Welcome to the MiSTer FPGA LOVE Fest ;)

[gamepimp]

This is really interesting. I don't know if this consolised board is open source. I know that they made the RAM modular on the board, just in case you ever need to replace it. As to whether it's for profit, that's gotta be a joke, right? The typical Mister setup is ridiculously overpriced hardware. $50 for a USB hub??? $60 for 128 megabytes of RAM???

The accessories are pricey and I’m sure the vendors who sell them are making a profit doing that. However, the schematics for them are open source and you could theoretically make your own. Sorg just dislikes people designing and making hardware that they refuse to open source for others to make. I believe he originally designed the RAM and USB hubs that most vendors are selling...

[Zebidee]

I have no problem with people selling for a profit. Seriously, aside from warm fuzzy glows and a dedication to retrogaming, what do you expect to motivate people? People put a lot of effort into these things, and typically their return is something much less than 50 cents per hour invested, unless they really do sell 15000 per month. If you don't like the price then don't buy it. I don't see the costs as being outrageous compared to, say, buying a PC+video card to run CRTEMU/Groovymame.

Innovation will drive prices down over time, and eventually all of our Mister gear will be obsolete anyway so just grin and bear it.

I like the consolized Mister Multisystem for what is is. In some ways it is cheaper and prettier than the vanilla Mister, has some cool features, but then it is less customisable or upgradeable. I think it would appeal to some people, especially those more concerned with enjoying the capabilities NOW vs 5 years in the future.

In terms of Mistercade, I'd still prefer that as a dedicated solution for an arcade cabinet. It is made for a purpose, and that is what I want to use it for. Some of my preference comes down to things being natively incorporated (like the JAMMA interface, volume etc.) and the form-factor. Less "accessories" required (IO/USB/JAMMA boards) compared to any other options. I see a better upgrade path for it too.

[opt2not]

Release candidate of the MiSTerCade in the house! This thing is looking sexy in the black PCB and gold plating. Going to put it through the paces but this should be the last version before production commences.

[dmckean]

Sexy!!

[bobbyb13]

I didn't realize it was a thing, but I have pcb envy

 

[Zebidee]

Oooooooh, great that it gets some real-world testing before final release.

I noticed that it has both 2xRCA and a 3.5mm jack for audio, nice to have some choices

[Zebidee]

I was hoping the Mistercade would have some extra PCB edge to allow it to be mounted in a standard sliding PCB mount for cabs (two slotted mounts, top and bottom, to fit standard PCBs with the top one adjustable to your PCB size).

Mistercade in that photo has no free space on the edges, so you won't be able to mount it like that. You would have to rig PCB feet for it instead.

I've attached a pic of what I mean by a sliding PCB mount - I pulled it from the www.absolutepinball.com site.

[Gilrock]

But the PCB plugs in on top of a DE10-nano right?  So it probably wouldn't fit something like that.

[Zebidee]

But the PCB plugs in on top of a DE10-nano right?  So it probably wouldn't fit something like that.

You raise a good point, I hadn't even thought about the DE10 sticking out underneath.

Without the DE10-nano installed it still wouldn't fit, as the PCB would need a few millimetres of free space at top/bottom to slide into the bracket slots. However, even if it did fit, the nano poking out underneath would probably make it bump against the wall of your cab. unless you offset the PCB bracket out from the wall by 2-3cm or so.

With the DE10 attached below, I imagine the unit would be lop-sided as the JAMMA end would stick out quite a bit. This would make mounting on PCB legs difficult too as the uneven weight above would make it wobbly. Furthermore, once you attach a JAMMA harness, the weight hanging off the unit with leverage would create all kinds of unwanted stresses.

You might be OK if you are able to get some non-standard extra-long PCB legs to fit to the holes on the JAMMA side, but that is something else you'd need to find/buy.

Maybe I'm somehow wrong and my fears are unfounded. Would be great if we can see some pics of the Mistercade assembled, with the DE10 and RAM installed, and mounted in a cab for demonstration.

[opt2not]

Put it on standoffs, attach it to a small thin board, then you can Mount it in that plastic bracket.

[Zebidee]

Put it on standoffs, attach it to a small thin board, then you can Mount it in that plastic bracket.

Looks perfect, opt2not! Thank you, that looks great. I just need to get some extra standoffs for the PCB legs.

[bobbyb13]

Put it on standoffs, attach it to a small thin board, then you can Mount it in that plastic bracket.

Looks perfect, opt2not! Thank you, that looks great. I just need to get some extra standoffs for the PCB legs.

Good solution.

Not sure what your local hardware store assortment looks like Andrew, but the one here has some nylon bushings about 1cm long and appropriate nylon washers that work well for this kind of thing.

I may need to quit my job to have enough time to play with this fun stuff again.

[Zebidee]

Good solution.

Not sure what your local hardware store assortment looks like Andrew, but the one here has some nylon bushings about 1cm long and appropriate nylon washers that work well for this kind of thing.

I may need to quit my job to have enough time to play with this fun stuff again.

Somewhere around here I actually have a small "kit" box full of those nylon PCB offsets of different lengths, with matching 3mm nylon nuts (same size as my PCB legs use), though would be nice to use some brass ones for strength.

Local stores are rubbish for these kinds of hobby things, even in the regional capital. You can get anything in Bangkok if you go to the big electronics markets at Ban Mor, but you have to find it first. Place is huuuuge, lots of people in poorly ventilated spaces, and always hot of course. With COVID, been about a year since I've been to the big smoke. So yeah online marketplaces are much easier.

Near Ban Mor there is a 7-story shopping mall just chock-full of gaming related stuff, from Gundam to consoles from arcade to D&D from figurines to wargames. It really is Candyland for gamers. Last time I was there I bought a semi-auto BB-gun (looks like a Glock pistol) to scare away feral dogs, cat and starlings from our rural place (only for scares, is too gutless to do any real harm). Why play lightgun games when you can shoot at the dog that steals your baby chickens?

[chopperthedog]

Got my DE10 last week and I/O and ram came on monday. Enjoying the console stuff with great joy on my 27" crt via component. My muscle memory from the pi3 had me turning a bit to early on first couple games of neo drift out.

@ opt2not, board looks cool, didn't follow any of the development, but my only hope is that it is only using the 12 volt rail with on board 5v regulator. That was the one huge mistake of the arPicade design, having to jack the 5v on power supply to like 5.25v to stop the lightning bolt. I ordered a 12v to 5v 3amp little power supply, cut the 5v trace on arPicade and now I can swap with other boards and not worry about resetting 5v knob each time.

I didn't buy a MiSTer for the coin op stuff and thought of it as a bonus, but I gotta say that the arcade cores are a mess and quite a disappointment. I'm hearing way too many poorly implemented and wrong pitched samples that make most games unplayable.

Nice little set up all around.


good day.

[KenToad]

Thanks for the comments, Chopper. I'm still on the fence with the Mister.

Misteraddons has announced a consolized project in the works, but it looks more like A/V equipment than a console to me. https://misteraddons.com/blogs/news/time-flies-when-youre-having-fun

Pre-orders are up for the Mister Multisystem, which is expected to ship November 26. This really seems like it's been smartly designed and I love the fact that it's manufactured in the UK. https://rmcretro.store/mister-multisystem/

[csnow]

I didn't buy a MiSTer for the coin op stuff and thought of it as a bonus, but I gotta say that the arcade cores are a mess and quite a disappointment. I'm hearing way too many poorly implemented and wrong pitched samples that make most games unplayable.

Nice little set up all around.


good day.

That is disappointing.  ArcadeSD is still a tuff nut to beat.  I ended up ordering another one after my first one got stuck in maint mode.  I was a bit put off by that but in the end for a vertical 4-way dedicated cabinet with a CRT its nearly impossible to beat from an ease of use, game quality, and fun factor.

[chopperthedog]

I didn't buy a MiSTer for the coin op stuff and thought of it as a bonus, but I gotta say that the arcade cores are a mess and quite a disappointment. I'm hearing way too many poorly implemented and wrong pitched samples that make most games unplayable.

Nice little set up all around.


good day.

That is disappointing.  ArcadeSD is still a tuff nut to beat.  I ended up ordering another one after my first one got stuck in maint mode.  I was a bit put off by that but in the end for a vertical 4-way dedicated cabinet with a CRT its nearly impossible to beat from an ease of use, game quality, and fun factor.

Reading my comment back sober it seems a tad harsh. It's the games with discrete sound circuits is where things get sketchy (mainly the classics and before). When you hit that mid 80's and beyond point the cores are pretty solid with games using sound chips by that point. So for the guy that wants to rock out some late 80s 90s horiz games in his cab, rock on.

Thumbs up  for arcadeSD (got 2 myself ) along with a jrok williams, bit-kit and an ArPicade set up with just VS. games.  Things have there place and serve their purposes to everyone's needs.

Digging the MiSTer as a console setup (no handheld systems) and looks amazing on my 27" crt along with using the optical audio out to my system. Over the last couple years I've also gathered up a nice usb controller collection in many flavors.

and don't you dare get me started on the MiSTer spy hunter sounds. Heads will roll. 


good day.

[dmckean]

MiSTerCade is in stock on the website for anyone who wanted one and missed out on the pre-order.

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade?variant=39282828509317

edit: ...and they're gone!

[Zebidee]

Then I sincerely hope my Mistercade pre-order from aaaaaaages ago (March?) is on its way to my place

[bobbyb13]

MiSTerCade is in stock on the website for anyone who wanted one and missed out on the pre-order.

https://misteraddons.com/products/mistercade?variant=39282828509317

edit: ...and they're gone!

Gone before I could pull up the website to look!
 

Hopefully they sent Andrew his before deciding they were out of them again!

[Zebidee]

Hopefully they sent Andrew his before deciding they were out of them again!

Fortunately I've kept myself occupied with stuff like swim teaching and building a few GreenAntz (for you  ). Speaking of which, they'll be ready soon. I promise I won't make you wait 8 months

[Gilrock]

I got an email that my preorder has shipped a few days ago.  Now I'm bummed I don't have the cab ready I was going to put it in.

[csnow]

I figure once the chip shortage and supply chain woes subside, and they become readily avialable there will be more arcade titles available.  I am on the 24 month to ownership plan 

[bobbyb13]

Seemed like there has been a great host of able developers working on arcade cores with no regard to how many MiSTer units are around.

Already a number of games working and more on the way it appears.

Finding those developers and finding a means to motivate (reward!) them will net more cores more quickly I imagine.

[Zeosstud]

My Mistercade arrived last week, got it put together and on my one cabinet that has a CRT, the thing looks amazing.. I have a 2nd cab with a fully wired Jamma harness and hooked up to that the device acts just like it should, everything just works, sadly the monitor and the mistercade currently are not super happy with each other. I very clearly need to get a CRT mounted in the cab that is wired up correctly, one that can rotate would be the bomb.

-Zeosstud

[stinkyrob]

The input lag on my MISTer setup is infinitely better than what I have on my RetroPie setup.  That's the biggest thing I've noticed.  Recently there's been a lot of work on the CPS-2 boards on the MISTer as well.  I can't speak to their accuracy, but they feel really good.

I've been playing on a CRT computer monitor hooked up using VGA via the standard IO board, using the scan doubler since my monitor only goes down to 480p.  I found a 20" CRT television with s-video at secondhand shop recently, so I hope to try that out soon too.

[Zebidee]

My pre-ordered Mistercade arrived a couple of days ago. haven't had a chance to do anything with it yet though!

My Mistercade arrived last week, got it put together and on my one cabinet that has a CRT, the thing looks amazing.. I have a 2nd cab with a fully wired Jamma harness and hooked up to that the device acts just like it should, everything just works, sadly the monitor and the mistercade currently are not super happy with each other.

You might need to tweak the settings in mister.ini for LCD monitors etc., and/or take video out from HDMI instead of VGA.

I see there is a "video_mode" where you can select resolutions from a predefined list, or roll your own. Maybe choose native resolution of your LCD monitor.

I don't really know, just guessing, I should play with mine or read the wiki or something   

I found a 20" CRT television with s-video at secondhand shop recently, so I hope to try that out soon too.

If you can find a model number, maybe it is moddable for component or RGB.

[stinkyrob]

I found a 20" CRT television with s-video at secondhand shop recently, so I hope to try that out soon too.

If you can find a model number, maybe it is moddable for component or RGB.

It's a Memorex Model: MT2024.  I have much, much to learn before I'd attempt modding it though.  I've read about it a fair bit over the years, but never opened up a case to a tv before. It didn't come with a remote, so I'll need to figure that out if I'm going to get into service mode.  I have an old phone with an IR blaster, so maybe that could work.

[Zebidee]

I found a 20" CRT television with s-video at secondhand shop recently, so I hope to try that out soon too.

If you can find a model number, maybe it is moddable for component or RGB.

It's a Memorex Model: MT2024.  I have much, much to learn before I'd attempt modding it though.  I've read about it a fair bit over the years, but never opened up a case to a tv before. It didn't come with a remote, so I'll need to figure that out if I'm going to get into service mode.  I have an old phone with an IR blaster, so maybe that could work.

I googled your model number ("TV MT2024 schematic") and easily found both user & service manuals online.

The MT2024 uses a TDA8377 based jungle chip, which is fairly common. It appears to have inactive RGB (RGB)/YUV (component) inputs at pins 46,47,48. They are marked for both, you may need to set something in service mode to activate them as either RGB or YUV. It also looks like it may have unused component inputs, marked as Y, Cb, Cr on the schematic, with the capacitors and resistors required already noted. So, it may be as simple as hooking up the connections and flicking a setting.

If this was my TV I'd definitely give it a go. If you don't feel confident about doing that, maybe ask a local friend to help.

For remotes, the IR phone app may be sufficient. There are also universal remotes available pretty cheap. This TV doesn't look terribly exotic so they'll probably work well enough.

[Grasshopper]

Well I finally took the plunge and ordered one. If anyone's interested, the cost was £153.53 (inc. taxes and postage) from Digi-Key (UK).

They're quoting a lead time of 8 weeks which sounds extremely optimistic to me, given the current problems with supply chains. But I figured I might as well reserve a place in the queue.

[abispac]

MiSTercade is now back in stock and we thought you'd like to know.

[dmckean]

They're gone again now, looks like they're only staying in stock for about 15 minutes at a time.

[gamepimp]

Hi all. I picked up a 3D printer last year and decided it was time to create a case for my MiSTer. I wrote up a post about it on the MiSTer forum if anyone is interested.

https://misterfpga.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4053

I have some extra components left and am planning on putting together kits to sell for anyone who is looking for a nice enclosure for their MiSTer.

[dmckean]

There's been a lot happening with MiSTer over the last six months.

On the arcade side we now have Toaplan 1 & 2 cores, the CAVE core started receiving regular updates again and now supports I think all games, Sega System 16 core came out of beta, there's an SNK Triple Z80 core, there's an R-Type core close to release and a lot of other things.

On the console side we now have fully working Sega 32x and Playstation 1 cores.

The video system for HDMI monitors has received pretty much a full rewrite. It now supports more scaling options, scaling filters, shadowmask filters and bloom. It also supports VRR and Game Mode for OLED televisions.

The supply of DE-10 Nanos is also not nearly as tight as it was six months ago.

[pbj]

Those DE-10 Nanos are getting pretty old.  I think it would be foolish to invest in that setup now.  We've all seen what's happened with Pi specifications over and over.

[dmckean]

FPGA technology moves at a snails pace compared to CPUs.

Also, a new FPGA with more logic elements that could run at a higher clock speed would maybe only benefit two or three cores. Also, porting the MiSTer framework to another board would be a huge task. There would need to be a lot of incentive to move to something else and right now it's just not there.

The project will continue to use the DE-10 Nano for as long as it's available.

[pbj]

The project will continue to use the DE-10 Nano for as long as it's available.

 

Okay, bro.

 

[opt2not]

The MiSTer still remains one of the best purchases I’ve made in the last few years.

Thanks for holding down the fort here, dmckean 

[chopperthedog]

The MiSTer still remains one of the best purchases I’ve made in the last few years.

I can agree with this now.

After the honeymoon with my initial stack, the shortcomings started to become apparent. The component video out functioned and looked OK, but it was lacking that pop,.my s-video modded consoles looked better. Ended up learning about the 18bit cap and limited color range on the analog out of the i/o, tried direct video with an hdmi to vga thingy and what an impressive difference.

Next, my audio system has optical provisions because of the ass analog audio from a PS2 fat, but I defaulted to using the optical with MiSTer in the begining. Noticed that my system would cut off the first couple ms of a sound, i.e. the jump sound in pitfall or the nintendo snes chime would get clipped. Games that had music or other continuous noises happening were fine. No fault of the MiSTer, just something with my system. Figure I'll just try the analog audio out from the i/o. Welp, on first core launch 3 loud pops made my sub and speakers scream in pain, analog audio from i/o had no use for me. Snagged an optical to analog box and got a good clean signal with happy speakers.

So, now I have a pile of random bits that make up my MiSTer "rig" under my TV, not the easiest thing to kinda set up and tear down when I want to use one of my other consoles.






Attached everything to a chunk of shelf and got mine "consoleized" with easy power in and audio/video outs for easy hook up and storage. The MT32-pi is the only item not attached, left that loose to have that center space to use snac adapters. Got me thinking about all these really expensive multi system, ironclad itx and other all in one boards, it's just the same design of the stock stack with all the shortcomings on a single fancy PCB and box. I almost got sucked into one of those boards.... PHEW!





This isn't a knock on the MiSTer, I always noticed on my 27" TV, that the top an bottom were clipped. I had NO clue that consumer crt's had service menus. One of them "wish I knew this sh!t years ago" moments. Got the vertical dialed in and now I can see all scores, insert coins, power meters, lives left and everything else fully now.



good day.

[KenToad]

I still haven't bought one, but I follow several Mister news sources. I already have so much rarely played retro hardware, but Mister remains a strong temptation and I'm really impressed by the development progress. If they ever get around to adding Jaguar, 3DO, and Saturn, that should be the end of my will to resist ... probably.