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Marco Maccaferri edited this page Mar 31, 2018 · 3 revisions

Propeller Graphics Card for RC2014 Computer

Preliminary documentation.

Connections

Assembly

  1. RC2014 bus
  2. Video Connector
  3. Programming header (optional prop-plug compatible)

JP1 enables 3.3v or 5v power output on pin 9 of the video connector. Can be used to enable the SCART RGB input or power an external device. Put a jumper between the central pin and one of the side pins to enable the labeled power output. For SCART RGB enable put a jumper on the 3.3v side (central + left pin).

JP3 and JP4 selects the output driver from VGA, PAL or NTSC.

JP3 JP4 Output
OFF OFF VGA (mode1)
ON OFF VGA (mode2)
OFF ON PAL
ON ON NTSC

WAIT must be connected to the Z80 WAIT pin on the extended bus connector of the RC2014 backplane to allow frame synchronization.

Compile

The firmware requires the GCC compiler specific for the Propeller microcontrollers. A suitable version can be downloaded from my P8X Game System download page. It is a more recent version of the GCC toolsuite compared to the one available from Parallax and with some additional patches. The version distributed from Parallax may not work as expected with this project.

Compile with:

make clean all

If you have a PropPlug device attached to your computer, you can upload the firmware directly to the on-board eeprom using the PROP-PLUG header, with the command:

make burn

if the default serial port is not correct it can be specified on the command line:

PORT=[port name] make burn

If you have a stand alone eeprom program it is possible to generate the .binary file with the command:

propeller-load -s firmware.elf

Code Examples

Some examples are available on my Z80 Apps repository.

  • PATTERN.ASM
    TV test pattern display.
  • SPRITE.ASM
    Sprite animation demo.