Fedor Zagumennov, also known by his alias Sgw32, has just rolled out an exciting update to his Kung Fu SID project. Now, if you’re scratching your head wondering, “What exactly is Kung Fu SID?”—let’s break it down. Kung Fu SID is an open-source project designed to emulate the legendary Commodore SID sound chip, heavily inspired by similar ventures like SwinSID and ARMSID.
What’s particularly cool about this update is that it now runs smoothly on a GD32F405RGT6 microcontroller operating at a snappy 168 MHz with an 8 MHz crystal, exactly like the popular Kung Fu Flash cartridge. In fact, the firmware even shares critical bits of code from Kung Fu Flash itself, bringing these two projects into a closer, more powerful synergy.
Fedor is currently on the lookout for passionate contributors—especially folks skilled in assembler optimization—to sprinkle some extra magic into the SID emulation code. He’s even willing to pay for the effort, so if you’ve got those assembly chops, this could be your time to shine!
The firmware for Kung Fu SID effectively emulates the SID chip using the internal DAC of STM32F405RGT6 hardware. Initially, it leveraged components from the UltiSID project, but as UltiSID firmware has become obsolete, Kung Fu SID has branched out, making substantial improvements particularly in IRQ handling and SID emulation.
If you’re eager to give Kung Fu SID a spin, it’s as easy as compiling the firmware and flashing it onto your Kung Fu Flash device. Keep in mind, though, that the latest firmware currently only supports dedicated KungFuSID hardware, which is already hitting the shelves.
Recently, contributor avrem stepped in and patched the firmware specifically for the GD32F405RGT6 chip, resolving key issues like the ARR timer bug and memory remapping, crucial for smooth RAM execution. Now, enthusiasts can choose between GD32 or STM32 microcontrollers according to their hardware preferences.
Looking ahead, Fedor’s got some neat features in the pipeline. He’s aiming to finalize paddle controls, implement a convenient 6581-8580 chip toggle, and optionally build a bootloader. Once these enhancements are wrapped up, the project might just hit completion status. That said, Fedor acknowledges some tunes, like “Artillery Credits” by Geir Tjelta, still need a bit of fine-tuning.
A couple of things to keep in mind though—the current firmware doesn’t support paddle controls or a switch between the 6581 and 8580 chip variants (although these features are on the roadmap).
Curious to dive deeper into Kung Fu SID? Visit the project’s GitHub page to learn more: Kung Fu SID on GitHub
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