Hello,

(apologies for the rambling, I typed as a was thinking)

I'm just mulling over some thoughts about the whole C128 to VGA thing, mainly wondering what can be built to do the job (buying something is ok but I do like to think as well :-)

What I'm thinking is to take a sample of the the RGBI pins every tick of the Horizontal-Sync, then re-output 3 * 8bit values
I think the RGBI states equate to the following:

R G B I   Colour
0 0 0 0 - Black  
0 0 1 0 - Blue    
0 1 0 0 - Green
0 1 1 0 - Cyan
1 0 0 0 - Red
1 0 1 0 - Purple
1 1 0 0 - Brown
1 1 1 0 - Light Grey
0 0 0 1 - Dark Grey
0 0 1 1 - Bright blue
0 1 0 0 - Bright Green
0 1 1 1 - Bright cyan
1 0 0 1 - Bright Red
1 0 1 1 - Bright Purple
1 1 0 1 - Orange
1 1 1 1 - White

24bit values (3 * 8bit) for the colours could then be worked out, and those then fed into a triple DAC (like the ADV7120), this will then give a nice RGB output which can be fed into "something else".

So about the "something else" part .. and this is where my brain is straining ... I know of lots of parts that will happily take in an RGB input from the ADV7120, but is the output of the ADV7120 going to be anything we can work with.

I'm assuming that you'd use the Horizontal-Sync coming from the RGBI as the clock for both sampling the RGBI outputs and as the clock being fed into the ADV7120 so it can sample it's 8bit RGB inputs and it would in turn be put onto the Green output (sync on green) .. do I understand that right ?

Also is the RGBI output of the C128 interlaced or progressive ?  For every tick of the VSync is it alternating between odd and even fields ?  Or for every tick is the montor drawing a single frame ?

The more I think the more questions come to mind :-)

My 1084S just blew up :-(

It now goes "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

Any guesses ?

And what would a good replacement be ?

Mark

Come on people, give us a laugh and post mug shots of yourselves in the Gallery.

I was chuckling at the pics in there earlier .. sorry Mark, but everytime I see your picture I think of the Grinch ;-) hehehehe

Wonderfulness! :-)

Read a D64 image from a stick 1541 in 23 seconds
Write in 37 seconds!!

Yeehaa! I think is the word :-)

If you can .. go get these toys, driving the C128 from the Mac is great

Mark

Or advancements in State Education system!

Subject: School 1957 vs. School 2007

 
Scenario: Jack goes rabbit shooting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.

1957 - Vice principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his own shotgun to show Jack.

2007 - School goes into lockdown, the AOS (Armed Offenders Sqad) is called, and Jack is hauled off to jail and never sees his ute or gun again. Counselors are called in to assist traumatized students and teachers.


Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.

1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best mates.

2007 - Police are called; CYPS team arrives and arrests Johnny and Mark. They are charged with assault and both are expelled even though Johnny started it.


Scenario: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.

1957 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal's office and given a good caning. Returns to class, sits still and doesn't disrupt class again.

2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra funding because Jeffrey has a disability.


Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.


1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.

2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. Family Court appointed psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mum has an affair with the psychologist.


Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some Aspirin to school.

1957 - Mark shares Aspirin with the school principal in the sick bay.

2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug violations. His bicycle & school bag are searched for drugs and weapons.


Scenario: Fatu fails high-school English.

1957 - Fatu goes to summer classes, passes English, and goes to college.

2007 - Fatu's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. NZ Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state school system and Fatu's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Fatu is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English.


Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover Guy Fawkes Day firecrackers, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an antnest.

1957 - Ants die.

2007 - Bomb Squad and the AOS are called and Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. Teams investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and has his passport revoked, never to fly again.


Scenario: Johnny falls during lunch break and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.

1957 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.

2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in  prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.

Hi there,

I want to get hold of a 1541-II that is in good condition (or just a case of one in good condition), all my other Commodore gear is nice, but my 1541i is a bit yellow looking and scuffed.

Anyone got one for sale ?

Thanks!

Mark

Hi there,

If I have a machine quipped with JiffyDOS, can those ROMs be saved to a file on a drive ?  And can those files be then burnt back into an EPROM ?

This is more for interest so that if a ROM is soldered to the motherboard can it be backed up to a ROM file and then reburnt ?

(I could cheat and pop it into my EPROM burner but I want to know how much can be done form the C128 side)

Thanks!

Mark

If there are any Apple heads here ...

The new OSX Leopard is rather nice, mine arrived this morning (12 hours ahead of release date .. living in NZ is nice for getting stuff early :-)

Looks nice and pretty and some of the features are quite slick.

I think though that it needs LOTS of RAM, if I'd installed it when I only had 1GB in the Mac Mini I might have been frustrated, but hey the 4GB upgrade arrived at the same time.
(on that note .. interesting that Apple say the Mac Mini can only have 2GB, but here mine is reporting 4)

hehe .. just noticed Safari is spell checking this as I right, not seen that before, guess there are no more excuses for bad spelling in forums.

Mark

OK so we're all overgrown kids here .. how do you guys smuggle your latest toy into the house ?  And what excuse do you use if discovered ?

:-)

I'll start with my tip for upgrading the computer:

Buy an identical looking one and transfer over all data and profiles so the other half can't tell :-)
I swapped my G4 Mac Mini for an Intel Core 2 Duo Mac Mini, then lovely OSX imported the old computer to the new .. no difference at all except performance .. hehehehehehehe

Mark

I've been playing around with the 64 version of Power C, but does anyone have the 128 version ?

Thanks!

Mark

Not C= related but still fun.

Just replaced my PowerPC based Mac Mini with a Core 2 Duo based Mac Mini ... and it is sooooooooo much faster!

"Backing up" a DVD with H.264 codec used to take I think 20 hours (overnight and through the rest of the work day), ... now takes 1 hour .. hmmmmmm, I didn;t realise there was so much space between the old 1.42Ghz G4 and a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo :-)

Oh and Parallels is fantastic ... probably not a good thing for an EMC contractor to say really :-)

Mark

Hi there,

I'd like to get a RTC into my C128 somehow, anyone know of a hardware hack that allows one to be installed (and adjusted from the C= side ? ... some I've seen have to be set on a PC then plugged in) .. something that goes in a ROM socket or as a cartridge would be nice :-)

Or how about something where a clock is added to a 1541/1571/1581 drive ?

Thanks!

Mark

http://retrohackers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=301&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Mmmmmm .. so who can go to ECCC ?

Best stuff I've found for cleaning up all computers, is the spray on liquid to remove the glue when you peel off a sticker from something and it leaves the gooey crap behind, also sold for removing chewing gum, tar and other sticky things.

Works a treat in removing 20 years of grime :-)
But doesn't do anything for yellowing, that's beyond help for most machines that have it.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=115821517

Decided I don't need three C128's ... so the least used one is off.
Buyer can also have a 1084S and a 1541 to go with it.

Quite happy to ship over seas :-)

Mark

I've just watched the pilot of the new Flash Gordon series ... how could they manage to make such a horrible horrible job of it ?!?!?!  They've just killed Flash Gordon for the current generation :-(

To sum up:

1) BBBAAAAAAAADDDDD acting
2) BBBAAAAAAAADDDDD script
3) BBBAAAAAAAADDDDD "special effects"

Oh dear .. now I'm unhappy :-(

Mark

Hi there,

Does anyone know where I can get a 1.44Mb floppy drive that fits internally to a PC (in a drive bay), but connects to the motherboard via USB ?

I don't want one that is slimline, has media readers or has the eject button in a different place/shape ... just the plane old floppy but with USB instead of the 34pin connector.

Reason being is that I'm putting a Pico-ITX board into a machine, and the machine has a 1.44Mb floppy drive in it that is currently 34pin (Pico-ITX boards don't have floppy connectors), and since the case this is going in has the front panel pre-moulded to expose a floppy and I don't want to hack it.

Thanks!

Mark

Just ran across this in comp.sys.cbm (it's for C64, but what the hey :-)  And the guy is making extra libraries for it as well ... very nice of him.

http://www.lyonlabs.org/commodore/powerc.html

Mark

Is there anyway to jump back to 128 mode from 64 mode ?  Without resetting ?

Thanks

Mark

Kind of :-)

It's NanoVM and has been ported by that uber-genius Oliver Schmidt.

Have a looksie at the comp.sys.cbm thread ... http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/browse_frm/thread/eb91ee68851cd425/c69c4571669e89ac#c69c4571669e89ac

Mark

Can anyone give me some pointers (no pun intended) on how to setup and use interrupts in CC65 ?

Thanks!

Mark

How feasible is it to use the REU (well mainly it's 8726) as a rough Blitter ?  Would there be much advantage to it over the CPU ?  Useful for demos/games ?

Just a thought that popped into my head asking to be asked :-)

Mark

http://www.harbaum.org/till/xu1541/index.shtml

I'd be interested to know what the success rate and impressions of it are like.

Mark

I just found out that OSX can zoom the screen in and out ... I found out because I was leaning on the Control key and trying to scroll with the wheel and and everything started zooming ... cool!

Totally off topic I know, but I've had this machine for 2 1/2 years and didn't know it did that :-)

Hi there,

I've got a long month ahead of me where I'm "home alone" (yes my wife has run off to the UK for a month) so I thought I'd fill it with something semi-constructive.

I'd like to start the frame work for a mini-OS, nothing spectacular and written in a high level language (C), starting at the bottom I want to do a task scheduler and memory management module (to swap non-running tasks to another bank) .. does anyone have some pointers to a high level design of co-operative multi-tasking ?  Something aimed at students .. I used to have a Tannenbaum book but I think it is 18000kms away from my present location .. but not so advanced as to be undoable on a 6502 machine ?

I liked something I can slowly build on, recycle and extend with extra bells and whistles as I learn them :-)

Plus any ideas would be cool.

Ta!

Mark

I've an issue with mine and want to compare.

If you are running BIOS V1.10 can you use D64 reader V0.6 ?  And can you see the D64 files it creates on the SD/MMC card ?

Because I can't .. if I revert to BIOS V1.03 everything is back how I expect.

Thanks!

Mark

I managed to get my C128 onto the internet using an MMC64, an RR-Net ethernet board and Contiki ... and the browser can even browse here ... well ok maybe "browse" is stretching it a bit, but you can slowly watch the text go by :-)
So one of those "other" operating systems you see in the forum logs will be me :-)

Time to play I think ....

Hi all,

I'm about to place an order for an extra 1581 kit (no drive mechanism), anyone else in the New Zealand or Australia area want to get one as well ?  I'll lump them into the same order.

Prices are US $35 without a PSU or US $50 with a  PSU .. but it would be a 110volt supply .. plus shipping costs.

Any takers ?

Drop me a message if you are keen and we'll thrash the details out.

Mark

It's scary how busy you can get when you buy a house!
So what has been happening in the world of C128's ?  Any new toys ?  Any interesting developments ?

Mark

Hiya,

I'm just after an A1200 again, if it has some sort of accelerator even better but not essential.  Got to be a PAL one though :-)

So if anyone has one they'd like to sell let me know and we'll see what sort of offer I can make.

Regards

Mark

Don't put the ROMs in the wrong way around!  They don't like it!

And don't mess with computers when tired ..

Oh well bed time, will gather the smoke in again tommorow.

Hiya,

Is there anyone here who is in NZ (or Oz at a push) that also has an Amiga 1200 with a Blizzard accelerator ?

Long list of requirements I know, but I want to find out if some memory I have here works on the Amiga accelerators.

So if you have an accelerator that can take 128Mb 72pin EDO SIMMs (Blizzards can and I think there are some others that can as well) and are willing to test can you drop me a message ?

If they do work I'd want them tested as thoroughly as possible, providing screenshots benchmarks and config etc.

Reward will be ... the SIMM itself, you can keep it :-)

If it doesn't work I'd want it back mind :-)

Thanks!

Mark

Hello,

Anybody here interested in a hardware project ?  Done just for fun when time allows.

I've an itching to make "something", not sure what yet but something interesting.  Ideas I've dreamt up so far are :

1)  Co-processor for the 64/128 - little board that'll go into the cartridge slot and can have tasks assigned to it by the main CPU .. so it won't take over like the SuperCPU, it'll just sit there waiting to be told to do number crunching tasks.

2)  Universal StereoSID board .. something that can be jumpered to take either 6581 or 8580, different filters and that fits into most shape 64s or 128s.

3)  Port replicator.  Bring all those awkware to reach ports (cartridge, user, tape, serial, joystick, reset) out into a seperate box that can be positioned more conveniently.


Any other ideas ?  Looking for a thinking sessions first, start simple and see what gets made.

Regards

Mark

Blatant plug for my own auction :-)

I'll do international shipping no probs.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=89652427

Just idle thoughts ...

Can the ROM socket be used for anthing else other than just ROM ?  I was wondering if a RTC (Real Time Clock) could also be added ?  Where the time is just at an address of memory.

Stupid thought ?  I'm sure there's a flaw there otherwise someone else would have done it already ?

Mark

Hi there,

There is the BASIC 8 ROM to download in the downloads section .. anyone know how to get it to work ?
I've tried putting it in a 27C256 EPPROM and then putting it in the ROM socket of the C128 but no joy ... is there a SYS command to run to activate it ?

Thanks

Mark

Does anyone else here have to deal with morons of the same calibre as the ones I deal with ?  
Sometimes I wish murder was acceptable if you have a good enough excuse!

Sorry have a bad week in IT...

Well my EPROM programmer has now arrived!

Mangalore pointed me in the direction of a Willem programmer available from http://www.sivava.com/ and since it's not a lot of money and should provide a good learning experience I decided to get one :-)  Took only a week to get to NZ as well.

Also managed to grab some 27C256 EPROMS and a UV eraser for not a lot of cash as well.

So anyway, if anyone has any ROMs they'd like burnt, things like the updated 1571, 1581 ROMS, Kernel ROMS for the CBMs or general other stuff they've whipped up for a PIC or GAL, then drop me a message and we'll see what we can do.

Regards

Mark

Hi there,

I managed to bag a Currah Speech cartridge ... mainly because I used to own one and wanted it again :-)

However it plugs into the Video port of the C64/C128 but I've already got a audio/video cable plugged into this for the 1084s monitor ... anyone got any ideas as to how to splice the two together ?  I'm assuming the Speech cart is just feeding audio into the SID which then is output again via the SIDs output, but just want to be sure.

Regards

Mark

There enough people interested and nerdy enough for a New Zealand Commodore Users Group ?  :-)

Or is there one already ?

I'm thinking along the lines of something for repairs and buying selling rather than sit in a hall and nerd out ;-)

Regards

Mark

Hi there,

All this talk of ROMS got me thinking.

What is the correct type of EPROM and EEPROM to use if you wanted to do the following :

1)  The BASIC ROMs
2)  Kernal ROMS (same as JiffyDOS ?)
3)  The ROMS in the 1541, 1571 and 1581 ?
4)  The optional ROM socket of the C128 and 17xx REU ?
5)  Cartridge ROMS ?

Thanks!

Mark

heheheh .. my wife doesn't quiet grasp the extent of my "collection" yet ;-)

I've just got my hands on a bunch of new old toys :

2 * C64
1 * 1541-II
1 * C1541
Action Replay VI
Final Cartridge

The C64s seem a bit suspect, one doesn;t power up and the other is suspiciously quiet :-(  Oh well guess they'll be salvaged for bits!

So that brings the collection up to:

2 * C128
1 * 128D
5 * C64 ... hmmmm maybe to many
3 * 1541-II
1 * 1541
1 * C1541
1 * 1571
1 * 1581
1750 REU
Mouse
1084S monitor
MMC64
2 * centronics printer interfaces
and a big pile of parts!

I think I shall be offloading some soon! :-)

Hi there,

Anyone know where I can get hold of some 6551A or 65C52's ?

I want to make a Swiftlink-232 clone ... I can steal some from an old A500 but would rather get nice "new" ones.  I only need a few and the online bulk distributors want to sell 100's at a time :-(

Mark

Hi there,

I've heard rumors about buying from CMDRKEY (slow shipping, none-shipping etc) .. any substance to them ?

Or is JiffyDOS available elsewhere ?

Thanks

Mark

I've still to open my pressies :-)

Hi there,

Can anyone give me a run down on using PIP ?  It's a bit before even my time :-)

What I want to do us copy files from user area 1 on drive A: to drive B:

The background is that I've gotten CPM on a D81 (yay for the MMC64 D81 writer! :-) but the version does not work with my 512K 1750 REU plugged in .. so what I want to do is assmble a new version of CPM by following it's including instructions, problem is that some files are in User 0, some in User 1 and so on ... and I don't know how to use PIP to copy them from those user areas to a 1571 drive.

Any pointers ?

Or even better a copy of CPM on D81 that is the most recent version and supports the REU and supports all the other extra bits in the C128 :-)

Thanks!

Mark

Hi there,

Anyone got a pointer to the latest version of CP/M for the C128 ?

And any ideas how to get it onto a 1581 disk if I can only copy the files off of 1541 disks ?  (got an MMC64 and it only handles .d64 images)

Thanks

Mark

I barely use it so no point keeping it .. any offers ?

Hi there,

I don't suppose anyone has managed to compile cc65 for OSX ?  It fails on my machine when it can';t find "sgml2html" .. and I've no idea what package that is from :-(

Mark

Anyone have one of these they'd sell ?  Or know where to get one ?

Thanks

Mark