HardLabs

MSXPi

costarc·MSXPi·hardware/Schematic/msxpi.kicad_pcb

MSXPi PCB layout, top view — open source Raspberry Pi board by costarc

About the MSXPi PCB

MSXPi is an open source Raspberry Pi PCB design by costarc, published on GitHub under the MIT license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 99.7 × 64 mm, with 35 components from 15 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the Raspberry Pi GPIO, from the Raspberry Pi family. Other key parts include the LD117A, EPM3064ALC44 and AT28C256_PLCC32. By type, the board carries 11 capacitors, 9 resistors, 5 jumpers, 4 connectors, 3 ICs and 1 switch.

It belongs with the retro computing designs in this gallery.

From the project

Interface for MSX to Connect and use Raspberry Pi resources

MSXPi is a hardware interface and software solution that lets MSX computers control and use Raspberry Pi resources. The interface exposes I/O ports that the MSX reads and writes, and the data appears on the Raspberry Pi side, where a Python program (the msxpi-server) acts on it. Through it the MSX can reach network drives, the internet, disk images, ROM archives, ChatGPT, an IRC server, TCP/IP (via UNAPI) and the Raspberry Pi itself. A Raspberry Pi Zero W or Zero 2 W is the recommended companion board.

Main components on the MSXPi

LD117AEPM3064ALC44AT28C256_PLCC32

MSXPi bill of materials (BOM)

35 components, 15 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

QtyPartRefs
1
LD117A
U1
1
EPM3064ALC44
U2
1
AT28C256_PLCC32
AT28C256
U4
1
MSXCART1
J1
1
JTAG
J2
1
ROM_SWITCH
J3
1
Raspberry Pi GPIO
J4
5
Jumper_3_Open
JP3, JP4, JP5, JP6, JP7
1
RST/SHUT
SW2
1
LED3MM
LED1
1
1N5817
D5
9
0.1UF
104
C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C10 +1
2
10UF
10uF
C8, C9
8
10KOHM
10K
R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R8, R9
1
470
R7

MSXPi design files

The KiCad project lives in the costarc/MSXPi repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

MSXPi: common questions

What microcontroller does the MSXPi use?

The MSXPi is built around the Raspberry Pi GPIO, from the Raspberry Pi family.

How big is the MSXPi PCB?

The MSXPi measures 99.7 × 64 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the MSXPi?

35 components, from 15 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the MSXPi design files?

From the costarc/MSXPi repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the MSXPi design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its MIT license, which costarc chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the MSXPi without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug Raspberry Pi firmware against it before you order a PCB.

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