT: I just took a look at the WINDOW.BAS code using the MemPad program, and sure enough line 180 and 1010 says it all

100 REM SCROLLING WINDOW EXAMPLE
105 REM SCROLL LEFT AND RIGHT WITH JOYSTICK, WHEN FINISHED PRESS TRIGGER
107 POKE 53774,64:REM DISABLE BREAK KEY
110 POKE 83,255:POKE 752,1:REM SET RIGHT MARGIN, CURSOR OFF
112 FOR COL=0 TO 3*57 STEP 57:GOSUB 1050:REM CLEAR ALL WINDOWS
114 ? CHR$(125);:NEXT COL:COL=0:GOSUB 1050:REM SET FIRST WINDOW
120 ? CHR$(125);:POSITION 0,20:? "USE JOYSTICK TO SCROLL",,,
125 ? "PRESS ÔÒÉÇÇÅÒ ÂÕÔÔÏÎ TO EXIT"
130 FOR X=0 TO 15:POSITION X*16,1:? "COLUMN ";X;
140 GOSUB 1000:FOR Y=3 TO 16:REM ALLOW SCROLLING
150 POSITION X*16+2,Y:? INT(RND(0)*100);:REM MAKE UP A VALUE
160 GOSUB 1000:REM ALLOW SCROLLING WHILE PRINTING
170 NEXT Y:NEXT X
180 GOSUB 1000:GOTO 190-STRIG(1)*10:REM ALLOW SCROLLING, CHECK TRIGGER
190 POSITION 0,20:? CHR$(253);:XIO 20,#1,12,220,"E:":POKE 83,79:POKE 752,0
195 POKE 53774,192:REM ENABLE BREAK KEY
200 END :REM WINDOW TO LEFT EDGE, RESET RIGHT MARGIN, CURSOR ON, EXIT
1000 REM JOYSTICK ROUTINE
1010 A=STICK(1):COL=COL+SGN((A=7)-(A=11)):REM GET DIRECTION AND MOVE
1030 COL=COL*(COL>-1 AND COL<177)+(COL=177)*176:REM LIMITS OF SCROLLING
1050 POSITION COL,20:? CHR$(253);:XIO 20,#1,12,220,"E:"
1060 REM LINE 1050 SETS THE NEW CURSOR AND ISSUES THE SCROLL COMMAND
1090 RETURN

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by mytek

[_The Doctor__]

seems people are opening more than one tab at a time and don't get to reading and responding to them till later. My post was edited in moments and yet the old post is quoted. No one blames anyone in the situation, it's just something I'd suspect Atari should have done or we will have to do in terms of the demos... they really didn't take time consider normal usage and in turn it's a hodge podge when it's used... a best practices and default directive didn't seem to make the rounds.

 

as to the graphics mode issue... the demos and slide shows of the past seemed to indicate the window of memory wrapped around so to speak and there was an offset to take into consideration, if that memory window is larger now it would have to adjust accordingly. Of course it could be something else completely, but if you're saying nothing else is different then it's where I'd look.... someone should set phaeron up with a XEP80II and see what he thinks and can do. You might just be amazed again with what this little bit banger can do.

Edited December 3, 2021 by _The Doctor__

[+mytek]

23 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

seems people are opening more than one tab at a time and don't get to reading and responding to them till later. My post was edited in moments and yet the old post is quoted.

Well actually your post came in while I was writing mine, and I simply clicked the "Show Reply" button when I was notified. Only one tab was open in my browser, so the real problem is that you don't get notified of edits that occur after the post has been made. As you said no one to blame

 

BTW, if you look back at my post that I just edited, you'll see the Basic code for the WINDOW demo, and where it falls on it's face where the joystick is concerned. It'd be simple to change it to recognize joystick port 1 instead, and a bit more involved to recognize ports beyond that, although for a demo that really wouldn't be necessary, since 400/800's also have a port 1 as well (it's only a demo after all).

 

23 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

as to the graphics mode issue... the demos and slide shows of the past seemed to indicate the window of memory wrapped around so to speak and there was an offset to take into consideration, if that memory window is larger now it would have to adjust accordingly. Of course it could be something else completely, but if you're saying nothing else is different then it's where I'd look

Well the hardware is basically same, but I do have different display window timing in the firmware ROM to combat over scan, so that's the likely culprit. Since that was done to make it work with modern displays, there's nothing that can really be done about that other than reverting to the original ROM. Which is available, but defeats the whole idea behind why it was done.

 

Seriously though, I for one will not miss doing graphics on my XEP80-II. Because as i stated yesterday, this is something better done by the A8 itself.

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by mytek
referenced the wrong port number

[+mytek]

17 minutes ago, _The Doctor__ said:

...someone should set phaeron up with a XEP80II and see what he thinks and can do. You might just be amazed again with what this little bit banger can do.

He already has an original XEP80, so giving him one of these won't change much as to what he can do. With the only real change being the display timing parameters i used in the ROM, which is available for download from my website. Besides setting someone up with this kind of hardware is expensive, so although I would love to, I've already invested considerably in the development of the XEP80-II version as it is.

 

[+mytek]

Auto-Boot fixed version of the WINDOW demo: DEMOWIN.atr

(Joystick in port1 & XEP80-II in port2)

 

Just like the DEMO80 disk I uploaded yesterday, this one has the automatic 40/80 toggle program included and uses BW-DOS plus a STARTUP batch file to load everything required and then execute the Basic program.

 

EDIT: BTW, I left that DEMO80 program running all night and came in this morning to find it still running without any glitches. It's a good test because of all the weird stuff that it's doing ?

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by mytek

[tep392]

I tried a graphics demo, listing 1, from the XEP80 Slideshow article in October 88 issue of Antic magazine.  It doesn't work either. I noticed that if I use the Altirra driver, the screen just displays the text being sent to the XEP80. If I use the driver from the XEP80 boot disk, it seems to go into graphics mode, but the screen doesn't sync.  I can see some thin horizontal lines being put on the display.  This could be a driver issue.

[+mytek]

1 hour ago, tep392 said:

I tried a graphics demo, listing 1, from the XEP80 Slideshow article in October 88 issue of Antic magazine.  It doesn't work either. I noticed that if I use the Altirra driver, the screen just displays the text being sent to the XEP80. If I use the driver from the XEP80 boot disk, it seems to go into graphics mode, but the screen doesn't sync.  I can see some thin horizontal lines being put on the display.  This could be a driver issue.

I definitely suspect that the customized NS405 default display timing parameters in the XEP80-II's OS ROM are the reason. Basically the screen geometry and timing has changed to accommodate modern monitors (eliminate excessive over scan and roll). Those Atari demos are likely doing a deep dive with the expectation of the original display timing parameters being in play.

 

So if a stock XEP80 OS ROM image were used and you had an old time high resolution CRT connected without the HDMI conversion, the demo would probably work.

 

EDIT: For the time being I've put a disclaimer on the XEP80-II webpage stating that the graphics capability is not presently supported.

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by mytek

[tep392]

The graphics are just a curiosity for me. I don’t see any practical use for myself. 

[gwpt]

Anyone is Australia interested in ordering one of these? I would be keen to split the the postage as it's is soooo expensive from the thebrewingacademy ?

Edited December 4, 2021 by gwpt

[tep392]

Is there a fast SDX driver? I've been using the XEP80 driver in SDX 4.48, but I noticed that it is slower than the Altirra driver.  There also seems to be a bug using MAC/65 with SDX 4.48 and it's XEP80 driver. I will occasionally have the cursor disappear after pressing enter when editing a line.  An underline character appears at the bottom of the screen and it moves as I type, but I can't see what I am typing and it is unresponsive to commands.  Pressing reset will fix it. 

 

This doesn't happen when using the Altirra driver and DOS 2.5, but this has another weird issue, which the stock Atari driver fixes.

 

UPDATE:  I just found the ALTXEP80.SYS driver on the Altirra additions disk.  This driver fixes the bug I was having when editing in MAC/65.  It is also faster than the Atari driver.  The XEP80 II is working very nicely now with SDX and MAC/65. The readability is excellent. 

[+videofx]

Hi @mytek ,

 

I checked your website but didn't see any .STL for the XEP80-II case.

 

Are we getting any closer to have the case?

 

Thanks!

[+mytek]

2 minutes ago, videofx said:

Hi @mytek ,

 

I checked your website but didn't see any .STL for the XEP80-II case.

 

Are we getting any closer to have the case?

 

Thanks!

 

Well to tell you he truth I dropped the ball on that one. My original intention was to attempt to modify the blank 576NUC+ case STL that @Mr Robot so kindly created and allowed me to provide as a download on my website. That didn't happen. And quite honestly its not going to come from me anytime soon, if ever. My focus has now shifted back to my 'real' job, and I guess you could say that I've also moved past anything else related to the XEP80-II at this time. There will still be a few personal fun projects I intend to pursue, but 3D printing design really isn't fun for me, or easy, so that's not going to be on my agenda.

 

So here's the deal. Maybe someone else has picked up that ball, but I can't say for sure if that's even true (just speculating). The blank 576NUC+ case STL is available for anyone who wishes to attempt this. And since the XEP80-II board has the exact same 4.5" square footprint as the NUC, that STL will serve as a very good starting point. Here's a link for all the released 576NUC+ STL files.

 

Good luck to anyone that wishes to do this

 

[+MacRorie]

On 12/3/2021 at 8:08 PM, gwpt said:

Anyone is Australia interested in ordering one of these? I would be keen to split the the postage as it's is soooo expensive from the thebrewingacademy ?

Sorry, but since USPS put a pause on all packages to Australia and New Zealand, the only way to ship it to y'all is DHL and UPS and, well, they charge an arm and a leg.  As soon as USPS lifts the "pause," we won't be locked in to such high carrier rates.

 

Also, the fully built ones are now available for sale :  

 

EDIT:  Some people are having trouble finding the link.  (craftily hidden in the sentence above) so here it is  CLICK ME

 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by MacRorie
Clarifying Link for ordering Assembled XEP80-II

[+mytek]

Nice ?

 

I think your demo gives a very good overview of what the XEP80-II will do and what it's all about

 

Just thought I'd mention that most HDTVs have at least one USB port built-in which can supply power to the AV2HDMI converter, so no need for a separate power adapter. And as @MacRorie stated in the video, the XEP80-II itself receives power directly from the Atari via the joystick port. Since it's virtually an all CMOS design, the power consumption is very low, so shouldn't pose a problem on most systems. However if your Atari is fully loaded with upgrades, then you might want to consider using at least a 1.5 amp PSU.

[gwpt]

1 hour ago, MacRorie said:

Sorry, but since USPS put a pause on all packages to Australia and New Zealand, the only way to ship it to y'all is DHL and UPS and, well, they charge an arm and a leg.  As soon as USPS lifts the "pause," we won't be locked in to such high carrier rates.

 

Also, the fully built ones are now available for sale :  

 

 

Thanks MacRorie,

I might wait a bit then. Postage has been crazy all over the place recently.

[tep392]

20 hours ago, MacRorie said:

Sorry, but since USPS put a pause on all packages to Australia and New Zealand, the only way to ship it to y'all is DHL and UPS and, well, they charge an arm and a leg.  As soon as USPS lifts the "pause," we won't be locked in to such high carrier rates.

 

Also, the fully built ones are now available for sale :  

 

 

MacRorie,  If you are going to produce cases based on the 576NUC+ design, I would for sure buy the XL style version.

[Fierodoug5]

Is there a way to get the pcb into tinkercad? I thought I did that once on a case design but can't seem to figure it out anymore. That's the only way I know to get all the holes to line up. 

[+mytek]

13 minutes ago, Fierodoug5 said:

Is there a way to get the pcb into tinkercad? I thought I did that once on a case design but can't seem to figure it out anymore. That's the only way I know to get all the holes to line up. 

Does TinkerCad accept SVG? If it does then I might be able to convert from my PCB program into DXF and then into SVG so at least you would have a 2D footprint of where all the connectors and such are positioned.

 

[Fierodoug5]

Yeah, I think you can get a SVG into tinkercad