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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Pico Gamer
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SimpleSafeName Guru  Joined: 28/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 351 |
So, I printed it out three times (I'm about to print it a fourth time), and here's a photo of the first two top half of the cases:  Neither one of them came out all that great, and they don't remotely approach the quality of Geoff's case. But they appear to be useable. And each one printed in about an hour, for about 25 cents. As for my experiences: So there's something going on with my QIDI X-MAX3. It's putting out crappy prints. I did a bit of maintenance and, meh, I'll have to keep looking for the problem. Specifically it want to print out rough edges as if it were have a Z-banding problem. The face of it is a bit rough, but I am using my PEI sheet (designed for excellent adhesion of the plastic to the bed), so that is to be expected. That part of the print came out perfect. So good that I can see where I scraped the PEI off of the bed in a few places (oops). For those who are curious, here's how I put the lettering on the .STL in OpenSCAD: $fn=64; difference() { translate([0,0,6.5]) import("TopNoLetters.STL"); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([-34,-38,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("START", font = "Archivo Black", size=4); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([-9.4,-38,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("SEL", font = "Archivo Black", size=4); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([11,-38,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("OFF", font = "Archivo Black", size=4); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([26.2,-38,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("ON", font = "Archivo Black", size=4); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([55.5,26,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("VOL", font = "Archivo Black", size=4); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([75.0,-2.95,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("A", font = "Archivo Black", size=6); rotate([180,0,90]) translate([57,-12,-1]) linear_extrude(4) text("B", font = "Archivo Black", size=6); }; And, why yes, that is an E&L MT-80Z trainer from days gone by that I'm using as a backdrop for the photo. :) Edited 2024-03-25 19:22 by SimpleSafeName |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5058 |
That MT-80Z looks a lot like the "Micro Professor" that my nephew owned in the 80's.  Volhout Edited 2024-03-25 22:21 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1220 |
The filament always needs something to lay on. Due to the curves at the edges, from the front to the sides, you should set the layer height setting to fine. I had a usable result at 0.12 mm layer height with a .6mm Nozzle (estimated 5 hours printing time) Edited 2024-03-25 22:52 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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| SimpleSafeName Guru Joined: 28/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 351 |
The Keyboard and the ROM are different, other than that I think that they are the same. I bought this particular MT-80Z for the books that came with it. And in the listing the seller mentioned that he had fired it up using the MPF-I power supply, "Since it was the same as the MPF-I". I wondered what he was talking about. I never knew. LOL! Later on, E&L swapped out the MPF stickers with their own. And the complete trainer comes with another larger board (with the breadboard that you see) that has its own Z80. So I was fooled. :) BTW, I have the same book for my MPF-II (I gave my MPF-I away to a YouTuber "The Clueless Engineer" in Australia). Edited 2024-03-26 02:29 by SimpleSafeName |
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| SimpleSafeName Guru Joined: 28/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 351 |
I used 0.12mm on this print (0.12mm is the best that comes "standard" with the slicer), and it took 2 hours. I'm now seeing "defects" in the print which appear to have come from my "repair" of the board. It looks like my repairs worked, the layer shift appears to have gone away revealing the pattern created by MeshMixer. The only thing that my fixed board has going for it is that it will play nice with OpenSCAD. It would be nice if OpenSCAD ignored minor errors since they apparently are the only ones that care. FWIW, the errors in the Thorn gun caused severe printing problems, so sometimes you have no choice. |
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Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1639 |
Hi Geoff, Will you be producing new firmware for the Pico Gamer? It occurred to me at this late stage whether the size of flash memory (2,4 or 16 meg) could be specified with an OPTION command and whether that would save you from having to produce new firmware each time there is a change or bug fix? Bill Edit: That could be useful to do away with the SD card in some applications. The battery charging circuit could be ignored (maybe). Edited 2025-01-03 17:04 by Turbo46 Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3285 |
No, I'm not planning to. The only things that need updating are the games which can be easily updated/added to by the user. The flash memory size is a hardware thing (not an MMBasic option). So, no, individual images are required to suit the hardware. Sorry. I don't understand this at all. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5058 |
@turbo, The picogamer firmware is a uf2 file that contains MMBasic and games and a menu system. This set of programs will still work on the designed hardware. No need to update. The mmbasic in this uf2 will be 5.08.00 or maybe 5.09.00-ish, and the games work fine on that version of mmbasic. The only reason for Geoff change the uf2 image would be if many games would be written for 6.00.01 that would not run on 5.08.00 anymore. Alternatively a backport of the new games to 5.08.00 would be needed for these games. It would be essential though, that the 5.08.00 user manual is available, so games writers can backport the 6.00.01 games. Maybe have the 5.08.00 user manual added to the picogamer web page. Volhout Edited 2025-01-04 02:04 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3285 |
I try to keep old versions of the firmware (with manuals) available. They are under the archive link.  Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1639 |
I realize that the different flash sizes mean different hardware but I thought, apparently wrongly, that an OPTION command could be used to allow the firmware to know what size flash was available and operate accordingly. I expect that it would require a change to the firmware by Peter to accommodate it but I also though it would avoid the need for multiple versions of MMBasic just for the Pico Gamer. I was trying to suggest that, if more flash was available, that a computer could be built without the need for an SD card. Something like (say) the Design #1 that you presented in Silicon Chip magazine but without the need for an SD card. That was the point of my questions. How could you write and test games or other programs for the Pico Gamer that required new features provided in new versions of MMBasic? I was hoping to avoid any on-going work for Geoff to support any future changes to MMBasic. A uf2 image of the complete package is a nice thing to have but is it really necessary? Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3285 |
I agree and is something that I will fix. Not soon, because I am going away for a few months, but I will do that. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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