FPGA Replay Board

[mikej]

Mike, existing owners?

I can't seem to find specific mention of support for usb joysticks/pads. What level of support can we expect in the short term? Are HID digital pads supported? Can we expect analogue sticks to work? Emulating 9 state digital or full analogue support?

I only ask as I have a stash of amiga/atari DB9 sticks, but only 1 works perfectly. I snapped the last of the spare springs on my QuickJoy sticks...

I've got some PC 15 pin midi port flight sticks too, but I'm guessing i'd need an adapter to DB9 for those.

The current core is very close to the original hardware, so only 9PIN digital.
There are analog inputs on the ARM which can be used in future.
The USB adapter adds keyboard and mouse, and can be extended to all sorts of stuff in future.
Cheers,
Mike

[mikej]

I'd like to know what happened to the imminent Amiga core release announced months ago. Not in a hurry, but I'm interested in the technical difficulties preventing the release from happening.

thanks!

Just got back from China. Boards look great, are shipping now out of China following me.
No problems with the core, just got stuck with the logistics and work stuff again. Every time I think I am finished I re-write something else, or found I have broken something.
I am still having problems with the cache and timing path through the DRAM.
Cheers,
Mike

[mikej]

Hey Mikej...are you saying that the daughterboard is actually going to be in development and reality? You do know Mikej I am going to sell my A1200 and buy FPGA Replay if what you are saying is true. The mere fact I will have a 120 Mhz 060 which is faster than Apollo 1260 @ 120 Mhz in comparison and the fact I can have 128 MB CHIP RAM and the fact it is built into it an RTG allowing me to run SDL games and apps....is ONE BIGGEST reason why this is the biggest upgrade for Amiga classic hardware and a huge entice to get the FPGA Replay. Do you have any idea the price Mikej? Is it going to be the same price as the FPGA Replay? Do you know when it will be available?

Yes, the daughterboard is in layout but paused until the main board is shipping.
Jakub has working prototypes and the new layout is pretty similar.

UPS tried to deliver 20Kg of Replay boards today, unfortunately I was out
/MikeJ

[mikej]

hmm is there any line in on the mobo?
will it perhaps be possible to sample through that?

Not on the main board, but it has various connectors to add stuff.
There are 4 analogue inputs to the ARM I was going to use for joysticks etc, these may be fast enough for audio, haven't looked at it.

"I am interested in the Replay and would like to see how it performs.
What Amiga is to more like?
Thanks.
Also, when these get manufactured, do you think the price will go down?"

Somewhere around an A1200 with faster CPU, more memory and flicker fixer/hi-res graphics card and enhanced audio.
The price may fall slightly as volume increases, but there is not much margin for this.
Current pricing (to be confirmed) direct from me (board only) is around 239Euro+VAT for the SVHS/Composite and ~200Euro+VAT for the board without SVHS/Composite.
I am just waiting for confirmation of the input tax/duty before I can fix pricing for this batch.
Best,
MikeJ

[mikej]

Hi,
The resellers are buying from me and assembling the systems.
You can buy the components directly from me, but I do not have time to offer detailed support. The price you were quoted includes the atx io panel and atx power switcher I assume. If you want an assembled, tested system I suggest you go with the reseller.



Best,
/MikeJ

[mikej]

MikeJ has been quiet for some time, I guess he's busy testing boards?
Any boards ready to go yet Mike?

Um, no - I've been in a field in Derby at a music festival.
Once I have straightened myself out again I'll be back to board testing.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Hey Mike, for many of us who have been on your list for 2 years or more, will you be contacting us when the boards are ready for shipping from your list?  I have been hiding this stash of cash from my wife for quite a while now, and she is getting suspicious about this damn smile I got on my face as I should not be this damn happy :banana:.  So, let me know when I can make payment.

Thanks,
Mike

For sure - I have a list of everybody who has contacted me and asked to be notified.
I will be working through this as I test the systems.
Cheers,
Mike

[mikej]

@MikeJ, Question, is the FPGA-chip used a stepping 0 or stepping 1 version ..?

They are supposed to be stepping 1s, I should read out the chip ID to confirm actually.
/Mike

[mikej]

Yeah, let the dude get over his hangover

It will take a while to recover - I'm still dealing with the hangover from last Thursday never mind the weekend
/MikeJ

p.s. I need to get this done and shipping before Glastonbury (end of June) as that takes even longer to recover from ...

[mikej]

What is the cycle time on the wires to the DRAM chip? Took a look at the clock generator. And it's only 27 MHz, which should mean that EMI issues are few. Compared to any standard DVI-VGA-LVDS TFT controller board which seems to be full of series and parallell impedance corrections using passive components (DVI seems transistor boosted however).

266Mbit so 133MHz max freq.
Board is fully EMI (CE / FCC) certified.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

I meant the physical kind of EMI such that the signals reach their destination in "good shape" at all. The EMC regulation is more like a letter of indulgence payed to the emperor.

The reason for asking is that I had a look at the more powerful A/D converters available. The catch is that they demand a solid signal integrity on the PCB and anything more than dual layer co$t..

Replay is a six layer board with solid ground and power planes in this area. The trick to getting low EMI is minimizing any impedance mismatch - so controlled trace impedance, termination and FPGA drive control.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

mikej, please don't give us the silent treatment!
How's things going?

I'll post some photos later.
I have a whole load of hardware here...

[mikej]

This sounds cool But a little unclear. Can you please type a bit slower for us slower folks and explain a bit more ?
We will be able to connect this SCP to a Replay board, right ? And a PC floppy to it, right ? And read/write real floppies ?

Jim, I'll send you a patch daughterboard as well for you to play with ...

[mikej]

Sorry guys, appreciate the patience. I have had some hassle with the day job, but still moving forward....

[mikej]

@Darrin, Conspiracy! *drums*
(from the Wifeminati)


Does the USB handler in the FPGA Arcade handle USB Ethernet adapters good enough to present an API that assembler code on the 68k side can make use of to establish TCP/IP connections?

Not really no, the VNC2 is directly connected to a low level handler in the FPGA which converts it into keyboard/mouse protocol. It could be extended of course. Remember there is a real ethernet / usb chip on the daughterboard.

In other news testing is ongoing. The batch look to be assembled well, few minor things to correct but nothing major. However the boot loader just does not run on the ARM at all, it is very odd. My first though was the chips were fake, but the internal ID code matches the device marking. Debug is ongoing.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

That doesn't sound good.  Were there any changes to these board designs or components from the last working set?

No, and same component supplier. Different batch of ARM chips though.
/Mike