That's great news, thanks. My Sunrise CF adapter finally arrived and doesn't fit the slot in my old MSX2, so I'm kind of at a loss on how to move forward. I'll hopefully finish the Omega by the end of this month and can experiment with that. Either that, or remove the front of my old MSX2. The slot would fit the cartridge fine, but the design of the Sunrise is frustratingly off-center.

bifo wrote on Thu, 16 April 2020 05:36

That's great news, thanks. My Sunrise CF adapter finally arrived and doesn't fit the slot in my old MSX2, so I'm kind of at a loss on how to move forward. I'll hopefully finish the Omega by the end of this month and can experiment with that. Either that, or remove the front of my old MSX2. The slot would fit the cartridge fine, but the design of the Sunrise is frustratingly off-center.

Hello,
I guess you know, but be careful not to insert the cartridge on the opposite (reverse) side. It is strange that it does not enter your MSX slot as you say.
On this page it says how to format the compact flash drive considering that you have a floppy drive.
https://www.msx.org/wiki/Sunrise_Compact_Flash_Card_Interfac e
If not, below, describe how this can also be done by formatting in FAT16 <32M. I think Windows 7 would do well by formatting a 30Mb partition on FAT16 (for example), but you can also change the partition type using a GNU-Linux computer.
I'm not sure but maybe the CALL FORMAT command is integrated in the NEXTOR BIOS and in that case you could run it from BASIC.
More information in:
https:// www.konamiman.com/msx/nextor/docs/Nextor%202.0%20Getting%20S tarted%20Guide.pdf
Here it mentions to use a Nextor kernel with Sunrise IDE driver.
It also describes how to install it with an emulator, I think you can also install Nextor in the emulator and then simply dump the disk image onto the compact flash card (with some specific software for it).

I hope this helps

MSXmakers

... the secondary interface was used for a proprietary expansion port on the back.

bifo wrote on Thu, 16 April 2020 12:26

... the secondary interface was used for a proprietary expansion port on the back.

Ok, is not propietary but some manufacturers did it (like my SVI 728). you just need a cable built with...
1 CCE50S-ND slot to ribbon connector
1 50 wires ribbon cable
1 1-1658527-5 standard ribbon header (female).

And so you will have a secondary slot.

MSXmakers ;-)

Thanks very much, but according to this page the even <-> odd pins are swapped around. I'm not sure what effect that would have on the slot pinout, if it would just flip it? I was searching for plans on slot expansions a while back and virtually all of them warned strongly that if you got a slot pinout wrong it was very possible to zap your MSX.

EDIT it would appear that the digikey parts 89150-0001 and C1EXS-5036G would be the best combination for mine, since the expansion port guides aren't in the center, in case anyone finds this. The CPC-400 has two guides.

I I've updated the make_roms.sh in the GitHub repository. Now it includes the patch to replace the yen sign with the backslash. It also includes the patch for the ROM flags (locations 0x2B and 0x2C) to indicate International rather than Japanese ROM. This can be useful in some cases, but harmful in others. For example some Konami games use these flags to switch between Japanese and English (Vampire Killer, The Treasure Of Usas), while others will not work on non Japanese-machine (Metal Gear).

I used these and they work great:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-2x-1-6-25x-Plate-PCB-Mechanical-K eyboard-Cap-Stabilizer-For-Cherry-MX-Switch/173770800977?ssP ageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
It just took a while for the packet to get here from China.

jordi.solis wrote on Mon, 13 April 2020 08:51

I ordered few F4-FMPAC boards to be built, so I will be able to test at all if it's working or not.

Keep us posted!

Again with the FMPAC board, it requires me to take several signals from an empty cartridge. Is that so? This it the only way to use this board?
The signals it requires are SLTSEL and CS1 from an unused slot (connected to CE and OE pins), and also some other signals such as SNDIN, +12, -12, GND that, although they are not required from a slot, are also available there.
Why do I have to lose a slot to have FMPAC? What is the difference using this board with the computers motherboards that already have included it?

I may have missed the info: what are you using to design the case with? The results look very professional as if you've done this once or twice before.

mikemac wrote on Wed, 13 May 2020 18:09

I may have missed the info: what are you using to design the case with? The results look very professional as if you've done this once or twice before.

Mike, I'm using 123D.

jdgabbard wrote on Wed, 13 May 2020 21:22

mikemac wrote on Wed, 13 May 2020 18:09

I may have missed the info: what are you using to design the case with? The results look very professional as if you've done this once or twice before.

Mike, I'm using 123D.

I wasn't clear but I was asking about the modeling/3D design SW. But I see 123D has been discontinued by Autodesk. So my search for a 3D design package continues.

Thanks for the info.

That case looks fantastic, I especially like the door for the cartridge slots.

As far as I know the only LS chips that are used in the Omega are the 2 for the 74LS07 which are behind HCT chips? I don't think mixing HC and LS will work? The CMOS vs TTL power requirements.

Hi Guys,
Look at what I fount on ebay:
https:// www.ebay.es/itm/Omega-MSX2-Homebrew-Computer-IC-Kit/11410590 0693?hash=item1a913dde95:g:8O0AAOSw2bReP8n0
In theory is a kit with all chips for the omega at a good price, however, I'm not sure about them.
some of the chips are replaced and, as I far as I know that 74LS can not be mixed with 74HC, I'm not sure about the rest:
Is a AM29F040B a good substitute for the SST39SF040?
what about the rest?
Even if this is not a perfect solution can be a way to get it quite cheap.
Do you agree?
Let me know your comments.


Jordi from MsxMakers

Looks good.
Is it more than 20 cm in depth?
Also, I am wondering if it is possible to make some kind of joint between the plates (something like puzzle joints) so that they would fit better together, and it will be possible to glue them with a regular glue as opposed to the 3D printing pen?

oard down to all of the pieces (to align it), then making small tacks with some spare filament and a dedicated soldering iron tip. Once these tacks are in place you can either weld it with a 3d pen, or use epoxy. Then sand smooth, primer, and paint.

Creator of the G80-S Micro Computer and 'Porter' of TinyBASIC 2.5g

Is there possible to compile the tinyBASIC for MSX and load it once C-BIOS started?
I know that N8 Home computer is not an MSX standard computer but he has C-BIOS and BASIC, It could be possible to do anything similar with the OMEGA HOME COMPUTER, when using a c-bios firmware?