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New build guide for Micromite Companion v1.2 — Parallax Forums

New build guide for Micromite Companion v1.2

dvanariadvanaria Posts: 13
edited 2023-04-12 21:58 in Propeller 1
I put together an updated build guide for the MMC v1.2 (the previous one, by Jeff Ledger, is for v1.1a and is no longer available online).

http://fireheadfred.com/mmc_build_webpage/mmc_build_guide2.htm

https://dvanaria.github.io/projects/micromite_companion/mmc_build_webpage/mmc_build_guide2.htm

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Comments

  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,709
    nicely done, but one wrong statement, the Parallax Forum is NOT a retitled Propeller powered forum.

    Cool that you keep this updated and alive, thank you

    Mike
  • dvanariadvanaria Posts: 13
    Ok thanks, I'll make sure to change that comment about Propeller powered being retitled.
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    A few typos:
    o It says 'resister' one place (about blue 1k resistors)
    o Step 6, "well" instead of "we'll"
    o Step 7: Likewise
    o Step 8: Likewise
    o Step 9 c: "isnt", "youll"
    o Socket test: "theyre"
    Btw, the reason > 2GB cards are so different is that they are SDHC cards, they are blocked differently and as you found, formatting them to 2GB doesn't help. These cards need a different driver.
    o Paragraph before step 11: "its" should be "it's" (normally the problem is the other way around! :))

    I skimmed it very quickly so it's possible I didn't find all typos.
  • tritoniumtritonium Posts: 543
    Thanks for doing this.
    Its something I was going to build but never got round to it. Then when the website disappeared I forgot about it.
    There still remains....
    http://www.instructables.com/member/Propellerpowered/instructables/
    which contain some tutorials (instructables) on the companion and other stuff.
    Manuals and References:
    a. The "Micromite Companion Manual" is a master list of the special Propeller I2C commands.
    b. The "Micromite Manual.PDF" is recommended reading and will give you complete information on MMBASIC.
    c. The breadboard section on the Micromite Companion is numbered in a way that corresponds to the Micromite chip numbers.
    There seems to be no links attached to these items and I cant find a link to them.

    There is also...
    http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-your-own-Micromite-Companion-Minicomputer/
    but I cannot find a source for the manuals or software.

    Dave


  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    @dvanaria - thanks for this! This work needed to be saved and shared.
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    Is the Micromite Companion kit still available?
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    Looks like the Ver 1.2 can be ordered in the top post via email.
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    Publison wrote: »
    Looks like the Ver 1.2 can be ordered in the top post via email.
    Thanks! I already have one but maybe I'll order another. They're fun to assemble. There aren't that many solder kits around anymore.

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    David Betz wrote: »
    Publison wrote: »
    Looks like the Ver 1.2 can be ordered in the top post via email.
    Thanks! I already have one but maybe I'll order another. They're fun to assemble. There aren't that many solder kits around anymore.

    Do you have Jeff's 1.1?

  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,516
    Publison wrote: »
    David Betz wrote: »
    Publison wrote: »
    Looks like the Ver 1.2 can be ordered in the top post via email.
    Thanks! I already have one but maybe I'll order another. They're fun to assemble. There aren't that many solder kits around anymore.

    Do you have Jeff's 1.1?
    Hmmm... It seems I have two already. One is V1.1a and the other is V1.2.

  • MicksterMickster Posts: 2,693
    Interesting MM performance comparison:


    http://www.thebackshed.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4685&PN=1
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    edited 2018-04-03 08:31
    So, who will be implementing a xilinx or other FPGA version of this?
  • rootboyrootboy Posts: 1
    Excellent update!

    The only thing that I did differently was to tin the pads on the PCB for the SD card socket. Go easy on the solder, and put the socket on the board and take you soldering iron and touch it to each pin while pushing gently on the socket (not too hard, you will bend the cover of the SD socket). Once I had it soldered down on the end, I touched up the solder on the two side mounted pads for a bit more strength.
    SD Card Solder Job.jpg
    2267 x 645 - 387K
  • ForrestBForrestB Posts: 5
    edited 2019-07-07 16:12
    I reviewed the MMC v1.2 schematic and noticed this version of the board has a second memory chip - 23K256 (32KB SRAM).
    The SRAM shares P0, P1, P2 with the SD card. Based on the v1.2 instructions, 'The "Companion Mode" firmware is updated from time to time. It is stored in the 32K, 8pin EEPROM on your board.'

    Is this the only time the 23K256 SRAM is used?

    Does this hardware change from v1.1 affect any of the programs written for the original Micromite Companion or users who added the 28 pin Micromite 32MX170F256 to a regular Propeller board to run MMC programs?
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