LABS wrote on 2020-09-01, 12:21:

DNSDies wrote on 2020-08-27, 14:12:

...it sometimes doesn't detect...

Is it some particular game or overall?

Sierra games, so I guess it might be a sierra game problem, since other games work fine.
That said, I ended up putting the Blasterboard into a Turbo XT for adlib support and put a CT2290 Sound blaster in the Alaris Cougar build, so it's no issue now anyway.

Hi!

I‘m interested in a green DIY Kit. Can you write me a PN please?

Hi.

I'd like to obtain one of these one way or t'other (fully assembled, kit of parts.... gerbers and a parts list if it comes to it 😉 ).

Could I get some further details?

-- Rebecca

Could this be converted to MCA?

Nitroraptor53 wrote on 2020-10-02, 04:35:

Could this be converted to MCA?

Everything can be converted to MCA, but same as with matze's ISA DAC: there are few people who know how to do that. One person that probably has that knowledge is currently in the process of creating a SoundBlaster MCA variant: https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1299181646755708928

Labs, I'm interested in a blasterboard. Can you email me the pricing? Can't send PMs yet

Hello everybody, here are some news:

A minor firmware update v2.1 has been released:

• Added SB16 commands for 8-bit signed samples playback (C0h and C6h). These are used by FreddyV's Mod Master.
• BlasterBoard became a bit more tolerant to some software running on faster computers like Pentium II and up.
• The firmware is now open-source. You can find it on https://github.com/labs-lv/blasterboard/tree/master/Firmware.

An updated to revision-E BlasterBoard is available again and now comes in 3 kit options - see the first post for details.
Now it is even more DIY-friendly. The assembly manual is here: https://github.com/labs-lv/blasterboard/blob/ … mbly-Manual.pdf

Thank you very much. I'm really glad you made the firmware open-source, it is a wonderful idea that can only lead to more community developments!

very nice news!
ordered some kits 😀

I think I want some kits now...

Thank you for open-sourcing the firmware! 🙂

Do you think it would be possible to improve it even further, so that it could eventually accomplish something that Creative themselves never managed to do: making a card that has compatibility with both SB Pro and SB 16?

LABS wrote on 2021-07-17, 16:42:

Added SB16 commands for 8-bit signed samples playback (C0h and C6h). These are used by FreddyV's Mod Master.

Yep, for next version.
It does improve the speed a little, thanks LABS for accepting to add this 😀

digger wrote on 2021-07-19, 19:44:

..making a card that has compatibility with both SB Pro and SB 16?..

I actually have a half-working prototype of a SB16+SBPro-compatible card with CD SPDIF in, OPL3, MPU-401/Waveblaster, analog mixer, SPDIF out etc based on a new ATmega4809 MCU . But it is moving very slowly. There is already an Orpheus available and AWE64 Legacy on its way (?), so I don't think there will be enough interest.

LABS wrote on 2021-07-21, 17:15:

There is already an Orpheus available and AWE64 Legacy on its way (?), so I don't think there will be enough interest.

There is no currently-available card that offers all of those features, though, and certainly not one built exclusively from new, readily-available parts. Orpheus offers better Sound Blaster Pro compatibility than the Sound Blaster 16 ASP (or later), but isn't Sound Blaster 16-compatible. Any descendant of the Sound Blaster 16 (including the AWE 64 Legacy) does not offer complete Sound Blaster Pro compatibility, and may have problems with certain other DSP commands.

If you can deliver on that feature set, while still having respectable MPU-401 compatibility, I suspect the interest will materialise. Of course, no one other than you can decide if that potential interest will sufficiently compensate for the effort, cost and development time that would be required to make sure that such a design is mature enough to ship to paying customers.

A card only using new parts and lacking the problems of existing ones will certainly be welcome ~

oh this will be interesting!

LABS wrote on 2021-07-21, 17:15:

digger wrote on 2021-07-19, 19:44:

..making a card that has compatibility with both SB Pro and SB 16?..

I actually have a half-working prototype of a SB16+SBPro-compatible card with CD SPDIF in, OPL3, MPU-401/Waveblaster, analog mixer, SPDIF out etc based on a new ATmega4809 MCU . But it is moving very slowly. There is already an Orpheus available and AWE64 Legacy on its way (?), so I don't think there will be enough interest.

Like the others who replied here, I think there would be. 🤤

No rush, though! Good things take time. And it needs to be a fun project for you to tinker with in your own time and at your own pace. It should certainly not become a stressful burden to you.

In the meantime, thanks for the great work you've done and shared with us so far!

digger wrote on 2021-07-22, 18:02:

..it needs to be a fun project for you to tinker with in your own time and at your own pace. It should certainly not become a stressful burden to you...

you got it right👍🏻

Glad to announce that thanks to your support today I shipped the 100th BlasterBoard! Was totally not expecting this when started the project back in summer of 2018. The community is growing and hope it will grow even more.
Kind regards and gratitude to everyone!

Hi Labs,

It has been a while, but I just finished up my Rev C kit. First power on and unfortunatley I saw some magic smoke. After quickly powering off, I checked for hot components, black spots etc and it all looked normal. I finally found what looks like a very small rupture in inductor L1, which seems to be the correct location based oh where I thought the smoke came from. I can see that one end connects to the ISA bus, and the other goes off towards C13, but it is hard to tell. I can't see any bridged solder pads or anything to indicate what might have caused the issue. Any ideas of where to check?

Thanks.