Nice to see overseas people beyond Brasil, Japan, Spain, enjoying MSX !! This msx2 or mod kit was my dream wen i was a led… Eletronic devices and international shipping is very expensive here !! But so, i have a disk drive controller spare here !! Im owner of a Gradiente Expert !! Nice video serie and job !!! The best mod is a cartridge called MA-20 from retropix… make your mSx boot and act as a real MSX2…
Something that can catch anyone troubleshooting is this. I saw you check there was +5 to the chips however you were using a GND reference at the power supply. This only checks one of the power rails and missed the GND rail. If the GND pin on the IC is floating the chip won't work. I've seen this a couple of times. There are several ways to test this. You can do what you did then reference the positive lead on the meter to +5 at the power supply and use the negative lead on the meter to test all the GNDs. You could also make both connections at each chip.
Great video! You might want to get some proper MSX joystick, with 2 independent fire buttons. It's very useful in several good games. Also, you do have the V9958 chip, so I'm pretty sure you can also enjoy some MSX2+ extras from some games.
Very nicely done, I too got stung a while back with a few faulty AY-3-8910 chips I got cheap on ebay. I managed to test the device I was building by pulling an YM2149F from none other than an MSX. This MSX build series has been a great watch so far and I'm really looking forward to the next part ;)
i bought the boards some time ago.. but doubted my ability to actually get it working. But having finally completed my Harlequin build (at the second attempt due to being a moron with my over hot iron) I am thinking this is the time to follow your lead :)
@@TheRetroShack '2k ' Paints dry into a more durable paint. Might be relevent to something that gets handled. 2 part can is one time use. Painted my car with spray paint, looks great. Definitely needed a 2k coating.
Was dragged into your channel by your Spectrum PCB tinkering, but glad I stayed for this. I know nothing about this machine, but have enjoyed watching the build. When you've finished can you do a bit of an overview of the machine using your brand new toy please?
@@TheRetroShack I bought the machine back in 1987 while I was doing my military service. The store gave it to me for next to nothing. It has an amazing keyboard and works like a dream. I am considering giving it a home that it deserves. You are top of the list.
@@carledwards9477 I had the pleasure of using one a couple of years ago and you’re absolutely right, the keyboard is amazing. The shack always welcomes new machines and I’d love to do a deep dive on the SVI - such an amazing history!
@@TheRetroShack I think I was one of the first people to actually get a 728 in South Africa. Home computers were not really a big thing for many people, but there were many devoted users in those that did buy machines. I was lucky enough to bump into a pastor who ran a local MSX group - wonderful times.
Nice! Thanks for the video. My daughter has a rather nice PAL Phillips MSX2 machine but I'm not terribly familiar with the standard. I'll be interested to see where you take yours.
Can't take the credit for the colours :) But happy that it ended up looking really good :) Next episode will have some games on for sure, and I'm thinking of doing a live stream at some point :)
That case is certainly not bad, but I personally think that Sony's HitBit Mezzo case - or HitBit HB-101 is the most gorgeous case. It's a shame there are no reproductions of that available, as far as I know.
Go for it :) I’m having great fun with this and my VG-8235 isn’t working (yet!) :) The Orit Atmos is one of the most beautiful machines of the 80’s in my opinion :)
Oh no, fake/refurbished Chinese chips strike again 😥 Sorry for the trouble you were having. But believe me designing and debugging the initial build wasn't easy either. At least it looks you've got the PCB, the case, and some components donated, and I spent my own money and time. But it was fun 😜
I believe Winbond still produce a AY-3-8910 compatible chip, but the last time I looked, I'd trouble tracking any of theirs down. 😞 Mind you, if you ever want to get a replacement, that could be an option.
Would be a bit late now it is painted, but the top of the case has the seam where it is joined. Would you, if you done it again, think about sanding and filling that seam to make it look like one complete unit?
Given how much you're spending on other stuff, you might consider getting a cheap oscilloscope. It makes debugging problems _much_ faster because you can see the exact AC signals on pins. For example, I probably would have started with your standard ROM in the system and checked the A0 address line on the CPU which should show regular sequences of alternating low and high signals at the system clock rate, indicating that the CPU is executing sequences of instructions. If that's working, you can move on to A15, which should always be low if it's executing from the ROM (addresses $0000-$7FFF); if it's not you can check the power supply pins to see if the chip is getting consistent +5V between power and ground without large dips in power (which would indicate a problem with the PSU or the power lines on the board). If that is working, you can probe the address and data lines on the ROM to ensure it appears to be returning some sort of reasonable data. You can also probe the address pins on the video memory side of the video chip to show that it's scanning the video memory to produce the display, and so on. While a benchtop 'scope ($300 or so for a low-end two-channel model) is easier and faster to use, even a decent handheld 'scope ($100-$200) will do well enough, and if you're really budget-limited you can find low-end handheld scopes for under $50.
Great videos. I finally got mine up and running but testing S-Video has produced Vertical Lines after the MSX Boot screen. The Bios Launch with the MSX Logo is clean, but once I get to the prompt, I get vertical lines and does the same in a game. Just curious if yours does the same or does S-Video run differently on the Omega than the US standard? (absolutely no clue if S-video is universal or not).
The HX-10 was one of my first home computers. Really enjoying this series and can’t wait to see just how far you can take this project. Seriously tempted to have a go myself!
@@Spark010 Hopefully! Good luck and let me know how you get on if you decide to go for it. Before you do - I’ll be running a little giveaway in a couple of weeks time for a set of PCB’s for this project :)
Oh man that first moment of the msx logo popping up, epic! Love the nms8235 grey/cherry paint job, makes it look unique and period correct! Can't wait until you pop in an FM Pac (YM2413 or does that cartridge from brazil include it?) and run a few msx2 games! What are you going to use the printer port for? Do you have a dot matrix printer to try it out?
@@TheRetroShack it's a great little synth, I think some new pcbs should be available somewhere. Aliexpress has some used ym2413, but make sure you order 10 of them, half may be bad. Scc is nice too but may be expensive these days. I was lucky to get one before they got rare for like 15 euros or so.
What might be handy is a little microcontroller box that would convert the printer port's parallel output to serial output, which then could be connected to a PC via a USB serial interface. Then you could save your "printouts" in easily-viewed text files.
@@TheRetroShack On the other hand, I think that if you use the RGB output you will have an excellent image and the option of NTSC/PAL will cease to be important. If your TV supports SCART it should support NTSC picture by SCART.
I wonder why you didn't go and create a 16bit version of the MSX computer with a ZILOG Z800 which would have been compatible with both the ZILOG Z80A and ZILOG Z800
Then it wouldn't be a MSX machine.. The standard clearly states a Z80 as the main CPU. However, the Panasonic FS-A1 ST/GT MSX Turbo R uses an Ascii R800 CPU, Which is a derivative of a Zilog Z800. See Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R800_(CPU)
That paintjob should have been better. You can still see that it's 3d printed and in two halfs. Why not use a filler first, sand it down and after that put on paint. Would look much nicer!
I did make that comment in the video - I was up against time. Next time you see it, it will look much better - hopefully! Not my expertise unfortunately :(
Yellow keys - too many :) Please please please replace them! I would only leave yellow F-keys, backspace & a few more. But definitely not spacebar, and not Enter and \ key :)
Didn't have too much time to resolve that for this video - but it'll be resolved by the time the next part comes out :) Not my area of expertise I'm afraid :(
Nice to see overseas people beyond Brasil, Japan, Spain, enjoying MSX !! This msx2 or mod kit was my dream wen i was a led… Eletronic devices and international shipping is very expensive here !!
But so, i have a disk drive controller spare here !! Im owner of a Gradiente Expert !!
Nice video serie and job !!!
The best mod is a cartridge called MA-20 from retropix… make your mSx boot and act as a real MSX2…
I'm amazed at the meticulous nature of the troubleshooting, here. I would have given up some time ago. 😁I'm so pleased your persistence was rewarded.
Me too! :) :)
I guess having a TH-cam channel is a strong motivation for finishing things!
Something that can catch anyone troubleshooting is this. I saw you check there was +5 to the chips however you were using a GND reference at the power supply. This only checks one of the power rails and missed the GND rail. If the GND pin on the IC is floating the chip won't work. I've seen this a couple of times. There are several ways to test this. You can do what you did then reference the positive lead on the meter to +5 at the power supply and use the negative lead on the meter to test all the GNDs. You could also make both connections at each chip.
Thanks - yes I caught that too but after I’d already filmed. I did go back and check on the positive rail too. Very good to point this out!
Glad to see it worked in the end!
Me too! :) :)
Great video! You might want to get some proper MSX joystick, with 2 independent fire buttons. It's very useful in several good games. Also, you do have the V9958 chip, so I'm pretty sure you can also enjoy some MSX2+ extras from some games.
I haven't watched the entire video yet, but I noticed a help-line number on the TV when there was no signal. Have you tried calling? 🙂
LOL - I didn't consider that :) :)
Very nicely done, I too got stung a while back with a few faulty AY-3-8910 chips I got cheap on ebay. I managed to test the device I was building by pulling an YM2149F from none other than an MSX. This MSX build series has been a great watch so far and I'm really looking forward to the next part ;)
Thanks! Glad you've enjoyed it so far :)
I think it looks gorgeous
Thanks! Me too :)
Good to see you got it working!
Me too! :) :)
@@TheRetroShack I'm about to play with a LM 1881 to see if I can derive H/VSYNC and thus drive a 15KHz monitor directly off the RGB out.
I am glad that you got it working. I love the colour scheme.
Thanks!
i bought the boards some time ago.. but doubted my ability to actually get it working. But having finally completed my Harlequin build (at the second attempt due to being a moron with my over hot iron) I am thinking this is the time to follow your lead :)
You can do it!
That's one beautiful MS... err Omega!
Ta muchly!
Great series and fantastic job on the build! I've never used an MSX but after all this, I now want one.
Thanks very much :) :) They're lovely machines!
OMG, it's gorgeous. Fantastic job.
Great video. Looking forward to #4
Quite a few circuits on TH-cam for very basic Z80 chip test circuits although maybe a bit late for that! Glad it's up and running.
Thanks for the info!
That's a really nice result. You can put a clear coat over spray paint to give it a bit more oomph and durability.
Yes, I'll be doing that once I've sorted out the seam down the middle :) :)
@@TheRetroShack '2k ' Paints dry into a more durable paint. Might be relevent to something that gets handled. 2 part can is one time use. Painted my car with spray paint, looks great. Definitely needed a 2k coating.
Yes! MSX forever!
Yay!!!!
Hero as the first game?! Awesome! Played it for hours back then... 😀
The colour combo isawesome! Love it.
Glad you like it!
A masterpiece man ! Congratulations for the excellent work
Thank you! Cheers!
Was dragged into your channel by your Spectrum PCB tinkering, but glad I stayed for this. I know nothing about this machine, but have enjoyed watching the build. When you've finished can you do a bit of an overview of the machine using your brand new toy please?
Absolutely! Thanks for the support and glad to have you here!
loving this series
Me too - now it’s working :) :) I wasn’t enjoying it so much a couple of weeks ago :) :)
Looking good! I'm tempted to have a crack at this myself :)
Absolutely recommend it! Go for it :)
Fantastic work!
I need to get my SVI 728 up and running now.
One of my wish-list machines that!
@@TheRetroShack I bought the machine back in 1987 while I was doing my military service. The store gave it to me for next to nothing. It has an amazing keyboard and works like a dream. I am considering giving it a home that it deserves. You are top of the list.
@@carledwards9477 I had the pleasure of using one a couple of years ago and you’re absolutely right, the keyboard is amazing. The shack always welcomes new machines and I’d love to do a deep dive on the SVI - such an amazing history!
@@TheRetroShack I think I was one of the first people to actually get a 728 in South Africa. Home computers were not really a big thing for many people, but there were many devoted users in those that did buy machines. I was lucky enough to bump into a pastor who ran a local MSX group - wonderful times.
@@carledwards9477 Well please keep me in mind if you do decide to pass it on - it will be well looked after :)
Nice!
Thanks for the video. My daughter has a rather nice PAL Phillips MSX2 machine but I'm not terribly familiar with the standard. I'll be interested to see where you take yours.
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm excited to see where this goes too :)
I'd like to see more of this one
Well, you’re in luck. The next episode is a continuation of this :)
@@TheRetroShack Excellent - looking forward to it. Thanks B)
Yess.. absolutely love it.. very nice colour combination… can’t wait to see you play some game on it… till next time stay safe always my friend..
Can't take the credit for the colours :) But happy that it ended up looking really good :) Next episode will have some games on for sure, and I'm thinking of doing a live stream at some point :)
Nice build. I'm happy about the screws. 😁
May I suggest a black mesh under the speaker holes?
I look forward to watching the next episode.
Suggestion taken on board :) :) Glad you’re enjoying the series :)
@@TheRetroShack my pleasure. Now that I think about it, cherry red or orange (like the keys) could work as nice accents for that mesh.
That case is certainly not bad, but I personally think that Sony's HitBit Mezzo case - or HitBit HB-101 is the most gorgeous case. It's a shame there are no reproductions of that available, as far as I know.
Shades of Oric Atmos? ;-)
Nice project! Now I'm tempted to re-active one of my Philips MSX2's...
Go for it :) I’m having great fun with this and my VG-8235 isn’t working (yet!) :) The Orit Atmos is one of the most beautiful machines of the 80’s in my opinion :)
Wow, that looks amazing!
Thanks! It's been quite the journey this one, but glad it turned out nicely :) :)
Oh no, fake/refurbished Chinese chips strike again 😥 Sorry for the trouble you were having. But believe me designing and debugging the initial build wasn't easy either. At least it looks you've got the PCB, the case, and some components donated, and I spent my own money and time. But it was fun 😜
You've done an amazing job on this make no mistake. It's an absolutely amazing creation. I'm very much looking forward to being part of the community!
Very cool! Congrats!
Thank you! Cheers!
Beautiful
Thank you! Cheers!
I believe Winbond still produce a AY-3-8910 compatible chip, but the last time I looked, I'd trouble tracking any of theirs down. 😞 Mind you, if you ever want to get a replacement, that could be an option.
Thanks - good to know!
That looks amazing
Thanks very much :)
Would be a bit late now it is painted, but the top of the case has the seam where it is joined. Would you, if you done it again, think about sanding and filling that seam to make it look like one complete unit?
I would :) And in fact do intend to do that, it’s just not at all my area of expertise :(
@@TheRetroShack nor mine, so while I can be super unhelpful asking/suggesting, can't be super helpful in being, well, helpful... 🤣
Given how much you're spending on other stuff, you might consider getting a cheap oscilloscope. It makes debugging problems _much_ faster because you can see the exact AC signals on pins.
For example, I probably would have started with your standard ROM in the system and checked the A0 address line on the CPU which should show regular sequences of alternating low and high signals at the system clock rate, indicating that the CPU is executing sequences of instructions. If that's working, you can move on to A15, which should always be low if it's executing from the ROM (addresses $0000-$7FFF); if it's not you can check the power supply pins to see if the chip is getting consistent +5V between power and ground without large dips in power (which would indicate a problem with the PSU or the power lines on the board). If that is working, you can probe the address and data lines on the ROM to ensure it appears to be returning some sort of reasonable data. You can also probe the address pins on the video memory side of the video chip to show that it's scanning the video memory to produce the display, and so on.
While a benchtop 'scope ($300 or so for a low-end two-channel model) is easier and faster to use, even a decent handheld 'scope ($100-$200) will do well enough, and if you're really budget-limited you can find low-end handheld scopes for under $50.
Where did you buy VDP socket? I will use carchano msx new PCB to mount my expert 2 but is not usual this socket in Brazil.
I got mine from a seller on eBay :) Good luck with your build!
Great videos. I finally got mine up and running but testing S-Video has produced Vertical Lines after the MSX Boot screen. The Bios Launch with the MSX Logo is clean, but once I get to the prompt, I get vertical lines and does the same in a game. Just curious if yours does the same or does S-Video run differently on the Omega than the US standard? (absolutely no clue if S-video is universal or not).
The HX-10 was one of my first home computers. Really enjoying this series and can’t wait to see just how far you can take this project. Seriously tempted to have a go myself!
You should definitely go for it - it's been frustrating at times but when that MSX logo popped up I was over the moon!
@@TheRetroShack hopefully your pain will save some of mine if I go for it 😆
@@Spark010 Hopefully! Good luck and let me know how you get on if you decide to go for it. Before you do - I’ll be running a little giveaway in a couple of weeks time for a set of PCB’s for this project :)
@@TheRetroShack great! I’ll keep an eye out for that!!😄🤞
If Metal Gear 2 cartridges weren't stupidly expensive...
Oh man that first moment of the msx logo popping up, epic! Love the nms8235 grey/cherry paint job, makes it look unique and period correct!
Can't wait until you pop in an FM Pac (YM2413 or does that cartridge from brazil include it?) and run a few msx2 games!
What are you going to use the printer port for? Do you have a dot matrix printer to try it out?
It was a magical moment :) :) The cartridge doesn't contain the FM Pac but I'd like to see if I can get one in there :)
@@TheRetroShack it's a great little synth, I think some new pcbs should be available somewhere. Aliexpress has some used ym2413, but make sure you order 10 of them, half may be bad. Scc is nice too but may be expensive these days. I was lucky to get one before they got rare for like 15 euros or so.
What might be handy is a little microcontroller box that would convert the printer port's parallel output to serial output, which then could be connected to a PC via a USB serial interface. Then you could save your "printouts" in easily-viewed text files.
Nice vid mate. One question, the 9958 is a MSX 2+ VDP. Did tou try a 2+ rom?
I would love to see that too. It would be pity if you have that VDP and don't use it to the max :)
I haven't - yet. But I will be now :) :)
Hi, he is trying to use PAL system, but there's no MSX2+ BIOS until I know, Japan works on NTSC
@@msxmakersretrocomputing134 Yep / you’re correct - the MSX2+ was only ever released in Japan :(
@@TheRetroShack On the other hand, I think that if you use the RGB output you will have an excellent image and the option of NTSC/PAL will cease to be important. If your TV supports SCART it should support NTSC picture by SCART.
Where did you get the case?
how do you access the joystick ports?
Next episode! :) I'll be hopefully filling in all of the open holes on the case. Joystick ports, reset button, power switch etc..
You still haven't straightened that Caps Lock key :)
Guilty as charged! :( I will, I promise!
@@TheRetroShack Amazing job though, well done!
Will there be a 4th part of this series?
There will be :) I’m in the middle of it :)
I wonder why you didn't go and create a 16bit version of the MSX computer with a ZILOG Z800 which would have been compatible with both the ZILOG Z80A and ZILOG Z800
Having been burnt on the other chips, I just go exactly what the BOM said :) :)
Then it wouldn't be a MSX machine.. The standard clearly states a Z80 as the main CPU. However, the Panasonic FS-A1 ST/GT MSX Turbo R uses an Ascii R800 CPU, Which is a derivative of a Zilog Z800. See Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R800_(CPU)
O may guh?
Indeed :)
Does anyone have an idea of roughly how much it'd cost to get the case 3D printed? 🤔
Maybe.
That paintjob should have been better. You can still see that it's 3d printed and in two halfs. Why not use a filler first, sand it down and after that put on paint. Would look much nicer!
I did make that comment in the video - I was up against time. Next time you see it, it will look much better - hopefully! Not my expertise unfortunately :(
Yellow keys - too many :) Please please please replace them! I would only leave yellow F-keys, backspace & a few more. But definitely not spacebar, and not Enter and \ key :)
must admit that seam down the case bothered me more than i'd care to admit 🤣🤣🤣......lovely build otherwise
Didn't have too much time to resolve that for this video - but it'll be resolved by the time the next part comes out :) Not my area of expertise I'm afraid :(
@@TheRetroShack not a criticism by any means....more a reflection on my slight OCD side🤣🤣