Let me know where I can buy one. Is it ready? I know you make quality cool products.
As a matter of fact in the morning I'm driving 300 miles from Michigan into Ohio to see OldbitCollectors (Jeff) shop and visit with some of the forum members face to face. I'm bringing (4) Adafruit 16x32 RGB LED displays, my Propeller Platform and your 6 IDC connector "shield" you designed to show to the group. It's pretty awesome! It's the PropellerPowered forum. Taking a vacation day and a couple nights stay with my wife and daughter as a Valentine weekend getaway. Should be a cool time.
Let me know when and where I can get your new VGA board.
Tim, I'll get a product webpage up today or tomorrow... If you want it now, just send an email to ray@rayslogic.com and I'll send you a PayPal invoice.
Tim, I've got a nice demo ready for you... Was going to put the page up today, but got distracted...
I'll try to post a webpage tonight with the demo code and info.
BTW: It's really the same code and demo that I'm using for the DVI Graphics Shield.
Just a couple settings in the driver makes it work for both...
Very nice demo. So the main advantage here is having the capability to show 24 bit pictures and 24 bit color lines, shapes, etc. As I'm starting to get into VGA a little more, I'm not sure of the capabilities of the Propeller without having the VGA controller chip you have. In using my PMC 256 by Propellerpowered I can get either 64 or 256 colors but 16.7M is amazing. Probably uses alot of I/O too which is expected. I can't wait to get this in and see what it can do. I recently bought from Propellerpowered Martin's DNA board as you stated it would work. It was not the RTC version but it should still be fine. With this DNA board or my original Propeller Platform USB board, I should be good to go.
One concern of mine that you may or may not be able to answer is that the DNA board has a resistor pack for use with the SD card reader. It plugs into the female connector strip and sits up higher. Will this interfere with plugging your board into the DNA board? (ie resistor pack will get broken or the VGA board wont fit)
Exactly, the main advantage here is the ability to show a photo on a VGA screen...
You can also do text and graphics in any 24-bit color you want...
I imagine the DNA uses P0..P3 for the uSD, just as I do, so I don't think there will be a problem....
BTW: Just noticed the demo on the website didn't include the test bmp images that need to go on your uSD card. So, I've just added them to the zip file...
I received the board and it is great looking. However, I noticed it did not come with any header pins to plug it into my Propeller Platform USB or DNA board. The pictures show soldered pins as I assume it came with them.
Luckily I found some "Extended longer sized" ones I ordered a while back I can use but will need to trim down. I just wish I was told they were not coming or perhaps it was just a mistake. After some soldering tonight, looking forward to trying this out.
Ray- curious why you wouldn't include the header pins? Since this is a "shield" meant to be plugged in I'd think you would want this be a "complete" accessory. You could include the pins and let the customers solder them on. Would think it would be a more satisfying purchase than for someone to have to order parts from 2 different places.
I got my male extended pins soldered on and then went to the DNA board to solder on the included female headers. I also had to solder the female header for the SD card resistor pack at an angle to get it to fit with your VGA board. It should work but time to test.
Agh..The software is not up on your site anymore. I'll keep checking back.
I appreciate input here. I've thought about this a lot and not sure I'm doing it the best way...
The header pins actually cost maybe more than you'd think.
I'd have to increase the price by a couple dollars to account for them.
Plus, it's a bit of work to solder them all in.
On the other hand, it would make the thing much easier to test...
I'm also worried about the pins putting holes in the plastic shipping bag...
I have had limited success. I used the DVI software (not VGA as this site is not up) and BMP files (copied to root directory on SD card - 2 are 24 bit, 1 8 bit, 1 4 bit?) and ran it on both Propeller Platform USB and my new DNA board. The software runs on both showing the fonts, graphics, etc. and then the problem starts. It loads the BMPs from the SD card but they are not in the correct color resolution. They come up but are grainy looking and barely recognizable in perhaps 4 or 16 colors maybe. Is the problem with using the DVI software? Everything else looks good.
I was using the main site link thinking your link you provided was the same. I have it as a favorite now for the software.
Great looking fonts and pics. Very fast and colorful looking.
BTW: The DNA board will work with your VGA board with or without the resistor pack. Good to know. From what I understand the DNA board resistor pack is there for a couple of SD drivers that require the resistor pack. Most will not require it.
BTW2: The DNA board has a socket that allows for removing the 5 MHz crystal. I tried a 7.3728 MHz and it locked up the screen - as I would expect. However, I tried a 6.25 MHz crystal and it is somewhat faster now than it's normal fast movement of the graphics while looking at the demo.
Just had to comment out the _xinfreq = 5_000_000 and add this line under _xinfreq = 6_250_000
I was looking at the driver code and saw mouse commands but did not find any pins associated with it. Is this something being updated for your new advanced demo? Do the mouse commands currently work?
I'm mainly wanting to know what pins are on the VGA board for the mouse, keyboard, audio, etc. so I can set up objects to experiment with them.
P0-P3 will go to the DNA cards uSD Reader (or whatever).
P4-P9 is for the VGA card
P10-P11 is for the Right and Left Audio
P12-P13 is for the mouse
P14-P15 is for the keyboard
Can I assume that P16-P31 is also for the VGA card?
BTW: I was going through the demo and changing stuff around last night. It certainly has a ton of potential and I have a couple of ideas in mind for using the mouse to click on a preloaded BMP background picture with a button on the screen and have it run a PUB task. Very neat and fast board especially with a 6.25 MHz crystal plugged in to the Propeller Platform DNA board.
I'll try to get a schematic posted today but the VGA uses P16...P27 only.
P4...P9 are essentially free. I've added a little header there to connect either a FlashPoint SuperQuad or FlashPoint Mini memory module...
The Propeller Platform Express microphone circuit uses P8 and P9, but I've found it can coexist with the FlashPoint Mini module...
I was looking at the driver code and saw these Mouse related tasks:
PUB DrawMouse(x,y)|p,n,i,j,k,w 'paint the mouse
p:=pCursorData
SetCommand(DrawCursor,@x)
return
PUB StartMouse(pD,pB) 'Start mouse support by giving pointer to cursor draw data
wCursor:=long[pD][0]
hCursor:=long[pD][1]
pCursorData:=pD+8
pCursorBuffer:=pB
PUB ShowMouse(x,y) 'save background and then draw mouse
'first save screen
xCursor:=x
yCursor:=y
Setcommand(ScreenToHub,@xCursor) 'arg0=x,arg1=w,arg2=y,arg3=h,arg4=pBuffer
'Draw Mouse
DrawMouse(xCursor,yCursor)
PUB HideMouse 'put background back where mouse was drawn
Setcommand(HubToScreen,@xCursor) 'arg0=x,arg1=w,arg2=y,arg3=h,arg4=pBuffer
I not too familiar with using the mouse and keyboard on the Propeller and tried to use these but wasn't sure of the usage.
However, I was able to look at other example code of the mouse.spin OBEX and get it working on the VGA board with left and right mouse clicks (on pins 12 and 13) and some mouse movement but lots more refining to do there.
I really like this VGA board and want to do a whole lot more with it!
Tim, Yes, I have some demo code that gives you a user defined mouse cursor that you can move over the screen.
This and some other things like screen dump and bitblt require "reading" from the SSD1963 graphics controller,
where everything in the posted demo is just "writing".
Unfortunately, "reading" with the SSD1963 is a bit tricky and doesn't seem to work right in many hardware configurations.
That's why I've seperated it out as an "advanced" demo.
It has worked for me on every propeller platform board I've tried though and I'm interested to see if it works right for you on your DNA board.
One user of the DVI Graphics board using their own Propeller board do drive it needed to add a tiny capacitor to the RD signal pin to make it work.
What I'd like to say is that this will work on with all Propeller Platform boards, but so far, I only know it works with mine...
The paint program needs work, but it shows how to use the mouse cursor.
It can easily be modified to save the drawing area to SD as a .bmp file and also show it again at a later time.
The BMP and Printscreen functions are there already...
Comments
As you can see, there are some other things on this big board too that I'll need to cut apart...
Should have stencil and parts by end of the week.
If the boards actually work, may have some ready for sale by Monday...
I'll buy one and probably a couple of other items on your site as soon as the boards are ready and tested.
Tim
Just need to complete QC testing and put up a web page...
Tim, finally have them ready! You may not like the price though... Think it has to be $59 including shipping...
Let me know where I can buy one. Is it ready? I know you make quality cool products.
As a matter of fact in the morning I'm driving 300 miles from Michigan into Ohio to see OldbitCollectors (Jeff) shop and visit with some of the forum members face to face. I'm bringing (4) Adafruit 16x32 RGB LED displays, my Propeller Platform and your 6 IDC connector "shield" you designed to show to the group. It's pretty awesome! It's the PropellerPowered forum. Taking a vacation day and a couple nights stay with my wife and daughter as a Valentine weekend getaway. Should be a cool time.
Let me know when and where I can get your new VGA board.
Tim
ray@rayslogic.com and I'll send you a PayPal invoice.
When the board arrives, will it have Spin / Pasm drivers with it or direct me? I'm hoping it will be an easy setup to follow.
Thanks,
Tim
I'll try to post a webpage tonight with the demo code and info.
BTW: It's really the same code and demo that I'm using for the DVI Graphics Shield.
Just a couple settings in the driver makes it work for both...
Update: Just put up a quick page with a demo:
http://www.rayslogic.com/Propeller/Products/VgaGraphics/VgaGraphics.htm
Very nice demo. So the main advantage here is having the capability to show 24 bit pictures and 24 bit color lines, shapes, etc. As I'm starting to get into VGA a little more, I'm not sure of the capabilities of the Propeller without having the VGA controller chip you have. In using my PMC 256 by Propellerpowered I can get either 64 or 256 colors but 16.7M is amazing. Probably uses alot of I/O too which is expected. I can't wait to get this in and see what it can do. I recently bought from Propellerpowered Martin's DNA board as you stated it would work. It was not the RTC version but it should still be fine. With this DNA board or my original Propeller Platform USB board, I should be good to go.
One concern of mine that you may or may not be able to answer is that the DNA board has a resistor pack for use with the SD card reader. It plugs into the female connector strip and sits up higher. Will this interfere with plugging your board into the DNA board? (ie resistor pack will get broken or the VGA board wont fit)
Thanks,
Tim
You can also do text and graphics in any 24-bit color you want...
I imagine the DNA uses P0..P3 for the uSD, just as I do, so I don't think there will be a problem....
BTW: Just noticed the demo on the website didn't include the test bmp images that need to go on your uSD card. So, I've just added them to the zip file...
I received the board and it is great looking. However, I noticed it did not come with any header pins to plug it into my Propeller Platform USB or DNA board. The pictures show soldered pins as I assume it came with them.
Luckily I found some "Extended longer sized" ones I ordered a while back I can use but will need to trim down. I just wish I was told they were not coming or perhaps it was just a mistake. After some soldering tonight, looking forward to trying this out.
Tim
I just updated the website to make this more explicit...
Just my .02...
I got my male extended pins soldered on and then went to the DNA board to solder on the included female headers. I also had to solder the female header for the SD card resistor pack at an angle to get it to fit with your VGA board. It should work but time to test.
Agh..The software is not up on your site anymore. I'll keep checking back.
Tim
The header pins actually cost maybe more than you'd think.
I'd have to increase the price by a couple dollars to account for them.
Plus, it's a bit of work to solder them all in.
On the other hand, it would make the thing much easier to test...
I'm also worried about the pins putting holes in the plastic shipping bag...
I have had limited success. I used the DVI software (not VGA as this site is not up) and BMP files (copied to root directory on SD card - 2 are 24 bit, 1 8 bit, 1 4 bit?) and ran it on both Propeller Platform USB and my new DNA board. The software runs on both showing the fonts, graphics, etc. and then the problem starts. It loads the BMPs from the SD card but they are not in the correct color resolution. They come up but are grainy looking and barely recognizable in perhaps 4 or 16 colors maybe. Is the problem with using the DVI software? Everything else looks good.
Tim
Does this site not work?:
http://www.rayslogic.com/Propeller/Products/VgaGraphics/VgaGraphics.htm
I was using the main site link thinking your link you provided was the same. I have it as a favorite now for the software.
Great looking fonts and pics. Very fast and colorful looking.
BTW: The DNA board will work with your VGA board with or without the resistor pack. Good to know. From what I understand the DNA board resistor pack is there for a couple of SD drivers that require the resistor pack. Most will not require it.
BTW2: The DNA board has a socket that allows for removing the 5 MHz crystal. I tried a 7.3728 MHz and it locked up the screen - as I would expect. However, I tried a 6.25 MHz crystal and it is somewhat faster now than it's normal fast movement of the graphics while looking at the demo.
Just had to comment out the _xinfreq = 5_000_000 and add this line under _xinfreq = 6_250_000
Thanks for hanging in there for me.
Tim
I'm working on an advanced feature demo now that can do things like variable pitch font and mouse cursor.
Tim
I was looking at the driver code and saw mouse commands but did not find any pins associated with it. Is this something being updated for your new advanced demo? Do the mouse commands currently work?
I'm mainly wanting to know what pins are on the VGA board for the mouse, keyboard, audio, etc. so I can set up objects to experiment with them.
Tim
I'll post a full schematic soon, but in the meantime, here's the part for keyboard, mouse and audio:
This certainly helps. Thanks!
From what I see here:
P0-P3 will go to the DNA cards uSD Reader (or whatever).
P4-P9 is for the VGA card
P10-P11 is for the Right and Left Audio
P12-P13 is for the mouse
P14-P15 is for the keyboard
Can I assume that P16-P31 is also for the VGA card?
BTW: I was going through the demo and changing stuff around last night. It certainly has a ton of potential and I have a couple of ideas in mind for using the mouse to click on a preloaded BMP background picture with a button on the screen and have it run a PUB task. Very neat and fast board especially with a 6.25 MHz crystal plugged in to the Propeller Platform DNA board.
Thanks,
Tim
P4...P9 are essentially free. I've added a little header there to connect either a FlashPoint SuperQuad or FlashPoint Mini memory module...
The Propeller Platform Express microphone circuit uses P8 and P9, but I've found it can coexist with the FlashPoint Mini module...
I was looking at the driver code and saw these Mouse related tasks:
I not too familiar with using the mouse and keyboard on the Propeller and tried to use these but wasn't sure of the usage.
However, I was able to look at other example code of the mouse.spin OBEX and get it working on the VGA board with left and right mouse clicks (on pins 12 and 13) and some mouse movement but lots more refining to do there.
I really like this VGA board and want to do a whole lot more with it!
Thanks,
Tim
This and some other things like screen dump and bitblt require "reading" from the SSD1963 graphics controller,
where everything in the posted demo is just "writing".
Unfortunately, "reading" with the SSD1963 is a bit tricky and doesn't seem to work right in many hardware configurations.
That's why I've seperated it out as an "advanced" demo.
It has worked for me on every propeller platform board I've tried though and I'm interested to see if it works right for you on your DNA board.
One user of the DVI Graphics board using their own Propeller board do drive it needed to add a tiny capacitor to the RD signal pin to make it work.
What I'd like to say is that this will work on with all Propeller Platform boards, but so far, I only know it works with mine...
Ok. I will await the Advanced Demo code when ready and test it out on the DNA board.
Thanks,
Tim
http://www.rayslogic.com/Propeller/Products/VgaGraphics/VgaGraphics.htm
The paint program needs work, but it shows how to use the mouse cursor.
It can easily be modified to save the drawing area to SD as a .bmp file and also show it again at a later time.
The BMP and Printscreen functions are there already...
Did you take it down? I don't see it on your link.
Tim