[comp.os.cpm] Accelerated 6502s and Apple CP/M

JDB8042@RIGEL.TAMU.EDU (John D. Baker ->An Apple ZCPR3 nut//) (02/19/91)

To: Any and All Apple CP/M gurus (especially on the PCPI Applicard)

Does anyone know if there are any problems with using one of the
accelerated 6502 replacements (4, 8Mhz ZipChip) when running the PCPI
Applicard's operating system?

I assume that if you properly set it up, there should be no conflicts and
you should actually see some performance improvement (except disk drives),
especially in terms of character I/O.

If anyone runs the Applicard (or even MS SoftCard) on an accelerated
non-GS Apple ][, please let me know about what problems you have/had.

Thanks.

John D. Baker ->An Apple ZCPR3 nut // [PCPI ZMP1.5 Overlay under construction)

ianj@ijpc.UUCP (Ian Justman) (02/20/91)

JDB8042@RIGEL.TAMU.EDU (John D. Baker ->An Apple ZCPR3 nut//) writes:

> To: Any and All Apple CP/M gurus (especially on the PCPI Applicard)

I suppose I could qualify since I've written a few communicatons
drivers for SoftCard/Applied Engineering CP/M.

> I assume that if you properly set it up, there should be no conflicts and
> you should actually see some performance improvement (except disk drives),
> especially in terms of character I/O.

It might increase performance, but I don't know enough to answer
that because I don't know how the Applicard handles the Apple's
timing, or even if it does, whch the Microsoft/Applied
Engineering or any of their clones do.

> If anyone runs the Applicard (or even MS SoftCard) on an accelerated
> non-GS Apple ][, please let me know about what problems you have/had.

Like I said, I don't know how or if the Applicard reacts or uses
the Apple's clock system.  One thing I _CAN_ tell you is that you
CANNOT use the Zip Chip with a SoftCard "classic" which will work
in any Apple II, so long as you use the standard 1MHz clock. You
have to realize that this card (or the Z80c or any Z80-equipped
Z-RAM for the Apple //c) is a DMA, or as I would prefer to call
it, a bus master card, because it in effect, when activated,
fully takes over the computer and makes the Apple a Z80-based
computer and it talks DIRECTLY to the hardware, and is clocked
DIRECTLY by the Apple's hardware.  I was told by a Zip
representative that it wouldn't work when he was at our locsal
Apple group meeting a while ago.
 
> Thanks.
> 
> John D. Baker ->An Apple ZCPR3 nut // [PCPI ZMP1.5 Overlay under construction

mrapple@quack.sac.ca.us (Nick Sayer) (03/05/91)

rat@ruth.UUCP (David Douthitt) writes:

>As an aside, can someone tell me if there are any other hard drives
>you can use with a PCPI card besides the Sider?  Ones that work with
>Prodos?

I wrote a pair of drivers that allowed you to use ProDOS devices under
PCPI. One was for floppies and handled drives up to 2 MB, the other
was for hard disks and allowed up to 8 MB, but it had to be
non-removable (or you would have to make VERY sure to warm-boot
if you swapped. Bye bye data otherwise).

The trouble is that the vectors had to be sized in advance, so each
potential drive took up a k or so of your TPA.

All of the above is from memory. I could dig them up, but I'd rather
not have to. They're widespread, I would hope. :-/

>What about SCSI?

They are ProDOS devices, no?

-- 
Nick Sayer              | Think of me as a recombinant    | RIP: Mel Blanc
mrapple@quack.sac.ca.us | Simpson: Homer's looks, Lisa's  |   1908-1989
N6QQQ  [44.2.1.17]      | brains, Bart's manners, and     |  May he never
209-952-5347 (Telebit)  | Maggie's appetite for TV.  --Me |  be silenced.