Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 03:33pm 04 Mar 2023 |
Hi folks,
With a bit of luck my YouTube video of the PicoGAME LCD (aka "Bintendo Tomboy") is now up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB5hF2ZWHrA
And there is a github page:
https://github.com/thwill1000/pico-game-lcd
And earlier discussion of this project happened in this thread:
https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=15402
Best wishes,
Tom
Guru
Joined: 05/03/2018
Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4271
| Posted: 03:53pm 04 Mar 2023 |
Nice Tom.
Really well build. And the game seems very plable, although I may not be ver good at it...
Thanks for showing what mmbasic can do IN BASIC.
Volhout
Guru
Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 6835
| Posted: 04:45pm 04 Mar 2023 |
That's really good, Tom. Very encouraging. :)
Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 11:42pm 14 Mar 2023 |
I'm working on the audio for the Mk2 using a PAM8403 and have two questions:
1. Where do I put the variable resistor / volume control?
a. Between the Pico and filter
b. Between the filter and amp
c. Between the amp and speaker
My guess would be (c)
2. This really only needs mono sound, can I just leave the "right" input and output of the PAM8403 flapping in the wind or do they need grounding (or something else).
Thanks,
Tom
Newbie
Joined: 13/03/2023
Location: United StatesPosts: 15
| Posted: 12:22am 15 Mar 2023 |
These are the kinds of projects I like. Very cool!
I'll be following it!
Guru
Joined: 24/12/2017
Location: AustraliaPosts: 1619
| Posted: 01:04am 15 Mar 2023 |
A volume control pot normally goes before the amplifier. See this for an example.
Putting it between the amplifier and the speaker would have the amplifier operating at full power continuously and the volume control pot would have to handle the full power output of the amplifier. Not good.
I would ground the spare input via a 10k resistor.
Bill
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 07:41pm 15 Mar 2023 |
I did a not thought out board and going to do a tron game but using touch buttons.
no wires under the board.
Guru
Joined: 24/12/2017
Location: AustraliaPosts: 1619
| Posted: 04:23am 16 Mar 2023 |
Regarding the spare amplifier, I have no experience with digital amplifiers but I do seem to recall that some analogue amplifiers could be unstable if a load was not connected. Maybe connect a (say) 100 ohm resistor across the speaker terminals as a precaution. Wattage shouldn't matter.
Bill
Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 07:46am 16 Mar 2023 |
Thanks Bill, my first tests with the PAM8403 were not successful, lots of distortion, noise and clicking, probably not helped by it all being lashed together by jumper leads and breadboard. I need to spend some more time on it.
Best wishes,
Tom
Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 01:19pm 14 May 2023 |
Hi folks,
I've still got a little titivating to do (wire up SD card, touch, reset button) but the Mk2 prototype is up and running, many thanks to everyone who advised me on the audio side and to Peter for the firmware changes to PLAY SOUND:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Is_RnQhM64
Here are some pictures with its older, bigger brother:
Best wishes,
Tom
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 02:50pm 14 May 2023 |
Looks tidy from the top... er.. each to their own with wiring, don't they make a wire wrap tool for these boards?
My 5 switch "analaogue" boards arrived. Must test but working on mcp23017 i2c port expander which is working ok with code from phil99.
Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 02:57pm 14 May 2023 |
I did look at other techniques a couple of years ago. Wire-wrap pins are pretty expensive and I very much doubt I would be able to hack prototypes together, or pull them apart quite so quickly if I was using wire-wrapping. I quite liked the sound of using a wiring pencil with solderable enamel wire, but all I have ever managed to create with that is a burnt mess, not sure if that was because the wire was not as advertised or because I was incompetent. I've settled on the pictured as an adequate protoypting technique within my capabilities, if I need anything more then I'll be learning to make PCBs.
EDIT: as to veroboard, of which I do have a big slab, I found it to be inflexible when prototyping on the fly (i.e. you need to do more up-front layout), and even if you do that planning, you require more real-estate because of the fixed tracking.
Best wishes,
Tom
Edited 2023-05-15 01:02 by thwill
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 03:26pm 14 May 2023 |
In Wales tidy means good :)
I test on bread board and it looks like a birds nest. You can get vero that looks like bread but as with bread board some tracks don't have enough holes.
ps2 and vga sockets don't fit vero or bread board but I just use glcd boards and I suppose there's similarities my boards are just for general testing not specifically a game machine but must admit a few projects are games.
Using invisible touch area for u,d,l,r isn't perfect hence the button board.
Have you tried touch for game control?
Guru
Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 4048
| Posted: 03:33pm 14 May 2023 |
Thanks.
My antecedents are pretty Welsh, my full name Thomas Hugo Williams (lay it on thick with a "valleys" accent) is a pretty heavy hint.
My reply was regard to you being "unimpressed" by my wiring ... which is fine, I'm not massively impressed either.
No, because it isn't what I want; I like buttons, the clickier the better, touch is the spawn of the mobile phone.
Best wishes,
Tom
Edited 2023-05-15 01:34 by thwill
Guru
Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United KingdomPosts: 6835
| Posted: 03:40pm 14 May 2023 |
I did a CP/M computer using a wiring pencil.
And a special computer just for Stan. Well, it's just about a computer. More of a CPU really. I replaced chunks of logic with PIC chips (but they only work as multiple logic gates) to keep the breadboard size down to something manageable. It's a bit underpowered for Tom's project, unfortunately.
Edited 2023-05-15 01:44 by Mixtel90
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 05:13pm 14 May 2023 |
Far out groovy! serious. well the bread board stuff :) I can relate to it.
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 05:19pm 14 May 2023 |
I want to do "missile command" on 320x240 ili9341 and use touch for the tracker ball.
I wrote some picaxe code which was a line function but dunno where it is.
It was the line function but pixel at a time, ideal for this game. I'll sort it.
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 06:50pm 14 May 2023 |
quote
My antecedents are pretty Welsh,
You're lucky, most are ugly
Guru
Joined: 17/05/2016
Location: United StatesPosts: 3158
| Posted: 12:44am 15 May 2023 |
Here's a version of VegiPete's Missile_Command-like "In Renewed Defense of the Green Hills" in MMBasic for the Armmite F4: Green Hills (originally for the CMM2).
I speculated that it would be too slow on the Picomite, but things have been speeded up since then, so maybe it would translate over. But the F4 uses a parallel interface for the display, so maybe the Picomite's SPI interface would be too slow. Maybe the VGA version, if the resolution is adequate.
~
Edited 2023-05-15 10:45 by lizby
Guru
Joined: 25/06/2022
Location: United KingdomPosts: 2150
| Posted: 02:39pm 15 May 2023 |
Hi lizby. imho the ili9341 using mmbasic is not "slow". "Missile command" is just the
Bresenham's line algorithm but pixel at a time and the explosions using circles I've done before.
I worked in an arcade games factory in the 70's and there was a run of atari missile command machines. think they used 6502 and a raster scan crt not x-y monitor like asteroids and battle zone.
The tracker ball was new but just 2 ir led and sensor with slotted discs driven by the ball. Before ball ps2 mice.
It would work nice with a touch screen as an alternative to buttons/joypad.