MiSTer FPGA Forum

DeKay

@emilion and @leew Had to ask... would you guys do it again knowing what you know now? Are you happy with the end result? Would you take another route (like Retro Castle IO or standard MiSTer Tower of Power? Any lessons learned other than "don't use too much solder on the through hole connectors" and "double check that you've ordered...

DeKay

Basically I've got half the required current, a huge viewing angle spilling light everywhere, and very probably a large amount of light being absorbed by the red casing. I'm thinking Richard was bang on with reducing the viewing angle which should help a lot with the last 2 issues, and also go for a lower forward current. I'm leaning towards this:...

DeKay

Re: the green LED. Check the current through the LED by measuring the voltage drop across the associated current-limiting resistor (e.g. pins 3 & 6 on N2) and calculate the current through the LED from VoltageDrop/56Ohms. Then see how that current compares to the spec value from the datasheet. And note that green may take more current than red ...

DeKay

Thanks for the link on the fan orientation. I specifically tested the air flow direction and chose to place it in this orientation. Because in general, positive air pressure (more intakes than exhausts) is best for cooling. But maybe in this specific case it is better for temperature as an exhaust fan? Or is it just that this orientation is specif...

DeKay

Top, in case. The camera really picks up the flux residue huh, not this noticeable to the naked eye. If you haven't tried to clean off the flux residue, you should try to clean off the flux residue. "No clean" flux is kind of an oxymoron these days. https://www.electronicdesign.com/markets/automation/article/21147793/rush-pcb-is-it-neces...

DeKay

So, the good news is my short on pin 2 is gone! The bad news is the short on VBUS remains. :( Ah well, I was never that hopeful that I’d get them both on the same connector. I did have an idea though. I’m thinking before trying to remove another connector, I should just try and desolder pin 1 (and pin 5 on the dual ports) and then check for the VB...

DeKay

Kapton tape is also very useful: you tape around the part you want to desolder in order to reduce the heat on the surrounding components while you move the tip. He said he used heat insulating tape in his first tries and I assumed he meant kapton tape. That stuff will melt if things get hot enough (at least the stuff I bought from Ali does :lol: )...

DeKay

Yes, I think this is going to be a case of watching some more videos and getting a lot of practice in. I had another go on a test board at 400C. This time the solder started melting but I still burnt the board. But at least I got the solder hot enough and I didn't burn the board as badly as the first couple of times. So some progress. Sounds good....

DeKay

I was worried about using the hot air gun. As I said in a previous post I initially want to try and reflow the SMD components, but in the end I didn't. The week I spent doing some soldering practice, the through hole soldering was ok (a bit blobby in places), the SMD soldering with the iron went really well, but the reflow test was a non starter. ...

DeKay

Can you try to run the memory tester and report back the maximum speed you are able to get out of the SDRAM? I'm curious how it compares to the MiSTer SDRAM expansion boards. I ran the mem test and it settled to 146MHz for a while and then dropped to 145MHz. To be honest though, I thought it was kind of a waste of time carrying on the test as the ...

DeKay

That had occurred to me. I wondered if I put too much solder in and one or more pins had bridged where I couldn’t see them. I couldn’t see any obvious shorts with a magnifying glass and then I even checked with a microscope (cheap but does the job) and it really doesn’t look like there are any shorts where solder joints are visible on either side ...

DeKay

What are the voltage for FLAG- and USB_EN on that chip? If -FLAG (an output from U4) is around 0V, U4 detects a problem like over current (i.e. a short somewhere) If USB_EN (an input to U4 from the FE2.1) is around 5V, then FE2.1 isn't happy for some reason FLAG-: 3.27 - 3.30V USB_EN: 4.33 - 4.56V If, with everything powered off, you get some very...

DeKay

Nice! Congrats!

Can you try to run the memory tester and report back the maximum speed you are able to get out of the SDRAM? I'm curious how it compares to the MiSTer SDRAM expansion boards.

DeKay

But I still seem to have no USB. I have continuity along the data lines between the USB ports and the FE2.1, but when the system is on I have zero volts at every connection on every USB port apart from JP11 where I get 1.25V and 3.3V on pins 2 & 3. I get continuity with GND on pins 1 & 4 for every USB port except JP11 which, if I'm reading...

DeKay

I did do a bit of measuring and I recon they’re probably 15cm. I couldn’t find shorter than that on Amazon anyway. The DIY Adafruit cable looks interesting. Certainly doesn’t look like it would put any pressure on the Ethernet port. All those cables twisting around in there certainly makes for a tight fit. If I were building one up, I'd also consi...

DeKay

Does anyone know how long the internal Ethernet and USB cables that connect to the DE-10 are supposed to be? The multisystem manual just says the included cables are “short”. Based on the pictures on page 12 and 13 of the manual, and knowing the dimensions of the Nano and Multisystem boards, you should be able to determine the length pretty accura...

DeKay

Problem seems to be that all of the 3.3V lines are showing as 4V. XIN is 3.3V but XOUT is 4V. So... the crystal is bad? If the Crystal was bad but a signal is getting from XOUT to XIN, wouldn’t that just mean the timing of the controller would be off? Or does a wrong voltage at XIN stop it working completely? The crystal oscillates at a single fre...

DeKay

Problem seems to be that all of the 3.3V lines are showing as 4V. XIN is 3.3V but XOUT is 4V. So... the crystal is bad? Wait. Whoa. What? "All" the 3.3V lines are showing as 4V? That is really bad if you mean that 3.3V is measuring 4V across the entire Multisystem board. That is far enough out of whack to do some damage. I think that tha...

DeKay

I finished my board as well, but unfortunately none of the USB ports work, any ideas/suggestions on how to track down the issue? The DE-10 board connects to the PC via USB when powered, so the issue is on this board. Could this be due to damage to the 40 pin header when desoldering it? As emiliom suggested, a continuity check is a good start. You ...

DeKay

I wanted to share my build progress, this is where I’m currently at after ordering all parts from the BOM @emiliom posted. I only had an issue with 2 or maybe 3 items that were out of stock but alternates were available. I’m located in the US and I am still waiting for 2 parts: USB IC and the Vertical HDMI connectors. I am having trouble ordering ...

DeKay

Be interesting to see the results from the testing as someone was asking for a MMS board on the FB group and someone made the following comment : "I recommend you watch a few videos about those boards. They have multiple manufacturing issues and some very real electrical defects that cause behavior that doesn't match other separate IO board s...

DeKay

LeeW wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2023 11:50 pm
Hopefully I can get the components soldered tomorrow and then test everything.

Good luck!!! Once you've got it basically checked out, it would be interesting to run the MemTest utility and see what speeds you get out of the SDRAM.

DeKay

These parts bump up the price quite a bit, pushing the total price much higher than I initially thought. The memory is the single most expensive component but this is what you'd expect. I feel like minor edits to the board could allow for some cheaper alternatives (especially the damn headphone jacks, which cost £24, £28.8 with VAT). Personally, I...

DeKay

Let's take a step back here. How exactly are you going to assemble this board once you get all the components, especially SMT chips like the USB controller? For example, if you aren't taking the toaster oven / hot plate reflow approach, I don't see where you'd need solder paste.

DeKay

Looked at this circuit further and can confirm that the lower current rated BSS138 good for 200mA will be fine. This circuit is inline with the FPGA that itself can only handle 40 mA per pin absolute max.. Thanks for the clarification. Do you have any insight into the crystal? As mentioned the same chip is used in the MiSTer FPGA stack but has a d...

DeKay

In this application it seems they are being used as level shifters in a low voltage, low current situation. So whether you order a Diodes Inc BSS138-7-F rated for 200mA or a BSS138K-13 rated for 310mA doesn't matter. About the only difference here is you save ten cents per part on the former. As long as the package type matches here, you are proba...

DeKay

Let us know how your build goes once all your parts come in! I won't be making one, but that is mostly because I don't have a MiSTer :D Not yet anyway. What would be sweet is if someone were to convert this design to Kicad from Altium. That would really unleash people's ability to modify this design going forward. Altium is a high end tool for a hi...

DeKay

I just tried to match the code as exactly as possible as I didn't know which ones to pick. I guess I should be ok from what you've said. I wasn't sure if you had to match the amperage or just had to "cover" it. The ones I found were rated 220mA. Is that a general thing with diodes - as long as you are at or above the minimum required amp...

DeKay

The 2 HDMI male connections on the PCB is a kind of simple HDMI bridge that you then chop out of the main PCB and use as a bridge from the DE10 to the Multisystem board. Similar to how the official kit also ships with a very short Ethernet cable and USB cable. So you could ignore these and just get a short cable instead. Could mess things up once ...

DeKay

I believe that the exact capacitors and resistors used shouldn't matter as long as they match the specified capacitance and resistance respectively, right? Or are there other factors I need to consider? Capacitors have a voltage rating. It seems that the maximum voltage used in this design is 5V, so you'll want to make sure that the caps you speci...

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Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design

Re: Open Source release of MiSTer Multisystem Console hardware all-in-one I/O design