Node MCU
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:45 am
Thinking of a new long term project for the Vic...
Looking for some advice on what would be involved in getting one of these to inter-operate with the Vic-20 in the form of a cartridge.
The ESP8266 is a very powerful device and cheap that can be had for as little as $3..with WIFI, an 80mhz risk cpu, on board 1MB flash and 64K RAM (more powerful versions available too). At present it is mainly used as a Wifi modem, but I think it could do so much more.
What would be involved in mounting it onto a cartridge so that it can write directly to the cartridge memory without interfering with the Vic? I also would like to be able to reset the Vic etc to run any downloaded software after creating the appropriate cart boot sequence in memory.
I am not a hardware guy and have only limited bread-boarding experience etc, so would appreciate some advice on how feasible this would be and steps in getting started/required learning. Presumably some glue logic would be required. The firmware side wouldn't be an issue, just the hardware...
I would eventually like to develop on "online" cart for the Vic-20. Various possible uses come to mind, it could be a kind of Xbox-live experience, online forum etc, game of the day etc, high score support multiplayer online etc...
Looking for some advice on what would be involved in getting one of these to inter-operate with the Vic-20 in the form of a cartridge.
The ESP8266 is a very powerful device and cheap that can be had for as little as $3..with WIFI, an 80mhz risk cpu, on board 1MB flash and 64K RAM (more powerful versions available too). At present it is mainly used as a Wifi modem, but I think it could do so much more.
What would be involved in mounting it onto a cartridge so that it can write directly to the cartridge memory without interfering with the Vic? I also would like to be able to reset the Vic etc to run any downloaded software after creating the appropriate cart boot sequence in memory.
I am not a hardware guy and have only limited bread-boarding experience etc, so would appreciate some advice on how feasible this would be and steps in getting started/required learning. Presumably some glue logic would be required. The firmware side wouldn't be an issue, just the hardware...
I would eventually like to develop on "online" cart for the Vic-20. Various possible uses come to mind, it could be a kind of Xbox-live experience, online forum etc, game of the day etc, high score support multiplayer online etc...