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andrewq
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Joined: 18/10/2022
Location: Australia
Posts: 7

Posted: 01:34pm 22 Oct 2022

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Hello

I came across the following Pimoroni Pico VGA Demo Base from Core Electronics. Product Link

The product description has the following caveat:
"Please note that VGA Demo Base only currently works with the C/C++ Pico SDK!"

I haven't look too deeply into the tech specs of this board yet. And a Google search didn't turn up any details of it running PicoMite VGA firmware. Have anyone tried flashing the Pimoroni with the PMiteVGA firmware? What OPTION setting did you use?

Cheers

Mixtel90

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Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7937

Posted: 02:41pm 22 Oct 2022

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Nope, won't work. The PicoMite VGA uses specific pins for its VGA output and these can't be changed. The Demo Base uses more, and different, pins to get more colours than are supported on the PicoMite VGA.

Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs

andrewq
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Joined: 18/10/2022
Location: Australia
Posts: 7

Posted: 03:20pm 22 Oct 2022

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Hi Mick, many thanks for the update.

I guess that settles it then. I suspected that it is as you have indicated, otherwise I am sure someone else would have already tested it out.

Cheers.

thwill

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Joined: 16/09/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 4311

Posted: 05:11pm 22 Oct 2022

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I believe @JohnS hacked that board to work: https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=14664&PID=184081

But you are probably better off starting from scratch with a piece of stripboard.

Best wishes,

Tom

MMBasic for Linux, Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures

Mixtel90

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Joined: 05/10/2019
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7937

Posted: 05:29pm 22 Oct 2022

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You can get a VGA display out of it, but some of the pins are also connected to the SD card socket so that can't be used. You also lose all the low-numbered GP pins because they have the DAC resistors on them. Whether you can get the pins for the PicoMite PS/2 keyboard to work without modification I'm not sure. The I2S audio has no support in MMBasic. It doesn't look like it's a good choice.

Mick

Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini
Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs

JohnS
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Joined: 18/11/2011
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 4044

Posted: 01:31pm 23 Oct 2022

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It worked but was a bit of a pain & quite a mess.

I don't appear to have used any specific OPTIONs (or I didn't note them but I suspect it just worked).

I'm puzzled by the price as I paid about half that (�21 incl P&P & VAT) so wonder what's changed?

edit: sorry, just noticed AUD, could be similar then

John
Edited 2022-10-23 23:32 by JohnS

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