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Keyword: ‘vic switch’

Commodore CBM 610

September 29th, 2013 No comments

Commodore CBM 610

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Commodore CBM-II series was a short-lived range of 8-bit personal computers from Commodore Business Machines (CBM), released in 1982 and intended as a follow-on to the Commodore PET series.

The CBM-II had two incarnations, the P series (P = personal, or, home use) and the B series (B = business use). The B series was available with a built-in monochrome monitor (hi-profile) with detached keyboard, and also as a single unit with built-in keyboard but no monitor (lo-profile). These machines were known as the “Porsche PETs” for their unique styling.

The P series used the VIC-II 40-column color video chip like the C64. It also included two standard Atari-style joystick ports. The 6509 CPU ran at 1 MHz in the P series due to the use of the VIC-II chip.

The B series used a 6545 CRTC video chip to give an 80-column “green screen” monochrome output more suitable for word processing and other business use than the VIC-II’s 40-column display. Most models have the Motorola 68B45 installed which is a pin compatible variant rather than the MOS 6545A1 2 MHz part. On the B series the 6509 CPU ran at 2 MHz.

Features common to both the P and B series included an MOS Technology 6509 CPU, an enhanced version of the venerable 6502, that was capable of addressing up to 1 megabyte of RAM via bank switching (however, no CBM-II model came with more than 256 kilobytes of RAM, 1/4 megabyte). The sound chip was the 6581 SID, the same one that was used in the popular Commodore 64 (C64) but with some limitations as it was over-clocked to 2 MHz. Additionally, the CBM-II had an industry-standard RS-232 serial interface and an IEEE-488 parallel bus (for use by disk drives and printers) just like the PET/CBM series. The CBM-II’s built-in operating system used an enhanced version of CBM BASIC version 4.0.

An optional Intel 8088-based coprocessor board allowed the CBM-II series to run CP/M-86 1.1 and MS-DOS 1.25; however, the computers were not IBM PC compatible and very little, if any, software taking advantage of this capability ever appeared. The coprocessor board only ran on hi-profile machines due to power supply and mechanical spacing requirements.

The production naming within the United States and Canada was the B128/B256 and CBM128-80/CBM 256-80 while in Europe they were known as the 600 and 700 series respectively (no “B” in front of the model number). The P machine was known worldwide as the 500 series. There are prototype models though such as the B500 (earlier B128 design) and B700 (earlier CBM 128-80/CBM 256-80 design) known to exist.

Due to the popularity of the C64, the P series was cancelled in the United States before it could be officially released; however, a few dealers who received preproduction units sold them. As these computers had not received approval from the Federal Communications Commission, this caused legal problems for Commodore. The units were recalled and destroyed, but a very small number exist today, in private collections. At least one model, the P500, was commercially released in Europe but only sold in small numbers.

source: wikipedia

Commodore P500 (PET/CBM-II) pre-Production Prototype

September 18th, 2013 No comments
Commodore P500 (PET-II) pre-Production Prototype

Autopsy:

I have received this computer to be repaired for a friend with a classic startup fault; the Black screen of Death.

After careful analysis of the problem and thanks to Alessandro Polito for the test, the failed component was the CPU 6509.

from Wikipedia:

The Commodore CBM-II series was a short-lived range of 8-bit personal computers from Commodore Business Machines (CBM), released in 1982 and intended as a follow-on to the Commodore PET series.

The CBM-II had two incarnations, the P series (P = personal, or, home use) and the B series (B = business use). The B series was available with a built-in monochrome monitor (hi-profile) with detached keyboard, and also as a single unit with built-in keyboard but no monitor (lo-profile). These machines were known as the “Porsche PETs” for their unique styling.

The P series used the VIC-II 40-column color video chip like the C64. It also included two standard Atari-style joystick ports. The 6509 CPU ran at 1 MHz in the P series due to the use of the VIC-II chip.

The B series used a 6545 CRTC video chip to give an 80-column “green screen” monochrome output more suitable for word processing and other business use than the VIC-II’s 40-column display. Most models have the Motorola 68B45 installed which is a pin compatible variant rather than the MOS 6545A1 2 MHz part. On the B series the 6509 CPU ran at 2 MHz.

Features common to both the P and B series included an MOS Technology 6509 CPU, an enhanced version of the venerable 6502, that was capable of addressing up to 1 megabyte of RAM via bank switching (however, no CBM-II model came with more than 256 kilobytes of RAM, 1/4 megabyte). The sound chip was the 6581 SID, the same one that was used in the popular Commodore 64 (C64) but with some limitations as it was over-clocked to 2 MHz. Additionally, the CBM-II had an industry-standard RS-232 serial interface and an IEEE-488 parallel bus (for use by disk drives and printers) just like the PET/CBM series. The CBM-II’s built-in operating system used an enhanced version of CBM BASIC version 4.0.

An optional Intel 8088-based coprocessor board allowed the CBM-II series to run CP/M-86 1.1 and MS-DOS 1.25; however, the computers were not IBM PC compatible and very little, if any, software taking advantage of this capability ever appeared. The coprocessor board only ran on hi-profile machines due to power supply and mechanical spacing requirements.

The production naming within the United States and Canada was the B128/B256 and CBM128-80/CBM 256-80 while in Europe they were known as the 600 and 700 series respectively (no “B” in front of the model number). The P machine was known worldwide as the 500 series. There are prototype models though such as the B500 (earlier B128 design) and B700 (earlier CBM 128-80/CBM 256-80 design) known to exist.

Due to the popularity of the C64, the P series was cancelled in the United States before it could be officially released; however, a few dealers who received preproduction units sold them. As these computers had not received approval from the Federal Communications Commission, this caused legal problems for Commodore. The units were recalled and destroyed, but a very small number exist today, in private collections. At least one model, the P500, was commercially released in Europe but only sold in small numbers.

source: wikipedia

CBM prg Studio v2.8.0 released

September 3rd, 2013 No comments

CBM prg Studio Version 2.8.0 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.

CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 / VIC20 or PET if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.

CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.

It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:

  • Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
  • Tabbed MDI.
  • Syntax highlighting.

What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.

New features:

  • Screen RAM viewer for debugger.
  • Ignore/truncate REM statements during code generation switch.
  • Project comments.
  • The character editor’s scratch pad can be imported to the screen editor.
  • Save/load configuration settings.
  • Import multicolour bitmaps into the sprite editor.
  • Export binary files from the character editor.
  • Much improved BASIC and assembly generation time.

See the help for a complete list of bug fixed.

Download: CBM prg Studio v2.8.0 (951)

source: ajordison.co.uk

Tulip Computers C64 Direct-to-TV (C64DTV) Boxed

August 31st, 2013 1 comment
 C64 Direct-to-TV (C64DTV)

Autopsy:

Here you can see a hack of my dtv (Direct-to-TV).

from Wikipedia:

The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick (modeled after the mid 1980s Competition Pro joystick) with 30 built-in games. The design is similar to the Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Game. The circuitry of the C64DTV was designed by Jeri Ellsworth, a self-taught computer chip designer who had formerly designed the C-One.

Tulip Computers (which had acquired the Commodore brand name in 1997) licensed the rights to Ironstone Partners, which cooperated with DC Studios, Mammoth Toys, and “The Toy:Lobster Company” in the development and marketing of the unit.[1] QVC purchased the entire first production run of 250,000 units and sold 70,000 of them the first day they were offered.

There exist multiple versions of the C64DTV. DTV1 (NTSC television type) comes with 2 MB ROM. It first appeared in late 2004 for the American/Canadian market. DTV2 (called C64D2TV sometimes) is a revised version for the European and world markets (PAL television type) and appeared in late 2005. The ROM has been replaced by flash memory in these devices. However, the DTV2/PAL version suffers from a manufacturing fault, which results in poor colour rendering (the resistors in the R-2R ladder DACs for both the chroma and the luma have been transposed). In the DTV3, a problem with the blitter was fixed. Another DTV variant is the Radio Shack “HUMMER Off-Road Racing Challenge Video Game”.

Hardware Specifications:

Core circuity:

  • ASIC running at 32 MHz internally, implementing 6510 CPU, VIC-II, SID, CIA, and PLA

Casing/Connectors:

  • Integrated in a Joystick (as if connected to port 2 of a real C64)
  • Five additional buttons (acting like keys)
  • Running from batteries only (four AA batteries)
  • Composite Video, monaural audio (RCA connectors)
  • Looks similar to a Competition Pro joystick

Graphics:

  • NTSC (DTV2 and later: NTSC/PAL on chip, only PAL wired in end-market devices)
  • Reprogrammable palette with 4 bits of luma and 4 bits of chroma
  • DTV2 and later: “chunky” 256 color mode, additional blitter for fast image transformation

Sound:

  • No support for SID filters
  • DTV2 and later: 8 bit digital sound, additional options for envelope generators

Memory:   

  • DTV1: 128 KB RAM, 2 MB ROM
  • DTV2 and later: 2 MB RAM, 2 MB flash memory
  • DMA engine for RAM/RAM and ROM/RAM transfers
  • DTV2 and later: additional RAM access using bank switching and blitter

CPU:

  • Implementing a 6510 at 1 MHz
  • DTV2 and later: Enhanced CPU (fast/burst mode, additional registers and opcodes, support for illegal ops of the 6510)

source: wikipedia dtvhacking.retrosafe.com

Commodore VIC Modem Model 1600

August 30th, 2013 1 comment
Commodore VIC Modem Model 1600

Autopsy:

from Zimmers homepage:

The Commodore 1600 was an extremely prolific and inexpensive modem, introducing millions of computer users to the online world. Marketed to the VIC-20 user, the “VICMODEM” as it was nicnamed, operated in an extremely strange manner.

Instead of connecting to the phone line directly, the VICMODEM relied on a connection THROUGH the phone to the handset. One would dial the number they wished to connect to, then remove the extension from their handset, plugging it into the modem after a carrier signal is heard.

Some customers in Canada were lucky enough to get their VICMODEM packaged with this telephone manufactured in Canada by Northern Telecom. Ironically, the phone did not have a detachable handset, making it useless by itself for use with the modem. Therefore, the set also included a small adaptor which allowed one to plug the VICMODEM directly into the wall line cable, daisy chained to the phone. After dialing with the phone, a switch on the adaptor would redirect the carrier signal to the modem.

Download: Commodore VIC Modem Model 1600 Manual (1637)

source: zimmers.net

Amstrad (Schneider) CPC 464 (German – Grey Keys) + Repair

August 24th, 2013 No comments
Amstrad CPC 464 (German - Grey Keys)

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Amstrad CPC (short for Colour Personal Computer) is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of Europe.

The series spawned a total of six distinct models: The CPC464, CPC664, and CPC6128 were highly successful competitors in the European home computer market. The later plus models, 464plus and 6128plus, efforts to prolong the system’s lifecycle with hardware updates, were considerably less successful, as was the attempt to repackage the plus hardware into a game console as the GX4000.

The CPC models’ hardware is based on the Zilog Z80A CPU, complemented with either 64 or 128 kB of memory. Their computer-in-a-keyboard design prominently features an integrated storage device, either a compact cassette deck or 3″ floppy disk drive. The main units were only sold bundled with a colour or monochrome monitor that doubles as the main unit’s power supply. Additionally, a wide range of first and third party hardware extensions such as external disk drives, printers, and memory extensions, was available.

The CPC series was pitched against other home computers primarily used to play video games and enjoyed a strong supply of game software. The comparatively low price for a complete computer system with dedicated monitor, its high resolution monochrome text and graphic capabilities and the possibility to run CP/M software also rendered the system attractive for business users, which was reflected by a wide selection of application software.

During its lifetime, the CPC series sold approximately three million units.

Replacement/Adaptation of a power switch for Amstrad CPC 464:

source: wikipedia cpcwiki.eu

Amstrad CPC 664

June 6th, 2013 No comments
Amstrad CPC 664

Autopsy:

The horrible holes for the switch and the button are used to halt the CPU and RESET.

from Wikipedia:

The Amstrad CPC (short for Colour Personal Computer) is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the German-speaking parts of Europe.

The series spawned a total of six distinct models: The CPC464, CPC664, and CPC6128 were highly successful competitors in the European home computer market. The later plus models, 464plus and 6128plus, efforts to prolong the system’s lifecycle with hardware updates, were considerably less successful, as was the attempt to repackage the plus hardware into a game console as the GX4000.

The CPC models’ hardware is based on the Zilog Z80A CPU, complemented with either 64 or 128 kB of memory. Their computer-in-a-keyboard design prominently features an integrated storage device, either a compact cassette deck or 3″ floppy disk drive. The main units were only sold bundled with a colour or monochrome monitor that doubles as the main unit’s power supply. Additionally, a wide range of first and third party hardware extensions such as external disk drives, printers, and memory extensions, was available.

The CPC series was pitched against other home computers primarily used to play video games and enjoyed a strong supply of game software. The comparatively low price for a complete computer system with dedicated monitor, its high resolution monochrome text and graphic capabilities and the possibility to run CP/M software also rendered the system attractive for business users, which was reflected by a wide selection of application software.

During its lifetime, the CPC series sold approximately three million units.

source: wikipedia

Chalkboard’s PowerPad with M.Maestro & L.Lectric PaintBrush (Boxed)

May 18th, 2013 No comments
Chalkboard's PowerPad (Boxed)

Autopsy:

Donated By: Andrea Pierdomenico

from The Personal Computer Museum:

The PowerPad is Chalkboard’s graphics tablet. With its combination of features, reasonable price, friendly support, and wide range of software, it would be an excellent addition to your hardware.

The first thing you notice about the PowerPad is that it’s big: it measures 17 inches by 14 inches, with a drawing surface 12 inches square. It is easier to draw on than the smaller surfaces of other tablets.

The PowerPad uses 14,400 tiny digital switches to read where pressure is applied to the pad. There are 10 x 10 per inch. Unlike the surfaces of other pads, the PowerPad has no problem resolving simultaneous multiple inputs. This ability allows the PowerPad to be used as much more than just a graphics tablet: it becomes a flexible input device.

If you’ve done a little arithmetic, you may be wondering about the PowerPad’s resolution. Ten switches per inch by 12 inches equals 120 points, or pixels – not even as high resolutions as Graphics 7! However, it’s possible to design a program using the Atari’s highest-resolution screen, by “software stretching” of the resolution.

The version of Micro Illustrator ($49.45) for the PowerPad has a special feature called “Scale” that uses ,Software stretching” to let you draw pixel by pixel, even though the tablet’s resolution isn’t as high as Micro Illustrator’s.

Hardware isn’t of much use without software, but the PowerPad doesn’t come with any. However, Chalkboard offers several programs in cartridges requiring 32K of RAM for the Commodore VIC-20.

source: pcmuseum.ca

Commodore 64 Ram Expansion (REU) 1764

May 13th, 2013 1 comment
Commodore 64 Ram Expansion (REU) 1764

Autopsy:

Donated By: Andrea Pierdomenico

from Wikipedia:

Commodore’s RAM Expansion Unit (REU) range of external RAM add-ons for their Commodore 64/128 home computers was announced at the same time as the C128. The REUs came in three models, initially the 1700 (128 KB) and 1750 (512 kB), and later the 1764 (256 kB, for the C64).

Although the C128 could access more than 64 kB of RAM through bank switching, the memory inside the REU could only be accessed by memory-transfers (STORE/LOAD/SWAP/COMPAREs) between the main memory and the REU memory, thus, giving an equivalent to a (slow) small memory window. Additionally, the C128′s built-in BASIC 7.0 had three statements, STASH,FETCH, and SWAP, for storing and retrieving data from the REU.

Officially, only the 1700 and 1750 were supported on the C128. The 256 kB model, the 1764, was released for the C64 at the same time. However, aside from a bundled 2.5 ampere C64 power supply unit (the factory unit could not support the 1764), there were only minor differences between the three models.

In practice, the difference between the 1764 and the earlier units had little effect on compatibility, and people used 1700s and 1750s successfully with the C64, and 1764s successfully with the C128, although the C64′s stock power supply was inadequate to reliably handle the power load of any of them. Some dealers unbundled the 1764 and the power supply in order to sell the power supply to C64 users, and/or upgrade the 1764 to 512 kB.

Because of memory chip shortages in the late 1980s, the 1750 was only produced in small quantities. However it was not difficult to upgrade a 1700 or 1764 to 512 kB. Several firms did this commercially, either selling upgraded units or upgrading customer-supplied units.

In the early 1990s, DIY modification schemes to increase the capacity of an REU to one megabyte or higher appeared on various online services.

source: wikipedia

ASAP v3.1.4 – Another Slight Atari Player

April 30th, 2013 No comments

ASAP is a player of 8-bit Atari music for modern computers and mobile devices. It emulates the POKEY sound chip and the 6502 processor.

The project was initially based on the routines from the Atari800 emulator, but the current version has a completely new original emulation core.

Changelog ASAP 3.1.4 (2013-04-29):

  • Android: plays in background, can switch to next/previous/random file, opens M3U playlists, file selector can display metadata, “back” returns to parent directory.
  • WASAP fixed to avoid occasional deadlock when opening files during playback.
  • VLC plugin compiled for OS X.
  • 64-bit RPMs.
  • Fixed time detection for CMS.
  • Windows Explorer displays titles for RMT, TMC, TM2.
  • “Show information about the currently playing file” restored after Winamp/XMPlay restart.
  • TortoiseSVN and TortoiseGit plugins don’t depend on libz-1.dll.
  • asapscan calculates SAP fingerprints (contributed by Jakub Husak).
  • Experimental ASAP2WAV in Perl.

Download: ASAP v3.1.4 (1410)

source: asap.sourceforge.net

Enterprise 128 (One Two Eight) Boxed

March 16th, 2013 No comments
Enterprise 128 (One Two Eight) Details

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Enterprise is a Zilog Z80-based home computer first produced in 1985. It was developed by British company Intelligent Software and marketed by Enterprise Computers. Its two variants are the Enterprise 64, with 64 kilobytes (kB) of Random Access Memory (RAM), and the Enterprise 128, with 128 kB of RAM.

The Enterprise has a 4 megahertz (MHz) Z80 Central processing unit (CPU), 64 kB or 128 kB of RAM, and 32 kB of internal read-only memory (ROM) that contains the EXOS operating system and a screen editor / word processor. The BASIC programming language was supplied on a 16 kB ROM module.

Two application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips take some of the workload off of the central processor. They are named “Nick” and “Dave” after their designers, Nick Toop, who had previously worked on the Acorn Atom, and Dave Woodfield. “Nick” manages graphics, while “Dave” handles sound and memory paging (bank switching).

A bank switching scheme allows the memory to be expanded to a maximum of 4 megabytes (MB). The highest 2 address lines from the Z80 are used to select one of the four 8-bit Page Registers in Dave chip. The output from the selected register is used as the highest 8 bits of the 22-bit address bus, while the lowest 14 bits come directly from the Z80 address bus. Effectively, the 64 kB address space of the Z80 processor is divided into four 16k sections. Any 16k page from the 4 MB address space can be mapped to any of these sections. The lowest two pages (pages 0 and 1) of the 4 MB address space contain system ROM.

The next four pages (2 to 5) are reserved for a ROM cartridge (max 64 kB). The top four pages (pages 252 to 255, totaling 64 kB) are used as video RAM, but can be used for storage of program code and data as well. On the 128k model, the additional 64 kB of ram is mapped on pages 248 to 251. The remaining memory space can be used by external devices and memory modules connected to the expansion bus.

Loading a demo from Tape:

source: wikipedia ep128.hu

Commodore VIC-1020 Expansion Box

February 22nd, 2013 No comments
Commodore VIC-1020 Expansion Box

Autopsy:

from Denial Wiki Homepage:

The VIC-1020 (known as the VC-1020 in Germany) expansion chassis is a large metal enclosure which provides the VIC-20 computer with six additional expansion slots for cartridges (five pointing upward and one lying horizontally and pointing toward an opening on the the back of the VIC-1020). The entire VIC-20 computer is placed into the VIC-1020 and a male edge connector on the 1020′s slot expansion board is mated with the VIC-20′s internal cartridge port. A monitor can be placed on top of the VIC-1020, giving the entire setup a PET computer-like appearance. Indeed, the black “CBM” label across the front of the VIC-1020′s casing is similar to that used on the the PET line of computers. The choice of sheet metal for this enclosure seems natural, as Commodore had a sheet metal fabrication plant for the production of office filing cabinets and desks.

The VIC-1020′s chassis has additional storage space which can be used for the computer’s power supply (a pass-through for the power supply is provided). There is also a metal clip on the underside of the lid which can hold the RF modulator.

Slot expanders such as this allowed the simultaneous use of several cartridges on a single VIC-20. This allowed features of utility cartridges (like the Programmer’s Aid cartridge) and RAM expanders to be combined. Unlike some other slot expanders, however, the VIC-1020 lacked switches to enable or disable individual cartridges – meaning cartridges had to be physically removed to disable them. This emphasizes what seems an apparent design flaw of the VIC-1020; the monitor needs to be lifted off the chassis and set aside to enable the user to open the lid and access the extra cartridge ports – a cumbersome process if repeated often.

source: sleepingelephant.com

Sinclair ZX81 Personal Computer (Boxed)

November 27th, 2012 No comments
Sinclair ZX81 Personal Computer (Boxed)

Autopsy:

The photos of the inside can be found here.

from Wikipedia homepage:

The ZX81, released in a slightly modified form in the United States as the Timex Sinclair 1000, was a home computer produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair’s ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. It was hugely successful and more than 1.5 million units were sold before it was eventually discontinued.

The ZX81 found commercial success in many other countries, notably the United States, where Timex manufactured and distributed it under licence and enjoyed a substantial but brief boom in sales. Timex later produced its own versions of the ZX81 for the US market – the Timex Sinclair 1000 and Timex Sinclair 1500. Unauthorised clones of the ZX81 were produced in a number of countries.

The ZX81 was designed to be small, simple, and above all cheap, using as few components as possible to keep the cost down. Video output was to a television set rather than a dedicated monitor. Programs and data were loaded and saved onto audio tape cassettes. It had only four silicon chips on board and a mere 1 kB of memory. The machine had no moving parts – not even a power switch – and used a touch-sensitive membrane keyboard for manual input.

The ZX81′s limitations prompted the emergence of a flourishing market in third-party peripherals to improve its capabilities. Such limitations, however, achieved Sinclair’s objective of keeping the cost of the machine as low as possible. Its distinctive design brought its designer, Rick Dickinson, a Design Council award.

The ZX81 could be bought by mail order in kit form or pre-assembled. In what was then a major innovation, it was the first cheap mass-market home computer that could be bought from high street stores, led by W.H. Smith and soon many other retailers. The ZX81 marked the first time that computing in Britain became an activity for the general public, rather than the preserve of businesspeople and electronics hobbyists. It inspired the creation of a huge community of enthusiasts, some of whom founded their own businesses producing software and hardware for the ZX81. Many went on to play a major role in the British computer industry in later years.

The ZX81′s commercial success made Sinclair Research one of Britain’s leading computer manufacturers and earned a fortune and an eventual knighthood for the company’s founder, Sir Clive Sinclair.

source: wikipedia

CBM prg Studio v2.5.1 released

September 14th, 2012 No comments

CBM prg Studio Version 2.5.0 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.

CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 / VIC20 or PET if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.

CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.

It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:

  • Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
  • Tabbed MDI.
  • Syntax highlighting.

What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.

New features:

  • Some of the IDE’s colours can be changed (background, tab strip, selected and non-selected windows).
  • Menu to control open windows.
  • Warnings if invalid BASIC jump (goto, gosub etc.) destinations are detected.
  • ZPOpt directive added.

Bugs fixed:

  • Added ‘missing’ colours to VIC 20′s screen designer.
  • Default project location not being saved if the target machine was not changed.
  • Assembler not assembling mixed case text directive strings properly.
  • Dark and light gray colours were switched.
  • Opening a project after a project had already been opened would use ‘my documents’ rather than the project directory.
  • Incbin failed when used screen designer files.
  • No colours were visible when starting the screen designer without loading a previous file.
  • CTRL+Z not scrolling to changed text.
  • * not recognised for current address.
  • Local labels not recognised in certain circumstances.
  • Generation/import of prgs > 65k for C128 programs would fail.
  • Missing BASIC 7 ‘RLUM’ keyword.

Download: CBM prg Studio v2.5.1 (959)

source: ajordison.co.uk

The VC 314: Rasperry Pi in a Commodore 64

July 25th, 2012 No comments

Retrotext has made a interesting modding of a not working Commodore 64 with a Raspberry Pi.

For this project Retrotext has used the following things:

  • Commodore C64 with a working Keyboard.
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Keyrah USB interface.
  • 4-way USB port.
  • Three RCA connectors.
  • Ethernet and HDMI cable.
  • On/off Switch.
  • Power Supply and some other items.

The Commodore 64 runs under the Vice emulator (Linux) on the Raspberry Pi so we can play our favorites games.

About the Resperry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a  small, inexpensive computer that is capable of running tasks like most other PCs, however it is smaller, a lot smaller in fact it measures  85.60mm x 53.98mm x 17mm , almost the size of a credit card and costs £25. It has an ARM11 chip at its heart, which finds its origins in early UK microcomputers, notably first in the Acorn Electron, the brain child of  Mk14, ZX80 and 81s’ Chris Currie and Austrian physicist Herman Hauser.

source: retrotext.blogspot.co.uk

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