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Perfect is the enemy of good – JVS-PAC 2 in progress..

While having coffee the other day, jotting down notes as I usually do, I got into thinking about all the unresolved issues surrounding the JVS-PAC 2.  I started writing down these issues, and upon looking at what I had written I came to the realization that these are not show-stopping road-blocks at all but more in the ‘fancy features’ category.  I’ve been getting a few requests for JVS-PAC’s in the last few months, and none of them were for specific JVS-PAC 2 features – most people simply want something that ‘just works’ like the old JVS-PAC.  Clearly, there is only one logical thing to do – which is to get the JVS-PAC 2 into production as quickly as possible, and that is exactly what I’m doing. 

At first it will likely have just the MAME features of the original, which should get the job done for most people :).  Firmware update is really fast easy though, and I still want to make it easy to use with steam titles – but this intention will not stand in the way of people just wanting to play Mame in their JVS cabinets.

The assembly houses operate with a 5-6 week lead time, and with Chinese new year holiday coming up I don’t have a specific date, but if I suspect within a couple of months.

There will be no pre-orders or preferred order processing, but unless I have totally misjudged the demand there should be enough units for everyone.

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Christmas update

 

Happy holidays everyone!  2018 has been interesting, moving to a new web site and getting the Jammafier and tri-sync helper out.  2019 should see the completion and availability of the JVS-PAC2, and hopefully the scaler.

Jammafier

I got parts for 10 units just before the holidays kicked in and should have them ready for shipping early 2019.  Apart from implementing a screen-saver to conserve the life of the OLED, I think this project is mostly done and I’m very happy about the reception and support it has gotten.  The initial inrush of orders has calmed down a bit, but I plan on having this available on a continuous basis – real-life obligations permitting.  I’ve enabled stock counting in the store, which either shows stock available or units not already sold in an imminent production run.

One big issue with the Jammafier is the time it takes to assemble it, it has a lot of parts that require manual soldering.  I got another 40 Jamma edge connectors, the hardest part to source, and when those are gone I’m done with manual assembly.  If there is still demand, I will look into having it assembled in China.

Retro Scaler A1

I got both the PCB’s and parts for a new revision just before the holidays, and have spent a few nights playing wit it.  Acouple of my arcade PCB’s are very noisy so in the revision I wanted to try a selectable low-pass-filter (LPF) to see if it would make a big difference – it didn’t.  It’s an improvement, but not sure if it’s worth the added cost.  Firmware is pretty much the same between rev 1.4 and rev 1.3, so I don’t have to make a decision right now.  The 240p test suite https://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php?title=240p_test_suite has proven quite useful in exposing some oddities with the ADC I’m using.  All tests look really good, only thing I haven’t figured out yet is PAL interlace (625i).

My goal when I set out to make this was to make something as good as or better than the XRGB2 for arcade games, and I’m happy to say that this thing is way better when it comes to image quality.  I hope to have it ‘out’ in 2019, which is about time – I’ve been messing with this thing for years.  Apart from a firmware development, the big hurdle is manufacturing cost. I hope revenue from the Jammafier and JVS-PAC2 will contribute to making this a reality.

JVS-PAC2

Sorry for the delay on this one, I do appreciate getting requests for it though.  I will not do manual batches  apart from an initial proto-type testing batch, but rather go straight to having them manufactured in China like the red original JVS-PAC’s.  So when it’s finally available, it should be available 🙂  At least that’s the plan.  It’s based on the code and hardware of the Jammafier, so it should not take too long. Stay tuned..

 

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New batch of Jammafiers

Just a short update on things cooking in the lab.  A new batch of Jammafiers is in the works, almost ready to go out – except the audio connectors are still missing, but supposedly in transit.  There are a few units in this batch that are not spoken for, so if you are in need of one – pre-order yours today 🙂

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JVS-PAC 2 features

I’ve finally gotten around to tinker with the JVS-PAC 2, a lot of the core stuff has been ported over from work on the Jammafier.

Keyboard output with MAME mapping is a no-brainer and default, I always strive for things to ‘just work’ for ‘most cases’. There will be no XBOX360/One, PS4 support as I assume official licenses are out of reach and I’m not in the possession of the crypto stuff Brooks have – I actually have no idea how they pulled it off.

What I’m aiming for with this one is a single firmware that presents itself to the computer as:

  • A Capable keyboard (enough simultaneous button presses for fighting games etc)
  • A Mouse (I got a dynamic golf panel and would very much like to play marble madness on it)
  • Two Joypads

The idea is to have an .ini file on micro-sd and use the OLED/buttons to toggle/set configuration – i.e. to switch from keyboard to joypad without having to re-flash the firmware.

I’ve gotten some input on making it ‘xinput’, which I frankly don’t completely understand as x-input is an old windows API, these requests also mention the xbox 360 controller and steam..?

Is the challenge at hand to make the JVS-PAC2 work ‘out-of-the-box’ with steam titles – drop me a message via the contact section if you have any input (pun intended 🙂 ).

 

 

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Second batch of Jammafiers out

The second batch of Jammafiers were sent out today, I hope you will like them.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a hidden stash of Jammafiers, or JVS-PAC2’s for that matter.  When more units will be for sale is TBD at the moment, but do check back for updates.

 

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More Jammafiers

First batch of the Jammafiers went out last month, and while there was a slight issue (later resolved) with the IO boards found in Vewlix cabinets, I think it was a success.  

I’m making another small batch and as of right now, there are 4 units not spoken for.  If you want one, you can pre-order in the store section.  They should be ready to ship in about 2 weeks.

The store section is not really completed, shipping and payment plug-ins are not working so it’s all rather static for now.  The way it works is you put in your order, and once I’m ready to ship – I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.

Shipping methods are FedEx and non-tracked air-mail.  

 

 

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Second Iteration of the JVS-PAC 2

This is a new prototype of the next JVS-PAC.  Apart from the processor which is really fast, it has a  surprisingly readable tiny screen and two buttons. Micro-SD for firmware updates, so no need for special Windows drivers.  I’m still ‘bringing it up’ – but at least the screen works 🙂  I’ll post a note when the hardware is properly verified and I have some idea on availability schedule.

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New upscaler prototype

Making an upscaler is not for the easily discouraged, that’s for sure.  This is rev 1.3, the 4th revision of the upscaler.

Most notably for users is that input and output is clearly labeled on the PCB, as I found myself plugging input video to the output connector and vice versa.If it’s confusing to me that actually makes the thing, I’m sure it would be confusing for others too.

Most of the changes has to do with making it feasible to have it manufactured – I’ve changed the size of some components, improved the power delivery part and managed to re-arrange things so all components fit on the top side of the PCB, which should bring production cost down a bit.  It’s still in development, but hopefully (famous last words) – the hardware part is pretty much done. 

 

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Bigger Faster Better!

The old JVS-PAC works well (I think), but is not easy to maintain or expand.  Running at 48MHz, it had a whopping 2048 bytes of memory and 32KB of flash, all of which encompasses the firmware update software, JVS stack, USB stack and the actual firmware itself.  The limited memory was particularly a challenge and some ‘tricks’ had to be used.

The new JVS-PAC, I think it will be called JVS-PAC2, has the features of a small computer with 256KB of flash, 64KB ram and running at twice the speed of the original.  This means that the software can be written in a ‘normal’ way.

For normal use, this won’t mean a whole lot as the JVS-PAC is made to do its job and stay out the way during gaming.  However – when setting things up and troubleshooting, it will make things a lot easier.

The new JVS-PAC will feature an OLED screen that can display stuff like status of the IO board, if the buttons in your cab is working etc.  

Firmware updates will also be a little simpler, as it will use a micro-sd card – no more special windows drives to do an update.

As for bigger, the board will be a tad bigger to fit the OLED screen and miro-sd slot, but not by a whole lot.

Prototype PCB’s for the new version should be here early May, and if things work the way I hope I will plan for a production run shortly after.