Re: [stella] 7800 DevCart (Was: Where can I find something like a cuttle cart)

Subject: Re: [stella] 7800 DevCart (Was: Where can I find something like a cuttle cart)
From: O_Scholz@xxxxxxxxxxx (O. Scholz)
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 16:19:08 +0100
Hi Chris, 

while our original aim was to mainly have a means of playing 7800 
games, there will be a 2600 compatibility mode that allows
to play 2600 games. 

But it will probably not support 2600 bankswitching, due to the
variety of schemes out there and limitation in the DevCart
hardware. Still, we'll try to cram as much as possible in there, but
the board is packed as it is, and going to fine pitch
and/or multilayer would drive cost considerably up.

Best regards,

-Oliver

 
> Will this cartridge play 2600 titles as well in a 7800? or is it limited to
> 7800 titles only?
> 
> --Chris
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "O. Scholz" <O_Scholz@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <stella@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 12:09 PM
> Subject: [stella] 7800 DevCart (Was: Where can I find something like a
> cuttle cart)
> 
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Eckhard and I are working on a DevCart for the 7800.
> > The planned features are:
> >
> > * 32K Flash ROM (with some variant of DevOS in it)
> > * 256K RAM
> > * Pokey for sound and I/O
> > * "Becky" chip bankselect controller
> > * standard RS232C interface
> > * standard cart size
> >
> > The Becky-chip will be able to emulate all 7800 bankselect
> > schemes, plus a new scheme to support the full
> > amount of RAM. This will make it possible to play *all*
> > 7800 games on this cart.
> >
> > The RS232 will enable loading of programs into the RAM,
> > without blocking any joystick port.
> >
> > We opted not to go with an Atari-Style keyboard interface,
> > because people will probably not use DevCart to attach
> > a keyboard, but rather to load and develop programs
> > from a PC, right?
> >
> > The cart will not require any modification to the 7800,
> > you can just plug it in, and plug the RS232 into a PC
> > or whatever, and you're done.
> >
> > As for status, the layout and Becky-Chip sources are complete,
> > Eckhard has an alpha prototype cart for SW development.
> > I will have beta prototype ready by January, and we'll take
> > it from there...
> >
> > Oh, we have no idea what the price will be, it will really depend
> > on quantities (naturally, if I make 10 it'll be more expensive than
> > if I make 100). But suffice it to say, we want to keep the price
> > below $100.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > -Oliver
> >
> > Aaron Bergstrom wrote:
> > >
> > > I wish cuttle carts were still available. Anyway, I was wondering if
> > > there was a product that somebody was making that works similar to a
> > > cuttle cart. I'd like to test my 2600 homebrew roms on my 7800, but I'd
> > > like to not have to purchase a bunch of eprom burning hardware. Or is
> > > burning eproms easier than I think? Any suggestions?
> > >
> >
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