Rebirth of the Behr-Bonz multicart... interested?

[eslapion]

@Mike
I can't make sens of your posted color combinations.

You indicate light blue and white as okay but this is the presently used color combination that causes problems.

Also, you indicate blue/white as your favorite.

Blue: what? border/background/text ?
White: what? border/background/text ?

[orion70]

[eslapion]

...just scratching my head here.

Unfortunately I can't test these color combinations myself as I have lost my PAL VIC-20...

If you guys can come to a consensus then I will implement it. Otherwise, I consider the PAL Behr-Bonz to be on hold.

[Mike]

You indicate light blue and white as okay but this is the presently used color combination that causes problems.

This is a rather bold claim. Did you experience those issues by yourself, or were you merely told so, and in the latter case, had this been backed up by photographed screen shots?

On PAL, only the two colours yellow and blue (and their light variants) don't change colour phase between adjacent rasters. Additionally, unlike NTSC, the colour phase in PAL doesn't change between consecutive frames. Lastly, the pixels in the colours yellow and blue always appear (in PAL) as single 'blobs': with the other five colours (and their light variants) pixels are torn up every second raster, a single pixel vertical line for example is displayed similar to this:

Code: Select all

 ***
*   **
 ***
*   **
 ***
*   **

... unless a S-Video mod has been applied. Without S-Video mod and on PAL, white on orange will turn most letters into an unreadable pulp.

Light blue lies nearly halfway in intensity between black and white. Which means, you'll only get a medium contrast against either black or white, but not so worse to dismiss these two combinations entirely.

Blue: what? border/background/text ?
White: what? border/background/text ?

Both variants. On real CRTs, white foreground on blue background flickers much less, though.

[eslapion]

You indicate light blue and white as okay but this is the presently used color combination that causes problems.

This is a rather bold claim. Did you experience those issues by yourself, or were you merely told so, and in the latter case, had this been backed up by photographed screen shots?

The default color setup for Behr-Bonz is white text over a light-blue background and blue border. I tested this color combination when I had my own PAL VIC-20 with a video capture device hooked up to my PC via USB port. Its an ADS DVDXpressDX2. It provides pretty good quality. I have used it to transfer S-VHS tapes to DVD.

The text with this color combination was very difficult to read and the machine had no S-Video mod. Other people had complained about that situation. Are you saying you don't have such a problem?

Judging by what you say, I suspect the only good combination would be white text on black background and a blue or red border.

How about that? Not so nice but very readable.

[eslapion]

If all goes well, there will be a new batch of Behr-Bonz by the end of june. The price tag will be 48$ per unit. Quantity discounts are available.

If you are interested, just send an e-mail indicating how many you would like to purchase to eslapion(aT)videotron.ca with the subject "Behr-Bonz purchase".

You will be added to a mailing list and informed
E-mails coming from unknown e-mail addresses with any other subjects will be deleted by the spam filter.

Unless there is disagreement, the colors of the menu will be white test on black background and a blue border. This is an indication the version is 2015.

If you already own an old version of the Behr-Bonz and have observed any problems with it, now would be a good time to mention it.

[akator]

^ Email sent. Very excited about getting a Behr-Bonz. Yay!

[eslapion]

So far, 14 people have indicated they are willing to purchase a Behr-Bonz. That's not quite enough to start a batch. I will start a batch when 20 people have confirmed an order or... whatever number of people confirm they want a total of 20 units or more.

[eslapion]

Were now up to 17 people who indicated they want a multicart.

Forgot to mention:
SHIPPING COST is 10$ for the US, 11$ for the rest of the world.

THE COST OF SHIPPING IS THE SAME WETHER YOU ORDER A SINGLE CART OR 100 UNITS.

[Barney]

Email Sent: I want 2 Cartridges. Excited about the reset button. Thanks. Payment Sent.

NOTE: Will you have a faster way of navigating through the menu? Will there be a way to advance by 1 page at a time rather than having to scroll down the entire list to get to the desired game? Thanks.

[eslapion]

Thank you for your support Barney.

I hope this cartridge serves you well for a long time.

There may be a faster way to navigate the menu. For the moment, you can scroll down at double speed by pressing f7 and holding the joystick down at the same time.

This is also true of all previously sold units of the Behr-Bonz.

[eslapion]

CRITICAL MASS REACHED!
I proudly announce that the number of prepaid orders required to ensure the new batch will be made has been reached!

There will be a new batch of Behr-Bonz cartridges delivered before the end of june.

[Barney]

You can wait 2 years for a megacart or get one of these now! 127 games on one cart with a reset button....what more do you need?

[metalfoot76]

If Behr-Bonz had a simple 32K memory expansion mode, I'd buy one. Is that one of the options on the menu?

[Barney]

I don't believe so. But all major games on one cartridge....that is still pretty awesome. You could always get one now, use it for gaming and if you ever get tired of it, sell it. You can always get your money back in the end.