The quest to a portable Uzebox - update!

Topics regarding the Uzebox hardware/AVCore/BaseBoard (i.e: PCB, resistors, connectors, part list, schematics, hardware issues, etc.) should go here.
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D3thAdd3r
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by D3thAdd3r »

uze6666 wrote:In the end, it probably going to be indented text. I'll do some tests, perhaps filling them with some black paint could be an option.
Hmm, if you go indented there must be some way to fill the channels it with black. I've used a dark putty type of epoxy, made for steel, before and it is very nice because it is very easy to wipe off a surface unlike liquid epoxy(must be done quickly though!). The thought there is pre-mix it up, very quickly rub it smoothly into the indents, flush it with the face, and quickly clean off the excess. I'll look for something similar that's made for plastic, I think the whole process would be painless to do.
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uze6666
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by uze6666 »

Hmm, if you go indented there must be some way to fill the channels it with black. I've used a dark putty type of epoxy, made for steel, before and it is very nice because it is very easy to wipe off a surface unlike liquid epoxy(must be done quickly though!). The thought there is pre-mix it up, very quickly rub it smoothly into the indents, flush it with the face, and quickly clean off the excess. I'll look for something similar that's made for plastic, I think the whole process would be painless to do.
Well there you go that's great news! I didn't of any materials or way to do it cleanly, if you can send me some links about that material I buy some and make some tests.
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D3thAdd3r
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by D3thAdd3r »

I couldn't find anything made for plastic that is also black and cleans up nice locally, so I had an idea to try finger nail polish on some scrap plastic I routed some letters into. I used a flat edge and pulled a paper towel tight onto it then put some nail polish remover(acetone) on it. I scraped flat over the top of the indents to remove the excess polish and it seemed to work well. The letters aren't that great but I free handed them and the flaws you see look to coincide with the imperfections in the cuts, not the method. I'm sure you are making some test prints so I would try that out, it's very easy. The acetone does seem to have some effect on the plastic I used, and I would not use a paper towel but instead a rubber squeegee probably.
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The best recommended putty I found that fits the bill are these:
http://www.milliput.com/black.html
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DF5MEC/?ta ... verfl08-20

But reading some automotive interior forum thread where they are getting great results, they recommend using solid paint sticks to fill it then do the same squeegee+paint thinner method for defining the edges. Something like this might be the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Solidified ... B001HXX2DQ
I think the skill is how tight and flat you keep the wiping surface so as to have perfect lines.
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nicksen782
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by nicksen782 »

What about Sugru? https://sugru.com/about

It is easy to mold and is pleasant to the touch. You could have the letters milled or not printed fully up. Then you rub the Surgu into it, wipe off the excess, it dries and is permanent.
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D3thAdd3r
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by D3thAdd3r »

Whoa, cool rubbery building material I've never seen, I'm going to find uses for that stuff. BTW I let the polish dry a few hours(no idea when that stuff fully curres) and it's a fail, at least for this type of plastic, I can scratch it out pretty easily. I'm pretty sure the solid paint sticks will work, the epoxy putty will probably work too, but a rubbery finish would be a nice touch. In light of that I'd say the Sugru is best, as long as it sticks to the type of plastic you use.
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kivan117
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by kivan117 »

Sugru is some cool stuff and it'll stick to just about anything in my experience. It's pretty messy when you're getting it setup and it loves to hang onto your finger prints. It'll stain your hands black if you let it and try to stain light colored porous plastics too. Maybe not universally, but it did for me. Easily fixed with some rubbing alcohol and extra work but just be aware I guess. I don't really see a problem just indenting the letters and leaving it up to the end consumer to sugru in the black if they want it.
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uze6666
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by uze6666 »

The 3d printed material from Shapeways is slightly porous (due to the SLS process) so I'm wondering if it would just stain it somehow. But it's a interesting option, I'll keep it in mind.
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by D3thAdd3r »

I got the screen from that supplier earlier this week and just got a chance to test it out. I am not very impressed with the shipping time considering they offer an expedited shipping for ~$15 saying 4-5 days delivery time....yep it comes from China, to them, to you...whatever.

I can safely say this screen works well with Uzebox. I found Tron, Frog Feast, and Uzenet WiFi Tester to have some slight artifacts a faint green arc at the bottom of the screen. I wouldn't have expected it but the 80 columns mode seems to work pretty well:
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I am just using the files I have from my SD card, and the slight artifacts could be due to some old kernel timing bug. They are so minute they are hardly worth mentioning. I tried the short screen games like raycaster experiment and MegaBomber and they work fine and the image is much more stable on every game than it is on my LCD television. The only rom I found some issues on was Uzenet Wi-Fi tester, it might be an old kernel timing bug? I tried UzeSnakes which should be the same mode, and it works perfect? Overall the image quality is very impressive and the pictures don't do it justice.
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Harty123
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by Harty123 »

I'm thinkig since a long time about a simple and portabel solution for the Uzebox...

In my opinion we have several options:

1.) analogue TFT module with cvbs input (disadvantage: thick, high energy consumption, low quality)

2.) digital TFT & TW8816 from intersil (advantage: rgb inputs - AD725 required; disadvantage: 128 pin LQFP enclosure)
I have a lot of experiences with this circuit...

3.) digital TFT & TVP5150 from TI (advantage: cheap, very simple circuit; disadvantage: CVBS input only requires AD725....)

4.) digital TFT & special designed FPGA with RGB inputs (advantage simple circuit, no AD725 required; disadvantage: reliability, experience in FPGA programming required...)

5.) digital TFT & & FT800 from FTDI (advantage simple circuit, no AD725 required; disadvantage: special UZEBOX library required; recompilation of the games required)


My favorits are 3 and 5 ! Whats your opinion?

Cheers

Harty
CunningFellow
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Re: The quest to a portable Uzebox

Post by CunningFellow »

6,

Digital TFT and ATXMegae5 to convert the ATMega644 RGB to LCD. No AD725, small QFN package, cheap.

Disadvantage - won't fuzz the edge of pixels in the new 80 column screen mode unless I can get some serious ASM magic going. Does not output composite at the same time.
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