Interface 1bis

[shifters74]

Thanks Peter i will PM Dan

shifters

[PeterJ]

I've mentioned before what a big fan I am of the Interface1Bis. Dan who created it is maybe not the most cheerful person ever, but is always willing to answer questions (Just make sure you have read the manuals first!). The operation of the interface is very different to anything else and requires a reasonable time investment to get it going. Also the drivers are still not signed, so you have to either use Windows 7 or earlier or enable unsigned driver support in Windows 10.

Anyway the reason for posting was that last night I managed to get the Wireless module working again (Despite disabling signed drivers on Windows 10 and disabling the firewall, the only way I could get it working was to install on a Windows XP VM in VMWare Player). Its based on an ESP8266 in the same way the Next Wifi is set-up. What is wonderful is you run a little server on your desktop, drop some game files in the selected folder and they are instantly available to the Spectrum via the interface. If you don't have the wireless module you can do the same via USB or an optional Ethernet adaptor.

Is this something which has been considered for the Next [mention]Seven.FFF[/mention] and [mention]TheSMoG[/mention] SMoG?

[akeley]

Interesting. It's an esoteric piece of kit and I was interested in buying perhaps but couldn't find any info. There are some hating vids on utube though and bad comments elsewhere ("it destroyed my Speccy!!11") so it left me a bit confused.

[PeterJ]

Hi, yes I have seen those too. Interestingly [mention]Dan Antohi[/mention], puts links to those on his home page and advises people to watch them.

For a balancing opinion I would watch this episode of the Spectrum Show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AgwFWEZXP4

Esoteric is an excellent way to describe it! That has become my word of the day!

Also read the getting started guide here:

https://sites.google.com/site/interface ... edirects=0

and the Game Browser Guide here:

https://sites.google.com/site/interface ... edirects=0

I think the problems that most people have is caused by them not reading the documents fully. There are some guides by Dan on YouTube. Not sure why but they are narrated in a computer voice which makes them hard to listen to, and seem to be run on a very old version of Windows NT.

I have used it on my two 128K Toastracks and my +3 without any issues with the hardware.

Its certainly something I don't regret buying. One other feature is you can (as long as you are happy with Port Forwarding) chat with other Interface1Bis users over the world via the built in chat.

[PeterJ]

This is my Windows XP Desktop with the server running. By the way IMHO VMWare Player is just so much better that VirtualBox. So much faster.



Then, this is the Spectrum seeing that folder via Wifi. Its like magic when it works! It just means I can develop in the emulator on my desktop, save the result into the appropriate folder and run it immedialy on a real Spectrum. No SD Cards needed! Pentacorn Quest which is a 128K game loads in 12 seconds.

[PeterJ]

More information in this later today...

[akeley]

Hi, yes I have seen those too. Interestingly @Dan Antohi, puts links to those on his home page and advises people to watch them.

Hah, yeah, he sent me one of these links when I inquired about the device. I kinda like this approach. I guess he's a bit burned out by the negativity (we all know there are some hysterical un's on the internet) hence the attitude, I can understand that. And I just needed a recommendation from an actual user, and yours is of course as good as they get.

So, might get one, because it's a really intriguing device! And not at all expensive, given its abilities.

[pjm]

Hi Chaps,

I've built a pair of these int1bis boards recently (Oct/Nov 2021). Have to say they are totally amazing, it did take a while to work out what needed programming on the board and the order to load stuff etc. The supplied button and CPU PIC assembler files need compiling and blowing into the 2X pic processors, and the FPGA needs programming, I used a raspberry PI + gpio to directly program it on the board, and it worked first time. The load directly from internet is excellent, certainly a bit quicker than tape / floppy disk etc, the design of the int1bis is truly great!

We do have about 6 or 7 more blank PCB's if anyone wants to roll their own, also PCB's for the WIFI module etc. A really great project.

regards,

Paui.

[AndyP]

Hi Paui,

I'm in the process of starting to assemble an Interface 1bis now that all the parts have finally arrived. Do you still have any of the WiFi module or other PCB's available?

Any information on suggested assembly order and programming order would be appreciated.

Thanks

AndyP