Sinclair MrX User Manual

MrX Sound Board

for the ZX81 from Sinclair

“Manual for users and programmers”

www.eightbits.de

Version: v005 1 Date: 22.05.2012

CONTENT

1. System Requirements .......... 4

2. MrX Sound Card .......... 5

3. MrX Expansion Bus K3 .......... 6

4. Optional 3,5mm jacks and ZX96 bus diodes .......... 7

5. Connection .......... 8

6. Software .......... 11

7. Six Channel Sound (Turbo-Sound/Turbo-AY) ….......12

8. Programming .......... 15

9. The Yamaha YM2149 .......... 18

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Disclaimer

This book is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. The author and publisher are not offering it as legal, accounting, or other professional services advice. While best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author and publisher make no representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a particular purpose. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information or programs contained herein. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. Every company is different and the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should seek the services of a competent professional before beginning any actions described in this manual.

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1. System Requirements

Computer: ZX81 Manufacturer: Sinclair, UK Amplifier: active amplifier (PC-amplifier) with 3,5mm jack

Recommended: 16k Ram

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2. MrX Sound Card

A) 3,5mm jack. Connect the amplifier here. B) Port connector. C) 30 pin expansion bus K3 (see next chapter)

D) Through port connector.

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3. MrX Expansion Bus K3

The MrX Interface is supplied with a built in expansion bus (K3) which allows direct access to the signals provided by the YM2149 sound chip, should you wish to develop an add-on daughterboard.

Pinout K3:

1) IOB7 Port B from YM2149

2) IOB6 Port B from YM2149

3) IOB5 Port B from YM2149

4) IOB4 Port B from YM2149

5) IOB3 Port B from YM2149

6) IOB2 Port B from YM2149

7) IOB1 Port B from YM2149

8) IOB0 Port B from YM2149

9) IOA7 Port A from YM2149

10) IOA6 Port A from YM2149

11) IOA5 Port A from YM2149

12) IOA4 Port A from YM2149

13) IOA3 Port A from YM2149

14) IOA2 Port A from YM2149

15) IOA1 Port A from YM2149

16) CHL Left channel of 3,5mm jack, behind capacitor

17) CHR Right channel of 3,5mm jack, behind capacitor

18) GND Ground

19) /CLK ZX81 clock signal 3,25 MHz

20) GND Ground

21) ANALOG_CH_C Analog Channel C directly connected to YM2149

22) ANALOG_CH_B Analog Channel B directly connected to YM2149

23) ANALOG_CH_A Analog Channel A directly connected to YM2149

24) VCC Supply current +5V

25) GAL1 Pin 15 of GAL 16V8

26) GAL2 Pin 14 of GAL 16V8

27) GAL3 Pin 13 of GAL 16V8

28) GAL4 Pin 12 of GAL 16V8

29) clock/2 1,625 MHz

30) IOA0 Port A from YM2149

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4. Optional 3,5mm jacks and ZX96 bus diodes

If needed additional 3,5mm jacks can be soldered on the MrX sound card on J1 and J2.

For the ZX96 bus (http://www.fischerkai.de/zxteam/treib_e.htm ) a diode DX1 for the /BUSCS signal has to be soldered and the port connector has to be exchanged by a VG64 connector. The VG64 connector uses all pins of K2.

Note: The ZX96 bus is only used by some freaks, if your ZX81 is equipped with the same the original MrX won't fit mechanically.

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5. Connection

• Switch off the computer before connecting or removing any interfaces. Disconnect the

power lead to be certain! Otherwise, severe damage may occur to the computer and the sound card.

• The ZX81 computer is connected to the sound card via the ZX expansion port on the back of

the computer.

• Make sure that the pins of the ZX81 PCB are exactly aligned with the connector of the MrX

sound card.

• Don't use brute force to connect the MrX with the ZX81.

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• The PC speaker (with integrated amplifier) has to be connected with the 3,5mm stereo jack.

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• If needed, connect further equipment. NOTE: Make sure that the pins of the MrX PCB are

exactly aligned with the connector of the equipment. Otherwise severe damage may occur to the computer, the equipment and the sound card.

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6. Software

This manual and the software for the MrX sound card is provided at http://www.eightbits.de/ in the download section.

manual.pdf → This manual AY-Demo → Sound-Demo Basic-Demo → Original Basic Demos from the ZON-X Manual Demon-Demo → Dancing Demon Demo Games → 2 Games from Brasilian TK85 PT3-Player → Player, plays PT3-files Pink-Panther → Music demo ZON-X-Manual → HTML document original zonx manual

Concerning the PT3-Player, PT3-files have to be converted to wav-files according the instructions in the ZX81 forum „http://www.rwapservices.co.uk/ZX80_ZX81/forums/aye-aye-

t528s170.html#p4919 “.

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7. Six Channel Sound (Turbo-Sound/Turbo-AY)

With a modified GAL for the MrX Sound interface, you can combine it with the ZXpand plus ZXpand-AY module (or a second MrX sound module using the original GAL), to provide 6 channel stereo output sound (Turbo-AY) sound on the ZX81.

REMARKS: The modified GAL changes the port address of the MrX to the following values.

Latch Data

0xAF 0xE7 0xBF 0xF7 0xAF 0xF7 0xBF 0xE7

This implies that the MrX with the modified GAL is not ZON-X compatible any more!

ATTENTION: The following instructions describe how to exchange the orignal GAL chip with the Turbo-Sound GAL. Follow the instructions carefully and exactly. If you are not sure, engage a radio engineer or similar to perform the exchange. In case of failures severe damage may occur to the computer and the sound card.

Instructions:

• Put the MrX sound card in front of you. On the top right hand corner you can see the GAL

chip, marked here with a red rectangle

• Use a screwdriver or similar to lift the GAL chip out of its socket. Don't use brute force!

There is a gap between the chip and the socket.

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• Pull out the GAL Chip. You can see the empty socket.

• Take the MrX Turbo-Sound chip, stick it into the socket carefully. Pay attention that every

pin of the GAL chip is aligned exactly with the socket.

• Watch the pit of the GAL it must be exactly placed like shown on the picture.

• Press down the chip slowly until it snaps into the socket. While pressing, make sure that

none of the pins is twisted or misaligned. If a pin is twisted, stop pressing. Pull out the chip allign the pin carefully and repeat this step.

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Now the MrX card is ready for the 6 channel stereo sound. Connect the MrX according to chapter “5. Connection”.

The following combinations are tested and working.

Modified MrX + ZXpand + Zxpand-AY + ZX81

Modified MrX + Original MrX + ZX81

Connect two PC-speakers with the two sound cards or use an appropriate mixer.

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8. Programming

The MrX is compatible with the original ZON-X sound card.

Addresses:

The MrX Interface responds to data placed in the following addresses:

Latch Data Comment

0xDF 0x0F modified ZON-X 0xCF 0x1F original ZON-X 0xCF 0x0F from ZON-X user manual 0xDF 0x1F additional combination

See chapter “9. The Yamaha YM2149” for further explanation about “Latch” (register address latch) and “Data” (write mode).

Examples in assembler

Simple Sound:

; LATCH: equ $DF LATCH: equ $CF DTAX: equ $0F ; DTAX: equ $1F

xxx:

LD A,7 out (LATCH),A LD A,$C0 out (DTAX),A

LD A,$08 out (LATCH),A LD A,15 out (DTAX),A

looop: LD A,0 out (LATCH),A LD A,70 out (DTAX),A ret

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Output on port A:

DTAX: equ $0F ; DTAX: equ $1F LATCH: equ $CF

; LATCH: equ $DF

xxx:

LD A,7 out (LATCH),A LD A,$C0 ;---> set port A and B as output out (DTAX),A

looop:

LD A,14 out (LATCH),A LD A,$00 out (DTAX),A ; set port A to 0

LD HL,(DFILE) INC HL LD (HL),_O INC HL LD (HL),_F INC HL LD (HL),_F

LD BC,100 CALL $0F35

LD A,14 out (LATCH),A LD A,$FF out (DTAX),A ; set all bits of port A to 1 (high) LD HL,(DFILE) INC HL LD (HL),_O INC HL LD (HL),_N INC HL LD (HL),__

LD BC,100 CALL $0F35

jp looop

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Reading from port A:

DTAX: equ $0F ; DTAX: equ $1F LATCH: equ $CF ; LATCH: equ $DF

xxx:

LD A,7 out (LATCH),A LD A,$00 ;--> set port A & B to Input out (DTAX),A

looop:

LD A,14 out (LATCH),A

in a,(LATCH) ;Port A (register No. 14) is read and a,$3F

LD HL,(DFILE) INC HL LD (HL),A ;Print the port content to the screen

jp looop

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9. The Yamaha YM2149

This is a copy from “http://www.atari-forum.com/wiki/ “.

Software-Controlled Sound Generator (SSG)

-----------------------------------------

Overview

The SSG (Software-Controlled Sound Generator) is an NMOS-LSI device designed to be capable of music generation. It only requires the microprocessor or microcomputer (CPU) to initialize its register array, thus reducing the load on the CPU. Music generation is carried out by the three sequence square wave generator, noise generator, and envelope generator according to the set parameters. This allows for the generation of music, special effects, warnings, and various other types of sounds.

Features

5V single power supply Easy connection to 8 bit or 16 bit CPU Simple connection to external system through 2 sequence 8 bit I/O port Wide voicing range of 8 octaves Smooth attenuation by 5 bit envelope generator Built-in 5 bit D/A convertor Input of double frequency clock can be handled by built-in clock frequency divider TTL compatible level Low power consumption (typical 125mW) 40 pin plastic DIL package Pin compatible with AY-3-8910 manufactured by GI

Pin Layout

Vss(GND) 1 40 Vcc(+5V) N.C 2 39 Test1 Analog Channel B 3 38 Analog Channel C Analog Channel A 4 37 DA0 N.C 5 36 DA1 IOB7 6 35 DA2 IOB6 7 34 DA3 IOB5 8 33 DA4 IOB4 9 32 DA5 IOB3 10 31 DA6 IOB2 11 30 DA7 IOB1 12 29 BC1 IOB0 13 28 BC2 IOA7 14 27 BDIR IOA6 15 26 SEL IOA5 16 25 A8 IOA4 17 24 A9 IOA3 18 23 RESET IOA2 19 22 CLOCK IOA1 20 21 IOA0

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Block diagram

A9 A8 BDIR BC2 BC1 DA7~DA0 o o o o o | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --- Bus Control ---o Bidirectional -----o I/O Port A <=> IOA7~IOA0 | | | Decoder o--- buffer | | | | o | | | | | | | | o o | Register Addr --o Address --o Register o-------| Latch Decoder Array -----o I/O Port B <=> IOB7~IOB0 o |

-------o Mixer o-- | ---------o SEL | | | | o | D/A Convertor o----------------- | | | | | | Analog Channel o o o A B C

Description of pins

1. DA7 ~ DA0 This is an 8 bit bidirectional data bus which is used for moving data and addresses between the SSG and CPU. In the read and write modes, DA7 ~ DA0 corresponds to B7 ~ B0 of the register array. In the address mode, DA3 ~ DA0 is used for the register address, and DA7 ~ DA4 is used together with A9 and A8 for the upper address.

2. A8 and A9 These are the upper address input pins. A8 has pullup resistance while A9 has pulldown resistance. When the voltage level at A8 while the level at A9 and DA7 ~ DA4 is low, the address mode is selected allowing for the fetching of a register address. Connect A8 and A9 to +5V and ground respectively when not in use.

3. RESET Reset is effective when the voltage level is low, and the contents of all registers in the array are reset to '0'. This pin has pullup resistance.

4. CLOCK Supplies the master clock to the sound generator and envelope generator. This is equipped with a 1/2 frequency divider which allows for the use of a frequency which is 1/2 of the input clock, as the master clock.

5. SEL When SEL is driven to the high level, the input clock is taken as the master clock. When the voltage level of SEL is low, the input clock is divided by 2 to obtain the master clock. This pin has pullup resistance, allowing for full pin compatibility with the AY-3-8910 manufactured by AI, when this pin is not connected to anything.

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6. BDIR,BC1 and BC2 Controls the external bus (DA7 ~ DA0) and internal bus of the SSG. The following four modes can be set by the bus control decoder. The bus control is redundant, control is possible even when BC5 is connected to +5V.

BDIR BC2 BC1 Mode 0 0 0 Inactive 0 0 1 Address 0 1 0 Inactive 0 1 1 Read 1 0 0 Address 1 0 1 Inactive 1 1 0 Write 1 1 1 Address

Inactive mode: DA7 ~ DA0 has high impedance. Address mode: DA7 ~ DA0 set to input mode, and address is fetched from register array. Write mode: DA7 ~ DA0 set to input mode, and data is written to register currently being addressed. Read mode: DA7 ~ DA0 set to output mode, and contents of register currently being addressed are output.

7. ANALOG CHANNEL A,B,C Each of the three channels is equipped with a D/A convertor which converts the calculated digital values to analog signals for output.

8. IOA7 ~ IOA0, IOB7 ~ IOB0 These are two 8 bit I/O ports. These ports allow the SSG to be placed between an external system and the CPU for the transfer of data. These pins have pullup resistance.

9. TEST1 Output pin for testing the device. Do not connect to anything.

10. Vcc +5V power pin.

11. Vss Ground pin.

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Description of funtions

All functions of the SSG are controlled by the 16 internal registers. The CPU need only write data to the internal registers of the SSG. The SSG itself generates the sound. Sound is generated by the following blocks:

Music generator: Square waves having a different frequency are generated for each channel (A,B and C) Noise generator: Pseudo-random waveforms are generated (variable frequency) Mixer: Music and noise output are mixed for the three channels (A,B and C) Level control: Constant level or variable level is given for each of the three channels (A,B and C). Constant levels are controlled by the CPU, and variable levels by the envelope generator. Envelope generator: Generates various types of attenuation (single burst attenuated and repeated attenuation) D/A convertor: Sound is output on each of the three channels (A,B and C) at the level determined by the level control.

The CPU can read the contents of the internal registers with no effect on sound.

Register Array

A9 A8 DA7 DA6 DA5 DA4 DA3 DA2 DA1 DA0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 \______________________/\_____________/ Upper addresses Lower addresses (chip select) (register select)

Of the ten bit address, the lower addresses DA3 ~ DA0 are used to select the 16 internal registers(register array). The upper addresses are used for chip selection. A9 and A8 is programmed to 01 while DA7 through DA4 are set to

0000. When the upper addresses match this program in the address mode, a register address (lower four bits DA3 through DA0) is fetched from the register address latch. When the value set is in the upper addresses is different from the program value, the bidirectional bus formed from DA7 through DA0 is driven to high impedance. A register address which has been fetched is retained until the next address is fetched, and is not affected by the read, write, or inactive mode.

Register Array

B7....B0

R0 Frequency of Channel A 00000000 8 bit fine tone adjustment R1 ----0000 4 bit rough tone adjustment R2 Frequency of Channel B 00000000 8 bit fine tone adjustment R3 ----0000 4 bit rough tone adjustment R4 Frequency of Channel C 00000000 8 bit fine tone adjustment R5 ----0000 4 bit rough tone adjustment R6 Frequency of Noise ---00000 5 bit noise frequency R7 I/O port and mixer iinnnttt i-I/O, n-Noise, t-Tone settings bacbacba R8 Level of channel A ---mllll m-Mode, l-Level R9 Level of channel B ---mllll m-Mode, l-Level RA Level of channel C ---mllll m-Mode, l-Level RB Frequency of envelope 00000000 8 bit fine adjustment RC 00000000 8 bit rough adjustment RD Shape of envelope ----cath c-Cont, a-Att, t-Alt, h-Hold RE Data of I/O port A 00000000 8 bit data RF Data of I/O port B 00000000 8 bit data

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(1) Setting of music frequency (controlled by registers R0 ~ R5)

The frequencies of the square wave generated by the music generators for the three channels (A,B and C) are controlled by registers R0 through R5. R0 and R1 control channel A, R2 and R3 are used for channel B, and R4 and R5 control channel C. The oscillation frequency fT is obtained in the following manner from the value of the register TP(decimal).

fT = fMaster

------ 16TP

fMaster is the frequency of the master clock (this is the input click frequency when

SEL is high, and 1/2 of this frequency when low).

Rough tone adjustment Fine tone adjustment register Channel register R1 A R0 R3 B R2 R5 C R4

B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 \---------/| \ / Not used | \ / | | TP11 TP10 TP9 TP8 TP7 TP6 TP5 TP4 TP3 TP2 TP1 TP0 12 bit oscillation frequency setting value (TP)

(2) Setting of noise generator (controlled by register R6)

The noise frequency fN is obtained from the register value NP(decimal) in the following manner.

fN = fMaster (fMaster if the frequency of the master clock)

------ 16NP

Noise frequency register R6 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 \------/| \ Not used| \ | | NP4 NP3 NP2 NP1 NP0 5 bit noise frequency setting value (NP)

(3) Settings of mixer and I/O ports (controlled by register R7)

The mixer is used to combine music and noise components. The combination is determined by bits B5 ~ B0 of register R7. Sound is output when a '0' is written to the register. Thus, when both the noise and tone are '0', the output is combined by the mixer. When the noise is '0' and the tone is '1', only the noise signal is output. When the noise is '1' and the tone is '0', music (square wave) is output. Nothing is output when both the noise and tone are '1'. Selection of input/output for the I/O ports is determined by bits B7 and B6 of register R7. Input is selected when '0' is written to the register bits.

I/O port and mixer setting register R7 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 / /| |\ \ / / | | \ \ I/O Noise Tone B A C B A C B A

(Input is selected for I/O port when '0', and noise or tone can be output when '0')

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(4) Level control (controlled by R8 ~ RA)

The audio level output from the D/A convertors for the three channels (A,B and C) is adjusted by registers R8, R9 and RA.

Level setting registers Channel R8 A R9 B RA C

Mode M selects whether the level is fixed (when M=0) or variable (M=1). When M=0, level is determined from one of 16 by level selection signals L3,L2,L1 and L0 which compromise the lower four bits. When M=1, the level is determined by the 5 bit output of E4,E3,E2,E1 and E0 of the envelope generator of the SSG. (This level is variable as E4 ~ E0 change over time)

(5) Setting of envelope frequency (controlled by R8 and RC)

Thus, the envelope repetition frequency fE is obtained as follows from the envelope setting period value EP (decimal):

fE = fMaster (fMaster if the frequency of the master clock)

------ 256EP

Envelope rough adjustment register RC Envelope fine adjustment register RB B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 / \ / \ / \ / \ / | \ EP15 EP14 EP13 EP12 EP11 EP10 EP9 EP8 EP7 EP6 EP5 EP4 EP3 EP2 EP1 EP0 16 bit envelope period setting value (EP)

The period of the actual frequency fEA used for the envelope generated is 1/32 of the envelope repetition period (1/fE).

(6) Envelope shape control (controlled by RD)

The envelope generator counts the envelope clock fEA 32 times for each envelope pattern cycle. The envelope level is determined by the 5 bit output (E4 ~ E0) of the counter. The shape of the envelope is created by increasing, decreasing, stopping, or repeating this counter. The shape is controlled by bits B3 ~ B0 of the register RD.

Envelope shape control register RD B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 \----------/ | | | | Not used | | | --- Hold | | ------ Alt | --------- Att

------------ Cont Envelope shape control signals

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The envelope can take the shapes shown below according to combinations of the CONT, ATT, ALT and HOLD signals.

B3 B2 B1 B0 CONT ATT ALT HOLD 0 0 x x \ \---------------------

0 1 x x /| / |--------------------

1 0 0 0 \ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ |\ \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \

1 0 0 1 \ \---------------------

1 0 1 0 \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/

1 0 1 1 \ |------------------- \|

1 1 0 0 /| /| /| /| /| /| /| / / |/ |/ |/ |/ |/ |/ |/

1 1 0 1 /-------------------- /

1 1 1 0 /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \

1 1 1 1 /| / |--------------------

NOTE - The writing to register RD will reset the envelope frequency clock

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Sinclair MrX User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual