Homebrews & more

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Expansion shield for Arduino UNO

Expansion shield for Arduino UNO
Version : 14/04/2023

This little board and the source code are part of a CS Bomb-like project to be used in Air-Soft games.
In some situations, the Arduino UNO does not have enough IO ports or you you want to keep some of them free.
This shield adds 16 outputs and 16 inputs. To control them, only 6 wires are needed:

KEY_CLK: Clock to shift the value to QH (positive edge)
KEY_LATCH: Capture the 16 inputs (active low)
KEY_DATA: Serialised data (Q7 first, Q0 last)

LED_CLK: Clock to shift the value from SER (positive edge)
LED_LATCH: Set the 16 output bits
LED_DATA: Serialised data (Q7 first, Q0 last)

Two source files are provided as example.
Outputs.cpp / Outputs.h
Inputs.cpp / Inputs.h

You could have a look the main.cpp file (pseudo main).

A README.txt contains basic instructions to use inputs and outputs.

Have fun !
Buzz

Package

Friday, April 7, 2023

Colecovision ROM Builder

Version : 07/03/2023

Updated : 07/04/2023

Coleco ROM Builder is a Windows application to easily build ROM files for the 31-in-1 & 63-in-1 cartridges.

My best friend ZX-81 has made the hard work already : creating the loader and providing the scripts and tools to let you create your own best-games compilation.
You just need some efforts, knowledge and spare time to be able to create the files.
So, I recently decided to create a click-and-go application to perform the same task without any headache.

Note

For the 63-in-1 cartridge, rom_1.bin must be placed in the IC3 socket and rom_2.bin must be placed in IC5 socket.

Have fun !

Buzz

Package

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Colecovision 31-in-1

Version: Mars 2014 Rev B
Update: 07/03/2023

The 31-in-1 is a multicart board for the Colecovision (SMD).
It is made to handle 31 rom files stored in a single UVPROM.

The UVPROM (IC3) should contain 31 images (32KB max) and the specific loader.

Running the bootloader lets you choose a rom image between 31 images, switches to the corresponding memory bank and launches the image.

Usage
Concatenate 31 image files (32KB max) then the loader to get a 1M byte file then burn it to the IC3 chip.

Plug the cartridge in the dedicated slot. Components MUST be in front of you !
Power-on the console.

Part list
IC1 : 74HC574
IC2 : 74HC21
IC3 : 27C080 ou 27C801
IC4 : 74HC688DW

The package containing the PCB files (SMD) is available here: Colecovision-31in1-2023.zip

The 31-in-1 cartridge exists in DIP packages ! It is available here: Colecovision-31in1-DIP-2023.zip

The bootloader can be found here: 31-in-1 loader

Many thanks to my friend ZX (http://zx81.zx81.free.fr) for his help and his very great bootloader !

A simple application has been developed to easily create your ROM files. It is available here

Enjoy !

Buzz

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Colecovision 63-in-1

Original version: 28/01/2013

Update: 12/02/2023

The 63-in-1 is a multicart board for the ColecoVision.
It is made to handle 63 rom files stored in two separate UVPROMs.
The first one (IC3) should contain 32 images (32KB max).
The second one (IC5) should contain 31 images (32KB max) and the specific loader.

Running the bootloader lets you choose a rom image between 63 images, switches to the corresponding memory bank and launches the image.

Usage
Concatenate 32 image files (32KB max) to get a 1M byte file then burn it to the IC3 chip.
Concatenate 31 image files (32KB max) then the loader to get a 1M byte file then burn it to the IC5 chip.

Plug the cartridge in the dedicated slot. Components (IC3, SMD,...) MUST be in front of you !
Power-on the console.

Part list
IC1 : 74HC574
IC2 : 74HC21
IC3 : 27C080 ou 27C801
IC4 : 74HC688DW
IC5 : 27C080 ou 27C801

R1: 10K

Q1: BS170

The package containing the PCB files to build your own cartridge is available here: Colecovision-63in1-2023.zip

The bootloader can be found 63-in1 loader.

Many thanks to my friend ZX (http://zx81.zx81.free.fr) for his help and his very great bootloader !

A simple application has been developed to easily create your ROM files. It is available here

Enjoy !

Buzz

Thursday, February 3, 2022

ZX81 ULA

The ZX81 was a nice and cheap home computer from the 80's.
It's quitte impossible to find a real ZX81 today as its price has become unrealistic.
Today, anyone can build its own ZX81 as it is easy to find clones. But, in most cases these remakes uses the real ULA chips.
Alwin Henseler has reimplemented the original ULA design in 2012, based on a Xilinx CPLD.

This implementation was exacly the missing piece of hardware I needed for my own ZX81 clone.
Because there was no PCB, I decided to make it.

So, the ZX81_ULA_PCB.zip contains all the necessary files to create your own ZX81 ULA PCB (schematics, board and gerber files are included).

To program the CPLD, please refer to the package. It contains everything you need and of course the zx81_ula.jed programming file.

Note
I deliver the original ULA implementation package from Alwin Henseler because his website does not exist anymore.

Have fun !
Buzz

ZX81_ULA_PCB

Package