Unnamed project...

[nodtveidt]

OK so I was inspired awhile back by some other projects and since this is something I've always wanted to do, I figured I'd post some of it here. Anyways, my goal is to create a PC from a TG16+CDROM. I'm not familiar with all the aspects of doing this which is why I'm hoping some of you on the forum might be able to shed some light.

I already have the TG16 mainboard and the two boards for the CDROM. They will be the main unit. I will remove the connectors between the two and wire them together with three ribbon cables. The hucard slot will be removed from the mainboard and attached to the new shell, then wired to the mainboard with ribbon cable. I will also apply the 8PDT region mod. Pretty standard stuff.

In some of the documents for the PCE/TG16, it is stated that the backup RAM is a 2KB chip, but the system can support up to 8KB. I want to make this modification if I can; finding the right chip might be a real journey though. I'd also like to be able to have a VGA output from the machine...anyone been able to pull this kind of thing off? I don't remember the VGA pinout off the top of my head but it's documented all over the place so that's easy enough.

Now, there comes a few problems. First of all, the system's RAM is pretty limited. I can get around this somewhat by using the ACD. Next...what's a PC without a keyboard? I have a couple of ways to tackle this. The first method would be to build a custom keyboard utilizing the circuits for five controllers and a tap. While not elegant whatsoever, it would solve the problem immediately. The second is to use a normal PC keyboard and write the software to decode the keyboard signals. That'll take some research but I'm pretty sure it can be done. Lastly...storage. I have to find a way to attach some sort of storage device. I saw that there's a device for the C64 that simulates a floppy drive but uses a flash card instead (I think it's called the 1541-III)...I'm wondering if anything like that could be somehow done here, and where it could be used.

Also, I've seen people doing various projects with plastics and have always wondered how you get started with something like that. What do you use? How do you mold it to the shape you want? I'm pretty sure no hobbyist has a huge plastics factory.

As for the OS itself, that's something that I will write custom for this project. It will be written in assembly so it can be as small as possible.

So I guess the most important part is this...should I finish this project, what do I call this thing?

[override]

Sounds very interesting, You could call it The Ultimate PC..........Engine! hehe

It would be really kick ass to see what this console would have done and looked like had it been made into an actual PC.

As for the chip layouts and what not you can find a shit ton of information on this Website!

[nodtveidt]

Yeah, I know all about Archaic Pixels...some of the HuC documentation there was added by me. When I say finding the right chip, I mean finding a chip that I could replace the 2KB chip with...I know which one it is, it's just a matter of finding a replacement...I should be able to find a drop-in replacement, as the pinout is pretty standard. It's just a matter of finding one...

I'm thinking about a case design now, but not sure if I want to do a tower or a desktop design. Doing a tower might make it look a bit like a PC-FX, lol.

[override]

Ah ok that works out man! I didnt know you new that site.

I just recently discovered it myself so....

I dont think you should do a tower design IMO....If you can make it all fit, do like something that looks like an external hardrive that can sit on your desktop. Or make a desktop but like a mini one, or design it the way you think it should of looked!

Im still trying to think of a cool name for it!

[Necromancer]

You could name it "I Shoulda Been Workin' On Mysterious Song". 

Just kidding of course.  What kind of software could such a beast run, and is there any way to hack in a Tsushin Booster?

[nodtveidt]

If I could work on Mysterious Song, I would...why else would I be doing something like this? We're all waiting for the artist to finish.

Anyways, a Tsushin could be added, but there are so few of them in existence that it would be rather risky to try replicating one for the project. As for software...well, I would likely have to use at least half of the 256KB of normal RAM for the OS, leaving the other half available for programs. With a keyboard, obviously the first thing that comes to mind is a word processor, or at least a Notepad. The PCE already has a mouse, so that means that anything requiring mouse control could be written, such as a Paintbrush app or simple games like Solitaire and Minesweeper! I've already planned out an executable design, which would be a bytecode-type system that runs through an interpreter in the OS. The ACD RAM could be used to swap the active program out and another in, giving it a multiprogram switch capability (not true multitasking, more like one of those old DOS shell programs). I imagine it could probably maintain up to 4 small user programs simultaneously. I'm not yet sure what kind of capabilities it would have for running games in the OS, as it will likely not be the most efficient OS there is, but it will be interesting to try.

Oh yeah...almost forgot...even if the Tsushin could be added, there's no guarantee it would be all that useful. TCP/IP is rather difficult, and though a web browser could be written, its capabilities would be extremely limited; akin to something like Lynx.

[nodtveidt]

A minor update to this...wifey and I got our loan for our new business, so once that gets up and running and we're generating money (about a week or two from now, as we've really worked hard at getting started up and we're almost there!), I'll have some cash to invest in prototyping this thing. I'm still not quite sure how to get involved in the plasticworking aspect...anyone got any good leads for what product I should be looking for, or how to plan a casing? I'm pretty clueless in this aspect, lol.

[Necromancer]

I'm still not quite sure how to get involved in the plasticworking aspect...anyone got any good leads for what product I should be looking for, or how to plan a casing?

Would vacuum forming work for your planned case?  If so, check with fellow member Bacteria on how to build your own vacuum forming table and how to use it.

[esteban]

Dude, of course you should finish this project. It's awesome.

As for the name, well there are many with potential, but: PCEnginePC is the one to go with.

However, it might be more appropriate to name it: TG-16-CD-PC, although, I personally prefer TG-16-CD+G-PC to highlight its ability to play CD+G discs.

Seriously, though, this is the sort of project you should complete.

Next, you'll be hosting Frozen Neutopia from your jerry-rigged PC!

[nodtveidt]

OK so this project didn't die it just went to sleep for awhile. But because I've been working at the house in Camuy so much lately, I'd have a lot of time to myself, and during times where I need a break from the hard physical labor required to revamp an entire house from scratch, I've been working on getting this project moving forward.

I have my 8PDT almost ready to apply. All the leads are wired, I just have to do the inversion soldering and it'll be ready to use. I haven't removed the card slot yet; that's one of my next steps. I have, however, removed the original controller port and have directly wired a TurboTap into it:

Might need a filter for it but I'm not sure yet. I haven't tested this out yet, which is why I haven't gone through the trouble of removing the card port yet, but I brought it home last night so I could test it out this morning with my only working US card, a copy of Keith Courage. Once I know the machine still works, I'll go through with the removal of the card port so it can be mounted on a smaller board and rewired with the ribbon cables and the 8PDT.

Another step that needed to be taken was the removal of the main power switch, since this is going to be an all-in-one unit and it was no longer necessary. I simply added a bypass:


I'm going to post updates to this on my blog shortly, with more pics and a more detailed description of what I'm doing on this project.

[nodtveidt]

Well, the game worked, and the controller rewiring worked perfectly. The RF cable I have is pretty crappy, so the game was extremely staticy, but it was clear enough to allow me to play the game just a bit to test the controller. That, of course, will be eliminated once the CDROM hardware is added. That's going to be an extremely delicate operation, so it comes last in the grand scheme of things. My next objective is to segregate the card port.

[esteban]

Of all the games, the only one you have left is Keith Courage?!

Amazing .

[nodtveidt]

Yep...I literally had to sell every domestic hucard game I owned, KC was the only one I wouldn't have been able to get rid of. I will eventually be able to rebuild my collection...AGAIN...but it'll be some time, I'm afraid. I do still have a copy of SFII and some bootleg mahjong game on hucard, and those will be useful once I've gotten the hucard connector rewired. I still have a tennokoe bank as well.

Anyways, because of the problems with the RF signal, I decided to go ahead and try to remove the big port on the back of the mainboard. 69 pins total, plus a couple of stabilizers. I removed the solder from all 69 pins and went to remove the solder from the stabilizers...and that's when I ran into a problem. They aren't just pieces of metal soldered onto the board, they're metal clips soldered onto the board and are next to impossible to remove by normal means. So, I'm going to break out the ole Dremel with a hacksaw disc and saw that punk right off the board. Another interesting detail of the rear port is that the solder points exist on both sides of the mainboard, so I have to make sure that the solder flows cleanly when attaching the ribbons.

[esteban]

They aren't just pieces of metal soldered onto the board, they're metal clips soldered onto the board and are next to impossible to remove by normal means. So, I'm going to break out the ole Dremel...

Our beloved console was built for the Apocalypse