The WIki says that the VG 8230 was the 2nd MSX2 by Philips and the NMS 8220 the first. I think it's wrong, the 8230 was the first, the 8235 second. Not sure about the rest of the order though, but it's pretty clear when looking at the review in magazines.
Or did I miss something and is there some proof that the wiki is correct?
I just found a Philips newsletter and it says the 8230 is available from 1-1-1986 as the first MSX2 machine.
Interesting ... There's still a question: is the good order
1 - VG-8230 / NMS 8220 / VG-8235
OR
2 - VG-8230 / VG-8235 / NMS 8220 ?
I think NMS 8220 was 1987. My guess the order is number 2, but I'd have to dig in deeper into the newsletters for that. I already adjusted the Wiki pages.
can we have a wiki page for machine hacks and a page for compatible hardware modules?
focusing primarily at hardware hacks in the most common machines, and machines that have been successfully hacked or moded?
Message for all Wiki contributors: some links don't work at the moment, because they are not accepted by Hans Otten and lead to a 'Page not found' error.
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THESE NON-WORKING LINKS - There are alternative working links, but it requires some time to find them (Some wiki pages have already been updated, removing the non-working links does not help!)
It would be nice to see a comprehensive "how to get started" article.
I come from the Commodore community, where there's a lot of knowledge about setting up a computer with a flash reader, connecting to a modern TV, or even building an emulated system through one of several different methods (running an emulator on a Pi, setting up an FPGA system like MISTer, or using a modern replacement motherboard.)
Looking around at how to get started with MSX, it seems like information is a little thin. How do I get programs and data from a PC to an MSX computer? Is there an SD card reader that plugs into the system, like SD2IEC on Commodore or DIVMMC on Spectrum?
Even setting up resources in the emulator is going to require a masters class in all things MSX, and I think I really need a "getting started" primer just to, well, get started.
I have been looking at the MSX community specifically because I'm interested in Z80 programming, and the MSX is probably the best Z80 computer out there.... but right now, I'm not sure about PC connectivity options. So that's maybe a good topic area for the WIki.
It sounds like a good idea to me.
Although also feel free to start a forum thread about it. To give at least some part of an answer, the MSX file system is mostly the same as MS-DOS (with directories introduced with MSX-DOS2 that's built into mass storage carts like SD or CF interfaces), so it's fairly eaay to use in combination with modern computers luckily.
Looking around at how to get started with MSX, it seems like information is a little thin. How do I get programs and data from a PC to an MSX computer? Is there an SD card reader that plugs into the system, like SD2IEC on Commodore or DIVMMC on Spectrum?
It depends on the interface used, the MSX and the environment (Basic, DOS, DOS2, Nextor, etc). You have to refer to the manual. There is also information in the wiki but only some of the main interfaces are referenced. There is also scattered information in the forums.
The WIki says that the VG 8230 was the 2nd MSX2 by Philips and the NMS 8220 the first. I think it's wrong, the 8230 was the first, the 8235 second. Not sure about the rest of the order though, but it's pretty clear when looking at the review in magazines.
Or did I miss something and is there some proof that the wiki is correct?
I just found a Philips newsletter and it says the 8230 is available from 1-1-1986 as the first MSX2 machine.
Interesting ... There's still a question: is the good order
1 - VG-8230 / NMS 8220 / VG-8235
OR
2 - VG-8230 / VG-8235 / NMS 8220 ?
Easy: NMS abbreviation was introduced after the release of the VG-8235, so the NMS-8220 is newer. Also, the first MSX2 machines philips released had a diskdrive, while the NMS8220 was released as a "cheap" alternative.
So, VG-8230/VG-8235/NMS-8220 is the correct order
I've seen the phrase "The cartridge contacts are gold plated." being mentioned in a lot of places on the MSX-Wiki and the MRC forums, but it's important to mention that ENIG doesn't count as "gold plated contacts". Sure, it has gold and the contacts have golden color, but real "gold plated contacts" (aka Gold fingers) must mean "Electroplated Hard gold".
ENIG is just not suitable for connectors, and because it's too soft it will suffer from wear just like tinned contacts.
An excellent article about gold plated contacts/gold fingers is available at this page.