Project update 9 of 11
Full Production Assembly is Underway!
by Daniel GHi everyone,
Just a quick and happy update for you today!
First Article Approved
The last large remaining task for production is the assembly of the main boards. Our contract assembler already has possession of all the components needed for the project, and all the PCBs have been fabricated.
To avoid any potential mistakes (at the expense of some speed) we asked them to assemble one board and ship it to us for testing before assembling all the rest of them. This ensures that everything works as it should, that all the components are correct and functional, and that the assembly procedures they use are accurate.
We just received this "first article" main board and are thrilled to report that it passes all of our functional tests! This means that full production assembly is now underway.
Some photos of the first article board (with, for no particular reason, a set of PAL chips installed):
Chip Support Docs
As we prepare to ship units out, the documentation is getting closer to completion. One part of the docs concerns how to configure the console for different formats and outputs (eg. PAL, NTSC, RGB). Most users will never need to do this, but anyone who wants to swap their chips probably will.
Here’s a preview of some of that information and some photos illustrating where the settings are configured:
Notes
- NTSC format CPUs may be paired with any NTSC format PPUs (including RGB).
- PAL format CPUs may be paired with any PAL format PPUs.
- Switch S1 selects between either an NTSC or a PAL master clock source which is used for both the CPU and the PPU.
- Switch S2 either bypasses or enables a 1.25 (5/4) multiplier circuit which is used for only the CPU. The PPU clock speed is not affected.
- Switch S5 uses discrete logic to swap PPUCTRL and PPUMASK for several RGB PPU versions.
- In case you were wondering, S3 is the reset button and S4 is the main power switch.
Supported CPUs
| Chip | Mfg | Format | Clock | S1 | S2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP2A03 | Ricoh | NTSC | 21.477270 | Left / NTSC | Left / Disabled |
| RP2A07 | Ricoh | PAL | 26.601712 | Right / PAL | Left / Disabled |
| UA6527 | UMC | NTSC | 21.477270 | Left / NTSC | Left / Disabled |
| UA6527P | UMC | NTSC | 26.8465875 | Left / NTSC | Right / Enabled |
| UA6540 | UMC | PAL | 26.601712 | Right / PAL | Left / Disabled |
Supported PPUs
| Chip | Mfg | Format | Clock | S5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP2C02 | Ricoh | NTSC | 21.477270 | Left / REG |
| RP2C03 / RC2C03 | Ricoh | NTSC / RGB | 21.477270 | Left / REG |
| RP2C04 | Ricoh | NTSC / RGB | 21.477270 | Left / REG |
| RC2C05-01 / 02 / 03 / 04 | Ricoh | NTSC / RGB | 21.477270 | Right / 2C05 |
| RC2C05-99 | Ricoh | NTSC / RGB | 21.477270 | Left / REG |
| RP2C07 | Ricoh | PAL | 26.601712 | Left / REG |
| UA6528 | UMC | NTSC | 21.477270 | Left / REG |
| UA6541 | UMC | PAL | 26.601712 | Left / REG |
Here are some photos of these switches (S1, S2, and S5) on the main board:
Packaging
Just a few photos of the assembled console packaging:
Open Source Repo
The TinyNES source repository is now available!
https://github.com/loglow/TinyNES
This repo will continue to be updated moving forward with any changes or additions to the project, including the RGB kit boards, which will be added soon.
Bonus: Some Bad PPUs
We’ve discovered that a lot of clone UA6528 PPU chips are faulty, and they all seem to glitch in a unique and interesting way. Some are actually kind of cool looking! Here’s a very small sampling of a few bad chips. Don’t worry, these chips won’t end up in any assembled units. We’re actually not sure what to do with them…
That’s all for now. Thanks so much for all your patience! We’re getting very close to shipping out your orders!
Dan