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1chipMSX resurrection guide added to articles

Monday, January 07, 2008 - 16:33
Submitted by: wolf_
Topic: MSX Revival

A few days ago, MSX User Edwin Velds placed an in-depth text on our forum, with instructions on how to resurrect a 1chipMSX. If the 1chipMSX won't boot anymore due faulty VHDL code, you can't resurrect the machine using software, and a standard cable is a tad expensive. Edwin provided us with a scheme for the parallel port and instructions on how to proceed using the software. If all goes well, your 1brickMSX should turn into a 1chipMSX again!

As of today, we've added this text to our article section, where it can easily be found. If you have information, tutorials and other instructions you wish to share with the MSX world in form of an article, feel free to submit text and related media to articles@msx.org and we will process it. We have translators, so your article doesn't need to be written in English if you're not comfortable with this language.

Relevant link: 1chipMSX resurrection guide

By Google

By Huey on January 08 2008, 11:22

This is great!
I don't own a 1chipMSX (yet). This is one of those thing I needed to know before I'd purchase one.

Edwin, thanks for schedding some light into this matter.

By Yukio on January 08 2008, 19:35

Does anyone wanted some Brick Games to resurrect (or test) the MSX?
Maybe some BIN/ROM files could be loaded on the One Chip MSX too ...

By manuel on January 08 2008, 22:05

Yukio: wwwhat!??!?!??

By Latok on January 08 2008, 23:06

I think it's a good idea, Yukio. Question is though how to load these brick games into the 1chipMSX when the device itself has to be resurrected? I expect an error in the booting sequence. Maybe someone who doesn't have a 1brickMSX can test this?....

By MicroTech on January 09 2008, 09:16

This is REALLY useful, thanks for sharing these infos

Hope to be able to build the cable by myself.
If I understand correclty the usage difference between Edwin's cable and BB II cable is that with Edwin's cable it is necessary to power off 1chipMSX and disconnect cable once EPCS4 has been programmed, right

By Edwin on January 09 2008, 11:40

Not exactly. It should function exactly like a ByteBlasterII (provided there are no errors in the information I gathered). The only real difference is that the original BBII uses an analogue circuit to do voltage conversions. This one uses a digital one to convert all voltages to that from the 1chipMSX (3.3 V), even the signals that go back to the parallel port. So in theory it could be possible that it won't work because the parallel port should get 5 V. But the machine I used for this is 10 years old and barely enough to run the software itself. So it's doubtful whether that will ever be an issue.
What is an issue is that modern PCs don't have parallel ports any more.

By snout on January 09 2008, 13:43

Haven't tested it (yet), but afaik the USB Blaster works just fine...

By Edwin on January 09 2008, 22:33

True. But I don't think you're likely to build a USB Blaster compatible cable for two euro in parts and rudimentary soldering skills.

By MicroTech on March 05 2008, 16:49

Just tested and it works flawlessly: great job Edwin

Could be interesting to test "Edwin's byteblaster" on a PC without parallel and with a USB to parallel adapter...

Now approaching VHDL...

By MicroTech on April 18 2008, 11:21

I was just playing around with Edwin's ByteBlaster...
I confirm that (with my 3 years old Fujitsu-Siemens PC) 1chipMSX remains "stopped" until connected to Edwin's cable: it is necessary to poweroff 1chipMSX and disconnect it to test the downloaded firmware.

Although this cable/adapter is an excellent solution I'd like to avoid to manually connect/disconnect the cable all the times I have to download a new firmware... so just wondering: pins 1 and 2 of IC 74HC244 are connected to gnd so IC will never put its outputs to high-impendance.
Could it be useful to connect pins 1 and 2 to a (manual) switch to select if these two signals must be connected to gnd (cable can program 1chipMSX) or to vcc (cable is "off", 1chipMSX can run)

By Edwin on April 19 2008, 19:59

You could indeed do that easy enough by adding a pulldown resistor to the OE pins and add a switch to the Vcc. There may actually be a pin in the parallel port which is put high when the programming starts. In that case you wouldn't even need the switch. But you'd need to do some research to find out if that's the case.