ECS V4 Questions CIA Jumper, Magic Key Combo, RTG

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    Hello All,


    Asking few questions to help finalise how Im going to use my ECS V4 in my setup. I have installed the Indivision V4 software and updated my ECS V4 firmware to the current version.


    1. What is the jumper on the CIA adapter for please? I couldn't find info in the online or short manual?

    2. The magic key combo does not work for me, should it? I do not get any OSD coming up, nothing happens?

    3. My GBAPII++ allows an internal connection with a 10-way ribbon cable, however the ECS V4 is a 12-way cable. Is it possible to connect these somehow?


    My motivation with using the internal connection rather than VGA was to see if perhaps this would get around the EDID issue which would blow my hardware.


    Failing that...What would other here do if faced with the choice of RTG + 1081 or ECSv4/purist Workbench. It was aiming to use 1 screen for RTG and native modes. and not have to switch inputs on the screen. If I use RTG and a 1081 for native, then my ECS V4 is not doing a lot, which is a shame.


    Thank you for your thoughts and any advice!

    The 1081 will likely fail on you one day or another and you may not have someone able to fix a CRT.

    Better use the Indi on a modern screen of your taste, that is the purpose of this device.

    Thanks Xanxi. Anyone know anything about the first 2 questions?


    1. What is the jumper on the CIA adapter for please? I couldn't find info in the online or short manual?

    2. The magic key combo does not work for me, should it? I do not get any OSD coming up, nothing happens? Can I try swapping the CIA chips without blowing up another CIA?

    Quote from dwight01

    1. What is the jumper on the CIA adapter for please? I couldn't find info in the online or short manual?

    This is reserved for future use: With the jumper closed (either position), the Power LED signal is sent to the main unit. With the jumper open, that same line can be used in the future to have another piece of hardware use the OSD of Indivision to display data. This is meant for a floppy emulator.


    Quote from dwight01

    2. The magic key combo does not work for me, should it? I do not get any OSD coming up, nothing happens?

    Yes, of course the magic key combo should work. However, it will only work with a real Amiga keyboard or an adapter that actually supports pressing more than one key at a time (like Lyra). Also, the OSD will only come up on VGA display, not on the 23-pin monitor output of the Amiga.


    Quote from dwight01

    3. My GBAPII++ allows an internal connection with a 10-way ribbon cable, however the ECS V4 is a 12-way cable. Is it possible to connect these somehow?

    If that 10-pin connector is meant for older versions of Indivision, then yes, this can be done. Pins 1-9 have the identical signal order, so all you need to do is crimp a cable with a 12-pin connector on one side and a 10-pin connector on the other side, only using 9 signal wires. Pins 10,11 and 12 carry the 5V signal and EDID signals, which are not critical for normal operation of the flicker fixer.


    The original 10-pin signal layout of earlier Indivision models has pin#10 unused.


    Quote from dwight01

    My motivation with using the internal connection rather than VGA was to see if perhaps this would get around the EDID issue which would blow my hardware.

    This will only be successful if you leave signal wires 10-12 unused.


    Quote from dwight01

    What would other here do if faced with the choice of RTG + 1081 or ECSv4/purist Workbench. It was aiming to use 1 screen for RTG and native modes. and not have to switch inputs on the screen. If I use RTG and a 1081 for native, then my ECS V4 is not doing a lot, which is a shame.

    How about using Indivision ECS V4 for both, native and RTG? Our goal is to improve the framebuffer mode with a blitter, ultimately at least coming close to, or even exceeding performance of the Picasso II cards. You could remove the Picasso card and use it in a different computer, or even sell it.


    Jens

    Thanks for the great reply! Now that last option is VERY exciting! The opportunity to do away with my PIcasso/GBAPII++ RTG and just use the ECS V4 is a dream come true! On this news I have re-arranged by cards and put my GBAPII++ on my side expansion ready for easy removal when the ECS V4 RTG is ready,


    On the Magic-Key Combo, I have a Phoenix A1000 and an original A1000 keyboard. I replaced U63 which is my ODD CIA, but the magic-key combo does not show any signs of life for me. I will try the other CIA later today - maybe it's the EVEN CIA on a Phoenix board?

    Noting I have a Phoenix Rev K Amiga 1000, I had to put the adapter on the EVEN CIA, not the ODD per the instructions.


    U63 is my ODD CIA, however I had to install the ECS V4 Adapter on U62, my EVEN CIA for it to work. Now I can use 'Left-SHIFT+CTRL+~' to bring up the live options, and the single '~' to exit yay!


    ~ = tilde


    See attachment - I'v dropped in a pic of which CIA chip I put the adapter on and also a good spot to connect the GND wire - assuming Jens is happy with this?


    Sorry for the messy wires, this is a still a work in progress.

    Quote from dwight01

    when the ECS V4 RTG is ready,

    You can actually use it right now - just without a blitter, so it's a bit slow.

    Quote from dwight01

    , I had to put the adapter on the EVEN CIA, not the ODD per the instructions.

    ...which can only mean that the designation on the Phoenix board is wrong. After all, it's an Amiga-compatible board, so the CIA for keyboard/Power-LED/Mouse buttons MUST be the ODD one.


    I have a Phoenix board somewhere - will check at some point. Picture is of course fine, but again, if it's the keyboard CIA, it's the ODD one.


    Jens

    OK I have an Indivision ECS V4 installed in a 3000 25 mhz, Big Ram 256, physical 3.1 kickstart. I installed 3.22 to the system partition clean, 3.2.3 update, MMU from Amibay (newest) Indivision files from the site, 11 22 firmware, newest 3.5 P96 from Jens. As soon as I install P96 it boots to a black screen. Indivision ECS was set to stock. If I hold right shift on boot I can get to the desktop. Any thoughts? It would be awesome to get this RTG working.


    Michael

    Jens I am searching the english wiki for the core instructions and it does not show anything for the Indivision V4 there. I was able to use the recent firmware though. Thank you for your help as I understand RTG new feature and version still being developed.

    OK I did some tinkering and if I booted with a trace boot option I would get to the desktop and under P96 prefs I can add the indie ECS modes. If I tried booting normal I was getting a black screen. If held the right mouse button down I only would get a safe mode with P96 not seeing the card as active. There are enough screen modes working that I am happy. The Picasso drivers may need a little more work to get working with a default setup of the ECS V4.

    Its working in a stock 3000 with the Bigram 256. It is too slow for anything other than a pretty desktop in this setup but impressive with potential.