Pitrex (Raspberry Pi adapter cartridge for Vectrex) thread

[alfonzotan]

AAE update: the emulator is not very functional (Major Havoc works, but with no audio and the vectors are glitchy; Star Wars kind-of boots but doesn't really work, etc.). MAME roms from version 0.106 are recognized by it.

 

[alfonzotan]

New 3D Printer files for a Pitrex cartridge, with a cover for the Pi. Design by my friend Darryl, a true vector guru and also one of the world's leading authorities on the band Boston:

PiTrex cover for PiZero by dphirschler

Cover for the PiZero when it is mounted to a PiTrex Vectrex cartridge. It is designed to look nice, protect the exposed PiZero board, and have a place to put a label. It snaps in place.The USB and HDMI ports are covered up since they are not used by the PiTrex. The SD card has a slot, so it...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[Brentradio]

Very cool, now if I could only by a PiTrex!

 

[brokentoken]

I just ordered a Pitrex when stock came in this week. Now just waiting for it to make the trip from Down Under.

 

[alfonzotan]

New Pitrex baremetal release is out today:

PiTrex baremetal: Download – Vectrex Blog

 

[alfonzotan]

Pitrex is back in stock... 5 units left when I checked just now. RUN, YOU FOOLS!

OmberTech - Buy PiTrex: Vectrex to Raspberry Pi Zero Interface Cartridge

EDIT: Now out of stock again, as of 1145 EDT.

 

[shawnjefferson]

I picked one up when then came back in stock!

 

[VectorCollector]

 

[alfonzotan]

Need to send that dude a Buzz Off kit.

 

[Sprout]

ok; so late March, then mid-April, then mid-May. Hoping we see more stock become available within the next week! Malban has been really making good progress - just wish they'd get built more quickly, and in larger quantities..

 

[alfonzotan]

New Baremetal update is out!

PiTrex baremetal: Download – Vectrex Blog

 

[Sprout]

Ok, I don't remember seeing a notification email, but checked the OmberTech website on a hunch, and they have re-stocked as of yesterday. Was able to purchase a couple of PiTrex boards for myself and my brother with no issues, and I show there are currently 74 left in stock for anybody who still needs one.

Just gotta order the Pi's for them, and hopefully taking one for a spin within a few weeks!

 

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Thanks for keeping this thread going, alfonzotan. I was not aware that this project was going on! Just placed an order for one. =)

 

[alfonzotan]

Thanks for keeping this thread going, alfonzotan. I was not aware that this project was going on! Just placed an order for one. =)

No problemo. Glad to see they're becoming more obtainable.

 

[Mrchrister]

Eagerly awaiting my Pitrex! Quick question, does Tempest work?

I have a rotary encoder that works driverless under Linux so my hopes are high that i can use it with Tempest


Edit: Just reading throught the FAQ, it looks like the rotary encoder will probably not be supported. It's exciting to see all the progress happening with the Pitrex and I'm glad I can be part of it!

 

[Sprout]

For those that ordered these (and reside in the US) - how long did it take for the package to clear customs? Mine only took 4 days to get from Australia to California, but has otherwise been stuck in customs since July 14th. USPS of course can't provide any information, and just tells me to call the main customs phone number, which I've not bothered to do just yet. They otherwise said it could be held up to 45 days - so I potentially have a significant wait ahead of me still I guess!

 

[alfonzotan]

Eagerly awaiting my Pitrex! Quick question, does Tempest work?

I have a rotary encoder that works driverless under Linux so my hopes are high that i can use it with Tempest


Edit: Just reading throught the FAQ, it looks like the rotary encoder will probably not be supported. It's exciting to see all the progress happening with the Pitrex and I'm glad I can be part of it!

Kind of. A lot of the Atari games are a little sketchy in one way or another, game play is very hit and miss at this point. But I'd try that controller just in case, all these games are based on legacy emulator code bases and USB devices may well work via the Pi.

 

[alfonzotan]

For those that ordered these (and reside in the US) - how long did it take for the package to clear customs? Mine only took 4 days to get from Australia to California, but has otherwise been stuck in customs since July 14th. USPS of course can't provide any information, and just tells me to call the main customs phone number, which I've not bothered to do just yet. They otherwise said it could be held up to 45 days - so I potentially have a significant wait ahead of me still I guess!

That's a very long time. I've never had anything held up at customs that long before, maybe a week or two at most; I'd guess they're working through a backlog. I think it took about a month for my PiTrex to arrive after I ordered it.

 

[gtoal]

Eagerly awaiting my Pitrex! Quick question, does Tempest work?

I have a rotary encoder that works driverless under Linux so my hopes are high that i can use it with Tempest


Edit: Just reading throught the FAQ, it looks like the rotary encoder will probably not be supported. It's exciting to see all the progress happening with the Pitrex and I'm glad I can be part of it!

I know this answer is a bit of a cop-out since there are not that many people willing to mess about with the source code, but our approach for adding controller support is that we'll initially support the Vectrex controller, and if you add support for any other controllers yourself we'll add your modifications to the distro. So far only one user has fed back updates, but we live in hope. It's really tricky to add support for controllers that you don't actually own yourself...

Anyway, *all* the sources are online, so if you are a programmer and have some specific game that you really really want to use with a controller that you own, the potential is there for you to add it.

I'ld start looking at https://github.com/gtoal/pitrex/blob/master/sim2/vx_interface.c and look at the Battlezone controller handling as an example.

Graham

 

[Sprout]

That's a very long time. I've never had anything held up at customs that long before, maybe a week or two at most; I'd guess they're working through a backlog. I think it took about a month for my PiTrex to arrive after I ordered it.

Ah, the horrors of working with USPS. I eventually went through their local customer support, international customer support, sent emails, talked on the phone, got Australia Post involved - all for naught. I was told I had 45 business days for Customs to notify me of any concerns, and then 45 days after that for them to actually follow-up. As fate would have it, after USPS closed out the ticket on their end, THEN an empty/damaged package showed up in one of their "sorry, we screwd up" plastic bags a couple of weeks ago. No product included of course, and the local post office was clueless on how to help when I presented them with the trashed/empty package. The open ticket I had with the international team was subsequently ignored.

The only good news is that I'd given up, and ordered another pair of PiTrex's, which showed up with a few days of the empty package. So, I may yet try and fight with USPS to take responsibility for trashing the package which clearly arrived safely with them domestically, so I can potentially get reimbursed, but I'm not holding my breath...