ZXBaremulator 3.2

[1333david]

Thanks for your help guys. I have now managed to get the 8bitdo N30 pro joystick controller working with both d pad and analogue stick which is perfect.
To get it working I needed to change the Android (D-input ) to Windows (X-input). Now it works - happy days!

[Pegaz]

After a while, I tried BM on Pi Zero and it works quite nicely, just attracts me for some project.
The problem is, that unfortunately there's no sound output at all.
Earlier versions had pwm sound on GPIO pin 13 and sound could be obtained, but now as we know this and some other pins are occupied for the Spectrum keyboard connection.
I would ask Jose if it's possible to move pin 13 for the keyboard to another location and enable pwm sound to pi zero again.
I know he used to express skepticism towards the Zero model, but I’m sure a lot of people have Zero lying unused, even though it’s very capable of Spectrum emulation and various projects.
I think this customized Zero version would be well accepted, of course unless such a modification,
doesn't require too much effort...

[TMD2003]

The problem I'm having with ZXBaremulator at the moment isn't anything to do with the emulator, at least I don't think it is. I've tried it on an original 2011-12 Pi on my LED TV, through HDMI and composite, and the picture is fine. On an older Bush CRT TV (though not old old, it dates from around 2006) which has no HDMI and no RGB, I put it through the composite video input via a SCART adapter and it comes up in black and white. I've tried a second such adapter (which was provided with my ZX81 recently), and that does the same. I've tried a video and a DVD player through the same SCART adapter, using the composite video, and they come up in colour. It's only the combination of the Pi and that TV that causes the picture to come up in black and white. Why might that be? Has anyone else tried a similar combination, whether with ZXBaremulator or not?

While I'm here, and while I'm talking about black and white pictures, and Pegaz is getting no sound... how hard can it be to add ZX81 and ZX80 capability for ZXBaremulator 4.0? Surely it must be possible. And that way, I'd have a further use for the Pi, and the lack of colour wouldn't matter.

[Pegaz]

No, its not just me, as far i know BM v3.2 has no sound on Pi Zero.
My wish is just to have pwm audio output on Zero as well and to keep the support for GPIO connection of a real Spectrum keyboard, if possible.

btw, I tried the composite output on Pi 2 and Pi Zero earlier with my LCD TV and I had no problem with the color, everything was fine.
Didnt try on CRT TVs, though...

[zx81]

The problem I'm having with ZXBaremulator at the moment isn't anything to do with the emulator, at least I don't think it is. I've tried it on an original 2011-12 Pi on my LED TV, through HDMI and composite, and the picture is fine. On an older Bush CRT TV (though not old old, it dates from around 2006) which has no HDMI and no RGB, I put it through the composite video input via a SCART adapter and it comes up in black and white. I've tried a second such adapter (which was provided with my ZX81 recently), and that does the same. I've tried a video and a DVD player through the same SCART adapter, using the composite video, and they come up in colour. It's only the combination of the Pi and that TV that causes the picture to come up in black and white. Why might that be? Has anyone else tried a similar combination, whether with ZXBaremulator or not?

While I'm here, and while I'm talking about black and white pictures, and Pegaz is getting no sound... how hard can it be to add ZX81 and ZX80 capability for ZXBaremulator 4.0? Surely it must be possible. And that way, I'd have a further use for the Pi, and the lack of colour wouldn't matter.

Try editing the config.txt file, and search this line:

#sdtv_mode=2

uncomment it and add next to the line:

sdtv_aspect=1

By now, don't have any plan to add ZX80/ZX81 emulation.

[Gooeyblob]

On a Pi Zero with gpio Spectrum keyboard and not using the function key switch, is it not possible to use gpio 12 alt0 pwm0 to get sound?

P.S. José this is a fantastic emulator, however I wish that you could add an option so that interrupts are tied to vsync, this would make it perfect.

Muchas gracias.

[zx81]

On a Pi Zero with gpio Spectrum keyboard and not using the function key switch, is it not possible to use gpio 12 alt0 pwm0 to get sound?

P.S. José this is a fantastic emulator, however I wish that you could add an option so that interrupts are tied to vsync, this would make it perfect.

Muchas gracias.

I can't count the times I've explained that the Pi Zero is a dead end. On a Pi-2/3 I have 2 spare CPUs awaiting a work to be done. The time precision is better on Pi-2/3, because the hardware timer is programmed *exactly* with the 48k freq. and really near to the 128k freq. That's impossible on the ARMv6 PI boards where I need another source of synchronization.

And more, the vsync would be 50 or 60 Hz. No one of these freqs are Spectrum freqs. Your Spectrum will be slower or faster than real, that can be done on every PC emulator and erases the main reason to develop a bare-metal emulator.

Anyway, next April will be the fourth anniversary for ZXBaremulator. In all this time, no more than two dozen of users are using the emulator. Develop a BM software needs a great effort, not comparable with standard emulators. So few users don't justify this effort, that's true. I have the development totally frozen by now, and I'm not motivated to continue with it. The users opt by fancy PC emulators or FPGA based hardware emulators. Nobody is worried about the precision when they only wants to play Manic Miner or Saboteur. For this, any basic emulator works like a charm. Sadly, no one needs a BM emulator.

Thanks by your suggestions.

[Pegaz]

[mention]zx81[/mention]

I respect your opinion, although I think BM is well known emulator and certainly used by many more people than you think.
Pi Zero is not my primary target for Baremulator usage, but the desire to make another hardware project based on him.
That's the only reason I asked, if there was a solution for getting sound on Zero with BM 3.2, because I was hoping that some relatively simple workaround would be possible.
If not, just forget it...
As someone who has followed your project from the beginning, I am certainly grateful to you for the fun moments with BM and I sincerely regret if you have decided to stop further development.

Cheers!

[1333david]

@zx81 I've only just started using ZX BM and find it a far more realistic retro experience than a PC based emulator. ZX BM and BMC64 are my go-to emulators and both run on the Pi - I'm not in the position to purchase expensive FPGA solutions. I'm sure there will be others in the same position as me who really value the efforts you have put in.

PS I would agree with Pi zero. With limited time and resource concentrating on the Pi 2/3 makes more sense.
PPS you probably have more followers than you think.....

[Lethargeek]

And more, the vsync would be 50 or 60 Hz. No one of these freqs are Spectrum freqs. Your Spectrum will be slower or faster than real,

That's just ridiculous. You're talking about 1/2500 frame rate difference for 50Hz and Spectrum-128k. This is less than 48k to 128k difference and it never is exact anyway as it varies with the temperature and from one specimen to another.

[zx81]

And more, the vsync would be 50 or 60 Hz. No one of these freqs are Spectrum freqs. Your Spectrum will be slower or faster than real,

That's just ridiculous. You're talking about 1/2500 frame rate difference for 50Hz and Spectrum-128k. This is less than 48k to 128k difference and it never is exact anyway as it varies with the temperature and from one specimen to another.

This is the type of user I was referring to...

When a developer starts a new project, thinks on a concrete purpose. My purpose was to have an "ideal" machine implemented, even though this ideal machine doesn't exist. But as you can't implement a machine with the same variations as the real hardware on software or FPGA, you only can implement an ideal machine. More on that, my purpose isn't implement another emulator, is *preservation* at the lowest level possible.

The 48k Spectrum was designed to generate an image at 50.08 Hz, and that's it does, so many modern TVs don't show correctly his image. That's isn't an opinion, is a fact.

In any case, you may or may not share that opinion, but it is rude to say that someone else's purpose is ridiculous. You may be happy if you roughly emulate a Spectrum with a potty, but I'm not. Many users can't distinguish a potty from a Spectrum, for sure. Because of this, today is better accepted a "Spectrum with hardware sprites and 4096 colours" than a Z80 correctly implemented. But this isn't preservation, is a product with a different purpose and I can't say that is a "ridiculous" purpose.

My two cents...

[Lethargeek]

The 48k Spectrum was designed to generate an image at 50.08 Hz,

And 128k Spectrum is just 50.02 Hz - so it isn't a real Spectrum for you or what?

In any case, you may or may not share that opinion, but it is rude to say that someone else's purpose is ridiculous.

How it is rude to say the truth? Also i didn't talk about your purpose but your sentence.
As if you can avoid your Spectrum being "slower or faster than real" Spectrums.
With the aforementioned REAL Spectrums being each slower or faster than other ones.
And not even by the same constant value any time.

[MonkZy]

[mention]zx81[/mention]

Sadly, no one needs a BM emulator.

Everybody needs a BM Spectrum emulator, they just have not realised it yet.

With the GPIO keyboard interface, ZXBM is the most accurate and cost effective hardware replacement/preservation option available (up to +2 grey). The PI 3 A+ model fits into an original 16/48kb case perfectly (HDMI/Power/Audio can be exposed via the edge connector hole, so no need to damage the original case), so really no need for a Pi Zero version in my mind.

It is a shame you abandoned the project. My personal wishlist would have been :

1) Snapshots - Mostly for Elite and Starion, but also for some text adventures.
2) A GPIO 'Ear' port for loading from tape - Although I am not sure if this is even possible (schmitt trigger circuit?).
3) GPIO Kempston joystick input - I already built a GPIO Sinclair IF2 interface (uses key presses), but kempston works with more older games (eg. Atic Atac), there are five free GPIO pins to do this alongside the pins reserved for the keyboard.

Anyhow, version 3.2 is perfect as it stands, I use a PS3 joypad mostly anyway. I am grateful for your gift to the ZX spectrum emulation ecosystem.

[hikoki]

I use it with a pi2 and a recreated keyboard. An affordable way to have a clone. Stick it on a carpenter's velcro behind the tv and forget about pc and internet fuss. I plan to do the same for every tv screen on my place. Take an old pi, a few cables, a phone charger, a stripe of velcro, a cheap keayboard and you are done. No need to spend lots of money. You could do the same with an android tv box but this one boots faster as it's meant to provide direct access to resources.

[Pegaz]

Everybody needs a BM Spectrum emulator, they just have not realised it yet.

With the GPIO keyboard interface, ZXBM is the most accurate and cost effective hardware replacement/preservation option available (up to +2 grey). The PI 3 A+ model fits into an original 16/48kb case perfectly (HDMI/Power/Audio can be exposed via the edge connector hole, so no need to damage the original case), so really no need for a Pi Zero version in my mind.

It is the simplest solution, but it has its limits, becouse in that case, we don't have direct access to the USB port and sd card slot.
After all, the Pi Zero can also fit even better in front of the edge connector hole, but that’s not the point.
My idea is, to have Zero inside the 48k case, with the ability to connect all other connectors to the original places, as on a real Spectrum (power, comopsite video, ...)
The space for edge connector would be filled with two usb ports and an SD card slot, and the final touch would be a small speaker with an amplifier in the case.
All this would be possible much easier with the Zero, than any other model, primarily because of its versatilty.
I still think that Zero and BM are a very good combination for projects, which should not be rejected so easily and I know that I am not the only one who thinks that.
We just need to have sound from BM with Zero but that's not the case now.
If we don’t have any audio output, support for Zero is pointless anyway.
I thought it was possible with some minor modification to implement pwm sound on some free GPIO port, but Jose obviously has no desire to talk about it, so I won’t go back to that again.

[Pegaz]

Last night I experimented a bit with a small speaker and amplifier, just as proof of concept...
Obviously, Pi Zero is quite capable of quality Spectrum emulation with decent 48 or 128 sound.
As a fan of the ZX beeper, I can only say that everything sounds much better (and louder) than the original Spectrum 48K.
Of course, this is not the latest BM, but apart from the support for GPIO keyboard connection, everything important is still there...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWuf4S7PnpU

[Gooeyblob]

Hey Pegaz,

Have you seen this?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/he ... trum-board

[Pegaz]

An interesting project, but still expensive for a fully assembled version.
Baremulator with a few cables and connectors inside the Spectrum case, gives a similar result within 40 pounds and 6 seconds boot time, same as this board.
In case it connects to the Pi Zero, the Baremulator has a 2.5 second boot time, which is an unbeatable result, almost like a real Spectrum.
For £ 125, Next board only is a far better option in my opinion...

[spindalero]

After a while, I tried BM on Pi Zero and it works quite nicely, just attracts me for some project.
The problem is, that unfortunately there's no sound output at all.
Earlier versions had pwm sound on GPIO pin 13 and sound could be obtained, but now as we know this and some other pins are occupied for the Spectrum keyboard connection.
I would ask Jose if it's possible to move pin 13 for the keyboard to another location and enable pwm sound to pi zero again.
I know he used to express skepticism towards the Zero model, but I’m sure a lot of people have Zero lying unused, even though it’s very capable of Spectrum emulation and various projects.
I think this customized Zero version would be well accepted, of course unless such a modification,
doesn't require too much effort...

Hi, I am finding the same issue. Want to put a pi zero in a 48K case using original keyboard, I have an audio filter to use with the GPIO 18,& 13 (or 19) but they all have keyboard inputs to them. Theres penty of spare iputs to move the keyboard to but can find a way of changing it. No sure if adding some GPIO lines to the config file would work or might screw things up big time.

I was the going to mount a 3.5mm 4 pole socket to the case then use a 3.5mm jack to 3 RCA's.

Any input is welcome

Ta

[zx81]

Hi, I am finding the same issue. Want to put a pi zero in a 48K case using original keyboard, I have an audio filter to use with the GPIO 18,& 13 (or 19) but they all have keyboard inputs to them. Theres penty of spare iputs to move the keyboard to but can find a way of changing it. No sure if adding some GPIO lines to the config file would work or might screw things up big time.

The GPIOs are fixed by program and can't be changed by the user. Some users are using a 3A+ board that outputs HDMI sound and is smaller than 2 or 3B.

These inputs were choosed to be the same as printed on MagPI #67. Every user have a preference to put anything on anywhere and one developer can't satisfy to all users. I'm sorry.

Anyway, the development is stopped and will be no more public updates. Be warned.

[spindalero]

Hi, I am finding the same issue. Want to put a pi zero in a 48K case using original keyboard, I have an audio filter to use with the GPIO 18,& 13 (or 19) but they all have keyboard inputs to them. Theres penty of spare iputs to move the keyboard to but can find a way of changing it. No sure if adding some GPIO lines to the config file would work or might screw things up big time.

The GPIOs are fixed by program and can't be changed by the user. Some users are using a 3A+ board that outputs HDMI sound and is smaller than 2 or 3B.

These inputs were choosed to be the same as printed on MagPI #67. Every user have a preference to put anything on anywhere and one developer can't satisfy to all users. I'm sorry.

Anyway, the development is stopped and will be no more public updates. Be warned.

Thanks for the info. The project is much appreciated.

[pandoraefretum]

Thanks,
I've been playing with this... looking for a software SAVE facility
I have a beginner's question about SAVEing a program
(actually I want to use a Forth language for ZX Spectrum)
Can I SAVE something to the SD card in order to LOAD it later ? F8 starts the tape ?? I don't understand.
I cannot get ALT +F9 Multiface to work... it crashes... do I need hardware for this ?
Lastly what does M: drive available mean ?
Thanks very much, Roland

[Bernie]

Afternoon, all.

Firstly, I’d like to thank Jose for the incredible emulator. It’s outstanding.

Secondly, I have a question that I would be grateful for some help with.

Yesterday I successfully rewired my old quickshot 2 and got it working in windows using a retronic design usb to db9 converter. Ideally I would like to use it with the zx baremulator, as it is far better than fuse in my view.

Is this something that would be possible? It doesn’t appear to be recognised.

Thanks in advance

[Pegaz]

Thanks,
I've been playing with this... looking for a software SAVE facility
I have a beginner's question about SAVEing a program
(actually I want to use a Forth language for ZX Spectrum)
Can I SAVE something to the SD card in order to LOAD it later ? F8 starts the tape ?? I don't understand.
I cannot get ALT +F9 Multiface to work... it crashes... do I need hardware for this ?
Lastly what does M: drive available mean ?
Thanks very much, Roland

As far as I know, there is no Save support and this is one of the rare drawbacks of this emulator.
You can play or stop the tape but there is no full tape browser with rewind and record capabilities.
This still does not diminish its quality, but it must be said that there is certainly an alternative.
I've been experimenting with the latest Fuse 1.5.7 these days booting up as a raspbian startup service in 8 seconds, just two seconds slower than BM.
We get a mature, fully featured emulator with save support, a smooth 50Hz synchronized scroll and many other benefits.
On the other hand, BM has support for GPIO connection, which others do not have, but it can also be programmed as a small Python script in raspbian for sure.
There is also UnrealSpeccy Portable emulator, which also works great and has the ability to download games and other software, but is more Russian clones oriented, it also has a great synchronized scroll with 50hz screen refresh rate, but much less options than Fuse.

[pandoraefretum]

Thx Pegaz,

For this clarification....obviously the day that BM supports some kind of SAVE or even snapshot I can come back to it
Right now I will give FUSE a go on my RPI3b

I am interested in programming and mostly not playing games
Cheers, Roland