ao486

[rashohyo]

Some VGA modes are 70Hz.
On OSD there is an option to keep 60Hz for all modes.

Unfortunately the option is already set to 60hz....

[Sorgelig]

i don't know which display you use, but ao486 is 31KHz-only.
Also it's highly advised to use vga_scaler=1 for ao486, otherwise you will get uneven pixels on VGA output.
In general it's HDMI-only core.

[rashohyo]

i don't know which display you use, but ao486 is 31KHz-only.
Also it's highly advised to use vga_scaler=1 for ao486, otherwise you will get uneven pixels on VGA output.
In general it's HDMI-only core.

Mmmm my monitor is a Sony Pvm 14m4e, tried with vga scaler but i have desync problem also in boot screen.
Didn’t know it was an hdmi-only core...thanks so much anyway

[R4mbo]

Hi!

Got my MiSTer a few weeks ago and have it up and running nicely.
I now want to get into Core-Development. My main goal is to become able to contribute to the AO486 Core.
I know it will take a while to reach that point. I can Code in C#, VBA, Basic and some Assembler. And made first experiences with VHDL.
I've written a basic Gameboy Emulator and have a basic understanding of hardware.
Next step for me would be to get familiar with all the Project-Files.
I'm using Quartus Prime 18 and successfully compiled the ZX-Spectrum core.

When compiling the AO486 i ran into my first problem.
I don't get a .rbf-File after compilation.
Any Idea what I'm doing wrong or have to do?

Greetings

[dukrous]

The one, and only thing, I can contribute is that you should use Quartus 17.x (17.0.2 is frequently recommended). Hoping you have some luck! A good and fast ao486 core would be amazing.

[Grabulosaure]

No luck, sorry!
AO486 is afaik the only core that needs a paying version of Quartus to generate the .RBF, because it uses some non-free IPs blocks in the Qsys project.

You can still generate a .BIT file and directly download the FPGA.

There are the IPs below :
- ALTERA_CLOCK_BRIDGE (x2)
- ALTERA_ADDRESS_SPAN_EXTENDER
- ALTERA_AVALON_MM_BRIDGE
- ALTERA_RESET_BRIDGE
- ALTERA_RESET_CONTROLLER
- ALTERA_16550_UART
- WIDTH_TRANS

It seems only the 16650 UART needs the full version. Maybe you can try to remove it, find a free implementation or make your own.

[R4mbo]

I see, thanks!

I tried to just deactivate the module and as I already expected a lot of other problems occured

I'm not experienced enough to solve that problem for me now, and think I gonna try to start with a 286 core on my own and enhance it over time.

For me, its hard to find the right way to start, I'm open for any suggestions. Thanks.

[R4mbo]

The one, and only thing, I can contribute is that you should use Quartus 17.x (17.0.2 is frequently recommended). Hoping you have some luck! A good and fast ao486 core would be amazing.

Thanks! I will do so. Good and fast ao486 is something i want to see too, and with integrated network module
But I'm also realistic. It may take a year for me to get on a level to do useful contributions. That 486 "Emulation" is the main reason I ordered my MiSTer, and contributing to it is my main goal.

[Sorgelig]

For testing purpose you don't really need rbf. Once compiled, you can upload it from quartus using mini USB cable connected to USB blaster port of de10-nano.
16550 component is hard to replace as it's the only known full implementation of PC's UART.
But it's not really required, and can be removed. I can make some testing project without this component if you want.

[Frederir]

16550 component is hard to replace as it's the only known full implementation of PC's UART.

This implementation can not be used : https://opencores.org/projects/uart16550 ?

[R4mbo]

For testing purpose you don't really need rbf. Once compiled, you can upload it from quartus using mini USB cable connected to USB blaster port of de10-nano.
16550 component is hard to replace as it's the only known full implementation of PC's UART.
But it's not really required, and can be removed. I can make some testing project without this component if you want.

Thanks. No need to remove it, I will try via USB-Upload, good enough for me.
And as I know, some people use it to get Internet-Connection on W95

[djmartins]

And as I know, some people use it to get Internet-Connection on W95

Then you only need 2400 baud to keep it realistic.

[Glaurung]

With Opera up to v12,you can browse with w95 in this core as usually.modern webpages.

[vinsentru]

Hi
I've tried OS/2 with ao486, but no luck:
- OS/2 2.0 hangs on Disk1
- OS/2 Warp 3 shows some system errors a nd won't boot as well

I thought that if Win95 works, some OS/2 version should work too, but no luck.

Any chance devs/maintainers of ao486 could look at that? It would be great having OS/2 on MiSTer!

Thanks.