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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Introducing the Colour Maximite 2
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| flasherror Senior Member  Joined: 07/01/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 159 |
OK I missed it in the excitement. Might I suggest improvements to the schematic: 1. Adding signal names/desc (with MMBasic Pin #s) to CON4 I/O connector (the 40-pin) as well as indicating 5V tolerant pins (maybe with a *) 2. Schematic should have max recommended current draw for 3.3v (somewhere near CON4) 3. 5V warning about no fuse on the 5V supply with a note to be careful about short circuits/overcurrent. (I know some of these are described in the manual but very useful to include on schematic as well, would reduce switching from schematic to manual, reducing the chance of getting pins mixed up etc). By the way Geoff writes excellent documentation, compliments to him. Edited 2020-05-06 01:39 by flasherror |
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| Volhout Guru  Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 3558 |
Hi Geoff, First of all, congratulations with the new design. All of the team!! A masterpiece! Very impressive featureset. I do have a question about the software however... One of the nice things from the 80's was that you could put your program on cassette tape and share it with friends. If cmm2 edits a program on sd card, is there a way to have the cmm2 put a copy on another card? In memory you have only a stripped version, so removing the card, putting a blank one in, and typing save will only save the stripped version? Or should we copy using a separare pc? Is this cmm2 also programmable through MMedit? Volhout Edited 2020-05-06 04:10 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8592 |
I think I see a way round this by using the Ctrl-W command in the editor. Will need a change but hopefully not too hard |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 3558 |
@Geoff, Did a quick read through the manuals. All looks well documented, and in line with documents on micromites and the original maximites. Small editorial remarks: 1/ 3 volt peak peak equals 0.95Vrms, not 1.9Vrms. 2/ the picture explaining cheap RS232 interface shows an empty block. Assume that is the cmm2 40pin connector. I sense this will be another succesfull project, especially after the introduction in SC magazine. Volhout. PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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CircuitGizmos Guru Joined: 08/09/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 1421 |
CMM2 pinout:  Micromites and Maximites! - Beginning Maximite |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2290 |
how about taking a leaf from how things were done in the 80's: have a "copy2another" command that reads the file, prompts you to swap SD cards, writes a copy to the new card, then prompts you to swap back to the original card? i notice there is a 8-pin footprint on the PCB - was this for a flash chip? in which case a fixed internal "C: drive" is another option down the track perhaps? cheers, rob :-) Edited 2020-05-06 06:07 by robert.rozee |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3165 |
That 8-pin footprint was for a flash chip as you guessed but it was removed in later versions of the PCB. I had to use an earlier PCB for the photos because my last order for PCBs was lost somewhere between China and here. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5914 |
Yes. You need V4 of MMEdit and I will shortly update my website with the CMM2 syntax file included. As usual, you need to have the correct syntax file selected so MMEdit can handle the differences between devices. I have also checked and updated my other utilities to run on the CMM2. The default console speed of 115200 makes it faster than the micromites but any program that includes images etc such as Mauro's games would take too long to transfer by serial. Swapping the SDcard remains the best alternative and having a backup on a PC is wise. Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5914 |
There is plenty of ram available so that could be easilly achieved in Basic. As long as the program is no more than 25,000 lines... Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2290 |
presumably dropped because the capacity would be far less than any SD card? could the firmware later on support a second SD card being added, sharing the same bus as the original but with separate pins for EN, CD, and WP? or it could be entirely via the expansion port pins at the back. cheers, rob :-) |
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| zeitfest Guru Joined: 31/07/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 388 |
Will it run just on the waveshare module, if power/io (and sd card I guess) are connected? |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3165 |
Probably yes to both but that has not been tested or even attempted. The firmware runs on the STM32 and the STM32 does all the work. The motherboard just provides the connectors, R-2R DAC resistors for the analog video and a socket for a USB to serial converter. So yes, the firmware will run on a bare Waveshare module but you would still need to provide some way of connecting to the external world. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9066 |
@ flasherror: As a member of the group who helped to develop the CMM2, let me just say that none of what you suggest at a hardware level in your posts for changes will EVER be implemented in this release. This is what the CMM2 is - take it or leave it.  While I can certainly appreciate your suggestions are in good faith, we are not going to change the design now - that simply won't happen, so any suggestions along those lines will not be entertained, sorry.  No offence.  As you yourself elude to, perhaps in a future CMM2+ release, some of what you suggest could be taken under advisement, but NOT for this release.  Just for your and the rest of the member's information, most of what you have already suggested(extra I/O, CLICK module sockets etc, etc), was discussed in detail internally within the group when the CMM2 was being developed, and for various reasons, those ideas were simply not going to be possible. Mainly cos of lack of real-estate on the 2-layer PCB. You COULD go to four-layer, but that was something we were never prepared to do, cos 4-layer PCB's of that size are considerably more expensive to have made then 2-layer ones are, and that would have simply made the project unattractive economically to users or potential buyers. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1593 |
A little typo on page 46 of the Colour Maximite 2 User Manual Should be NOT. The same manual on page 9 says: I hope that means that MMBasic will not be erased also? And even so, is it an accident waiting to happen? Please forgive me, I know this is not the time nor place, but I really do want to know. Is MMBasic 5 still on the agenda for the original CMM? Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5914 |
Don't worry, be happy. The MMBasic firmware is safe. Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3165 |
Yes but I'm afraid that I got badly sidetracked by the CMM2. No ETA at this time. The main issue is getting the new firmware to work with the bootloader and I might have to just skip that and require that the firmware be loaded via a PIC32 programmer. Bummer! Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| Turbo46 Guru Joined: 24/12/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1593 |
TassyJim, Thanks and now that song will be in my head all day. Geoffg, Thank you too. That's not so bad if it could be done with Microbridge. It wouldn't suit everybody though. Bill Keep safe. Live long and prosper. |
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| flasherror Senior Member Joined: 07/01/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 159 |
Understood and no offense taken The suggestions are intended to be considered for whatever successor lies down the road. Just putting in my input early! Is there a possible cheaper STM32 module with similar VGA capabilities? (maybe less memory etc). |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5914 |
I am not even going to attempt to create a game but I have a few offerings. As a means of testing as much of the CMM2 as possible, I created a file manager. This short video demonstrates it in action. The main point I am trying to show is the speed of response. File access is fast and a joy to see. Sound can be left playing in the background. "Life" would be faster if I used sprites instead of drawing the circles. The final tree program is using the TONE command to play the tunes. I found chasing down old ring-tones a challenge but worth it to get the retro effects. Sorry about the glare and auto-focus which continually got lost. The colour changes are also due to the camera, not MMBasic https://www.c-com.com.au/stuff/cmm2_1.MP4 (68Mb) Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| MauroXavier Guru Joined: 06/03/2016 Location: BrazilPosts: 303 |
New Video! The Gauntlet from original Colour Maximite ported to the CMM2: Gauntlet Demo for CMM2 It's a very preliminary port and doesn't use the optimizations that the MMBasic of CMM2 has. The core is too much oriented to the original CMM and your limitations, what I will change someday. My current objective is to publish more demos and focus only on one exclusive game for CMM2, then after that, I will return to these other games to finish them (Gauntlet and Final Fight, for example). |
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