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magazines:chacking20addendum [2015-04-17 04:34] (current) – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
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 +====== Addendum to C=Hacking #20 ======
  
 +<code>
 +I couldn't resist, and tried something out (see attachment). It works!!! :-)
 +
 +In fact, when I wrote the last letter I didn't know that I found something
 +useable, just had some ideas - I felt that I'm at the right place. When I read
 +C=H 20 this morning and read your comment about the Test bit (from the PRG), I
 +knew that it must work. All I had to do is then to put this idea into code.
 +
 +The whole idea is about starting the pulse by software, and then having the
 +SID turn it back to 0 after a time.
 +
 +Is it possible? ...The keys are the Test bit (the SID wave counter can be
 +reseted anytime), the pulse width register, the wave counter and the SIDs way
 +of generating pulse wave. (Ie. the pulse wave is high, as long as the wave
 +counter is less than the value in the pulse width register).
 +
 +
 +Check this algorithm:
 +
 +- Init: volume at max, voice 1 sustain level max, start attack. Freq is
 +selected well (=$4000), so the wave counter is incremented by 4 every
 +processor clock cycles.
 +
 +Loop:
 +- load next sample value, and put it to the pulse width low register ($d402;
 +ensure that $d403 is 0).
 +- Set test bit, and clear test bit (counter reset).
 +- Increase sample pointer, some delay, then loop. The delay must be 64 clock
 +cycles + the time while the Test bit is kept set (4 cycles if using STA $d404
 +: STX $d404 immediately with pre-loaded values).
 +
 +What will happen? The 8-bit sample value is put directly to the pulse width
 +register (MSBs of the pulse width register are cleared!...). The wave counter
 +is started (release test bit), and it increases 4 by every CPU cycles (=
 +counts 256 in 64 cycles). After some time, the counter will reach the value in
 +the pulse width register. This happens in exactly after (8-bit sample value /
 +4) cycles, because of the above. In this cycle (or the next?...) the SID turns
 +its pulse output to 0. Voilá!
 +
 +One must just make sure that the loop length in cycles matches the above
 +conditions, and then it runs like hell... Since it does exactly the same on
 +the SID as the other (bit-banging) way, it just does it with some hardware
 +help, there's also no problem with the 4khz maximum barrier (since the
 +oscillator is reset every loop).
 +
 +With little enhancement, it's possible to write an about 7.5 bits player for a
 +stock C64 by this method. This is what you find in the attachment... The idea
 +is using all the 3 channels simultaneously. A slightly increased sample value
 +is written to the three pulse width registers, so the oscillators will finish
 +the duty cycle one processor cycle later, when there's a carry between
 +bits(0,1) to the MSBs.
 +
 +The replay freq is the CPU clk / 68 (~15khz). 64 cycles (variable duty cycle)
 ++ 4 cycles (constant duty cycle because of the reset time - no problems with
 +that, it doesn't change (just gives a small constant DC...)).
 +
 +By similar methods, it should be possible to write a sample player with higher
 +PWM freq (with less resolution of course, but eliminating this still audible
 +whistling).
 +
 +(I tried using the filter to reduce it, but it sounded so bad that I left it
 +out. It clicked like hell. The FETs got saturated.)
 +
 +See the attachment, and the binary. I think the sample sounds pretty good :-).
 +(The cut is from 'Greece 2000' by Three drives on a vinyl).
 +
 +(Another idea that popped up in my mind: since the TED sound generator can
 +also be reset, I could probably translate this idea to the Plus/4 :-O ).
 +
 +Best regards,
 +
 +Levente
 +</code>
magazines/chacking20addendum.txt · Last modified: 2015-04-17 04:34 by 127.0.0.1