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ATAPI/IDE ODE Testing

heads up, i just got a pre-order email to buy one of these. I've been on the list since ~October so he may be going down the list.
 
just fullfilled my order thanks ! :thumbsup:

Heaven would be a loader program on the root of the sd card to switch between isos and be able to flash the dongle from the 2x6
 
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Just fulfilled mine as well - no email confirmation back though....

and thumbs up to the heaven comment from archimage... :)

Update - got confirmation email and tracking number - FAST! :)
 
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Just got home - I have two of these to play around with... I can't seem to find information on how/what/where.

Do I just drop a single .iso into the root of a microSD card and fire it up? I will try that in about 15m when I get things all set up... :)
 
mathewbeall said:
Do I just drop a single .iso into the root of a microSD card and fire it up?
Click to expand...
that should work.
it will automatically load the first ISO or Bin/Cue file that it finds.

if you want to do disc selection you need a serial device connected to one of the USB ports to issue commands, I have some notes that I made for myself as to how it works but I've been waiting for Brizzo to release a Linux compile of his dongle re-flash utility so that can build a Rasberry Pi device for selecting/loading new games.
 
Ok - I did try that - and am having issues... I just opened a ticket via his tracker site.

I tried both Tekken5.1 and Soul Calibur 2. I first validated that the Tekken5.1 disc works with a DVD-drive. I then took an .iso image of this disc, and put it on a samsung 64GB SD card. When I boot up, it gets to the japan copyright screen, then goes black, and never says "good morning".... it just hangs there. Strange thing - when booting from the dvd drive I get yellow "dots", when booting from the IDE card, I get green dots.

I also tried Soul Calibur 2 - same behaviour.

I will keep everyone posted to the resolution - in case I am doing something dumb - which is possible... :)
 
So some strange behaviour - I have gotten it to work a few times, but not really sure what I am doing different.

When it boots up - if the loading "dots" are green after the few white, it isn't going to work - I have been testing with SC3 and T5.1. If the dots are yellow - it will work.

I don't actually do anything different between a "working" try and a try that doesn't work....

I am running off a supergun - but the dvd rom works fine, I am assuming that is pulling more wattage than the ide card would be.
 
Ok - so - after a bunch of trial and error and trying different systems (246, 256) - it *seems* like it's hit and miss on the card contacting enough? Once it boots, if I don't touch it - it will continue to boot over and over again, but remove the card and put it back in - chances are it won't boot... I have to do that a bunch and after 10 or so tries, usually it works (but random, might be try 3, might be try 8).

@twistedsymphony - you didn't experience any of these issues?

Matt
 
Glad you received the boards!

There's some documentation I update whenever I remember something I missed here:
https://issues.tattiebogle.net/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=mantis:IDE+Simulator:start
The idea is that others can contribute too but I haven't yet confirmed the permissions (you log in via the issue tracker)

On the docs there I note the SD card issue, where the slot's a little iffy :( During testing I found it was generally okay if I tried to insert it so that the SD card's left edge 'runs' along the little metal tab (I keep meaning to make a diagram), but after the production run (when my wife tested every single board on the 256 with Dragonball Z) it did prove to be somewhat fiddlier.

I've been trying to figure out if there's a "good" way to insert it with 100% success rate but so far I've not quite got it yet (probably just need to spend a few hours flat out trying it), but the issue only affects the SD slot so there's always USB0, through which you can attach a USB OTG cable and so use a USB flash drive at 480Mbps.
 
That's right yup - any standard OTG cable should send the correct signal (really, just shorting a pin to ground) to the micro USB connector on the PCB that tells it to go into USB host mode and provide 5V. Here's a photo demonstrating how you can hook it up (I have a 'charger doctor' just to confirm power is actually coming out, you obviously don't need that in between!)

IMG_0803 copy.jpg

Note that both USB0 and USB1 can do this, but USB1 is only full speed (12Mbps) versus USB0's high speed (480Mbps) so USB1 isn't really worth it.

I'm hopeful everyone will be able to use the SD slot fine, but it does take a little bit of jiggling the card around. Here's what I do that works 90% of the time:

1) hold the board vertical, so gravity will help pull the SD card down
2) as you insert it, ensure it's running along the metal tab (not underneath it):
sliding_1.jpg
3) once it's in position, confirm it's still flush with the metal tab, but also the SD slot/PCB:
sliding_2 copy.jpg

If it's not touching the metal tab while you insert it, or it doesn't seem totally flush with the PCB/SD slot curve, it seems to arrive in a position where it doesn't make good contact and the board can't access it. I generally follow the above guide and it usually works, though it's a bit of a pain that you need to be so precise.
 
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Yeah, a few games behave almost like they're going to boot anyway when there's "no media in the drive", so it was pretty confusing during debugging ;)
 
Got the usb OTG adapters in - works like an effin charm!

Again - I can't describe how happy I am about this... I have a dynamo cabinet at work in our breakroom that i drop different fighting games in every month or so. I have had Soul Calibur2 and 3 and Tekken4 for quite a while, but burned out a dvd-drive by not having it level. I juryrigged something awful in there to keep the dvd-rom straight, but this solution is so elegant - and I don't have to worry about finding a drive that will work with Tekken4 now (even though I have 4 of them now) :)

Thanks @electric_monk - this is amazing!

Matt
 
It's not elegant at all right now - I just have it sitting on the IDE cable - since it's a metal case - I don't want anything shorting out. I also didn't want to use doublesided tape or something for fear of picking a chip that needs some heat dissiplation.

I am hoping at some point someone will release some plans for a 3d printed case for it and I can just print one... but for now - it works.

The good news - there is *plenty* of space... :) I could even see maybe someone @hursit!! building a new case for the Namco 256/246 using this card - the enclosure could be a lot smaller than it is w/o space for the dvd....

Matt
 

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