1-Chip MSX!
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/1-Chip MSX!
This one is going to be high up on my 'Wanted' list :D
http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html
Back to basics, yet ready for the future: The One Chip MSX. Out of the box, this computer is compatible with the MSX1 and MSX2 standard, for which many classic games were released since its introduction to the consumer market in 1983. You will enjoy hours of gameplay with this machine for which new software is regularly released, even today.
...
The One Chip MSX can be programmed in MSX-BASIC, which has a very low learning curve and therefore is excellent for young or inexperienced programmers to take their first steps in computer programming. MSX-BASIC is an outstanding environment to experiment with sound and graphics programming without the need to be experienced in programming hardware or the underlying operating system.
The One Chip MSX holds creative opportunities for more experienced programmers, too. The One Chip MSX has an FPGA chip which can be programmed in VHDL, a programming language which uses a syntax that’s similar to Pascal. By programming the FPGA, this One Chip Computer can be programmed to be something completely different. There already are many FPGA/VHDL projects in development, such as implementations of Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Vic-20 computers. We expect that many users will create their own VHDL applications, which can be exchanged via the internet. It is this exchangeability that recalls the memory of the MSX standard by which this device was inspired.
Specs:
Altera Cyclone EP1C12Q240C8 FPGA chip
32 MB SDRAM
SD/MMC card slot
2 MSX Cartridge slots
2 audio outputs (for future stereo support)
SVHS video output
Composite video output
VGA video output
PS/2 keyboard connector
2 USB connector
2 MSX Joystick ports
FPGA I/O pin (40 pins and 10 pins)
Short instruction manual
110/220V AC power supply
Kind of like the one-chip Commodore 64 that many of those 'retro' game consoles are based on... The ones shaped like a joystick with RCA connectors that plug directly into your TV, and come with several games baked in.
That thing actually looks quite interesting - I'd consider it - just to play about with it - it's kind of cute-looking.
* the semi-OCM expert! Close enough to the fire to burn teh nose! So, in case there are questions ...?
Incase your interested in running an OS on the thing, there's allready a nice one out there: SymbOS
SymbOS is a free multitasking operating system for Z80 based 8-bit computer systems. At present it is available for the computers of the Amstrad CPC as well as for all MSX models starting from the MSX2 standard. Contrary to early 8-bit operating systems it is based on a microkernel, which provides pre-emptive and priority oriented multitasking and manages RAM memory with a size of up to 576 kB. SymbOS contains a MS-Windows like GUI, supports hard discs with a capacity of up to 128 GB and can already be booted on an unexpanded Amstrad CPC-6128 or a 128K-MSX2.
Official site:
http://www.symbos.de/Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SymbOS What a swizz. I can see two chips.
That screenshot has 4 colors. Current MSX2 version has 4-color mode and 16-color mode, with a background pic using the 4 GUI colors and 12 others (fixed palette and with dithering).
Also, that pic is 320x200 or something, the MSX2 version uses 512x212, so things get pretty decent for an 8-bitter. ^^
http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-6071242217428356949http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMtotfEPDEc Holy crap, I want one of those!
What a swizz. I can see two chips.
The seccond smaller rectangle chip is probably memory. I could by a whole desktop system and run Windows 3.1 on it, then program in QBasic!
Yeah, it's the sdram, FPGA's arn't made to hold tons of memory, other than the logic elements themselves. So it's still a one chip, considering all the logical functions of the MSX (except the memory :P) are implemented in the FPGA.
Looks great! I'd love to connect this with a little handheld video display and a supermicro keyboard thing.
symbos 16-color, running a pacman! (on msx2!)
Pretty interesting, but the PAL mode could be monchrome only, and might not have sound in PAL mode. It would not be the first time that has been seen to happen.
Depending on price, this thing could be a bit fun to tinker with. Shall have to keep my eyes peeled for further news and developments on it. Esp. some of the other machines mentioned.
You can now pre-order until the 21st of november! Shipment early 2007, ~192 euro ex VAT, ex shipping.
Oh boy, that's that idea out the window for me then!
I have done risky and cheap, I've done not so risky and quite expensive, I've no intention of doing Risky and Expensive!
You could quite probably find an original MSX for that sort of cash and ship it around the world a few times, while still ending up with change. Hardly drool worthy by now I don't think! ;O)
They are having a giraffe methinks!
Well, real MSX users mostly aren't buying it to replace their MSX anyway. They're prolly go VHDL'ing to create their uber-retromachine. Others will be using it for serious VHDL'ing, the machine has some spare I/O pins one could use for whatever purpose. (robot controlling, perhaps?)
I for one would be happy to try to create some gfx-related stuff, new screenmodes perhaps. Also, soundrelated things would be nice. Perhaps I'd make such a low-res screenmode as on the c64 with those wide pixels.. dunno, I've yet to see how succesful I could be with VHDL.. :P In practice it's a very tricky language!
The price used to be lower btw, but European RoHS mean that the Japanses had to use other materials 'n such in order to be able to ship to Europe.
not worth the money TBH, its great for those who love nostalgia :)
Never thought I'd have a HDL war here!
VHDL has nothing on Verilog!
*runs off*
oh man i want this or the hydra. which ever has better value
right now the MSX has better systems specs but the hydra has a multi-cell processor and uses parallel programming
Hydra for the win!
The propeller chip looks ace, and Andre' Lamothés kit looks like just the ting for us game developers :D
Its got basic and asm this time - unlike XGS Micro / Pico.
Video drivers prewritten - ooh :D
@Link1426 & Ashmantle
Have you got any links for the Hydra? I can only find brief mentions through Google?
I was tempted to get an XGameStation but it was just a little too retro for my liking.
You can also order the OCM straight from Japan btw (and save about 70 euro orso), but you'll have a Japanese model, which is not RoHS complient (which could be tricky @ the EU customs!), 110V PSU, no english manuals, etc. etc.
Dafs, the Hydra hasn't actually been launched yet (planned for Thanksgiving, or at the latest, pre-Xmas).
It will be initially marketed by Parallax.com and probably second-sourced by André at XGameStation.com - you can find some discussion on the forums of both sites.
The 1-chip-MSX does look attractive with the ability to reprogram the FPGA, but the price is a bit steep (NZ $2 = 1 Euro, so that works out approx. $400 for me).
But then we don't yet know the price of the Hydra kit; it might turn out to be not a whole lot cheaper.
Agent Smith: are there any rules related to materials in NZ, such as those in EU? Because that's what drives the price in EU.
Not sure what you mean by materials, is that the components? I'm not aware of any rules anyway.
I think it's just the exchange rate. The kiwi dollar isn't worth much on the international scene.
http://www.rohs.gov.uk/So, the Japanese were using stuff that wasn't allowed in the EU, so we get a more expensive model (different materials) because of that. Now, if there aren't any of these regulations in NZ, you could order straight from Japan for something like USD170 all-in.. (don't hold me on that :P)
I didn't know about RoHS, but from what I've been able to find out, it's just an EU thing at this stage. Apparently the NZ govt is considering introducing similar legislation, but for now RoHS compliance isn't mandatory for imports.
Where did you see the japanese model advertised for USD170? Do you have a link?
I saw a website (all in japanese) and it appeared to be priced at 5000 yen, from what I could make out. I'm not sure if it would be worth getting it cheaper, especially if all the docs are in japanese.
I'm very tempted to fork out for the pre-order anyway. I know the Ada language well and VHDL is quite similar. I'm not so keen on Z80 assembly though (I'd never even heard of the MSX before).
I think the 6809E was probably the best microprocessor from the 8-bit era. A 6809-based FPGA core would be good, maybe like the Tandy CoCo.
Perhaps something any VHDL coders should be aware of.
http://www.bazix.nl/faq_do_i_need_a_cable_for_updating_the_fpga_chip.htmlPersonally unless you are MSX nut this looks like a very expensive piece of kit. However I do suggest you look at the MSX and Symbos which is simply superb. It even has a PC based IDE written in blitz, and coded by moi :)
Email to: Ikeda Kuniji <BRB35357 at nifty.ne.jp>, He's the one selling Japanese OCM's. Just make sure that *if you're interested* you know exactly what you will get, hardware-wise. (adapters etc.)
Thanks for that, but I'm just not comfortable with buying it that way.
I decided to place a pre-order for the European product, directly from Bazix.
a little note/update on SymbOS again:
Some MSX ppl made a cartridge recently that can play MP3 files. The programmer of SymbOS has such a card and made SymbOS work with it.
So here you have a turbo R (MSX with R800 CPU, which is more or less a Z800, basically a z80 on steriods) playing mp3's while doing other things.
*click*Certainly not bad for a stone-age system, eh? :P
(oh, and he plays my Metal Gear song remake :-) )