X68000 is alive!

 I finally sourced a master disk, locally, as I was getting impatient to use my new system.  With this I was able to finally boot the system and run switch.x in order to configure the memory expansion and the SCSI ID for my SCSI2SD adapter.

Thankfully after the settings change I managed to not break anything else, and machine booted the V4 preconfigured disk image many in the community seem to use.  And its working great... I've already dropped a few hours into Final Fight and Castlevania.  The Yamaha sound chip on this system is fantastic, but having MIDI support just takes things to another level.  My mt32-pi and SC-88 are working beautifully!

One thing I've noticed is while there are a fair amount of games in this disk image, the X68000 library is quite massive, so many are missing.  Further, some just don't seem to work.  My guess is this is due to some of the hacky workarounds employed to make these games launch off a "hard drive" - most are not designed to run like that.

Next I want to explore Human68k OS, transferring files to this computer, and writing floppies to test some of these problematic / missing games out.  More on this in a future post when I figure out how to do it 😀

The keyboard adapter is working nicely, but I found myself still wanting the real deal.  So after a few days I came across a junk listing at a reasonable price which needed a lot of cleaning; here is the end result:

A final, parting shot of the system hooked up briefly to an ipad LCD (this only works for software in 31kHz mode):

X68000 Pickup + Mods

I've always been smitten with the Sharp X68000 ever since I first saw one.  Now I'm a proud owner of a SUPERHD (model CZ-623C)!

Specs: 10MHz / 2MB RAM

I didn't feel like being too adventurous with this purchase, so I paid a bit more for a machine that had already been semi restored and was in working condition.  Based on the listing and what I can see:

• Partial recap (maybe full?  Will need to fully tear it down to verify)
• SRAM battery replacement
• Rebuilt PSU (appears to be a pico variant in the original L shaped housing)

So with those critical things mostly out of the way, the modding process has begun.  A hard disk and midi support are a must!  What I have done so far:

• New rubber feet
• Noctua fan (NF-A6x25 FLX)
• SCSI2SD adapter (ver 5.2)
• MIDI expansion card (also includes 8MB RAM upgrade)
• PS2 Keyboard adapter (KB was not included with the system)
• Mega drive controller adapter

I may still assemble my own KB / MD adapters (I have sourced the components) but for now I just ended up purchasing them pre-made.

Other misc purchases:

• 5 1/4 Master Disk
• VGA adapter (Sanwa AD-D15NE)
• Mounting kit for SCSI2SD
• OSSC

The system was already pretty clean, but I wiped down the case and inner panels with Plexus plastic cleaner.  I also sanded down a few spots with rust, and polished up the rear external ports as they were looking grimy / corroded.

Managing Large Playlists in Hiby OS

 If you're in the market for a modern PMP (portable media player), I can't recommend the Hiby line enough.  Their range of players cover every price segment.  The cheapest option, the R2, is also the smallest.

This portability comes at a cost though.  Creating and maintaining playlists on such a small screen is less than ideal.  It turns out the operating system (Hiby OS) utilizes the .m3u format for playlists.  This makes it extremely easy to transfer them from your computer to the R2, assuming of course, you're using the same directory structure for your collection.

I use the excellent software MusicBee to manage and play music on the PC.  First, create a test playlist (one or two songs max) on your R2.  This will ensure you know where to add your .m3u files on the sd card, and show the file pathing.  Pop your sd into the computer.  In the root directory, you should see a folder called playlist_data.  Now create a new playlist (or edit an existing one if needed) locally on your machine.  Once you are ready, export it and open this file with a text editor.  I recommend one with advanced features like notepad++ (for my example I'll be using this) or Atom.

The directory pathing will vary based on your setup.  In my case, the music is stored on a NAS, hence what you see above.  We need to edit every line so it matches the pathing in Hiby OS.  Thankfully this is easy to do with a proper text editing program.  For notepad++ the trick is holding ALT + Shift and using the arrow keys to select the text you want to change.

The pathing for Hiby OS is such that your music structure (folders and all) must be under the "a drive".  As you can see in the screenshots, \\FILEBOX\ has been replaced with a:\ across every line in the file.  Since you will have mass selected the beginning of every line at this point, you will only need a few key strokes to edit the entire file.  Now save your changes and move the .m3u playlist files to the aforementioned playlist_data folder on the sd card.  Boot up your R2 (with the sd card inserted) and navigate to the playlist section and choose the option to load.

If you followed these instructions (and the music directory structure of the sd card is matching your computer) the playlists should populate with the correct tracks.  Hope this helps someone out there!

I'd like to note I have only tested this on the R2 player, but in theory should work across all models since they run the same OS.

PSX + Free McBoot

I recently acquired a rare piece of gaming history:

Among the major design flaws, its well known that when the internal HDD goes, the console is essentially a paperweight...until recently.  A specific Free McBoot install for PSX is available - however you will need to manually direct the console to boot from the memory card.  The button you need to hold down on system startup is R1.

This will throw you into the file browser where you can then execute your .elf of choice (such as OPL).  I spent entirely too much time trying to find this info on the web - you're welcome.

Hori FightingStick PS conversion

Something interesting I came across on twitter: These old Hori fight sticks have both the PlayStation (PS) and Saturn (SS) headers on the PCB.

I was searching for a good Saturn controller for my fighting games and this seemed like a cool project.  I purchased the cheapest one I could find, which ended up being the PS version.  It actually looked very similar to the first picture above, rust and all.

What was not mentioned in the tweet, is that these controllers come with at least two different PCB variants.  This is important to note, because the header wiring is reversed depending which one you have.  Mine was model 0888-31 (versus model 0888-100A).

CN2 is where the PlayStation cable was hooked up.  CN1 is the unused Saturn header.  I soldered in a spare Saturn controller cable which I sourced from a Gen 1 US pad - these are absolute shit so it won't be missed!  Unlike the 0888-100A PCB, pin 1 is white.  Stripping the controller cable was surprisingly difficult as they are very small gauge and have thread intertwined.  I then soldered on additional wire for slack.  I used the same colors except for the blue wire, which is now purple:

You can keep both controller cables connected, but I removed the PlayStation one as I intend to only use this with my Saturn.  Restoration is ongoing so I will save those pics for a future post - but the controller works!

8bitdo N30 Sanwa Mod

Almost forgot this blog existed 😅

Earlier this year I decided to swap out the components in my N30 - the stock ones get the job done, but are garbage in comparison to quality arcade sticks.  This is an extremely easy mod if you know basic soldering.

The default joystick is soldered to the harness, while the JLF I chose uses a connector.  So the wires have to be soldered directly to the micro switches like the stock unit.

You then need to cut three of the traces so each switch can be properly grounded.  Circles in red show where they have been cut (used an x-acto knife).  Here is the finished product:

The buttons are just drop in replacements, no modification needed.

BOM:

• 1x Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK-VER
• 8x Sanwa OBSF-30

Hope this helps someone out there!

Duo Disc Rubbing

When I restored a broken Duo a few weeks back, upon testing I realized the cdrom unit was making a terrible noise when reading discs.  The center hub appears to sit ever so slightly too low in the casing.  My initial quick fix was to put a few small pieces of electrical tape to raise the disc height.

While this worked, its not aesthetically pleasing.  After some trial and error, I finally found a thin enough o ring / rubber gasket that eliminates the need for tape.  The spare o rings that come with vape tanks seem to do the trick perfectly.

(In my case, one from a Nautilus 2 kit.)