Flashjacks combo cartridge by Aquijacks

Par hamlet

Scribe (4106)

15-04-2018, 12:28

Good news and nice design!

Par Pablibiris

Paragon (1815)

15-04-2018, 12:44

This is a GREAT piece of hardware. Congratulations Aquijacks!!

Par mambrino

Rookie (30)

15-04-2018, 15:39

Good specs & nice device that includes everything a MSX user might need

Great work! thanks

Par Manuel

Ascended (19308)

15-04-2018, 21:40

Is there an idea how accurate the FM emulator is, assuming an FPGA implementation is used?

Awesome that more and more multidevices are becoming available for MSX users!

Par x-nen Aivalahostia

Paragon (1530)

15-04-2018, 22:09

Wow, it looks great!!!
Is there any video of the device in operation?
Congratulations

Par mars2000you

Enlighted (6433)

15-04-2018, 22:17

I took a look at the manual and I think MSX music fans will love this new hardware: noise extremely reduced, problems of volume/balance between different soundchips resolved, real stereo for PSG, SCC and MSX-MUSIC, possibility to add external soundchips cartridges (FM-PAC, MSX-AUDIO, MoonSound) and even the MP3 cartridge!

It implies that some things that are possible with the blueMSX emulator in the sound area (especially customized stereo) are here enhanced, as the real stereo is produced by an intelligent division of the music channels. For example, the stereo MSX-MUSIC:

Quote:

If we have the Stereo mode activated, the instruments are distributed in the
environment 180º as follows:
- Channel 1, 3 and 5 on the left side at 45º.
- Channel 0, 2 and 4, on the right side at 135º
- Rest of channels and percussion through the central channel at 90º

I guess purists of the original mono sound will not like this, but for many users, a good stereo sound is generally better than a mono sound, at least when it's not pseudo-stereo as like with the Dutch FM-PAK!

Par Pablibiris

Paragon (1815)

15-04-2018, 22:33

I have one of them and...it's awesome. I was one of the three lucky ones who could test the cartridge
The stereo sound is AMAZING.

Par djh1697

Paragon (1696)

15-04-2018, 23:34

I am impressed with the fat32 compatibility, the 96/24 stereo compatibility is good too! Shame there is no sp/dif out? Hang on, i use my PC to connect to my HiFi, using ROON. I doubt that sort of power will ever be available for my MSX2. I am very impressed though

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

16-04-2018, 00:17

Looks nice, very interested in this project.

mars2000you wrote:

I guess purists of the original mono sound will not like this, but for many users, a good stereo sound is generally better than a mono sound, at least when it's not pseudo-stereo as like with the Dutch FM-PAK!

Im not a purist of mono sound but a music "purist".. and imho fixed panning per channel settings does not sound preferable. Because from my point of view the current settings will mess up a lot of songs, just because bassline should be in the dead center, but here the first 6 FM channels seem to be panned to either sides, which in my opinion is not "good stereo sound". Chords might get broken up in different sides, or layered instruments (2 channels that are supposed to form 1 instrument/sound are now broken up) Also the panning seems to be fixed at 45/90/135 degrees, while perhaps a more varied/spread out panning per sound chip (for example slightly less wide on scc, even narrower for psg) might sound better.

But I have not heard this device yet so I dont know, it might sound better than I imagine

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

16-04-2018, 00:44

The Dutch FM-PAK was not pseudo stereo. They split the musical channels from the percussion channels. Each on one side. That was mighty ugly. That was the Checkmark, as well as the one developed by Digital KC which was sold by MK Public Domain and produced (or sold) by MSX-Club West Friesland. I never understood the reason for it.

Stereo can be nice if it's done like Moonsound does it, by choice of the composer.

Anyhoo, you're always free to connect the device with a mono cable

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

16-04-2018, 01:02

Meits wrote:

The Dutch FM-PAK was not pseudo stereo. They split the musical channels from the percussion channels. Each on one side. That was mighty ugly. That was the Checkmark, as well as the one developed by Digital KC which was sold by MK Public Domain and produced (or sold) by MSX-Club West Friesland. I never understood the reason for it.

If i recall correctly it was advertised as pseudo stereo back in the days (or magazines called it that). Obviously "true" pseudo stereo something else (I guess difference in phase or pitch between Left and Right)

Quote:

Stereo can be nice if it's done like Moonsound does it, by choice of the composer.

Anyhoo, you're always free to connect the device with a mono cable

Manual says I can select mono out anyway so I dont see it as a problem, just pointing out some potential flaws/problems The other features are interesting/cool enough

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

16-04-2018, 01:12

MSX-Club Gouda sold the so called Pseudo Stereo Box. Mono in "stereo" out. That little box could serve any mono device. I remember a guy having it. It was very subtle. Not bad at all. It was not fixed stereo per channel. A bit of frequency spreading.

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

16-04-2018, 01:26

Meits wrote:

MSX-Club Gouda sold the so called Pseudo Stereo Box. Mono in "stereo" out. That little box could serve any mono device. I remember a guy having it. It was very subtle. Not bad at all. It was not fixed stereo per channel. A bit of frequency spreading.

oh right I was mixing things up. I recall this pseudo stereo box. It had some stereo spreading? nice. My friend back then said it sucks because it was just a splitter but he seems to be missinformed

Par gdx

Enlighted (6110)

16-04-2018, 03:34

Have improved compatibility with the driver for Nextor or is it the same as with the original Sunrise CF/IDE?

Par knm1983

Hero (575)

16-04-2018, 08:28

Hello. Here I have some samplers for us.
I hope good for us.

Thanks

https://drive.google.com/open?id=18LwY8KSgpXnMlqadAGOuAfwIbQ...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qJ-vM8RGWdun0_VdMYGN65YR6N...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qgCzBH729_IEOH4QyUev7bzmJv...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jdkYGjZWsg0cwafDgTDf8DdB9M...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KiTeEAFu5qb7nesgtAIYILgaLa...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12IhwWaJslZZD2n-upKH6dp9XvC...

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fNvYndwJ8xYY7_MfXkEhSLsTM1...

Par Pablibiris

Paragon (1815)

16-04-2018, 08:43

Well...If you haven't heard the Stereo of the cartridge, why talk about it?
First hear it and later Talk about.

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

16-04-2018, 09:44

Pablibiris wrote:

Well...If you haven't heard the Stereo of the cartridge, why talk about it?
First hear it and later Talk about.

Because it ain't that hard to simulate this with the numerous split up tracks I already have on my harddisk. So yes, I've heard the effect.

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

16-04-2018, 14:41

Pablibiris wrote:

Well...If you haven't heard the Stereo of the cartridge, why talk about it?
First hear it and later Talk about.

So unless I have heard/seen/played something, I can not say anything bad about it but good things are okay?

I'm not shooting the product down/saying it sucks, merely offering feedback based on the information available. I am very interested in this product and will most likely buy one when its out/more info is available. Besides my comment was mostly in response to Mars' post.

Par Grauw

Ascended (10708)

16-04-2018, 14:04

Guys,

knm1983 wrote:

Hello. Here I have some samplers for us.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=18LwY8KSgpXnMlqadAGOuAfwIbQ...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qJ-vM8RGWdun0_VdMYGN65YR6N...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qgCzBH729_IEOH4QyUev7bzmJv...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jdkYGjZWsg0cwafDgTDf8DdB9M...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KiTeEAFu5qb7nesgtAIYILgaLa...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=12IhwWaJslZZD2n-upKH6dp9XvC...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fNvYndwJ8xYY7_MfXkEhSLsTM1yZ65Nt

Have a listen then... :D

My opinion, it’s not my cup of tea, but the effect sounds ok.

(Unlike the FM Stereo PAK which seems born more from a "it’s technically possible" mindset -the OPLL has a separate output for drums-, rather than because it sounded nice or was in any way practical :)).

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

16-04-2018, 14:35

I've heard it and it was exactly what I expected of it. I do think the majority will like this and that's what the maker does it for and gets credits for. I'm kind of interested in the cartridge as well, but will not use this feature for myself

Par Pac

Scribe (6971)

16-04-2018, 17:56

In my opinion this feature is very welcome, very innovative and it sounds great. This is something new to the MSX standard and as the author explain in the manual, it offers a new way of composing music taking into account how the stereo output is conceived. Like it or not is there, so let's take advantage of it.

Par Ivan

Ascended (9341)

16-04-2018, 19:53

In Spain that so called stereo FM-PAC was also sold here, take a look at the last page of this magazine:

https://archive.org/stream/MSXClub/MSX%20Club%2080#page/n53/...

It was probably imported from The Netherlands.

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

16-04-2018, 21:26

Hi.
I introduce myself. I am the creator of Flashjacks and I want to comment on some comments I received in the mail.
You ask me by mail for the sale of Flashjacks and unfortunately I do not have the necessary means to make this unit in quantity and less to export it from the country.
In advance, I apologize for this.

It is my desire to be able to make units for everything but as a private person I can not reach that dream for the moment.

Greetings to all and thanks for your understanding.

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

16-04-2018, 23:28

OH so it will not be for sale? too bad the newspost made me think it will be for sale later. So basically it will just be a small local batch?

*edit* nevermind, I just read your e-mail to me. I see its indeed a small local batch. Too bad. Thank you for taking your time to respond anyway

Par Giangiacomo Zaffini 2

Champion (284)

17-04-2018, 00:49

Too bad it is not for sale (I hope it is like that for now, but in the future it will change)!
Just out of curiosity: what is the purpose of four mega ROM configurations? Is it to cram 4 mega ROMs into one, enabling favourite one at switch command? Or mega ROMs can some-how be chained? I guess only ASC16/ASCII-16kByte rom mapping can give a 4 MBytes size.
Beyond that, 4 MSX-DOS2 mapped RAM banks of 4 MBytes each? Is it MSX-DOS2 standard feasible? mumble

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

17-04-2018, 06:41

You can configure it as you want.
You can put 4x4Mb Rom each in a subslot or you can make it Ram and have a sum of 16MB.
And the Msx accepts it perfectly.

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

17-04-2018, 11:20

If you can't produce big quantities, maybe go the same way as Carnivore 2 went: https://www.8bits4ever.net/
I think it's a bit sad for the people who read the news about the product, just to find out that they can't have it.

Par Wolverine_nl

Paragon (1160)

17-04-2018, 12:22

Yes, it is a bit confusing, if it is local, then when published here, where allot of people world wide see it, you really need to mention it in the news article.

I do agree with Meits, strike a deal with 8bits4ever, they can handle a more international market. These inventive products are always great news anyways

Par Pablibiris

Paragon (1815)

17-04-2018, 13:34

at first,some of here criticized the cartridge and its Stereo .... now everyone wants it ... curious

Par syn

Prophet (2115)

17-04-2018, 15:09

Pablibiris wrote:

at first,some of here criticized the cartridge and its Stereo .... now everyone wants it ... curious

Talking about me? The stereo is only a small part of the features. Like I said multiple times, I am interested in this device and was most likely going to get one once ppl have shared their experience /any initial issues are reported/solved.

I don't think I can make it more clear: Criticism does not equal dislike or hate

Par gdx

Enlighted (6110)

17-04-2018, 15:18

Pablibiris wrote:

at first,some of here criticized the cartridge and its Stereo .... now everyone wants it ... curious

Not me because Nextor driver for Sunrise CF/IDE is used, the contacts are not golden, stereo is not really interesting on a mono system and the price expensive.

Par Wolverine_nl

Paragon (1160)

17-04-2018, 16:17

interested and wanting it are 2 different things, plus now take also into account interested vs disappointed in this news-post. Please let us know when you are going to sell it on a larger scale or make it Open Source on GitHub.

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

17-04-2018, 16:47

Pablibiris wrote:

at first,some of here criticized the cartridge and its Stereo .... now everyone wants it ... curious

I don't think I understand you on this while I do think you understand that the part Syn and I criticize is a minor thing which can be circumvented rather easily.

Anyhoo. In the future please have a producer for a device before telling the world about it. MRC's newspost is not a platform for telling people what they can't have. There's the forums for that.

Par Pablibiris

Paragon (1815)

17-04-2018, 17:57

Lol...this is the news section,is not a post in "trading and collecting" forum

Par meits

Scribe (6534)

17-04-2018, 18:53

Pablibiris wrote:

Lol...this is the news section,is not a post in "trading and collecting" forum

This is going nowhere.

Par ro

Scribe (4918)

19-04-2018, 07:36

I think Aquijacks did a great job on this device. Not only because it trully is a wonderfull piece of electronics, but also a goal he realized. Making new waves just because you feel the need to is stepping forwards. And it feels good, I'm sure you know that feeling.

Even if this is just a local batch and not world domination, it still deserves a news posts. This is the MSX platform that tells you what's up. There's no "rules" on when it should be news post worthy as in "is it for sale worldwide or not". I'm glad I read this post.

Makes me feel good.

Hope we hear from you more often, Aquijacks. Keep that soldering iron hot!

Par Parn

Paladin (833)

18-04-2018, 14:01

knm1983 wrote:

Hello. Here I have some samplers for us.
I hope good for us.

Thanks

Sounds better than I expected. Too bad we can't have it! Will it be open sourced or made available for someone else to produce it?

Par Dhampird

Hero (589)

19-04-2018, 06:53

This cart looks amazing! Outstanding work behind!
Felicitaciones Antonio por el Proyecto, la ostia!

Par Pac

Scribe (6971)

19-04-2018, 20:55

Let me comment that I've been the person behind this news post. Although it was written by Aquijacks itself my main goal was to publish it in this format and I was pushing him to do so. I was already aware from the beginning that only a limited batch would be produced but even so I thought it deserved this announcement due to its great features and quality development. Yes, maybe I was so optimistic thinking future batches would produced after good reception, I'm sorry.

I understand your reactions but please don't focus your frustration to him, just me.

Par Wolverine_nl

Paragon (1160)

20-04-2018, 09:47

PAC wrote:

Let me comment that I've been the person behind this news post. Although it was written by Aquijacks itself my main goal was to publish it in this format and I was pushing him to do so. I was already aware from the beginning that only a limited batch would be produced but even so I thought it deserved this announcement due to its great features and quality development. Yes, maybe I was so optimistic thinking future batches would produced after good reception, I'm sorry.

I understand your reactions but please don't focus your frustration to him, just me.

No worries PAC, every new MSX expansion is good news and eventhough i am a little dissapointed because it was not mentioned. thats all

Par Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3571)

04-05-2018, 12:50

Interesting project. However, the BGA chip makes it almost impossible to assemble the cartridge at home without the special equipment. I wonder why this chip was selected in the first place.

Will the project be open-source? How is the firmware updated?

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

04-05-2018, 18:07

Hi.
That chip was selected because it allowed great power in a small space.
Its FPGA power exceeds 4 to 8 times (in some versions) the FPGA that has a onechip.
The firmware is updated with physical cable.
And at the moment it is not opensource. In fact, it carries a complex encryption system that would prevent any copy.

Regards.

Par Pencioner

Scribe (1546)

04-05-2018, 21:24

Any chance you will create batch for sale in the future?

Par Wierzbowsky

Guardian (3571)

07-05-2018, 10:03

Copyprotection for a device that no one will be able to assemble? Sounds a bit extreme to me. But it's the engineer's choice of course.

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

07-05-2018, 20:49

It is really conceived as a whim, not as a line of business.
Copy protection is one of those theories that I implanted simply to know if it worked.

I do not know if I can do this device massively. As you say, the manufacturing itself is already an anti-copy system.
Complicated, very complicated even for me.

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

20-01-2019, 19:45

I am delivering the presentation video of the Flashjacks portal:
Flashjacks presentation

And here the stand in the last RU in Barcelona (01/19/2019):
Flashjacks RU Barcelona 2019

Par Louthrax

Prophet (2436)

20-01-2019, 20:50

So nice stuff... Can't help feeling a bit like that.
Of course without wanting to give you Aquijacks any mass-distribution pressure :)

Par Aquijacks

Champion (299)

14-06-2020, 11:04

We have update 1.7. These are the news:
- The PSG update is reversed since a better realism is observed with the original PSG of the version prior to 1.6
- The FDSK is compatible for internal disks when pressing the 0 key
- Improved error calibration on SD cards. Now calibrate the input data according to SD response speed.
- Increased SD speed by accepting multi-packet functions in SD reading.
- Global increase of the reading rate noticing in the DSK files especially.
- Fixed mapping bug on startup. Now it does not lose the internal mapping when asked for IDE access. (It does not corrupt the MSXDOS).
- Flashjacks consumption is optimized. Now consumption is variable and not continuous. Consumption is adapted to the core of the FPGA according to the resources used. Max approx 300mA.
- Real multi-access to RAM is programmed. Multiple independent resources now have access to RAM with MSX priority.
- Adaptation of the EVAplayer to the Flashjacks. This program is adapted and the necessary resources are programmed in the Flashjacks. Now it is possible to watch EVA videos in 10 and 12FPS. (MSX2 and 2+ according to video).
- JacksBoy is programmed. First historic milestone on an 8bit computer. A complete system is synthesized within the Flashjacks, sharing resources with the MSX and working simultaneously.
Jacksboy can run homebrew and other applications. Allows saved games and other extras. Stereo audio, joystick, etc ... Compatible from a standard MSX2.
- Fixed bug in CALL FDISK. Not all cards detected actual capacity the first time. The SD is now slowly booted to its normal idle state.
- Added blinking of the blue led when the SD card cannot be initialized. Very useful to know if the slot or card is dirty.
- The restoration of default values is added to the BootMenu.
- Double check is made in the Firmware update.
- Fixed stability bugs in the access to Flashjacks commands in the BootMenu.

And this is the video with the news:
Video upgrade Flashjacks V1.7

Par _ThEcRoW

Master (145)

13-10-2020, 14:44

Is there any news on availability on this cartridge?

Par Grauw

Ascended (10708)

13-10-2020, 14:59

See DrWh0's comment in this more recent newspost:

https://www.msx.org/news/software/en/flashjacks-firmware-upd...

Flashjacks combo cartridge by Aquijacks

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Flashjacks combo cartridge by Aquijacks

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