How actively are you using your MiST?

[eddys]

my mist lives on a cupboard now, just I powered it on from time to time, quite a disappointment, I got it just for the ST/STE emulation, a lot of demos/games don't run, menu is a bit mess, no way to have different configurations like the minimig, the menu could be better if supported shortcuts

[nightshadowpt]

Just out of curiosity, how many of the Verilog/VHDL specialists in the community are capable of developing new chips (not only port cores)? All of them?

I guess the skill level required will be quite different, no?

Anyway, it is always more than the skill I have

[sardine]

Love my mist

its always out and plugged in,, I use it a couple of times a week (used to be more, but family is busy).

but what I would REALLY love is a Dragon 32 core, load cas files from sd , save state , fake (if possible) artifact mode for PAL monitors with ntsc games and lastly analogue joystick support (you need 2 connected for worlds of flight).

If I knew how I would do it myself but I have 0 experience, a little 6502 and 68k asm about 30 years ago

I dont regret buying my mist, I will never sell it and will only replace it if I REALLY have to get that core I want,, Dragon 32 (coco3fpga on a different FPGA), or if Mister supported the cores I wanted.

http://www.brianholman.com/retrocompute ... 3fpga.html
Terasic Altera DE1 Board supports coco3 but I would prefer it on my MIST if possible as the website says "1 board to rule them all"

[nightshadowpt]

I like my 2 MiST
For ZX Spectrum and other small cores I also got a ZXUNO or a RPi for Amibian

How does the ZX Uno stack up against the MiST (for the Spectrum core)?

[guidol]

How does the ZX Uno stack up against the MiST (for the Spectrum core)?

The ZX-Uno stacks fine against the MiST as for the Spectrum Core, because in first place the ZX-Uno was built for Spectrum-usage and support many types of Spectrum-Choices

But I think its harder to get it running and use it right, because the documentation is mostly in spanish.
Some parts of the FAQ are translated in english.
Google or Bing Translator are good for some pages to be read

The ZXUno forum is also mostly in spanish - I use there also the translation services. But you could ask/write there in english.

If you know some keyboard-shortcuts and know the Core/BIOS/Upgrade-System than its running find efor this little system.

Some Cores are for VGA (Spectrum up to 63Hz) and some are for the composite port (ZX81)

Now there are new models like the Uno XL for a Spectrum rubber case.

[NZSPY]

Ive had my MIST for a week now... And it been a week of almosnt no sleep (go to work, come home, play with MIST until I can't keep eye open, go to bed, back to work rinse and repeat), so many things to try and to expermint with. So far I'm loving it. If only i didn't have to work for a living...


Slowly workign thru the forums before askign some stupid or repeated newbee questions. As im sure the level im at now is all been asked before..

[vebxenon]

Ive had my MIST for a week now... And it been a week of almosnt no sleep (go to work, come home, play with MIST until I can't keep eye open, go to bed, back to work rinse and repeat), so many things to try and to expermint with. So far I'm loving it. If only i didn't have to work for a living...


Slowly workign thru the forums before askign some stupid or repeated newbee questions. As im sure the level im at now is all been asked before..

Fell free to ask everything here

[AdvancedFollower]

Interesting thread, as I've been considering getting a MiST for some time but never got around to actually ordering one, for fear of buyer's remorse in case I don't use it enough. However it does seem like a lot of people use theirs semi-regularly which does make me less hesitant.

I realize there are lots of little FPGA hobby projects around using more powerful hardware, but the MiST seems to be enough for most needs. Importantly, it's something you can actually buy as a "consumer" without needing to solder anything, design your own case etc. It might not be able to emulate an '040+ Amiga, Atari Falcon etc., but seems to be enough for most needs.

The bigger concern for me would be the lack of updates. I realize the actual cores are developed by volunteers in their spare time, but when you pay over €200 for something, you do want to feel reassured that any issues that might crop up get resolved.

[farvardin]

most core are actually quite capable, so if you're enjoying Atari, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad and many more (sorry for the missing ones, you have a complete list there: https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-boar ... CoreStatus ), it absolutely worth it! Bear in mind there is no save state though: it's like the real thing!

[DarkLord]

Bought one, looked at it, sat gathering dust before I finally sold it.

Prefer the real hardware, that's just me.

[vebxenon]

most core are actually quite capable, so if you're enjoying Atari, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad and many more (sorry for the missing ones, you have a complete list there: https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-boar ... CoreStatus ), it absolutely worth it! Bear in mind there is no save state though: it's like the real thing!

Actually, I sold my Mega STe and my Amiga 1200 because of the MiST Board . And I don't regret at all.

[AdvancedFollower]

most core are actually quite capable, so if you're enjoying Atari, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad and many more (sorry for the missing ones, you have a complete list there: https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-boar ... CoreStatus ), it absolutely worth it! Bear in mind there is no save state though: it's like the real thing!

Actually, I sold my Mega STe and my Amiga 1200 because of the MiST Board . And I don't regret at all.

Yeah, I have my old A1200 still but I realize it's going to cost more to get it working with modern hardware (scan doubler, cf card interface etc) than the cost of the Mist. Plus the hardware is nearly 15 years old and could break down at any time.

The sensible side of me however keeps telling me - Look man, WinUAE on your pc already works fine. There's no need to purchase more hardware.

[danielb]

Hi all,

I have only had my Mist for a couple of weeks, and this is my first post on this forum, so hi....

Anyway I have been using it a lot, and I am extremely impressed up to now, I have tried the Atari ST, Spectrum, Sinclair QL and Macintosh cores, all of which are computers that I have owned, as well the Commodore 64, Amiga, BBC Micro and Amstrad cores (and a couple of others), which are computers that I have never owned (but I would not have objected to owning an Amiga...)

All of them seem to work very well, although I have had a couple of minor issues:
- It doesn't seem to like my Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse. Sometimes I had to turn the Mist on and off a couple of times before they were recognised. I solved this by using a wired keyboard and mouse.
- The Macintosh does not work properly with my monitor via VGA - the picture was offset and I could not adjust it to make it all visible. I fixed this with a VGA to HDMI adapter. However, using the adapter NONE of the other cores work, so I have to switch cables before switching on the Mac. I use a 28" 1080P Phillips monitor.
- The zx81 screen is a bit distorted at the top.

The authenticity of the user experience compared to using an emulator is really special - you can practically hear the QL microdrives whirring. This does have its downsides, since emulators can have all kinds of conveniences which are not available in hardware.

It is unfortunate that I appear to have discovered the Mist just as it is winding down As for development, I know nothing about the kind of hardware programming needed for this kind of project, so my contribution will be limited, but I can help with other stuff like testing.

Daniel

[Newsdee]

I fixed this with a VGA to HDMI adapter. However, using the adapter NONE of the other cores work, so I have to switch cables before switching on the Mac

You can use a small unpowered VGA switch to have both your HDMI cable and monitor connected; then it's easy to change without unplugging.

[bernouilli]

I have this kind of vga switch and I can easily switch from vga monitor to crt :
www.ebay.com/itm/132318916807
You just have to add a couple of vga cables (preferably short ones).

[danielb]

Thanks for the tip

D.

[oztig]

I bought my MiST a few months ago, but am only getting a chance to use it now (off sick after Appendix operation)

Primarily using it for Atari ST, Atari 800 and ZX Spectrum (all previous computers of mine - Still own a working atari STE)

I love it, and am just starting to get to grips with it - gone to try out Hard drive emulation next, and see how I get on..

I use an HP w2207h monitor - which rotates, and also handles most of the slightly unusual (none standard) VGA signals from the cores.

[oztig]

Hmm - could swear I already posted a reply to this.

I bought my mist a few months ago, but only getting chance to use it now, (time off due to Appendix operation).

I mainly use it for Atari ST, Atari 800 and ZX Spectrum (all computers I used to own - I still have a working Atari STE). Love the experience, great 'emulator' - am enjoying playing some of my old games agin ( still have loads of the originals on floppy disk for my ST)

I'm going to try out Hard drive emulation on the Atari AT core next.

Cheers,
Nick

[DarkLord]

Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but it looks like the percentages
don't total up to 100%.

Is that right?

[farvardin]

Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but it looks like the percentages
don't total up to 100%.

Is that right?

it's because of rounded values. For example 24 out of 64 is 37.5%, not 38%

[DarkLord]

Maybe my eyes are deceiving me but it looks like the percentages
don't total up to 100%.

Is that right?

it's because of rounded values. For example 24 out of 64 is 37.5%, not 38%

Ah, kinda figured it was something like that. Thanks.

[SchneiderCPC664]

I‘m using the following cores:
Amstrad CPC
Atari 2600
Atari ST
Amiga
NES
Atari 5200
VIC-20
C64

The VIC-20 screen has greenish colours on my TV and Millipede on the Atari 2600 displays only the fireing object and nothing else but all my other favorite games running well.
Thank you very much to all MIST developers out there!

[moebiusrising]

Since things seem to be pretty quiet around here, I have decided to create this pool to assess how actively is the community using their MiSTs.

I understand that I will have to wait quite a bit to have a full picture (as the not so regular members come by)

I've been a MiST owner for 2 or so years now. For me, the MiST and Minimig AGA cores are well developed enough that I use MIDI software without much fuss (the number one issue with software emulators being terrible MIDI timing). I'd say the 2% margin of error with software compatibility far outweighs the cost in repairing and restoring an old Amiga or Atari ST. In this case, it just made sense to pick up the FPGA.

I'm fairly certain the cores will live on, either in the current MiST or further developed in newer boards.

It's simply an awesome project.

[leech]

Bought one, looked at it, sat gathering dust before I finally sold it.

Prefer the real hardware, that's just me.

I'm the same way, though have not sold my MiST. I think I'd use it more if it could run like a Falcon, been way too spoiled with mine.

If we could get a MiST 2 with a larger FPGA that could handle.. say a Firebee level of computing, then I'd get one of those in a heartbeat. But there is a certain amount of enjoyment I get from trying to tweak the real hardware into doing amazing things.

[diggie]

I love the mist, but I've stopped using it because:
A) last time I used it there were major timing issues in the Amiga core affecting games I wanted to play, but mostly
B) With no HDMI output it honestly is just a PITA connecting it to any modern display, especially the TV in the living room which is where I really want to use it. A decent scaler will cost almost as much as the mist unit.

IMO it's the VGA out that kills the mist box. I just don't have the time or money to find working displays, scalers, etc. or a desire to sit in a separate room from my family because it can't work with my TV.