MiSTer FPGA - Retro Console Hardware

Got my ML-10 in.
Plus side, Looks like I can mount the DE10-nano on the HDD bracket (hanging upside down in the case), although I lose the top (120/140mm) fan in the short case config if I do...wasn't planning to use one anyway.
Otoh, there's really not much room for much else. Planning to put all my I/O on the back, except maybe the USB ports. To that end, there is a punch-out hole for serial on one side, looks like, which I'll probably use for VGA. And I cut a chunk of scrap steel plate to close-enough, and ground it to damn-near-the-right-size for the rear i/o shield where I'll mount the rest. Still need to shave a bit more off and cut holes, but that can wait.
 
Got my ML-10 in.
Plus side, Looks like I can mount the DE10-nano on the HDD bracket (hanging upside down in the case), although I lose the top (120/140mm) fan in the short case config if I do...wasn't planning to use one anyway.
Otoh, there's really not much room for much else. Planning to put all my I/O on the back, except maybe the USB ports. To that end, there is a punch-out hole for serial on one side, looks like, which I'll probably use for VGA. And I cut a chunk of scrap steel plate to close-enough, and ground it to damn-near-the-right-size for the rear i/o shield where I'll mount the rest. Still need to shave a bit more off and cut holes, but that can wait.
Nice! I was thinking of somehow mounting mine somewhere in my PC case somehow. I think I can get it done. My PC is already near my TV, and connected to my DENON AVR
 
Nice! I was thinking of somehow mounting mine somewhere in my PC case somehow. I think I can get it done. My PC is already near my TV, and connected to my DENON AVR
It's a couple mm off, so I can only use two screws in the diagonal with it slightly ascew, or two on one of the long sides (which I don't like). And it's not close to matching a single set of 2.5" drive holes, it just happens to work in this case due to the design of the bracket, the way they placed the holes so that you have more flexibility.

Got the MiSTer USB board and sdram from misteraddons.com. The USB board looks good, but the soldering on the ram module looks...dodgy. Supposedly tested, but not inspiring confidence at first glance.

Anyway, installed the heatsink I got from Mouser (also today) and the ram, assembled, and put in case (temp, of course). Here's a sneak peek from the back of the (upside-down) case:
IMG_20210421_221000963.jpg


Have 3-5mm above the SDRAM, not enough for another hat, but good enough for me. I could put the tall case top and mount to the vent holes if I really needed more room. Air will be pulled to the right and out of the case, unfortunately around the SDRAM. Fresh air comes in along the left side, and the top (but that's mostly blocked by the MiSTer and HDD bracket).
 
Got the stuff I ordered.

The switches are...bigger than expected. Guess that happens when you don't even look at the specs. XD
The mean well didn't come with an AC cable...hadn't considered that. XD
The 5-way DC splitter works, the fans work (loud, as expected), phono plug looks good, gpio cables are suitable, 10-pin cable works (not sure if I'll need it).

Scrapped my fan cables (except a wire each). They were bulky and wouldn't fit the block the way I terminated them. Instead, I spliced the fan wires into a single wire in parallel, and ran that into the terminal block.

Now I realize the HDMI output is on the wrong side, so I'll need a slim/flexible cable to run to the rear of the case.
 
Was able to nab the MT32 Pi Hat from Misterfpga.co.uk today. A small stock of Yellow Text models showed up. :) Not the text color I was after...but meh.
 
Heyco 10629 10 ct. (0.25" nylon PCB support)
Fwiw, the ID is too big on these for the brass standoffs to screw in, although the height is correct to match mitx standoffs. Plan to cut the bottom off and screw into the standoffs with some M3 screws instead, use them as spacers.
 
Back panel mostly done. Drilled out the rivets and removed the back because it was gonna be a pita with all those rivets in the way anyway. Still need to make holes for the hdmi, vga, usb, and audio, and two holes to screw the top on. Need a 90° DC connector because the fans are in the way.

IMG_20210507_171920460.jpg


Irwin Multi-Bit made quick work of the (+1/4") holes, but I should have used a fence to line up the holes for the buttons. Oh well. :/
 
Anyone know why the CPS1 cores are not being added to by default to MiSTer?
I also read he is updating some cores, so you can try another day since he might have pulled them down to update.
 
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Hope he does Sega System 16 and Namco System 1 and 2. That would keep me busy for a while on the arcade side. :)

Maybe newer Irem hardware too.

I would also love Kaneko so I could play Air Buster properly. I keep my MAME sets entirely current, but I don’t currently run MAME on any of my systems.
 
I just bought another DE-10. :D My big aluminum general purpose MiSTer is great in my office/studio where it doesn't move around much. However, I find myself wanting to play PC-Engine games frequently on other TVs/places, so I've decided to build the smallest build possible with a huge SD card that will fit the entire PC Engine and PCCD libraries. I may put other systems on there as well, but I'm starting it out this way first. I wish I had a miniature SuperGrafx case to put it in. :D Would be a touch awkward, but cool. Oh well, now I have to start designing a case for it. I suppose gutting a PC-Engine or CoreGrafx Mini could work, but I think a tiny aluminum case would be cool.
 
Its better to buy them now before ANOTHER price hike. They are going up everywhere.

I have a 512gb SD card for the main build, and i have a 512gb USB flash drive for additional files. If Saturn and Playstation come, I'm going to do a curated collection. Not a whole library dump. Though, Saturn is simpler to just dump since it's smaller. I guess, I could reserve a USB HDD for Playstation. The whole library is around 2tb.
 
Its better to buy them now before ANOTHER price hike. They are going up everywhere.

I have a 512gb SD card for the main build, and i have a 512gb USB flash drive for additional files. If Saturn and Playstation come, I'm going to do a curated collection. Not a whole library dump. Though, Saturn is simpler to just dump since it's smaller. I guess, I could reserve a USB HDD for Playstation. The whole library is around 2tb.

Definitely agree! I just did top and bottom anodized aluminum plates, and will sandwich the DE10 and the USB Hub board between them. I don't really need the extra IO, since this will be connected via HDMI anyway. I'll do all functionality via controller, so I don't need the buttons on the device or anything like that.

I'll have the entire HuCard collection on it, and a curated CD collection. I mainly play the shooters, but may throw on a few RPGs and Action Platformers as well.

I would have liked to have done sides for the case, but I was trying to keep it as close to the size of just the DE10 and Hub board as possible. With the corner rails that would have been required, it probably would have gotten very cramped, and harder to work with after the fact. I think protection on the top and bottom is most important anyway.

Here's the top panel:

MicroMiSTer-Top.PNG
 
I have a backup DE-10 before the price hike in storage. I still haven’t done anything for a case on mine. I’m thinking of making a D9 connector PCB from GitHub, and ordering the DECAPOD by Antonio from Spain. I seen he also has a combo ANALOG IO/USB board.
 
Got my stuff from Antonio. Was covered in flux...well, not covered, but it's obvious no effort was taken to clean it after he finished soldering. Bathed it in 91% iso and scrubbed lightly with a toothbrush until I got most of it off. It's the little things, ya know?

Anyway, hopefully I didn't f- anything up cleaning it. I know I didn't knock anything loose, at least.
 
Got my stuff from Antonio. Was covered in flux...well, not covered, but it's obvious no effort was taken to clean it after he finished soldering. Bathed it in 91% iso and scrubbed lightly with a toothbrush until I got most of it off. It's the little things, ya know?

Anyway, hopefully I didn't f- anything up cleaning it. I know I didn't knock anything loose, at least.
What did you order?
 
I hate fluxy boards. I only use water soluble flux (except for components that aren’t sealed of course). Nice job on the cleaning!
 
Thanks!!

I use those standoffs to mount PCBs to my synthesizer panels. I use set-screws to tie layers together rather than getting the mixed male/female types. Makes them a bit more flexible.

Mouser sells them. RAF hex clear-iridite.
 
Since I know you have all been wanting to see, I present, the MiSTer:

IMG_20210523_231247867~2.jpg
IMG_20210523_231743551~2.jpg


Pretty generic setup. HDMI works, but haven't been able to get a good lock on the analog signal. Haven't updated anything or done any configuration yet, which is probably why.
 
Since I know you have all been wanting to see, I present, the MiSTer:

View attachment 359345View attachment 359346

Pretty generic setup. HDMI works, but haven't been able to get a good lock on the analog signal. Haven't updated anything or done any configuration yet, which is probably why.
You'll need to turn on Composite Sync. Also, make sure you're aware of the Sync of Green switch on the I/O Board.
 
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You'll need to turn on Composite Sync. Also, make sure you're aware of the Sync of Green switch on the I/O Board.
Antonio's io board has no switch. He said for composite sync (with his ypbpr adapter) just enable ypbpr and composite_sync in the mister ini and set the output to 15kHz.

For composite, he said:
[…T]he sync is generate by mixing VSYNC and HSYNC from the
VGA connector. I use XNOR for generate and doesn't worry the state of
composite_sync. If you are out of sync maybe your TV doesn't accept the
vertical sync.

Which wouldn't surprise me, given the config was all default.

In any case, planning to order some of these JST pigtails so I can use the rheostat on the board (since it's there), and maybe one of these to replace the one on there since I'm not sure it can handle 2W (combined power of three fans). Holding off for now, in case I think of anything else.
 
Are you guys outputting to dual displays? If not I don’t see the use of the analog board. That is why I got the digital IO. It supports analog as well via an adapter. At this moment, if I was to get an analog I might go for the Antonio USB combo. I do like he has the DB9 port on there and SNAC. Just saying.
 
Are you guys outputting to dual displays? If not I don’t see the use of the analog board. That is why I got the digital IO. It supports analog as well via an adapter. At this moment, if I was to get an analog I might go for the Antonio USB combo. I do like he has the DB9 port on there and SNAC. Just saying.
No...t yet....
 
Off topic. I have the digitone as well but I dont like it very much. How is the blue box? I dont think it has enough inputs for my rig.

I absolutely LOVE the Digitone, but that’s because I’m an FM/PM junkie :D I design analog synths, and most of my VCOs have both linear and exponential FM, and I also did a phase modulation VCO as well, for analog operator type stuff. My designs are heavily influenced by Buchla and Wiard. I can see it not being everyone’s thing though for sure. It still makes an excellent sequencer though for MIDI. I sequence the Hydra with it for one.

The Bluebox is amazing! It’s simple in comparison to the Blackbox of course, but as just a mixer and multitrack recorder (with good sync and nice effects) it’s exactly what I needed. I have an H9 Max as well for other effects, but the Bluebox’s effects stand up pretty well. I don’t like recording on the PC since I work on them all day. I record my stems there, then do some quick mastering on the PC later with Ozone. It’s all for fun, so I don’t need much more anyway. The sound quality, touch response, and UI are top notch though. If you like the feature set, I can’t really recommend it enough. If you need more though then maybe something bigger might be better. It would also be pretty amazing for field work.

To bring it on topic, I’m planning to patch the MiSTer into it to record some sounds. ;)

(also I swapped out the Hydra Desktop for the keyboard version) :)
 
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Are you guys outputting to dual displays? If not I don’t see the use of the analog board. That is why I got the digital IO. It supports analog as well via an adapter. At this moment, if I was to get an analog I might go for the Antonio USB combo. I do like he has the DB9 port on there and SNAC. Just saying.
I primarily use CRTs for my MiSTer display. I have a Sony 310, PVM, JVC D-series, and recently acquired a JVC I-Art in wonderful condition. So, I went analog. I only use HDMI for GBA and when I tinker with it.
 
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