SmartyPi –Emulation PCB replacement (SEGA edition)

Lastspaceship

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muddymusic said:
Where are people getting their Pi from these days? I had one on order with CPC but they cancelled it saying they don't know when more are coming, but it's likely end of 2023!

Up on pihut now if you catch this : https://thepihut.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b

Matt
 

Sbdesign

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my smartypi hasn't been tested yet either - due to no raspberry pi's available.
can't believe there was some available this morning and Ive missed them.
 

smarty

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SmartyPi status update. 12-03-23

Hi all, update on the project. Apologies for the lack of updates and board availability, I’ve had various issues that have made me hold fire on the production but that is now in order and I am preparing to make the current batch of boards available. I have been tracking a list of around 60 people that have contacted me in the past. At the end of the 1st week of April emails will start being sent to see if those who showed interest would like to buy a board. I have 40 built and ready to ship, they will just need configuration based on the cab type and then boxing. I have quite a few adapters made and have stock of adapter PCBs so they can be easily made up.

Once I have shipped approx. 1/4 of the current batch, I will be building another batch with the aim to have a steady flow of product for the foreseeable future - these sales will take place via the SmartyPi website and online store.

It’s likely there will be no newer games added to the current supported list which is 24 games. I think I've tried all the games that have been mentioned in the past but the emulation is incomplete or not suitable for use on the Raspberry Pi. Feel free to comment on any additional games I may have missed, I’m happy to test and add them if it makes sense for the controls that the cab's have.

I’m in the process of adding Bluetooth audio support in the form of a Bluetooth transmitter that will be of the next batch of SE PCB's - This will connect to a Bluetooth speaker/Hi-Fi system allowing you to blast your games audio though a larger speaker system, There's a few people already do this with Wired connections to sound bars. I will also make an inline Bluetooth adapter that will connect to the regular audio connector and have the adapter built in with a pass through connector to the original speakers, there will then be a single wire with a grabber hook or croc clip that needs clipping to the 5V rail of the Smarty Pi PCB - Anyone with Sega hardware can also use this to make a Bluetooth connection from Original PCB to Bluetooth speaker system. There is a slight audio delay with my BT connection but I think it's still usable and may be less noticeable on other brands of BT speakers.

I know it's been a while since I've had boards available but this should change going forward, also I'm hoping Raspberry Pi availability eases up in the coming months as the RPI foundation have suggested.

Any questions, let me know.

Mart.


 

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chefsolid

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Good to know Martin, Raspberry PI's seem to pop in and out of stock much more frequently from what I've seen. I've had 3-4 over the last couple of months.
 

theory

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Pi hut have got Raspberry Pi 4 2GB in stock if anyone needs them:
 

smarty

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New year software release for your SmartyPi boards. Please see below for details of SmartyPi 'Release 4, January 2024'.

I would suggest you update if you will be affected by the additions, changes or bugs that have been made in this release. You will need to update the Microcontroller code, the configuration MicroSD card and the Raspberry Pi MicroSD card image. Individual instructions are included for each update procedure.

New games added
For driving cab use, 1000 Mile Rally, Mille Miglia 2 & Hot Chase have been added and configured where possible. Hot Chase shows a White Screen for approx. 5 seconds at boot, before running visible self-tests on screen, this is normal for the game.

Changes
Game List and Game names updated - Please see information in setup.txt file

Added Out Run Enhanced V1 & V2 as separate games selections (using new naming as mentioned above) V1 has the option to use KPH/MPH. V2 removed this in favour of using the additional game music. Dip Switch settings for each are verified. Previously V2 showed the KPH/MPH option rather than Extra Music.

The After Burner II and Thunder Blade game lists now have Space Harrier pre-configured (Best guess settings - Analog Axis may need reversing in MAME menu - Please confirm if you use this option)

Space Harrier Game list now has After Burner II added by default, use of throttle is disabled in MAME (dip switch setting), you do not have this control in a SH cab. (Best guess settings - Analog Axis may need reversing in the MAME menus - Please confirm if you use this option.)

Bugs fixed
MAME Video resolutions corrected, some games were being squashed horizontally giving black side borders which also caused some text in games to look wrong and hard to read.
Super Monaco GP - Removed shaker motor control to stop constant shaking of the wheel in Our Run cabs when the tyres screech. The fix is to set the machine to 'DLX type' in the dip switch menu. This setting has been configured as a default.

Out Runners volume was reduced by -6dB as it was overpowering and distorted, this is better than the last release possibly needs more attenuation but I will wait to hear feedback before making more changes, I believe the sound emulation issue is the root cause and this volume tweak helps deal with it.

Using a Thunder Blade or After Burner cab and selecting Space Harrier in a Custom game list didn't allow one of the analog control axis to work, this is now fixed.

Download available from: Link removed - files now available via smartypi.co.uk.
If you do complete the update, all feedback will be welcomed, even if it's just a quick 'I updated and it's working okay.' or that something has been messed up
🙂
If you encounter any issues I'm keen to understand them and provide assistance.
 
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smarty

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Website saying that this maybe open source shortly, how is it going?
Hi @DaveR All the info for build your own should be online before the end of August, I have most of it written up, just need to find a spare weekend to sanity check everything I will post here when the info shared.

Did they do the outrun dlx in the end

@Mykill2.0 there is no 'they', its just me :) This is my next project after releasing the design for the current board. I have a provisional new design in place, it is still my intention to have DLX support for OutRun, this will happen, the DLX version is being worked on and planned for right now.
 

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Hi @DaveR All the info for build your own should be online before the end of August, I have most of it written up, just need to find a spare weekend to sanity check everything I will post here when the info shared.



@Mykill2.0 there is no 'they', its just me :) This is my next project after releasing the design for the current board. I have a provisional new design in place, it is still my intention to have DLX support for OutRun, this will happen, the DLX version is being worked on and planned for right now.
That’s great to hear mate. I’ve been on your list from the beginning but been waiting for the DLX version. I have since also purchased an Afterburner DLX, Thunderblade sit down and Racing Hero upright so will be looking for boards for them as well if possible. Thanks
 

smarty

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For those who are interested, I have now released the design files on smartypi.co.uk so you can build your own boards and cab adapters, this is a through hole component version which can easily be soldered.

There are three new downloads:

Build - Gerber files & Bill of materials.
Configure - Microcontroller, Config & Pi Image (any SE or CE PCB can run these files)
Modify - Schematics, Arduino, Python & MAME source.

Add the items to your cart and checkout, you will receive a link to download each pack.
Please ask any questions you may have, I will create a Q&A document with any common questions that are asked. I'm sure I will have missed some information from my files, so let me know if anything is not clear.

Thanks for all the comments & feedback over the years, I class 13th December 2020 as the date SmartyPi was born, Out Run was running on test breadboard, with wires all over the place. I am still amazed over how much interest this project has generated. There's over 500 boards in the wild keeping some of the classics we love alive and some just adding extended play with the multi game aspect.

SmartyPi 2.0 coming later this year.

Regards, Mart.

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