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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Colour Maximite 2 - Second Generation
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| lizby Guru  Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3309 |
And, since the issue is MMBasic software rather than Gen2 hardware, anyone who feels that the limits are too restricting can ask for a full refund of the price paid for MMBasic. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4251 |
I wouldn't worry about that, for every "Gramps" on this board it seems there is someone else old enough to be their father. Also it's obligatory to parody the Four Yorkshiremen Sketch at least monthly or the forum stops working  . Best wishes, Tom P.S. You might want to make sure you close your {/QUOTE} properly. Edited 2021-07-14 01:48 by thwill MMBasic for Linux, Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 7504 |
Aye. When I were a lad we lived down a hole in't road! There were no electric or gas so we 'ad to do our programming by't light of burning Fortran provisional manuals! The forum's ok for another month now. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| toml_12953 Guru Joined: 13/02/2015 Location: United StatesPosts: 390 |
 Don't interpret requests for enhancements as dissatisfaction. We really like MMBASIC. If we didn't care about it, we wouldn't even bother submitting the requests at all. MMBasic is worth every penny I paid for it.  That didn't come out right at all! I should've said it's worth much MORE than I paid for it!  |
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| thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4251 |
Nice one, I was worried for a moment.FORTRAN, you were lucky, all we had was Plankalkul, and when we complained about the lack of support for umlauts on our keyboard (or forum software) our mother whipped us with patch panel cables. Best wishes, Tom Edited 2021-07-14 06:58 by thwill MMBasic for Linux, Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2946 |
Patch Panel cables? LUXURY!, When I were a lad my mother used barbed wire. MG Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3309 |
You had a mudder? We lot were all orphans living in that hole in the road. Then they repaved. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| toml_12953 Guru Joined: 13/02/2015 Location: United StatesPosts: 390 |
Luxury! At least you had nice warm tarmac to lay down on after the pavers had gone by. We used to have to wait for a house fire in the neighborhood so we could stand close enough to it to warm ourselves up. It weren't easy waiting that long so sometimes we would shorten the interval between house fires ourselves! |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4854 |
Dear Geoff, Peter, Since I was a late adopter for the CMM2 (I own one since 1.5 month) I just recently read the documentation. In this documentation I read that the 40pin connector on the gen2 CMM2 is different from the one on the gen1 CMM2 (rotated 180 degrees, and the alignment notch is in different position referenced to pin1). 1/ Have I misunderstood, or can peripherals developed for gen1 not connect to gen2 unless a new cable is made and the peripheral is placed upside down. 2/ Since there where so many gen1's sold, why change the pinout ? Is this to improve compatibility with Raspberry Pi peripherals ? Reading though the documentation I had difficulty reading the gen2 schematics. I imagine these schematics where the ones used to create the layout, and as such not cleaned up and no comments where provided. 3/ Is there a better version planned (similar to the gen1 schematics and other mites). Thank you in advance for your response, Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6220 |
Peter/Geoff were vilified for having pin1 not compatible with the standard 40 way cables. Many users found it too much trouble to either cut out their own keyway to allow standard cable to be used (My preference) or assemble flipped cables. The decision was made to 'correct' this issue. It is called progress. I can happily swap my external peripherals between Gen 1 and Gen 2 by turning the cable. It is not that difficult. Jim VK7JH MMedit |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3269 |
If you are connecting a device designed for the Gen 1 CMM2 into a Gen 2 you will have to rotate the connector 180 degrees and possibly cut a new keyway. This is not a huge problem and you can still use the old device with this simple change. Very few external devices have been made for the Gen 1 design (compared to the number of Raspberry Pi devices available) so it was considered worth making the change to get proper Raspberry Pi compatibility. You are correct, the schematics on my website were the ones used to create the PCB. And I agree, they are not easy to read. I considered redrawing them in a more conventional style but that would have been a huge error prone job. Given that almost no one would build the Gen 2 CMM2 from scratch I took the easy route and left them as they were. As it turned out, Silicon Chip magazine decided to redraw the schematics for publication and they did a great job. But it took them many days, especially eliminating the errors that crept in during the process. I would love to post their diagram but I cannot as it is under copyright. So the only solution is to purchase an on line copy of the whole magazine from them (cost is about $10). Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1636 |
Could a small 40 way female to male cable be used to swap the connections from one type to the other if necessary? Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3269 |
That is not necessary, all you need do is rotate the connector 180 degrees and plug it in. The only complication is with the key on the ribbon connector and you can fix that by cutting the key off or cutting a new keyway in the CMM2 connector's shroud. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1636 |
Thanks Geoff, I don't have the new generation (two of the first) and rather than give myself the 50 percent chance of plugging it around the wrong way I re-terminated the cable for the Pi cobbler I bought. Murphy's law is not kind to me. Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4854 |
Hi Geoff, Seems all is well under control. I was afraid there would be gen2's with gen1 pinout. - RichTech doesn't offer the gen2 yet (maybe empty some old empty first), but will most likely offer your/Peters design Gen2. Since it is easier to manufacture. - Micromite Org offers your design Gen2. - CircuitGizmo's offers the Retromax Gen2 with non-keyed internal connector. - PS Labs offers your design Gen2, besides his family of Gen 1+'s. Actually I was most afraid for siwypiotr (PS labs) since he just released a family of expansion cards. But it seems he keeps his own line besides the Gen2. Regards, Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3269 |
During the development process we (actually Peter mostly) kept all four suppliers (+ Big Mick) in the loop so that they knew about the Gen 2 for a few months prior and were able to adjust accordingly. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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siwypiotr Senior Member  Joined: 18/08/2020 Location: PolandPosts: 127 |
I was informed in advance about planned changes, I had plenty of time to adapt my design to new spec, including the new pinout. My expansion system is also prepared to be compatible with both versions of pinout. Edited 2021-07-30 21:56 by siwypiotr |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 4854 |
Apparently the CMM2 GEN-1 is compatible with the Raspberry PI-400. Raspberry Pi Foundation made the same change. But they did not correct it in a new gen. CMM2 GEN-1 rear panel.  Raspberry Pi-400 breakout board   PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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