Base for the Mister FPGA from Retrocastle - zip ties version

Required slicer settings:

Disable supports - the base was designed to be able to be printed without support, also, there's holes inside it (the "tunnels" for the zip ties) that could be blocked depending of how supports are configured on the slicer.

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V2.1

• Added an opening for inserting/removing the SD card from the Mister

V2.0

• After talking with Ivory from Retrocastle and conducting some tests myself, it seems that any HDMI switcher with more than one output will works, even if it doesn't have support for an external power source. I've updated the description below with more detailed info

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Retrocastle released recently a new build for their Mister FPGA, with it you can have 2 sticks of RAM and still keep the IO board with the VGA port, the drawback is that you have to choose between using the HDMI out OR the VGA out for outputting video.

Because of this I came up with a kind of a makeshift solution: swapping the flat cable that came with the Mister with a longer one and using a HDMI switcher with 1 input and 2 outputs to be able to easily switch between the analog and digital video outputs, without having to keep connecting and disconnecting the video cables, as can be seen in the video below:

The problem with this solution is that it became kinda awkward to carry the Mister, since there's a HDMI switcher and some cables dangling from it. That's why I made this base, so all the components are tied to it and easy to move.

I made 2 different models of the base, the one on this page uses zip ties to hold the HDMI switcher together. The other model has a proper holder for the switcher and needs 4 M3 screws, but because of that it can only be used with the same HDMI switcher that I use. The other model can be found here: 

For this model, the zip ties I used have 3.5mm width and a thickness of 1.1mm, so anything that size or smaller should fit inside the holes of the base.

I've included the .f3d file so you can make any adjustment you feel necessary :)

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About the solution I created, it involves using a longer flat cable and a HDMI switcher with 1 input and 2 outputs (as mentioned before). The single input port should be connected to the HDMI port on the DE10 Nano, and of the 2 output HDMI ports, in one of them you should connect the little square thing with the HDMI connector that came with the Mister (that would be normally connected to the HDMI port on the DE10 Nano), on the other output HDMI port you should connect your TV.

The materials I used are as follow:

HDMI switcher (note that this is only a list of tested models. Any model that is HDMI 2.0 or below and has 2 output HDMI ports might work):

• https://aliexpress.com/item/32997268918.html - choose the “8K HDMI 2.1” model. If you have a lot of things connected to the Mister via USB (specially a mt32pi), you will need to also connect this switcher to one of the USB ports on the Mister (see the recommendation for the USB Y cable below).

• https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004941143202.html - “NEW 4K HDMI 2.0” model | or https://aliexpress.com/item/32997268918.html - “NEW HDMI 2.0 Black” model - Other model of switcher I tested. Does everything the one above does and doesn't need an external power source as far as I'm concerned, also it's cheaper and I made a base for it too.

• https://aliexpress.com/item/1005006515752595.html - The model Ivory from Retrocastle tested. It works perfectly without any external power source. Since I don't have it on hand, I can't design a base for it, so if you buy this model you'll only be able to use the zip ties version of this base.

Flat cable: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005909139190.html - I bought the one that has 200mm lengh, 12P (12 pins on both ends) and 1.0mm pitch. It worked, although it was a little too thick and was difficult to insert into the little square thing that came with the Mister. Also, it was a little too long, maybe the 150mm model would fit better, but I'm not sure.

Optional:

HDMI cable: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005003539810319.html - I bought it because it's a very short and thin cable, and also it's L shaped, perfect for this job, I bought the one labeled as “Left”.

USB Y cable: https://aliexpress.com/item/1005004920028590.html - a USB 3.0 Y cable, so if you buy the first HDMI switcher from this list, you can connect a controller to the same USB port the switcher is connected to.

* Update: I used to think the support for an external power source was required for the HDMI switcher to work on the Mister, because when I tested the first adapter on the list below, it only worked when its USB-C cable was connected to the Mister or to a wall outlet. However, after talking to Ivory from Retrocastle and hearing his experience with another switcher, I tested mine again, now with my mt32pi disconnected from the Mister, and the switcher worked even when the USB-C cable was disconnected. After that I tested another model of switcher that I had and that didn't even have a USB port, and it worked flawlessly. My take is that since the first adapter I tested was HDMI 2.1, it needed more electricity to work, and couldn't get enought electricity from the HDMI port when there was a lot of things connected at the same time on the Mister. The other adapters I tested and the one Ivory tested, however, are HDMI 2.0, so they probably need much less energy to work, so they can function with just what is provided from the HDMI port, doesn't matter if there's a lot of things connected to the Mister.