Discount Days and new MSX products!

Discount Days and new MSX products!
And we would like to inform you what we did last year and will do next.

MSX VHD PC  Interfaces: IF-7900 ready! IF-C9C coming!
At SuperSoniqs we’ve been busy the last year to bring the IF-7900 VHD interface created by Heikki to production for Victor (JVC) MSX computers.

This device is now available for order. Work has also started to recreate the IF-C9C VHD interface for Victor HC-90/95 and the first prototypes are currently being build. 

Contact us if you’re interested in obtaining the latter. To refresh your memory; both interfaces can be used to control VHD players with your MSX. VHD was a contender of the Laserdisc system. It also has some MSX games released for it. But you can also control normal VHD discs with the MSX basic extension in the cartidge. It’s fun to play with and the players can be obtained easily and cheap with a Japanese Buyer proxy service. Please note that you’ll need a player with the “VHD PC” logo and a compatible Victor MSX.
Makoto YM2608 OPN Sound Card new batch coming

The Makoto (YM2608) has also been put in production and by popular demand we will create a few extra. Work on the cartridge label and packaging has been finished so you will get all the parts to make a complete product. The original design was made by Iyatemu based in America and the final product has been finished in China by Digital River Hardware. We think it’s great that we as MSX users can still work together globally to create new stuff for our hobby.
You can preorder a Makoto from the new batch here.
PlaySoniqs Back in Stock with discounted price

As many of you know, a lot of our stuff is built to order. That means that we will obtain the pcb’s and most parts, but final assembly will only happen after we receive your order. This has to do with two things: costs and time. Some parts of the PlaySoniq like the C64 SID cost more than 50 euros per part nowadays. Or 35 euro for the Sega Master System VDP. It’s just to expensive to stock pile those. However, we did finish some PCB’s of the PlaySoniq currently (except the SID) so if you want one and don’t want to wait a long time, this is your change to get one. The price will be lowered temporarily so we can empty our stock. Check it out here!

Neotron New Batch Available!

For the Neotron we’ve build and completed also a new batch. These can be shipped immediately. To refresh your memory; this device contains the YM2610 chip used in Japanese arcade and Neogeo game machines. Fun fact; the Spanish Ghost and Goblins port has support for the Neotron, but VGMPlay also. If you combine a Makoto with a Neotron you can also play music made for the YM2610B (Taito) Arcade machines. More and more msx games get OPN music from their arcade versions backported, so don’t miss out. And since we want to fund our new projects, we lowered the price of the Neotron also. Link here!

New in our shop: The SixPac OPLL cartridge!

New in the shop: the people behind the creation of the Sixpac FM-PAC clone (Outer Heaven) asked us to distribute their product. The sixpac was created to make the best possible sound output with genuine OPLL chips as possible. It has an audio output connector and uses 5 and 12 volt to create perfect audio output. It has a build in rom with some FM tracks, extra basic commands and volume can be adjusted (on the PCB) to balance it with your MSX. SixPac will come with the cartridge case, sticker, PCB and box. Manufacturing will take some time. Please be patient when ordering because we might also do a new version of the PCB. Also make sure your MSX (FPGA clone) supports 12 volt on the cartridge bus.
Pre-order the best OPLL sound cartridge here!

Join the Beta for the Modulon 2.0 Slotexpander!

Also currently in development is the successor of our Modulon! New are volume controls that can be adjusted more easily and separate audio outputs per slot. To get this thing in production and to give you a chance to support us, a temporary beta program will be opened where you can get the new Modulon faster, cheaper and help us testing. Please follow the link here to apply.

Franky 15 year anniversary version

To commemorate the 15 year anniversary of Franky, our first product with the Sega VDP processor, we’ve build up a few pcb’s that will come with a new designed sticker and Box with full color label. If you like Sega Master System and don’t need all the functionality of the PlaySoniq, or just want to make your SuperSoniqs collection complete without soldering, this is your chance.

Franky Cartridge Enclosure .STL files

Dear all,

Due to populair demand we hereby publish the .stl files of the Franky cartridge enclosure too. Some people had problems converting the Sketch-up files. With these .STL files you can 3d-print a compatible casing for your Franky project. Most professional 3d printer companies also accept these .stl files. Have fun with it.

Link to zip file containing the stl files

 

Conversion tools for Franky development

Bifi has updated his Franky development page with new conversion tools for cross development from Armando Pérez Abad. These are binaries for Linux, OS-X and Win32 of:

  • SR52SMS
    SCREEN 5 to Franky Mode 4 Tile converter (8*8 pixels)
  • SR52SMSSPR
    SCREEN 5 to Franky Mode 4 Sprite converter (8*16 pixels)
  • C sources of mentioned tools
  • Z80 sources with example code of how to use Franky Mode 4

These tools can be downloaded from http://bifi.msxnet.org/franky/

Franky Mode 4 development tools

Albert Beevendorp (better known as BiFi in the MSX community) just informed us that he has put a developer webpage for Franky online. On this page you will find the latest development tools to program for Franky Mode 4. New tools are currently in development and will be released in the near future. Links to other Sega Master System development tools and information that is useful for developing on Franky is also present. Please check http://bifi.msxnet.org/franky/ for details. Thanks BiFi!

New version of Franky example code

Armando has send us a new version of the Franky example code. the following routines are new or changed:
  • checkfranky changed: New version of detect routine of Franky.
  • checkrefresh: (Thanks to MKII for this code). Check if Franky card is PAL or NTSC (50 or 60hz). hz var is 1 if franky is NTSC and 0 if Franky is PAL. This code is very important for coders to control music replayers. This has to be tested with NTSC Franky cards.
  • keyint flag. You can control the interrupt with this flag. If you want the KEYINT BIOS routine enabled put value != 0 in this var.
The code and rom can be downloaded here:  fsc2v2.zip

Franky Box Art -W.I.P.

It’t not finished yet and might be changed completely, but here’s a peek. Inspired by a 1931 lobby card and a poster of Frankenstein the movie, I think it fits perfectly. Take a look. Franky is redrawn in Japanese Super Deformed style. Everything is made with Adobe Photoshop, converted with Vector Magic and then imported in Adobe Illustrator. This version took about 10 hours.

Franky box art

VDP Victory Day at the MSX Meeting in Mariënberg

Today our team had a great time in Mariënberg. Not only because of the enthusiastic crowd that cheered us about our idea to make a Sega VDP card a reality, but more importantly: we showed that it actually works. We successfully managed to run and show some Sega games on the card, 100% fully working and playable without glitches or slowdowns. Besides this we also proofed that this VDP is MSX1 compatible by running MSX1 games (with Sega color palette) after loading a patched MSX1 bios in the TurboR. You could even use MSX Basic on the second monitor (left one in the video). Also, we showed how to run MSX games on cartridge through the Sega VDP.

MSX1 Basic output on the Sega VDP

Valis cartridge running on the Sega VDP

It was great fun at Mariënberg and we will be there, hopefully with our first batch of sample cards, in August. Ever seen Sega games running on MSX? Or Konami games running on a Sega VDP? Watch the video!