Pleasant Suprises : The Epson MGA Q205A

Sometime ago, I acquired an 8-bit ISA card called the Epson MGA Q205A.  I figured it was a CGA compatible card because it had one DE-9 female port and one RCA jack, which the standard CGA configuration.  The only unusual thing about the card was a two-position switch on the bracket plate.  The switch is labeled color/mono.  I couldn't find anything about the card in Total Hardware '99.  I noted that the card displays in color on startup instead of B&W on a color composite monitor, I figured the switch was there to turn it to B&W.  An IBM CGA displays in B&W on startup in an IBM PC or XT.

After testing the card out a bit, I was pleased that it gave composite colors reasonably close to an IBM CGA card.  I was also pleased that the card is less than 10", meaning it will fit inside a Tandy 1000 computer.  However, Trixter's CGA Compatibility Tester demonstrated that the CGA compatibility was weak when it came to the 6845 tests.  This is not particularly surprising when I determined that the card does not have a 6845 CRT Controller onboard.  Since I have three IBM CGA cards, the card rarely has surfaced in my thoughts.

Northgate Omnikey 101 vs. IBM Model M Keyboard

I have had the privilege of being lent a Northgate Omnikey 101 keyboard.  This keyboard is identical to the layout of my IBM Model M keyboards.  I am going to first identify the features of each keyboard and then give my impressions of the Northgate compared to the Model M.

Enclosure

Model M's use PBT plastic on the top and bottom enclosures, on the key caps and the key stems.  For this reason Model M do not yellow through exposure to ultraviolet light.  On the other hand, PBT can be somewhat brittle and it is not a rare thing to see cracked keycaps on a Model M.  Because keycaps come off very easily, it is often the case that you will find a keyboard for sale with one or more missing.  The enclosure is held together with hex screws requiring a long-barreled 7/32" driver to access.  Later Model Ms, mostly made by Lexmark and Unicomp, often have drainage holes cut into the bottom half of the enclosure for liquid spills, but the IBM-made keyboards rarely have them.

Famicom and NES Expansions and Peripherals

Famicom Peripheral List

Devices that Plug into the Famicom Cartridge Slot

Nintendo Famicom Disk System

• 199 Official Licensed Games + Prize Cards (and unlicensed games, copying programs etc.)
• Comes with a disk drive and a RAM Expansion.

The RAM Expansion is inserted into the cartridge slot and the cable from the RAM Expansion is connected to the rear of the disk drive.

The Northgate Omnikey to Tandy 1000 SX & TX Keyboard Adapter

The Tandy 1000 computers, more specifically the early Tandy 1000s, had many good features, graphics, sound, expansion, performance, integrated peripherals.  To save development costs, Tandy imported some of its designs from prior, non-IBM PC compatible computers.  The Tandy 1000 card edge printer port can be traced back to the TRS-80.  The Tandy 1000 joystick ports came straight from the Tandy Color Computer.  And finally, the Tandy 1000 keyboard is the same keyboard used in Tandy's MS-DOS (but not IBM PC) compatible Tandy 2000.

The 90-key Tandy 1000 keyboard is not exactly a pleasure to use.  Its layout is cramped and awkward, its keys are mushy and there is no tactile feedback.  Compared to the IBM PC or IBM PC AT keyboard, it feels cheap.  Typing mistakes are frequent with this keyboard.  It has some odd key omissions.  There is no Scroll Lock, and while there is a separate Home key, there is no separate End, Page Up, Page Down, +, -, or * keys.  The shift keys are too small.  While it does have F11 and F12, software made during the Tandy 1000 (except by Tandy) lifespan rarely used these keys.

Finally, the Tandy 1000 has the dreaded Hold and Print keys.  Both keys are next to important keys like Enter, Alt and Num Lock,  The Hold key acts like a true Pause key, everything is frozen until you hit the Hold key again.  People who do not know or forget how the Hold key works may think their computer has crashed.  However, the really evil key is the Print key.  Press this key twice and, unless you have a printer attached to your computer, your computer will freeze as it vainly tries to print what you are typing on the screen. Your computer will appear to freeze.  IBM avoided this issue by assigning the function to Ctrl+Print Screen.

RetroUSB AVS vs. Analogue Nt mini - Comparison of the Enthusiast FPGA NES Clones

Until now, any kind of accurate Nintendo NES or Famicom console had to use Nintendo's CPU and/or PPU chips, whether that console was manufactured by Nintendo, Sharp or anyone else.  While the idea of implementing a NES on an FPGA was an idea with a long history, only this year are products finally making it to market.  Here I am going to compare the features of the two announced FPGA NES implementations, the RetroUSB AVS and the Analogue Interactive Nt mini.

Console	AVS	Nt mini
Producer	RetroUSB	Analogue, LLC
Hardware Designer	Brian Parker “bunnyboy”	Kevin Horton “kevtris”
FPGA Type	Xilnix Spartan 6 XC6SLX9	Altera Cyclone V
Included	HDMI, USB Cable (mini-to-standard), Power Supply	HDMI, USB, 8Bitdo NES 30 Wireless Controller, Retro Receiver, Power Supply
Outputs	HDMI, USB	HDMI, Analog Video, RCA Stereo
Inputs	4 x NES Controller Ports, 1 x Famicom Expansion Port	4 x NES Controller Ports, 1 x Famicom Expansion Port, Microphone Input
Upgrade	USB Port	SD Card Slot
Resolution Support	720p	480p, 720p, 1080p (HDMI) 240p (analog sources only)
Video Display Support	HDMI	Composite, S-Video, Component, RGB, HDMI
Buttons	Separate Power & Reset	Combined Power & Reset
Unique Special Features	NA Scoreboard, Built-in Game Genie, Turbo-in-Software	Scalers, Famicom Expansion Audio Generation, Audio Visualizer, Famicom Microphone, NES Zapper/Famicom Gun Support (Analog video only), R.O.B/Family Robot Support (Analog video only)
Price	$185.00	$449.00
Availability	September, 2016	January, 2017

Boulder Dash - PC Speed and Joysticks

Boulder Dash was originally released for the IBM PC and PCjr. in 1984 by First Star Software.  The disk included two separate executables, one for the IBM PC and one for the IBM PCjr.  The disk was a PC booter.

The IBM PC executable is serviceable but not particularly impressive.  There is a distinct lack of animation on the title screen and for the amoeba tiles.  There is also no color-cycling effect for the diamonds.   It is debatable whether the game really uses composite color graphics.  Sound effects are weak even by PC speaker standards.

The IBM PCjr executable, on the other hand, is much, much more impressive.  It uses the 3-voice PCjr. chip for music and sound effects.  It supports 16-color graphics with full animation and color cycling.  Despite the PCjr. being slower than the PC, it does not suffer from a lot of slowdown, despite the extra effort.  Compare these pairs of screenshots from the PC and PCjr. executables :

Boulder Dash on the Atari 2600 - Beginning or Continuing a Long Journey

BD2600 - Title Screen

In late 2011, a new homebrew cartridge was announced for the Atari 2600.  This would be a port of Boulder Dash, the classic computer game originally developed on the Atari 800 home computer by Pieter Liepa and Chris Gray.  Their game was bought by First Star Software, which published it for the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Apple II and IBM PC & PCjr. computers in 1984 as well as for the Colecovision.   FSS also published the sequel, Boulder Dash II : Rockford's Revenge and Boulder Dash Construction Kit.  FSS's other well-known game series is the Spy vs. Spy games.

Boulder Dash was very popular, with the game being ported officially or unofficially to many different platforms.  The Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Epoch Super Cassette Vision, Game Boy, MSX, NES, PC-8801 and ZX Spectrum all received officially licensed ports. Except for a period from around 1991 to 2001, there has rarely been a year gone by without a release or re-release of Boulder Dash in some officially licensed form.  Today it can be purchased on mobile platforms.

The PC Joystick to Tandy 1000 Joystick Port Adapter

IBM PC-compatible joysticks using the DA-15 connector came in all shapes and sizes.  Some have a hat switch, some have a throttle wheel, and many are quite durable.  The CH Flightstick Pro is among my favorite PC joysticks.  Its large enough to fit in my hand, has easy movement and feels very precise.

Unfortunately, Tandy 1000 users do not have many options, thanks to the 6-pin DIN connector the 1000 line used.    The official Tandy joystick line consists of the miserable black box joystick with the single button and non-self centering stick, the Deluxe Joystick which fixes those issues but is still rather boxy and uncomfortable, and the Pistol Stick Joystick, which has a handle but is really basic.  Not many third parties released joysticks with the Tandy plug, but in this blog article, I will tell you how to adapt any standard PC-style joystick to work in a Tandy 1000 joystick port.