Parallax Decommissions Chip Programmer: Parts going to UPE

Parallax spent some time this week decommissioning their BP Chip Programmer. The parts from the machine are being packed into boxes destined for the Unofficial Propeller Expo junk table!

The junk table is a tradition of the Propeller Expo where attendees will bring extras from their shops and give them away. Sort of a electronics version of "Take a penny, leave a penny." It's guaranteed to be a popular UPE attraction again this year.



Unofficial Propeller Expos are being hosted this year in the Chicagoland area, NE Ohio, and Rocklin, CA. For more information on the expos visit: http://www.warrantyvoid.us/expo

Propeller Arcade: Finished!

The Propeller Arcade is finally finished!

The new marquee was installed today giving the unit the final touch!
Complete photos, etc have been uploaded here.

In the meantime here's a quick run down on the changes made from when the unit arrived in October of last year (pictured on the right).

* Removed the broken arcade monitor and replaced it with a 19" television. (I've learned through this experience that the next arcade box I do will use an LCD monitor.)

* Added two buttons to the arcade panel, as well as had it sanded down and painted.

* Added the Propeller itself with games running as binaries from the SD card.

* Removed the Zookeeper marquee and replaced with Propeller Arcade Marquee. (Thanks to Jeff Moomaw of Johnson Hardware and Ron at Lettergraphics!)

* Rewired the controls to operated with both Atari and Nintendo Interfaces.

* Added a PC power supply to power both Marquee and the Propeller.

* Added two switches behind the coin return buttons which turn on/off the screen as well as reset the Propeller, returning it to it's menu.

All in all a great project. It was expected to be done in three weeks, instead took three months.

OBC

Propeller Arcade Gets a new Brain.

A package arrived this morning from Gadgetgangster.com containing a new Propeller Platform Module and Platform El Jugador Module. The Propeller Platform Module is an Open Source Propeller alternative to the Arduino, without all that silliness weird offset pin plugs. The El Jugador is a new gaming module or "shield" if you will that plugs into the top of the Propeller Platform giving you audio/video, SD, and two NES interfaces.

While I had already built my own version of this board for the Arcade, this combination gives me a professional look as well as make things easier for others who may want to follow in these footsteps. Both modules were well documented and only took a couple hours to build total. The quality of the kits are on par with the high standards I see from Parallax as well.

Another addition to PropArcade is the addition of two switches mounted behind the coin returns. One activates the power on/off switch of the television, the other is tied to the RESET pin of the propplug connector on the Platform Module.

At this point I have completely closed the Propeller Arcade, but won't be posting a final video until the new marquee artwork returns early next week. The family has already accepted this new member of our family with trips to the workshop to play Boulderdash, Hero, or Defender.

Stay tuned for a final video update next week!
OBC

Propeller Arcade: Control Panel Finished!

The newly painted control panel arrived from the paint shop yesterday just in time for 12" of snow on NE Ohio! I spent the day installing the controls and wiring. It works great!

All that is left for the Rropeller arcade is some new graphics and cleanup!

Here's some video of it in action!

Propeller Arcade: Atari Interface Test

I was actually hoping to be wiring up the actual control panel this weekend, but the ETA is Tuesday. This wasn't a huge setback as I still have a lot of work in several other areas of the project, those being the Propeller board itself, (A Propeller Protoboard with a few addons from uController.com) and an Atari-2-Nintendo interface.


[Don't write me! Yes, I know my right hand from my left!]

In thinking about how to wire the panel itself, I thought it would be nice to follow some standards and give it an Atari/Commodore 9pin connection. This will allow me to test both the Propeller setup as well as the panel independently if I run into problems. There are just enough Unused pins in the Atari specification to pass the additional Nintendo B, Start, and Select buttons without a problem. For testing, I included an extra Start button on the interface itself.



Here's some additional close-up video of the menu system, (thanks Baggers!) and playing a few games.



More gaming... Was Boulderdash ever released as an Arcade? :)

Home Arcade Update

After some winter delay. (It's just too cold to work in my garage!) the home arcade project is making some headway! First of all, the idea of doing a MAME cabinet has been scraped. (At least on this one.) This is becoming a Propeller powered Arcade Machine!
After spending too many hours trying to tie down a deal on a 19" LCD monitor and NTSC-to-VGA converter, I finally realized that I had a 19" TV I had been nearly tripping over at the shop for months! A quick check revealed that not only would it fit the arcade, but was a perfect fit for the original tube (broken) which came with the unit.

People who know me, know that part of my fun in my Propeller project hobby is to let the project take it's own shape as I work. This doesn't always pay off, but is rewarding when it works. Take a look at the way the TV's motherboard fell right into perfect place. (Almost like I had planned it. :)

Yep.. There's the Propeller! Not where it will wind up when I'm finished, but kinda funny to see this big arcade box running off a single chip board. We never dreamed this back in the 80's when these machines were in every shopping mall.

Finishing the arcade controls is next!

Home Arcade Teardown

Spent the weekend pulling the old monitor, wires, and controls from arcade panel. The arcade panel is being sent to a local machine shop to add a button hole on either side of the joystick. I was able to buy an additional "Gauntlet" arcade panel for $5.00 at the same time we bought the arcade This will provide us with the extra buttons we need as well as some backup sticks. After this panel is returned from the machinist, we'll peel the old "Jungle King" sticker off, and clean it down to a flat black.

This arcade will become a Propeller/Mame arcade allowing us to play Parallax Propeller games as well as arcade classics.