Commander X8 Disussion

Mtemal · Post by **Mtemal** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 3:45 am

On 10/14/2021 at 10:44 PM, Scott Robison said:

Good point. You made my mind up for me. I can by an X8 next month and an X16 FPGA edition six months later. ?

That's what I thought most folks were going to do

Scott Robison · Post by **Scott Robison** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:08 am

On 10/14/2021 at 9:45 PM, Mtemal said:

That's what I thought most folks were going to do

The original thread is very long, so I don't blame anyone for not starting it at this point, but I've read it all (I think). There were many people who bemoaned the fact that X8 would fragment the community, because people would only buy the cheapest thing that was available and would never buy the big brother of the X8, leaving it orphaned, effectively.

Oldrooster · Post by **Oldrooster** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:35 am

I would prefer something that can be soldered to and modded, like this keyboard

Mtemal · Post by **Mtemal** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:36 am

On 10/14/2021 at 11:08 PM, Scott Robison said:

The original thread is very long, so I don't blame anyone for not starting it at this point, but I've read it all (I think). There were many people who bemoaned the fact that X8 would fragment the community, because people would only buy the cheapest thing that was available and would never buy the big brother of the X8, leaving it orphaned, effectively.

I spent the past week going through these forums and it was a challenge to make it through all 30 pages of the Official Announcement thread. Lots of ideas in there but I can see why there is so much resistance to the X8. It's not a guaranteed easy path for adapting X8 software to the X16 Chip & Dip and it's got one honking FPGA that seems to do it all. A nice block diagram, the KICAD files and a presentation on how the FPGA core actually works would probably help alleviate some of that apprehension.

In one of the threads David mentioned that porting Robots to the X8 should take a couple of hours and that he would post a video once it was done. With all the noise since the change in direction post I get the feeling that project may have been put on the back burner. I really hope the project delivers hardware sooner than later and it looks like the FPGA path is going to be the only way that happens soon.

Mtemal · Post by **Mtemal** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:37 am

On 10/14/2021 at 11:35 PM, Oldrooster said:

I would prefer something that can be soldered to and modded, like this keyboard

What is that and what can it do?

Oldrooster · Post by **Oldrooster** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:38 am

When I look at it, I would ask myself does the X-16 emulator work on the Raspberry Pi, and would the end-user experience be identical ? I have a Pi which I never use. Pii's are a bit that way.

Oldrooster · Post by **Oldrooster** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:42 am

On 10/15/2021 at 3:37 PM, Mtemal said:

What is that and what can it do?

it's a project I am helping with there is a thread about it, or there was, here...

that board is deprecated for a simpler board, it's not the final version of the keyboard. I don't have a pic of the final version but in a few weeks I should be able to take photos of an actual prototype.

It can eliminate the need for both an EPROM programmer, because 16 of it's keys and the custom interface allow typing direct to blank memory so you can copy a bootloader (maybe 200 characters) into the blank memory. Costing for the BOM is $30. Full computer should be less than 100 at this stage.

Oldrooster · Post by **Oldrooster** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:44 am

sorry, mean to specify the bootloader is copied out of a user manual or from screen into the keyboard and the keyboard puts your typed Hex code into blank memory. Then you throw a switch and boom, your in business to let the computer load the rest through a simple means of communication.

Mtemal · Post by **Mtemal** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:45 am

On 10/14/2021 at 11:38 PM, Oldrooster said:

When I look at it, I would ask myself does the X-16 emulator work on the Raspberry Pi, and would the end-user experience be identical ? I have a Pi which I never use. Pii's are a bit that way.

I like the Pi since it can be reliably made into purpose built machines. I use one for [ADS-B tracking](Stratux.me) and one of my PiZero's for adblocking by running [PiHole](https://pi-hole.net/). I also have a PiZero that is my Commodore/VICE emulator. It runs [Combian64](https://cmaiolino.wordpress.com/).

Mtemal · Post by **Mtemal** » Fri Oct 15, 2021 4:55 am

On 10/14/2021 at 11:44 PM, Oldrooster said:

sorry, mean to specify the bootloader is copied out of a user manual or from screen into the keyboard and the keyboard puts your typed Hex code into blank memory. Then you throw a switch and boom, your in business to let the computer load the rest through a simple means of communication.

The PCB layout aesthetic reminds me of the PCB that is in my Ti-99/4A Power Supply. I liked that video you linked showing the old acid etching process. I remember seeing it on Hack A Day a few years ago. Looks like it would be well suited for what you are trying to do.