https://youtu.be/emKlJVrhkvA?t=2841
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VSp-PirvBE
Reviving the old TRS80 Color Computer game "Mega-Bug" on a Raspberry Pi with an RGB matrix display.
I used a Raspberry Pi 3B+: https://www.amazon.com/ELEMENT-Element14-Raspberry-Pi-Motherboard/dp/B07P4LSDYV.
I used six of these Adafruit panels to make the 128x96 display: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2276. The final display is 30 x 22.5 inches.
I used the Adafruit RGB Matrix Bonnet for Raspberry Pi: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3211. Adafruit has an extensive tutorial on wiring, drivers, and demos for the display: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-rgb-matrix-bonnet-for-raspberry-pi/
I covered the display with a 20x22.5 sheet of Chemcast Black LED Acrylic from TAP Plastics. TAP custom cut the sheet and shipped it to me: https://www.tapplastics.com/black_led_sheet.
I made the frame with boards and metal braces from my local Lowe's hardware store. See my discussion of the construction below.
I used a 5V 60A LED driver to power the entire project: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G7S44CW. I'm sure there are better options for this indoor project.
The Pi has native sound, but the display board all of the Pi hardware. I used a USB sound card for sound: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DBNFZJR.
I used a pair of USB-powered speakers I found at Walmart. Something similar to: https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Computer-Speakers-Desktop-USB-Powered/dp/B07D7TV5J3.
I used a pair of USB gamepad controllers: https://www.amazon.com/iNNEXT-Controller-Joystick-Gamestick-Raspberry/dp/B01N7ANDLC
The software is all python. See my discussion of the software below.
The magnetic stand-offs that come with the displays hold the panels together on a wooden/metal frame.
Exact dimension of the front for black LED acrylic from TAP Plastics: 30.25 x 22.625 inches.
The game resolution for the CoCo Mega-Bug is 128x96 in 4 colors. My display matches that resolution exactly.
Disable the sound module on the pi (you can still use USB sound cards):
dtparam=audio=off in /boot/config.txt
Still doesn't work for me. I have to use "no hardware pulse" or I get long color bar flickers.
Config parameters for the display library:
- options.hardware_mapping = 'adafruit-hat'
- options.rows = 32 # 32 rows per display
- options.cols = 64 # 64 rows per display (64x32)
- options.chain_length = 6
- options.parallel = 1
- options.disable_hardware_pulsing = False
- options.pwm_bits = 11
- options.gpio_slowdown = 2
- options.pwm_lsb_nanoseconds = 50
These need revisiting!
https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/blob/master/wiring.md