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Pin2DMD ST32 dual update?

paulg100

paulg100

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Hi All

Hoping someone might have some experience with one of these older pin2dmd boards. (pic attached)

It came with an attack from mars and the colour palate in game looks off or limited to a small number of colours. The colour palate on the Pin2DMD boot screen (top left to right colours) appear to be correct.

I bought the latest colour file but it didnt help. Im thinking it may be due to the firmware version. Its on 2.3 at the moment.

I found the latest 4.17 in the "V3 STM32F4 DISCOVERY" folder on github.

Can anyone confirm if this will work ok on the version of pin2DMD i have? worried if its not correct it will brick the board! as i dont have a copy of the 2.3 existing firmware to roll back to.

Thanks for any advice.
 

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CORRECTION - it does not do the pin2dmd colourisations in this

This is Pinballsp's own firmware.

Unless someone has put in pin2dmd firmware into it you have no chance.....

If I was you buy a pin2dmd evolution board (not the LEDs) and swap the PCB over.
 
thanks pick. yes i thought it might be pinballsp's own. have been speaking to him on facebook but i dont think he has a newer firmware so may be a dead end.

its all working as is but it seems to be stuck in what looks like a 4 colour mode so looks pretty rough.

didnt realise i could use the same leds with a newer evoboard so thanks for the heads up! sounds like it might be the way to go, thanks.
 
Arv said:
Don't buy from there you will receive nothing. I had to get my money back a while ago.
Click to expand...
Yes mate, I did say dont buy it there. Awful bloke who runs it.

Also pinballsp is not much help really.

You can reflash the software to pin2dmd - it may be worth @paulg100 sending me this. The pin2dmd software costs about 20 euro to activate (can not remember exact amount). It is worth a try. You wont have to pay activation if I can not do it.
 
Yes its running OK at the moment and it is activated. The key is on the SD card and ive taken a backup on PC.

Any idea If i re-flash it would this key work with a new stock version of firmware or is it tied to pinballsp firmware?

Current boot:
 

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I think with the current firmware its stuck in 3 or 4 colour mode. Looks pretty rough.

I switched between a few different colour files but they all look rough at the minute with only 3-4 colours.
 

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Me i'd try an flash it with the latest pin2dmd firmware and see what happens. But don't take my advice ;)
 
paulg100 said:
I switched between a few different colour files but they all look rough at the minute with only 3-4 colours.
Click to expand...

What colour file names are you loading on the SD? On my later Pin2DMD you need the relevant pin2dmd.fsq and pin2dmd.pal output from the editor project for full colouring. It's possible that only the default palette is being replaced and not a full scene colouring, if the colours are changing your card is obviously being read.
 
You can choose a single colour from the setting menu. Strange that colours look off if the logo palette is matching the PIN2DMD website logo - that suggests the RGB sequence is set correctly. As @astyy suggests - you may have the wrong pin2dmd.fsq and pin2dmd.pal files for your machine.
 
Yep i bought the latest colour file from vbobrusev, still same issue.

I only copied across the .pal file though and not the .fsq file. I assume that goes in the same directory, Could be the issue! ill pop that into the main directory also and see what happens.
 
Yes pop them both in the root directory. Fsq is needed for real pinballs.

Recommend upgrading the firmware if you haven’t already (think you said you had?)
 
Will do, the firmware is on 2.3 still. I think its a custom firm ware for the pinballsp board? i could try to update to the standard newest firmware although was a bit worried if that dosent work i dont have the 2.3 to recover from.

Maybe there is a way to back up the current firmware with the DFSU tool, ill have to look into that.
 
Defo you need the .fsq file as that contains the clever colouring. The .pal file is just loading a new swatch of palettes of which you only see the default (without the .fsq file).

Certainly, I'd be loading the files properly from vbobrusev before tinkering with firmware.

Good luck :thumbs:
 
From what I understand getting pin2dmd firmware working on a pinballsp colour dmd is possible, but very very difficult. Lucky/Steve posted a proof of concept I think showing that it could be done, but I'm unsure if anyone has tried it since. Pinballsp no longer supports the product.

I did have some evo boards but all gone out now. The stm32 required is now so rare that my fabricator is charging 50gbp a piece and newspapers say the CPU shortage will last till 2022. So buckle up 🤮

@paulg100 I have a non working evo board here if you'd like it for free? Currently won't flash.
 
Added the .fsq file and was a no go, some garbled images and then nothing.

Thanks for the vpuniverse link, will work my way though the thread before fiddling with the firmware. Youve all been super helpful so thank you!.

@Pick Holder , from past projects ive had to fiddle with some right PITA custom hardware in the past so i may be OK with this. Have the rest of the week off work so have some time to play around with it and probably a good learning experience.
If i feel its over my head then Ill give you a shout. Really good of you to offer, thank you!.
 
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