Posts by pwsoft

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  • Indivision ECS v2 and Video Toaster

    I can think of two things the Indivision V2 does differently from a real Denise.

    The first one is easy to check. The Genlock Audio bit is used to enable Graffiti emulation, I guess that feature should be switched off (not sure what the default configuration is), when doing GenLock thingies.


    The other might be a missing feature for the ZD (background indicator) pin in the emulation. Not sure if (and if yes? how) the video toaster would use this pin. This is ZD pin of Denise is connected to pin 14 (called PIXLSW) on the RGB output. Especially for ECS version of the Denise this pin can have a thousand and one different functions, not all emulated. One function is to determine what is background and what is foreground in the Amiga picture.


    I admit I don't know how the video toaster works on hardware level, so hard for me to tell what it fails to find exactly at this moment.

  • MK2 boots okay but no cursor

    The only reason I can think of both CIAs are affected, but still have VIC-II is if U15 an 74hct139 selector is broken. That same chip also controls DExx and DFxx. So you could check with a freezer cartridge if it can "freeze" into its menu to verify that it still works.


    Just to exclude the obvious though. You did observe the correct orientation of the CIA chips.. right? Notch on the chip on the same side as the metal handle/lever on the ZIF-socket. I do say this, because the text on the CIAs will be upside down, which isn't the way you expect then to go in, maybe.

  • General question anout the Chameleon setup

    Recommending FPGA development boards falls a bit outside the scope of this icomp product support forum. Inside icomp we use Altera/Intel FPGAs (specifically the Cyclone series) exclusively, so I don't have any recent experience with the other vendors.


    If just starting out with HDL, I think selecting the C64 as direct end goal is a bit hmmm... optimistic? Because the machine uses custom chips for most of the tasks (memory mapping, video, audio) it is quite a few levels above logic gates and multiplexers. You need a large amount of logic infrastructure before you even get a READY prompt. And that is just the start, then you get into the debugging and getting the details right (for me a journey of about 14 years and counting)

  • General question anout the Chameleon setup

    As a side note. The FPGA on the Chameleon has about 6 times the logic capacity compared to the FPGA chips used on the original C-One board. So with only a very base system (just the CPU, VIC-II and RAM) the C-One was essentially already full. The extender that came out later resolved some of the constraints, but programming the C-One still was a bit of challenge, due to the need to create 2 or 3 different FPGAs images for each design. And some of the design choices made on the board were hmm, how should I describe them... unfortunate.


    Chameleon project started as just a video card for the C64 (originally called vga64) and then it met a thing called "feature creep" and now it is what it is ;-) A very versatile retro emulation platform in a C64 cartridge.

  • Solder-Jumper

    Please don't do that, we don't need the extra noise in the forum. Keep in mind icomp is in holiday mode (until 9th of august) as noted on the shop news page. So little patience please... not everybody is available at the moment to answer your questions. Thanx

  • Chameleon and SIDFX

    According to https://www.sidfx.dk/details

    SIDFX can be configured to map SID 2 at either $D420, $D500 or $DE00. These are the typical address spaces used for stereo SID tunes. While in mono mode SID 2 resides at $D400.


    Website doesn't specify how that selection is made, but any of the addresses should work with Chameleon without any problems if matched in "Real Stereo SID" setting of Chameleon.

  • RamLink

    I'm pretty sure with IC6 they are referring to the CPU. Pin 28 of the CPU is P1 (bit 1 of the 6 bit I/O port on the 6510) the signal has the name HIRAM. And that is involved in selecting the C64 memory layout.

  • waiting for keys released

    If removing and reinserting the Chameleon fixed the problem, I would closely inspect the cartridge port of the C64 for bend, dirty or damaged pins. If there is bad contact this can result in the behavior you described.


    If you keep getting stuck on the waiting for keys. There is a way to bypass the menu system completely:

    - remove sdcard

    - Hold left arrow <= (the key next to the 1) while you power on the machine.

    - F7

    - F7

    Now you should be in a basic prompt and can test the keyboard (and other functions).

    Take note this is a very limited configuration, you won't have access to any drive emulation, menu system or advanced functions.

  • ECS V2 Amiga RGB Output

    PAL or NTSC is determined by the Agnus. Every Denise supports both video standards, which is the same for the ECS V2. An "NTSC Denise" isn't a thing. Can you post a screenshot of the problem so we can have a better idea what you mean?

  • waiting for keys released

    Is it possible to get a PC next to your C64 setup so you can connect the PC with a USB cable to the Chameleon?

    Then you could use the Chaco tool start the hardware test (by default available in slot 1 unless overwritten in the past) and check if the keyboard works there. Chaco also allows updating the firmware through USB. Though I'm not aware of any previous firmware that caused this behavior, so an firmware update is unlikely to fix your issue.


    It really would be nice if you could test the C64 without the Chameleon. As the Chameleon is not meant as diagnostic tool.

  • some noob questions

    - It should run out of the box. It might not be the latest firmware so eventually you want to flash new firmware.

    - No ZIP files are not supported, you need to place unpacked files on the card.

    - You can use jiffydos images, but there is also RetroReplay emulation build in that also has a disk speeder.

    - Both the C64 and the Chameleon output provide audio at the same time. I would recommend to use the C64 audio output if possible as the SID emulation in Chameleon isn't perfect yet. If you plan on using alternative cores (like the minimig, vic-20 or atari core) then connecting the Chameleon audio output might be useful though.

  • Theory of Operation?

    The 6510 is disabled by pulling low on DMA. It also puts the machine in Ultimax mode by pulling low on the GAME line. This results in disabling most of the internal memory of the C64 and prevents I/O to be mapped out, so it is guaranteed to be available. There is an additional small trick we do to feed the VIC-II with data from the Chameleon. The memory in the C64 isn't used at all, except for the color ram. The contents of kernal and basic ROM can be copied, but are not used during normal operation.


    The programmers manual of the Chameleon gives details about the boot rom, startup and the menu system memory layout if you want to know more about that subject.

  • ACA500+ (New version) with REV 5 motherboard

    SNR1 wrote:

    I just purchased the ACA500+ and the ACE2 for my Rev 5 A500. It is my understanding that the KickStart ROM 3.1 is included with the ACA500+. Does this mean that I do not need to replace the original ROM on the main board with the new 3.1 I just ordered?

    That is correct, the Kickstart ROM version that is inside the Amiga doesn't matter with the ACA500+. You can select 3.1 or for backwards compatibility 1.2 or 1.3 right from the ACA500 startup menu.