609 Reply by arfink

(14 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Looking over at 8bc, I agree this will work better at Chipmusic.org. smile

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610 Reply by arfink

(14 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Pixel+ wrote:
arfink wrote:

Well, in order for that to work you need people who are willing to throw money around. You're more likely to find that here IMO than at 8bc. I dunno, if you want to start a trend then go ahead and set a bounty and see if people will snag it. I don't have a problem with it, though obviously some organizational problems would need to be overcome.

Yea thats the only thing, its based on an honors system almost, just pledging money, then putting a total in the title so that people know the amount on the line, but then when it comes for people to pay up it is really about who plans on keeping their word.

Precisely, and with how fickle alot of scener pocketbooks seem to be, I wonder if this will wind up being more trouble than it's worth.

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611 Reply by arfink

(14 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Well, in order for that to work you need people who are willing to throw money around. You're more likely to find that here IMO than at 8bc. I dunno, if you want to start a trend then go ahead and set a bounty and see if people will snag it. I don't have a problem with it, though obviously some organizational problems would need to be overcome.

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612 Reply by arfink

(13 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

Awol wrote:
Analog wrote:

is the easycap thing that you're using? it work semi-great with my atari.

Yup!


arfink wrote:

As for that adapter which you linked- I have one which uses that same Analog Devices chip (AD724). It works just fine with just about everything, the only time it doesn't in when the RGBS has a slightly odd sync signal which is basically just a few almost-jamma-compatible arcade boards. The color bitrate is just fine, so don't worry about loosing colors. The only issue is that obviously you will loose some image clarity by converting from RGB to composite. S-Video will be quite a bit better.

There's also an RGB>S-Video converter on that page. The guy who sells them recommends getting both and hooking it up like this: RGB>S-video>VGA, so you basically get S-Video quality in NTSC on a VGA port. There are some pics of someone using them both together in this thread on EAB.


I picked up my Amiga while I was in England because it was cheaper than buying one over here, but since I've got to buy video adapters anyway, I'm wondering if it was worth it. tongue

I was just gonna suggest that thread as proof that the colors don't drop out. And yeah, RGB to SVIDEO to VGA is pretty good.

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613 Reply by arfink

(13 replies, posted in Commodore Computers)

akira^8GB wrote:
Awol wrote:

I don't have high hopes for that working with my Amiga.

You'd be surprised, actually.
Seems like most LCD TVs, since they have to do 15Khz anyway for television, acccept 15Khz inputs on the VGA port too.

(basically a super cheap scandoubler) will be cheaper and more convenient than buying a new TV.

What's the rule usually? cheap is not good.
Those scandoublers are of bad quality and many times they don't even have the necessary bit depth to display all of the A1200 colors. Becareful with them, don't expect them to be superb.

Well, I have a little experience with RGB hookup with this so here goes:

Firstly, your TV might accept 15khz but I have yet to run across one in the US where it does. I think the problem is NTSC TVs generally don't have SCART connectors so there is no reason to make the VGA input accept 15khz. It's surprising how often electronics manufacturers don't include seemingly obvious features. Still, no reason not to try it.

As for that adapter which you linked- I have one which uses that same Analog Devices chip (AD724). It works just fine with just about everything, the only time it doesn't in when the RGBS has a slightly odd sync signal which is basically just a few almost-jamma-compatible arcade boards. The color bitrate is just fine, so don't worry about loosing colors. The only issue is that obviously you will loose some image clarity by converting from RGB to composite. S-Video will be quite a bit better.

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614 Reply by arfink

(48 replies, posted in Collaborations)

Kewlness, I should hopefully begin work on the album cover this weekend, and if I can get my act together I might even make a track.

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615 Reply by arfink

(29 replies, posted in Releases)

Rainbowdragoneyes wrote:
marcusparu wrote:

want badly to buy it.

Why is this always an issue with everyone? JUST DO IT

Minors who don't have paypal. That is why. BTW, HAVE YOUR MOM BUY IT FOR YOU! Jeez.

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616 Reply by arfink

(374 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

OK, it's been a while since the last update. However, the project is not dead so fear not. Blargg is working on getting the beta code cleaned up still, and I have begun to have a steady stream of packages coming to my house. Packages of parts for the Munchausen beta. I should really take some pictures of the pile building up on my desk of donor carts, cables, chips, and other bits and bobs. The labels which Pixls designed for the beta carts should arrive any day now.

Also, work on the Famicom version of the carts has finally begun too. Thanks to some very generous contributions from Lazerbeat (who provided donor carts), Facundo (who sold me his Famicom for a really nice price), and Analog (who sent me a Gyromite converter) I have nearly all the hardware I need to get to prototyping that part of the project as well. Pictures of that will hopefully be online soon as well.

Stay tuned everyone!

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617 Topic by arfink

(48 replies, posted in Collaborations)

IT'S OUT, GO AND GET IT:
http://www.archive.org/details/Chipmusi … ;reCache=1

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Old info follows:

It has been brought to my attention that the the chip music scene has seen far too many rave-like releases, leading to in-jokes about raver music. Something about "Mario at a rave."

So I propose that there be a chip music collaboration which moves in the opposite direction entirely: muzak. Also known as elevator music. Make some tunes in an appropriate elevator music style. Included types would be muzak, bossa nova, smooth jazz, "beautiful music," and easy listening.

Please refer to the following links for more information about the style if you haven't heard of it already:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening

Basic rules are that you need to use some kind of chip standard of making this. Trackers, video game units, and vintage computers, synths, and general MIDI (as long as they sound chip-ish) are all fair game. Fake-bit is also OK too. Previous compositions may be considered for inclusion, but new compositions are preferred.

Cover art will be by myself, arfink. Hosting will be arranged hopefully soon. Please have your tracks submitted by November 1, 2010. You may email them to me directly here:  arfink (at) stthomas (dott) edu

EDIT: oh yes, MP3 tracks only please, of at least 256 kbps encoding rate. Thank you.

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618 Reply by arfink

(31 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Well, I am normally a Trent fan, so this is a pleasant changeup for him.

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619 Reply by arfink

(20 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

Batsly Adams wrote:
arfink wrote:

Of course, with any battery, more current is usually better, as long as you don't go so far as to increase risk of arcing

Current does not work this way - I'm not so sure if you know how electricity works.

I would be careful about consistently running more than 1A through the power supply even though the stock adapter provides 1.3A. The 7805 voltage regulator is the first to go on a lot of the systems I've fixed (rated to 1-1.5A typically). From what I've read the psone screen draws about 0.6A alone, I'll take a current reading of the NES later on with / without standard cart / powerpak and post back.

As for arcing, if you ever have done much with some of the high current li-polymer batteries, during connecting and disconnecting they can arc pretty badly. I have some with nicely toasted contacts which I can show you if you don't believe me.

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620 Reply by arfink

(20 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

athleos wrote:
arfink wrote:

Just FYI, it is possible to hook up the screen to a simple 5v input, and then this can in turn be put in parallel with the NES's 5v system. That way you can just use the regular PSU and don't have to use two.

  I wouldn't use the stock NES adapter for this.  It would put too much load on the PSU.  You're gonna want to have at least a 1A current for this (unless the stock NES adapter has that already...  I can't remember.)  Either way, you're going to want more current than you would if it were just the NES.  Especially for batteries.

I wouldn't sweat it, actually. The original NES adapter provides more than enough juice to run an NES. The power ratings are quite conservative. The PSOne screen won't push it that far. I could be wrong of course, but it seems to work OK on mine. Of course, with any battery, more current is usually better, as long as you don't go so far as to increase risk of arcing. Which really would be a fairly obscenely huge battery. wink

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621 Reply by arfink

(20 replies, posted in Nintendo Consoles)

I have done so much stuff with those little PSOne screens, they are very very cool. Just FYI, it is possible to hook up the screen to a simple 5v input, and then this can in turn be put in parallel with the NES's 5v system. That way you can just use the regular PSU and don't have to use two. As for batteries, you should know by now that the NES is unique in that it can take both AC and DC as long as it's a voltage between 5 and 10 volts. I like to hook up a 7.2V RC car battery for most projects which require portable power. They are cheap and easy to swap out. Get the kind with a wire and molex clip on the end, so you can make an adapter for the NES. Then you don't have to internally mount it.

A 2000mAh battery lasts an average of 2 hours in my NES/PSOne combo setup. If I'm only using the battery to power the screen I can run it for nearly twice as long.

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622 Reply by arfink

(5 replies, posted in Past Events)

UDA- when is your set? It says you are on for 7:45 on the Honey Lounge calendar.

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623 Reply by arfink

(5 replies, posted in Past Events)

Ooooh, it's local. I might try to show up...

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624 Reply by arfink

(22 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Dag, I need to polish off my BBS and host it, you're beating me to the punch. XD

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