MiSTer PCXT

[NML32]

I added BurgerTime and Volfied arrow keys not working with the PCXT Tandy Bios to the Google Sheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

[spark2k06]

beta 1.5

https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... n/releases

• Restructuring the OSD menu
• Fix MDA brightness
• Added Tandy key scan code converter.
• Update files.qip
• Fix CGA video resolution (is now 640x200)
• Fix CGA Initial text mode
• Tandy's 225 mode fix

A new prebeta branch, version 2.0, is opened:

https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... rebeta-2.0
https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... -2.0-turbo

This version has the serdrive library integrated in the framework, but it is in a very preliminary version. I will be some time without development, but I leave the sources available and I will gladly accept all the improvements that are carried out, feel free to make improvements and fine-tune it, if you make pull requests, I will review them as soon as I can:

https://github.com/spark2k06/Main_MiSTe ... t_serdrive

Once we have more or less updated the framework with all the features that interest us, I will make pull request to sorgelig to include it in the official version of MiSTer, and then we can bring the 2.0 version of the core to the main development branch of MiSTer... let's see if all the developers achieve this goal, even though we still don't have implemented the IDE and Floppy modules.

edit:

I have reorganised the OSD menu and added the possibility of FDD and read-only, but they have not yet been implemented in the framework, it requires work and dedication, and for a while I won't be able to, but the sources are available.

[db15rules]

Excellent work!

[suww37]

Is there any solution for bending the top row of the screen in the 15khz sony pvm monitor? I can't use any method. It's no use adjusting the mister.ini settings. Does anyone know why this screen is coming out?

[breiztiger]

hi

does adlib intune need fpu ?

20220724_170933-screen.png (392.34 KiB) Viewed 14709 times

[flynnsbit]

hi

does adlib intune need fpu ?

20220724_170933-screen.png

Do you have USE!UMB loaded? If so, remove it and try again. There is something up with it and the core so I wouldn't use it. I'm diving into QRAM when I have time.

[breiztiger]

same with disabled USE!UMB

[akeley]

Is there any solution for bending the top row of the screen in the 15khz sony pvm monitor? I can't use any method. It's no use adjusting the mister.ini settings. Does anyone know why this screen is coming out?

Mate, you've asked this numerous times already, and the answer so far is: there isn't anything you can do. This core is a work in progress and I'm sure eventually this little niggle will also be sorted, but I'd imagine that for now CRTs are really low on the to-do priority list, which is understandable, and you just have to be patient.

This doesn't happen on my Trinitron PVM when in DOS, but instead the image disappears when I start a game. Conversely, on my consumer Trinitron CRT set (connected via Direct Video) the top line is squashed, but the games display fine. And on a Philips consumer TV, there is no problem at all. So it's something to be figured out, perhaps Sony sets being too sensitive to current signal spec or something with sync. I'd love to see it sorted, but for now I'm much happier with the devs concentrating on more crucial things, such as getting the serdrive incorporated fully and getting 2.0 into the main.

[pgimeno]

hi

does adlib intune need fpu ?

20220724_170933-screen.png

Maybe try loading the sound driver like: sound bCA00

That takes a lot of RAM but it will fit larger files.

[pgimeno]

I copied the PCXT file using SAMBA to the /main/fat directory, but it can't be copied.

It is said that the copy is unloaded because it is being used by MiSTer.

How can I copy it?

Rename it to something else, then copy the file.

I usually delete MiSTer.old, rename MiSTer to MiSTer.old, and then copy the new file as MiSTer.

Then reboot.

[suww37]

Is there any solution for bending the top row of the screen in the 15khz sony pvm monitor? I can't use any method. It's no use adjusting the mister.ini settings. Does anyone know why this screen is coming out?

Mate, you've asked this numerous times already, and the answer so far is: there isn't anything you can do. This core is a work in progress and I'm sure eventually this little niggle will also be sorted, but I'd imagine that for now CRTs are really low on the to-do priority list, which is understandable, and you just have to be patient.

This doesn't happen on my Trinitron PVM when in DOS, but instead the image disappears when I start a game. Conversely, on my consumer Trinitron CRT set (connected via Direct Video) the top line is squashed, but the games display fine. And on a Philips consumer TV, there is no problem at all. So it's something to be figured out, perhaps Sony sets being too sensitive to current signal spec or something with sync. I'd love to see it sorted, but for now I'm much happier with the devs concentrating on more crucial things, such as getting the serdrive incorporated fully and getting 2.0 into the main.

I fully understand what you said. I just wanted to know if other people who use sony pvm also had these symptoms and they found a way to solve this problem. I also hope that core developers will improve the completeness of the core rather than clinging to local problems.

[suww37]

In the MiSTer sdcard root folder, your "MiSTer." I copied it, but the screen brightness is too bright. The same goes for replacing it with the first file.

[Newsdee]

The gamma setting should help with that, but its currently off due to it not being wired at all in HDL code.

Scanlines do not work either, even with the fixed resolution. At least shadow masks do work.

[suww37]

The gamma setting should help with that, but its currently off due to it not being wired at all in HDL code.

Scanlines do not work either, even with the fixed resolution. At least shadow masks do work.

I chaged it to the original "MiSTer." file. But the brightness is weird. Why isn't it fixed? Even the ao486 brightness is equally strange. Is there a solution?

[suww37]

The gamma setting should help with that, but its currently off due to it not being wired at all in HDL code.

Scanlines do not work either, even with the fixed resolution. At least shadow masks do work.

very sorry ~ I solve it.

[Newsdee]

So I suspect the reason the MiSTer filters (scanline/gamma) effects doesn't work is that these two video signals are never wired by the core.
It also seems that the Graphics Gremlin code does not expose them at all.

I wonder if we can somehow infer them from other parts of the VGA output...?

Code: Select all

wire HBlank;
wire VBlank;

[suww37]

beta 1.5

https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... n/releases

• Restructuring the OSD menu
• Fix MDA brightness
• Added Tandy key scan code converter.
• Update files.qip
• Fix CGA video resolution (is now 640x200)
• Fix CGA Initial text mode
• Tandy's 225 mode fix

A new prebeta branch, version 2.0, is opened:

https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... rebeta-2.0
https://github.com/spark2k06/PCXT_MiSTe ... -2.0-turbo

This version has the serdrive library integrated in the framework, but it is in a very preliminary version. I will be some time without development, but I leave the sources available and I will gladly accept all the improvements that are carried out, feel free to make improvements and fine-tune it, if you make pull requests, I will review them as soon as I can:

https://github.com/spark2k06/Main_MiSTe ... t_serdrive

Once we have more or less updated the framework with all the features that interest us, I will make pull request to sorgelig to include it in the official version of MiSTer, and then we can bring the 2.0 version of the core to the main development branch of MiSTer... let's see if all the developers achieve this goal, even though we still don't have implemented the IDE and Floppy modules.

edit:

I have reorganised the OSD menu and added the possibility of FDD and read-only, but they have not yet been implemented in the framework, it requires work and dedication, and for a while I won't be able to, but the sources are available.

I put “MiSTer. (prebeta)" file in my MiSTer's sdcard root folder but it doesn't recognize hdd.img. Still I only need to run the script file before running PCXT core to recognize hdd.img in pcxt core. How to automatically recognize hdd.img and enable booting without running script?

[somhi]

So I suspect the reason the MiSTer filters (scanline/gamma) effects doesn't work is that these two video signals are never wired by the core.
It also seems that the Graphics Gremlin code does not expose them at all.

I wonder if we can somehow infer them from other parts of the VGA output...?

Code: Select all

wire HBlank;
wire VBlank;

if you follow the de_o signal back to display_enable in crtc6845.v where you have:

Code: Select all

    assign display_enable = hdisp & vdisp;

then I would assume from the name signal that:
HBlank = ~hdisp
VBlank = ~vdisp

[Newsdee]

So good news... I finally managed to get filters (scanlines) working!
Submitted a pull request to merge to the beta branch.

very sorry ~ I solve it.

Can you check if the attached custom build works with your CRT? i.e. whether it still has that strange sync issue?
(note: the MDA mode is broken, so just use CGA with it)

then I would assume from the name signal that:
HBlank = ~hdisp
VBlank = ~vdisp

That didn't work, but I ended up making some changes to expose HBlank and VBlank from the CGA module which gave me better results.
If I can fix the MDA issues, I'll submit another PR.

Edit: thia is based off the older 1.5 "non turbo" branch, so you will still need to run serdrive
-

PCXT_videoTest.rbf

(3.19 MiB) Downloaded 226 times

20220725_210533.jpg (1.7 MiB) Viewed 14175 times

[Mills]

So good news... I finally managed to get filters (scanlines) working!
Submitted a pull request to merge to the beta branch.

very sorry ~ I solve it.

Can you check if the attached custom build works with your CRT? i.e. whether it still has that strange sync issue?
(note: the MDA mode is broken, so just use CGA with it)

then I would assume from the name signal that:
HBlank = ~hdisp
VBlank = ~vdisp

That didn't work, but I ended up making some changes to expose HBlank and VBlank from the CGA module which gave me better results.
If I can fix the MDA issues, I'll submit another PR.

Edit: thia is based off the older 1.5 "non turbo" branch, so you will still need to run serdrive
-
PCXT_videoTest.rbf
20220725_210533.jpg

Cool. This is only useful for simulating monochrome displays, but I sometimes like to use masks with color games, and they look awesome.

Ups.. you disabled MDA, if you select it, the core does not output data.

[akeley]

@Newsdee: this test rbf seems to display at 31Khz.

[suww37]

So good news... I finally managed to get filters (scanlines) working!
Submitted a pull request to merge to the beta branch.

very sorry ~ I solve it.

Can you check if the attached custom build works with your CRT? i.e. whether it still has that strange sync issue?
(note: the MDA mode is broken, so just use CGA with it)

then I would assume from the name signal that:
HBlank = ~hdisp
VBlank = ~vdisp

That didn't work, but I ended up making some changes to expose HBlank and VBlank from the CGA module which gave me better results.
If I can fix the MDA issues, I'll submit another PR.

Edit: thia is based off the older 1.5 "non turbo" branch, so you will still need to run serdrive
-
PCXT_videoTest.rbf
20220725_210533.jpg

I'm sorry but I see the same slander on my sony pvm crt. But the core you modified shows a great scanline on the LCD monitor.

[Newsdee]

@Newsdee: this test rbf seems to display at 31Khz.

Oops you're right, I forgot to test with a default MiSTer.ini...
Here is a new build rolling back to the version I sent as BR to @spark2k06 - it still works with 15khz displays (just tested).

What's left is to get HQ2X and Gamma to work; I almost got there, but it screws up the video resolution (and MDA) for some reason.
Obviously I don't fully understand MiSTer's video handling yet. But at least we can enjoy some HDMI scanlines now

Ups.. you disabled MDA, if you select it, the core does not output data.

Yes that was a bug. This newer build doesn't have the problem.

-

PCXT_scanlines.rbf

(3.1 MiB) Downloaded 162 times

[Newsdee]

After a bit of experimentation (and some insightful help from the MiSTer DIscord),
I've managed to get more framework video features into the core:

• Scandoubler video options (HQ2X and 25%/50% scanlines)
• Gamma adjustment now works

MDA doesn't fully work yet. It will display, but at the wrong frequency... still progress from my previous build!

If anybody wants to peek at my code changes: https://github.com/Newsdee/PCXT_MiSTer/tree/prebeta-1.4

-

PCXT_hq2x_gamma.rbf

(3.19 MiB) Downloaded 159 times

[kitune-san]

@spark2k06
Timing constraint violations have been overlooked for a long time.
I have a suggestion to resolve the timing constraint violation.
I have considered two methods. You can choose one or the other.

1. Change the chipset frequency to 50 MHz for the PLL output.
https://github.com/kitune-san/PCXT_MiST ... hz-chipset

2. Insert F/Fs between combination circuits that cause delays. (E.g. before and after the RAM block)
https://github.com/kitune-san/PCXT_MiST ... adjustment

[spark2k06]

Thank you, I hope that next week I will be able to test and analyse all the proposals, thank you both!

[somhi]

MDA doesn't fully work yet. It will display, but at the wrong frequency... still progress from my previous build!

try it with assign CLK_VIDEO = clk_56_875; instead of clk_28_636

[AmintaMister]

Hi all and thanks for your GREAT work! When the core will be able to run on CRT Vga 31khz?

[somhi]

I got three boards with Beta 1.5 working without MiSTer framework: Sockit (cyclone V), NeptUNO (cyclone IV), and DECA (Max 10).
I got some bugs with IBM Bios not present in the MiSTer version, but Tandy Bios seems to work well.
https://github.com/somhi/PCXT_DeMiSTify

With DECA only works in MDA mode as it does not have enough BRAM to fit CGA.

What is the best approach to load the BIOS into SDRAM ? I assume the callings to read/write BIOS should be integrated in the RAM.sv module so only BIOS or RAM can access KFSDRAM at one given time.

[akeley]

Thanks to flynnsbit's 500MB image, I was able to make one of my by-year collections specially for this core. It contains all the games from years 1981-1986, and most of 87, based on Total Dos Collection from last year.

It really is a very rough, early release - basically a dump of all the game directories organised per year, which are mostly untested (some are only in weird formats and won't even work). Anybody who wants a curated one should wait for flynnsbit's pack. There are two image versions, one with unpacked games, other using TDL launcher (long filenames, but zipped games). The latter says some files are corrupted so use at your own risk.

Still, it can be quite fun to browse, though the main issue is now the boot speed - it takes nearly 2 minutes, which is a pain when a game doesn't respond to CTRL+X / Q or some other way to go back to DOS and you need to restart (protip: in GW Basic games you can type "system" to go back to dos). I'm sure it will get better in time - I haven't even tried the unstable Turbo versions yet. You can also try to optimise the autoexec/config.sys further - atm it's full fo flynnsbit's WIP DOS wizardry, which might be helping with disk speed but also takes a while to load.

Any brave soul interested in trying it out should look for "play it by year msdos" on archive.org (with quotes).