Spectrum Computing

The Pi2 needs to initialize more hardware than Pi Zero and 4 CPUs. I can do nothing to speed the boot process, I fear.

Obviously, the emulator knows nothing about an Arduino connected to the PI. Tomorrow comes a Recreated ZX keyboard, kindly donated by Hikoki. I want to support it. Another solution can be a keyboard connected to GPIO, as shows the MagPi #67.

The "ideal" solution always will be a real Spectrum...

Of course, I understand that, I'm just saying that this faster boot time is more suited to me, if I put Pi inside a Spectrum case.
When I say "ideal" solution, I mean specifically on such a hardware project, nothing else.
Recreated ZX keyboard support is certainly a good thing, the problem that I have is the same as it was yours - It's really difficult to get this keyboard outside of the UK.
UK online shops that sells it at a reasonable price does not send anywhere abroad, so I'm stuck.
The MAG Magazine solution cant be applied to the Baremulator, because it requires Linux based system, with Python support, which software scans the Spectrum keyboard connected to the GPIO port.

[mention]Pegaz[/mention]
Amazon Spain provides RZX though more expensive than the ones from UK (42£ versus 25£). You may know someone who can send one from UK to your homeland? BTW I don't have any more Amazon e-gift card

Another interesting option would be that you talked to the man behind Retroradionics.co.uk, Djordje Mitic is a serbian who can be contacted on facebook. He sells repro cases for less than 60$ including laser cutting for a number of different hardware projects. I wonder if he'd be interested in designing a laser cutting to fit a RPi inside.

hikoki wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2018 10:35 am @Pegaz
Amazon Spain provides RZX though more expensive than the ones from UK (42£ versus 25£). You may know someone who can send one from UK to your homeland? BTW I don't have any more Amazon e-gift card

Another interesting option would be that you talked to the man behind Retroradionics.co.uk, Djordje Mitic is a serbian who can be contacted on facebook. He sells repro cases for less than 60$ including laser cutting for a number of different hardware projects. I wonder if he'd be interested in designing a laser cutting to fit a RPi inside.

Yes, I know that Djordje is making repro cases, but I already have the one spare original Spectrum case for that purpose.
The problem is that I dont know how to connect Spectrum keyboard and Pi, to work with Baremulator.
RZX is another option, I will see if there is a way to get one for a resonable price.
If not, I will get some suitable mini pc usb keyboard and try to insert Pi Zero inside.
I know, in this case, I'm losing HDMI sound with Baremulator v3.0, but we cant have everything...

Pegaz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:27 am The MAG Magazine solution cant be applied to the Baremulator, because it requires Linux based system, with Python support, which software scans the Spectrum keyboard connected to the GPIO port.

False. I can read the GPIOs perfectly from bare-metal, I don't need Linux or Python, neither. But I should to program the GPIO reading and translating the IOs to emulated keyboard. For that, I need the circuit and a working original keyboard (keyboard on my Spectrum+ don't works very well).

zx81 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2018 3:08 pm

Pegaz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:27 am The MAG Magazine solution cant be applied to the Baremulator, because it requires Linux based system, with Python support, which software scans the Spectrum keyboard connected to the GPIO port.

False. I can read the GPIOs perfectly from bare-metal, I don't need Linux or Python, neither. But I should to program the GPIO reading and translating the IOs to emulated keyboard. For that, I need the circuit and a working original keyboard (keyboard on my Spectrum+ don't works very well).

That's great news.
The MAG magazine has a complete guide for the circuit (which is quite simple), and here's more details on how to connect the GPIO pins to the Spectrum keyboard.
https://github.com/mrpjevans/zxscanner
If Baremulator gets support for this, I would gladly try it out.

Hi there,

is there a version that runs on 32 bit Intel architecture? I would like to make a ZX Spectrum of my old 32 bit intel based laptop.
now I am running Batocera (sort of Retropie) on this machine and that is very nice, but making a spectrum would be very interesting.
https://batocera-linux.xorhub.com/

[mention]adonet[/mention]

No, ZXBaremulator is for PI hardware. I don't have any plan to port it to another platform.

Hello , I have just found out about this stand alone ZXBaremulator, I have a 32'' Samsung LCD HDMI and I'm just getting a Black screen , I need to know what to change in the Config.txt, I'm on a PI 3 .
Thanx 4 UR Time.

It's OK I was using the Allfiles instead of the ZXMini zips , I can see the the picture now , Now to test . Thankyou

Is there anyone who got this Baremulator working with a conversion kit from here: http://blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/201 ... -kits.html
I build this into my old Lo>>profile keyboard, but it doesn't work really well. In FUSE, FBZX, Eighty-one and ZEsarUX this keyboard performs fine.

adonet wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:25 am Is there anyone who got this Baremulator working with a conversion kit from here: http://blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/201 ... -kits.html
I build this into my old Lo>>profile keyboard, but it doesn't work really well. In FUSE, FBZX, Eighty-one and ZEsarUX this keyboard performs fine.

ZXBaremulator don't uses an operating system and nothing is magical. The last beta (3.H.6) supports the ZX Recreated keyboard. I don't know how works these new conversion kit. Hard to add support for it.

Hi ZX81, I do understand that. It is just the case that this conversion kit converts the old Spectrum keyboard to an USB keyboard and makes outputs in 2 modes. The first one is an ordinairy ZX Spectrum. Other emulators interpret the keypresses right. And the secons one is a USB keyboard mode for use in other cases than emulators.
I already contacted the maker of this converion kit to ask him more technical details of his output.

for now I only have this:
Spectrum Mode


keyboard mode
Direct


CAPS shift


Symbol shift


Can you give me a clue which file contains the keyboard layout in your baremulator? I am willing to try myself to make a usable keyboard interpretation function if that is possible.

adonet wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:17 pm Hi ZX81, I do understand that. It is just the case that this conversion kit converts the old Spectrum keyboard to an USB keyboard and makes outputs in 2 modes. The first one is an ordinairy ZX Spectrum. Other emulators interpret the keypresses right. And the secons one is a USB keyboard mode for use in other cases than emulators.
I already contacted the maker of this converion kit to ask him more technical details of his output.

for now I only have this:
Spectrum Mode


keyboard mode
Direct


CAPS shift


Symbol shift


Can you give me a clue which file contains the keyboard layout in your baremulator? I am willing to try myself to make a usable keyboard interpretation function if that is possible.

I 'd like to add one more point of information. The conversion kit 's output is the same as the output of a brittish UK english keyboard.

adonet wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 9:17 pm Hi ZX81, I do understand that. It is just the case that this conversion kit converts the old Spectrum keyboard to an USB keyboard and makes outputs in 2 modes. The first one is an ordinairy ZX Spectrum. Other emulators interpret the keypresses right. And the secons one is a USB keyboard mode for use in other cases than emulators.
I already contacted the maker of this converion kit to ask him more technical details of his output.

Can you give me a clue which file contains the keyboard layout in your baremulator? I am willing to try myself to make a usable keyboard interpretation function if that is possible.

An ordinary USB keyboard don't have a "ZX Spectrum mode". To work with ZXBaremulator the keyboard needs to be a civilized HID USB device with a boot descriptor. Has you tried the USB keyboard mode?

The keyboard handling is developed in C++, don't uses any table.

You can try this kernel image, suitable for PI-2/3. This kernel shows on the screen the keys sended by the keyboard. You can see the difference between keyboard modes.

Hi ZX81
Together with which files should I use this kernel? I can't get it to work. It only produces a black screen on my monitor.

adonet wrote: ↑Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:42 pm Hi ZX81
Together with which files should I use this kernel? I can't get it to work. It only produces a black screen on my monitor.

The files bootcode.bin, start.elf, fixup.dat & config.txt are mandatory. You should put the *.dtb files too. The easy way to run these kernel is rename the ZXBaremulator kernel7.img file and copy the test kernel.

adonet wrote: ↑Wed Jun 06, 2018 7:42 pm Hi ZX81
Together with which files should I use this kernel? I can't get it to work. It only produces a black screen on my monitor.

This happened to me with one TV. Try this on your config.txt
# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
hdmi_force_hotplug=1

On two different monitors I don't get an image. One monitor just remains black, the other says "invalid signal".
So that's it for now for the testing.

With the normal kernel7 the Baremulator just boots fine.

Check that on cmdline.txt file you don't have that: 'logdev=ttyS1'. These config redirects log output to serial port, so the screen stays black.

I have tested al keypresses of the Tynemouth USB keyboard converter, and typed them into a excel file (18Kb). I cannot upload them to this forum though. so I placed it here:
https://mega.nz/#!rtYiSTRR!WTntcxt_V0O5 ... 5rOol3sm4o

At first glance I can see a strange keyboard in both modes. Isn't a full standard USB keyboard and the Sinclair mode is different to ZX Recreated.

The question is that 10.000 ZX Recreated keyboard units have been manufactured but, how many Tynemouth keyboards exist?. Currently is out of stock. I should add another special keyboard, I guess that's a nonsense effort, IMHO.

I'm sorry.

I understand that making a keyboard for this system is not interesting if almost no-one has one. But it seems not to be out of stock on his tindie store
https://www.tindie.com/products/tynemou ... rsion-kit/

I put the conversion-kit in an old Lo>>Profile keyboard and that is really a pleasant way to retro. but alas not with the ZX Baremulator. Fortunately FUSE and ZEsarUX and FBZX do work fine.


To compare the Recreated ZX Spectrum and the tynemouth keyboard and a regular USB keyboard I made a newer version of this excel table.
you can find it here:
https://mega.nz/#!64BjhA6B!AnJ65WXSbTg2 ... mVz_GBnVmc

Tynemouth differs from a regular USB keyboard to make special characters output the correct code for a regular PC. For example symbol shift - K should output a + symbol. On a PC keyboard that is the SHIFT key and the = + key and this key outputs 02 2E. Thats what Tynemouth does. to make Symbol shift K give the output that a regular pc interprets as +

An interesting blog from the maker of the tynemouth keyboard conversion kit

http://blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/201 ... ry-pi.html

65 $, just for the usb conversion kit !?
Recereated keyboard is better solution then...