Announcing the new "Gold Card" - QIMSI Gold

[Maskenlos]

Hi guibrush

So, if people have to order an adapter and have to find an old PS/2 mouse, I find much better to support USB wired mouses out of the box

Thanks for your feedback. It is not that black or white and I have a different point of view:

Mouse: As long as state of the art, good looking, black colour (of course) and compatible mice are available below 10 bucks at Amazon there is only limited need for an update. It is not all about "searching for an old mouse". We Peter and myself, have discussed many many times to implement USB support on one or the other way. And the decision so far was to stick to the current set-up. There are so many QIMSIs / Golds out there and only very limited feedback about severe mouse issues. You are currently the only one with the alternative FPGA core. I do not see to break backwards compatibility and face users with non-working mouse after an update. Also the timing during boot process is very critical and makes mouse detection timing relevant.

LVDS digital monitor connection: Similar to mouse. As long as working adapters and monitors are available everything is fine for me. We spent so so many hours in making the LVDS as compatible as possible and had great success. Only a few reports reached us and all issues seemed to be solved. If an adapter is not available in your country, there are for sure QL fellows around the world who can help.

To make it more practical, how should we spent our time? Take it to e.g. implement Spanish K/B layout? Or try to improve mice compatibility because one QL fellow will not spend 10 bucks for a mouse?
To me the answer is clear. And finally we will never have 100% compatibility to every mouse or screen.

Hope everybody has a lot of fun with the QIMSI.

Stephan

[guibrush]

I'm sorry, my goal wasn't to open the pandora box nor to question the technical choices made. This was just my experience, but I can well understand that it's not everyone else's. Sorry to have disturbed.

because one QL fellow will not spend 10 bucks for a mouse?

I muss say that I missed the line where you pointed a working mouse on Amazon, I somehow only saw the list of working mouses, my fault. I can of course order this mouse and then the problem is solved, that's totally ok. It's not about spending 10 Euros or more, absolutely not.

EDIT
I ordered the mouse. Case solved.

The Qimsi is of course a very nice work and I can only thank you that you have done it and for helping me.

[Maskenlos]

No need to excuse and you did not disturb. It is very useful to have your feedback to discuss what else to develop for the QIMSI.

Stephan

[Peter]

Also the timing during boot process is very critical and makes mouse detection timing relevant.

But only for PS/2. The statemachine I have in the USB variant does not require the mouse to be ready quickly. It even allows hot-plugging at a later time.

My larger concern is that it only implements the USB "Boot Protocol", and some mice, especially wireless, do not support that.

If QIMSI had only a mouse interface, I would probably move on to USB for later versions. That does not take away the existing working QIMSI (Gold) from the users. But creating a mess, with keyboard still PS/2 and mouse already USB, does not seem a good idea.

Writing an USB keyboard driver for the interface I've implemented on QIMSI is not more difficult than writing a PS/2 driver. Because the USB statemachine on the hardware side does most of the unpleasant work. Still it would be a new driver, the keycodes differ and there is no make/break handling. There is little reward to do that work, since practically everybody owns a PS/2 keyboard.

[7alken]

Hello guys,
first QIMSI Gold is absolutely(!) excellent - I read entire 24 pages now for several hours, and before that, I had GPT chat night-shift around also excellent Andrew's QL(X)C source code analysis (ya, my modified SSB to, say, LSB - it can be found here by my nick). Also I noticed though, that may be some my posts year ago related to compact portable QL in the case of say, Olivetti M10 style, or just say, "QLacy" (like STacy) using some RPi (zero) vanished here?? I dont remember well, if I noted it but I feel that yes ... ))
So here is it again(?) - year ago, after reading lots of things here I ordered WaveShare 7" OLED display with HDMI and some reductions and flat extenders and also Perixx Wireless Kbd+Mouse Combo expecting powering it by 20Ah powerbank or so - with that RPi zero as heart - and may be sQLux (knowing it never will do SMSQ/E), or java SMSQmulator (not knowing if latest RPi zero (or fasteer clone?) will be enough for it all...) .... and now you came with THIS beauty

display:
https://www.waveshare.com/70h-1024600.htm
combo:
https://perixx.com/collections/keyboard ... -trackball##

Yes, it is USB WIRELESS thing ... and I offer you my "almost full time" to help with the USB keyboard and wireless combos drivers as I will can
(having here also current great DELL and previous HP wireless combos. because I love them - those with very specific CZ layout, but no prob to get US/UK/DE/SP too))
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-pr ... ccessories
https://uae.microless.com/product/hp-c2 ... d-m7p30aa/

| Problem is, I never did such drivers nor I know usb protocols, but can quickly jump into it, into everything I love, with help of her, GPT, these days ... so, no problem | ))
(style of work can be fetched from the GPT chat somewhere around that QLC, fresh ... so I am sure we can do it, and I want only wh/sw resources to test soon)

Fact is I even asked some local 3D prining girl if something like Olivetti M10 case with tilting display would be possible to design and print, some simple approach, but sure, it is NOT simple to design something perfect, it may took next months/years, but at least some ugly prototype breadboard can be done ... to motivate big boys;

So, I am yours, guys //
Petr

[Maskenlos]

Hi Petr,

is this combo:

https://perixx.com/collections/keyboard ... -trackball

Somewhere available in Germany or EU?

Best regards,

Stephan

[7alken]

Hi Stephan,
this is problem of small shops, I am afraid that NO, but how they communicate?, its german company...
... I got from them 4 PS/2 simple keyboards similar size for all my embedded challenges, and then,
after I imagined QL laptop, this wireless, expecting offer will end soon ...
But as they made it (ehm, for sure, get it made somewhere at the east, ya) that MFG still exists??

BUT that DELL KM5221W combo is also great for QL'ers in black, of course )) I am just now writing on it,
and have spares here for rest of my lifetime. It HAS one quirk - the wheel hexagonal axe wears quickly,
or the encoder into which is inserted (after 3 months of intensive use wheel stopped responding
and forced try to work makes even accidental wheel push, very ugly behavior). But similar problem
is solved on others before, almost ideally by thin teflon tape (water delivery connections isolation),
rolling few rounds and cutting the excessive tail, then inserting hexagon into encoder - this fixes the
wheel issue forever (knowing that, immediately done on new set too).
I have here 2nd set though, as after 1 year, left microswitch DIED (replaceable, but
not here, not now, so I at least completelly dissasembled whole dead set (keyboard was ok, thats
indestructible perhaps) to find ALL the well hidden screws (mouse has JUST ONE under bottom teflon slider
sticked), keyboard is like underground bunker, 7 screws or so, half hidden - so now I have even spare THT
microswitch - btw inside is nordicsemi Cortex-M4 48MHz 192kB flash, 24kb RAM, quite decent beast.

Petr

[jvaltane]

I'm interested for QIMSI Gold card, if possible with RTC.

[Peter]

EDIT
I ordered the mouse. Case solved.

This makes me wonder - wasn't the case already solved by sending you the USB variant of the FPGA?

[guibrush]

EDIT
I ordered the mouse. Case solved.

This makes me wonder - wasn't the case already solved by sending you the USB variant of the FPGA?

yes, it is. Now everything works with the USB mouse. I mean, I'm ready for the future cores that will support the PS/2 and not the USB.