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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Another graphic teaser
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kiiid Guru  Joined: 11/05/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 671 |
Joining the teasers with mine - a full-blown graphic controller in true DIP16 format (fits into a standard DIP16 socket/footprint). Here are some early pictures with and few random shapes and colours in them. The control is via SPI and there is a nice set of simple built-in functions for text and graphics. The firmware is now very close to being complete. I will have this on the market soon with price tag around $12 per piece. 
http://rittle.org -------------- |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9078 |
Interesting! 
How many colours can this beast generate? Any adjustable screen sizes, or is it just the one size(I am guessing it is - not that that is a criticism)? If just the one screen size, can you please state what the resolution is? How long does it take to refresh the screen? I ask all these things cos I have already tried the Picasa thing from 4D systems, and although it did work, it was unhelpfully slow with it's screen refresh rate. You may well have come up with something much better. 
EDIT: Oh, and on the text modes - can you chose different size fonts? Even just two sizes such as normal and large, allow for much more creativity in laying out menus etc. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| kiiid Guru Joined: 11/05/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 671 |
The device has 128k of RAM and the graphic mode is fixed (for now) at the standard EGA resolutions of 640x350 x16 colours. Text is EGA as well - 80x43 x16 colours. Text and graphics can be mixed and masked in many different ways. Fonts and sizes are supported as well. There are other nice functions, also supports sound and also a single channel analogue input for applications such as keypad or a slider. Speed is no worse than a typical EGA controller from that age. It won't run well a modern 3D software engine, but that's not its purpose anyway. http://rittle.org -------------- |
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jman Guru Joined: 12/06/2011 Location: New ZealandPosts: 711 |
kiiid I really like the super small size please do post here once complete Regards Jman |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9078 |
Wow, kiiid, that is really impressive.  I was happy enough with the 8 colours of the Maximite, but the Micromite paired with this thing of yours will give us 16 colours to play with.
Great work - I definitely want at least a couple to play with. The fact they are also in such a nice small package makes them beautifully intergratable.
Please let us know when they are available. For those wanting to refresh their memory(no pun intended - well, maybe just a little!), you can read about EGA here. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| viscomjim Guru Joined: 08/01/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 925 |
Very interesting. I would like to know more about the interface to the ucontroller. Do you have a manual or any other info? Look forward to this.... |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2870 |
Hi Kiiid, Pretty decent by the looks, my only caveat is the EGA, I assume it is Analog drive like VGA but EGA timings, many monitors wont lock onto EGA timings to my knowledge.. If it is digital drive like EGA then you will be hard pushed to find a monitor for it. All that aside I know it is in development and as you said `EGA for now' I assume you are building up to VGA resolution.. Brilliant. I will pencil my name down for one if they are VGA (or displayable on VGA) and easy enough to work with for a non-programming sort of bloke like me. I am Imagining that paired with my NanoMite You could use a 28pin dip socket and have the NanoMite and your board in the same size as a standard Dip28 uMite Chip. Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| kiiid Guru Joined: 11/05/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 671 |
The resolution ultimately comes down to available memory. In 128k it is possible to go up to 640x400 in 16 colours, but as I mentioned there are some other built-in features which require memory, so the native EGA mode seems to be the maximum for now. 640x400 is still an open option though. The device makes analog drive signals just like VGA, and so far I have not seen a monitor which won't lock to the standard EGA mode. VGA and EGA share the same 25.175MHz pixel clock and VGA monitors are required by specs to work in EGA mode for backward support. Even the newest ones (I tried on a 24" WUXGA and it worked perfectly). The microcontroller is ATSAM4S and when they release a new revision with more memory, then the step from EGA to VGA resolution will be quite easy. Fitting everything into a single narrow 28-pin socket is a good idea. I hope to see it done someday. Unfortunately the manual is still not ready. In a few words, it is a very simple command protocol via SPI and I have designed it such way to provide the most functionality in the minimum set of commands so it can be driven by virtually any microcontroller, even the simplest ones. I have particularly considered to make it easy for control from a uMite and small 8-bit microcontrollers so no memory resources are required from their end. Working on the manual so hopefully that will be ready soon. Here is another picture with the colours on my test monitor. Will keep the forum updated. 
http://rittle.org -------------- |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9078 |
Watching this thread with MUCH interest - please post back again soon! 
EDIT: Why did you use SPI? Not that I care, but why SPI and not serial or I2C? Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| kiiid Guru Joined: 11/05/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 671 |
I have never had much love towards I2C. True, it is 2 wires only, but with that its advantages over SPI end there (in my view, not a flame!). It is a little nightmare to make a hardware I2C controller in any microcontroller work properly. SPI is much easier for implementation at any level in software and hardware, and can be much faster as well, which does matter for things like graphics controller. http://rittle.org -------------- |
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Zonker Guru Joined: 18/08/2012 Location: United StatesPosts: 761 |
Awesome work Kiiid..!! Excellent size layout...! You bet, put me down for one..! Instant video out for the uMite stuff... I could trade ya a 28 pin USB-RTC-FRAM board if wanted... Lou is finishing up the builds and we should have some to offer soon... I have 3 of them built here and working at my place... |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9078 |
Okey dokey.  Thanks for that information. I don't use any SPI stuff, so this is useful information for me, and I will get a chance to play with SPI when you release the module. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| kiiid Guru Joined: 11/05/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 671 |
Thanks Zonker, I might grab one of yours for playing with it. My hope is that the firmware for the DIP16 video controller will be ready within a couple of weeks from now and I will post an update here. http://rittle.org -------------- |
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