mistex-devel/mistex-hardware

Hardware for MiSTeX

MiSTeX-hardware

Current

MiSTeX baseboard for QMTech form factor FPGA boards

The baseboard is the current recommended platform. It can be used with Raspberry Pi Zero form factor SBCs and QMTech form factor core boards. Status: The rev2 revision has been manufactured and tested working.

Using the Raspberry Pi Zero with MiSTeX, with a generic FPGA board

To connect the Raspberry Pi Zero to the FPGA board of your choice, the pin mappings can be found in two places:

1. On the FPGA board side the pin mappings are defined in the board support file in MiSTeX-boards:

2. On the Raspberry Pi Zero side, the pin mappings of the GPIO control signals are defined in Main_MiSTeX in fpga_io.cpp:

   And the SPI bus is the SPI0 on the Raspberry Pi header:

Obsolete

MiSTeX Pmod

Status: Manufactured, waiting for arrival. Obsolete, Sipeed Lich

MiSTeX cape for the Terasic DECA board

Status: Manufactured and tested working.

mistex-hardware's Issues

Specify different console hardware profiles

MiSTeX coming along

Nice to see that this is still in development. Where is the general channel for chatting/sharing info about MiSTeX? I can't see any discussion forum here, there is no facebook group and I can't find anything in Discord. Are there anything hidden that I can get myself invited to or is this a closed project right now? I'm really interested in seeing where this can lead, what tool chains that are used, how the hardware currently are working, which hardware is used, what's next? Thanks!

Addressing MiSTer shortcomings with MiSTeX in the future?

Hello,

This is a great project, and I am quite sure that I am not the only person closely watching it. MiSTer is awesome, but it has some shortcomings:

• you have to take additional actions to make sure your game is saved: https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/basics/saves/ This is the case even with Autosave turned on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0s-lkA9MD8 -- the devices from Analogue do not have this problem.

• only one SNAC port

• USB input could be more in sync with the cores. See: https://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=38741

• maybe the framework could be adapted to make it easier to add save states to cores. At least those flashcart-like save states, see the discussion from Discord about them:

• it would be nice if a MiSTeX FPGA board could have more than one "retro use". Have you seen this video about creating a Game-Genie for Atari 2600 with a DE0-Nano FPGA board? -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXTxKD8-ghg

It might be worth looking into turning a MiSTeX board in a similar way into a "multi-flashcart" for developers. With wide-range support of mappers/expansion chips in MiSTer FPGA, I guess it could have been used together with various gaming retro hardware.

One could utilize it, for instance, for homebrew development (see how this scene is evolving! -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AGMEZvU14g) or creating test ROMs to compare FPGA implementations with original devices without buying "tons" of flashcarts.

Though obviously not as portable and nice-looking as standard flashcarts -- for development it should be just fine.

Using MiSTeX as a video scaler for original consoles/computers could be another interesting idea…

Keep up the great work!

QMTech hardware

Hello, I just saw the PCB for QMtech that you added a few days ago. Is it working already or is it just an untested concept?
Thanks for sharing, you are doing a great job!

rpi-zero wiring diagram

Is there an updated diagram or pinout how you are attaching the rpi-zero to the FPGA boards, preferably the qmtech boards.

Thanks,
Sean