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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : PicoMite: PicoGAME VGA development
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| lizby Guru  Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
Thanks, Tom. I ordered one. That's some aliexpress search mojo you have. I searched with "mini usb vga 5-pin" and didn't find that. So Mick -- when's the next release of the gerbils for the latest and greatest? PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
Good question. I now have a file labeled version 1.5, but it's not ready for release just yet. Following the jack socket nightmare I've had to move them apart - and there's not a lot of room to do that (unless you are happy chopping PCB supports out with a Dremel, that is). This version gets the audio sockets right at last. It also fixes the 3V3EN GND pad. I now have a bunch of JDY-40 modules to play with. I'm half considering looking at the possibility of building in wireless comms using those. It would be interesting. :) I'm considering ordering some breakout boards too make them easier to experiment with. I've also been looking at how to solder microSD sockets directly to the PCB. It looks reasonable providing you have a suitable hot air gun, solder paste and gel flux. I may have to get some to practice with. It would create more space and reduce dependence on ebay suppliers. Unfortunately it would also mean that the PCB is more difficult to build and it may be necessary to distribute them with the socket already mounted. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2142 |
Downloaded and enlarged the clearest image and it looks like an actual mini USB, so may not fit. What are the dimensions of the socket on the monitor? Can Dupont wires be plugged in? . Edited 2022-05-20 22:30 by phil99 |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
if it is then the answer might be to open the monitor up and fit a mini USB breakout board, wiring it to the pads of the existing socket to make the lead work. Unless a lead can be sourced from the manufacturers that may be the only way. Or hard wire it to a D15, but that would be rather bulky. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
Holes are too small for standard pins. I have some 2mm pin headers, and they may fit. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
Holes are too small for standard pins. I have some 2mm o.c. pin headers, and they may fit. I'd rather not do any hacking. Plug and play is what I'm looking for. ~ Edited 2022-05-21 00:16 by lizby PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| al18 Senior Member  Joined: 06/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 205 |
I built and tested version 1.4 board. The NES controllers pass test in port A and port B. The colors aren’t correct - I only see 8 while running the test program. I was getting some strange resistance readings with the board unplugged, so I swapped out the variable resistor for the 200 ohm Vishay device from Peter’s VGA board . However I’m still only seeing 8 colors. Any guidance? I will install a pair of 3 pin switches connected to the L/R pins, to switch between headphone and line level audio. |
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| phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2142 |
To get only 8 colours one of the greens must be missing. CLS RGB(0,64,0) '= Green Low = dark green CLS RGB(0,128,0) '= Green High = mid green CLS RGB(0,255,0) '= Green Both = bright green Copy those to the command line one at a time and measure the voltage at the green pins (GP19 & GP20). If you get 0 1, 1 0, 1 1 then the Pico is working. Power off and check resistance along the chain of resistors to the socket. There must be a dud join or resistor. See Page 6 of the PicoMiteVGA manual. . Edited 2022-05-21 14:38 by phil99 |
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| phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2142 |
@Lizby Scaling off your photo, using the HDMI socket as a reference, the plug you want is 6.5mm wide. Same as Mini USB but has 5 pins, spaced 0.77mm C to C and 0.25mm diameter. |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
@phil99--thanks. I will wait and see what the "VGA to mini USB" cable that I've ordered looks like. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
Even if it's wrong it'll be interesting as USB doesn't carry any signals that VGA does and vice versa. :) The photo *has* to be wrong as there's no way that a VGA connector can be connected to a plug marked with a USB symbol. It's rather like connecting mains to RS-232. :) Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
It may be a standard USB shell (plastic casing + metal ground surround) with a non-standard pinout. I'm imagining that I see 5 pins in the cable Tom linked to, but they don't appear to be in-line--the middle three appear elevated with respect to the ends. So it may be a different kind of VGA to 5-pin in a mini-USB connector than the one I need. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
** Obligatory on-topic post to prevent the forum from collapsing ** :) *If* I've done this right, version 1.5 will have (in addition to the fixes mentioned previously): Option to fit a SMD microSD card socket. molex 104031, which has the connections on the edge of the pcb. They seem to be relatively easy to get to on this type. Option to install a JDY-40 2.4GZ wireless serial port module. The CS signal will be on a link so that it is normally disabled, the link will need to be fitted to enable it. It will be connected to Port B, as with the previous COM option. The module is a transparent half-duplex COM port by default so no special commands are needed. You can expect about 15m range indoors, which is fine for this application. I've put SET on GP22 so things like power output, channel etc. can be set using AT commands. Of course, with it enabled Port B cannot be used for a Controller or as a COM port. (I must admit that, at the moment, I've not had a JDY-40 working at all. This is providing it does. :) ) A slight change has altered the route of the 3V3 supply traces, for the better I think. Also, the RTC has been moved so that it now conflicts with the position of JS1 - which doesn't matter as you can't install both at once anyway. That's all so far. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3155 |
Mick--which audio jack are you now using? I'm having trouble with EagleCad finding a footprint which matches this (for instance) ASJ-190-A 3-pin 3.5mm mini-stereo through-hole jack from Digikey (which I think is similar to what you're using). PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
The through-hole one is PRO SIGNAL PSG03613 which is CPC AV21208 but I found them on ebay. I couldn't even find a drawing for these. The SMD one is Switchcraft 35RASMT4BHNTRX (RS 705 1490) I had to make my own Sprint Layout 6 footprints for both. Edited 2022-05-21 23:51 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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thwill Guru Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4047 |
And v1.6 will just be a socket for a Pico surrounded by a sea of holes. Best wishes, Tom Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
hehe - why bother with holes? Just buy a Pico without the pins. The holes are included for free. :) I'm beginning to dislike the JDY-40. So far I've tried three of them. All I can get out of them is the word "START" returned on power-up (so TXD and RXD must be right way round). No echo, no nothing. Can't send AT commands. Have the SET and CS pins both grounded, as per the manual. Have 3V3 on them. The USB-TTL serial converter is fine and so is the breadboard 'cos if I remove the JDY-40 and pop a wire link between TXD and RXD I get echo. Tried both Tera Term and PuTTY. Tried adding character and line delays to TeraTerm and set line ends to CR+LF as required. What I probably need to do is set up two PicoMites talking over a COM port then replace the COM wiring with the JDY-40 modules. In theory that should work as it's their default mode. Without AT commands they are stuck on the default power, channel, baud rate etc though. EDIT: Have finally got communication! A JDY-40 will talk to me, but not using Tera Term or PuTTY. YAT worked fine first time. Don't ask me why. Anyway, I can now have a bit of a play with them. :) EDIT EDIT: I've now had a JDY-40 controlling LEDs on another JDY-40. Which brings me to the next bit - the return of the bi-colour LED. This time one colour is for power on, the other is controlled by IO pin 1 of the JDY-40. So, you can leave it in switching receive mode while you are doing something else (including using a Controller on Port A) and the LED can alert you to something happening at a remote point - say a doorbell triggering another JDY-40 to flash the LED. I need to tidy this up as I'm not sure if the JDY-40 can output much current at all. The spec doesn't mention it and specifies a 1k resistor for LEDs, which is only 1.5mA for red - not much for most bi-colour LEDs. EDIT EDIT EDIT: (This is getting silly...) I've sorted out the LED. It's normally green, but on receipt of a signal that pulls IO1 low it changes to red. Brightness is fine, in fact it's using a similar circuit to the prototype PicoGAME so it doesn't put any appreciable load on the JDY-40 output. A couple of things I need to test - first, using it for a serial comms link. As that's what it's designed for I don't foresee a problem there. I also need to sort out whether the PicoMite can change the settings. I suspect it can, but it might be fiddly. I don't know why YAT works for me but Tera Term and PuTTY don't. It might be the order of CR and LF or something like that. Current consumption of the JDY-40 will be something to watch as it wants 40mA on transmit (at full power) (25mA on receive). With the present loading that it may be necessary to stick with the correct regulator or use the SMPS. Edited 2022-05-23 07:03 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| al18 Senior Member Joined: 06/07/2019 Location: United StatesPosts: 205 |
More troubleshooting info: 1. Could not see the polarity marking on D3 and diode readings on D2 and D3 different when checked with a multimeter. I desoldered D3 and installed a new diode with correct polarity. Meter readings are the same with D2 and D3. 2. Checked VGA signal and still only 8 colors, with only 1 shade of green. 3. CLS RGB(0,64,0) did not produce a green background. The background remained black with white text. 4. Measured GP19 and got -2.076V with the above CLS statement. 5. Upgraded to the latest PicoMiteVGA basic that Peter posted today, and reconfigured with Option statements per construction notes. Pico behaves normally when connected to USB thru Teraterm. 6. Pico will NOT drive VGA anymore. Monitor says no VGA signal. I tried 2 monitors and reloaded the PicoMiteVGA firmware again. Green LED blinks on the Pico and keyboard light is on, but NO VGA signal. I’m stumped. Is the auto Flash program causing this weird behavior? How do I clear the Flash space? Edited 2022-05-23 12:08 by al18 |
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| phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2142 |
" but NO VGA signal." Also had this with V5.07.05b1 but OPTION CPUSPEED 252000 restored VGA. After reading Peter's instructions use FRAMEBUFFER CLOSE to restore the cursor. "Measured GP19 and got -2.076V with ... CLS RGB(0,64,0)" Power off immediately! The Pico is trying to drive Green Low but with such a low voltage it seems to be seriously overloaded. The pin impedance is 40 to 50 ohms so the current must be about 50mA! this is way over the limit, you have a short to ground somewhere. The resistor that is supposed to be connected to GP19 is 220R so even if it is short to ground it would only pass about 15mA (and that is the max. allowed). You may have a solder bridge between pins either on the PCB or the Pico, check with a magnifying glass. Have you used 22R by mistake? Remove it and check its value. While it is out power up and try CLS RGB(0,64,0) again. GP19 should now be close to 3.3V. If not the Pico may be damaged. Edit. Forget all that if you are using a multimeter, I was assuming a scope measuring V(p-p). With a multimeter I get 2.2V, so the short must be downstream of the 220R. Measure the voltage at both ends of it. If you get 0V to ground there is the short. At the VGA socket pin I would expect around 150 to 200mV. Edited 2022-05-23 16:20 by phil99 |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6825 |
Unplug the PicoMite. No power to the board. Everything unplugged. With a multimeter on a resistance range (black wire to ground) measure between the shell of the VGA connector and the socket-end of the row of resistors & diodes, starting with R11 on the right and working toward the left. You should get these approximate values: R11 Open circuit D3 Short circuit D2 Short circuit R10 Open circuit R12 320R R13 340R R17 Short circuit When I say Open circuit, I'm getting just over 1M, so that's what you are aiming for. Now do the same along the top ends of the components (Note that the first 4 have diodes D2 and D3 to GND so you may see a reading depending on your meter. A diode test range is better than resistance here - you get about 0.6V drop) R11 Open circuit D3 Open circuit D2 Open circuit R10 Open circuit R12 320R R13 340R R17 120R Resistance values are approximate - you can expect some variation due to tolerance, VR1 setting and the accuracy of your meter. They should be fairly close though. In particular you shouldn't find short circuits where they shouldn't be! I've measured these values on my working V1.4 board this morning so I know they are correct. I'm almost certain there is a short to GND on either of GP19 or GP20. Either that or you simply have some badly soldered joints that aren't making connection. Try doing a resistance test from the VGA pins themselves to their circuit points. It's important to include the VGA socket soldered joint in the test so you can't do it from the bottom of the pcb. Check the synch pins too. Incidentally, for those unfamiliar with multimeters, the (relatively) modern digital type are different to the old analogue type on the resistance ranges in an important way - the polarity of the measuring voltage at the test leads is reversed. The old analogue meter movements have battery+ connected to the + side of the movement, so the red test lead has battery negative on it. It can be confusing if you are using both types. :) Edited 2022-05-23 17:06 by Mixtel90 Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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