Pseudonymous console emulation YouTuber “Taki Udon” has launched a substitute for the Terasic DE10-Nano FPGA improvement board for appearing as a MiSTer host, promising to ship the identical or higher efficiency at a decrease price with the MiSTer Pi — which isn’t, regardless of its identify, associated to the Raspberry Pi vary of single-board computer systems.
“I by no means appreciated that MiSTer was tied to a platform that was out of attain for many individuals,” Udon claims in an interview with Chris Particular person of Aftermath. “For a couple of years, I wished to do one thing with FPGA, however there was by no means a great alternative. Late final yr, I began having discussions about whether or not or not it might be doable to create a successor platform for builders emigrate to with extra efficiency at a lower cost.”
The MiSTer undertaking was launched by Alexey Melnikov in June 2017, initially as a fork of the sooner MiST that sought to emulate the {hardware} of an Atari ST or Commodore Amiga microcomputer on an FPGA. MiSTer’s preliminary contribution: putting off the necessity for a customized PCB in favor of working the gateware on an off-the-shelf Terasic DE10-Nano FPGA improvement board, albeit with some customized add-ons together with exterior SDRAM and a USB hub.
Now, MiSTer helps a variety of targets for emulation and has been prolonged by third events to incorporate MIDI connectivity, ITX/ATX/AT-compatible mounting programs, an exterior Roland MT-32 emulator, and extra — however the majority of the work remains to be targeted on the Terasic DE10-Nano, regardless of its rising price and frequent unavailability. That is the place Udon’s creation is available in, reversing MiSTer’s transfer to an off-the-shelf improvement board and going again to a customized PCB as soon as extra — albeit one designed to be extra reasonably priced than the off-the-shelf various.
A “Mega Pack” bundle consists of all the pieces you want, together with the MiSTer Pi, AV board, SDRAM growth, and USB hub. (📷: Retro Remake)
The MiSTer Pi relies round an Altera Cyclone V FPGA with 1GB of on-board DDR reminiscence, and consists of an HDMI video output. USB Kind-C energy, Ethernet, and a single USB Kind-A number port. Its growth headers play host, in probably the most primary bundle, to an lively cooling “fan IO board,” whereas — just like the Terasic DE10-Nano variations — different add-ons can be found together with a 128MB SDRAM board, a USB hub, and an analog video and digital output board, all of that are based mostly on or impressed by current open-source designs.
Demand for the gadgets has been sturdy, with two preliminary manufacturing batches promoting out in minutes — hardly stunning, given the low price: the bottom pack, which bundles the MiSTer Pi with the fan board, is priced at simply $99, with a $115 bundle including the 128MB RAM module and a $160 “Mega Pack” together with the USB hub and audio/video board.
Extra info is obtainable on the Retro Remake web site; Udon’s full interview has been revealed on Aftermath.
