KungFuFlash VS Arduino_Core_STM32

Not Linux related, but I've been trying trying recent (at least to me..) C-64 accessories:

I've tried the "Kung Fu Flash"- it's a software defined cartridge that is cheap- just a single STM32 and can do pretty much everything. I bought this because I'm trying to duplicate the developer experience I see on "8-bit show and tell"- it can emulate the "super snapshot", but not the REU. It's a really nice way to quickly try a lot of C-64 software and games.

https://8bithardware.wixsite.com/website/post/kung-fu-flash

https://github.com/KimJorgensen/KungFuFlash

I also have an SD2IEC: what I've learned is that it would have been useful to get a variant with an extra DIN socket. It's nice but I was never a fan of C-64's DOS and this reinforces it. To mount a D64 disk image you have to: OPEN1,8,15,"CD:MYIMAGE.D64":CLOSE1... yuck..

JiffyDOS (replacement ROM for the C-64) improves this (it's faster and includes a permanent DOS wedge), I bought one- it's on the way. I'm curious to try it with the real 1541 drive.

The advice I've seen regarding current videogames seems sound (particularly: Get a Steam account).

Here's some advice regarding C64:

>Floppy disk is incredibly slow

Floppy really is slow without a fastloader. I use EPYX fastload[0], as an emulated cartridge on kung-fu flash[1].

Also consider sd2iec[2] as an alternative to an actual floppy drive.

>it's super difficult to find new games (these floppy disks with games are crazy expensive on eBay)

Research TOSEC[3][4]. Some archives[5] are available at The Internet Archive.

And about retro-gaming in general:

>maybe using a multi-system platform like the Overcame console?

I suggest the miSTer[6], a multi-system FPGA solution, because it is open source and has the strongest ecosystem there is for this sort of thing.

0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epyx_Fast_Load

1. https://github.com/KimJorgensen/KungFuFlash

2. https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/SD2IEC

3. https://www.tosecdev.org/

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOSEC

5. https://archive.org/details/tosec

6. https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki

The fact that the KFF Helps doesn't seem to be electrically. The reset line is only connected to the Collector of a NPN Transistor, see Q1 in https://github.com/KimJorgensen/KungFuFlash/blob/master/hardware/KungFuFlash.pdf

Maybe Kung-Fu Flash will work with your system. It allows you to load cartridge files from a MicroSD card. So, you could have all of the fastloaders like FastLoad, Mach III, Super Snapshot, etc, on a single cartridge.

I use the Kung Fu Flash for loadin images; https://github.com/KimJorgensen/KungFuFlash

There's nothing stopping Arduino releasing an STM32-based dev board - but they simply haven't yet, and there's stacks of stm32 boards around that you can add an Arduino support core for if you like.

https://github.com/stm32duino/Arduino_Core_STM32 look this

It shows this https://github.com/stm32duino/Arduino_Core_STM32/archive/main.zip getting to 97% then skipping to the next unpacking, then it seems to fail thereafter.

You can program an STM32 MCU with Arduino, just add the community developed board definitions and HAL to the Arduino IDE.

If the mcu disables itself after it's one use you could program it via arduino to reset it or give it a new purpose. Reprogramming the chip will likely be the best use, those components are only a few cents it's more effort than it's worth to save them. Repurposing the board is what I'd try to do, weather that's via replacing the stm32 or reprogramming it is up to you.

I am using the stm32duino core for the Arduino Ide (https://github.com/stm32duino/Arduino_Core_STM32). My settings are the following:

(official Arduino HAL) STM32