amiga-news.de - User report: The PiStorm32-lite, part 2

27.Feb.2023

User report: The PiStorm32-lite, part 2
The first part of my report ended with the "BUPtest" giving an error message after switching on the Amiga 1200. When I plugged in the HDMI cable, I noticed that the large plug of the HDMI cable bent the card upwards by quite a bit. So I suspected that this might have caused contact problems.

After some research, I decided on an UltraThin HDMI cable:

This made it easy to connect the cable without much "bending":

However, the result of my efforts was sobering: after switching on, I was still greeted by the already familiar error message :( So, I kept asking around. What else could be the problem? Basically the contacts? Although they have been well protected by the Blizzard 1230 so far. Anyway, I disconnected and reconnected the PiStorm32 a few times. Try again! Error message persists!

Some users had reported that it only worked for them if the adapter card was not inserted all the way into the Trapdoor connection, but was pulled back two or three millimetres. I tried that too, but again no success. It didn't help, I had to bother Claude and Michal again. Claude offered to provide me with a test image that could be used to further isolate the problem. I accepted with thanks. I installed it, started it and what do you think? It worked!!!! There is no such thing. So it was clear: my hardware is OK!

But what was the reason then?

On his test image, Claude used the latest stable version of Emu68, while I used the nightly build that was current at the time of the test. Claude says that for normal users he would always recommend the stable version, as nightly builds do not always run stably and may also require modified firmware. And while we were pondering the reasons, he sent me a picture that lists the versions of Emu68:

Well, three guesses which version I used for testing... the one from 24 January. OK, I was unlucky, but at least I didn't do anything fundamentally wrong. And it finally worked! :)

The next step was now to set up the P96 driver, but here I would like to refer to the Setting up P96 tutorial already linked in the first part. Just a few notes on this: tutorial already linked in the first part. Just a few notes on this:

If one has only one monitor, as I do, the test button in the prefs programme "Picasso96Mode" is useless. Through the unselfish help of the user 'katzazakis', after numerous unsuccessful tests of the screen resolution, I remembered (again) that I have to change the input on the monitor from VGA to HDMI in order to be able to see the test picture. It is impossible to do this during the short display time of the test picture. Here, it is better to use the "Edit" mode, which cannot be terminated automatically but only by active action and additionally offers the options to change resolution and screen size by means of arrow keys or additional CTRL and Shift keys:

By the way, you should not be confused by the displayed refresh rates, which obviously do not represent real values. For my Philips Brilliance 241B in 16:9 format, a frequency of 60 Hz is recommended, but this is never displayed or reached in the settings programmes. I finally decided on a resolution of 960 x 540 as standard and created three colour profiles for it. Additionally, for surfing with IBrowse and the mail client YAM, the resolution 1366 x 768. The test images worked. Now reboot and finally try a new screen resolution. It worked, here they are:

I use the "HiColour" version for a start. A comparison of old and new:

In the pictures, the difference doesn't seem that big. But in real life I can only say:
Wow! Great! The efforts were worth it. After almost 30 years, I can display the Workbench in high resolution with my Amiga 1200! It's amazing! What you can't see, however, is that the RTG resolution has once again increased the speed at which windows and folders open. I must admit, it feels like a modern PC. And by the way, as you can notice in the Chip RAM display above, there are now even 2 MB available.

However, one must bear in mind that not all programmes and tools support this high-resolution display. Like Sysinfo, for example, for which I have to switch back to VGA mode on the screen - after another brief pause: has it crashed? ;) - I have to switch back to VGA mode on the screen:

To be honest, I can do rather less with such information, I need practical values. Here are a few figures for solving the respective task:

Task                    Blizzard 1230                 PiStorm32-lite
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unarchiving the           3:06 Min                       30 Sec
latest YAM
Nightly Build           

Starting YAM              2:41 Min                       18 Sec (with icons)

Unarchivin                1:21 Min                        9 Sec
AmiSSL 5.7

Visiting                    24 Sec                        3 Sec
Amiga-News.de
using IBrowse 2.5.8
(https)

By the way, the boot time has not changed (noticeably).

Is there anything that bothers you? Yes, currently you no longer have a real-time clock in the Amiga 1200 that stores the time (which was previously provided by the Blizzard 1230). For me, the time is reset to 2016 after every boot. According to PiStorm developer Claude Schwarz, an RTC driver for the Pi is coming though (which will also require an addition to the hardware). Otherwise, further tests will show how the various programmes, tools and demos run.

Conclusion: I am thrilled! If you put the effort and the costs in relation to the benefits, I have to say quite clearly: absolute recommendation. Definitely, if you work a lot with the Workbench and programmes from the hard disk, as I do. Working at this speed and with this screen resolution is a real pleasure! (dr)

[News message: 27. Feb. 2023, 10:20] [Comments: 0]
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