Posts by adtbm

xboxown :

Hi and welcome to Forum64, home of the MEGA65 !

you will get the mainboard completely populated same as the keyboard. So no soldering needed.

So all you have to do, is build the case together, screw the mainboard, the discdrive and the keyboard into it.

put the SD-card in and you're ready to go.

And if you want to stay up-to-date with information like release, preorder etc. you are here at the exact right place !

We are planning on selling the DevKit in 2020.

For more information about the project you can also visit the links in my signature.

So stay tuned...

PS: MEGA65.d81 ist das standard image, das automatisch beim boot gemounted wird !

Ja ! Ich kopiere am PC die d81s, die ich haben möchte, auf die SDkarte und dann kannst du im Freezermenu die Images mounten. funktioniert einwandfrei !

Und als Tipp: denke daran, dass du die SDkarte im Nexys mit dem Formattool des MEGA65 vorbereitest !

Ansonsten wirst du auf Probleme stossen.

Kurzanleitung:

- SD Karte am PC mit FAT32 formatieren und Bitstream .bit auf die SDkarte kopieren.

- SD karte ins Nexys stecken, Nexys einschalten und dabei entweder ALT oder die beiden SHIFT tasten gedrückt halten

(das öffnet das MEGA65 bootmenü)

- SD Format tool auswählen ("2" drücken)

- DELETE EVERYTHING eingeben und RETURN drúcken.

- SD Karte wieder in den PC stecken (Sollte der PC eine Meldung geben, dass die Karte formatiert werden muss, einfach ignorieren)

- Du siehst eine FAT32 Partition mit dem Namen "M.E.G.A." Da kopierst du

- MEGA65.d81, Bitstream (.bit), Freezer.m65, MEGA65.ROM und alle d81 images, die du haben möchtest drauf !

Das war's

Hi ZeHa,

meine Bestellung habe ich ja schon aufgegeben !

Ich wollte nur kurz sagen, dass ich die Idee mit dem Basic Lehrbuch auch genial finde.

Hättest du nicht Lust, Basic 10 mit reinzunehmen, davon gibt es so wenige Lehrbücher

(Das kann ja nur vom MEGA-Enthusiast kommen )

Ich möchte mich aber auch nochmal bei Dir für die Planung und Durchführung deines tollen Projektes bedanken. Die Hefte sind genial und Forum64

bietet mir dieses Jahr wirklich viel, für mein persönliches Weihnachtsgefühl ! Deine Basic Weihnachtshefte ! Der Adventskalender ! Die Leute hier ! Die Wichtelaktion (auch wenn ich dieses Jahr nicht daran teilnehme) ...und natürlich der Schnee (PS: Ich finde ihn gut)

Aber zurück: Danke ZeHa ! Danke Forum64 !

Frohe Weihnachten !!!

Hi !

Bestellung ist getätigt. Bestelltext und Adresse ist im Nachrichtenfeld bei PayPal eingetragen !

Vielen Dank !

Quote from ZeHa

The floppy drive seems to have a black front panel. Is this a different floppy drive than the ones from your palettes? Just curious because I thought it might make sense to save them for the real machine

For this prototype, we have used one from the Palette (nicely spotted), but like you mentioned already, for the DevKit, we will use other refurbished floppydrives, not the ones that now have been fitted (Eject button) to the MEGA65.

Quote from Snoopy

Für ein allererstes Reinschnuppern in VHDL ist das Skript ganz angenehm: PDF Eine Einführung in die Schaltungsentwicklung mit VHDL

Wow Thanks. very interessting. I'll have a closer read during one of my next night shifts !

Quote from Diddl

Maybe the opportunity for me to take a look again into VHDL designing …

If you are interested Paul and Falk are both our VHDL specialist and they would be very happy to guide you through smaller tasks for testing with you and explain how it works. (because i also don't know nothing about VHDL....)

So please ! if you're interested, sent me or better Paul ( mega65 ) a PM.

Quote from Diddl

Have an Artix 7 Arty board here …

Is it a Nexys4DDR A7 ?

Quote from Freddy

Anyway: it's one FPGA, so you can define a totaly different hardware that fullfills the needs for your unixoid

to be precise. it has 2 FPGAs (Artix A7 & Max10) and a CPLD at your service...;-)

Yes. there will be a hole in the bottom to access the SD card slot !

And there is a 2nd microSD slot on the back side as well.

Also, we are planning for the future to access the MEGA65 via Ethernet as well.

and to be honest, i have coded the MEGA65 xmas Demo by using only 3.5" Floppydisc....

...in a hole, in the ground, there lived a hobbit.... (Sorry, couldn't resist....)

Quote from deft

So here is a little FAQ about the DevKit I just threw together (world premiere on Forum64 hehe):

Thanks Deft for the FAQs !

i took the freedom, and attached them to the first post ! (for easier finding)

Quote from Zaadii

For example you can have the C64 CPU along with the VIC4

Exactly, this will be shown, in detail, in ZeHa's christmas BASIC magazine.

I'll try to explain it like this. if you have your MEGA65 in front of you, you can either start it as a C65 or as a C64 (By holding the "M"EGA-key, while booting). but in the background is always the MEGA65 with the VIC-IV available at your service.

So you can run the c64 as a normal c64 but you can also directly access the VIC-III (c65) or the VIC-IV(MEGA65) if you need to.

All from BASIC2 or BASIC10 (in c65 mode).

Natürlich ! Hier ist das offizielle Forum !

Fratzebuch ist nur eine Kopie von Pauls Blog.

Quote from FeralChild

To be honest, this design looks much more ergonomic than the C65, with drive facing the user.

Thank you ! The design studies took quite some time, but we are also very proud of the outcome !

a special thanks goes to Lichtmichel from Plexilaser. He supported all our crazy ideas ! THANKS !

Quote from FeralChild

Any price info?

Will be announced soon ! Together with the information how the price has been set !

Quote from FeralChild

Will the black/matt version be available too?

We try to keep the DevKit as easy as possible, it is a DevKit. Non the less, we expect you, the community to impress us with your personal designs. I believe, that you could spraypaint the inside of the case, but probably Lichtmichel could answer, if this is possible, or what paint could be used.

Hello everybody,

today we have a HUGE ! Update !

Together with Michael from Plexilaser, we have almost completed the design for the MEGA65 DevKit.

Only minor changes remain, so we are proud to announce, that soon the MEGA65 DevKits will be available.

It is intended for people, who:

- would like to support the project by starting to develop for it

- don't care to much about the original C65/MEGA65 case AND YES ! our main goal is still to get the injection moulds for the official MEGA65 cases.

- can't/don't want to wait any longer, to get their hands on that machine.

The MEGA65 DevKit will come unassembled, because it is what it is: a DevKit !

It will have the original MEGA65 R2 mainboard and the original MEGA65 Keyboard.

We are really proud of the case design, since it has a much slicker, more modern look. more Amiga like and it is as space efficent as possible, while still having

all the original MEGA65 components.

We will use the DevKit sale to support our MEGA65 injection moulds

We expect the sale to start (Quote from Facebook comments) in 2020 !

Before i start quoting from Paul's blog i will post here some FAQs, that Deft was so kind to put together already:

FAQs:

Q: What's a DevKit?

A: It's aimed at developers so they can develop software for the machine or even help shaping the final product before it is released.

Q: Why does it look so different?

A: The case is made in a way it can be produced in small batches without the high costs of injection moulds. Its transparency helps finding out if the smoke stays inside the chips.

Q: I am a collector not a developer.

A: The DevKits have laser-engraved Logos and serial numbers to make them unique. DevKits usually are great collector's items.

Q: I only want to play with it!

A: The DevKit is like a "real" MEGA65 only in a preliminary form. You might encounter hickups but you can always (soft-)update it.

Q: I do not like the floppy.

A: The DevKits come as (hence the name) kits which include a refurbished floppy drive. Feel free to leave that out and donate it to us.

Q: What will it cost?

A: DevKits are always more expensive than mass-produced machines, they also get strong support from the makers. It will most probably cost under EUR 1.000 but more than the final machines.

Q: Can you build it for me?

A: It's really easy to build, usually under an hour, maybe two if you are clumsy. If you do not dare to build it yourself please ask around e.g. in Forum64. There are many nice people there!

Q: When can I buy it?

A: We are working towards summer 2020. However, we strongly rely on help by the community so anything can happen!

Q: I am a blessed developer and want to sacrifice all my time but I do not have any money!

A: Please talk to us about support!

Q: You said summer 2020. This means no final machines in 2020?

A: You do the math. It depends on donations and support of the community. We are only humans and not so many, less than 10 active. We do this in our free time with no interest in profit.

Q: What do you need most besides money?

A: Probably VHDL experts but anyone willing to help is warmly welcome!

Q: If I buy a DevKit, can I transfer PCB and keyboard into a MEGA65 case later? Can I even 3D-print my own MEGA65 case?

A: Probably yes!

OK, but now the news:

MEGA65 DevKit prototype assembly

Here are a bunch of pictures of a laser cut acrylic MEGA65 developer kit case with PCB R2 and the MEGA65 keyboard inside (plus a floppy drive). As you can see it is more compact than the original MEGA65 case fitting the floppy drive on the side and above the board. The kit was designed and cut by our partner plexi|laser based on a layout by the MEGA65 assembly team.

The DevKit is an option for people, especially developers, to get a MEGA65 before it is fully finished and be able to carve the machine together with us and to develop software for it before its release. The top shell is bent to give it a more slick look and to avoid hurting those precious developers hands.

As it is the first version of the DevKit case we found a couple of things that we want to improve, such as better and quicker access to the board for accessing in terms of programming/flashing the board and keyboard as well as access to the SD drive slots. The new revised parts are already in the mail so expect an update soon.

The final version of the case will sport an engraved MEGA65 logo and also a prominent DevKit serial number to make it a great collector‘s item as well. This should shorten the dreadful waiting time for the final machine to be available significantly. Other possibilities to shorten this time can be found on MEGA65.org.

Quote from hernandp

Regarding Bit Shifter concerns, is there some future plan for working on a MEGA65 copyright-free BASIC improvement over 10.0 from the C65? Thanks.

we will not try to finish the C65s BASIC 10 officially, to avoid any evtl. copyright issues. but of course, the community is free to work on this.

we will also continue to work on the Open-Rom, but it does not have the highest priority at the moment.

So if there is anybody who wants to work/improve the BASIC10 or the Open-Rom we would be happy to help and support him, but as M.E.G.A. we won't work on the official c65 Basic10.

Ich wüsste auch nichts, was z.B. gegen den Verkauf von z.B. T-Shirts sprechen würde.

Wir haben dies bisher noch aussen vorgelassen, da es doch einiges an organisatorischer Extraarbeit mit sich bringt.

(Wie ich in den FAQs schon darauf eingegangen bin). Die wir im Moment nicht stemmen können im Team alleine...

Wir wären natürlich überglücklich, wenn sich jemand finden würde, der die Leitung und Durchführung einer solchen Aktion übernehmen würde.

Quote from FeralChild

1. How about filling the whole back with trapdoors (to reduce cost - maybe use the same size for all of them)? In case someone wants to provide user port + tape port + who_knows_what port exension, so that we won't need to cut the case (like with user port for Ultimate 64).

there is no cost difference if you build in the holes for IEC bus, etc. or a trapdoor. So we will build in one trapdoor, which then can be used for Userport or Datasette. All other will be in the case

Quote from FeralChild

2. Are you going to use off-the shelf key caps for the final case, or create own moulds? Taking off-the-shelf ones could probably save quite some cash.

Our keyboard is already complete and our manufacturer found a company which has the correct keycaps. so no injection moulds needed here,

Hi,

of course the MEGA65 will be updated continousely. our vision is, since it's open-source, that it will be updated not only from us, but from the whole community.

We expect, that once the MEGA65 is released, that people will start to port cores over to the MEGA or add features they would like to have, like i.e. Userport, Datasette port...who knows....

At the moment the update is done via a programmer on the MEGA65 pcb and via SD card on the Nexys4 board.

We plan to change the way how to update in the future...

I hope this answers your question ?

Quote from Bit Shifter

OK, so far all preferred the solid font with no scan lines.

Paul from MEGA65 preferred it too.

But syshack had the interesting idea of changing the colours.

What about this: It reminds me on my very first own computer, a CBM 3032.

Display More

i like this one most. i think, one of the goals with the MEGA65 manual is, to stay as close as possible with the original c64 manual., from a layout point of view.

The green has indeed a kind of "original" look and it is very nicely readable !

But, it's not me to decide. In the original manual the code examples were black/white.

But the above color scheme is definately an improvement in the right direction !