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Another new prop board - The Hybrid — Parallax Forums

Another new prop board - The Hybrid

ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
edited 2007-11-17 12:27 in Propeller 1
OK here is my first attempt at a prop based board.

I'm calling it the Hybrid as it takes the best from the Hydra and Demo boards but with the inclusion of:-

Twin atari (2600) style joystick ports, these seem more readily available in the UK.
(The 9 pin interface uses the same shift registers that are in the nes joystick that the Hydra uses for compatability.)

Programming by either prop plug or RS232

Hydra compatible expansion slot

SD Card slot

Demo board compatible keyboard and mouse ports

40 Pin Female Din Breakout for expansion/riser cards.

I2C and Shift Register Expansion Headers

6 Mhz Crystal

On/Off Switch

DIP Switch to Isolate RS232 circuit

Board size is 110*120mm



Coley

<EDIT>

The boards are in now (finally) and I've attached a scan of one of them.



Pricing....

See the PropGFX forum for pricing and shipping information.



<EDIT> I'm just in the process sorting out a paypal account too....

<EDIT> Anyone who wants a Hybrid should PM me I can now accept PayPal payments..

<EDIT> Added Schematic and B.O.M. pdf.

Post Edited (Coley) : 10/21/2007 3:57:28 PM GMT
Prop Hybrid V1.jpg
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Prop Hybrid V1 Schematic.zip
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Hybrid.gif
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Comments

  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-03 19:28
    Hi Coley,
    Good work matey, looks excellent. and I like the idea of the twin Atari style joypads, as I have two lying around spare [noparse]:)[/noparse]
    And the every so necessary SD Card, which is what the hydra was lacking, IMHO. :-D
    As for criticism, there is none, seems perfect matey, job well done, give yourself a pat on the back.

    Baggers.
  • RinksCustomsRinksCustoms Posts: 531
    edited 2007-07-03 20:02
    Looks fantastic! nice job! You beat me to the punch, but you have inspired a last minute add to my idea, will post it soon when i'm done with the routing.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Definetly a E3 (Electronics Engineer Extrodinare!)
    "I laugh in the face of imposible,... not because i know it all, ... but because I don't know well enough!"
  • OakGraphicsOakGraphics Posts: 202
    edited 2007-07-03 20:29
    You did this in Eagle - right? It looks nice. smile.gif

    I like the concept - it's really fun! I would suggest a few things that would make it perfect for me personally.
    I would suggest:
    standoff holes in the corner for mounting in a case, and help with inserting the cables, etc.
    Personally - I would like USB - because my laptop does not have a serial port. I know I could get a usb to serial converter, or a prop-plug, but that's just one more thing to carry in my bag.
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-03 21:10
    Thanks for the positive input guys, it really helps me along smile.gif

    @OakGraphics: Yes, you are correct it is in eagle, I will publish the board when I have the finished article.
    I didn't put USB on as it is another chip to surface mount and I really want this to be easy for all to solder up.
    The surface mount Vregs and SD card are easily soldered with basic skills.
    I didn't really think about standoffs but I will be putting some rubber feet on though.

    Size of board is 110*120 mm

    Coley

    Post Edited (Coley) : 7/3/2007 9:18:47 PM GMT
  • ericballericball Posts: 774
    edited 2007-07-04 16:40
    Twin atari style joystick ports, these seem more readily available in the UK uses the same shift registers that are in the nes joystick that the Hydra uses.
    I'm not certain what joysticks you are referring to.· Atari 9 pin (i.e. 2600) joysticks are parallel devices - each N/O button is connected to a single wire along with a common ground.
    ·
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-04 16:53
    @ericball

    Sorry it's a bit misleading isn't it, what I meant is that I have included two shift registers on the board to accept input from an atari 9 pin (2600) style joystick.
    This means that they are 'read' in the same way as a NES style joypad (that has a shift register inbuilt) as per the Hydra board for compatability.

    I wanted to give the flexibility of using alternative joypad/joystick inputs, the truth is that you could easily make your own now or use the 9 pin interface as any kind of input really. Each 9 pin interface gives you 8 logic ground inputs.

    Regards,


    Coley
  • Spork FrogSpork Frog Posts: 212
    edited 2007-07-04 19:25
    @Coley

    Very nice work! I might be interested in buying one later if you plan on making more. It seems like one of the more complete boards I've seen for a while.
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-04 20:14
    LarryHedgehog said...
    Very nice work! I might be interested in buying one later if you plan on making more. It seems like one of the more complete boards I've seen for a while.

    Thank you for your kind comments.

    Let's see the response is like when i post the finished project, and if there is enough I'll get a batch of PCB's done.

    I will release all the docs and some adapted demo's to go with them.

    Maybe Baggers will adapt his Manic Miner port for it....hint hint.... lol.gif

    Coley
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-05 11:13
    Coley, of course I will matey, I'll even let the cat out the bag on my next game JetPac, I'll make JetPac work on it too if you want [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Baggers.
  • ericballericball Posts: 774
    edited 2007-07-05 14:53
    Coley said...
    Sorry it's a bit misleading isn't it, what I meant is that I have included two shift registers on the board to accept input from an atari 9 pin (2600) style joystick.
    This means that they are 'read' in the same way as a NES style joypad (that has a shift register inbuilt) as per the Hydra board for compatability.

    I wanted to give the flexibility of using alternative joypad/joystick inputs, the truth is that you could easily make your own now or use the 9 pin interface as any kind of input really. Each 9 pin interface gives you 8 logic ground inputs.
    Ahh... that makes more sense.· So you've included the NES shift register so from a software perspective the Atari 9 pin joystick is an NES pad for easier compatibility with Hydra software.· (Though an SMS joypad would be a better match since it has 2 buttons.· Some Sega Genesys joypads may work too.· The Atari 5200 joystick is analog so won't work, and the two buttons on the Atari 7800 joystick are multiplexed and require output pins to determine which has been pressed.)
    ·
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-05 18:27
    ericball said...
    So you've included the NES shift register so from a software perspective the Atari 9 pin joystick is an NES pad for easier compatibility with Hydra

    Yes.

    I think as long as the joypad/joystick uses a logic ground with Pin 8 as ground you could just write a different profile for each type.

    Reminds me of when the Sinclair Spectrum had Sinclair and Kempston type joysticks....

    In fact after a little search on the internet I found the following compatible joypad/joysticks.

    Atari 2600
    Atari 7800
    Atari ST (not auto fire)
    Sega SMS
    Sinclair
    Kempston
    Commodore 64
    Amiga 1200

    Is that enough.... lol.gif

    Coley
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-05 18:32
    @Baggers,

    Nice one! JetPac is on my Top Ten of favourite games ever. cool.gif

    That will rock on the prop! yeah.gif

    Have you noticed the expansion slot, it is for plugging in Andre's new SRAM card, imagine what you could do with that as well as SD card!! jumpin.gif

    Coley
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-06 07:32
    Cheers Coley [noparse]:)[/noparse] yeah I noticed the expansion slot, and that it's pin compatible with Andre's Hydra, so yes, the SRAM card should work too, as with his other add ons. so nice one on doing that for compatibility [noparse]:)[/noparse]
    I'm glad you like JetPac, and yes, it rocks [noparse]:D[/noparse] almost done now, just a couple of things to do, along with music + sfx.

    Baggers.
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-26 22:51
    Ok guys a quick update.

    Prototypes populated and now being put through their paces by Baggers (Thanks Matey!!)

    I am off on vacation in a few days but we should have something to publish in a couple of weeks.

    The combination of Prop, SD and SRAM card is awesome, standby to be amazed. yeah.gif

    Coley
    Prop Hybrid.jpg
    457 x 482 - 233K
  • ciw1973ciw1973 Posts: 64
    edited 2007-07-26 23:07
    Don't know how I managed to miss this thread originally, but I'm really liking the look of this board and would be keen to get hold of a couple when you make them available.
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-26 23:35
    @ciw1973

    As I said earlier, when we publish the final package we can see what the response is and if favourable I will make as many as is required.

    You will be more than welcome if you are still interested then, thank you for your interest and kind comment.

    Regards,

    Coley
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-27 07:55
    ciw, it's a great board, I've got lots of apps ready for it at the mo, and having access to the SRAM + SD is great.

    I'm working on doing a serial to SD app, so you won't even have to unplug the SD card to populate it.

    I've got Manic Miner, Jetpac, Snake, and Cardboard Guru's DodgyKong ported to work on it as well as some demos. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Turn it on, select game, play it, press reset, then select another, and is therefore it can all work without PC if you need to take it into another room to play on TV, thanks to the SD [noparse]:D[/noparse]

    Will post some pics later today.

    Baggers.
  • JT CookJT Cook Posts: 487
    edited 2007-07-27 15:35
    That is pretty cool. Can the SD card loader load any binary? Also when are you going to release jetpac and snake?
    ·
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-27 15:40
    yes, it can load any binary, well, I've made it load .gam files, that way the SD reader just reads the directory looking for .gam files, ( just binary files renamed as it's 8.3 format ) and there's not normally a .gam file on an SD card.
    I'm gonna release Jetpac and Snake, with release 1 of hybrid [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  • JT CookJT Cook Posts: 487
    edited 2007-07-27 16:45
    Well just make a release that Hydra compatable and I will be happy smile.gif
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-27 17:26
    only if i can release a xracer ( binary ) for hybrid

    edit: and i'll release protoboard / demo board versions too. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-27 17:48
    JT,

    I can assure you that you won't be disappointed, Baggers has done an excellent job with both JetPac and Snake.

    I know because he gave me a sneak preview.... tongue.gif

    The ease of being able to switch between .gam files is a revelation, you need to go SD, it's the only way now.

    Regards,

    Coley
  • JT CookJT Cook Posts: 487
    edited 2007-07-27 17:49
    That is always something I wondered if you can fill the Prop memory completely and reset it and start the new program in memory, so that is pretty sweet.

    Also where did you get the code to do that or did you write it yourself?
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-27 18:21
    JTC: yeah it's sweet isn't it. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
    It's originally from the great rokiki's SD driver + the great Mike Green's Femto, from the even greater Chip's Kiosk. ( which the files are all here in our uber forum [noparse]:)[/noparse] )
    But modified by myself for TV display, and to read the directory, display just the .gam files, and be able to select from any, it also will scroll through when there's more .gam files than the screen will show. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    but I really must say cos I can't say it enough, being able to switch from game to game without pc intervention is a must [noparse]:)[/noparse] once you've had SD boot. you won't go back.

    Baggers.
  • JT CookJT Cook Posts: 487
    edited 2007-07-27 19:25
    Drool, must make SD card adapter for Hydra
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2007-07-27 20:03
    yeah i would recomend it to anyone [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    edit: especially now with my drag and drop to SD facility in the boot loader [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    Post Edited (Baggers) : 7/29/2007 7:27:43 AM GMT
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-07-29 10:16
    JT Cook said...
    Drool, must make SD card adapter for Hydra

    Yeah that's great but what are you gonna do when you want SRAM too? lol

    Regards,

    Coley
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2007-08-15 03:29
    Question:

    Can someone tell me what that 20pin edge connector is?
    (Used as an expansion port in both the Hydra & Hybrid)

    Any chance someone has a part#?

    Thanks
    Oldbit

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    The comments and code above are proof that a million monkeys with a million propeller chips *could* write Shakespeare!
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-08-15 08:48
    catalog.digikey.com/scripts/partsearch.dll?Detail?name=EDC395202-ND

    I used Digikey part no. EDC395202-ND (Link above)

    I hope that helps Oldbit, looks like you've created a bit of a monster there, looking good!

    Good luck,

    best regards,

    Coley smile.gif
  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,110
    edited 2007-09-20 09:47
    *BUMP*

    Boards are in see top of post for details

    Coley
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