Cheapest way to build a mister FPGA with CGA output?

kcorcoran

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So I have some projects where I want accurate gameplay vs glitchy animation with garbled sound with the ability to play a single or multiple games. Especially for games where the original PCBs are either hard to get or insanely priced. And... since certain games, which we won't name, for one of my projects aren't available on the BitKit so I'm wondering what is currently the cheapest way to build a Mister FPGA with CGA output vs buying the $600 arcade kit which is absolutely overkill for my needs.
 
There's a new relatively-cheap single-card solution called Mister-Pi, but (a) I don't know any details about it, and (b) it appears to be in limited supply right now. But might be worth a search...
 
There's a new relatively-cheap single-card solution called Mister-Pi, but (a) I don't know any details about it, and (b) it appears to be in limited supply right now. But might be worth a search...

They're taking pre-orders for the next batch Jan/Feb. I just ordered the Mega Pack, and can't wait!!

 
Hmmm... Interesting and nice to see they are flushing-out the physical aspects, including RAM upgrade and USB boards, as well as a plastic case.

I've played with the idea of one of these, but haven't seen much about how it works with standard arcade monitors. I do have two VGA and SVGA CRT based monitors, but again would want to see how the 70s/80/90s games look when pushed/locked to that resolution.

Scott C.
 
I've played with the idea of one of these, but haven't seen much about how it works with standard arcade monitors. I do have two VGA and SVGA CRT based monitors, but again would want to see how the 70s/80/90s games look when pushed/locked to that resolution.
I *think* Mister does the proper resolutions, and can output a 15khz CGA signal.
 
I *think* Mister does the proper resolutions, and can output a 15khz CGA signal.
Sure does, just make a D-SUB15 to whatever-it-is-your-monitor-needs breakout cable. You can even do it straight out of the HDMI port with an active HDMI to VGA adapter.

Those Mister-Pi's seem to have a pretty bad rate of failure, much better off ponying up for a real one from Terasic imo.
 
Those Mister-Pi's seem to have a pretty bad rate of failure, much better off ponying up for a real one from Terasic imo.
I didn't know that :(

Thanks for the heads up. Ah well, if it works for a bit, and I like it, I'll go the Terasic route.
 
If anyone is looking for a DE-10 Nano, I have an extra one in box that I'd part with for $200. Never used, just opened the box to inspect the contents. PM me if interested.
 
Maybe there is another issue also, but the only substantial one I was aware of was that the pad timings for the dram in the firmware were setup for the trace lengths on the DE10. Mister Pi has different trace lengths that were right on the edge of working with the original firmware, and cores like the N64 that pushed mem speeds to the limit would fail on some boards. It's my understanding that the relevant cores have been tweaked so that this isn't an issue anymore. Are/were there quality issues other than that?

I have a batch 2 order in, so I'm hopping not 🤞
 
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