Perfect FDS 2C33 audio when not using actual FDS disks?

[Great Hierophant]

I would think the best solution would be to have a forward button, a backward button and a 1-character LED that indicated the number of the selected/inserted disk. Alternatively, a simple LED that pulses as many times as the disk image number currently selected would work. How long of a delay is there between the time you press a button and the disk is inserted? I mean do you have to hold the button down to cycle through the images or keep pressing it fairly rapidly.

[loopy]

I'm still inclined to leave it with one button, one LED. KISS.

Loading it up with a lot of games might not be a common use case anyway, this may be a non-issue. I could put smaller memory on there so the issue doesn't come up. With forward/back buttons, there can be confusion on which disk is selected so now you need a display -- a 7-segment display, or array of LEDs, or just flashing one LED. Counting LED pulses is even more inconvenient than clicking a button a bunch of times, IMO. The other options work, but I dislike the added complexity and cost to solve this one issue. I think a 4-way/8-way switch or thumbwheel would be ideal but I haven't found parts that would fit well. A rocker switch like this is a little nicer than forward/back buttons.

A new test board is coming in today, it's been through a few revisions. I hope to have the firmware done this week, I'd like to have all the functionality working and tested before doing a larger production run of boards.

[qwertymodo]

I can't tell from the photo what microcontroller you're using, but does it have any on-chip EEPROM? If it does, you could use that to store the current disk selection. Also, if you don't want to put out the money up front for cases, you can just list the model for sale on Shapeways and people can buy it directly from there and then Shapeways just pays you.

[mikejmoffitt]

That wouldn't be great practice, as the EEPROM likely also is storing the program. A mistake could cause issues there, and writing to it frequently will not be good for its longevity (though the likelihood of it being a problem is slim).

[loopy]

Yes, it has on-chip EEPROM. I can put the 3d model up and let you order it / print it yourself. I'd rather order 10 at a time (or whatever) to make it easier on you and cut out the extra shipping costs.

[qwertymodo]

That wouldn't be great practice, as the EEPROM likely also is storing the program. A mistake could cause issues there, and writing to it frequently will not be good for its longevity (though the likelihood of it being a problem is slim).

Given the fact that he said it can store up to 8 disk images, I highly doubt that the disk images are on the on-chip EEPROM, and I'm guessing that SOIC-8 chip is an external serial EEPROM and that's where they are. In that case, the on-chip EEPROM isn't being used for code or anything, so there's no harm in using it to store the disk selection. If you're worried about endurance, just store the value once the game is actually loaded, rather than as soon as you hit the button, and that will alleviate a lot of extraneous writes. Beyond that, it has a pretty high endurance anyway (usually 100k+ write/erase cycles), and even if it did eventually die, it's isolated from the program flash memory, so all you'd lose is the remembering part, it wouldn't trash the microcontroller.

I'd rather order 10 at a time (or whatever) to make it easier on you and cut out the extra shipping costs.

Whatever works for you, I just thought I'd mention it.

[loopy]

Yeah, I'm not worried about flash endurance. You could use it daily for many years before it wears out. Saving the current disk just didn't seem important to me, it wouldn't be hard to add.

[qwertymodo]

Yeah, I'm not worried about flash endurance. You could use it daily for many years before it wears out. Saving the current disk just didn't seem important to me, it wouldn't be hard to add.

Yeah, and EEPROM has even higher endurance than Flash, and since the code is running on Flash, the entire point of on-chip EEPROMs is for saving config data like this. While it's not super important, I could see it being a feature that users might appreciate, especially considering how simple it would be to implement.

[tepples]

And especially with double A-side games like SMB1/SMB2J.

[rbudrick]

No, don't destroy ram adapters just for the cables.
I used this. They have 8 out of 12 contacts, which is enough for doing disk transfers. It's a terrible quality cable for video and deserves its one star rating, but works fine for this purpose. You will have to break it open and move some of the contacts around.

I'll gladly pay the lazy-ass tax to not have to make that cable if you sell those too.

-Rob

[siubdaib]

I found a similar project. The guy emulate the ram adapter and drive, and added a LCD display for operation.

https://youtu.be/IGcojFG9-II

[ccovell]

Yes, these were noted on the 1st page of this thread.

[zombie343]

I'm very much looking forward to this and want to buy 2 or 3. Loopy, please PM me on IRC if you do sell them. (The email notifications for this thread only seem to come through, very sporadically!)

-zombie343/felgar01

[Buddybenj]

What are all of the things you need to be able to dump disks?

[loopy]

What are all of the things you need to be able to dump disks?

USB stick and adapter cable.
The design's finally finished. Yes, they are still coming, I don't know when yet. If you can't stand waiting, I have a few hand assembled boards I suppose I could sell.