Allan is getting an electronics guy around to work out the final problems with his SVideo/SVGA adapter, though it's over 90% accurate but with solid colour against a normal Commodore monitor. Currently, the prototypes are SVideo only though, SVGA is next up. More details will be announced through the club's site (members will get a bit of a discount when the product is finished).

Regards,

Shaun.

Does this hardware work with just 80-columns machines, or 40-cols machines too?

Regards,

Shaun.

Quote from: MIRKOSOFT on August 25, 2010, 08:52 AM
Many thanks for explain Tom!


Ok, so else one Q:
I'm using 1541Ultimate, there's emulated 16MB REU, but the cartridge is emulation of 1541 as main. So, I can't to insert it into REU-slot?

!!!! Important: the RAMLink independently powers the RAMPort (back port) on the RAMLink. If you are going to plug your 1541U into this port then *please* remove all power sources first, and before you do, back up your data on your RAMLink. Plugging the 1541U into the RAMPort whilst there is still a power source (mains or battery) is like plugging a cartridge into a C64 or 128 whilst it's switched on - not a very good idea and will eventually damage your RAMLink. The opposite is also true: when you want to remove your 1541U from the RAMPort, back up your RAMLink data first and remove all power sources before removing the 1541U. Obviously, do all of this whilst your C128 is switched off as well.

The benefits of using the RAMPort with the 1541U is that it's powered all of the time and can therefore be used with any other Commodore you have lying around providing that the serial cable will reach, of course. The disadvantage is that the 'freeze' switches will not work as it has to be plugged into the pass-through port for this, so it really depends on what you want to use the 1541U for? Do you want it as a 'solid-state' RAMDisk or not? Lastly, I'm not sure how power hungry the 1541U is, so it might need more ampage that the RAMLink's power supply gives you. Perhaps try 9VDC at >1.5Amp (so the more ampage, the better).

QuoteIf I insert it to PASS-THRU port, will be emulated REU accessible? It's emulating of REUs 1700/1750/1764. Can inserting into REU-slot damage one or both devices?

Yes, you should be able to access the 17xx REU memory but there is a timing bug when you emulate above 512K which means that some software will not work.

QuoteI asked at 1541Ultimate forum, but there were no way answers.
Can you explain it me?

Basically, when you have the REU available, the DMA is available to the software, and this accesses the memory. Using the pass-through port should be fine if that's what you want. If you want to keep the memory in a solid state then see above. You'll also need the RAM-Tools program to set up your partition as you need it.

Regards,

Shaun.

Quote from: dr.v on August 25, 2010, 07:45 AM
Miro - here's the difference:

Direct Mode - The REU is used as an REU and cannot be used as a ramdisk

This all depends on how you set your RAMLink/17xx combo up. There is a way to get the best of both worlds, which is something I'm going to write about.

QuoteStandard Mode - The amount of memory in the REU can become part of the overall aggregate ramdisk space (so for instance, if you have 16 mb on the ramcard and a 1750 REU, you can have a total of 16.5 mb of power-backed ramdisk space).  But you will be forced to partition it at 16.5 mb.  That will become clear when you start setting up your RL.

Not sure what you mean? From the default setting, you have two partitions, partition one is the 17xx REU and partition two is the internal RAM on the RAMCard. You can remove both partitions with the set up utility on the tools disk and have one whole 16.xxMB partition if you want to, but you have to remove partition two first and then partition one, then set up one whole partition as the maximum size native partition.

QuoteThe problem which this circumvents is having your files saved on the REU being overwritten if you use software that stores data in the REU.

Yes, this is a problem, but if you're using GEOS you can set the REU memory as a 'geoDACC' partition (to run Wheels, for instance) and switch between 'Normal' and 'Direct' mode as needed (after a reset). This gives you the best of both, and also means that you don't have conflicts with geoZip or the Wave when it tries to access the memory. Remember to set the geoDACC to the exact amount of blocks of the REU and make that partition one, and to set your other partitions thereafter, making your default partition as something different.

QuoteAlso - you cannot have 2 REU's in the RL.

I've never tried this, but I always wondered.

Regards,

Shaun.

I have a RAMLink/SCPU 128/HD/FD4000 combo so I'll have a look at this when I get the chance. I'm using a German-made 128D-Cr too. I'll let you know about UK-made 128s as well as there are some strange things that happen with these machines especially when connecting CMD hardware to them.

Regards,

Shaun.

Allan B has a Comet64 and will be testing/reviewing this hardware. The RR-Net is a bit flaky at times and doesn't like UK-made PAL C128s regardless of what the Commodore elite will tell you. If you have a German-made Commodore 128, this will work better. Not sure about NTSC machines.

Regards,

Shaun.

I've got a question about the RAMLink's RTC chip - my chip seems to have stopped working :-( is there a 'generic' replacement chip I can use? Or so I need something specific?

Regards,

Shaun.

Hi,

We're working on a restoration project for the National Museum of Computing here in the UK (http://www.tnmoc.org) and we were wondering what the red LED is supposed to do when you switch the machine on? Is it supposed to flash, light up, light up during boot up etc...

Can anyone help please?

Regards,

Shaun.

Thanks Mr Carlsson, I've already done this. I've also found out that ON X GOSUB saves some bytes as a pose to ON X GOTO because RETURN saves a couple of bytes over GOTO X when I need to get back to the main bit of the program.

Regards,

Shaun.

Thanks, that's very useful. So, no real way to save any more bytes, oh well!

Actually, I have a small screen-saver prg which I'm going to attach to my game so that it calls it if there isn't any input from the used after a set amount of time, but this will only be possible if people have the dizzy heights of 8K or more, so there'll be two versions if you like, a cost-reduced one and a better one ;-)

Regards,

Shaun.

Somebody mentioned a way of removing the spaces in a BASIC listing, and that there is a ROM to do this? Is there a way to do it in a sub routine, or via the monitor? For instance, lets say I type:

10REM-BASIC EXAMPLE-
20PRINT"HELLO WORLD"
30END

This lists as:

10 REM-BASIC EXAMPLE-
20 PRINT"HELLO WORLD"
30 END

If I get rid of the unnecessary spaces, will it (1) save bytes and (2) still work?

Any tips would be very helpful here,

Regards,

Shaun.

There are some examples of moving memory around on the web somewhere, but what you need is the MOVE opcodes. I think you set some perameters and then tell the processor to move the RAM (or am I thinking of the REU???), for each byte moved takes 7 cycles, which may seem a lot, but looking at it though how many free cycles you have anyway above a normal 64 or 128 is quite significant. If I find the examples, I'll post them.

Regards,

Shaun.

It's a single load written in Commodore BASIC and has 12 locations, six objects, and 9 commands. I have about 250 bytes left to play with and the only command I've not implemented is the 'use' command. I may be able to fit the 'secret' location in yet as that only takes up around 60 bytes. It all depends on how I implement use.

I've found a lot of ways to save bytes, and I'll post the program when it's finished. If anyone can find a more efficient way of doing things then I'd be very interested.

Regards,

Shaun.

How do I determine the hardware then please? Something like:

IF PEEK(xxxxx)=xxx THEN POKE.....

This would be helpful for my 4K game should I have enough space to get this line in.

Regards,

Shaun.

On a real 80xx PET this seems to mess the screen up (I have BASIC 4.0) so be warned.

Regards,

Shaun.

Hi guys,

I thought I'd let you know that I'm writing a new game for the Commodore PET/CBM series, which will be a texty (or 'interactive fiction') game. I can't tell you too many details as - rather oddly - I'm under an informal NDA at the moment, but I can say that my target machine is the original 2001 4k PETs. I'm having a little bit of difficulty in fitting all of the locations, but I think I've found a way of saving 6 bytes and I might need to drop the title screen. What I might do, once it's finished, is have an '8k and above' version with the glossy extras like a title/welcome screen and proper 40-column formatted text.

The adventure engine should mean that it's a fast 'home-made' adventure game. My one complaint about games of this nature is that they're too slow, simply because they're programmed in a way that tests a load of conditions that don't need to be tested because you're in the wrong location.

Anyway, when it's released, I'll let you know.

Regards,

Shaun.

Yes I have. I think I now have the right combination of 'working' chips with the exception to the Screen RAM which are soldered in. I need to replace these.

Regards,

Shaun.

Hi,

I have a poorly 4032 (UK model), and this is booting up with a screen full of zeros. Does anyone have any tips etc... about this?

Update: Actually, the screen is filled with garbage first, and this it fills with zeros. I didn't see this because my screen hadn't 'warmed up' enough to see the garbage. I quick on and off and I noticed.

Thanks,

Shaun.

I've got a VDC question: what is the max resolution the VDC chip can output without modification? I know interlaced at 640 x 400, can it go any higher than this?

Regards,

Shaun.