XEP80-II a new beginning

[+mytek]

22 minutes ago, Fierodoug5 said:

Yeah, I think you can get a SVG into tinkercad

Here's the best I could do: AnyConv.com__XEP80-II.svg

 

I exported it first as a DXF in a mm format. And I checked it in a CAD program with it being exactly 114.3 mm square which equals 4.5". So far so good. Then not having a utility on my computer to convert it from DXF to SVG I resorted to an online converter, with only one appearing to work properly (AnyConv.com).

 

Here's the original DXF i was working from: XEP80-II.dxf

 

[+MacRorie]

19 hours ago, tep392 said:

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

We will.  Just need to sit down with TinkerCAD and get it done.  I also have a few other case ideas that I need to get done.  Will try to do it during the break.

-M

[+MacRorie]

17 hours ago, mytek said:

Here's the best I could do: AnyConv.com__XEP80-II.svg

 

I exported it first as a DXF in a mm format. And I checked it in a CAD program with it being exactly 114.3 mm square which equals 4.5". So far so good. Then not having a utility on my computer to convert it from DXF to SVG I resorted to an online converter, with only one appearing to work properly (AnyConv.com).

 

Here's the original DXF i was working from: XEP80-II.dxf

 

Thanks! This will save me from getting the EXTRA big calipers out

 

[+mytek]

9 minutes ago, MacRorie said:

Thanks! This will save me from getting the EXTRA big calipers out

 

I'm glad this will help. Although you're not out of the woods just yet. You'll still need to use those calipers to lock in the location of the HDMI port, since that isn't shown in the SVG.

 

 

[+videofx]

On 12/16/2021 at 11:15 AM, MacRorie said:

Thanks! This will save me from getting the EXTRA big calipers out

 

@MacRorie Will you be sharing the .STL so we can print our own case?

 

Hope so

 

Thanks!

[+videofx]

Work has finally begun!

 

Be sure to check your component values to save some work

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by videofx

[+Larry]

I noticed in the video that the joystick/power cable is not supplied from TBA.  IIRC, the original XEP80 cable is hard-wired from the case.  Any suggestions for purchase -- a Male to Female joystick extension cable?  I haven't found a good picture showing clearances around the joystick jack on the II.  Can someone post a couple of pics of that specific area of the board?  Will the HDMI cause potential interference?  Any suggested sources?  Maybe also from Commodore sites?

 

Edit: I found a link that TBA sells them separately:

https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/joystick-extension-cables

 

Will this one work with the XEP80-II?

[+videofx]

5 hours ago, Larry said:

I noticed in the video that the joystick/power cable is not supplied from TBA.  IIRC, the original XEP80 cable is hard-wired from the case.  Any suggestions for purchase -- a Male to Female joystick extension cable?  I haven't found a good picture showing clearances around the joystick jack on the II.  Can someone post a couple of pics of that specific area of the board?  Will the HDMI cause potential interference?  Any suggested sources?  Maybe also from Commodore sites?

 

Edit: I found a link that TBA sells them separately:

https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/joystick-extension-cables

 

Will this one work with the XEP80-II?

If you use the link in the bill of materials, Console5 cables are much cheaper

 

https://console5.com/store/atari-sega-commodore-6-1-8m-joystick-controller-extension-cable-cord.html

[ACML]

I'm definitely interested in buying one and possibly two, but I'm waiting for the cased unit to become available.  Does anyone have any idea when the cased unit might become available?

[BillC]

1 hour ago, ACML said:

I'm definitely interested in buying one and possibly two, but I'm waiting for the cased unit to become available.  Does anyone have any idea when the cased unit might become available?

The Brewing Academy lists 2 case options that are WIP, the cased versions are currently listed as "sold out", I'm sure that will change once the case designs are completed/available.

https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/xep80-ii-by-mytek?_pos=1&_sid=5553f434a&_ss=r&variant=39492098523238

[+videofx]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Mrs Claus let me work on my XEP8-II and I just finished it!

 

I am too tired to test tonight so I will test tomorrow and report

[+videofx]

I am having a few issues wit my XEP80-II

 

1. HDMI 40 Columns the background and foreground colors are washed out. But in 80 column mode black is black and white is white. I have tried changing the colors, brightness and contrast to no avail

 

2. In HDMI 80 column mode every 10-15 seconds the screen shakes.  I have a 7 second video that shows the issue.

 

3. Using composite, Everything in 80 column is rock solid. The issue in composite is no video. All I get is a white cursor in the upper left of the screen with black background. Should I get 40 column mode in composite?

 

I have tried in both 720 and 1080 and 2 different LCD's

 

 

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by videofx

[tep392]

On 12/30/2021 at 12:49 PM, videofx said:

I am having a few issues wit my XEP80-II

 

1. HDMI 40 Columns the background and foreground colors are washed out. But in 80 column mode black is black and white is white. I have tried changing the colors, brightness and contrast to no avail

 

2. In HDMI 80 column mode every 10-15 seconds the screen shakes.  I have a 7 second video that shows the issue.

 

3. Using composite, Everything in 80 column is rock solid. The issue in composite is no video. All I get is a white cursor in the upper left of the screen with black background. Should I get 40 column mode in composite?

 

I have tried in both 720 and 1080 and 2 different LCD's

 

 

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

 

I don't know what is going on with the HDMI output glitching, but have you tried the HDMI convertor using it's original composite/s-video cable connected to the Atari's monitor port?  You want to eliminate the possibility of a bad HDMI converter. I don't know enough about the details of the XEP80-II to help further troubleshooting.  Regarding your question about getting 40 column mode with the composite output, the video switch only passes video to the HDMI converter.  When you have the composite out enabled with the jumper in the CVBS position, you only get 80 columns out of the composite port.

[tep392]

I learned another benefit of working with XEP80.  With the 40 column display DMA disabled, I get a nice speed boost when assembling with MAC/65.

 

[+videofx]

7 minutes ago, tep392 said:

I don't know what is going on with the HDMI output glitching, but have you tried the HDMI convertor using it's original composite/s-video cable connected to the Atari's monitor port?  You want to eliminate the possibility of a bad HDMI converter. I don't know enough about the details of the XEP80-II to help further troubleshooting.  Regarding your question about getting 40 column mode with the composite output, the video switch only passes video to the HDMI converter.  When you have the composite out enables with the jumper in the CVBS position, you only get 80 columns out of the composite port.

Yes we think alike. That was my first troubleshooting step until there adapter stopped working. So I am waiting to get a new one.

[Fierodoug5]

I still have not had any time to assemble my XEP80-80II

Has anyone come up with a case yet, and willing to share the STLs? I see Brewing Academy has a case now

[Meadow Glen]

I bought a xep80-ii.  I know if bringing up an issue, it helps to have a video, so fyi, I don't.

 

But, for me, I went into Atari writer, which said it was patched for 80 columns, but it glitched within typing two sentences and although it was using 80 character font, it only used half the screen and was limited to 40 columns.

 

any others having this issue?  any fixes?

 

 

[mellis]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:02 AM, Meadow Glen said:

I bought a xep80-ii.  I know if bringing up an issue, it helps to have a video, so fyi, I don't.

 

But, for me, I went into Atari writer, which said it was patched for 80 columns, but it glitched within typing two sentences and although it was using 80 character font, it only used half the screen and was limited to 40 columns.

 

any others having this issue?  any fixes?

 

 

Are you using AtariWriter or AtariWriter Plus 80?  There is an important difference.

[+mytek]

4 hours ago, mellis said:

Are you using AtariWriter or AtariWriter Plus 80?  There is an important difference.

Yes there is a big difference   Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Here is where @Meadow Glen can get the proper version tweaked for the XEP80-II: https://ataribits.weebly.com/xep80-ii.html

 

Scroll down to the bottom of that page for all the XEP80-II pertinent downloads.

 

[Meadow Glen]

4 minutes ago, mytek said:

Yes there is a big difference   Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Here is where @Meadow Glen can get the proper version tweaked for the XEP80-II: https://ataribits.weebly.com/xep80-ii.html

 

Scroll down to the bottom of that page for all the XEP80-II pertinent downloads.

 

I am using the parched version from that page.  i have never had atariwriter before in my life

 

i was surprised that atariwriter immediately glitched

 

but keep in mind i have never used atariwriter in my life and have no other copies if it

 

if any settings are required, i didnt apply them

 

you know margins or line length, agai. if that is nonsense for atariwriter i have no way to know, spent 2 seconds with it

 

i think i will have to do the video…hiped to avoid but impossible to troubleshoot.  you all clearly think that program works and for me it didnt.   goodness knows with my ataris and their collection of flakiness…. ok will try tonight

[+mytek]

13 minutes ago, Meadow Glen said:

I am using the parched version from that page.  i have never had atariwriter before in my life

Well that's useful information. So now we know that you have the correct AW program version.

 

14 minutes ago, Meadow Glen said:

i was surprised that atariwriter immediately glitched

I'm also surprised, although it could be a problem with the hardware, and specifically the NS405 terminal chip. After all these are pulls from other equipment, no longer being available as new.

 

Could also be an error in one or more components on the board, or a soldering issue. So many things it could be. Not to make you feel bad, other people have these same boards that seem to work fine with AW80. Which kinda points to something possibly wrong with yours or it might be an issue with your Joystick Port/PIA chip and/or the capacitors on the I/O.

 

19 minutes ago, Meadow Glen said:

but keep in mind i have never used atariwriter in my life and have no other copies if it

 

if any settings are required, i didnt apply them

 

you know margins or line length, agai. if that is nonsense for atariwriter i have no way to know, spent 2 seconds with it

No special settings are required, with the defaults normally being good to go.

 

On 3/30/2022 at 7:02 AM, Meadow Glen said:

it glitched within typing two sentences and although it was using 80 character font, it only used half the screen and was limited to 40 columns.

This is pretty revealing that there is a major issue with something on your setup, and is why we at first thought you weren't running the correct AW program.

 

Did you build this board yourself? If not where did you get it?

 

It would be near impossible for me to troubleshoot your board with the information provided thus far, or for that matter duplicate what you are seeing on my hardware. So unfortunately I have no answers for you at this time. If you want more help to solve this, a video showing everything from loading the program to when it glitches would certainly help. But please keep in mind that any help that I do provide is on my own time, without any compensation, so it might not be as timely as you would like. If this is not a DIY board, being purchased from someone as fully tested, I would suggest contacting them to see if they can help you in a more speedy manner and/or wish to have you return it for repair or replacement.

 

[Meadow Glen]

3 hours ago, mytek said:

 

 

It would be near impossible for me to troubleshoot your board with the information provided thus far, or for that matter duplicate what you are seeing on my hardware. So unfortunately I have no answers for you at this time. If you want more help to solve this, a video showing everything from loading the program to when it glitches would certainly help. But please keep in mind that any help that I do provide is on my own time, without any compensation, so it might not be as timely as you would like. If this is not a DIY board, being purchased from someone as fully tested, I would suggest contacting them to see if they can help you in a more speedy manner and/or wish to have you return it for repair or replacement.

 

 

Oh hey - listen, any help at any time, is always appreciated.    And it's true at first I was just gauging if anyone else had the issue.  If not, then it's my setup.  Which now that I understand it is working for other people - it is my setup.  I didn't know.  Still it isn't all that surprising.   

 

I went to take the video, I was unable to get the 40-col glitch again.  So; tldr - it did display 80 col Atariwriter today.

 

But here is the more ramblign version:

Today, my first attempt was an Atari 800XL hooked up to a 4:3 aspect ratio monitor, that is a favorite of mine because it has DVI, HDMI, s-video, ntsc or pal support.   The HDMI is great for outputs like the retrotink, which just 2x to HDMI.  However, this is technically not a supported monitor for xep80-II, now that I reread the docs - 720p/1080p is different from whatever this monitor has, probably 1600x1200...anyway it definitely says "signal out of sync" so that system was a no go.

 

Second attempt was a 1200XL hooked to a viewsonic 1080p monitor, and the top of the screen was cut off, not visible.   Unexpected, this monitor usually has been great.

 

But I swapped output to an LG TV with HDMI and now I do see the full screen.

 

So I typed several paragraphs, and just did not glitch at 40-columns today.

 

Also, I rather suspect that having good s-video output is the way to go with this style of setup.  My atari's tend to be disabled composite without any clear s-video mod.  Why would anyone do that? lol....because they were intended for other video upgrades, either sophia or vbxe.

 

anyway...now I"m rambling.  I have a 600XL with UAV coming in - I suspect that's the one to use with this setup, and since it does appear Atariwriter works - I think I'll be all set after all....

 

[+mytek]

Sounds like you got things working. Yep this really is aimed at a true HDTV with HDMI input (modern display). Also it's best to disable Over Scan (this is usually called full or raw scan mode).

 

[tep392]

I decided to stick my XEP80-II in an unused SX212 I had sitting around. I might remove the toggle switch since it currently serves no useful purpose.  I just need to make up a new face plate for it. 

[rsh]

Has anyone got the XEP80-II to work with Action!?