[Coco] CocoRPi3 update

Wed Apr 12 15:55:28 EDT 2017

Hi Steve,

On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 2:32 PM, Steve Strowbridge <ogsteviestrow at gmail.com>
wrote:

> This is great Ron, are you going to be at CoCoFEST! again this year?

Yes, I plan to be at CocoFEST again this year.  I live about an hour north
of there (in Kenosha, WI).

> Will
> you bring one to demo? Love to see it, and I'd be interested in getting a
> CoCoPi at some point if it was user friendly enough, I'm not hardware handy
> with soldering and assembly of boards and such.
>

I'm bringing a few things this year and sharing a table by Brett.  I'll
have a real Coco 3 and Roger's Nanomate (to use with Brett's
Fuzix/networking presentation).  I'm also bringing my RPi3 along with a
handful of 16GB SD cards with the CocoPi3 distribution ready to run.  The
RPi3 doesn't require any building.  Just add an SD card and power supply
(unless you by a package that includes it).  Check out Amazon...

>
> Now we just need John Strong to make a 3D CoCo shaped case for it, if he
> hasn't already.
>

Oh heck yes!

> What is the output? HDMI? What do you use for controllers? any standard
> USB?
>
>
Built-in HDMI.  It also has composite video available on the GPIO header
block.

> How is the software selection and menu updated?
>
>
It uses Raspbian as the base OS (Linux based).  I just add the emulators,
menu and a few scripts to it.  The SD image I will be providing has
everything ready to go.  Copy the image to an 8GB (or higher) SD card and
you're ready to go.  The RPi3 has built-in 100Mbit network jack, WiFi,
Bluetooth and 4 USB ports.

I use a USB keyboard and mouse.  I also have a Nintendo Wii-U Pro
Controller that works perfectly with the Bluetooth.  Raspbian supports it
right out of the box.  I chose that controller as it has digital and analog
controls.

> Is there a blog/project site for this? Love to add it to my CoCo links
> page.
>

I do not.  :(  I need to think about setting one up.

>
> Thanks for putting in the effort, what a cool project.
>

Thank you.  I hope others find it interesting enough to try.

>
> Steve Strowbridge, aka
> The Original Gamer Stevie Strow
> http://ogsteviestrow.com
> ogsteviestrow at gmail.com
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 3:17 PM, Ron Klein <ron at kdomain.org> wrote:
>
> > Hi just posted this on Facebook as well, but wanted to post here as well
> > (for those of you not on Facebook).
> >
> > The initial CocoPi3 distribution image has been created. It only needs to
> > be downloaded and copied to an SD card. It will automatically boot right
> to
> > a menu system. A few things to note:
> >
> > The file system size came in just under 4 GB but would not quite fit on a
> > 4GB SD card. When I created the image, I did so from an 8GB card. When
> > compressed (via zip) the download file size will be approximately 3.3GB.
> I
> > will continue to look for ways to improve the package and distribution
> > system, but for now it is what it is.
> >
> > I have created some initial documentation to provide with the SD card
> > image. It will need updating and I'm sure I've missed things, but wanted
> to
> > make something available as quickly as I could. For those who are
> > interested in trying this distribution, I welcome any feedback (good or
> > bad). I'm hoping others will find the project enjoyable and expand/modify
> > it as they see fit. It would be great to see other ideas, etc., shared
> with
> > the rest of this great Coco community.
> >
> > I've been contacted by a few people who were kind enough to offer some
> > hosting options for me. I will make sure to provide links for the SD card
> > image and documentation soon.
> >
> > One final note - I've thoroughly enjoyed my time spent on getting Coco
> > emulation running the RPi3. It's not perfect, but it's certainly a very
> > good start to something I think may become more popular as an
> "alternative"
> > way to enjoy a Coco experience. I will still always prefer my real Coco
> > hardware but this project may help expose others to the Coco world and
> get
> > them more interested in our hobby. Perhaps enough to look for real Coco
> > equipment. I realize that emulation can be run any many types of
> > workstations. The CocoPi3 projects provides a standard platform for
> running
> > the emulators -- using the exact same equipment, software., etc.. From a
> > community support perspective, it has it's pluses.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > -Ron
> >
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> >
>
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>