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CV-NUC+ A Miniature CV Motherboard is in the Works


mytek

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Just now, Yurkie said:

If you would be so kind as to PM me, I would love to talk about buying one of your completed test units.

Sorry but I really don't sell anything. Usually whatever test units I have that are viable either go to me, and/or in the case of this CV-NUC+, to my grand kids. Although I wouldn't be surprised if someone picks this up and builds some to sell.

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I just received my prototype CV-KEYPAD boards from OSH Park yesterday, and built and tested one today.

 

 

I'd still like to make some small adjustments to the PCB layout (done), and add some more info on the silkscreen (done), but it worked just fine out of the box.

 

This is 1 of 3 boards required for this project. Nice to see at least one of them make it to the finish line :)

 

---------------------------

 

Updated PCB

 

PCB TOP

CV-KEYPAD_PCB_top.png.5eee4702fe5b09c8897b930a00a55305.png

 

PCB BOTTOM

CV-KEYPAD_PCB_btm.png.dcf35ba7d3027e5f6d592951720b858a.png

 

2 layer board of 1.45 x 1.25 inches (36.8 x 31.8 mm) 1.6 mm thick

OSH Park LINK

 

Current Schematic: CV-KEYPAD_V1.1_schema.pdf

PCB Manufacture Files: CV-KEYPAD_gerbers.zip

Microchip PIC16F630 Firmware: CV-KeyPad.hex

 

I have no plans to make a BOM since it should be fairly easy to deduce what is needed from the schematic, and most all of the parts can be gotten from Digi-Key and/or Mouser.

 

Here's a photo of the prototype, but keep in mind that there were a few minor changes that got made, although the type of headers and the components being used are still the same.

 

CV-KEYPAD_prototype.thumb.jpg.659cd0a0ff4b098d4bdd34d1118f0cb7.jpg

 

Although this is intended for my Miniature CV-NUC+ project, it's perfectly usable in either a customized ColecoVision or Adam system. However keep in mind it does require additional +5V and GND connections, and won't simply work from the controller port connection alone -- this makes it better as an internal upgrade ;)

Edited by mytek
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The next two boards are nearing readiness for pre-production prototypes to be made. Taking advantage of the extra space afforded by off loading one of the 74HCT138 decoders to the SGM's CPLD, this opened things up enough to get most of the formally nested components out into the open. Also after having previous experience with routing stuff on this board, I decided to swap the Z80 and VDP positions, which allowed a much easier path to get the VRAM connections over to the VDP. Because of all the changes, this really was about a 3/4 rip-up and reroute of the traces. Lotta work 😝

CV-NUC_PCB_V1.1_top.thumb.png.f5a2f1998a57329615576ebead8d7eeb.png

The Super Game Module was a 100% re-do because of the decision to move into using a CPLD for all the glue logic. But it became a fairly easy layout because of it.

CV-SGM_PCB_V1.1_top.thumb.png.ab5f3138179fa01d8b391642312d6ebe.png

 

And I flashed my first CPLD today, which was the milestone I needed to wrap up most of the uncertainties with moving in this new direction. With this under my belt, I now feel fairly certain that when the first prototype boards are assembled and powered up, we will have proper electrons flowing through the veins of this creation.

CPLD_flash-1.thumb.jpg.bc86571dffef03a3972297e8bf3beec0.jpg

CPLD_flash-2.thumb.jpg.3e772d8eaa6193dcf5ba5beb00cb1018.jpg

 

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1 hour ago, chart45 said:

you put the sn76 sound chip on the super game.module so its not optional board now.

Yep as @5-11under pointed out it never really was optional because that's also where the system ram is as well. Kinda hard to have a working system without RAM ;)

 

Very early on in this project I gave up on the notion of the SG module being an optional accessory. I also gave up on using all 74xx logic a while back as well, and first attempted using an SPLD (ATF22V10) for the SG module's glue logic, but that was a bust because I couldn't fit all the required logic in that little chip (ended up missing latches). So then I went bigger and now I'm using a CPLD instead. Since the CPLD gave me a lot more room (and more I/O pins), I was also able to move one of the decoders off the main board and into the CPLD. And I also added the ability to mirror system ram when it's in the stock 1K mode, thus making it very much like a stock CV when SGM mode is not enabled. I'm also trying to maintain a certain footprint so that an existing case design originally engineered for the Atari 576NUC+ can be easily modded to house this creation as well, thus the reason to do the SGM board as a vertical plug-in instead of simply incorporating it into the main board's footprint.

 

The board's footprint also plays into the name I'm using: CV-NUC+. For those that don't know, NUC stands for Next Unit of Computing coined by Intel for their very small series of PCs that had a 4" square motherboard. Since my board's footprint is 4.5" square, I modified that with a "+" to denote the slightly bigger (fatter) aspect.

 

So at this point we have a system that is virtually all THT, with only one SMD device in use, which is a relatively large SOIC-8 package (FMS6400 Video Buffer/Combiner), thus making for an easier DIY project to assemble. And although it does rely on 3 programmable devices (EEPROM for BIOS ROM, CPLD for SGM logic, and a PIC16F630 for the built-in keypad translation) those can likely be accommodated by others who have the programming tools required to flash some chips for a nominal fee. In fact I know a guy that would probably be willing to sell a bare PCB kit, including the 3 devices mentioned already programmed (and NO that's not me :lolblue:).

 

And lastly let's not forget that I am developing this for my own entertainment, and will not be selling any of it. But I will generously disseminate all the files required to duplicate it into the public domain, for anyone that wishes to do so. The driving force behind this is to be able to gift a few of these to my grand kids when they get a bit older :)

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Hi

I am actually researching ways to program the ATF1500 without spending hundreds of $ (or EUR in my case) for a high-end programmer

 

found DIY ways for the ATF1502/4/8 series, but seems that the 1500 is a different beast 

 

https://oe7twj.at/index.php?title=ATF150x

in German Language but Google Translate should do the job

 

did anybody find an easier was to program this?

 

cheers

Michael

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1 hour ago, LarryL said:

found DIY ways for the ATF1502/4/8 series, but seems that the 1500 is a different beast

Yep you discovered why the ATF1500 needs a special programmer unlike it's ATF1502/1504 cousins which do have JTAG capability. However those cousins were meant to work in 3.3V systems and are not tolerant of 5V on their I/O pins, so besides the 5-to-3.3V regulator, there would also be a need for level shifters -- lots of extra parts. There was a ATF1502ASV variant which had 5V tolerant I/O (still needed a 3.3V supply), but that one doesn't appear to be available from any of the normal vendors.

 

1 hour ago, LarryL said:

did anybody find an easier was to program this?

Even if there were an alternative to the expensive programmer, it likely still wouldn't make a lot sense for the guy that just wants to flash one CPLD, since it would require making or modifying something to do that flashing.

 

In case you missed what I posted earlier, I have someone in mind that can sell a bare PCB kit with all 3 of the required chips already programmed. I just confirmed with him a few moments ago that he is very much interested in doing this. This really makes the most sense to me, since you can't buy just one PCB from the Chinese manufacturers, and unless you need 5 of each board, it would probably cost you more for the PCBs than buying the kit I just mentioned, and of course wouldn't give you the pre-flashed chips that are needed as well (don't ask me what the price will be --- that hasn't been determined yet). BTW, the CV-NUC+ and the CV-SGM boards are both 4-layer, with inner power planes.

 

On a side note, the same guy that will likely sell the board kits, also will sell the custom 3D printed case for those that don't have the in-house capability. He has a room full of high end 3D printers, and already sells cases for other systems.

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23 minutes ago, mytek said:

In case you missed what I posted earlier, I have someone in mind that can sell a bare PCB kit with all 3 of the required chips already programmed. I just confirmed with him a few moments ago that he is very much interested in doing this. This really makes the most sense to me, since you can't buy just one PCB from the Chinese manufacturers, and unless you need 5 of each board, it would probably cost you more for the PCBs than buying the kit I just mentioned, and of course wouldn't give you the pre-flashed chips that are needed as well (don't ask me what the price will be --- that hasn't been determined yet). BTW, the CV-NUC+ and the CV-SGM boards are both 4-layer, with inner power planes.


Thanks @mytek

 

I somehow have an idea, who „this guy“ might be 🙂

might make the most sense to do it that way

on the other hand - trying to figure things out, making and modifying things is part of the fun I am having 🙂

…and used to have with your designs during past two years 

 

regards

Michael

 

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3 hours ago, LarryL said:

trying to figure things out, making and modifying things is part of the fun I am having 🙂

…and used to have with your designs during past two years

By all means have fun figuring out an alternative way to flash the CPLD. And when you do, please share it with everyone here. Because I'm sure pretty sure others besides myself will be very interested :)

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11 hours ago, mytek said:

By all means have fun figuring out an alternative way to flash the CPLD. And when you do, please share it with everyone here. Because I'm sure pretty sure others besides myself will be very interested :)

Of corpse, I will!

 

BTW: from the ATF150x datasheet (attached), I a pretty confident, that the ATF1502AL(S) is a 5V type.

power and logic levels

Since it can be programmed via JTAG this could be a drop-in replacement with easier access to programming

of course availability is a problem.

Mouser said March 2023, but via AliExpress there might be a chance

Ali

 

what will you provide as source for programming the CPLD?

JEDEC or SVF?

 

cheers

Michael

 

Atmel-0995-CPLD-ATF1502AS(L)-Datasheet.pdf

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13 hours ago, LarryL said:

BTW: from the ATF150x datasheet (attached), I a pretty confident, that the ATF1502AL(S) is a 5V type.

power and logic levels

Since it can be programmed via JTAG this could be a drop-in replacement with easier access to programming

Small problem, I've pretty much assigned all but two of the I/O pins, so in circuit programming might be difficult to provide (I'm not sure how it could be done to tell you the truth). Also I don't like the long lead time with no guarantee that it'll actually happen when they say it will. These 5V parts will likely have a very low priority as they ramp up the fabs. The nice thing about the ATF1500A that I chose, is that there are multiple sources that have ample stock on the shelves right now.

 

13 hours ago, LarryL said:

what will you provide as source for programming the CPLD?

JEDEC or SVF?

It'll be a JEDEC file.

 

------------------

 

On a separate topic, I've figured out how to add a header for a future daughter board that could provide the missing roller controller hardware in my design. It was a very tight squeeze to get an additional header to fit, but a hammer did the trick ;)

 

So at some point down the road I'll layout a pcb for this specific purpose. I'm sure this will make a few people happy :)

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4 hours ago, mytek said:

Small problem, I've pretty much assigned all but two of the I/O pins, so in circuit programming might be difficult to provide

All JTAG pins of the ATF150x can be used as I/O

there is a special way to „reset“ the chip to be able to re-program - some details here

basically you apply 12V to OE1 during the process to reset the chip

at the end, this does not allow „in circuit programming“ but by being able to use JTAG for programming, you can work with cheap DIY programming tools

 

when the time comes, I will try this out and share the results here

 

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8 hours ago, LarryL said:

All JTAG pins of the ATF150x can be used as I/O

there is a special way to „reset“ the chip to be able to re-program - some details here

basically you apply 12V to OE1 during the process to reset the chip

at the end, this does not allow „in circuit programming“ but by being able to use JTAG for programming, you can work with cheap DIY programming tools

 

when the time comes, I will try this out and share the results here

I learned something new -- thanks :)

 

---------------

 

Now something else I feel I should share about this board I'm developing...

 

As it's designed, it is primarily aimed at being an NTSC Colecovision with both Composite and S-Video outputs. Unless I'm mistaken, PAL requires an additional 4.433618MHz oscillator circuit in order to derive either the S-Video or Composite video output I am after. And there is a bunch of extra stuff that appears to be required as well in order to achieve that. Now this doesn't appear to affect the Component output (R-Y, B-Y, Y) coming directly from the VDP chip itself, and since the main oscillator seems to be the same between either PAL or NTSC, I would imagine that the F18 VGA or TMS RGB upgrades should be unaffected, and would merely require changing between the NTSC and PAL VDP chip.

 

Another thing to note, is that my board depends upon using an alternative VDP chip which only required two 16K x 4 bit DRAM chips for the video RAM, instead of eight 16K x 1 bit DRAMs like what was used in the standard Colecovision console. I will be testing with the TMS9128 (NTSC) chip, and two TMS4416 DRAMs (Jameco Part no.: 2288023). There is also a similar VDP chip for PAL (TMS9129). And there was yet another alternative that only output NTSC Composite, although a PAL version of that was never made.

 

Here's a comparison of the pinouts for the various flavors of Texas Instruments VDP chips.

636194902_TMSVDPChipPin-Outs.thumb.png.ceba690f68d387cdc952b92238d8e4f8.png

 

Just to give you an idea of the extra complexity that is required to yield a PAL composite video output vs. NTSC in my creation, I present two schematics.

 

Page extracted from ChildOfCv's PAL schematic.

CV_PAL_Video.thumb.png.b16287e170730ac4fa1dc04b6148cfb0.png

 

Page extracted from CV-NUC+ NTSC schematic (compare NTSC LM1889 video processing circuit to the PAL version above).

1905257426_CV-NUC_NTSC_Video.thumb.png.1ab6763fb605c70c810946937998ae02.png

 

Obviously in that first schematic there is extra circuitry associated with the RF output which mine doesn't support or need. But even taking that into account, there is a bit more going on in order to process a Color PAL Composite signal (e.g, additional 4.43MHz crystal oscillator circuit).  And for me to meet my goal of creating a 4.5" square CV motherboard, there simply wouldn't have been any space available to recreate this on my board  For the same reason that the original 8 DRAM VDP wasn't going to fly either.

 

Speaking of the TMS9128 VDP chip. Just like any of the TI VDP chips, this one is no longer in production and hence will rely upon sourcing from old stock electronic parts. They are available online, but just to be sure I got something genuine I've ordered from two different sources, with one looking every bit the part, including the TI Texas emblem embossed in the plastic. It'll be very interesting to compare the two and see if either really works properly (gotta watch out for Chinese fakes). Whatever the outcome, I'll be sure to publish my sources.

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Needing something to verify that the optional Quadrature (CV-ROLLER) board will work, I found myself looking for a suitable spinner controller. Well after looking at what was available for sale of either the Super Game Controller or the Roller Controller, I was left less than impressed. This is especially true since the general condition of these from the usual sources are often in poor condition, with no guarantee that they will work properly. So I decided to go Atari and have a couple of these coming my way instead...

 

image.png.525b443bbedb80b0d194611f312acde6.png

Atari 2600 Indy 500 Driving Controllers

 

They will need a passive plug adapter for use on the Colecovision, but it'll be fairly straight forward to make one.

 

In theory these use what appears to be a very similar encoder technology to the Super Game Controller's spinner which doesn't require any power (magnetic encoder). I'll play around with it on my real CV system first to see if these are compatible.

 

Personally I still don't see much in either camp that used the quadrature aspect, with slim pickings in games that required or supported it, but I will likely still make a plug-in module that supports it none the less.

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  • 1 month later...

Project Update

 

Its been a while since I did an update on this project, and rest assured it's not dead. In fact I've been quite busy behind the scenes working on adding Roller Controller support with a twist.

 

Houston we now have Wireless Mouse Control!

 

Although it took some head scratching to get it all to work, I'm quite pleased with the outcome. I also plan to make a drop-in board to replace the original PS/2 mouse in two of my Atari related projects using this same CH554G chip and firmware. The firmware is courtesy of this GitHub Resource.

 

Here's how it gets interfaced to work in the ColecoVision (only the mouse part is currently shown)...

CV-NUC_Mouse_schema.thumb.png.134e07e60d158f389a6c50636cbb01a4.png

 

The left and right mouse buttons duplicate the left and right fire button action, and of course the mouse movement simulates spinning the roller controller ball, which is all that's required to play Slither. I originally looked at purchasing a Roller Controller, but after reading about so many people's problems with doing the same and getting non working units, I decided a mouse was the best way to go.

 

--------------------

 

EDIT: I figured out an easy way to send an asterisk (*) key when pressing both mouse buttons simultaneously. This is great for the game SLITHER which recognizes that as either Pause or Restart. And in order to make sure it doesn't accidentally Pause the game if you inadvertently press both buttons at once, there is a 1-2 second delay before it's recognized (you have to press and hold both buttons for at least that much time).

 

Version 1.2 schematic of mouse section with new asterisk output

CV-NUC_USB-MOUSE-V1.2.thumb.png.299eec6872b4ebe9333adc7dcdafcd33.png

 

Note: DB92 and DB94 are abbreviated tags to represent pins 2 and 4 on the controller port #1 connector.

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For those that want to try this on their own ColecoVision consoles, here's a marked up schematic showing Dsub9 pin connections...

 

EDIT: Check out the previous post if you also want to be able to send the asterisk key as well (good to have for the SLITHER game).

 

ColecoVision_USB_Mouse.thumb.png.9e9dde17af336b2330d41db5f5bc4464.png

Sorry no PCB presently available for this.

 

EDIT: A source of 5V and ground is needed, since that doesn't exist on the CV's controller ports unfortunately :|

 

Jameco Parts List (enter resistor, capacitor, and diode values required in Search Box On Site)...

440004773_ShoppingCartJamecoElectronics.thumb.png.d1b538bd2dd9ed3ffbcc36953f9d81e3.png

 

Here's where I bought the CH554G chip...

 

image.thumb.png.38e794ddd7947ca98e9d4b8b57fd3563.png

 

BUY LINK (be sure to select CH554G).

 

CH554G Flashing information and firmware: Flash CH554 Chip.zip

 

CH554 Manufacturer's Website LINK (datasheet, Windows Flashing Tool).

 

Enjoy :)

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The CV-Mouse circuit turns out to be picky about what kind of wireless mouse will work with it. I have both Microsoft and Logitech wireless mice, and only the Microsoft one is working. If I first power-up with a working mouse, then pull the wireless receiver while powered and plug-in the one from a Logitech mouse all is good, but on next power-up it's dead. However all the 'wired' mice I've tried including a Logitech trackball all work no problem. Tried resetting the CH554 chip to no avail.

 

A working mouse will make the 'USB Mouse Connected' LED flash continuously in my circuit.

 

So having only one Microsoft wireless mouse to test with, I can only recommend it. It's a MicroSoft 3500 series (comes in various colors). It's a nice small comfortable mouse.

 

MicroSoft_3500_Wireless_Mouse.png.bc231eef45c07d04ef658445cce12fbc.png

Amazon LINK

Cost: Under $20

 

EDIT: I have made some minor changes that will now allow Logitech 'Wireless' mice to work, and likely making the circuit more universal in nature to allow all USB mice to be used.

 

----------------------

 

EDIT: I mentioned testing a wired trackball, and although it works fairly well, you really can't beat the mouse. Here's the one I tested...

 

Logitech T-BC21

Logitech_T-BC21.jpg.48da63dd4bd7e543da259b70b6fbb6bb.jpg

These are quite expensive now days :-o

 

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On 10/25/2022 at 6:38 AM, LarryL said:

Of corpse, I will!

 

BTW: from the ATF150x datasheet (attached), I a pretty confident, that the ATF1502AL(S) is a 5V type.

power and logic levels

Since it can be programmed via JTAG this could be a drop-in replacement with easier access to programming

of course availability is a problem.

Mouser said March 2023, but via AliExpress there might be a chance

Ali

 

what will you provide as source for programming the CPLD?

JEDEC or SVF?

 

cheers

Michael

 

Atmel-0995-CPLD-ATF1502AS(L)-Datasheet.pdf 956.78 kB · 5 downloads

Dude you should build a modern remake , how 2600 with HDMI out.

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7 hours ago, OrangeKryptonite said:

Amazing...did I read correctly in earlier posts that you won't be actually making any of these for sale?

No I won't, but I have had discussions with TBA on doing a board kit with the programmable chips supplied ready to go. Due to the work involved in putting together a complete kit, there won't be any of the other components included, just the PCBs and the programmables. I will also be releasing all the design files (which includes the gerbers for PCB manufacturing) into the public domain at the completion of the project.

 

6 hours ago, Yurkie said:

Dude you should build a modern remake , how 2600 with HDMI out.

No I won't be the one to do that. This one's going to be entirely Colecovision focused, but will have considerable bells and whistles none the less. Even though 2600 compatibility back in the 80's was a big selling point, I never liked the low resolution of that system. As for HDMI output... since this system will have very high quality S-Video, I've found that using this converter to go from that to HDMI yields a great looking image and is a very inexpensive solution.

 

WiiStar WS-Z51

image.png.472aec927d6e9c6b4c44d21a0ea9a918.png

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6 hours ago, mytek said:

No I won't, but I have had discussions with TBA on doing a board kit with the programmable chips supplied ready to go. Due to the work involved in putting together a complete kit, there won't be any of the other components included, just the PCBs and the programmables. I will also be releasing all the design files (which includes the gerbers for PCB manufacturing) into the public domain at the completion of the project.

Excellent!

...can't wait ;-)

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Time to Launch This Rocket !!!

I'm ready to pull the trigger, and order the board set for this project. I've tweaked until my eyeballs fell out, while adding all the features I can possibly think of. It's time for this thing to come to life.

 

MAIN BOARD (Mandatory)

CV-NUC_PCB_top.thumb.png.2851bff9e07a73361e66c29fc831d5c5.png

 

Super Game Module (Mandatory)

CV-SGM_PCB_top.thumb.png.442ce3577a31dbad3f0ed806a5ff5135.png

Plugs into the main board and provides 32K System RAM and dual sound generators. Sound from both audio generators is mixed and sent out of the 5-Pin DIN jack on the main board, along with the video (Composite and S-Video).

 

SparkFun-to-CV Keypad Module (Optional)

CV-KEYPAD_PCB_top.thumb.png.3af370583424121bc3e2dfd7fb0bdea4.png

Sandwiches to the bottom of a SparkFun telephone style numeric keypad, and then connects to the main board via a double female dupont cable assembly. The assembly will ultimately bolt to the underside of the enclosure's top lid, held on by 4 small screws.

 

USB Mouse Quadrature Module (Optional - Mandatory if you want to use a Roller Controller)

CV-QUAD_PCB_top.thumb.png.883b2fb86e5ba043cef90ab0f679200f.png

Daughter board that plugs into A-B-C headers on the main board. USB (J5) connector will be accessible on the enclosure front panel, and will work with either Logitech or Microsoft wireless mice.

 

I should get samples of all of these boards on order later today. They will be coming by slow boat from China, so I'll be looking at approximately 3 weeks before they arrive at my door step.

 

--------------------------------------

 

Order went out this evening with JLCPCB. Estimated completion date puts it at 2 weeks out.

 

image.thumb.png.af6510a9a46fb0fe1d563a21cc3c7d2e.png

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Opps I discovered a problem with the USB Mouse Quadrature circuit 2 days after ordering the board from JLC. I have to kick myself in the butt that I didn't compare the mouse trigger button locations to the stock CV controller before ordering. As it turns out I had a 50/50 chance of getting it either right or wrong, and of course I got it wrong (remind me not to play the Lotto ;)). Yes I reversed the order of those buttons.

 

So I made the correction and sent off the files to OSH Park (too late to make changes at JLC). It's a small enough board that OSH Park's fee is very reasonable. They should get here about the same time that all the JLC boards arrive. OSH Park's standard Purple Solder Mask will stand out above the Green of the main board --- nothing wrong with that :)

 

CV-QUAD Board TOP

CV-QUAD_PCB_top.png.06bb15e822b6286e15e4c8df2d03992e.png

 

CV-QUAD Board BOTTOM

CV-QUAD_PCB_btm.png.9cf1c2e03feea8eaaef15bcc83e1a60e.png

 

Schematic

CV-QUAD_V1.4_schema.thumb.png.c84a8d27984c9310f6235efca286841f.png

CV-QUAD_V1.4_schema.pdf

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

First boards assembled and under test...

 

Main Board

OverView.thumb.jpg.b8358e39b000d30b35ffcf5847c51802.jpg

 

I need to come up with a better solution for the 5V regulator than the original TO220 drop-in replacement which turned out to be too noisy. And there just isn't any room to add any elaborate filtering like I did for the 576NUC+. So for the time being I swapped the switcher out for a good old 7805 linear regulator with a bunch of heat sinks stuck to it which solved the video noise issue I was seeing. For a more permanent solution I'm thinking of using an aluminum rear panel and attach the 7805 to it. The entire unit runs from a 12VDC 2 amp wall adapter, creating the 2 other voltages it needs on board.

 

Super game Module

SuperGameModule.thumb.JPG.9b0cb718c34a4988d1370126362a5959.JPG

This is working thus far as a stock system, but I still have some work to do on the CPLD logic to get the SGM aspect going. Been tweaking on it, but no cigar yet.

 

Test Fit in Proposed 3D Printed Case

1314706353_CheckingCaseFit.thumb.JPG.b5a3381b97d608a13eafae1ad5441f05.JPG

It'll fit the bottom half with a few adjustments and a couple of extra holes for the reset and pause push buttons. The top lid is got to be about 3/8" taller than what got used for 576NUC+ system. I'll probably also add a card guide on the inside of the lid to better hold the SGM board in place. I'll also get rid of the Atari fuji logo, and it should be printed in black to better represent a real Colecovision system ;)

 

Although the system does work 🎉🎊🤩, there were a few boo boos...

  • I didn't realize that the Cart Socket wasn't centered in the cart body, so that'll need to get moved back (hence the reason for the cart extender so I could still plug in a cart without the chips interfering).
  • Once again without fail I transposed the Joy stick ports, and have port 1 on the right side instead of the left as I had planned. This should be an easy fix on the board.
  • My 10.7 Mhz video chip oscillator didn't initially work correctly (very unstable). The fix for this is very easy, only requiring one more capacitor be added to the board (160 pf) on one leg of the oscillator tank circuit. In fact my 'real' Colecovision has this already from the factory, which I overlooked. With the 160pf capacitor it works like a champ.

The SGM board will get sorta out with CPLD code changes only, and otherwise looks fine from a hardware standpoint.

 

The USB Quadrature Mouse board is on its way -- should be here in a couple of days. I'm anxious to test it.

 

I also touched bases with a company that makes an Atari S-Video A/V cable and inquired about them making a better HQ quality version than their current offering. The owner was very receptive to the idea, and it'll go for a few more $$$ than his current offering but be well worth it.

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