Clockport RGB LED Controller

[Daedalus]

Originally Posted by crazyc

Just had a peek in my checkmate case, and was wondering if this will fit with a SUM USB in place as well as an Indy Mk 2?

Yeah, it should do. I made sure to try and block as few peripherals as possible, and it fits here with an Indivision and a different keyboard adaptor that's much the same shape with space to spare.

Also, can it be called from the startup sequence? Or can powerup be listed as an event?

There's no powerup event, but it's possible to apply any style you wish using a Shell command. You can save a pattern as a file and send it to the board whenever you like. It also saves some settings to Flash, so you can have a pattern that runs from power up without any commands, which would remain while booting from floppy or from hard drive until something else overrides it.

I was thinking it would be cool to have a red sweeping light whilst booting then a green solid light for a second or two once its booted. Or something like that.

That' doable, though it would need to be done from the Amiga side as there's no facility for having multiple patterns at once and switching between them based on time.

If it was called from startup then that would avoid any clash when booting from a floppy which would not trigger it? (But would trigger whatever was set to happen on floppy access?)

You can apply a pattern that overrides everything until a new pattern is sent or the pattern is turned off (in which case the board will go back to whatever settings were last saved). You can also send a pattern that would only apply during a particular "event", like floppy access, HD access, or nothing at all. But without running any commands (like when booting from floppy), whatever settings were saved will be applied, including anything set to happen when floppy is accessed.

Hmmm, it's a little tricky to explain it properly, but I hope that makes sense.

[crazyc]

Cool-thanks.

Definitely looking forward to this!

[crazyc]

Any news re when the general public (well, me) might be able to get their (my) hands on one of these?
Cheers

[kriz]

This is so cool, please let us order!!

[RetroPanic]

Yea cool Project, any news here?

[Daedalus]

Thanks guys, currently it's with some betatesters and the software needs a little bit more work. The board is more or less finalised, now I need to sort out the logistics of getting it manufactured. The joy of Brexit is making this a little more complex than it should; it will already be a kind of expensive board, and import taxes for EU destinations will make that even more expensive for many people, which is a shame. But I'm still hoping to have a batch manufactured this summer.

[kriz]

Ok, sounds good.. If you want/need pre-orders i am ready to buy now

[Glen M]

Just wondering if there is any further update on this project?

Do you see any reason why this would not work in an A500 fitted with a clock port adapter?

[Daedalus]

I sort of do have an update, though it's probably not one you'll like... Basically, the hardware's in its (hopefully) final iteration. Software and firmware are still under development, but the core features are all working well so it's at the stage of polishing, squishing bugs and implementing nice-to-have features (like i2c.library support, I2C LCD module support, ARexx support). The big issue now is that the humble little controller chip it uses has been caught up in the global semiconductor shortage, with the main suppliers now saying it won't be available until next summer. So I'm faced with redesigning the board for a slightly different chip (and run the risk of that, too, running out of stock in the near future), or waiting until they're available again.

I have a few chips available for what would essentially be the final beta batch, so a handful of boards will be available, but beyond that it's at the mercy of the silicon manufacturing gods.

To answer your other question: it *should* work fine on any clockport, and it has been tested to work on a Zorro card with clockports, but I've never tested it with a 68000-equipped machine since I don't have one myself. I guess I should buy/build one of those 68000 socket adaptors to try it

[trixster]

I'd be very happy to help you with your beta test

Could test on an A1200 and an A500 with ACA500plus, and a 3000 and 4000 and AA3000+ all with zorro clockports

[crazyc]

I have an a1200 in a checkmate case that would love to try new stuff out....could test/would need pass through for the rapid road.

[Daedalus]

Cheers guys, I'll bear that in mind

[Glen M]

Awesome stuff Daedalus. I'd be very keen to get one, next summer is a long way off but I can wait if it comes to it. Personally I don't see the point in redesigning your board as it seems everything is going out of stock at the minute. I've been trying to scrounge parts to build a simple 8mb expansion board and even some of the most common things are just not out there.

[Daedalus]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking alright - there's a very real possibility that any new chip would have disappeared from stock by the time any design change can be made and tested. It's crazy though - whatever about the public end of it with high demand things like new GPU chips etc., it's bizarre that relatively ordinary, mature parts like 5V CPLDs and PIC chips are also hit. Ho hum...

[bubbob42]

Hi Daedalus,

we had a group buy for a Zorro-based I2C card (a clone of the original ICY board by Michael Boehmer) on A1k.org two years ago, so we have quite a userbase for Amiga & I2C now. The card works with i2c.library, and now your development covers the "missing" clockport machines for which there were only external I2C solutions available until now.

You may already know these, but I'd like to mention the two I2C-related projects by Henryk Richter:

I2C sensors, a framework which sits on top of i2c.library and already offers support for some of the most common sensors. It is possible to add support for new sensors without the need to code:

https://gitlab.com/HenrykRichter/i2csensors


Sensei - a commodity to display I2C sensor data:

http://aminet.net/driver/other/Sensei.lha

[Daedalus]

Cool, thanks for that. I've read about those projects alright and hope I can fit in with some compatible I2C capability. The I2C host on Solas isn't particularly fast because it isn't a dedicated controller and must share available microcontroller cycles with other functions like refreshing the LEDs, but that shouldn't be an issue for sensors.

[trixster]

Sensei is great! I use it with the i2c bus on my Matze A3000 3 isa slot busboard, and the ICY V2 in the 4000 (which is from the group buy bubbob42 mentions)

[crazyc]

Hi Daedalus

Just wondered if you had had the opportunity to get any further with this? As I am moving to a TF1260 I will lose the rtc which I quite like having but the clockport has a RapidRoad there already, so I would need a clockport expander to add back an RTC.

If there is any chance of a Solas becoming available in the next year or so I will probably wait as that would fulfil multiple roles.

Cheers
C

[Daedalus]

Well, the chip I need isn't expected back in stock until next summer at least, so I'm afraid they won't be generally available until after that. Clockport splitters themselves need to take additional steps to allow an RTC module to work on their ports - Solas includes this feature, so just check if another splitter also supports them if you go for another one in the meantime.

Edit: Here's a little video of a recent build using the Solas board in a translucent A1200.net case:

[ Show youtube player ]

[marcfrick2112]

Too cool!