PICO9918

A drop-in replacement for a classic TMS9918A VDP powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 microcontroller.

<p align="left"><a href="img/pico9918_v1_2_top_sm.jpg"><img src="img/pico9918_v1_2_top_sm.jpg" alt="PICO9918 v1.2 Top" width="400px"></a> <a href="img/pico9918_v1_2_bottom_sm.jpg"><img src="img/pico9918_v1_2_bottom_sm.jpg" alt="PICO9918 v1.2 Top" width="406px"></a></p>

The TMS9918A emulation is handled by my vrEmuTms9918 library which is included as a submodule here

Contents

• Build status
• Supported devices
• Digital A/V (HDMI) Dongle
• F18A compatibility
• Purchasing options
• Hardware
• Firmware
• Configurator
• Documentation
• Building
• Thanks
• Discussion
• Videos
• Licensing

Build status

Main Branch

| Build | Windows | Linux | macOS | |-------|---------|-------|-------| | Firmware | | | | | Configurator | | | |

Dev Branch

| Build | Windows | Linux | macOS | |-------|---------|-------|-------| | Firmware | | | | | Configurator | | | |

Supported devices

This is a list of devices the PICO9918 has been tested and confirmed to work on.

• ColecoVision
  • Coleco ADAM
  • AtariBits CV-NUC+
  • Bit Dina 2 in one
• Memotech MTX500
• MSX
  • Casio MX-10
  • Casio PV-7
  • Casio PV-16
  • Gradiente Expert XP-800
  • National CF-2700
  • Sharp HB-8000
  • Sony HB-75
  • Toshiba HX-10
  • Toshiba HX-21
  • Yamaha CX5M
  • Yamaha YIS-503
• NABU Personal Computer
• Powertran Cortex
• Sega SG-1000 / SC-3000
• Sega SG-1000 II
• Sord M5
• Texas Instruments TI-99
  • Texas Instruments TI-99/4
  • Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
  • Texas Instruments TI-99/4QI
  • Dan Werner TI-99/22
• Tomy Pyūta / Tomy Tutor
• Tomy Pyūta Jr
• VTech CreatiVision / Dick Smith Wizzard

Homebrews:

• Troy Schrapel's HBC-56
• Stuart Connor's TM990
• John Winans' Z80-Retro
• Martin's Z80Ardu

If you have tested the PICO9918 on any other device, please let me know and I'll happily update this list. :)

Unsupported devices

So far, there aren't any.

Digital A/V (HDMI) Dongle [NEW]

The new Digital A/V dongle provides video and audio direct to any HDMI compatible display. The new dongle is fully compatible with all previous FFC-equipped PICO9918 boards (v1.2, v1.3 and PRO v2.0) and are available to purchase either with a new PICO9918 PRO or separately.

See the FFC Connector documentation for cable connection instructions.

F18A compatibility

The PICO9918 also includes F18A compatibility in firmware v1.0.0+. The video below was captured directly from the PICO9918 VGA output running various F18A demos on a TI-99/4A.

Purchasing options

Fully assembled and tested PICO9918 PROs are available on my Tindie store:

<a href="https://www.tindie.com/search/?q=PICO9918"><img src="https://d2ss6ovg47m0r5.cloudfront.net/badges/tindie-larges.png" alt="I sell on Tindie" width="200" height="104"></a>

Also (more convenient for North America)

<a href="https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/store/#!/~/search/keyword=*PICO9918*"><img width="640" src="https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Arcadeshopper-horizontal-Web-logo-1024x147.jpg"></img></a>

Hardware

There are three main variants of the hardware.

PRO v2.x (v2.0)

This is the latest version, poewered by the more powerful RP2350. This hardware upgrade will allow for additional VRAM and display modes in the future, including V9938 support.

<p align="left"><a href="img/pico9918pro_800_1.jpg"><img src="img/pico9918pro_800_1.jpg" alt="PICO9918 PRO v2.0" width="720px"></a></p>

This is the version you can currently buy pre-assembled from Tindie and ArcadeShopper.

v1.x (v1.3, v1.2, v1.1, v1.0 and v0.4)

PICO9918 v1.3 was the first single board version which doesn't require a piggy-backed Pi Pico.

<p align="left"><a href="img/pico9918_v1_2_sm.jpg"><img src="img/pico9918_v1_2_sm.jpg" alt="PICO9918 v1.2" width="720px"></a></p>

v0.3

v0.3 is relatively cheap and easy to build, schematic and gerbers are available. This version makes use of an external Pi Pico module piggy-backed onto the PICO9918 PCB.

<p align="left"><a href="img/pico9918_v0_3_sm.jpg"><img src="img/pico9918_v0_3_sm.jpg" alt="PICO9918 v0.3" width="720px"></a></p>

I also have the v0.3 board as a PCBWay Project you can order there.

Schematics

Schematics and Gerbers are available in /pcb

Firmware

If you're not interested in building the firmware yourself, you'll find the latest firmware in the Releases.

To install, just hold the 'BOOT' button while plugging the Pico into a PC, then drag the pico9918.uf2 file on to the new USB drive which should have the volume label RPI-RP2. The Pico will restart (and disconnect) automatically.

Configurator

The configurator is a software tool used to modify PICO9918 configuration options, including:

• Clock rate
• Scanline CRT effect
• Scanline sprite limit
• Default palette
• Diagnostics overlays

Additionally, firmware updates can be provided via the Configurator. The full configurator is available for the TI-99/4A, ColecoVision and MSX. With cut-down builds (without firmware updates) available for several other machines.

See the configurator in action:

The configurator was written in a custom fork of CVBasic with the full source available in /configtool.

If you're not interested in building the configurator