I decided to go for DSL.

Installation to a Compact Flash (as root)

1. Got an empty CF, and create 3 partitions ext2/3: 100MB (> 50MB), 100MB, and swap 64-128MB

2. Install grub boot loader

2.1 Mount first partition

2.2 Change to the mounted CF  (eg: cd /mnt/cf)

2.3 Install grub:

grub-install  --no-floppy  --root-directory=.   /dev/<rootdevice>

Replace <rootdevice> with the corresponding file which represents your USB storage – my (/dev/sde ) do not use any number it should be MBR

3. Copy the DSL image content to CF

mount [/path_to/]current.iso /mnt/loop/ -o loop
cp -vR /mnt/loop/* /mnt/cf/

4. Create in ./boot/grub/menu.lst new file: menu.lst with following content:

timeout 10
default 0
title           DSL
root            (hd0,0)
kernel          /boot/isolinux/linux24 root=/dev/hda1 3 vga=normal noacpi noapm noscsi nopcmcia nousb noapm nomce noddc nofirewire frugal 2 dma lang=de restore=hda2 home=hda2 opt=hda2 host=DSL  dsl mydsl=hda2
initrd          /boot/isolinux/minirt24.gz

title           DSL-test
root            (hd0,0)
kernel          /boot/isolinux/linux24 root=/dev/hda1 ro lang=de frugal
initrd          /boot/isolinux/minirt24.gz

boot

5. Check the file /mnt/cf/boot/grub/device.map and update drive mapping acordingly e.g.

(hd0)    /dev/hda
(hd1)    /dev/hdb
(hd2)    /dev/hdc
(hd3)    /dev/hde

6. Remaster  DSL:

6.1 Extract KNOPPIX image from cd iso image

6.2 Extract the KNOPPIX file system (cloop rpm will be needed):

$ extract_compressed_fs /media/cdrom/KNOPPIX/KNOPPIX - > uncompressed-image
$ mkdir mnt1
$ sudo mount -o loop uncompressed-image mnt1
$ cp -a mnt1 extracted
$ rmdir extracted/.rr_moved
$ sudo umount mnt1
$ cd extracted

6.3 Customize DSL …

6.4 Compress file system back to the KNOPPIX

$ cd ..
$ mkisofs -hide-rr-moved -allow-leading-dots -R -l -V "KNOPPIX ISO9660" -v -allow-multidot $SAND_BOX | create_compressed_fs - 65536 > KNOPPIX2

Useful links:

1. Frugal DSL Installation
2. Hacking DSL

It works, hereafter some information for those who wants to reuse this to connect to RGB Vidoe signal.

Pinout of the Sony Multi Video AV interface:

Pinout of SCART interface:

The connection between LCD and SCART as a quick and dirty list:

LCD/PSone Multi AV  <=> SCART

 1 GND              <=> GND 21, 5, 9, 13, 18
 2 Right Audio      <=> AIR 2
 4 Left Audio       <=> AIL 6
 6 Sync             <=> VIN 20
 9 B                <=> B 7
11 R                <=> R 15
12 G                <=> G 9

[View with PicLens]

VGA connection (stollen from http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=103008

By adding an oscilloscope mode I noticed that PD2 is connected to potentiometer  (as a pull-up Vcc).  It was necessary to have an independent from the potentiometers button. Now  PD3 (INT1) is used to go through different display modes.

In the oscilloscope mode you can amend TimeScale with the left potentiometer.

Download AVR 4 Studio / WinAVR files from here

A video come later.

This weekend I’ve reviewed the sampling procedure used in the spectrum analyser and increased the sampling frequency, by moving it from interrupt procedure into the main loop. Furthermore I added some display modes of analyser spectrum. Display mode can be changed by pressing PD2 / INT0. Button is a shortcut to GND. On Pong Board it is the coin insertion “switch”.

Download AVR 4 Studio / WinAVR files from here

The audio signal  is connected to the Right Potentiometer via  100µF capacitor. A really bad solution

The results are not bad – see two examples.

Remark: in the second video I used some commercial music. It has been flatten by my monitor speakers and microphone from digi cam but we know youtube . I hope they will not remove this clip or get rid of the soundtrack.

I’m quite satisfy with so simple implementation and a pretty good result. I would add here kind of op-amp as a input filter. Max239 from ChaN’s projekt seems to be a good idea. From the application point of view I would look closer to the size of the buffer used for data samples. A decrease to 32 and getting 16 results fits much better to our small display.  And more display effects would make this more interesting.

The sounds at the begining part is not the best, I will make the video once again if someone will ask for

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YsMRiT4e94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwob_27O8SM

Here another video, from local host (commercial audio and youtube policy make me crazy)

By the way:

In the first video I used two free programs from http://www.marchandelec.com: very simple function generator and third octave real time spectrum analyser. It is a pity there is nothing similar under linux. The only one I found it was python based tone.py: http://aa6e.net/software/tone/index.html. It does not work for me in my new Pulse Audio environment (padsp does not solve anything). Another peace of software, a command line tonegenerator: http://www.lns.com/papers/tonegen/ works fine with padsp.

Any your feedback regarding Pong Audio Spectrum Analyser or a function generator under linux is highly appreciated.

Download AVR 4 Studio / WinAVR files from here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZirsktlLofI

If you are going to write any text, numbers or whatever it might be interesting for you to look at the code.

I defined almost complete ASCII character set (small letters are missing). You can scroll a text from right to the left in a defined window. The text can be placed either in the SRAM or in the PROGRAM memory. It is a simple C null terminated text. The speed of scrolling can be amended with right potentiometer. In the source code you can find also a simple string print function.

Download the AVR 4 Studio / WinAVR files from here

Any way here you have a next version of Need for Speed with a huge screen resolution of 12×10 pixels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cIecm-IPiI

Download the bascom source and hex files from here.

Although it was only a quick attempt to make something different from ping-pong and a learning by doing approach You can find in the source code some interesting parts.

1) I’m initializing the random generator based on the value from ADC in order to make the road different each time.

2) The road is calculated in that way that there is always enough pleace for the car. The road outline/direction changes at least after two steps forward, in order to avoid a rapid changes left-right-left-right.

Probably I will rewrite this in c and add some more features

During the last Xmas I finished some code for Pong Board availble at Conrad.de

Since the board is available only with a closed pong *.hex file I decided to write my onw version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvPQ2mHwC4E

Download the AVR 4 Studio / WinAVR files from here

My code provides you some additional features in compare to the “original” firmaware of the Pong Board.

You can setup speed of the game in a more convenient way. Game’s result is displayed with digits. I created a bit more complex pong physics, by calculating dynamic of the pad movement. The quicker you move your pad the bigger is an  angle the ball mirror.  If there will be any demand to elaborate this or any other part of the code let me know.

Your feedback and remarks are appreciated!