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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Colour Maximite 2 Deluxe Edition with USB mouse support
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| Author | Message | ||||
siwypiotr Senior Member  Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Dear Maximite fans! My name is Piotr Siwy, Im the owner PS Labs company located in Poland. First time I saw Maximite 2 project I knew that I will build my own version. After creating 4 revisions and adding mouse functionality I decided that my product is mature enough to create this topic on the forum. I nick named it Delux Edition. Colour Maximite 2 Deluxe Edition is produced in Poland. The Colour Maximite 2 Deluxe Edition is an enhanced version of the Geoff design. Main features: -USB MOUSE support (after installing chip: https://www.hobbytronics.co.uk/usb-host-dip) - built-in ARM Cortex-M7 32-bit RISC processor clocked at 480MHz (the processor is integrated part of the device, no additional development board with the processor is required) - 3 sockets to connect 3 Wii nunchuk controllers (as opposed to 1 socket in the original design) - socket for connecting a standard joystick, e.g. Atari - reset button - 40-pin internal socket compatible with the Raspberry Pi extension, which allows the module to be installed inside the housing - internal built-in prototype board - 40 pin external socket - USB socket for keyboard connection - FT232 chip for flashing by usb power cable - IR sensor - temperature sensor - audio jack - VGA socket - power switch - SD card slot - LEDs indicating power and activity - built-in battery for clock settings  Short presentation of one of the previous versions can be found here: https://youtu.be/u1dHAOTn72A Latest version USB controller installation: https://youtu.be/lRGXsFi5QTs Latest version USB mouse functionality presentation: https://youtu.be/Tf0sAGK0CPM Small quantity is still available at PS Labs shop: https://sklep.pslabs.pl/Colour-Maximite-2-Deluxe-Edition-p147 (web page is still during translation to EN, some payments might not work for You so maybe it is better to arrange everything by email and pay via PayPal) Soon I will order bigger batch if You are interested in purchase please let me know. I also have 10 pcs of USB host chips from HobbyTronics Ltd, I can sell them together with Maximite with no profit. Thank You all for support, never seen so many good, helfull people like on this forum before! Edited 2020-10-30 05:06 by siwypiotr |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
UPDATE: There are 2 units left. Next delivery 2 weeks Edited 2020-10-30 17:02 by siwypiotr |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Good morning, Yesterday before going sleep something obvious came to me. Why there is no WiFi in Maximite? Good that I have not send the boards to production. I will add socket for ESP WiFi module and jumpers for user to decide which COM port he wants to use.  Have a nice day! |
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| lizby Guru  Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3008 |
+1 for that. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Done!  |
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elk1984 Senior Member Joined: 11/07/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 227 |
Please tell me this is in the version I've just ordered! Otherwise it's  Edited 2020-10-31 02:55 by elk1984 |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Im so sorry, unfortunately not, this are ideas for future models, they will be available weeks from now. But please don't worry. Im working on easy to use expansion system for all maximites including mine. One of them will be this module. |
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| elk1984 Senior Member Joined: 11/07/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 227 |
No worries at all - it's the price of being an "early adopter" - great work! Now, how do I get the (soon to be 3) Colour Maximite 2s into a cluster  |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Wow my Maximite will be four 3th? You are true Maximite fan boy! |
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| elk1984 Senior Member Joined: 11/07/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 227 |
I blame it on having an Acorn Electron and envying the Beeb, then the Master, then the Arch.... |
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| Krall Newbie  Joined: 22/10/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 15 |
What a great brain you have! The only thing that could make your version more perfect would be a HDMI port. That would be one hellva machine then! Well, unless of course it had a build in replicator from Star Trek :D |
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Womble Senior Member Joined: 09/07/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 267 |
This has been done before forum thread Apparently it is recommended to power the ESP8266 module separately, when they start transmitting they can draw large amounts of power. |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
In My opinion there is no need to power it separately, what I did is I added large filtering caps next to it. They will compensate for large power consumption. In general my design has well made filtering part. This is not first time I design for wireless communication. I made a lot of mistakes when working with GSM modules, they are really power hungry, this changed my thinking in respect of power lines filtration. Im really happy about my current design of Maximite. Never had issues even on power hungry tests. Im also very happy about new layout of memory lines my last change did a lot for stability. I have also spend a lot of time when laying the video lines. My VGA signal is very stable, colors are nice, crisp and saturated. |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
First person who will guess what I'm making today will get 1 pcs for free:  |
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| mclout999 Guru Joined: 05/07/2020 Location: United StatesPosts: 430 |
Moter control relay board? |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Hi You are correct, this is relay board. But for what it will be used? The chip You see on the board is shift register, what benefits it will give? Edited 2020-11-06 16:54 by siwypiotr |
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| Paul_L Guru Joined: 03/03/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 769 |
Hi Piotr, Does it load an 8 bit word serially and shift the bits into parallel output registers to control the eight relays???? Do I see opto-couplers on the board???? How big are the motors you are driving? Did you think about using a Triac to soft start the motors and limit inrush current? After the motor accelerates you can pull in mechanical relay contacts to avoid the continuous voltage drop in the Triac. I suggest you double check the filtering and regulation for the ESP power supply mentioned above. That module can draw large spikes of current and cause intermittent drops in voltage to the rest of the circuitry. My grandfather, Vladimir Lepkowski, was a civil servant living just west of Krakow, my grandmother, Agnes Uzarowicz, had to buy her land to dissolve her serfdom contract in Prypryat Belo Russia before they emigrated to New York in the 1890s. Where are you located in Poland? Pavel Artur Jan Waclaw Lepkowski or Paul in NY Edited 2020-11-06 18:08 by Paul_L |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
Since It got too complicated to constantly add functionalities to my version of maximite and because I want also people who have different versions of maximite to also benefit from my work I decided to do something new. The board You see is part of expansion system for maximite users. It will be extension board with edge connectors (for multiple modules) connected to maximite via ribbon cable. Moreover this can be extended by connecting additional extension boards. 3d model of card You see is one of modules that can be pluged to extension board. The board documentation will be open source so everyone can create their own board. You are correct about shift register. The relays will be operated by SPI, You will only shift bits to decide about relays pins. Moreover You will be able add as many relay cards as You wish and still use the same number of maximite pins (shift registers on the cards will be daisy chained). This is one of the cards that will be soon available: - relay card - bread board card (for fast protoyping) - power card (highly efficient delivery of 3.3V, 5V, 12V, 24V) - wire communication card (USB mouse, RS232, RS485, CAN BUS) - wireless communication card (WiFi, GSM, RFM - LORA) And I hope that many more including those created by other people. For filtering of ESP it is too late, boards will be delivered next week so It looks like we will see. Good to hear that someone knows where Poland is :) Im located near Katowice city, 80km west from Krakow. |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 3490 |
Siwypiotr man, you are productive !!! A true expansion system. That brings back the days of card cages (Altair 8800, Acorn system 3,4,5). PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| siwypiotr Senior Member Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
When I was thinking about expansion system I was searching for different solutions. I quickly found that reason why I chosen Maximite is the memories from my childhood. Switching on my Atari 800XL and in second Your computer is fully operational, ready with programing environment. What You seen on the screen is the word READY and cursor below encouraging You to start programing. Decision was every easy, there is nothing better than edge connector that we all remember from our happy times as kids! |
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