It works!!! Including using the same VGATE firmware and the same component values as the NTSC version.
And I was able to boot up and play Turricon.
Update: May 2nd, 2024 Actually good news! I took a different approach to assembling the PCB and discovered that it could be made to fit fairly easy.
If you first set the PCB in place inside the 64C Short Board case, and then with nothing soldered and just loosely fitting the two bottom 4-pin support headers and the single 2-pin support header between the jacks, it can be adjusted to fit sitting flush with the inside back of the case. Then making sure that the board is pressed down and even, solder at least one pin on each header to lock in the alignment.
Note: the other 2-pin support headers are not required and should be left out.
When you remove the PCB you'll see that the support headers are slightly angled - this is perfectly fine. Note: an extra piece of header insulator block is used on all the support headers as an additional spacer.
If everything is correct, then you should see the result below.
Since I'm feeling pretty good about the MAIN schematic, here's version 1.1 for download...
C64-VGATE_V1.1_MAIN_schema.pdf |
Nice to see this work without having two different versions of the firmware, and with the same values that work for both the NTSC and PAL HMOS VIC-II chips. personally I've experienced less issues with sourcing the HMOS vs. NMOS VIC-II chips, and found them to produce a very clean picture, while giving off considerably less heat. Since my C64-VGATE MAIN board can also serve as an HMOS to NMOS adapter, I'll be sticking with HMOS chips for all of my video upgrades.
- Michael
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