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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Introducing the Colour Maximite 2
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Geoffg Guru  Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
This is a preliminary announcement of the Colour Maximite 2 which is a modern take on the original Maximite series published over eight years ago. It runs the latest version of MMBasic, uses a 32-bit ARM Cortex CPU running at up to 480MHz and does everything the original Maximite did plus a lot more at 10 times the speed and with 10 times the memory. It is also low cost and easy to build. It is the result of a six month project involving eight people on this forum lead by Peter Mather who did a huge effort including coming up with the original idea, porting MMBasic, writing the other parts of the firmware, designing the PCB and much more. Others involved in the project are myself, Phil Boyce, Jim Hiley, Graeme Rixon, Robert Severson, Mauro Xavier and Martin Round. The Colour Maximite 2 will be published in the July issue of Silicon Chip magazine but we are making this announcement now so that members of this forum have the chance to get in early and hopefully help us find any remaining issues with the firmware and documentation. The design is simple, it uses a motherboard which is a straight forward double sided PCB with mostly thru hole components that can be built in an hour. The complex part is a plug in module manufactured by Waveshare which costs just US$30 fully assembled. It holds the 176-pin ARM Cortex-M7 32-bit RISC processor plus supporting components. This design has the best of all worlds; it is low cost, easy to build but delivers enormous performance.  The features of the Colour Maximite 2 are too numerous to completely list here but these are some of the highlights: - Extremely fast with 516KB of program memory and 5MB general purpose RAM. - Rock solid VGA output with five resolutions from 800x600 pixels to 240x216 pixels with up to 16-bit colour (65536 colours). - USB Keyboard (can be wireless with a USB dongle). - Support for SD cards up to 128GB formatted in FAT16, FAT32 or exFAT. - Extensive features for creating computer games. These include multiple video planes, support for Blits and Sprites and full support for the Nunchuk a game controller. - Stereo audio output can play WAV, FLAC and MP3 files, computer generated music (MOD format) and robot speech and sound effects. - Twenty eight input/output pins with 12 capable of analog input. Connector is compatible with Raspberry Pi Hats. - Power is 5 volts at 170mA typical (ie, from an USB port or charger). There are a number of alternative designs created by Peter and others in the development team including some fully assembled. They will present them here in this thread but, in the meantime, these are the files related to the standard design: Colour Maximite 2 User Manual: http://geoffg.net/Downloads/Maximite/Colour_Maximite_2_User_Manual.pdf Tutorial: Programming with the Colour Maximite 2: http://geoffg.net/Downloads/Maximite/Programming_with_the_Colour_Maximite_2.pdf Construction pack includes parts list, PCB design files, firmware, etc: http://geoffg.net/Downloads/Maximite/CMM2_Construction_Pack.zip So please jump in, build the Colour Maximite 2 and have some fun.  Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2350 |
hi geoff, i'd thought things had been suspiciously quiet! looks like a neat design, and the low power consumption is good. but do i spy a full-sized USB B connector? my experience with these has always been extremely negative after any significant number of insert/unplug cycles, might i suggest having available a small adapter PCB to allow fitting a mini-USB instead? cheers, rob :-) |
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Cyber Senior Member  Joined: 13/01/2019 Location: UkrainePosts: 161 |
Wow!! That's an amazing work done! Thank you for sharing! |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Hi Robert, The usage (insert/re-insert) on the usb will be minimal. Use it for power and that’s it really. There is a power switch so no need to remove usb lead to ‘power off’ Also used for console connection, but no need to remove for that purpose - plus the CMM2 is more suited to stand-alone rather than with a console app such as TT. So I think the usb is fine - especially if you avoid ‘cheap no-name connectors’ from the likes of eBay!! For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
(Deleted due to double posting!) Edited 2020-05-03 21:23 by WhiteWizzard For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9078 |
If you want to see some of the graphics capabilities of the CMM2 you can see various demos on Youtube I used to share with the team. Start here and then look for other videos on my channel |
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CircuitGizmos Guru Joined: 08/09/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 1425 |
The CMM2 is available from CircuitGizmos here: Color Maximite 2 I have to populate that page with my own text and graphics, but it has an image and enough text (credit to Geoff) to get by at the moment. Good enough for this announcement to the TBS group. I sell the CMM2 assembled/tested instead of a kit of parts. The one difference is that there is a jumper instead of the power switch (jumper wire can be replaced). The Waveshare module is included as part of this. Micromites and Maximites! - Beginning Maximite |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 3797 |
Nice! What's it like running Life? John |
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hitsware2 Guru Joined: 03/08/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 713 |
Just out of curiosity ... Why VGA instead of HDMI ? my site |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Very cool  Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
The VGA signal is generated by a dedicated graphics processor built into the STM32 chip (called the Chrom-ART graphic accelerator). This generates precise VGA signal timings and results in a steady image with very clear characters on the screen. HDMI cannot be generated by the Chrom-ART graphic accelerator so we would need to add an expensive and complex chip which in the end would cost a lot more than a cheap VGA to HDMI converter. If an HDMI output is required we recommended that an inexpensive VGA to HDMI converter be used. These cost about US$10 on eBay and will also encode the audio from the computer. As an example, the Colour Maximite 2 was successfully tested with this device: https://tinyurl.com/w5woobe. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1057 |
Great stuff guys. I assume from reading the manuals etc that the number of I/O's available are limited to whats on the external connector. Brian ChopperP |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
Yes - it is not an embedded controller like the Micromite, more a general purpose computer with I/O capability. Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1057 |
OK Thanks Geoff BTW, I was due to fly to Perth (from QLD) later this week to visit family, but obviously that's not happening... ChopperP |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
For anyone wanting more GPIO signals, then you may use readily available Raspberry Pi HATs that offer this functionality. For example, I2C port expander HATs. But the real fun with the CMM2 is as a stand-alone computer similar to those back in the 80s. With just a 5v USB PSU, a USB keyboard, and a VGA screen (and large TVs are perfect for this), then you will be able to have a LOT of fun with this beast! Edited 2020-05-03 23:34 by WhiteWizzard For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
With the pause set to zero it runs at about half the speed of the DOS version (with VGA output, not Tera Term). Not bad! Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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Poppy Guru Joined: 25/07/2019 Location: GermanyPosts: 486 |
Now that is really great, already thought the CMM itself was finally dead. Looking at the Chip´s-VGA-Demos this even reminds me more of the old Amiga than the C64!  I know what I will do next, after this pandemic implications get some more relaxed!  Great Job done, a perfect next step for MMBASIC!  Andre ... such a GURU? | ||||
| hitsware2 Guru Joined: 03/08/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 713 |
A separate P.C. is needed to load the interpreter ? my site |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9078 |
It has got to come from somewhere  Any device with a USB port that has software that supports DFU will work (this is what STM use). Alternatively you can of course program the chip using a ST-LINK programmer but again you will need some sort of host computer |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
If you buy ‘raw components’ to build a unit, then yes - STM Cube program required to load Firmware file to the STM chip. STM Cube is free to download, as is the MMBASIC file. No need for PC when using CMM2. Hope that answers your question. For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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