knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) (12/15/86)
(coco3 bugs for the line eater) The latest (Jan 87) RAINBOW has quite a good article on upgrading MultiPak Interfaces (MPIs, toasters) for the Coco III. It shoots down some notions that some of us have had. Points made are: (1) The old gray MPIs, plus some rugged white ones with the same guts, need only a PAL replacement. The later white ones were a cost-reduced design that needs a satellite board to fix. Yes, Jim O., the old ones ARE better! Detailed instructions are given to install the satellite board yourself (it ain't trivial!). (2a) No matter how well your MPI seems to work with CocoIII, you had better get it upgraded to avoid subtle (?) future problems. Thus saith the gods at Fort Worth. (2b) You need the upgrade even tho you don't install 512K RAM. Rumor had it that 128K operation was OK w/out upgrading the MPI. (3) The upgrade not only busts the ghost at FF9F (of the MPI control reg at FF7F) but also "locks out" addresses FF80 and up (I guess by witholding the E and Q clocks). This is to avoid bus conflicts with the GIME's regs. (WHY lock out FF80~8F? Not used by GIME. Yet.) (4) Due to (3), your upgraded MPI will no longer work with CocoMax, WordPak, etc etc EVEN ON A COCO I or II. So the article tells how to hack a switch into your toaster to disable the upgrade (degrade? retrograde?). What I'd like is to always keep the ghost disabled but select the FF80 mode. Probably not possible with the PAL upgrade. (5) Article gives part numbers for ordering the PAL or satellite board from RS National Parts. Happy hacking, mike k
jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (Jim Omura) (12/18/86)
I seem to be really caught this time. I don't want to use the built
in 80 column capability with the CoCo3 at this stage because it means a loss
of about 2K for screen RAM, but as I understand it, my WordPakII isn't
going to work with the new MultiPak upgrade. Wonderful stuff.
Is this going to be a problem for all the WordPakII's?
(I mean all the WordPak's.)
Cheers! -- Jim O.durham_2@husc4.harvard.edu (peter durham) (12/18/86)
In article <1463@lsuc.UUCP> jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (Jim Omura) writes: > > I seem to be really caught this time. I don't want to use the built >in 80 column capability with the CoCo3 at this stage because it means a loss >of about 2K for screen RAM, but as I understand it, my WordPakII isn't The screen RAM doesn't have to be in the 64K space that OS-9 Level I uses. Drivers have been written for v02.00.00 that use memory in the 64K that OS-9 doesn't use. >going to work with the new MultiPak upgrade. Wonderful stuff. > Is this going to be a problem for all the WordPakII's? >(I mean all the WordPak's.) In the Jan 1987 Rainbow, there is an article about the MultiPak modifications. If you have an old MultiPak that just requires the PAL change, you could hack in a PAL switcher as described. Also, PBJ is rumored to be coming up with a modification that will change the address of the WordPakII to that of the WordPakRS, making it CoCo3 compatible. -Peter Durham durham_2@husc4.harvard.edu ...seismo!harvard!husc4!durham
pete@wlbreng1.UUCP (Pete Lyall) (12/18/86)
In article <1463@lsuc.UUCP> jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (Jim Omura) writes: > > I seem to be really caught this time. I don't want to use the built >in 80 column capability with the CoCo3 at this stage because it means a loss >of about 2K for screen RAM, but as I understand it, my WordPakII isn't >going to work with the new MultiPak upgrade. Wonderful stuff. > > Is this going to be a problem for all the WordPakII's? >(I mean all the WordPak's.) > >Cheers! -- Jim O. The wordpak II will have a modification kit available from P.B.J. for around $5-$10 dollars... I believe it too is just a PAL (like the Multi-pak) and may simply be a re-addressing out of the GIME chip's range ($FF80 and up). The wordpak R/S's should work just fine as is, and the wordpak 'classics' will have to fend for themselves (figures.. I have TWO). Also, is 512K - 2K such a loss?? Also, when you see some of the neat new window oriented stuff are you REALLY going to still want to use a Wordpak{II, R/S} -?? Pete Lyall Usenet: {trwrb, scgvaxd, ihnp4, voder, vortex}!wlbr!wlbreng1!pete Compuserve: 76703,4230 (OS9 SIG Sysop) OS9 (home): (805)-985-0632 (24hr./1200 baud) Phone: (818)-706-5693 (work 9-5 PST) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (12/19/86)
First, I'd like to thank everybody for the advice Re. upgrading my
Multipak and my WordpakII.
Now, continuing my string of bad luck, I just had 2 80 cylinder double
sided Tandon drives go dead on me. This has nothing specific to do with
6809's or CoCo's, but is there any consensus as to what the best quality
1/2 height double sided 300 RPM 96 tpi drives are? The Tandons were a bit
disappointing. Are Shugarts still being made? I'd particularly appreciate
it if Toronto area people could point me to someplace where I can buy them
locally. I bought the Tandons at Active Electronics, but they don't seem
to stock 96 tpi drives regularly.
Cheers! -- Jim O.