Volhout said  

Dear Peter,

I would like to issue 2 more items for the 5.09.00 release

1/ When writing to PIO FIFO you have to supply a 32 bit integer value.
  Avoiding to do so (i.e. a 64 bit negative integer value) MMBasic shows following
  error.
 

  [270] PIO write 1,0,1,value%
  Error : xxx is invalid (valid is 0 to -1)

  Maybe this can be fixed, by masking the 32 lsb ?

May I add; shouldn't this have also been successful?

  Quote  

[270] PIO write 1,0,1,Str2bin(int32,tststr,BIG)
Error : -550 is invalid (valid is 0 to -1)

The PIO fifo is a 32-bit unsigned register. You cannot write a negative number to it. Your PIO code could treat it as a negative number but that is up to you. The error message needs fixing. Should say 0-4294967295

Finally got a chance to play with the boards that arrived from JLC.

I REALLY love the OPTION RESET thing, that puts all the options in for the new board.
Turns entering in all the options manually from about five minutes, to about ten seconds with just the one command.    








I see jobs for this board in the future, where you need basic VGA and KB/mouse support, but don't need the advanced special features of the CMM2.

Just have to program the other four boards I got, but if it was as easy as this one.....bliss.

One thing about MMBASIC that was STARTING to niggle at me, was having to enter in all the options one by one.  Not that that was any real pain, but to have a quicker method is brilliant.

I also note we have a lovely big QSPI EEPROM chip on this unit, allowing for a large A: drive.  Very nice indeed.  

I have also got the new CMM2 layout(all-in-one assembled from JLC), and I will play with them next.

Grogster,

It is designed to go in a box, so this may be a product for you to sell also. Like the CMM2's.
I noticed you have the RTC on this board, which is not on your CMM2 builds.

Volhout

Grogster

Have you tried connecting (dumb) speakers yet? I'm really pleased with the sound quality on this layout. I separated the digital and analogue grounds and put in lots of filtering and this has reduced the noise floor dramatically.

No, but NOW your comment has made me HAVE to have a listen!  
I'll post back later.

EDIT: Superb....  

On the 1.5 PCB, the volume control is reversed.
IE: Once you switch on, the amps are at 100% volume.
Fully anti-clockwise is maximum volume, in other words, and fully-clockwise is minimum.  Still a pop at the end of playback, but playback is sensational audio quality wise.

I'm going back to the music now!!!!
Edited 2024-05-17 18:59 by Grogster

So far I have not been able to read anywhere why I2C 2004 LCD and 1602 LCD displays are not supported by default in PicoMite basic? The LCD displays are very cheap together with an I2C module. Disconnect the pullup resistors to the 5V I2C bus.
Many people will still have such an LCD display somewhere on their shelf and for small projects it is an ideal screen and, together with a DS3231 module, an excellent combination for small controls.
Various DS3231 modules have a 32K I2C EEPROM which I have not used before because the subroutine for this is very long. Why not include these two in the standard PicoMite firmware?
I still use them regularly because I still own many of them, but with the LCDI2C Sub which also works. One would think Flash is much faster than EEPROM and Flash has taken the place of EEPROM. That is correct, but reading is fast enough and can be used to store user names and passwords or settings and adjustment values ​​of small controls so that the control can restart with the correct values.
Also keep in mind that Flash and EEPROM can become outdated when repeatedly written, so their use is limited.

Jan

Is there a big enough demand?

For LCD displays 4-bit parallel is easy and supported, even if it does need some IO pins. It covers a big range of displays.

Similarly for the RTC EEPROM. It's of limited use and far less easy to use than VAR SAVE. You also aren't tied to having a RTC module that makes it available (not all of them do).

You can read and write to the flash thousands of times without degradation. When it finally fails in 20 years time it'll cost you a fiver for a new Pico. :)

Because of the low demand these sorts of things are better handled by code libraries, saving precious resources for stuff that will be used more regularly.

Jan,

When you are happy using the LCD2I2C sub you can store it in the library.
Then is is as if it is an added command to the picomite.
Invisible, and always there.

Simply load the sub without anything other (everything in program memory will be transferred)
Then type LIBRARY SAVE

Your sub is nowpart of mmbasic

Volhout

  Volhout said  

Grogster,

It is designed to go in a box, so this may be a product for you to sell also. Like the CMM2's.
I noticed you have the RTC on this board, which is not on your CMM2 builds.

Volhout

Sorry - I missed your post, but see it now.
Can you link me to the cases?

I think I remember seeing one that Peter 3D printed?

https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?FID=16&TID=16837

Ta very muchly.  

Grogster

please could you check the gerbers you used are the same as the ones in the link. I thought I had fixed the potentiometer turning the wrong way. Should be clockwise for full volume when viewed with the pot at the front

Currently full-volume is anti-clockwise, minimum is fully clockwise, viewed with the pot in front.  It does not bother me, I was just curious about it.

If you have an updated gerber set, please can you upload it here, as you can now download zips from all over the forum and also Geoff's site, so I want to be sure I have the ones you are happy are the final(in terms of PCB layout), and it saves me having to hunt through threads and compare multiple downloads etc.

I can then save that in my "FINALS" folder for all these various ports of MMBASIC!  

I am full of admiration. We are not worthy. You have a "FINALS" folder where everything works and is up to date?
Crikey...


:)

Yes, but just like any other folder, it is still tricky to keep it up to date as I have to remember to do it!

Basically, just a folder to keep all the latest FW files and gerbers mainly for the CMM2_G2 and now the new all-in-one CMM2, along with this CMM1.5 board, and the PMVGA board.

As those are the ones I use the most at the moment(and sell on my website), it's useful to have a folder just for keeping the latest versions of those, so I can grab them or the FW file in seconds rather then having to hunt for the latest ones.

I still have all the beta's and others in other folders under the same point in the tree though.  C:/DOCUMENTS/PROJECTS/MMBASIC/ then /CMM2, /CMM2_G2, /CMM1.5, and then /FINALS - where all the latest RC's are stored.

I guess TECHNICALLY, these are not finals - they are RC's, but close enough for my purposes right now!  

@Peter, @Tom,

VGA picomite

MMCC is using the FILES command to show the files in a folder.
When in mode 2 the FILES command wraps output to the next line.

The filemanager in in MMCC has problems handling the files, because it does not know the unit is in MODE 1 or MODE 2.

(Tassy)Jim can try to force the unit to MODE 1 when starting the file browser, but if I look at the screen of a VGA mite in mode 2 and type FILES, the result is not really usefull to the eye.

Could it be an idea to force the video mode to MODE 1 when you type the FILES command ? Similar to EDIT...

I include Tom, since he may be using the FILES command also in his Game*Mite menu.

Volhout
Edited 2024-05-23 17:47 by Volhout

@Volhout
I have implemented a check in MMCC
If you have picoVGA selected as the device and are in MODE 2 (determined by MM.HRES)
It gets switched to MODE 1 when entering the file manager and switched back to MODE 2 when exiting the file manager.

I should solve the problem as far as MMCC is concerned and shouldn't do any mischief.

I will compile a Linux version for you to test tomorrow.

Jim

There seems to be a mechanism by which a program started with:



Can return:



From MM.INFO(PATH) ???

But whilst it is consistent for that file it isn't consistent for all files on B:

Best wishes,

Tom

Path length?
Does it strip B, and defaults to active drive?

Volhout