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Documentation about the Vampire hardware

Summary of My Vampire 600 V2 Problemspage  1 2 

Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
25 Apr 2018 20:15


I have posted this on apollo-accelerators.com forum, ad I'm reposting here as maybe there are people who are using this forum and not that one.
 
  Hi!
 
  I got my Vampire 600 V2 off EBay more than a month ago. The seller claimed it was unused, and I think it really was. I have registered it. Now I'm on Gold 2.9 x10, Coffin r51. My current A600 the Vampire is in has been recapped. I'm using a 32GB CF card.
 
  Unfortunately, since I started using it, I have been experiencing the following problems:
 
  Shapeshifter won't run, unless I set the ram to the max (114 megs I think). Even then, some games/ applications in it won't run. Just freezes.
  Quake 1 - saves work, loads don't work.
  GNGEO - runs horribly slow, 25-30 fps, unplayable.
  194X Deluxe - all sprites besides my plane are glitched out.
  CannonBall - colors are messsed up (inverted?), runs horribly slow.
 
  Some demos won't start at all, including Appendix - Electricity, Pusherman - Tuloul, Phoenix, Mad Wizards - Kioea.
 
  This is the software I have tried and know about, there might be more. Many programs run correctly though.
 
  Sometimes the Vampire chips get quite hot, I don't know whether it is normal or not.
 
  I experienced the same problems on 2.7, some previous Coffins too (not all the programs, as they were not all there).
 
  What have I done so far to try and help it which did not help:
 
  I have applied the capacitor fix on C3 and C6.
  Tried it on 3 different Amigas 600.
  Tried it on 2 different CF cards (Reported by Vampire users to work fine).
  Tried it on 2 different Amiga CF adapters.
  Tried flashing Coffin on 2 different PCs and 2 different CF adapters.
  Cleaned the Vampire chip socket as well as the Amiga chip with compressed air and isopropanol.
  Ran a memory test with MBRTool2 - everything's fine.
 
  Nothing helped, the problems persist. I would be very grateful for some advice and suggesting the next steps to take. I haven't got the USB Blaster yet to flash x11 or x12, but I suppose it should all work on x10 anyway. Gold 2.7 has x11 in .exe format, I had these problems with x11 too.
 
  Thanks!


David Wright

Posts 373
25 Apr 2018 20:37


Some of the issues stated here I have just accepted.
Cannon Ball, yes, weird colors.
Quake, Doom and others: there is always something. No sound or no joystick/mouse input.
The emulators like Mame unusable.

I use one of the Mac emulators and it does perform well.
Demos? Most of the time it is something and I don't bother.

For me, just part of the good/bad experience playing with this stuff.

Hope your's improves or someone comes in with help.


Vojin Vidanovic
(Needs Verification)
Posts 1916/ 1
25 Apr 2018 20:39


I believe this is generally summ of bad luck and what was so far reported as not working properly with 2.9 on different Vamps. Add a paint programme too.
 
  EMULATION - Once you get blaster, try flashing 2.5 and trying most of the same, you will see it should work. Hope this will be fixed alongside Atari ST emulator, by FPGA core update or software patching.

If ShapeShifter doesnt work well, try Fusion.
 
  QUAKE - Try running it via start script only.
 
  GNEO - Try replacing executable with this one EXTERNAL LINK  If it doesnt help, wait for another release. Its work in progress.
 
  Cannon Ball - I believe it needs some SDL related fix.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
25 Apr 2018 20:43


Vojin Vidanovic wrote:

  I believe this is generally summ of bad luck and what was so far reported as not working properly with 2.9 on different Vamps. Add a paint programme too.
 
  EMULATION - Once you get blaster, try flashing 2.5 and trying most of the same, you will see it should work. Hope this will be fixed alongside Atari ST emulator, by FPGA core update or software patching.
 
  QUAKE - Try running it via start script only.
 
  GNEO - Try replacing executable with this one EXTERNAL LINK    If it doesnt help, wait for another release. Its work in progress.
 
  Cannon Ball - I believe it needs some SDL related fix.
 

 
  I fixed the StonAmiga problem through deleting the Envarc settings (as suggested by one of the users), it helped.
 
  Quake through script - I tried, doesn't help.


Stefano Briccolani

Posts 586
25 Apr 2018 20:46


Some of things you mentioned seems more "software related" rather than a faulty v600. Cannonball's wrong colors for example (it's something already reported on this forum), 25-30 fps on gngeo with a 10x core seems normal to me..i suggest to try use a 16 bit resolution on workbench (and maybe get a chip ram expansion to get full ecs memory)


Vojin Vidanovic
(Needs Verification)
Posts 1916/ 1
25 Apr 2018 20:46


Bart Mikulski wrote:
 
    I fixed the StonAmiga problem through deleting the Envarc settings (as suggested by one of the users), it helped.
 

 
  Well, ApolloOS is image of "someone elses" operating sys, not really installed from zero on our machine.
 
  We will see will next ApolloOS have some of these things fixed - replaced with versions that work better with current core.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
25 Apr 2018 21:33


Thank you for the valuable input everyone.

I understand that Coffin is not "our" OS, but for example - Renaud is on exactly the same setup as mine, and everything works out of the box for him.

BTW, I'm talking to Majsta on IRC at the moment. He's been kind enough to get interested in my issues. I will report on the outcome.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
25 Apr 2018 23:13


Stefano Briccolani wrote:

Some of things you mentioned seems more "software related" rather than a faulty v600. Cannonball's wrong colors for example (it's something already reported on this forum), 25-30 fps on gngeo with a 10x core seems normal to me..i suggest to try use a 16 bit resolution on workbench (and maybe get a chip ram expansion to get full ecs memory)

Thanks, I have the chip ram expansion and I think the resolution is 16 bit.


Mike H

Posts 7
26 Apr 2018 04:12


Yeah I dunno man, I can't even get my A600 to stay running for more than a minute after installing my Vampire. It literally freezes. EVERY time I boot it. I'd be happier than a pig in mud just to be able to LAUNCH some of the apps you're complaining about!

I was hoping I'd find a fellow Vampire owner with similar problems and some possible solutions. But like some others have said, these are just firmware/Coffin/software incompatibilities, not Vampire problems...

(side note: I have sent my motherboard off to be recapped, hoping when it is returned to me my system will work)


Mr-Z EdgeOfPanic

Posts 189
26 Apr 2018 04:35


Mike H wrote:

Yeah I dunno man, I can't even get my A600 to stay running for more than a minute after installing my Vampire. It literally freezes. EVERY time I boot it. I'd be happier than a pig in mud just to be able to LAUNCH some of the apps you're complaining about!
 
  I was hoping I'd find a fellow Vampire owner with similar problems and some possible solutions. But like some others have said, these are just firmware/Coffin/software incompatibilities, not Vampire problems...
 
  (side note: I have sent my motherboard off to be recapped, hoping when it is returned to me my system will work)

Sounds like your V600 also needs the power fix, did you try with a x10 core ?




Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
26 Apr 2018 05:47


Did you run the complete memory tests with all tests enabled
both on Chipmem and Fastmem on your system?

 
Very important for the stability of the Vampire is the perfect contact of the mainboard to the Vampire-Card.
 
If the contact is weak, the chipmem memory test should fail, also you might see errors on IDE, and a general unstability of the system.
 
Depending on your VAMP, careful sanding the socket might help, also fixing the card with screws might be required for stable operation.
 

We have to clearly separate between real problems or "non problems".

Some of the problems you report are just normal "issues" of some programs. They do _not_ show problems of your vampire.
E.g the wrong colors in this SDL game.

I would propose the following:
a) run MBRtest again - set it to stop on first error, enable all test. It will iterate and continue to test. Let it run for 1 hour.
If this memory test runs stable for an hour then you know that BOTH the chipmem bus and the local fastmem are good.




Michael Nurney

Posts 283
26 Apr 2018 06:38


were are you from , can it be tried on another 600. or a another vampire on your system?

mike.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
26 Apr 2018 07:50


Gunnar von Boehn wrote:

    Did you run the complete memory tests with all tests enabled
    both on Chipmem and Fastmem on your system?
   
     
    Very important for the stability of the Vampire is the perfect contact of the mainboard to the Vampire-Card.
     
    If the contact is weak, the chipmem memory test should fail, also you might see errors on IDE, and a general unstability of the system.
     
    Depending on your VAMP, careful sanding the socket might help, also fixing the card with screws might be required for stable operation.
     
   
    We have to clearly separate between real problems or "non problems".
   
    Some of the problems you report are just normal "issues" of some programs. They do _not_ show problems of your vampire.
    E.g the wrong colors in this SDL game.
   
   
    I would propose the following:
    a) run MBRtest again - set it to stop on first error, enable all test. It will iterate and continue to test. Let it run for 1 hour.
    If this memory test runs stable for an hour then you know that BOTH the chipmem bus and the local fastmem are good.
   
   
   

 
  Yes, I checked all the possible boxes in the memory test. Not all of them are possible to check, some (two?) are blanked out.
   
    Ok, I will run the test for 1 hour.
   
    My board came from Kipper, so it is already sanded, isn't it?

EDIT: Running now. Maybe DiagRom could help to test IDE?
   


Adam Whittaker
(Needs Verification)
Posts 270/ 1
26 Apr 2018 08:36


These are coffin bugs - not vampire bugs... this is good news as with every coffin update they fix stuff from the last one - I too have trouble with cannon ball and neogeo emulator!


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
26 Apr 2018 09:28


Adam Whittaker wrote:

These are coffin bugs - not vampire bugs... this is good news as with every coffin update they fix stuff from the last one - I too have trouble with cannon ball and neogeo emulator!

That would be great, but how to explain I'm the only person having trouble with ShapeShift?


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
26 Apr 2018 09:48


Mike H wrote:

Yeah I dunno man, I can't even get my A600 to stay running for more than a minute after installing my Vampire. It literally freezes. EVERY time I boot it. I'd be happier than a pig in mud just to be able to LAUNCH some of the apps you're complaining about!
 
  I was hoping I'd find a fellow Vampire owner with similar problems and some possible solutions. But like some others have said, these are just firmware/Coffin/software incompatibilities, not Vampire problems...
 
  (side note: I have sent my motherboard off to be recapped, hoping when it is returned to me my system will work)

Did you get your Vampire directly from Kipper/ Majsta or on EBay?

Majsta told me that there was a batch of cards with faulty FPGA which overheated quickly and were unstable. I sent him the photo of my FPGA, fortunately it's the good one. Maybe you could contact him about it to check your FPGA too.



Chris H

Posts 65
26 Apr 2018 10:36


Running specific programs in Shapeshifter will not allways run without issues for all users. You should read this to find out more about how it works and whats important to set up for your system. EXTERNAL LINK 


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
26 Apr 2018 10:47


Chris Holzapfel wrote:

Running specific programs in Shapeshifter will not allways run without issues for all users. You should read this to find out more about how it works and whats important to set up for your system. EXTERNAL LINK 

Thanks, I read it and tried many things from there. The main issue is SS won't start with normal amount of ram, I must give it the max ram available to even launch.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
26 Apr 2018 10:58


Bart Mikulski wrote:

Gunnar von Boehn wrote:

    Did you run the complete memory tests with all tests enabled
      both on Chipmem and Fastmem on your system?
     
     
      Very important for the stability of the Vampire is the perfect contact of the mainboard to the Vampire-Card.
     
      If the contact is weak, the chipmem memory test should fail, also you might see errors on IDE, and a general unstability of the system.
     
      Depending on your VAMP, careful sanding the socket might help, also fixing the card with screws might be required for stable operation.
     
     
      We have to clearly separate between real problems or "non problems".
     
      Some of the problems you report are just normal "issues" of some programs. They do _not_ show problems of your vampire.
      E.g the wrong colors in this SDL game.
     
     
      I would propose the following:
      a) run MBRtest again - set it to stop on first error, enable all test. It will iterate and continue to test. Let it run for 1 hour.
      If this memory test runs stable for an hour then you know that BOTH the chipmem bus and the local fastmem are good.
     
     
   

   
    Yes, I checked all the possible boxes in the memory test. Not all of them are possible to check, some (two?) are blanked out.
   
    Ok, I will run the test for 1 hour.
   
    My board came from Kipper, so it is already sanded, isn't it?
 
  EDIT: Running now. Maybe DiagRom could help to test IDE?
   

Ok, I ran the memory test 3 times (all possible options included, all types of memory).

1st time - Amiga went black screen after 10 mins or so, there was no beep but I wasn't watching the screen.

2nd time - 1.5 hour non-stop - no problems.
3rd time - 1h10mins non-stop - no problems.



Adam Whittaker
(Needs Verification)
Posts 270/ 1
26 Apr 2018 11:00


shapeshifter is an emulator and like all emulators they can be a bit unstable from time to time - shapeshifter works great most of the time but every now and then i will get a random lock up... i dont understand why you think its the vampire hardware? if it was your vampire everything else wouldnt work either - trust me I know from experiance as I had mounting issues at first but now its mounted solid!!!

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