Thanks to my friend Lynx for this great Pixel Art work.

Philips Monitor (Black) VG0060-80 Power Stage Repair, the Monitor turned off unexpectedly without any suspicious noise.

This power stage is practically identical to other monitor models, for example: Philips CM8833 and Commodore 1084, but surely there will be others that mount the same power stage.

Repair:

After removing the PCB of the power stage i took the opportunity to replace also the power switch that no longer worked properly i also replaced the exploded fuse but obviously nothing worked.

The fault was due to the TS132 transistor completely short-circuited, the diagram says that a BU806 is installed but instead a 2SC3795B is installed.

Replaced, still nothing works, i tried with the tester but i don’t find any voltage, even the 300v +/- on the capacitor C112 at this point in addition to the diode bridge (D107/D108/D109/D110) there was only the 47 Ohm 7W resistor R103 to try and in fact it was interrupted, i replaced it with a 5W one, i didn’t have a 7W one in the lab.

I used the old trick of the 100W bulb in series, in my case instead of the fuse to avoid destroying other components.

Everything worked perfectly, the bulb turned on for a minimum amount of time and then turned off and the output voltages of the power stage are all present (125v/15.8v/25.5v).

Gallery:

Download: Philips VS0060-80/CM8833/1084 Schematics (293)

It’s been 4 years since i last updated the firmware of these devices, so it was time to do so.

Gallery:

Download:

• Ultimate 1MB Firmware
• Side 2 Cartridge
• AVG Cartridge

The A8PicoCart is a very cheap multi-cart for the Atari 8-bit (XL/XE) which you can make at home with only basic soldering skills.

The cartridge supports the following file formats: ROM/CAR/XEX and a limited support for ATR files.

Instruction manual, firmware, gerber & STL files and other documentation can be found on Robin Hedwards github page.

You can see a short video i made click here.

Gallery:

This is a short story of the Roland MT32 Midi repair.

The MT32 MIDI interface had an annoying audio problem (you can listen to the audio files attached to this post).

It seemed like the classic problem of exhausted electrolytic capacitors, but instead it was due to the ROM ROLAND R15449121 (TC534000P) position IC37.

To replace the original ROM it would have been enough to use an OTP Eprom 27C040 which however i didn’t have in the laboratory so i used a FLASHROM AM29F040 by modifying some connections.

The filename of the file used to program the FLASHROM is “r15449121.ic37.bin” which you can find in the archive attached to this post.

Below is the documentation how to adapt the AM29F040 instead of a 27C040.

• Atmel AT27C040 – 4Mb (512K x 8) OTP, EPROM (32-pin Package)
• Amd AM29F040 – 4Mb (512K x 8) FLASHROM (32-pin Package)

Tie 29F040 WE (PIN 31) and connect to VCC (PIN 32)
Tie 29F040 A18 (PIN 1) and connect to PIN 31 on Socket or PCB

Monkey Island Audio difference before and after repair:

• Before the Repair (227)
• After the Repair (216)

Gallery:

Download: Roland MT32 (various OS and extra ROMs) (282)

source: Synth Eprom Dumps

NEW TAG: C64 BIG GAME PACK

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

Titles:

• Score or Die +1D
• Warzone +D *Hokuto Force*
• Warzone V1.01 +2D
• Pursuing Tom Ram +DS
• Broken Mirror Preview +D
• Mortal Flames II +
• Mortal Flames +
• Ball Bin +1D *Hokuto Force*
• The Hobbit
• Shift
• Shift Preview +
• Cave of the Word Wizard +3D
• Broken Mirror +D
• Batmio Preview *Hokuto Force*
• Batmio Preview +2
• Ghostbusters 40th Anniversary [cartridge]
• Joe’s Crazy Adventure +2
• Beyond Death Teaser
• Sky Saviour Preview +2
• The Black Hole
• Cat Scratch Preview &G *Hokuto Force*
• Ghostbusters 2021 Preview *Hokuto Force*
• Sky Saviour Preview + *Hokuto Force*
• Inspector *Hokuto Force*
• Ghostbusters 2021 Preview +2D *Hokuto Force*
• Tapper V1.6 +2
• Tron Deadly Discs Preview
• Enduro Preview +D
• Sky Saviour +2D
• The Banana Game +2
• Cybernoid +14DHGF
• Sky Saviour +2HD
• First Blood +1FD
• Die Kaufmannsgilde +D
• Swim To Survive! +1G *Hokuto Force*
• Trailblazer √2
• Shift
• Shift +1P
• Track & Field +2HDG
• Snake Escape C64 Preview 4
• Captain Ishtar 2 Preview +2 [seuck]
• Ceti 22 +2H [seuck]
• Tetris Recoded V1.1b
• Broken Mirror +DS
• Black Hole +1D
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom +3DGHI *Hokuto Force*
• IO’s Enigma +
• IO’s Enigma
• Cybernoid II +17HDF (V2)
• Orac Draughts +D
• Fluid City Musical
• Excalibur +S [english/italian]
• La Casa +S [english/italian]
• Magic Math V1.1 +
• Fluid City Musical +D *Hokuto Force*
• Enduro Preview 2 +D *Hokuto Force*
• Die Polarstation V1.2 [german]
• Tron Deadly Discs Preview 2 +D *Hokuto Force*
• Bakemono no Sekai – World of Monsters
• Big Tube!
• Mars Saga +2RDI
• Concours Hippique +DT
• Fluid City Musical +1D
• Big Tube! + *Hokuto Force*
• Big Tube! +1H
• Survivor +4HD
• Zeppelin +6D
• Zaxxon +6HD (Synapse)
• Xevious II [seuck]
• Huestack V1.0
• Huestack +2D
• Huestack +2DF
• Desolator +4DGHI *Hokuto Force*
• Threshold +6HD
• Learn to Read with Prof, Level 1…
• Static: Flowerhorn Attack Preview 2 +2D
• Arthur Remastered [hungarian]
• Die Kaufmannsgilde V2 +D
• Mr. Cool +5HD
• Lunar Leeper +5D
• Crossfire +3HD
• Block Stack Basic
• Legend of Wilf V1.1.0 +2D
• Legend of Wilf V1.1.0 +2D
• Chicken Farm +2D
• Iowa Jack and the Crystals of Chaos
• Iowa Jack and the Crystals of Chaos (C128)
• Drip II +
• Treasure in the Depth
• Mars Patrol +2HD
• Treasure in the Depth Preview *Hokuto Force*
• Tron Deadly Discs RC5
• PETSCII Wizard of Wor
• Rungvoid +1D *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• PETSCII Wizard of Wor +1D
• Tritopia [austrian]
• Carmilla’s Castle +2D *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• PETSCII Wizard of Wor +
• Tritopia [german]
• Mecha City +2 *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• The Job Interview +S *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• Rat Race +1D *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• Beach Cleanup +1D *Excess/Hokuto Force*
• Gridrunner +4HD V2
• Pinball Spectacular +3HD V2
• Drip II +4HPD
• Scuttle +6HDG
• Memory Man +1F
• Soko64+ &D *Hokuto Force*
• Tron Deadly Discs &D *Hokuto Force*
• RandomPac +
• RandomPac +2D
• 2112 V3.2
• Sire Fire &S [english/italian]
• RandomPac + *Hokuto Force*
• Sire Fire +S [english/italian]
• Raingame +2TD
• 4Gravity! +D
• Quest Four Two
• Quest Four Two +
• RandomPac V1.1 +2D
• The Blob Preview
• 1nvader V1.03 +
• Chopper +4DGH *Hokuto Force*
• Shooting Stars +
• Nesterin Trail V1.0.1 +DS
• Petscii Shooter Preview
• 2^11 Preview 3 V1.7 &D

Download: All Games in One Archive (1589)

source: csdb.dk

A new version of the firmware for the Kung Fu Flash Cartridge by Kim Jørgensen is released.

Changelog:

• Support MACH 5 cartridge. Thanks Lord Kopromaster.

Download:

• Kung Fu Flash Firmware v1.51 (333)

source: github.com/KimJorgensen/KungFuFlash

SD-1000/PiCOLECO/PiRTO-II are Flash Multicarts for Sega SC3000/SG-1000,CBS ColecoVision,Mattel Intellivision by Andrea Ottaviani based on the cheap version of the Raspberry Pi Pico clone (purple PCB).

I wanted to try and assemble this interesting project and i must say that i was very satisfied. I also contacted Andrea for a small problem of loading the ROMs for the Multicart Intellivision and he was immediately available even though it was Sunday lunch time :-)

I assembled two Multicarts for each console model because as soon as i informed my friend Andry about this project he wanted them too :-D

The Multicarts you see in this article are NOT for sale, for more information about firmware,flashing fw,gerber,3D case model i recommend you visit the github site where these projects are published.

• SD-1000: https://github.com/aotta/SD-1000
• PiCOLECO: https://github.com/aotta/PiCOLECO
• PiRTO II: https://github.com/aotta/PiRTOII

How much did i spend for each multicart?

• 6 x Raspberry Purple Pi Pico clone (Aliexpress): €18.12
• 5 x JLCPCB PiCOLECO PCB: €1.87
• 5 x JLCPCB PiRTO II PCB: €3.74
• 5 x JLCPCB SD-1000: €3.74
• 1 x JLCPCB Shipping Charge: €6.66
• 1 x JLCPCB Customs duties & taxes: €3.52
• 1 x JLCPCB PAYPAL FEE: €0.47
• 6 x Diode 1N4148 (spare parts)
• 2 x Transistor BC547 (spare parts)
• 2 x Angled Push Button (spare parts)
• 4 x Push Button (spare parts)

More or less for each single Flash Multicart complete with all components you will spend around €6.00.

This includes the components that i already had at home and the minimum order from JLCPCB for each PCB which are 5 pieces, as a result i did the division on the JLCPCB invoice total.

Download the ROMs for Sega SC3000/SG-1000, ColecoVision, Intellivision (including CFG mappers) fully renamed and divided into folders in alphabetical order here.

Flash Multicarts Cartridge Case Shell Cover:

The last photo with a small modification of the hole to insert colored button covers.

 

How to update the firmware with the case closed? You have to press the button on the PI Pico Purple while inserting USB-C for firmware updating.
Totally excluded unscrewing and retightening the screws each time, so 1.5mm micro hole in the right position, perfect.

 

 

Gallery:

12►

I purchased the Texas Instruments Grillo Parlante Più (Super Speak & Spell) for a few euros and fully aware that the contact plates for the batteries due to an acid leak has been destroyed (see photo).

After testing it if actually still worked, i did a good cleaning of the battery compartment, body and display.

I replaced the contact plates for the batteries with similar ones recovered from an old dead and defunct cassette recorder.

The final result is perfect, it looks like the original, even better because i put the battery negative spring in the correct side, the original has the springs all on one side, both for the positive and negative of the battery.

Gallery of work done:

Video:

I wanted to remake the RGB connections of my CBS ColecoVision console a bit and design a new diagram for connecting the RGB video output.

This console was sold with an external modulator (CBS Electronics Adaptateur Antenne 7466 – 6F) that converted the signal from RGB to RF and it seems a Scart cable was not provided for direct connection to the television.

The original ColecoVision D-SUB DB15 to Scart cable that i have doesn’t have the correct pinout but it works perfectly with another ColecoVision always with RGB output but with an internal encoder that converts the Y (B-Y) (R-Y) to RGB signals (PAL Secam Converter A).

This fact is really curious, apparently there are more versions with RGB output as well as RF.

I decided to remove the old RGB cable that i soldered internally about 15 years ago and replace it with an RGB cable connected to the Coleco native connector.

The problem with doing this operation has always been the D-SUB DB15 connector which must be of a certain size, otherwise it won’t fit.

Brilliantly solved using a SNK NeoGeo Joypad extension cable, where we have a DB15 D-SUB connector pre-cast in the plastic where all 15 pins are used (in theory only 14 are needed for the NeoGeo Joypad, but all 15 are connected)

I cut the cable from the neogeo joypad male connector side and soldered the wires to a Scart connector and for the Fast Switching signal before connecting it to pin 16 of the scart i used a 100ohm resistor in series, i did not use the Function Switching signal.

One more thing, the Audio signal from the console native RGB connector is very low, so i made a jumper (see photo) to bypass a resistor and a ceramic capacitor, therefore i took the audio directly from PIN 7 of the SN76489 (Sound Generator).

Of course everything works perfectly.

Gallery of work done:

A new firmware update for the ARMSiD has been released by Nobomi.

News features and fixes in FW 2.16:

• Fix for 2 MHz mode C128. Since this firmware ARMSID is functional for all modes and types of communication with C128 (even those incompatible with SID documentation).
• Added to the configuration the possibility to use the EXT IN input (pin 26) as an analog input and connect it to the internal mixer, as on the original chip. You should expect a slight increase in noise background from this input, I recommend using it only when you really need this feature.
• Also added to the configuration the possibility to change the emulation detection threshold of the 6581/8580 according to the input voltage (pin 28), so called autodetection. Originally this limit is set to 10.5V, what is below indicates 8580 emulation, what is above so 6581. With the new setting, this limit can be about 2V, so you can use logic levels of 5V or even just 3V for switching the emulation type (pin 28 is not used for power supply in ARMSID, only for voltage measurement, no power supply on this pin is required for function).

Download: ARMSiD v2.16 [PRG/D64/CONFIG] (350)

source: nobomi.cz github.com/nobomi/Arduino-ARMSID-configurator

.- the inexpensive dual-SID/FM replacement that you can build yourself -.

SIDKick pico by Frenetic is a microcontroller-based C64 SID replacement. Analog inputs for paddles and mice are available just as for the original SID.

Changelog:

• This release contains the fix for the NTSC-specific bug of firmware version 0.20 (and the fix for the bug I introduced with 0.201 :-)).

Note:

There are different .uf2-files are firmware files with PWM and/or DAC output, flashing (RGB-)LED on/off AND for hardware revision 0.1 and 0.2.

Review:

My SID Player plays SID tunes with the SIDKick-pico.
SIDKick-Pico by Frenetic.

Download: SIDKick-Pico Firmware v0.202 (280)

source: c64-wiki.com github.com/frntc/SIDKick-pico restore-store.de

.- the inexpensive dual-SID/FM replacement that you can build yourself -.

SIDKick pico by Frenetic is a microcontroller-based C64 SID replacement. Analog inputs for paddles and mice are available just as for the original SID.

Changelog:

• This release contains the fix for the NTSC-specific bug of firmware version 0.20.

Note:

There are different .uf2-files are firmware files with PWM and/or DAC output, flashing (RGB-)LED on/off AND for hardware revision 0.1 and 0.2.

Review:

My SID Player plays SID tunes with the SIDKick-pico.
SIDKick-Pico by Frenetic.

Download: SIDKick-Pico Firmware v0.201 (252)

source: c64-wiki.com github.com/frntc/SIDKick-pico restore-store.de

A new version of the firmware for the Ultimate U2+L by Gideon is released.

Changes in 3.11a:

• WiFi support – Now that the WiFi modules for the U2+L are available, you will need this firmware to enable it. In this zip there are two files; the firmware update for the cartridge itself (.u2l) file and the firmware file for the ESP WiFi module (.esp). They have to be applied in this order.
• Ethernet fix – Improves compatibility with some switches and routers. The LAN should now work with these.
• Garbled characters fix. – On some machines, especially on NTSC machines, the 3.11 firmware gave some timing issues. This build should fix that.
• Ulticopy fix – In 3.11 Ulticopy was broken; it should work again – supposedly – not tested.

Due to “life” (e.g. house renovation) there has not been any time for testing this firmware for other hardware platforms. Will come soon.

Download: Ultimate U2+L v3.11a Firmware (334)

source: ultimate64.com github.com facebook