VOGONS


Reply 41 of 45, by Tevian

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Super preliminary, but I got the testing platform for the ES1869F chips working! Super exciting! I need to perform some testing for sound quality but the reference design was easy to follow and it sounds pretty good so far. I will do a full test of stuff like the joystick port when I get some time.

Of course, I also received the next prototype PCB. I can't wait to start building one. Will probably have time this weekend. 😁 Things are looking good!

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Reply 42 of 45, by myne

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Pretty cool!

Things I built:
Mechwarrior 2 installer for Windows 10/11 Re: A comprehensive guide to install and play MechWarrior 2 on new versions on Windows.
Dos+Windows 3.11 auto-install iso template (for vmware)
Script to backup Win9x\ME drivers from a working install

Reply 43 of 45, by Tevian

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Behold!! Backwards V0.4!

There are a few minor issues that will need a V0.5 revision, but it's 95% functioning.

The first issue was the use of the opamp as an output buffer. I should have tested that better in hindsight but the fix was possible with a bodge. Because I'm powering with +/-12V in unity gain non-inverting, I ended up with an unacceptable amount of DC offset. I'm sure this was a consequence of the layout and routing, but essentially there was no ground reference for the opamp in the signal path. This led to a rather large DC offset on the positive inputs even after the rather large decoupling caps inline from the ES1869F. The simple fix was a 10k from the positive input to analog ground after the decoupling caps.

The second issue is a mistake on the joystick layout! I didn't test this but found the miswiring of the X and Y components for both joystick ports. Basically, I have the inline resistor on the wrong side of the cap/resistor filter according to the reference design. I might be able to bodge this but a fix is needed in the layout since the traces are on the inner copper layers. D'oh!🤬

I also experienced some crackles on the auto. The fix was to reflow the ES1869F and everything is happy.

The clearance of things like the stereo jack and vertical wavetable header turned out as expected. The Wavetale PI thingy does look weird hanging off the back, but it performs as expected.

Along with the vintage 7-seg drivers, I sourced some vintage red 7-seg LEDs! The overall aesthetic is a bit strange, but I like how it turned out. What I really wanted was a full custom solder mask color for these. Think bright orange! That would be awesome. I think JLC or PCBWAY offers short-run custom solder mask colors with some kind of inkjet-type machines.

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Reply 44 of 45, by myne

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Getting there!
How much are the prototype boards to make btw?

I have some ideas I want to explore but it looks like I'll be failing a lot before I learn how to make it work.

Things I built:
Mechwarrior 2 installer for Windows 10/11 Re: A comprehensive guide to install and play MechWarrior 2 on new versions on Windows.
Dos+Windows 3.11 auto-install iso template (for vmware)
Script to backup Win9x\ME drivers from a working install

Reply 45 of 45, by Tevian

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I should be doing a better job keeping track of the cost but I'm guessing the total parts cost to make one prototype is $80-100. I'm not really designing for cost though. I'm only ordering 5 PCBs at a time and they cost about $15 each. I'm sure it could be much cheaper if I slimmed down the design and ordered in larger quantities but there's no real plan here. I'm mostly doing this for fun... 😁 Since I'm making these by hand it took about 6 hours to build!