FPGA Replay Board

[mikej]

I have a 20x/40x/60x unit that plugs into the USB port.  I got it probably 10 years ago.  It was some kind of toy microscope, but the quality is superb and at 60x it's perfect for SMT inspection!

Oh you should see the toy I got in SZ The lens is over a foot long...
LED ring around the end for illumination, and flat screen monitor for viewing.

It's too silly for normal use, the six inch one is fine..

The small one looks a bit like this :

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/585367650/Electronic_digital_microscope_Microscope_video_microscope.html

Only downside is the high-res camera is USB only, if I want to use the little screen I need to swap for the one with video out. Being video there is almost no lag, which is useful if you are trying to solder the thing under it.
Anyhow, back to work...

[mikej]

You're not the only one, believe me.

Mike, I perfectly understand you've been busy as hell these last year(s?) so it makes all sense to hire someone to keep up that paper/email work for you, since otherwise you risk to loose potential buyers (such as me).

Do you keep a list of people who showed interest on FPGA?

If I was to try and do this as a real job, or hire people, it would not be possible to sell it for a remotely sensible price at all...

I have a list of everybody who has ever expressed interest. I receive 10s of emails a day, and although I try to respond sometimes I get swamped.

Once I have everything released I can focus on selling it - but I refuse to take money or promise a delivery date until it is ready.

Luckily it now, pretty much, is ...
Best,
Mike

[mikej]

I plugged a DVI to HDMI cable into the Replay board but my LCD TV says "No Signal" is there anything I can do?  If you need more details let me know.  Thanks Kamel

I assume you are running the old Amiga core - HDMI will not work with this code.
Basically, the video standard must be recognized by your TV as a proper format.
This is not a problem with custom video modes (RTG) but will be with the native Amiga output. I suspect we are going to end up with original timing which may not work over HDMI, and "tweaked" which will, but will not be 100% faithful to the original hardware.

The new code has various test modes which will show you HDMI is working fine on the board.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Well, any idea when the "ready to ship" period comes to the end and next step will start then after?
 
Regards,

They are, but it's still a lot of work to test/package and ship each board - especially as the power regulator needs to be replaced on each board. I am working on a bulk shipment to a disti at the moment, then I will continue to mail people on my list and if they are still interested take payment and ship. Most of my time is spent on the last bits and pieces of the firmware. I've already talked to the factory about the next batch, which will be tested and shipped from China directly.

/MikeJ

[mikej]

Still no luck  I tried a DVI to VGA adaptor but got "Mode not supported" message from the TV. (my TV is a samsung UE4B6000) I've one similar to this one but as there's many, is this one the right one (enough pins)? http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adapter_DVI_to_VGA.jpg  I also tried a composite cable like this one : http://zxbvlm.blogspot.fr/2013/07/6-feet-3-rca-composite-av.html  But if I switch the TV then the FPGA Arcade, I got the message "No signal". If I switch the FPGA Arcade then the TV I see a partial workbench screen (half black and half workbench vertically, the quality is bad) then 2s after the "No signal" message.  Any help is more than welcome. Kamelito

Depends what modes your TV supports on the VGA input. Mail me directly.
Give me a few more days then we will roll out the new code and you can use some test core to see which display modes work.
Wire up the RS232 output of the board to your PC if you can.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

I'm lost on this thread, is this a FPGA Accelerator board being developed as a daughter board for classic OS?   can someone explain please.. ;-)


I know Lotharek created a Mist board for Atari/Amiga running on FPGA..
http://lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=96

Look like it should take scan doubled 60Hz (which is the default) on VGA input. Odd.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Are there any cores for the arcade fpga other than an Amiga one? I'd love to play PC Engine and SNES.

@mikej is there a way I can verify where I am in the preorder list, I have tried to enquirer by email but got no reply :/

I received your email yesterday afternoon. Yes, you are on the list for the current boards.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

All TVs will support PAL or NTSC at 50/60i which is the classic 'TV' over HDMI.

There is no problem outputting correct HDMI for these standards. What is a little tricky is getting the Amiga core to sync up without a frame delay - some shortcuts were taken with the original chipset.

We are working on the problem. As I said earlier, we may end up with 100% classic timing which is VGA to SKART/RGB monitor, and a slightly tweaked version for HDMI.

/MikeJ

[mikej]

@above

I'm going to get a Minimig now and wait another year for them to work out the bugs for this one.

I understand the frustration, it is taking a lot longer than I would like.
The hardware has been around for quite a while, getting it into volume production at a decent price is an interesting challenge, but having built nearly 200 boards now I think we have cracked this.

I am still working on production test, but I expect to close this today. Then we can start shipping both stock from here and then directly from the factory to the distributors.

The core support is pretty stable and has been with developers for a while. I need to fix a few things still with the Amiga core, but it is pretty solid. Once the code is rolled out then incremental fixes will occur rapidly.

First batch of boards is going out this week.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Hi Mike,
Any chance to get the core update for the "old" promoboard V1.0b users :-)

Yes, all B and later boards are fully supported ...

[mikej]

I totally understand, but that doesn't make the current experience any more pleasant.

If distributors can fix that problem without jacking up the price too much, then I'm all for it.

As you know Laurent is reselling boards, I am in discussing with Jim for the US market and one other obvious big player in Europe. If we get production test sorted out, we can ship in bulk to the distributors direct from the factory. This will enable the distis to make sufficient margin to support the product.

Everybody who has mailed me will receive an offer asap. I will back out of direct sales once the stock here is tested and shipped.
Best,

MikeJ

[mikej]

Have people started getting their boards yet?
I haven't heard anything yet.

I've shipped a couple to developers, still testing the main batch. I only received the spare regulators end of last week, so still working through fitting.

I'm moving flat this week which is a bit of an issue, but I'm still hoping to get a number out this week.
/Mike

[mikej]

Has everyone 'on the list' been notified at this point for purchase?

no, just starting to work though it, as boards are tested.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

I know... I've had one for nearly 2 years.  

I'd just like to see an update before I get back home in 2 weeks.  The Chameleon64 spoils me.  I seem to get updates every other week for that.

I am busy moving flat this week - absolute chaos.

However, Wolfgang has taken the beta libraries and ported Phoenix game to test the menu system and libs.

Should be able to work on the Amiga core again Monday.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

@mikej, Got first hand lease or are you stuck in the moving circus in the town?

Oh it's a long story. Bought a new flat last year but a lot of problems with it, so swapping it for a different building, same company. Utter pain....
/MikeJ

[mikej]

C64 and Amiga on a single machine will be awesome. Something else which I would love to have is the PC Engine, what are the chances of getting one?

By the way, not sure if this has been asked, can you connect RGB/Scart to Arcade FPGA? I have a CRT and I guess it would look nicer on it than on a 40" LED TV.

Yes, when it is in "15K" mode the default video phy sticks out composite sync and I use a DVI analogue to Scart - you could wire up to 9 pin D or any other analog standard you wish.
You could also use the DVI to VGA for the higher resolutions modes.
/MikeJ