New to MSX world (Casio MX-15)

Rookie (22)

13-04-2009, 23:43

Hello dear forum users,

by pure chance, I recently came into possession of a Casio MX-15 Msx 1 as seen here

http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/f_info.html?Casio_MX-15.html

it seems to be an european version (at least I bought it there). It came only with a power adapter and an rf connector, manual etc. are missing.

Of course, now that I have it, I want to make the best out of it. Now I have some questions:

- Does the computer have any inbuilt bios/software that will run without a cartridge, so I can test it?

- Does the Msx 1 standard have any (partial?) compatibility with the Msx 2 standard, meaning can I play some of all of the Msx 2 games, especially the japanese stuff from Konami?

- Can I use Atari Joysticks with it?

- How can I upgrade it?

Thanks for your admittance!

Aangemeld of registreer om reacties te plaatsen

Van ARTRAG

Enlighted (6935)

13-04-2009, 23:58

welcome desperado,

1) yes, any msx comes with a version of the msx basic at least. You can start from there if you do not have any cartridge. Some machines have also special firmware allowing e.g. wordprocessing or other nice things, but not your mx-15 IIRC.
Another option is to load SW from the cassette plug. On the net you will find many mp3 or wav with msx software ready to be loaded on real HW using the cassette plug.

2) Some msx2 games have a msx1 version too (e.g. King's Valley II) and some msx1 game have special features when running on msx2 (e.g. Nemesis 3), but msx2 games that run on msx1 are very rare.

3) Atari joysticks work fine on msx but msx joysticks have a second button too that could be required by some games

4) Depending on what you look for, the anwer could range from "buy an xbox360" to "buy a cassette player". Any hint on the subject?

Van Ivan

Ascended (9353)

14-04-2009, 00:07

Desperado, your computer is good enough to run MSX software on cartridge.
With only 16kb of RAM most software on tape won't load in your Casio MX-15.

Forget the idea to play MSX2 games on cartridge with an MSX1 computer. Enjoy your Casio MSX1 and if you like it and want to go a bit further get an MSX2 with diskdrive.

Van Desperado

Rookie (22)

14-04-2009, 00:12

I connected the hardware to a regular tv screen using the video port and switched it on. It displayed a couple of vertical blue bars and thats it. Nothing else happened. Bad sign?

Is the cassette adaptor separate equipment meaning I have to roam ebay for it?

Of course my hope was to play Vampire Killer, Gradius etc. but if they're only Msx 2 compatible, I will take any Msx 1 recommendations you will make.

Van ARTRAG

Enlighted (6935)

14-04-2009, 00:14

bad sign
you should see the msx1 boot screen and enter into the basic

Van Desperado

Rookie (22)

14-04-2009, 00:17

Have to go for now. Will come back later. Thanks for now!

Van Ivan

Ascended (9353)

14-04-2009, 00:24

Of course my hope was to play Vampire Killer, Gradius etc. but if they're only Msx 2 compatible, I will take any Msx 1 recommendations you will make.Vampire Killer is for MSX2. You can play the Nemesis (Gradius) series with your Casio: Nemesis, Nemesis 2, Salamander and Nemesis 3.

Van Desperado

Rookie (22)

14-04-2009, 09:21

Back again.

So, when I boot up my Casio without a cartridge and connected to a TV it only shows some irregular colored or grey patterns on the screen. No sound either. Are there recommended testing procedures that might help me identify the problem or doesit seem like something more serious? Soldering is an option for me.

Van dhau

Paragon (1570)

14-04-2009, 17:11

Just to make sure, you're not connecting RF out to comosite video or something like that?

Also, some older RF out systems have 300 Ohm impedance, and modern (that is less then 20 years old) TVs expect 75 Ohm. There are boxes that convert one type to another.

If your computer has 9929 video chip, you can get R, G, B and CSync of it. With a simple amp boost it should be able to drive RGB monitors and/or TVs with RGB SCART.

Van mohai

Paladin (1007)

14-04-2009, 18:06

Make sure you are using proper connection. If your MSX has an RF connection, then you should use antenna connection and tune up proper channel on your TV.

Does your MSX has A/V output or only RF?

Van Desperado

Rookie (22)

14-04-2009, 18:58

My MSX has an RF output (I'm using the original adaptor), a video and a mono audio output which I can connect to the tv using a scart adaptor. BOth options yield the same results. The TV isn't too old (3-4 years) , PAL, and is supposed to support RGB. Enabling RGB makes the screen flicker a little less, making it more or less black with some noise. The audio is a more or less constant low-frequency buzzing.

Do you have a fast sound-test that can be started without video signal?