A 3.5" front panel could possibly be more convenient than on board OLED and switches

@dreamblaster

I look and regard the photos, I read and reread the comments and ... and I get an idea that I would like to export: why not use a long cable to connect the Waveblaster header to WP32 which could find a convenient place (solving the problems of space) in a 5.25 bay along with screen and keys? I seem to have seen 26pin flat cables for sale
Thank you for your time 😁

well, let's keep it compatible with all current McCakes, i will have 60cm custom cables made that have 9x1 female header at both sides
this will keep all compatible.

dreamblaster wrote on 2021-08-11, 17:44:

well, let's keep it compatible with all current McCakes, i will have 60cm custom cables made that have 9x1 female header at both sides
this will keep all compatible.

Honestly, you do an extraordinary job, your products give hours of fun and new life to old systems and you compare yourself in the realization of your projects, listening to the ideas of us "old kids who love PC games". Thanks for everything 😉

OK, 9 pin custom cables ordered, and now preparing some more mccake bay panels.
so far i print them in black.

i have been looking for 'old pc case beige' color PLA, but not sure what to take.
would PLA natural come close ?
Did someone here already print stuff that color matches with old pc's / cdrom drives/floppy drives /.... (which on their own of course vary a bit in color)

dreamblaster wrote on 2021-08-14, 08:37:

i have been looking for 'old pc case beige' color PLA, but not sure what to take.
would PLA natural come close ?
Did someone here already print stuff that color matches with old pc's / cdrom drives/floppy drives /.... (which on their own of course vary a bit in color)

I'd be interested in experiences in that also. Depending on the original material and its aging, nothing seems to fit perfectly - I've tried clear ivory (RAL 1015) which came quite close, but was only available as PLA (no PETG) at the time I was looking for it. When I get back home, I could maybe take a picture of an insert print I did with that color (which in the end didn't perfectly match the slight yellow-greenish aging of the original box).
I've also been eying the RALs 9001 / 9003 and 9010 / 9016 for a more new-ish looking color.

I havent found any that works I usually go for any light gray I find..

Ok i ordered PLA in light grey, neutral, and cream white colours
lets see what works out best

I'm defining the last details of my next build: I was thinking of a k6 2+ or 3+ or a 1,4GHz C3 all-around (games up to the end of the 90s); the icing on the cake would be WP32-McCake so you have everything in one device 😁

Some advice?

igna78 wrote on 2021-08-16, 12:56:

I'm defining the last details of my next build: I was thinking of a k6 2+ or 3+ or a 1,4GHz C3 all-around (games up to the end of the 90s); the icing on the cake would be WP32-McCake so you have everything in one device 😁

Some advice?

Use sound card with good waveblaster implementation (no hanging notes), or better even - an intelligent MPU card like keropi's .
Keep a 3.5" slot free for the display panel 😀

I plan to use McCake on the Orpheus. Wait time for Orpheus is about 45 days. Would McCake be ready to ship around the same date?

If we could get this in a PCI card, that would be great.....

https://www.serdashop.com/ISA-MPU-Card

It's easy to find vintage hardware with one or more PCI slots, especially from the end of XP's time in the market, and those make wonderful retro gaming rigs, not to mention that you can still get new boards with multiple PCI slots, letting you use multiple Waveblaster boards. Even on newer hardware, you can get a PCI-PCIe adapter for $40 and use such a card.

dreamblaster wrote on 2021-08-16, 13:16:

igna78 wrote on 2021-08-16, 12:56:

I'm defining the last details of my next build: I was thinking of a k6 2+ or 3+ or a 1,4GHz C3 all-around (games up to the end of the 90s); the icing on the cake would be WP32-McCake so you have everything in one device 😁

Some advice?

Use sound card with good waveblaster implementation (no hanging notes), or better even - an intelligent MPU card like keropi's .
Keep a 3.5" slot free for the display panel 😀

Surely a PCMIDI card will find its place 😁 .. I will free up the space for the display .. by the way: but a larger display as an add-on, perhaps as a Christmas gift? 😜 ..I try to leave a 5.25 slot free 🤣
Thanks again for the wonderful work you do Dreamblaster 😉

igna78 wrote on 2021-08-16, 17:14:

Surely a PCMIDI card will find its place 😁 .. I will free up the space for the display .. by the way: but a larger display as an add-on, perhaps as a Christmas gift? 😜 ..I try to leave a 5.25 slot free 🤣
Thanks again for the wonderful work you do Dreamblaster 😉

Thanks for the appreciation and support.
As component situation is difficult, with prices rising and stock limited, I'm investing upfront in buying parts for a large batch, from good sources.
Some has longer lead times, but i think it will be worth it, to make the best cakes i can, and make sure i can supply everyone, for this year and next year 😉.
Maybe later, i will also think of 5.25 slot version panel with large display, i would need a clever idea to make it fit in my shipping boxes though...

Next up is trying out all PLA colors, for the best 'computer case' colored 3.5 inch panel..

dreamblaster wrote on 2021-08-16, 17:26:

Thanks for the appreciation and support. As component situation is difficult, with prices rising and stock limited, I'm investin […]
Show full quote

igna78 wrote on 2021-08-16, 17:14:

Surely a PCMIDI card will find its place 😁 .. I will free up the space for the display .. by the way: but a larger display as an add-on, perhaps as a Christmas gift? 😜 ..I try to leave a 5.25 slot free 🤣
Thanks again for the wonderful work you do Dreamblaster 😉

Thanks for the appreciation and support.
As component situation is difficult, with prices rising and stock limited, I'm investing upfront in buying parts for a large batch, from good sources.
Some has longer lead times, but i think it will be worth it, to make the best cakes i can, and make sure i can supply everyone, for this year and next year 😉.
Maybe later, i will also think of 5.25 slot version panel with large display, i would need a clever idea to make it fit in my shipping boxes though...

Next up is trying out all PLA colors, for the best 'computer case' colored 3.5 inch panel..

I can't wait for everything to be ready for shopping! 😁

Out of curiosity, how hard would it be to rotate the display if a case has vertical drive bays? From Landscape to portrait display of text.

Dog wrote on 2021-08-18, 10:31:

Out of curiosity, how hard would it be to rotate the display if a case has vertical drive bays? From Landscape to portrait display of text.

As the MT32 display is landscape this would look awkward I guess.

From the mt32-pi project documentation, it seemed like the oled screens may work rotated. I also noticed mention of a “rotation” configuration setting, but after looking a bit closer it appears the project only supports upside down (180 degree) rotation currently.

I also received a McCake recently from @dreamblaster and I am really happy about it. Can't wait for the 3.5 or 5.25" display-bay 😀 In the mean time switching soundfonts or mt32-model is very convenient with mt32-pi-control.

Great job!

I have couple of questions about settings in mt32-pi.cfg:

Do I need to adjust both gain and reverb_gain under [mt32emu] to change MT-32 volume? And for fluidsynth there is just gain under [fluidsynth]?

Then there is resampler_quality under [mt32emu]. It is set to good by default but there is also best. Is there a reason why the default is good or can I just set it to best without problems?