SD drive for Commodore computers

Post #320,371 by SpiceWare 1/20/10 4:04:44 PM Reply	SD drive for Commodore computers I recently acquired a uIEC/SD for my Commodore computers. It lets you use SD and SDHC cards (up to 32 GB) by plugging the device into the serial bus and accessing it as drive 10 (drive number can be changed if needed, though I already have drives 8 and 9 attached and will be leaving it as 10). http://www.jbrain.ne...EC%7B47%7DSD.html It makes it very easy to get files from your modern computer to the Commodore - just drag files onto a normal FAT formatted SD card. The device supports a directory hierarchy via CD commands sent on the command channel 15, ie: `open1,10,15,"cd/64games":close1` - move into directory 64games `open1,10,15,"cd←":close1` - move back up a directory It also supports disk images which are commonly used with emulators. The most common is D64 (single sided 5 1/4" w/170 K capacity). It also supports D71 ( double sided 5 1/4" w/340 K capacity ) and D81 (double sided 3 1/2" w/800 K capacity). To mount a disk image, just CD into it: `open1,10,15,"cd/wizball.d64":close1` - mount the disk holding Wizball. In spite of supporting disk images, this device *does not* emulate a complete drive (Commodore drives were "smart", complete with 6502 CPU, RAM, ROM, etc). It just supports Commodore's serial bus protocol. Because of this, it does not support fast loaders which worked by uploading replacement serial bus code to the drive. It also doesn't support the faster serial bus protocol found in the Commodore 128 and it's drives (1571 and 1581). It is faster than a normal 1541 though, probably because there's no media to spin. I did a test of a 40 block program (10 K): 64-1541 - 27 seconds 64-uIEC - 18 seconds 128-1571 - 3 seconds 128-uIEC - 18 seconds It does however support the JiffyDOS serial bus protocol. JiffyDOS doesn't upload code to the drive - instead you swap out the ROMs in both your computer and drive(s) so the faster code is already in place. I don't have JiffyDOS, but I did find a couple software solutions that implement the protocol so I could see how well it performed. Based on my tests I think I'll look into getting the ROMS which are available from the jbrain site (first link in this post). SJLOAD 64 - 1.2 seconds JiffySoft128 - 1.8 seconds http://picobay.com/d....php?title=SJLOAD http://sites.google....C128/JiffySoft128 more info: http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/uIEC http://www.c64-wiki....ec_%28firmware%29
Post #320,378 by static 1/20/10 6:24:44 PM Reply	Sometimes I kinda regret the pace of computer development. I never had a C64, although I borrowed one for a little while at one point. I liked my '99/4A better. But to get serious, all systems needed far more investment than most 15 year olds could afford... :-/ Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #320,385 by SpiceWare 1/20/10 8:29:39 PM Reply	wasn't familiar with the TI don't recall knowing anybody that had one either. By this picture http://oldcomputers....99peripherals.jpg found here http://oldcomputers.net/ti994a.html you'd need a lot of desk space as well ;) The high school I attended had a bunch of Commodore PET computers and my first computer was a VIC 20 that I received for Christmas in '81 (though I did pay for half of it). The summer of '82 I got very lucky in that somebody my dad knew gave him a 24K RAM cartridge plus a multi-cart adapter to give to me. It allowed me to use it with the Super Expander (extended BASIC + 3K RAM)) to max out the system memory. If I recall correctly, the 24K cartridge went for $200 and the adapter was another $50. Without that I doubt I'd have been able to write my initial BBS software on the VIC as I wouldn't of had enough RAM. By the time I got a 64 in '83 I was working, so it was easier to invest in - especially since I was still in high school and thus living at home. One I moved away to Houston that became a tad harder as other expenses were a tad more important.
Post #320,387 by static 1/20/10 9:05:16 PM Reply	TI made a couple of basic mistakes. The biggest was taking on Commodore. Commodore designed their computers from scratch, starting from the 6502 and going up. TI borrowed a lot from their mini-computers, starting at the 990 mini and going down. This meant their home computers were always way more capable than their ever really achieved, but also cost more to make than the VIC-20 or C64. The long train of expansion boxes was one example of what was theoretically possible far beyond what the designers probably intended. In practice, though it was actually difficult to achieve, mostly due to the power supply's limited capacity but also because it was in fact the system bus on that card socket. The PEB was a much more popular and robust solution. This design approach also led to compromises in the basic hardware. There was just 256 bytes of fast CPU-attached memory. The 16K it came with was attached to the video chip and was thus accessed indirectly and slowly. And since it was thus used for more than the video chip, the necessary tables for the video chip were mashed together in a way that limited it's potential. Yet, by comparison, the core OS ROMs provided a good, coherent library to do a wide variety of things (including floating point maths) and the expansion system was also extremely powerful and flexbile. I recall people making ethernet cards for the TI that fitted in seamlessly. If TI had aimed at a slightly but noticeably more affluent (or even just different) market than Commodore, they would have been more successful and much longer lived. Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #320,411 by SpiceWare 1/21/10 5:12:20 PM Reply	TI-99/4a CompactFlash Drive/PIO Port Wasn't looking for it, but ran across a reference to it over at Atari Age and thought you might find it interesting: http://cgi.ebay.com/...item=200422616560 Compact Flash Drive, Controller, 32K RAM and Printer Port to the TI-99/4a Includes a 32mb Compact Flash 32K RAM compatible with Extended Basic and Editor Assembler Emulates three floppy disks at a time (using TI-99/4a file mangement) Number of disks only limited by Compact Flash size (up to 1GB) Works with Disk Manager 2 Has parallel printer port. Power LED plus LEDs for Compact Flash and printer access. Requires a 7.5v to 12v DC power supply with 2.1mm barrel connector. (Add $5.00 for a 7.5v power supply - USA Only) Power switch allows unit to be turned off with unplugging power supply Manual and DOS utilities to move files to/from PC will be e-mailed to winner. Includes CFMGR, a disk manager tool written in TI-99/4a assember.
Post #320,412 by static 1/21/10 5:22:17 PM Reply	I shouldn't be surprised... But that is amazing. :-O I could say it's incredible what old hardware people are still using and keeping alive, but then I'm part of a group who keep 15-yro Ensoniq samplers alive. :-/ Wade. Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Post #320,415 by Ashton 1/21/10 6:30:52 PM Reply	Well.. I've been known to fire up the Otrona CP/M, 64K (+ an absolutely unuseable extra board option.. with some Neanderthal 'DOS' on it and a whopping 256K memory.) 5" 80-teensy-char CRT, 18# er, portative -- to boot. Always amazed when it starts up, its two AG-13? small cmos cells having been replaced last ~ 1987. No point in trying for >Y2K, in any event. To run Eliza.. for any neighbor who needs a session with a shrink. Why.. that's.. the pre-Solitaire mind-lock-in for any computer illiterate ... Still! (Though it requires a higher level of consciousness to play, of course.) :-þ
Post #320,422 by drook 1/22/10 1:13:24 AM Reply	Used to work with a guy who kept an old AS400 around Said he'd boot it up in December and let it run as a space heater all winter. Apparently his apartment had free electric, but each unit had their own gas meter. -- Drew

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