Posts by turrican9

Quote from Jens

You can avoid that by testing a mode first.

Did the RGB monitor show anything special when running the recovery disk? Flashing itself should work, as the tool is the same. It's just that launching the FPGA is not triggered everytime, but that can be done with a power cycle. So my best guess is that you didn't wait for flashing to be fully completed.

I did not have a RGB monitor connected at the time of using the recovery disk. I waited until the disk was finished accessing and then waited some more. I will definetely do some more testing. btw, I'm using the old firmware for my AGA MK2 as the later one gave me artifacts. Not that it probably matters

When I experiment and create new profiles for my AGA MK2 I always have a screen connected to RGB because of the black screen issue and not being able to recover without seeing the config tool and adjusting.

A few days ago I messed around and got a black screen. I wrote the recovery tool to a disk and tried it. For me it didn't work. I tried booting it from coldboot aswell. Still a black screen. So I had to connect an RGB monitor to recover. If I'm not mistaken, one of the things that can cause a black screen for me is if I go and hit 'test screenmode' and then hit cancel on the testscreen instead of hitting apply. Then I will get a black screen even if it's a working profile to begin with.

I created my 'perfect' profiles years ago so for me it's not an issue since I almost never mess around with it. And when I do, I always have monitors that works on RGB. This recovery tool is a nice addition though. Clearly it worked for f1lupo.

Quote from jab76

I have both a TC64v2 and a MiSTer. The Chameleon is connected to a real C64 (with a C64 reloaded btw). I prefer the Chameleon for C64 use because it gives me more of that authentic feel because it's connected to the real deal. But I guess I could easily match that feeling by putting my Keyrah into a C64 case.

I do like the video output of the Chameleon more than the MiSTer C64 core. It's indeed softer and nicer to look at on a LCD monitor. On a CRT I don't notice much difference.

If you plan on getting a C64 reloaded at anyone time, you might be better off with a Chameleon because of the added benefits for a real C64.

For Amiga use I prefer the MiSTer, but that's more because of convenience. I don't have a PS/2 keyboard connected to the Cameleon (part of the reason is that it sits in the way of the audio jack) and I have a Amiga 1200 case with a Keyrah connected to the MiSTer. But that's only for AGA use. For most Amiga stuff I use a real Amiga 500.

Of course the MiSTer has more to offer. I like the Arcade cores and the console cores and the computer cores, especially the ao486 one.

Display More

You are aware that the minimig AGA core for TC64/TC64V2 supports the C64 keyboard when in cartridge mode? This was implemented quite some time ago. So you can use your joystick in port 2, use the C64 keyboard and a PS2 Mouse for the Amiga core. Keyboard works for various other cores aswell. Like VIC20 and AtariST core. Makes for a very practical setup.

MrClump tried a bl902 which i don't know anything about. But his bl912 did indeed work with vsync. So far i haven't heard of any bl702a's or bl912 not working with vsync. But yes, what Jens said is a good point

Bl702a and bl912 are known to work great when connected directly to rgb or supporting vsync from the range of indivision scandoublers. Also works with tc64/tc64 v2 with vicii sync and any other cores i've tried.

i have the same problem on my lcd tv. Would be nice to get this core with the inverted setting as a download on the retro ramblings webpage. Together with the info

Quote from Jens

That's a known issue with A500 computers that have an ageing timing-capacitor in the NE555 reset circuit. I have a number of those A500s too, and I learned to live with the startup-keyboard-reset requirement. I'm just too lazy to exchange the cap on the A500. Sometimes it helps if you put a 1k pullup resistor on the reset signal, but the root cause is the cap.

Aha. I used to have the bluescreen issue at coldboot with my regular ACA500 quite a few years ago. Not seen the issue in quite a few years. And not seen it with my ACA 500 Plus either. Probably because I have recapped all my Amiga 500 motherboards. And I hadn't recapped them at the time I had the issue. I assume the capacitator that causes this issue is the 10uF one close to the 555 timer. Appart from that I'm only using recapped original Commodore PSUs.

You could always just link the buyer to this post. It will show that Jens himself has said it's nothing to worry about

Quote from Tobias

No, extra versions for specific monitors are a support nightmare. And considering the amount of people reporting problems with the current parameters equals 1 that isnt quite worth it, sorry.

That's fine. Very understandable. 768x576 50Hz VICII sync on works well with these screens. So not the end of the world. Also, 720x576 60Hz and VICII sync off will fill the screen and not forget the setting.

Quote from Tobias

Didnt Jens answer that above?

Another problem with using someones tweaked values (instead of values calculated the standard way) is that it will almost certainly break it on someone elses monitor then, which is why i am very reluctant with doing this

The BenQ BL 702A and BL912 are quite popular for both the TC64/TC64 V2 and also the Indivision scandoublers. Due to it syncing perfectly to 50Hz PAL and also 60Hz NTSC. So quite a few people have these monitors.

However, I understand your issue. If the current profile works well with many other monitors then that could cause problems if you changed the timings to something similar I showed here by using the ECS V2.

You would need a tweaked version for us BL 702A/BL 912 owners then. Maybe offer a tweaked version via mail? People send a mail and you provide a link?

So it was impossible to adjust the timings in the profile for the TC64 V1/V2 720x576 50Hz to match what I found worked quite well in my last post here using the ECS V2?

Quote from robinsonb5

I think the conversation I was remembering from years ago (on the mailing list from probably 2011/12 or so) was about the characteristic softness of the TC's video output, rather than the ghosting / ringing effect - it was specifically about V1 hardware, though.

But to answer your question, re-read Jens's first reply in your other thread - the one Dr.OG linked to above.

Thank you for the clarification. Clearly, looking at the pictures from the facebook group, TC64 V1 shows the exact same ghosting as the TC64 V2 does. I wouldn't mind the softness if it weren't for the ghosting/smearing/ringing. I guess we have to wait for patchboards. I just hope they become a reality sooner than later. With certain colour combinations it looks horrible. International Karate and Karate Plus are good examples. There are like 3 or 4 ghost shadows coming from the white Karate dude.

So in the TC64/TC64 V2 facebook group I found an older post of a person having and showing the exact same ghosting/smearing/shadowing trail on the right side of objects with his TC64 V1 that we TC64 V2 owners have when using LCDs. Some people in that post claim it will not show on CRTs but only on LCDs. I don't have any CRTs anymore to test it with.

Anyway, one of the comments in the post is from Alastair Robinson. He says: "I seem to remember this being mentioned on the V1 hardware, and Jens said it was due to capacitors that were placed on the RGB outputs in order to keep RF emissions low enough to get CE certification. That's my recollection anyway - it may not be 100% accurate."

Is it a fact that there are caps installed in the RGB output circuitry to dampen the output signals in order to pass the CE requirements? If so, wouldn't it be possible to bypass these caps to get a stronger signal?

But they will be a thing I hope?

So when are we getting patchboards to improve the picture quality for our TC64 V2s? They suffer the same ghosting the ECS V2s have. ECS V3 has fixed this completely and have excellent picture quality. Would love a couple of patchboards for my two TC64 V2s to get the same excellent picture quality the ECS V3 has.

Quote from Infirmier

Its not normal my friend,others accelerators card doesnt have this issue !

and its not this demo only,somes others too.

If it got slowdown on demos,what about games or others softwares which can’t be visible...

I seem to remember most whdload demos I tried ran fine on my ACA1233/A1200 2B combo. There is probably a few, like Nexus 7 that has problems then. As for games, my setup seems to have no trouble with any whdload games I've tried. However, when you pair 020/030 accelerators with A500 or A600 then you get slowdowns in some whdload games. Due to the 16bit bus on A500/A600 causing some kind of asynchronous wait state or something when combined with 24/32bit accelerators. In many cases that can be fixed by using 'Cache' in Tool Types. But sometimes that can lead to artifacts or other unwanted behaviour.

The A1200 with it's 32bit bus is very compatible with whdload games when using an accelerator like ACA1233. I assume the same goes for the ACA1234. whdload was originally made for A1200/A4000 so no surprise there really.

I tried Nexus 7 with my A1200 2B + ACA1233 (non 'n' version) the red one. I had some slowdowns where that disco ball or whatever it is was spinning. So I think this is probably normal when using accelerators. At least for this demo. Probably some others aswell

Very nice that we get this new VIC20 core. I have not tried it yet. It would be very very nice if the Megacart works or is made working in the future. It's a very convenient cart that makes everything so easy. All the best games on one cart with a menu system. And no need to mess around with the memory configs to get games running.

I have the Penultimate + cartridge on my real VIC20. Without this it's a hassle to use. Penultimate is similar to Megacart, but Megacart has even more games on it. Individual computers own VIC20 test core can run Megacart.

So I just found out the ACA1234 has overclocking license like the ACA 1221. Couldn't find any price info about these in the shop? Let's say one found out that an ACA1234 sold as 25MHz was stable at 40MHz. How much would you have to pay for that license? Also, how long is the trial period for the overclock?

So I noticed from wiki,icomp that the ACA1221LC at 40MHz has higher benchmark scores VS ACA1234 25MHz. Even has higher scores than ACA1234 33MHz aswell. Would this be felt in real life? I believe I read somewhere that the 68030 is about 10% faster per clock VS 68020? Would the ACA1221LC at 40MHz feel faster VS the ACA1234 at 25MHz or even 33MHz? Especially when used with the ACA 500 Plus. I know the dedicated IDE speed booster port on the ACA1234 series and also the ACA 1221LC has speedboosting for the A1200 internal IDE. However, this is not used with the ACA 500 Plus. It has great IDE CF card performance anyway.

I know that the 1221LC is not guaranteed to overclock to 40MHz. I know it has far less RAM VS 1234 and I also know the ACA1221LC will not support cloaking mode with the ACA 500 Plus.

I have a fully unlocked ACA1221 with 64MB RAM and overclocked to 28MHz and I also have an ACA1233 at 40MHz. When I use these in my A1200 I can feel that the ACA1233 is quite a bit faster. However, the ACA 1233 at 40MHz scores in the 9200 range in sysifo VS the ACA 1221 at 28HMz scores about 4900ish. I know the ACA1221LC is faster clock for clock VS the older ACA1221.

I think the ACA 1221LC looks impressive at 40MHz. I think it has enough RAM for my use and I am debating between these accelerators. Only thing I would like is the cloak mode the 1234s will support with the next ACA 500 Plus firmware. But at the same time I rarely use stock A500 mode.