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Mega Blaster 2 (Sega Megadrive Music player) by A.Lawrence

August 9th, 2021 No comments
Mega Blaster 2

The Mega Blaster 2 by Aidan Lawrence is a hardware Sega Genesis/Mega Drive video game music (VGM) player that utilizes the real sound chips.

Play any Genesis track on-demand with brilliant sound quality on the actual YM2612/YM3438 and SN76489 PSG synthesizer chips that were found in the real Genesis consoles.

The Mega Blaster 2 is compatible with both .vgm and .vgz files and can support both the YM2612 and YM3438 simply by changing the DIP switch values.

This unit does not use any emulated sound – these are the real chips playing back logged data from the vgm files.

Features:

  • Your choice of the original YM2612 (OPN2) or YM3438 (OPN2c) sound chip with the ability to swap on-the-fly using the DIP switches on the side of the board. Or, if you already have the sound chips, you can just order the board without any chips for a discount.
  • A custom analog stage based on the Kunoichi Labs design on a four-layer PCB for flawless sound quality and stellar amplification.
  • No additional power supply required, only a single USB connection.
  • Support for file folders to organize your sound tracks.
  • On-device file browser.
  • Native VGM and VGZ support on-device, no decompression required.
  • Brand-new VGM engine written from the ground up allows for accurate playback speeds for even the most computationally intensive sound tracks.
  • Huge 64Mbit SPI RAM IC allows for giant PCM samples, allowing sample-heavy homebrew soundtracks to play with ease.
  • Automatic YM chip authenticator. If your YM2612/YM3438 is damaged or not authentic, the Mega Blaster 2 will detect this at startup and alert you to it.
  • All sound chips included with the Mega Blaster 2 bought from this site are verified to work correctly.
  • DAC Stream support for homebrew soundtracks.
  • 4 play modes: Loop, In-order, Shuffle ALL tracks, and Shuffle just a single directory.
  • Custom looping options.
  • An OLED display that’s grounded directly to the power input for zero analog interference.
  • An adjustment potentiometer for the SN76489’s volume.
  • A custom boost->linear power supply design for optimal audio performance.
  • On-board class-AB headphone amplifier IC (TPA6111A2)
  • Extremely easy firmware updates that require no external tools other than a computer. Just drag-and-drop an update file to the device as if it were a flash drive. That’s it.

Gallery:

Video:

source: aidanlawrence.com github.com

Categories: Hardware, News & Rumors, Today

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.13

August 6th, 2021 No comments

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.13 – 3/8/2021

Added:

  • Illegal/undocumented opcodes to the CPU Emulator:
    • RLA (Combination of two operations with the same addressing mode (Sub-instructions: ROL, AND))
  • From an idea of Faber Pixel we have also added other information of the SID file on the small OLED screen (information available in the header of the file).
    • With a frequency approximately of 7 seconds, the Load Range, Init Address and Play Address in hex addresses will be displayed on the screen alternating with the information of the SID Name, Author and Copyright.

Sample:

  • Range: $1000-$2275
  • Init Address: $1000
  • Play Address: $1003

Obviously the displayed address range is the real memory occupation.

Fixed:

  • The visualization of the SID Model of the tune that is playing every 5 seconds alternated between the playback mode icon. (Thanks Gianluca Renzi)
  • Missing the file error handling in the subSong subroutine.

Commodore (Siemens) Bildschirmtext II Decoder Cartridge

July 31st, 2021 1 comment
Commodore (Siemens) Bildschirmtext II Decoder Cartridge

Bildschirmtext (Btx) was a German online service that existed from 1983 to 2001.

To use the service with a C64, this decoder cartridge was required, which connected to the expansion port.

The cartridge is actually a Siemens product, it’s just Commodore-branded.

The sticker says:

  • SIEMENS
  • Universal Btx Decoder
  • S30817-S721-B101-7/02 EX/W8
  • A30817-X732-B100-4-11
  • Commodore Artikel Nr. 606491

The box with the Deutsche Bundespost logo is the registration (A506 131V). At the time, only explicitly Post-approved devices and software were allowed to be used for participating in Bildschirmtext.

(This is the “Btx Decoder Modul II”, even though the cartridge doesn’t say so. There was a completely different first model.)

There are three DIN ports at the back, from left to right:

  • Modem: This connects to the proprietary Deutsche Bundespost “DBT-03” modem (1200 baud down, 75 baud up).
  • RGB: This is for connecting an analog RGB monitor.
  • FBAS: This port is identical to the C64 video port and allows using a C64 monitor.

The Post-approval for participating in Bildschirmtext required the decoder to be able to show a pixel-exact image of the service (480×240 pixels with 32 out of 4096 colors)1. Since the VIC-II in the C64 could not meet this, the decoder cartridge had its own video controller and therefore its own video ports.

The board reveals that the cartridge doesn’t only have its own video chip, it also has its own CPU, RAM and ROM – it’s a complete computer that only connects to the C64 in order to reuse the keyboard and the disk drive.

These are the major chips:

  • Motorola MC6803: a 6800-family microcontroller
  • Motorola MC68HC34: Dual-Port Memory Unit
  • 64 KB RAM (two 41464 64Kx4 DRAM)
  • 32 KB EPROM
  • D65040GF206: NEC µPD65000 series CMOS gate array

The communication with the modem, the decoding of the CEPT data stream and the interaction with the Btx service are handled by 6800 CPU and the software in the EPROM.

I am assuming the software writes the RGB values of every single scanline into the dual-port memory in real-time, which the gate array then reads to generate the video signal – like on the Atari VCS and the Sinclair ZX81. This keeps the complexity of the video hardware minimal.

The chipset and the firmware are probably very similar to the technology used in dedicated Bildschirmtext terminals.

Gallery:

source: pagetable.com

U64 Streamer v1.25

July 25th, 2021 No comments

What can I do with this?

With the new Ultimate 64 firmware (>=1.1c) there is an option to receive video frames & audio over a network connection at 50fps.

You can use this tool to capture those frames into an image, audio or video file.

Changelog v1.25 (14/07/2021):

  • ~ Fixed: Double click on maximized window did not reset window to normal.
  • ~ Fixed: FPS calculation was wrong, fixed it.
  • ~ Fixed: Exception raised when window is minimised.
  • ~ Fixed: Various window position/size, save/restore issues.
  • ~ Fixed: some remote function crashed app when u64 is not reachable.
  • ~ Fixed: Menu is not controllable with keys anymore to prevent accidentally stop of stream.
  • ~ Update: .Net FrameWork 4.6.1 to 4.8
  • ~ Update: Optimized scanline simulation, total new processing.
  • + Added: Context menu, to open several function from the output window.
  • + Added: Multi frame capture function, capture xx frames to PNG files. Can be used to capture interlaced images.
  • + Added: Multi Frame Capture viewer, can be opened from the context menu.
  • + Added: CRTL+R function to reload last opened file (via dialog or drag and drop)
  • + Added: Ping stats to diag window.
  • + Added: Handling connection errors, added screens.

Download: U64 Streamer v1.25 (562)

source: u64streamer

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.12

July 24th, 2021 No comments

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.12 – 18/07/2021

Updated:

  • Improved a little bit the file error handling.
    • If you try to load a SID Stereo file a message “Stereo SID detected, but cannot play it!” will be displayed on the OLED screen.
  • Modified the modality of visualization of the SID Model of the tune that is playing.
    • Now the display of the SID Model is alternated between the playback mode icon approximately every 5 seconds.

Added:

  • Message during the boot that warns a checking of the USB storage and the correct filesystem mounting of the USB pen drive.
  • Added six duplicate and probably useless opCodes, we are speaking about the “NOP” (they are $1A, $3A, $5A, $7A, $DA and $FA)
  • Added one opcode absolutely useless for our use, we are speaking about the  “JAM”.

Fixed:

  • Fixed some opCodes Addressing mode (Accumulator Addressing instead of Immediate Addressing)

U64 (Elite)/U2/U2+ v3.10 (Core: v1.41) Firmware Update

July 24th, 2021 No comments

A new version of the firmware for the Ultimate-64 (U64/U64E) / U2 / U2+ by Gideon is released.

This release has again some significant changes and improvements over 1.37 / 3.9. The following bullet list gives an overview of the features and fixes. Below the items, a short explanation is added.

This release has again some significant changes and improvements over 1.37 / 3.9. Please read the manual before installing 3.10.

Added features:

  • Hardware emulation of 1571 and 1581 drives (U2+ / U64 only)
  • MFM support on 1571, with enhanced G71 format to store MFM tracks.
  • Added audio samples for insert / remove floppy disk.
  • Added second drive sound to speaker output.
  • Possiblity to use your own drive sound samples.
  • Custom U64 palettes.
  • SystemInfo Page, showing drive, cartridge and storage status.
  • Flash Disk, to store drive roms, sounds, cartridges and such.
  • Cartridges are now always CRT files. Selected by filename in the config.
  • Cartridge compatibility check and reporting
  • GMOD2 support, including EEPROM (U2+ / U64 only)
  • Zaxxon Cartridge support.
  • Implemented writing CVT files back to a disk image (enables copying CVT files across disks.)

Various UI Improvements:

  • Select & Delete, using Shift-DEL
  • Recursive delete from context menu.
  • Long filename truncation (thanks to ‘naali’ / Antti Svenn)
  • Scrollable string edit box.
  • Adds save function for all cartridges, including EasyFlash and GMOD2.
  • Full Clear function of configuration in Flash.
  • Added ‘F3′ Help screen to config menu.

Technical Fixes:

  • Fixed RGB mode (U64 only)
  • Fixed block read command
  • Fixed access of files with special chars in CBM disk images, accessed from IEC
  • Fixed UCI issues with SidPlay and others
  • Fixed colon issue in Ultimate Kernal ROM
  • Fixed crash on invalid file chain CBM filesystems
  • Fixed check order DIR / VOLUME; fixes some issues with exFAT directories
  • Added M and V commands in modem emulation layer, V now supporting numeric responses. Thanks Scott Hutter
  • Fixed the root cause of the VOLUME bit set in exFAT directories
  • Fixed missing ‘probe’ for filesystems on multi-partition disks
  • Fixed loading from wrong device ID when issuing the ‘run disk’ command
  • Fixed many little bugs in the generation of CVT files (copying GEOS files from a disk image)
  • Adopted changes to U64 Kernal to set default loading ID, as submitted by Leif Bloomquist
  • Adopted USB modifier key handling, as submitted by Peter de Schrijver
  • Corrected bug in extended partition table reading
  • Relaxed C128 cartridge timing (for C128 carts)
  • Extended UCI I/O bytes to support Hyperspeed Kernal properly
  • Check for file copy onto itself
  • Increased robustness against loading faulty disk images
  • Fixed VIA latch mode in 1541/1571.
  • [Issue 227] Fixes ‘get sensible name’ function for Ulticopy
  • Fix for .d71 sector allocation – format should give 1328 blocks free, not 1347.
  • Fixes possible crash when decoding a GCR track to binary
  • [Issue 160]: SpeedDOS / DolphinDOS loading errors

Download:

source: ultimate64.com github.com

Categories: Firmware, News & Rumors, Today

High Voltage SID (HVSC) Collection Update #75

July 13th, 2021 No comments

The High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) is a freeware hobby project which organises Commodore 64 music (also known as SID music) into an archive for both musicians and fans alike.

The work on the collection is done completely in the Team and contributors’ spare time and is proudly one of the largest and most accurate computer music collections known.

This update features (all approximates):

  • 729 new SIDs
  • 31 fixed/better rips
  • 11 repeats/bad rips eliminated
  • 314 SID credit fixes
  • 23 SID model/clock infos
  • 6 tunes from /DEMOS/UNKNOWN/ identified
  • 3 tunes from /GAMES/ identified
  • 28 tunes moved out of /DEMOS/ to their composers’ directories
  • 5 tunes moved out of /GAMES/ to their composers’ directories

The collection should contain 54,387 SID files!

Download:

source: www.hvsc.c64.org

Gubbdata 2021 – C64 Party results

July 4th, 2021 No comments

This is the official demo party results from Gubbdata 2021. See also the CSDB GUBBDATA 2021 section for more informations.

C64 Demo:

  • 1 – Bromance by Bonzai
  • 2 – Barry Boomer – Trapped Again by TSJ
  • 3 – Vitrum Oculus by Atlantis
  • 4 – Revolutions Delivered by Lft
  • 5 – Trapped in a Box by Genesis Project
  • 6 – Respawn by Singular
  • 7 – Uncle Petscii’s Droids of Star Wars by Triad
  • 8 – Mad Scientist by Triad
  • 9 – Ausraster by Excess
  • 10 – Blooming Spring by The 7th Division, Vintage Computing Carinthia
    •  Lucky by Siesta
  • 12 – Born to Be Wild by Hokuto Force
  • 13 – Stoppa Saabet by Esl0w

C64 Music:

  • 1 – Euro Boogers by Jammer
  •      The Demosceniors by Fegolhuzz
  • 3 – Black Keys Matter by 6R6
  • 4 – Fourteenth by Jason Page
  • 5 – The Required Fields by Mutetus
  • 6 – Love Your Sample by Shogoon
  • 7 – When the Gubbs Unite by No-XS/Maze
  •      I Can’t Go On. I’ll Go On by Mibri
  • 9 – Layer by Layer by psych858o
  • 10 – Tequila Shot by MCH
  • 11 – Bumpy Ride by The Syndrom
  • 12 – Fragmented Inverse Mirror by Vincenzo
  • 13 – Erna’s Song by Barik
    • Paraphine by Xiny6581
  • 15 – Atomic Hot Dogs by Slaze
  • 16 – In France They Die Young by chuinho
    • Division by Zero by Proton
    • Funkyaaaam by Nordischsound
  • 19 – Funsterious! by Wolk
  • 20 – Kemisk Tisdag by ZZAP69
  • 21 – Tail Chaser by Manganoid
    • Staring Into The Sun by rytone    
  • 23 – The Retroid by Manganoid    
  • 24 – Candy by Technotron    

C64 Graphics:

  • 1 – Killing Spree by The Sarge
  • 2 – Mature by Electric
  • 3 – Knight’n Dragons by Fabs
  • 4 – Pretzelpilami by Mikael
  • 5 – Taut by Aomeba
  • 6 – Mask by Katon
  • 7 – Watching the Compo Stream Live by Alta
  • 8 – Monkey Business by Honcho
  • 9 – Framed by Facet
  • 10 – Tjardalen by Twoflower
  • 11 – Darklight by Loni
  • 12 – Judge Pretzel by Spiham
  • 13 – In Orbit of a Dying Sun by Titus    
  • 15 – Ghost of the Forest by Leon
  • 16 – Gerontoeroticon by Frost
    • Genesis by Almighty God
  • 18 – Wi-131de Pixels by Rail Slave
  • 19 – Gubbasour by Skyffel
    • Gamer by jab
  • 21 – Beebear by Bitproll
  • 22 – 2 Colors Dream by Slaxx
  • 23 – Zak McGubben by Backspin
  • 24 – Band of Aliens by Backspin
  • 25 – Merciful Court by Backspin
  • 26 – 64-boy by Backspin
  • 27 – Raistfood by E-Grass

WiLD Demo:

  • 1 – Freespin by Reflex

Mixed:

  • 1 – 10 GOTO 10 by Smasher/Goerp (Graphics)
  • 2 – Cherche le zavr by Atlantis (One-File Demo)
  • 3 – The Joke by The Sarge/Honcho (Graphics)
  • 4 – A Story with a Semi-Happy End by MultiStyle Labs (One-File Demo)
  • 5 – Disk Doctor by Logiker (One-File Demo)
  • 6 – Rant #1 by Smasher/Goerp (Graphics)
  • 7 – Covfefe by 4gentE (One-File Demo)
    • Demo by Logiker (Graphics Collection)

Mixed Graphics:

  • 1 – Nightmare Forest by Fairlight
  • 2 – Barbarossa by Electric, Extend    
  • 3 – Vegas by Atlantis
  • 4 – Evil Tater by Fairlight
  • 6 – Sgrunt! by Onslaught
  • 7 – Too Much Coffee by Pretzel Logic
    • Dark Sky by Cheapshot
  • 9 – Coitus Interruptus by Triad
  • 10 – Eye of the Beholder – Teaser by Shine
  • 11 – 88 Miles Per Hour by Hexhog
  • 12 – Is There Anybody Out There by Hokuto Force
  • 13 – The Great Wave off Reflex by Reflex
  • 14 – Triad Logo Abstraction by Judas
  • 15 – Brutalism by Atlantis
  • 16 – Killer by CoolPHat, Nah-Kolor
  • 17 – Towers of Babylon by The 7th Division
  • 18 – Montjoie Saint Denis!! by christwoballs
  • 19 – Construct #1 by Colin
  • 20 – Percy by Beardswitcher
  • 21 – Invite to Out of Compo by Shuran33

Mixed Demo:

  • 1 – 1st Lamer Compo by Logiker

Productions released outside compos:

  • Airwolf Theme by Finnish Gold (Music)
  • FlutterPippeliWolf by STARZ/Genesis Project (Music)
  • GabberPolyDabber by STARZ/Genesis Project (Music)
  • Gubber Eye Joe by Artline Designs (Music)
  • Keyboard Macro Tool v1.0 (Tool)
  • Spindle 3.0 (Other Platform Tool) *
  • True Believer [2sid] by Artline Designs (Music)

Releases containing information on this event:

  • Gubbdata 2021 C64 Invitation

Download: Gubbdata 2021 Full Party stuff (769)

source: gubbdata.se

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.11

July 3rd, 2021 2 comments

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.11 – 22/06/2021

Updated:

  • Decreased more than before the brightness of the display after 10 seconds if no activity is done on the buttons or encoder.
  • Slighty improved the timing (CPU cycle) of the 6510 emulator but we are far from my perception of absolute perfection :-D

Added:

  • Illegal/undocumented opcodes to the CPU Emulator:
    • RRA (Combination of two operations with the same addressing mode (Sub-instructions: ADC, ROR))
  • Automatic hardware SID switch between ZIF Socket #1 and ZIF Socket #2 (example if it is made only for 6581 or 8580).
    • This features is included in the prototype pcb. The swap will be displayed by a led placed on the lower part of the ZIF Socket.
  • Improved a little bit the file error handling.
    • If you try to load a file not supported a message “Wrong file format” will be displayed on the screen.
    • If you try to load a RSID file format a message “RSID detected, but cannot play it!” will be displayed on the screen.

Transmission64 – Official demo party results

June 14th, 2021 No comments

This is the official demo party results from Transmission64. See also the CSDB section for more informations and download.

Sorry for the delay, i just forgot to release the archive.

C64 Demo:

  • 1 – Unity by Atlantis, Padua
  • 2 – Dutch Blue by Xenon
  • 3 – Party Animals by Pretzel Logic
  • 4 – Pandemoniac Part 1 of 5 Framed by Panoramic Designs
  • 5 – Balls Might Touch by Fatzone
  • 6 – Is That All? by Genesis Project
  • 7 – Mahna Mahna by Mahna Mahna
  • 8 – T64 by Lepsi De
  • 9 – Guns Freak Me Out by 4gentE
  • 10 – Shadetro by Excess
  • 11 – Momentum by Hokuto Force
  • 12 – Call Boar’s Head! by Macx
  • 13 – Free Hasél by The Codeblasters

C64 4K Intro:

  • 1 – Outsider by Fairlight
  • 2 – 4ktransmission by Excess
  • 3 – Anon by Onslaught
  • 4 – Daah Those Berliner Pilsner! by Dentifrice
  • 5 – Raccoons! In Search of Footwear by Slipstream
  • 6 – 10 Years by Delysid
  • 7 – Tr4nsmission by Royal Belgian Beer Squadron

C64 Music:

  • 1 – Inside My Rotten Soul by psych858o
  • 2 – The Spark in Me by Flex
  • 3 – Drummage by Jammer
  • 4 – A Wave without a Shore by Flotsam
  • 5 – Only 299.99 by Mutetus
  • 6 – Thirteenth by Jason Page
  • 7 – Dakini by Mibri
  • 8 – Inverse Mirror Fragments by Vincenzo
  • 9 – End of Transmission by Proton
  • 10 – We Are Pretzels by The Syndrom
  • 11 – Last Call by Xiny6581
  • 12 – A Waste of Space by chuinho
    • Roll Right Over That Fucker by DivertigO
  • 14 – Sun Up Rubdown by No-XS/Dya/Maze
  • 15 – U Will Raise Anthem by Barracuda
  • 16 – They Can’t Stop the Signal by Røly
  • 17 – Vérszagra gyűl az éji vad by dalezy
  • 18 – Jam’n'Flute by Warp 8
  • 19 – Sunset Bay by Nordischsound
  • 20 – Mascot by Hairdog
  • 21 – Something I Ate by Manganoid
  • 22 – Tktune by Soundcat
  • 23 – Kerstin aus Heilbronn by Stabile Altbauten

C64 Graphics:

  • 1 – Yeah Science! by The Sarge
  • 2 – Butt’n Cock by Electric
  • 3 – Fluorocarbon by Optic
  • 4 – Fast ‘n’ Curious by Duce
  • 5 – Survivors of 2020 by Carrion
  • 6 – Enigma by Facet
    • Firestarter by ibux
  • 8 – Tundra by Apollyon
  • 9 – Stained Glass Girl by Hammerfist
  • 10 – Shoulda by Deev
  • 11 – Signal Recieved by Mikael
  • 12 – Exothermicité by Aomeba
  • 13 – Shocker by Fabs
  • 14 – Right in the Sky by Honcho
  • 15 – Up in the Clouds by Soya
  • 16 – Chirp Chirp by Titus
  • 17 – WhaCat by Edi/Matteus
  • 18 – Cubic Bouquet by fieserWolf
  • 19 – No Backlight by visionvortex
  • 20 – Dedication 2 Album Art by The Diad
  • 21 – OMG! It Is Alive! by Steffan
  • 22 – Sparwasser by Twoflower
  • 23 – I’ll See You Again in 30 Years by Ben Breton
  • 24 – Belki by Pixelrat
  • 25 – Old Meets New by Backspin
  • 26 – Delivery by Pissnelke

Mixed Graphics:

  • 1 – Tut by Extend
  • 2 – Sgt. PETSCII’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by Dr. TerrorZ
  • 3 – Elfric by Atlantis
  • 4 – Treeview by Pretzel Logic
  • 5 – ICE CREAM! by Onslaught
  • 6 – Sadness by Atlantis
  • 7 – Thulsa’s Helm by Wrenchotron
  • 8 – ED-209 by Hexhog
  • 9 – Let the Party Begin by Hani
  • 10 – Greedy Dwarf by Hokuto Force
  • 11 – Higher by Exotic Men
  • 12 – Mr. Spock by Hokuto Force
  • 13 – Oboy by Onslaught
  • 14 – Tape! by Royal Belgian Beer Squadron
  • 15 – Kowalski by Mayday!
  • 16 – Sebastian by 4gentE
  • 17 – Soundcat City by Soundcat
    • Yuri Gagarin #1 by Hokuto Force
  • 19 – Sailor’s Smoke 2021 by Nah-Kolor
  • 20 – Zero Page, the Best Vacation in the Universe by Dentifrice
  • 21 – PETSCII World by Logiker
  • 22 – Uncle PETSCII Agent 0x007h by Triad
  • 23 – Punk 2021I by CoolPHat
  • 24 – Rock by Pixelrat
  • 25 – Wanderer’s Portents by The 7th Division
  • 26 – Transmeeeow! by Aki

Productions released outside compos:

  • Cosowi Avantgarde by Plush (One-File Demo)
  • Lost in Transmission by Finnish Gold (Demo)
  • Transmission 64 Logo (Graphics)

Download: Transmission64 Full Party Stuff (832)

source: csdb.dk

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.1

June 13th, 2021 No comments

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.1 – 30/05/2021

Added:

Firmware Upgrade.

  • The update can be done in three ways, one is automatic.
    • 1) The automatic firmware installation is done in case the bootloader doesn’t find any valid application installed.
    • 2) By pressing the SW1 button at the same time with the reset button or at power-on and released it.
    • 3) Using the file browser (the same used to browse the *.SID / *.DMP files), just choose the file with the firmware and it will be installed.
  •    A status bar with a scrolling bits displays the writing status of the firmware.
  •    The firmware update file must be copied and NOT renamed to the root directory of the USB flash drive.
  • Added some illegal/undocumented opcodes to the CPU Emulator:
    • SRE (LSE) Combination of two operations with the same addressing mode (Sub-instructions: EOR, LSR)
    • DCP Combination of two operations with the same addressing mode (Sub-instructions: CMP, DEC)

C64 Big Game Pack: Wheel of Fortune SE 3.2 / Alien Invasion +4HF …

June 13th, 2021 1 comment

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

  • Mimizuku Saga 10
  • Helsing’s Hunt Preview 2 +2
  • Moonspire 2 Preview +3
  • The Unexpected +1D
  • Swoop +
  • Rogue4k V7 +3D
  • C64 RPG Preview 2 +D
  • Tetrabits Preview
  • Terminal Fighter Preview V3 +4
  • Cross Horde Preview +2D
  • Ghost Mountain
  • Para Lander DX +2D
  • Para Lander DX
  • Mario’s Cement Factory V1.3.1 +1HD
  • UP
  • Heli 1983 +3
  • Space Dock +1D
  • Jericho II &DG
  • Xenium +3
  • Tank Shootout &DG
  • Para Lander DX +3D
  • Space Swarm 64 V3.2 +2 [seuck]
  • Birdie Bird V3.2 +2 [seuck]
  • Dragon Soul V1.4 +2 [seuck]
  • 1-Bit Dungeon V1.2 +2 [seuck]
  • Puzzle Mania +1D
  • Killer Olives +3DG
  • Risk
  • Heli1983 +5DF
  • Survival Messenger Adventure
  • Rocket Roger +5HDG
  • Jump Out +2PH
  • Jump Out +
  • Synthia in the Cyber Crypt +2D [seuck]
  • Mountaineer Mack +1D
  • Space Panic
  • Space Panic +3D
  • Cross Horde V1.0 +2D
  • Laser Invaders +
  • Buccaneer’s Cache
  • Candy Conquer +1JH
  • Small Grid +
  • Lost Tomb +3D
  • Edufun! Mathfun! Frenzy & Flip Flop +D
  • Tetris V1.4
  • Destiny Hunter Preview +3D
  • Dreamland
  • T-Rex Runner 64 Preview V3 +2D
  • Space Portal +2
  • Murdlok + [german]
  • Burger Mayhem Preview +1D
  • Murdlok + [english]
  • Minesweep V1.1
  • Freecell V2.1
  • Ricochet +D
  • Watrfall &D
  • Citro Drag &DT
  • Ascension +1D
  • Revenge of the Mutant Camels 2021 +2H
  • Destiny Hunter +3D
  • Alien Invasion +4HF
  • Balloon Pop +1D
  • Worron +3 [final version]
  • Hexed Preview
  • Tubes’n'Balls
  • Tubes’n'Balls +2F
  • Hibernated 1: This Place is Death – Director’s Cut (R6)
  • Wrecking Ball Preview +3
  • Witch Rescue Service Preview 2 +
  • Rogue64 Preview +3D
  • Nixy – The Glade Sprite +2
  • Gyro Run
  • Santa Claus Preview
  • Snow Wars +2
  • Gyro Run +3D
  • Ninja Carnage
  • Wheel of Fortune HF Special Edition V3.2
  • Ninja Carnage +3D
  • Ninja Carnage +1D
  • Brush Strokes +4D
  • Writhen +D
  • Babylon’s Ark &D
  • Bounce +5D
  • Blox Trot +D
  • Snow Wars +2
  • Dogfight in Space +1DG
  • Midway Command &D
  • Chute Shootout &D
  • Drixella’s Dilemma &D
  • Delta War &D
  • Gantry &D
  • Ghoul Dogs +3DG
  • Eremit Preview &D
  • Same64 Preview +JD
  • Worron + [final version]
  • Spanky Doodle Dandy
  • Spanky Doodle Dandy Preview
  • Choplifter +1DGHJM

Download: All Games in One Archive (4399)

source: csdb.dk

A usual Amiga Recap (A1200-A600)

May 29th, 2021 1 comment
A usual Amiga Recap (A1200-A600)

This is the usual post about replacing Amiga Electrolytic Capacitors.

Unlike the Amiga 1200 which had no problem with acid leaking from the capacitors but in any case i have replaced them, the Amiga 600 is in a dramatic state but with a little patience and a good cleaning everything started working perfectly again.

Yes, to remove the capacitors i did the much-hated “twist” of the component, ok, having said that, the job went well so don’t broken my balls, thanks.

Gallery of the repair:

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.05

May 19th, 2021 No comments

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.05 – 18/05/2021

Updated:

  • Made a single subroutine for the index eeprom write instead of repeating it many times in the code.
  • Increased the display time of the sid model to 3 seconds.
  • The action to clean the data in the eeprom has been changed.
    • Now for reset the default settings just hold down the MODE button during boot until the message “Reset Default Settings” appears and then release it, the player will reboot.

Added:

  • Faster than hell! :D
    • Now when you are in the browsing sid files section you can also use the PREVIOUS or NEXT buttons to quickly scroll the list in both directions.
  • You are Sleeping ? :D
    • If you fall asleep while you listening a SID tunes and you are in the browsing sid files section after 30 seconds the player will automatically switch to the tuneinfo/vu-meter view mode. (available only if you are playing SID o SID/DIGI tunes , no DMP)
  • Added some illegal/undocumented opcodes to the CPU Emulator:
    • SHA
    • SHS
    • SBC ($EB)
    • ASR
    • ANC
    • ARR

Fixed:

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player Firmware update v1.04

The return of the Hybrid Sid Player by xAD/Nightfall & Gianluca Renzi (RetroBit Lab)

Based on the Project and Hardware Schematic by Markus Gritsch released in the years 2011-2015 on the forum dangerousprototypes. Thanks Markus.

Changelog:

v1.04 – 02/05/2021

Updated:

  • Browsing files enhancement.
    • There is no longer block on the first and last file of the list, it resumes browsing from the first or last (like Next/Previous).
  • Improved a slight the timing of writing on the real SID (CS – Chip Select Signal).

Added:

  • Reset Default Settings (Clear EEPROM Data).
    • When you are in the BROWSER mode hold the MODE button for 4 seconds and the player clean all data in the eeprom and reboot.
  • Added some illegal/undocumented opcodes to the CPU Emulator:
    • SLO
    • AXS (SBX) *1
    • LAX *1
    • SAX *2
    • SHY
    • SHX 
  • Finally these sid tune now works correctly:
    • Wasted_All_These_Years (*1 & *2)
    • Party_Horse (*1 & *2)
    • Lunatico_side_1 (*1)
    • Intertwined (*1 & *2)

Fixed:

  • The problem of a folder with more than 255 sid files, starting from the 256th the index is not written to the eeprom.