Messages in tatung_einstein group.

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 1	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 09/11/2006
Subject: Smart Groups are closing down.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 4	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 10/11/2006
Subject: Old members e-mails being sent to this Group
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 12	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: transfered albert clearout
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 13	From: chris coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfrerd Still want to contribute article material to the Einstei
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 14	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfered New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 15	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfered New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 16	From: chris coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: transfered [einsteinclub] New Classified Ad Created
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 17	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transferred Subject: RE: Upgrading Einstein ROMS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 18	From: chris coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein going Spare
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 19	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 20	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: PC program written by me. It will open, read th
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 21	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 22	From: chris coxall	Date: 15/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Upgrading Einstein ROMS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 23	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein going Spare CORRECT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 24	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject Regarding my previous request for utility softwa
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 25	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Welcome Phil, B&H copyright.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 26	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Utility Software Request
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 27	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Hard Drive around the corner not quite yet.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 28	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: XTAL source available soon
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 29	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: A new web site for Einey. Great News
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 30	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 31	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 32	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Thanks for your support!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 33	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: New File Uploaded
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 34	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: XP Einstein disk image creator/writer
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 35	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Great News XTal Dos Sorce to be released
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 36	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 37	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: All The Best for 2006
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 38	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: New Link Added - (Tatung Einstein Reborn! The s
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 39	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 40	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 41	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 42	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 43	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, with appolo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 44	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: EDIP.ZIP uploaded to home folder.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 45	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 46	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 47	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 18/11/2006
Subject: Obtaining electronic components
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 48	From: fil_simmons	Date: 22/11/2006
Subject: Wanna have a laugh?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 49	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 22/11/2006
Subject: Re: Wanna have a laugh?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 50	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Einstein Group at Yahoo officially open.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 51	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Transferred from Smartgroups Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 52	From: chris coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Fw: [einsteinclub] A new Z80 MSX Computer!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 53	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message 3
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 54	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message No 4
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 55	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message 2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 56	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX machine
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 60	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 25/11/2006
Subject: Re: The new FPGA MSX message 2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 61	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/11/2006
Subject: Is Club file space going to be a problem?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 62	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 26/11/2006
Subject: Reply: Is Club file space going to be a problem?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 63	From: fil_simmons	Date: 27/11/2006
Subject: Web space, files and all of that.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 64	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/11/2006
Subject: Response: Web space, files and all of that.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 65	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/11/2006
Subject: Re: Response: Web space, files and all of that.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 66	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/12/2006
Subject: Re: Response after some thought : Web space, files and all of that.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 67	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 68	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 69	From: jltursan	Date: 17/01/2007
Subject: Hi to all!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 70	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/01/2007
Subject: Catching up after Christmas
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 71	From: jltursan	Date: 19/01/2007
Subject: Re: Catching up after Christmas
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 72	From: jltursan	Date: 23/01/2007
Subject: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 73	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 23/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 74	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 75	From: jltursan	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 76	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 77	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 26/01/2007
Subject: External Floppy drive wiring
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 78	From: jltursan	Date: 26/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 79	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 80	From: jltursan	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 81	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 82	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies. R
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 83	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: 3.5 inch external disk drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 84	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Floppy Disc Drives And That
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 85	From: geoff	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: 3.5 inch external disk drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 86	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: More thoughts on floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 87	From: Paul Bunyan	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: More thoughts on floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 88	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: scroller & PT2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 89	From: geoff	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: More thoughts on floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 90	From: jltursan	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 91	From: jltursan	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: scroller & PT2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 92	From: geoff	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 93	From: fil_simmons	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 94	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Fitting a three inch drive to a PC.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 95	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Re: Fitting a three inch drive to a PC.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 96	From: fil_simmons	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 97	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: 3 inch on the PC
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 98	From: geoff	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 99	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Floppy Drives Shugart twisted cables.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 100	From: geoff	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 101	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 102	From: geoff	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 103	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 104	From: geoff	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 105	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 106	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/02/2007
Subject: Floppy drives and other ideas.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 107	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 03/02/2007
Subject: Re: Floppy drives and other ideas.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 108	From: geoff	Date: 03/02/2007
Subject: A long term replacement for floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 109	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 04/02/2007
Subject: Good news SVM floppy.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 110	From: jltursan	Date: 04/02/2007
Subject: Re: A long term replacement for floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 111	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: Some after thoughts.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 112	From: geoff	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: Re: A long term replacement for floppy drives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 113	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: SVD JIT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 114	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/02/2007
Subject: Time to reach a consensus on the way forward with storage?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 115	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 06/02/2007
Subject: Re: Time to reach a consensus on the way forward with storage?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 116	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: Storage Objectives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 117	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: More on Storage Objectives.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 118	From: fil_simmons	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: More on storage
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 119	From: fil_simmons	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: About FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 120	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Responding to Phil's postings
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 121	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Recent mail condensed
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 122	From: geoff	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Information about Compact Flash cards and FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 123	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: SECTOR SKEW
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 124	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Information about Compact Flash cards and FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 125	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: USB ports on the einstein (another option, sorry)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 126	From: paul.bunyan	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Storage for the Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 127	From: fil_simmons	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Comments and more about FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 128	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Comments and more about FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 129	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Compact Flash-for what use.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 130	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Comments and more about FAT
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 131	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Zip Drives parallel port Black Arts
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 132	From: geoff	Date: 10/02/2007
Subject: Re: Zip Drives parallel port Black Arts
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 133	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 11/02/2007
Subject: Attached EM article on the silicon disk.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 134	From: fil_simmons	Date: 13/02/2007
Subject: The 1.6mb FDD is here
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 135	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 14/02/2007
Subject: Re: The 1.6mb FDD is here
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 136	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/02/2007
Subject: Just Thoughts
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 137	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Re: The 1.6mb FDD is here
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 138	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Re: Just Thoughts
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 139	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Cheap! external drive case
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 140	From: fil_simmons	Date: 16/02/2007
Subject: Just thoughts ...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 141	From: jltursan	Date: 16/02/2007
Subject: Re: Just thoughts ...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 142	From: geoff	Date: 17/02/2007
Subject: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 143	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 144	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 145	From: mjbrearley	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 146	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 147	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: 1.6 Mb FDD info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 148	From: geoff	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 149	From: geoff	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: 1.6 Mb FDD info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 150	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: 1.6Mb Fdd info - erratum
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 151	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 152	From: M.Brearley	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 153	From: geoff	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 154	From: fil_simmons	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 155	From: M.Brearley	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 156	From: geoff	Date: 21/02/2007
Subject: Re: Using a 3.5" floppy drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 157	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/02/2007
Subject: 1.44mb drives again
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 158	From: chriscoxall	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 159	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Re: Using a 3.5" floppy drive Motherboard check.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 160	From: geoff	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Re: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 161	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 23/02/2007
Subject: Re: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 162	From: jltursan	Date: 23/02/2007
Subject: FDD emulator & DIY IDE interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 163	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 164	From: geoff	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re: Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 165	From: geoff	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re: Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 166	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re Port Addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 167	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 01/03/2007
Subject: Einey I/O ports.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 168	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 01/03/2007
Subject: some links
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 169	From: geoff	Date: 04/03/2007
Subject: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 170	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 171	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 172	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 173	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 174	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 175	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 176	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 177	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Testing Einey Ports.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 178	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 179	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Testing Einey Ports.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 180	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Compact Flash Success
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 181	From: geoff	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compact Flash Success
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 182	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: CF Interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 183	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: CF Interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 184	From: jltursan	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: Re: CF Interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 185	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 186	From: geoff	Date: 08/03/2007
Subject: Compact Flash Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 187	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/03/2007
Subject: Thanks To Geoff
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 188	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 189	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 190	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 191	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 192	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 193	From: geoff	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: Another Compact Flash Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 194	From: mjbrearley	Date: 15/03/2007
Subject: Re: Another Compact Flash Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 195	From: geoff	Date: 15/03/2007
Subject: Re: Another Compact Flash Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 196	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Geoff's CF interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 197	From: mjbrearley	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 198	From: geoff	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 199	From: geoff	Date: 17/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 200	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 19/03/2007
Subject: Einey CF interface just an idea.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 201	From: geoff	Date: 23/03/2007
Subject: einstein software online
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 202	From: geoff	Date: 24/03/2007
Subject: Re: einstein software online
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 203	From: geoff	Date: 24/03/2007
Subject: Re: Einey CF interface just an idea.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 204	From: mjbrearley	Date: 26/03/2007
Subject: system5
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 205	From: geoff	Date: 27/03/2007
Subject: Switching User areas under XtalDOS 2.05
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 206	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/04/2007
Subject: Simple ide interface not working.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 207	From: geoff	Date: 02/04/2007
Subject: Re: Simple ide interface not working.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 208	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: IDE interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 209	From: geoff	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: Re: IDE interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 210	From: M.Brearley	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: Re: IDE interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 211	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/04/2007
Subject: Adapting Spectrum Hardware for the Einstein.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 212	From: mjbrearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Transfering files from pc to einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 213	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 214	From: M.Brearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 215	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 216	From: M.Brearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 217	From: jltursan	Date: 16/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 218	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 219	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Re: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 220	From: M.Brearley	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Re: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 221	From: fil_simmons	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: FPGA Stuff
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 222	From: fil_simmons	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: FPGA stuff - the link :)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 223	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 224	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 225	From: M.Brearley	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Re: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 226	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Re: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 227	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 04/05/2007
Subject: Re: FPGA stuff - the link :)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 228	From: jltursan	Date: 04/05/2007
Subject: Re: FPGA stuff - the link :)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 229	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 03/06/2007
Subject: XBASIC emulators?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 230	From: geoff	Date: 03/06/2007
Subject: Re: XBASIC emulators?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 231	From: julia_pa_211	Date: 06/07/2007
Subject: TOP 300 Freeware Software!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 232	From: julia_pa_211	Date: 28/07/2007
Subject: 25 Web Sites to Watch
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 233	From: Paul Bunyan	Date: 28/07/2007
Subject: Re: 25 Web Sites to Watch
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 234	From: nisha2530a	Date: 12/08/2007
Subject: http://www.hotshare.net
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 235	From: Esmeralda Stone	Date: 13/08/2007
Subject: Hi Tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 236	From: Concepcion Kearney	Date: 13/08/2007
Subject: for Tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 237	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 14/08/2007
Subject: Re: Hi Tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 238	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/08/2007
Subject: Re: Hi Tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 239	From: fil_simmons	Date: 04/10/2007
Subject: Disaster Strikes
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 240	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 05/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 241	From: jltursan	Date: 05/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 242	From: geoff	Date: 06/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 243	From: grez1m	Date: 18/11/2007
Subject: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 244	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 19/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 245	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 19/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 246	From: grez1m	Date: 25/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 247	From: geoff	Date: 25/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 248	From: grez1m	Date: 26/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 249	From: Mario Castro	Date: 17/12/2007
Subject: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 250	From: geoff	Date: 18/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 251	From: Mario Castro	Date: 18/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 252	From: geoff	Date: 19/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 253	From: Mario Castro	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 254	From: andrewdunipace	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: disk transfers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 255	From: susan mitchell	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 256	From: geoff	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 257	From: geoff	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 258	From: Mario Castro	Date: 24/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 259	From: cjbridport	Date: 02/01/2008
Subject: TC01 info please
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 260	From: fil_simmons	Date: 03/01/2008
Subject: Re: TC01 info please
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 261	From: tallpaul_b	Date: 04/01/2008
Subject: 2 keyboard keyswitches needed
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 262	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 13/02/2008
Subject: serial link einey/pc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 263	From: clarkjonathan32	Date: 04/03/2008
Subject: I'd like to buy an Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 264	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 06/03/2008
Subject: Re: I'd like to buy an Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 265	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 14/03/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 267	From: fil_simmons	Date: 14/03/2008
Subject: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 268	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 269	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 17/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 270	From: geoff	Date: 20/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 271	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 21/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 272	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 23/03/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 273	From: geoff	Date: 23/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 274	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/03/2008
Subject: PC/EINEY printer port connection.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 275	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 276	From: geoff	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 277	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 278	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 280	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/03/2008
Subject: ZBasic wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 281	From: geoff	Date: 06/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 282	From: geoff	Date: 06/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 283	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/04/2008
Subject: PC/EINEY printer port connection.not enough output power.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 284	From: geoff	Date: 07/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.not enough output power.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 285	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: ZBasic wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 286	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: Re: ZBasic wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 287	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: Parallel port connections. Update.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 288	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/04/2008
Subject: Xtal Dos Dissassembly Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 289	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 29/04/2008
Subject: general comment
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 290	From: fil_simmons	Date: 29/04/2008
Subject: A few ideas
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 291	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 30/04/2008
Subject: Re: general comment
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 292	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 293	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 294	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: Re: A few ideas
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 295	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 296	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: Re: A few ideas
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 297	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/05/2008
Subject: message sorter
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 298	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 18/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 299	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 25/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 300	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 25/05/2008
Subject: Uploaded to the group files in the ROM folder-file Einstein.zip
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 301	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 11/06/2008
Subject: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 302	From: geoff	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: Re: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 303	From: jltursan	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: Re: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 304	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 305	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 13/06/2008
Subject: User port/PC printer link
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 306	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 19/08/2008
Subject: web site problems again.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 307	From: fil_simmons	Date: 20/08/2008
Subject: Re: web site problems again.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 308	From: mmath1x	Date: 21/08/2008
Subject: Einstein TC 01 for sale.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 309	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/08/2008
Subject: Einsteins And Other Equipment
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 310	From: geoff	Date: 22/08/2008
Subject: Re: Einsteins And Other Equipment
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 311	From: adunipace	Date: 26/08/2008
Subject: Stan
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 312	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/08/2008
Subject: Stan's legacy for Einstein enthusiasts.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 313	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/11/2008
Subject: A few developments
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 314	From: jltursan	Date: 04/11/2008
Subject: Re: A few developments
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 315	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 20/02/2009
Subject: Web Site Problems Again
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 316	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 18/09/2009
Subject: USB port for the EInstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 317	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 22/09/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 318	From: richard.croskell	Date: 28/09/2009
Subject: New member looking for some programming help
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 319	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 28/09/2009
Subject: A message For Phil
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 320	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Rply to Richard Croskell
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 321	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 322	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 323	From: richard.croskell	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: Rply to Richard Croskell
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 324	From: richard.croskell	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 325	From: jltursan	Date: 01/10/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 326	From: richard.croskell	Date: 01/10/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 327	From: joanne	Date: 03/10/2009
Subject: games for the tatung einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 328	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 17/10/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 329	From: charlie	Date: 29/01/2010
Subject: Patching DOS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 330	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 331	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 30/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 332	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 333	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 31/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 334	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 14/02/2010
Subject: Will HxC unit work on the Tatung Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 335	From: ian	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 336	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 337	From: Ian Smith	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 338	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 339	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 340	From: Ian Smith	Date: 02/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 341	From: Ian Smith	Date: 02/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 343	From: teeeby	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 344	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 345	From: teeeby	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 346	From: charlie	Date: 08/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 349	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 09/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc - photos
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 350	From: teeeby	Date: 09/07/2010
Subject: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc pics - second attempt
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 351	From: Chris	Date: 10/07/2010
Subject: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 352	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 11/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc pics - second attempt
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 353	From: teeeby	Date: 11/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 354	From: teeeby	Date: 12/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 355	From: Chris	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 356	From: Chris	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: Semi virtual Floppy Drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 357	From: msmithuk	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: Re: Semi virtual Floppy Drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 358	From: Chris	Date: 15/07/2010
Subject: Corrections: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and genera
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 359	From: teeeby	Date: 15/07/2010
Subject: Re: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 360	From: Chris	Date: 16/07/2010
Subject: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 361	From: teeeby	Date: 17/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 363	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 19/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 364	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 20/07/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 365	From: teeeby	Date: 21/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 366	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 367	From: teeeby	Date: 24/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 368	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 28/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 369	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 28/07/2010
Subject: Silicon Disc with System5 (Dos2.05)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 370	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 29/07/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 371	From: teeeby	Date: 29/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 372	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 373	From: teeeby	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc with System5 (Dos2.05)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 374	From: teeeby	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 375	From: teeeby	Date: 01/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 376	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 11/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 377	From: teeeby	Date: 12/08/2010
Subject: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 378	From: jltursan	Date: 12/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 379	From: teeeby	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 380	From: jltursan	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 381	From: Chris	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Catching Up with latest posts,
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 382	From: teeeby	Date: 14/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 383	From: teeeby	Date: 14/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 384	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/08/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 385	From: teeeby	Date: 19/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 386	From: teeeby	Date: 21/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 387	From: teeeby	Date: 21/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 388	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 22/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 389	From: Chris	Date: 22/08/2010
Subject: MORE ON EDIP
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 390	From: Chris	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Tony Response to your post part 2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 391	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Re: Tony Response to your post part 2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 392	From: teeeby	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Re: MORE ON EDIP
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 393	From: Chris	Date: 26/08/2010
Subject: Continuing on from latest posts.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 394	From: teeeby	Date: 26/08/2010
Subject: Re: Continuing on from latest posts.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 395	From: Chris	Date: 29/08/2010
Subject: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 396	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 30/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 397	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 398	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 399	From: Chris	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 400	From: Chris	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD continued
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 401	From: teeeby	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: CP/M manual and EDIPHD
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 402	From: teeeby	Date: 02/09/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD - 16K block too big!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 403	From: Chris	Date: 03/09/2010
Subject: A LEGACY OF OVERSIZED EINSTEIN FILES ON PCs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 404	From: Chris	Date: 06/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD Reflection
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 405	From: Chris	Date: 06/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD Reflection
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 406	From: teeeby	Date: 11/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD Reflection
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 407	From: Chris	Date: 12/09/2010
Subject: EDIP "EDIPv1c.zip" Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 409	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 19/09/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 410	From: teeeby	Date: 19/09/2010
Subject: Proposed Image File Format
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 411	From: Chris	Date: 25/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 412	From: teeeby	Date: 26/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 413	From: Chris	Date: 27/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP more
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 414	From: teeeby	Date: 29/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP more
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 416	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: Assemble a family with an Asian girl
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 417	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: group concern also SSdisk?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 418	From: Chris	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: SPAM & SPAMER
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 419	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 420	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 421	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 422	From: teeeby	Date: 16/10/2010
Subject: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 423	From: Chris	Date: 16/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 424	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 17/10/2010
Subject: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 425	From: teeeby	Date: 18/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 426	From: Chris	Date: 18/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 427	From: teeeby	Date: 19/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 428	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 26/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 429	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 26/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 430	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 27/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 431	From: joanne	Date: 30/10/2010
Subject: 3" disk problems formatting
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 432	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 30/10/2010
Subject: Re: 3" disk problems formatting
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 433	From: Mark	Date: 31/10/2010
Subject: I wish to sell an Einstein with various disks!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 434	From: teeeby	Date: 04/11/2010
Subject: Re: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 435	From: richard.croskell	Date: 08/11/2010
Subject: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 436	From: richard.croskell	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: New Tatung Einstein forums
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 437	From: Chris	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: Re: New Tatung Einstein forums
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 438	From: richard.croskell	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: Re: New Tatung Einstein forums
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 439	From: jltursan	Date: 11/11/2010
Subject: Re: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 440	From: richard.croskell	Date: 12/11/2010
Subject: Re: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 441	From: Chris	Date: 14/11/2010
Subject: EDIPv1d up loaded
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 442	From: christinedwalls76	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 443	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 444	From: jltursan	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Xtal System 5.0 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 445	From: richard.croskell	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Re: Xtal System 5.0 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 446	From: Chris	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 447	From: Christine Walls	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 448	From: christinedwalls76	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 449	From: Chris	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: PITPAD ????????
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 450	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 451	From: jltursan	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Xtal System 5.0 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 452	From: teeeby	Date: 26/11/2010
Subject: Re: EDIPv1d up loaded
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 453	From: richard.croskell	Date: 28/11/2010
Subject: Hybrid Screen2 / Screen 1 mode in the V9918 for the Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 454	From: richard.croskell	Date: 02/12/2010
Subject: Looking for a couple of Einstein books
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 455	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/02/2011
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 456	From: Chris	Date: 15/02/2011
Subject: EDIP version 1e is now available for download.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 457	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 21/02/2011
Subject: Beginning a MESS TC01 on a Mac?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 458	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2011
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 459	From: pencoys	Date: 15/09/2011
Subject: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 460	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/09/2011
Subject: Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 461	From: Chris	Date: 16/09/2011
Subject: Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 462	From: Chris	Date: 17/09/2011
Subject: Forward email from Simom to Chris Coxall
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 463	From: Chris	Date: 17/09/2011
Subject: Re: Correction Forward email from "Mike W"
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 464	From: Ceri Owen	Date: 31/12/2011
Subject: Three Tatung Einstein, York, free to good home.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 465	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 05/03/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 466	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 05/03/2012
Subject: Re: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 467	From: Chris	Date: 08/03/2012
Subject: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 468	From: Tony Brewer	Date: 09/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 469	From: teeeby	Date: 10/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 470	From: teeeby	Date: 10/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 471	From: Chris	Date: 12/03/2012
Subject: YUV to Component
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 472	From: Chris	Date: 22/03/2012
Subject: SD Floppy Emulator
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 473	From: Chris	Date: 14/04/2012
Subject: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 474	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 475	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 476	From: jltursan	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 477	From: Chris	Date: 16/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 478	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 479	From: Chris	Date: 27/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 480	From: marksmith201130	Date: 20/07/2012
Subject: Advantages of Dell UltraSharp U3011
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 481	From: lez_anderson	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 482	From: lez_anderson	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein best website for Dowloads ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 483	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein best website for Dowloads ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 484	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 485	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 486	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 487	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 488	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein - LCD VGA Monitor.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 489	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein - LCD VGA Monitor.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 490	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 491	From: lez_anderson	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA is first step to a 'One Chip Tatung
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 492	From: lez_anderson	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FREE t
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 493	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Re: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FR
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 494	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 495	From: lez_anderson	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Z84C0020 Board....What it entails...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 496	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Re: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FR
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 497	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 498	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 499	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 01/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 500	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 01/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 501	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 502	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Wanted Downloadable Version of Einstein 256 Service Manual.....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 503	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Re: Wanted Downloadable Version of Einstein 256 Service Manual.....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 504	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Get your FREE Z80 kit !!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 505	From: lez_anderson	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 506	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 507	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 508	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 509	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 510	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 511	From: lez_anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: REMEMOTECH an example, showing what can be done !!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 512	From: lez_anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Send a Stamped address Envelope...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 513	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 514	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 515	From: lez_anderson	Date: 05/08/2012
Subject: F18A video Chip TMS9918 replacement.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 516	From: lez_anderson	Date: 06/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send a Stamped address Envelope...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 517	From: lez_anderson	Date: 07/08/2012
Subject: Overclocking ..Pro's and cons
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 518	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/08/2012
Subject: Some Z80 kits ... still available..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 519	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/08/2012
Subject: Crash Z80 Course..What You'll Need ..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 520	From: lez_anderson	Date: 11/08/2012
Subject: Gearing up for Z80 project... preparation..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 521	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/08/2012
Subject: Not too late to get Z80 kit..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 522	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/08/2012
Subject: Z80 project will start on FRIDAY.. with board layout, 5V supply, 780
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 523	From: lez_anderson	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Send SAE ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 524	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 525	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 526	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 527	From: Phil	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 528	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 529	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 530	From: lez_anderson	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Posted three Z80 kits....still some more left !
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 531	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 532	From: Phil	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: Hard drive for Xtal?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 533	From: lez_anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Wanted Quality scan of Einstein 256 schematics..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 534	From: lez_anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Z80 Microcomputer Design --- PART 1
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 535	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 536	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 537	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 538	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/08/2012
Subject: Don't get phased...!!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 539	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 22/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 540	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 22/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 541	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: Programmable logic...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 542	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: PCB design services.....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 543	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: Z80 part2....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 544	From: Phil	Date: 28/08/2012
Subject: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 545	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 28/08/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 546	From: jltursan	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 547	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Skydrive link updated
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 548	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: Skydrive link updated
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 549	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 550	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Sorry about skydrive link :-(
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 551	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 552	From: Phil	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: New Mess File Link Working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 553	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: Re: New Mess File Link Working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 554	From: Phil	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: Re: New Mess File Link Working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 555	From: lez_anderson	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: PCB quotes..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 556	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/08/2012
Subject: Z80 Part 3 ....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 557	From: lez_anderson	Date: 01/09/2012
Subject: Z80 part 3..continued.. Flash memory..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 558	From: lez_anderson	Date: 01/09/2012
Subject: Z80 parts on order !!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 559	From: Phil	Date: 04/09/2012
Subject: DiskRead - a new utility
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 560	From: lez_anderson	Date: 05/09/2012
Subject: Get ready for Z80 Part4 V9958 !!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 561	From: lez_anderson	Date: 06/09/2012
Subject: Interfacing V9938/V9958 to SRAM ????
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 562	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 06/09/2012
Subject: Re: Interfacing V9938/V9958 to SRAM ????
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 563	From: lez_anderson	Date: 07/09/2012
Subject: Part 4 V9958 Video Circuitry....
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 564	From: lez_anderson	Date: 13/09/2012
Subject: Z80.... Part 5 The pain continues.. Sound Chip and cleaning up th
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 565	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/09/2012
Subject: Z80 download site:
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 566	From: lez_anderson	Date: 16/09/2012
Subject: Getting a prototype board made ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 567	From: lez_anderson	Date: 26/09/2012
Subject: Eagle V9958 library parts..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 568	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/10/2012
Subject: Cheap ICs and components...where to buy !
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 569	From: lez_anderson	Date: 08/11/2012
Subject: Low Cost legacy ICs and Z80 Kits...
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 570	From: lez_anderson	Date: 30/11/2012
Subject: Sending Z80 kits to Charlie
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 571	From: astharot	Date: 30/11/2012
Subject: Re: Sending Z80 kits to Charlie
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 572	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: New Member in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 573	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: Hardware Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 574	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 575	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: Reference Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 576	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: TV Output Operation With the TK02 Connected
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 577	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 578	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 580	From: charlie	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 581	From: jltursan	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 582	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 583	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 584	From: teeeby	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: Hardware Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 585	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 586	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: Hardware Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 587	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 588	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Nascom
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 589	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Newsletters and Magazines - Einstein and Others
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 590	From: Mike Strange	Date: 03/04/2013
Subject: Silicon Disk
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 591	From: teeeby	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 592	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 593	From: Mike Strange	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 594	From: Mike Strange	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Group Owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 595	From: Chris	Date: 05/04/2013
Subject: Re: Group Owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 596	From: Mike Strange	Date: 05/04/2013
Subject: Re: Group Owner
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 597	From: Mike	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 598	From: Roger	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: zx spectrum 128k emulator
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 599	From: Roger	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: zx spectrum 128k emulator
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 600	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 601	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 602	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 603	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 604	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Reference Manual
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 605	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 606	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 607	From: Mike Strange	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 608	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: MOS 1.2 Source Code
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 609	From: Mike Strange	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 Source Code
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 610	From: jltursan	Date: 08/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 611	From: charlie	Date: 09/04/2013
Subject: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 612	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 613	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 614	From: teeeby	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 615	From: Mike Strange	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 616	From: Mike	Date: 13/04/2013
Subject: CF2 Discs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 617	From: trevatxtal	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 618	From: Mike Strange	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 619	From: teeeby	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 620	From: Andy Taylor	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 621	From: teeeby	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 622	From: trevatxtal	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 623	From: Mike Strange	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 624	From: teeeby	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 625	From: fatbob_gb	Date: 16/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 626	From: teeeby	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 627	From: teeeby	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 628	From: Mike Strange	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 629	From: charlie	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: New interface in town - soon
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 630	From: charlie	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 631	From: Mike Strange	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: New interface in town - soon
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 632	From: jltursan	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 633	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 19/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 634	From: teeeby	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Key not working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 635	From: teeeby	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 636	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 637	From: jltursan	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 638	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 639	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Einstein USB interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 640	From: teeeby	Date: 23/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 641	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 642	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 643	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 644	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 645	From: teeeby	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 646	From: charlie	Date: 10/05/2013
Subject: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 647	From: ermanno	Date: 11/05/2013
Subject: Purchase an Tatung Einstein.. mission Impossible??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 648	From: Phil	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 649	From: charlie	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 650	From: Phil	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 651	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Re: Purchase an Tatung Einstein.. mission Impossible??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 652	From: weirdocollector	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Connecting an HxC or a 3.5" drive to an Einstein 256
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 653	From: Phil	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 654	From: charlie	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: TC01 video problem
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 655	From: charlie	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 656	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 17/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 657	From: Chris	Date: 17/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 658	From: jltursan	Date: 18/05/2013
Subject: Re: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 659	From: Phil	Date: 18/05/2013
Subject: Re: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 660	From: Phil	Date: 27/05/2013
Subject: Einstein Community Forum Update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 661	From: ermanno alekin	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: Use Tatung again in emulate mode
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 662	From: ermanno	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: tatung emulator help ..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 663	From: ermanno	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: sorry for duplicate post .. yahoo had problem??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 664	From: charlie	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: WinEinTrans not detecting serial port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 665	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 05/06/2013
Subject: hello.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 666	From: charlie	Date: 05/06/2013
Subject: Re: WinEinTrans not detecting serial port
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 667	From: charlie	Date: 06/06/2013
Subject: Announcing: Python EinTrans client
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 668	From: charlie	Date: 06/06/2013
Subject: Announcing: Python EinTrans client
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 669	From: Phil	Date: 10/06/2013
Subject: Einstein Community Forum First Chat Meeting!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 670	From: charlie	Date: 13/06/2013
Subject: einSDein lives!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 671	From: Phil	Date: 16/06/2013
Subject: Chat tonight!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 672	From: Phil	Date: 16/06/2013
Subject: Re: einSDein lives!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 673	From: charlie	Date: 18/06/2013
Subject: stand-alone machine code game wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 674	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 18/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 675	From: charlie	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 676	From: charlie	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: einSDein now loads files.
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 677	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 678	From: Allan C. Lloyds	Date: 26/06/2013
Subject: TC01 for sale
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 679	From: charlie	Date: 10/07/2013
Subject: einSDein progress update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 680	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 10/07/2013
Subject: Re: einSDein progress update
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 681	From: charlie	Date: 25/07/2013
Subject: Re: New interface in town - soon
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 682	From: charlie	Date: 25/07/2013
Subject: New Life for Silicon Disk!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 683	From: charlie	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: New Life for Silicon Disk!
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 684	From: Phil	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 685	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 686	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 689	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 690	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 08/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 691	From: Phil	Date: 06/09/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 692	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 693	From: Pencoys	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 694	From: charlie	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 695	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 696	From: Pencoys	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 697	From: charlie	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 698	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 699	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 700	From: laios99	Date: 22/02/2014
Subject: Hello from new member
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 701	From:	Date: 25/02/2014
Subject: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 702	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/02/2014
Subject: Re: Hello from new member
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 703	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/02/2014
Subject: MOS 1.21
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 704	From: Philip Simmons	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 705	From: bagpusscat22	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 706	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 707	From: honda_four400	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 708	From: teeeby	Date: 09/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 709	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 11/03/2014
Subject: irda and bluetooth
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 710	From: charlieprevx	Date: 11/03/2014
Subject: Re: irda and bluetooth
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 711	From: laios99	Date: 26/03/2014
Subject: TC01 joystick
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 712	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/03/2014
Subject: Re: TC01 joystick
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 713	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2014
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 714	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2014
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 715	From: laios99	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: : Re: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 716	From: Pencoys	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: Re: : Re: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 717	From: smacardghail	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Re:: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 718	From: Laios Palingas	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: Re: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Re:: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 719	From: honda_four400	Date: 10/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 720	From: honda_four400	Date: 10/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 721	From: honda_four400	Date: 19/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 722	From: honda_four400	Date: 21/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 723	From: m_r_day	Date: 22/09/2015
Subject: Installing 2nd 3" drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 724	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 23/09/2015
Subject: Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 725	From: honda_four400	Date: 03/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 726	From: honda_four400	Date: 03/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 727	From: honda_four400	Date: 18/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 728	From: honda_four400	Date: 18/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 729	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/11/2015
Subject: Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 730	From: m_r_day	Date: 12/11/2015
Subject: : Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 731	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 17/11/2015
Subject: : Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 732	From: smacardghail	Date: 17/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 733	From: lez_anderson	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 734	From: lez_anderson	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: Reverse Engineering a Tatung Einstein256
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 735	From: m_r_day	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Installing 2nd 3" drive
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 736	From: smacardghail	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 737	From: lez_anderson	Date: 19/11/2015
Subject: Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 738	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: Does Anyone know the true Story behind the Tatung Einstein..who desi
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 739	From: teeeby	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 740	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 741	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/11/2015
Subject: : Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 742	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 23/11/2015
Subject: Re: : Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 743	From: thomasliddle88	Date: 23/11/2015
Subject: F18A VDP ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 744	From: jltursan	Date: 24/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 745	From: teeeby	Date: 24/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 746	From: jltursan	Date: 25/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 747	From: labalius	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: TM01 monitor recovery
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 748	From: Pencoys	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: Re: TM01 monitor recovery
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 749	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: Re: TM01 monitor recovery
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 750	From: labalius	Date: 30/11/2015
Subject: : TM01 monitor recovery
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 751	From: labalius	Date: 30/11/2015
Subject: : TM01 monitor recovery
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 752	From: grubbadrian	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 753	From: Pencoys	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Re: Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 754	From: grubbadrian	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: : Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 755	From: Adrian Grubb	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Re: Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 756	From: SandyMuir2001	Date: 10/01/2016
Subject: Power Supply part replacement
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 757	From: grubbadrian	Date: 13/01/2016
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 758	From: grubbadrian	Date: 15/01/2016
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Willy games
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 759	From: labalius	Date: 26/09/2016
Subject: Giveaway: Olivetti DM 105 printer and broken TM 01 Monitor
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 760	From: labalius	Date: 23/10/2016
Subject: Hyperball access codes
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 761	From: ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47	Date: 07/06/2017
Subject: Spare Parts?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 762	From: Pencoys	Date: 07/06/2017
Subject: Re: Spare Parts?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 763	From: ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47	Date: 08/06/2017
Subject: : Spare Parts?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 764	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 04/10/2017
Subject: Re: Spare Parts?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 765	From: andrewdunipace	Date: 06/10/2017
Subject: : Spare Parts?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 766	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 767	From: Pencoys	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 768	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 769	From: smcardle	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 770	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 771	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 772	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 773	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 774	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 775	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 776	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 777	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 778	From: Pencoys	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Re: : Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 779	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Einstein Hardware, Serial Numbers and Einey D.I.Y projects you own
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 780	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: : Re: scroller & PT2
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 781	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Re: : Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 782	From: Mike Day	Date: 01/09/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 783	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 02/09/2019
Subject: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 784	From: Mike Day	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 785	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 786	From: weirdocollector	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 787	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 06/09/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 788	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/09/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 789	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/10/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 790	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/10/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 791	From: strange2uk	Date: 18/10/2019
Subject: Yahoo Groups Closure
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 792	From: strange2uk	Date: 21/10/2019
Subject: : Yahoo Groups Closure
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 793	From: strange2uk	Date: 23/10/2019
Subject: NEW GROUP ACTIVE
Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 794	From: strange2uk	Date: 24/10/2019
Subject: IO GROUP - FILE OWNERSHIP CORRECTION

---

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 1	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 09/11/2006
Subject: Smart Groups are closing down.

Hi All, Just a quick note. Smart groups is closing down. I've set up a new group with Yahoo uk to take over after November 30. http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein Its still in early state of operationbut e-mail postings can be sent to it. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 4	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 10/11/2006
Subject: Old members e-mails being sent to this Group

Hi All, The closing down of smart groups and the closure of the Einstein Club is causing a few headaches. I am trying transfer every thing I can and keep historically everything as it was. Files have been downloaded and I will upload them to here but supporting descriptions to what they are will have to be added later. There is no simple way to transfer e-mail postings from members to the old group. Those I have collected in my own computers inbox I will forward to the yahoo group. I'll try and have everything as it was by 30th. November. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 12	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: transfered albert clearout

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: albert clearout Created on 08 Dec 2004 19:09:05 Message #1 of 43 Posted By martin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   dear member(s) being a long standing member since 1984 to current, the decline of support for the club/magazine and the proliferation of the pc I therefore wish to donate my albert/tc01/software/books to the club/person that is interested to obtain them, rather than bury them in a waste dump. some of the software available is dbase2 by first software, wordstar/infostar, bbcbasic, logo. I am currently trying to scan the 'Technicians Guide' into windows bitmap files using an xp based pc.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 13	From: chris coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfrerd Still want to contribute article material to the Einstei

Subject: Still want to contribute article material to the Einstein scene. Created on 26 May 2005 20:11:03 Message #4 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   For those who would still want to contribute article material to the Einstein scene.   With a club site being able in a more general way for Einey people to keep in contact with each other I would like to put forward some ideas that I have discussed with former Einstein Magazine subscribers in the way Einstein related information can be preserved and future development can be shared.   Your Own Einstein CD   Every now and then I make a back up CD-ROM of the web sites I have and there is a lot of spare space so anything Einstein related I have gets put on to it. It holds drafted out ideas for future Einstein development, scanned in graphic files of Einstein manuals, articles, text files of information sent by others and Einstein Disk Images also programs. PC applications I use for Einstein publications are also added just to fill up space.   They haven't been made in any organized way except to hastily add text files for introducing folder content (that's if I remembered to do so). The text files also hold some of my ramblings. Very rudimentary sketched out ideas for what might end up on the web site or for future Einstein development. It was easy to make a copy CD to send to a few others. They were not intended for general distribution but in this rough and ready way Einstein info gets preserved and into the hands of others.   Some of those that received my web site back up CD have responded by sending me there own stored Einstein related material on a CD. This is a very good way to get Einstein information saved into the hands of those who would like to be still active in sharing and helping others with future Einstein development.   I think I can safely say I can find the time to make up to ten copies of the Einstein web site back CD for others. If you have received one please feel free to make copies for others. From the daisy chain letter distribution method of rough and ready stored Einstein info some one may in the future make up an official "Tatung Einstein CD".   If you have been an article contributor to the former "Einstein Magazine" or even an Editor and have stored electronically contributions in DTP or txt files and can't create a CD please get the information to me anyway you can or to some one else who can back it up to CD.   Article Contributions   I was always of the opinion that the publication and distribution of EM was too much for one person and Ted Clerkwell and Tony Adams as Editors were the exceptions in being able to edit the magazine for such a long periods. Finding the time to manage the web site is hard enough but unlike a magazine I'm not restricted by dead lines and I can update the site as to when the other essentials of living permit. So, no great pressure on me.   There is nothing that can replace that hard copy magazine that dropped through the letter box but hard copy distribution is expensive and rather dated now for small scale publications.   There is though a way magazine type pages can be created and printed out on the home computer/printer. With a Desk Top Publisher software and skills, created article pages can be printed to a *.pdf document with the freeware "Cute PDF Printer" download at "http://www.acrosoftware.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp". The *.pdf documents can be sent over the internet and by the end user read on the computer screen or printed to hard copy.   This Spectrum site http://www.woodcock88.freeserve.co.uk/html/magazine.html has ten A5 format magazines that are well laid out and professionally done using this method but the Editor's time seems to have been stretched and at present the site says future magazines will not be published for a while.   I would not wish to recommend to any one to take on an online magazine dedicated to dead lines unless they are really tough. I do intend though, to use the method of creating pdf document pages for single subject articles for downloading from the web site and for uploading to this club site in future.   I am myself prepared to except Einstein related pdf documents from others for downloading from off the web. But please completed packaged up pdf documents only. Do not expect as another has done that material can be sent in as Word 7 files or some other format and I would put the content into a DTP layout and print to a pdf file. The pdf files should be final documents in themselves the content and layout the responsibility of the creator with out the need for further editing from me. All I need in addition is a sentence or two for the web site to describe the content for those who would wish to download. This way the time and effort required from me will be minimal and manageable.   Any type of Einstein related document would be acceptable but useful information regarding the adaptation and software manipulation of the TC01's hardware would get a special mention on my main web site.   The format for the documents I recommend should be for A5 size and not multi column. News paper type columns look great on hard copy but on screen it means scrolling up and down the page to read.   The desk top publisher software I used to use was Serif Page Plus 5 a freebee which came with computer magazine cover CDs. From the Serif web site I've recently down loaded their latest freeware Serif PagePlus program. The files they create are not compatible with each other. A great pity. The latest PagePlus is free and available now, so my I suggest that this be the official Einstein Club DTP. The idea being that single subject articles created with Serif Page Plus by various people could later be edited into compendium booklet.   As I mentioned in the club's invite e-mail I can never find the time to keep the web site pages updated with a backlog of information I could create. Two essential documents I need to do are a listing of the Einstein's MOS machine calls and example program listing to what they do. The other is how to use the TC01's user port. The web site is meant to be an Einstein resource centre providing this information. If anyone has this information and can put it into a presentable pdf file please help me out.   Creating Your Own Einstein Web Site.   A web page of your own for a one off project. A presentable web page of useful information need not be complex or hard to do. A text file will load into a browser as a web page. Adding photos and scanned in diagrams is not difficult to learn. Word processors and DTP software can now have simple web page creating features i.e. Lotus Word Pro 97. There is also the freeware Serif WebPage Plus.   Free web site space can be had from most ISPs. Web sites once created do not seem to go away by the neglect of the owner. I recently found I had created a web site two years ago by mistake. I didn't know I had it. So a web site once created need not be an on going responsibility. It can be left and forgotten by its creator but still giving out useful information to those who can find it. It would be easy for me to add a link to such a site and save me creating a web page for that information myself.   I hope the above will be useful for those original "Einstein User Group" members who recall the now unpublished magazine and still have an itch to continue on making contributions to the Einstein scene.   Best Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 14	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfered New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip)

Subject: New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip) Created on 26 May 2005 21:46:44 Message #5 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   26 May 2005 21:46:30       A new file has been added to the "Einstein Computer Club" Files Area by Chris Coxall.       Name: DSK_F_y.zip   Description: PC program written by me. It will open, read the directory and extract individual files from Einstein disk images.   File Size: 61K

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 15	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: Transfered New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip)

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: New File Added - (DSK_F_y.zip) Created on 26 May 2005 21:46:44 Message #5 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   26 May 2005 21:46:30       A new file has been added to the "Einstein Computer Club" Files Area by Chris Coxall.       Name: DSK_F_y.zip   Description: PC program written by me. It will open, read the directory and extract individual files from Einstein disk images.   File Size: 61K

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 16	From: chris coxall	Date: 12/11/2006
Subject: transfered [einsteinclub] New Classified Ad Created

Subject: [einsteinclub] New Classified Ad Created Created on 25 May 2005 14:47:32 Message #3 of 43 Posted By Paul Bunyan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   25 May 2005 14:47:22   A New Classified Ad has been placed in the "Einstein Computer Club" Club at Wanadoo Clubs by Paul Bunyan.   Item Name: [For Sale] Replacement EPROMs (v1.21) Description: Anybody needs one (even as an upgrade) then please contact me!   paul dot bunyan at ntlworld dot com Price Details: 0 Web Location: http://clubs.wanadoo.co.uk/ads/ads.cfm?GID=2932594&AdID=1

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 17	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transferred Subject: RE: Upgrading Einstein ROMS

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: RE: Upgrading Einstein ROMS Created on 30 May 2005 19:47:33 Message #8 of 43 Posted By Paul Bunyan View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Author wrote: [snip] > Can anybody explain in lay mans terms?   Chris,   It's a black art which needs intimate knowledge of the hardware on which the code will run, as well as a thorough grasp of the specific op-codes for that CPU type.   Fortunately the Z80 is well documented. I don't know how well documented the Einstein hardware is.   I used to write code for Z80 based industrial kit and it was imperative to include null code that acted as notation for what each chunk of code did. I doubt the Einy ROM has has luxury of space that we had then.   I haven't (as yet) looked at the code in an Einy ROM but if I get time (moving house in the next couple of weeks!) I'll let you know what I find.   Regards Paul Bunyan

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 18	From: chris coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein going Spare

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk       Subject: Einstein going Spare Created on 27 Aug 2005 14:03:09 Message #11 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   To any one interested I've had a contact farwarded to me for an Einstein available in SOUTHAMPTON.   > Hi I have an Einstein computer in my loft. It has twin 3" >drives and an eighty column card with some discs/games/etc. and an >Einstein monitor. I actually wrote a suite of programmes for my >business including a wages programme in Crystal basic I think it was >called. I used to converse with the author down on the south coast some >where. I'll get to the point... is any body interested in the above >item ??? I live in Southend.on.Sea :   I'm not yet in direct contact with the seller but will pass on any inquiries.   If interested please contact me. Alternativeley Ken Ross.   Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 19	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added Created on 02 Jun 2005 18:31:11 Message #9 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   02 Jun 2005 18:30:34 Chris Coxall has added 1 new file(s) to the following folder in the "Einstein Computer Club" Club at clubs.wanadoo.co.uk Folder Name: einsteinclub Web Location: http://clubs.wanadoo.co.uk/vault/einsteinclub/ The following files were added:   Name: club_1.pdf Description: THIS DOCUMENT File Size: 270K

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 20	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: PC program written by me. It will open, read th

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: PC program written by me. It will open, read the directory and extract individual files from Einstein disk images. Created on 26 May 2005 21:49:12 Message #6 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   In the up loaded zip archive "DSK_F_y.zip" is a windows PC program written by me. It will open, read the directory and extract individual files from Einstein disk images.   Einextract a previous program written by me, which can be downloaded from http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/extract/extract.htm, will also extract files from Einstein disk images but only from standard single side 40 tracks per side format. DISK_F_y.exe will extract from images with different formats but unlike Einextract it does not yet use windows dialog boxes but runs in a window on the PC in a way you would expect a basic program to be displayed and run on the Einstein.   I should say the program is still under development but finding time myself to get it finished seems impossible at the moment. In its present stage it does work and could be of use to others. A useful feature is when the screen displays a disk image directory pressing <Ctrl> then <Tab> copies the text to clipboard.   There is another good reason to make this program available as it is. For those that can remember the days before the IBM computer and Windows were affordable and available to most, computer owners had 8bit computers that booted up into there own home basic. In those days software was something you either wrote yourself or a listing you typed in from a magazine. Every one was in one way another a software writer.   Then along came windows and only really clever people would write software. I've written this program with "Bbcbasic for Windows" using basic-basic listing just to show that the type of basic programing used in the old computers can still be used in the modern windows environment.   I must warn I am not a proficient program writer just amateur so if you use this program it is at your own risk.   In the DSK_F_y zip archive the DISK_F_y.exe is the program and e_listing.txt is the BBCbasic For Windows listing. Assesment.txt is the way I started to keep track of the program I was creating as there was lots complex parts to it to keep in mind. This might be helpful to some one who would like to write an extraction program. Diskimage.txt is a description of the extended disk image anatomy essential to know for creating the program.   A very good free demo of "Bbcbasic for Windows" can be downloaded from http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/.   Have Fun Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 21	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added Created on 27 Aug 2005 15:50:00 Message #12 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   27 Aug 2005 15:49:39 Chris Coxall has added 1 new file(s) to the following folder in the "Einstein Computer Club" Club at clubs.wanadoo.co.uk Folder Name: einsteinclub Web Location: http://clubs.wanadoo.co.uk/vault/einsteinclub/ The following files were added:   Name: EINPDF.PDF Description: EINPDF.PDF File Size: 22K

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 22	From: chris coxall	Date: 15/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Upgrading Einstein ROMS

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Upgrading Einstein ROMS Created on 30 May 2005 19:25:24 Message #7 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Upgrading Einstein ROMS   First! Many thanks to Paul Bunyan for making MOS 1.21 ROMs and upgrades available to all.   Things I don’t know. How to make an Einey ROM? I’m not talking here of flashing the EPROM IC which Paul can do but of writing the code.   I’ve used an assembler and written machine code programs for the Einstein but what are the basic principles for writing or adding our own routines to the ‘machine operating system’? How can a machine call be made that knows where the new routine is in MOS and then what does it do with it for it to run in RAM?   I’ve bought many discounted ex library books on micro computer electronics and programming but none explain of give direction to what the primary ROM does except to say that it initially boots up the computer.   In the past, unless some one had the hard ware resources, to tinker and dabble with the MOS was a no go area. This is still true today for the real Einstein but for emulation on the PC, MOS in a virtual ROM is just a file of Z80 code found in a folder for the MESS software. Changing or adding routines to the ROM file would, as far as I can see, be a matter of harmless trial and error. By using the emulator there would be no transfer to firmware needed to test an upgrade idea .   Writing an Einey ROM for the MESS emulator should be as uncomplicated as writing an assembly program in the Einstein but what are the rules and principles to be followed? I have made a disassembly of the ROM but not knowing what it does and how it works its structure of component routines is hard to decipher. Can anybody explain in lay mans terms?   Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 23	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein going Spare CORRECT

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein going Spare CORRECTION Created on 27 Aug 2005 16:36:43 Message #14 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Einstein Available SOUTHEND not Southampton   ----- Original Message ----- From: <albertstc01> To: <einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk> Sent: Saturday, August 27, 2005 2:03 PM Subject: [einsteinclub] Einstein going Spare   > To any one interested I've had a contact farwarded to me for an Einstein available in SOUTHAMPTON. > > > Hi I have an Einstein computer in my loft. It has twin 3" > >drives and an eighty column card with some discs/games/etc. and an > >Einstein monitor. I actually wrote a suite of programmes for my > >business including a wages programme in Crystal basic I think it was > >called. I used to converse with the author down on the south coast some > >where. I'll get to the point... is any body interested in the above > >item ??? I live in Southend.on.Sea : > > I'm not yet in direct contact with the seller but will pass on any inquiries. > > If interested please contact me. Alternativeley Ken Ross. > > Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 24	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject Regarding my previous request for utility softwa

Hi,   Regarding my previous request for utility software I have since discovered thata UK company still sells and holds the copyright to 75% of Einstein software. Apparently Eighty five percent of all of the Einstein software written is still available through them.   They also have some New Einstein 256's for sale, Monitors and other bits of hardware and lots of books, mags and manuals. They are well worth checking out.   http://www.bandhcomputers.co.uk/einstein.htm   Now as a lot of this software I mentioned is still available then obviously it would be a breach of copyright to distribute it without permission. However you still may have some useful software that is not on their list and is unobtainable (Borland Turbo pascal springs to mind). If you aren't sure let me know and I will check with them first. In the meantime I know where I will be investing some money in the next few weeks.   :) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 25	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Welcome Phil, B&H copyright.

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk       Subject: Welcome Phil, B&H copyright. Created on 20 Sep 2005 01:04:35 Message #17 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Phil,   First let me welcome you officially as a new member to the club.   Over the last few days we have exchanged e-mails with each other. To keep activity with the club on going I believe all that is required for the moment at least is that Einey related e-mails to individuals are also considered and either composed, or a second e-mail is adapted so other group members can view any content that is of general interest to Einey enthusiasts. Your e-mails to me have been full of such excellent content (even the anecdotal) and I hope this can be shared with other members.   Ref: B&H   I did know of B&H from the Einstein Magazine days but I thought it had ceased to be. It never showed up when I typed "Tatung Einstein" in search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Its a good job I've taken a cautious approach to providing software for down load from the Einstein Site. I have much of the software you mention on disk and in disk images but wherry of copyright I have not made it available.   I will have to check out on their publications and not put Einstein manual info on the web site if they still have the distribution rights. I will also have to mention the existence of B&H on the web site. Possibly put an 'add' listing their products so visitors will know that these B&H products can not be made available from the Einstein Site itself.   Believing Einstein software and publications no longer available I have and encouraged others to collect and preserve any Einstein material in any format and condition that they can get their hands on. As I understand it, this in its self does not infringe copy right but to use and distribute Einstien material for others to use does.   I'm confident the that software for download from the "Tatung Einstein" site is free from copyright. Other software mentioned for download on site is linked to other web sites.   Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 26	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Utility Software Request

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Utility Software Request Created on 19 Sep 2005 03:16:31 Message #15 of 43 Posted By Phil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi, I'm new to the club. Many years ago I was an Os developer and I worked on a DOS-like CP/M version for the Einstein. Unfortunately changing technology meant it remained unpublished and my development copy was destroyed.   With the work of Chris and others there are new and exciting possibilities just around the corner for the Einy - such as an IDE hard disk.   I'm planning to develop a GUI upgrade to the XTal OS.   Much basic CP/M software has been lost in recent years and Albert software was often modified specificaly for it. Examples are Wordstar which had a dedicated type ahead buffer and the ZBasic compiler which (unusually for CP/M) supported Alberts graphics.   If Einy and CP/M software development is to continue then any copies of important software need to be accessible to all members. If anyone has any of the software in the list below please make it available for the group. If anyone knows where to beg, borrow or steal any of these please let myself or Chris know. If you have any additions to this list then please add your own!   Hisoft Devpak (Ed80,Gen80,Mon80) Best Assembler/diss & Debug tools ever Hisoft languages eg C etc. Turbo pascal ver 3 and above Zbasic full version not demo ( I have the full manual for this and will publish if the disk can be found) Wordstar Any disassemblies of XTal Os Miscellaneous tools and utilities.   Other useful contributions would be any documentation that you have on anything useful on the hardware or the above software converted to pdf and of course anyone who would like to collaborate on any of these projects!   Phil Simmons :)   Subject: Utiity Software Request - VIP Correction Created on 19 Sep 2005 15:19:27 Message #16 of 43 Posted By Phil ------------------------------------------------------------------

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 27	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Hard Drive around the corner not quite yet.

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Hard Drive around the corner not quite yet. Created on 21 Sep 2005 18:54:43 Message #18 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   REF: Hard Disk For The TC01. From Phil S's posting "With the work of Chris and others there are new and exciting possibilities just around the corner for the Einey - such as an IDE hard disk."   On the Z80 developments page of the Einstein web site- http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/z80dev/z80dev.HTM -is a link to a very simple IDE hard drive interface for the Z80 processor Spectrum computers. The price of its simplicity is that it uses only an 8bit width data transfer therefor uses only half of the drive's full capacity.   The hardware build seems so simple I can't resist the attempt to attach it to Einey. I'm only short of a 70LS10 IC (three triple Nand gates-although two are wired up as NOT gates) to get started. I'm not overlooking though that if the hardware is easy that the big hurdle will be the software to access it. I'm certainly not contemplating myself to intergrate HD access into Xtal DOS. This is well beyond my capabilities. I intend to amuse myself matching my wits at writing software that will write and read bytes to the HD's sectors (256 bytes per sector for 8bit transfer). If I can get to a stage where I have software to access read and write ability to HD sectors as Einey MOS does to floppy sectors I will be proud of myself. From there hopefully developing some file structure that can tell which sectors hold what data and the HD can be used in some way for a storage facility.   So! A hard drive attached to Einey might be around the corner but a hard drive for Einey to use could be a long time coming. Just having something attached Einey that I can explore and experiment with is my prime motivation. Well! If this isn't a reason to own an Einstein I might as well just be a software user with 'windoze'.   A shopping warning.   If like me you can remember with regret 'Tandys' disappearing from our high streets you can imagine my joy at finding out 'Maplins' were opening retail outlets. One being two bus rides away, a 45 minute journey each way but no extra cost on my bus pass. I could go there browse around their shelves then buy a semi conductor for less than 50p and not have expensive post and packaging costs. For friends I could buy and send them small components just for the additional cost of a first class stamp and envelope.   So! I go to Maplins "Can I have 70LS10 IC?" Not in stock. Back I go three weeks later. "Can I have 70LS10 IC?". Answer "We don't stock them anymore". "They are in your catalogue" I tell them. "These are supplied by our mail order branch" they said "The retail outlets don't stock semi conductors any more"   Be warned. If you are putting off a mail order for electronic components because while driving or being driven around you've seen a Maplins retail outlet don't. You might as well go to Dixons.   Regards To All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 28	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: XTAL source available soon

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: XTAL source available soon Created on 02 Jan 2006 23:09:55 Message #22 of 43 Posted By Bob Deeley --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Folk   That's great news for the new year.   Still programing in XTAL on the einey.   Best wishes, from Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 29	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: A new web site for Einey. Great News

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: A new web site for Einey. Great News Created on 23 Apr 2006 14:38:40 Message #25 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Allways good to see a new web site for the Tatung Einstein. Tatung Einstein Reborn at http://www.tatungeinstein.freespaces.com is good one.   Thanks to Mario Castro for the link.   Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 30	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area Created on 06 May 2006 03:47:54 Message #28 of 43 Posted By Mario Castro View discussion(5 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Chris   It's a long shot but I might as well ask.   I'm Mario Castro, I received your email however this kind chap's stuff is too far for me to collect also. I am specifically interested in the software and magazines he has for the Einy, as you know I created the website and it would be great to get more original software to document on the site.   Do you think you could contact him and see if he would be willing to box up the software and magazines and ship 'em off to me, with myself covering necessary postage and packing charges? As I say it's a long shot but if you don't ask you don't get! :)   It certainly would go to a good home!   Regards   Mario Castro

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 31	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area Created on 16 May 2006 22:16:37 Message #29 of 43 Posted By Bob Deeley View discussion(5 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Folk   As in the past I've preserved machines info and data. Most likly I'll have the stuff any way but worth storeing to deliver as required to keep us operational - software is so much cheaper to post than hardware!   I've got to go to a funeral Birmingham on Monday - so will be suited-up and in the car, could collect and catalogue. Most times I'm in my bicycle and on the train - I'm a railwayworker and tour England on my days off quite cheaply. So will deliver software and mags up north for free ...part of a summer adventure.   Chris, let me know how to proceed.   Best regards, Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 32	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Thanks for your support!

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk       Subject: Thanks for your support! Created on 23 Apr 2006 17:44:15 Message #26 of 43 Posted By Mario Castro --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Just a message to say thanks for your support of my new website! I appreciate the comments from Paul,Trevor and Chris. I first got my Einy when I was 10 and 20 years later I still use it. I guess retro isn't dead!   Chris as a tribute to your website (which first made me aware of the Tatung Einstein Forum and club), I have created a link to your site on my homepage, in a banner. The least I could do :)   The website is in its early stages and I still feel there is loads extra I could put in. If anyone has any ideas and has the time to suggest please feel free to let me know.   Thanks all!   Mario Castro

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 33	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: New File Uploaded

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: New File Uploaded Created on 27 Aug 2005 15:57:21 Message #13 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   EINPDF.PDF by John Marriott in main directory.   For those members who used to be subscribers to the Einstein Magazine will remember John Marriott as a prolific article contributor.   In response to sending him a hard copy print out of Club-1.pdf May 2005 Einstein Club Emails he has sent me his own PDF document. As usual John provides advice and some warnings also a summary of Einstein information he sent to me on CD.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 34	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: XP Einstein disk image creator/writer

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk       Subject: XP Einstein disk image creator/writer. Created on 28 Mar 2006 00:43:59 Message #23 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi,   Thanks to an e-mail to the web site from "jaime gonzalez" I now know of and have "CPCDiskXP v1.5 (14-03-2006)" program. With win2000 or XP it will read Einstien floppies to a disk image file in the PC and write images back to Einstein floppies. I have used this successfully with single and double side Einstein 3.5" floppies. I have not yet fixed a 3" drive to an XP computer so don't know yet whether this will work.   CPCDiskXP v1.5 (14-03-2006) Download site http://www.cpcmania.com/   Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 35	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Great News XTal Dos Sorce to be released

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Great News XTal Dos Sorce to be released Created on 02 Jan 2006 11:26:47 Message #21 of 43 Posted By Phil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Everyone,   A few months ago I emailed Trevor Brownen asking if he would releasde the source for Xtal DOS so that new development work could be made easier. This Xmas I received this reply:   Dear Phil I am sorry it took so long to reply, but I had to contact interested party's to be absolutely certain. The answer is yes we that is (Andrew Cornish, myself Trevor Brownen and all the other folk) that helped with the Xtal software for CP/M and the Einstein willingly and gladly give to the community under the GPL the said software. Now the next thing is I will try to find (in a machine readable form the source of the software with all the notes), that may take some time as I am in the process of moving everything from the Crystal Research building to my home. I was always hoping to see a version of Xtal Basic running under Linux, maybe I will someday. I will be back with more inforation in the new year. Best Regards Trevor.   {My original mail Phil Simmons wrote:   Dear Trevor,   Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail and I hope that since your retirement you are enjoying good health and happiness.   I'm am writing as a member of the Einstein computer club, a growing and active club of Einstein enthusiasts committed to continuing software development for the Einstein.   I would like to make a request on behalf of the group. Since Digital Research has released all of its binaries and source for CP/M under GPL and effectively open sourced CP/M would you consider releasing the source code for XTAL DOS and possibly other software under the same type of licence? The content would be posted and available for public download from our website or any of your choosing and maintained in perpetuity. This would make the work of current developers so much easier. Thank you for your consideration and on behalf of the club please accept our best wishes for the future.   Yours sincerely,   Phil Simmons   }   So folks it looks like we have lots of source code to play around with before too long.   Happy New Year!   Phil Simmons

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 36	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area Created on 05 May 2006 22:27:29 Message #27 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(5 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Had this offer via web site e-mail. Anyone interested contact me. Too far for me to collect.   Regards to All Chris Coxall   I have a fair amount of Einstein stuff, unused in many years, lying in the spare room in cardboard boxes. There are several machines, monitor, software disks, books, old mags, too much to list really. If any of your members wants to contact me, and is willing to collect it, it's available F.O.C......a GOOD car bootfull of stuff, - I just want it out of the way!   Thanks for replying to my message. The Einstein material is at Dudley in the West Midlands, DY2 area   If you know anyone who's into Sinclair QLs I've got a fair amount of stuff to get rid of for that machine as well!   Regards David

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 37	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: All The Best for 2006

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: All The Best for 2006 Created on 31 Dec 2005 17:35:49 Message #20 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE   Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 38	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: New Link Added - (Tatung Einstein Reborn! The s

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: New Link Added - (Tatung Einstein Reborn! The site for enthusiasts) Created on 22 Apr 2006 12:41:19 Message #24 of 43 Posted By Mario Castro --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   22 Apr 2006 12:36:46       A new link has been added to the "Einstein Computer Club" Links Area by Mario Castro.       Name: Tatung Einstein Reborn! The site for enthusiasts       Location: http://www.tatungeinstein.freespaces.com

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 39	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: [einsteinclub] New Files Added Created on 03 Aug 2006 10:58:05 Message #35 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(3 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   02 Aug 2006 11:43:03 Chris Coxall has added 1 new file(s) to the following folder in the "Einstein Computer Club" Group at clubs.wanadoo.co.uk Folder Name: einsteinclub Web Location: http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/einsteinclub/ The following files were added:   Name: EDIPtrl1.exe Description: Up loaded to the club's files section. File Size: 99K

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 40	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl1". Created on 03 Aug 2006 15:48:08 Message #39 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Everyone   Up loaded to the club's files section. "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl1".   With my usual provisoes that I am not a professional programer and it must be used at your own risk so far this program is working on Win98 and XP ok for me.   1) The program will open an Einstein Disk Image and display its directory.   2) Individual files of the image's directory can be extracted into an IBM/MS PC folder.   3) The option of creating and naming a new blank copy disk image file is given. The created new image will be a replica in structure and operating system of the disk image originally loaded.   4) Individual Einstein files stored in IBM/MS Win98 and XP PC can be inserted into the new image.   I've written "EDIPtrl1" with Bbbcbasic for Windows taking advantage of API and dialogue boxes. Its taken some time. I am an amateur learning as I go. There has been from the time I started writing EDIPtrl1 to present a lot more I've learnt regarding programming for windows. There are a lot improvements I can now see making but this would only delay an already working utility being available now.   On opening EDIPtrl1.exe an "Open Disk Image File" box will open. Find and select the disk image file wanted and open.   A window will appear listing the disk images internal directory. File names will be shown as they are set in a floppy disk's descriptor blocks. Eight characters for file name, short file names being made up with spaces, and three for the file extension with no stop between them.   Left click the mouse button on one of the files and an "Extract File From Disk Image" dialogue box will open. As default the selected file name with a stop between name and extension will be shown with "Einstein" added to the extension. The file name can be changed here before saving.   Files saved with "Einstein" added to name and extension i.e. "filename.exeEinstein" will not stop or corrupt files being inserted into a new blank disk image later. They will also transfer with WinEinTrans to a floppy in the Einstein without corruption. The "Einstein" addition will be omitted after insertion by EDIP or at transfer by WinEinTrans. In the mean time Einstein *.COM files in the PC will not be confused Microsoft *.COM files.   To create a replica blank disk image click left mouse on the "CREATE BLANK" button. A "Create New Blank Disk Image File" dialogue box will open with "name.dsk" as the "File name" default. This can be changed.   After creating the new blank a window will appear and the blank will have been created. To maintain the new disk image as a blank Either select "QUIT" or "NEW DISK IMAGE". A blank disk image created and saved this way cannot have files saved to it at a later stage but it can in turn be loaded into EDIP and a replica image can be made from it.   To insert files into a newly created blank click the left mouse on the "LOAD" button. A "Insert File Into Disk Image" dialogue box will open. To select a file to insert either double click mouse on a file or single click mouse and then single click dialogue box's open button. The file name cannot be changed.   Inserted files will be listed as inserted. Inserted file names are tested and rearranged if necessary to be only eight characters long. Larger file names will use only the first eight characters. Short file names being made up with spaces. The file name extension will be rearranged to be three characters long. Lower case letters will be converted to capitals.   To "QUIT" or get "NEW IMAGE" cancel "Open Disk Image File" or "Insert File Into Disk Image" dialogue boxes first.   EDIP trial 1 will not: If files are mistakenly inserted into an Einstein disk image:- delete files from a disk image: rename files in a disk image:   So far Einstein Disk Images created by "EDIPtrl1" have successfully created working bootable floppies with "CPCXP" and have worked in Einstein emulation with "MESS".   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 41	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl1". Created on 03 Aug 2006 15:48:08 Message #39 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Everyone   Up loaded to the club's files section. "Einstein Disk Image Program trial 1" -"EDIPtrl1".   With my usual provisoes that I am not a professional programer and it must be used at your own risk so far this program is working on Win98 and XP ok for me.   1) The program will open an Einstein Disk Image and display its directory.   2) Individual files of the image's directory can be extracted into an IBM/MS PC folder.   3) The option of creating and naming a new blank copy disk image file is given. The created new image will be a replica in structure and operating system of the disk image originally loaded.   4) Individual Einstein files stored in IBM/MS Win98 and XP PC can be inserted into the new image.   I've written "EDIPtrl1" with Bbbcbasic for Windows taking advantage of API and dialogue boxes. Its taken some time. I am an amateur learning as I go. There has been from the time I started writing EDIPtrl1 to present a lot more I've learnt regarding programming for windows. There are a lot improvements I can now see making but this would only delay an already working utility being available now.   On opening EDIPtrl1.exe an "Open Disk Image File" box will open. Find and select the disk image file wanted and open.   A window will appear listing the disk images internal directory. File names will be shown as they are set in a floppy disk's descriptor blocks. Eight characters for file name, short file names being made up with spaces, and three for the file extension with no stop between them.   Left click the mouse button on one of the files and an "Extract File From Disk Image" dialogue box will open. As default the selected file name with a stop between name and extension will be shown with "Einstein" added to the extension. The file name can be changed here before saving.   Files saved with "Einstein" added to name and extension i.e. "filename.exeEinstein" will not stop or corrupt files being inserted into a new blank disk image later. They will also transfer with WinEinTrans to a floppy in the Einstein without corruption. The "Einstein" addition will be omitted after insertion by EDIP or at transfer by WinEinTrans. In the mean time Einstein *.COM files in the PC will not be confused Microsoft *.COM files.   To create a replica blank disk image click left mouse on the "CREATE BLANK" button. A "Create New Blank Disk Image File" dialogue box will open with "name.dsk" as the "File name" default. This can be changed.   After creating the new blank a window will appear and the blank will have been created. To maintain the new disk image as a blank Either select "QUIT" or "NEW DISK IMAGE". A blank disk image created and saved this way cannot have files saved to it at a later stage but it can in turn be loaded into EDIP and a replica image can be made from it.   To insert files into a newly created blank click the left mouse on the "LOAD" button. A "Insert File Into Disk Image" dialogue box will open. To select a file to insert either double click mouse on a file or single click mouse and then single click dialogue box's open button. The file name cannot be changed.   Inserted files will be listed as inserted. Inserted file names are tested and rearranged if necessary to be only eight characters long. Larger file names will use only the first eight characters. Short file names being made up with spaces. The file name extension will be rearranged to be three characters long. Lower case letters will be converted to capitals.   To "QUIT" or get "NEW IMAGE" cancel "Open Disk Image File" or "Insert File Into Disk Image" dialogue boxes first.   EDIP trial 1 will not: If files are mistakenly inserted into an Einstein disk image:- delete files from a disk image: rename files in a disk image:   So far Einstein Disk Images created by "EDIPtrl1" have successfully created working bootable floppies with "CPCXP" and have worked in Einstein emulation with "MESS".   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 42	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer!

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer! Created on 09 Nov 2006 10:51:54 Message #42 of 43 Posted By Phil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   I have some interesting news that could be exciting for the einstein. A dutch company is releasing a new MSX computer - this uses FPGA chip technology i.e. a lump of silicon in which the hardware is 'created' through the VDPL proramming language. The new machine has 2 MSX rom slots,32 mb ram (yes 32 mb!)vga / rgb connection,ps/2 keyboard mouse, 2 usb ports and a SD card slot which is treated as a mega scsii drive. The processor is configured as a z80A. The machine is configured as MSX and comes with MSX dos. The beauty of this is that CP/M progs can be run on it of course but the main thing is that VDPL (source is supplied) enables hardware to be totally reconfigured. Since the Einey is very closely speced to MSX it should be possible to reconfigure the machine as an Einstein but using a VGA connector if desired and access to modern ports and slots. I have pre-ordered one of these machines. The company is taking pre-orders and this process closes 20 November. The machine should be delivered in the spring.   Check out the web site - you know you want one! http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 43	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, with appolo

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, with appology to Bob Deeley Created on 25 May 2006 03:46:18 Message #32 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall View discussion(2 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi everyone,   Regarding Einstein Stuff in west midlands. I heard last night from David Finny that he has successfully found takers for all his stuff.   Software and mags to a club member.   The machines and monitor have all gone to a guy in Tamworth, not an Einstein "old hand", but keen on all old micros of that era.   My appologies to Bob Deeley in not responding earlier to his offer to collect but I new some of the articles had been taken up but was uncertain about the remainder. Also as to who else was involved.   regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 44	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: EDIP.ZIP uploaded to home folder.

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: EDIP.ZIP uploaded to home folder. Created on 21 Oct 2006 14:59:44 Message #41 of 43 Posted By Chris Coxall --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi everyone,   Uploaded to the files section EDIP.ZIP "EINSTEIN DISK IMAGE PROGRAM" in a ZIP archive.   Also a draft manual in PDF format + blank disk images for different dos types I have.   The executable EDIP_1.exe is more or less finished in that the program achieves what was intended. There are not any features I see that I need to add so as it runs now is how the finished program will run.   The time taken to create EDIP_1 corresponds to the time taken for me to learn BBC4W windows API code and its control. This has meant working out by trial and error different pieces or lines of basic while writing the program. As a result unneeded and unwanted code has been left behind in residue. Also the inclusion of simpler and more effective code has been added by trial and error testing which has not been at the expense of deleting the old. The source code (Bbcbasic for Windows) needs tidying up and to become more structured then I intend to put this up for download on the "TATUNG EINSTEIN" web site.   The PDF manual does need more work to it so it should be considered as a draft. The draft manual does though show what the program can do and how it works.   EDIP has been developed with continual testing of all the Einstein disk images I have. 40 track, 80 track, single and double side all appear to work for extraction and insertion. Making EDIP compatible with the Einstein CP\M 2.2 and ZDOS O\S disks has made the program more complex in that the program user could become confused. To extract or insert from or into known ZDOS or CP\M 2.2 disk images the "CPM" check box needs to be ticked. For known XTAL DOS images it should be left unchecked   For a disk image with an an unknown dos a way to test is to load them into the mess emulator first and note the dos specification on screen at boot up. Other than that extracting files twice with and without the CPM box ticked and finding out which run in the Einstein environment seems the only way.   I have used a version of EDIP to create blank Einstein disk images for different doses which will automatically set the CPM check box. EDIP can no insert files into these blanks but it will create a replica blank and files can be inserted into this at the time of replica's creation. These blanks are also in the ZIP archive.   Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 45	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area Created on 17 May 2006 00:34:19 Message #30 of 43 Posted By Mario Castro View discussion(5 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Chris   Sorry to all other club members but I can't seem to email Chris direct, keeps failing!   Chris, if you could get in touch with this chap and give him my email address - I can arrange a pickup and deliver service to collect some of the stuff (Thanks for the info Paul!)   Cheers   Mario Castro   albertstc01 wrote: Had this offer via web site e-mail. Anyone interested contact me. Too far for me to collect.   Regards to All Chris Coxall   I have a fair amount of Einstein stuff, unused in many years, lying in the spare room in cardboard boxes. There are several machines, monitor, software disks, books, old mags, too much to list really. If any of your members wants to contact me, and is willing to collect it, it's available F.O.C......a GOOD car bootfull of stuff, - I just want it out of the way!   Thanks for replying to my message. The Einstein material is at Dudley in the West Midlands, DY2 area   If you know anyone who's into Sinclair QLs I've got a fair amount of stuff to get rid of for that machine as well!   Regards David

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 46	From: chris coxall	Date: 17/11/2006
Subject: Transfered Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Mi

Transfered from einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk to tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk   Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area Created on 22 May 2006 08:06:41 Message #31 of 43 Posted By Bob Deeley View discussion(5 messages) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Hi Folk, again   I have only just recieved my reply - I wonder if this is the case for all, or is it my old-yahoo-mail playing up. I've also only just got Mario's reply.   Please advise if any thing needs to be done or not.   Bob   ----- Original Message ---- From: Robert Deeley <bobdeeley> To: einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk Sent: Saturday, 6 May, 2006 7:41:45 AM Subject: Re: [einsteinclub] Einstein Stuff Going West Midlands, DY2 area   Hi Folk   As in the past I've preserved machines info and data. Most likly I'll have the stuff any way but worth storeing to deliver as required to keep us operational - software is so much cheaper to post than hardware!   I've got to go to a funeral Birmingham on Monday - so will be suited-up and in the car, could collect and catalogue. Most times I'm in my bicycle and on the train - I'm a railwayworker and tour England on my days off quite cheaply. So will deliver software and mags up north for free ...part of a summer adventure.   Chris, let me know how to proceed.   Best regards, Bob   --- susan mitchell <maz4suz2000> wrote:   > Hi Chris > > It's a long shot but I might as well ask. > > I'm Mario Castro, I received your email however this kind chap's stuff is > too far for me to collect also. I am specifically interested in the software > and magazines he has for the Einy, as you know I created the website and it > would be great to get more original software to document on the site. > > Do you think you could contact him and see if he would be willing to box up > the software and magazines and ship 'em off to me, with myself covering > necessary postage and packing charges? As I say it's a long shot but if you > don't ask you don't get! :) > > It certainly would go to a good home! > > Regards > > Mario Castro > > href="mailto:albertstc01">albertstc01 wrote: > Had this offer via web site e-mail. Anyone interested contact me. > Too far for me to collect. > > Regards to All Chris Coxall > > I have a fair amount of Einstein stuff, unused in many years, lying in the > spare room in cardboard boxes. There are several machines, monitor, software > disks, books, old mags, too much to list really. If any of your members wants > to contact me, and is willing to collect it, it's available F.O.C......a GOOD > car bootfull of stuff, - I just want it out of the way! > > Thanks for replying to my message. The Einstein material is at Dudley in the > West Midlands, DY2 area > > If you know anyone who's into Sinclair QLs I've got a fair amount of stuff to > get rid of for that machine as well! > > > Regards > David

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 47	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 18/11/2006
Subject: Obtaining electronic components

Hi Folk The good thing about re-siting our group is reading the old mail. Chris just had your Maplin experience at Milton Keynes branch, a big established one, ie. none in stock and don't do that one; 25pin D-sockets and IDC 25pin D-plugs. Well the first one is pretty ordinary, I got 16off at a model railway exhibition that weekend, searched RS and Farnell for IDC D-plugs they were £5.50 each at least so I did a Google search, low and behold I found them at Maplin 83 pence, dispached that afternoon. I don't know if this is the case with maplin but these days some online stores are different companys than high street, protection I supose, you can probably obtain more info from your screen than the assistant can, also delivery is quicker. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 48	From: fil_simmons	Date: 22/11/2006
Subject: Wanna have a laugh?

Read this and enjoy. http://www.oualline.com/col/cpm.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 49	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 22/11/2006
Subject: Re: Wanna have a laugh?

I strongly refute these results. Only 1 minute to boot up? I'd say 2 or 3 Regards Andrew ----- Original Message ----- From: fil_simmons To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 10:34 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Wanna have a laugh? Read this and enjoy. http://www.oualline .com/col/ cpm.html No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.14.12/544 - Release Date: 21/11/2006

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 50	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Einstein Group at Yahoo officially open.

I'm now declaring this Einstein Group at Yahoo officially open. Files and e-mails have been transferred to here. Smart groups is the first experience I've had of a web space provider shutting up shop on its clients. There doesn't seem to have been any president before or preparation by anyone so managers can simply relocate a group or club to a new provider. Smartgroups closing down has meant transferring files and old e-mail posts manually to the yahoo group site. Transferring files was not to difficult but transferring the e-mail posts so they were in some recognizable order and attributed to their authors took a number of attempts. I hope members will forgive me if these old E-mails have bombarded their in boxes. It would have been simple had there been a facility for group managers to forward e-mail postings from the old group to the new. Without such a facility I finally had to end up cutting and pasting members content into new messages and sending them from my own computer. If any of your old e-mail posting to the smartgroups site have been in correctly transferred please notify me and I will change or delete them from the new sites messages. During the transfer all members settings were set to read messages online only they have now been all reset for forwarding messages as e-mails. Welcome to the Einstein Club's new location. Regards to all Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 51	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Transferred from Smartgroups Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer!

Transferred from Smartgroups To Yahoo   Subject: A new Z80 MSX Computer! Created on 09 Nov 2006 10:51:54 Message #42 of 44  Posted By Phil --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   I have some interesting news that could be exciting for the einstein. A dutch company is releasing a new MSX computer - this uses FPGA chip technology i.e. a lump of silicon in which the hardware is 'created' through the VDPL proramming language. The new machine has 2 MSX rom slots,32 mb ram (yes 32 mb!)vga / rgb connection,ps/2 keyboard mouse, 2 usb ports and a SD card slot which is treated as a mega scsii drive. The processor is configured as a z80A. The machine is configured as MSX and comes with MSX dos. The beauty of this is that CP/M progs can be run on it of course but the main thing is that VDPL (source is supplied) enables hardware to be totally reconfigured. Since the Einey is very closely speced to MSX it should be possible to reconfigure the machine as an Einstein but using a VGA connector if desired and access to modern ports and slots. I have pre-ordered one of these machines. The company is taking pre-orders and this process closes 20 November. The machine should be delivered in the spring.   Check out the web site - you know you want one! http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 52	From: chris coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: Fw: [einsteinclub] A new Z80 MSX Computer!

Transfered From Smartgroups To Yahoo ----- Original Message ----- From: <phil_simmons> To: <einsteinclub@clubs.wanadoo.co.uk> Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 10:42 AM Subject: [einsteinclub] A new Z80 MSX Computer! > I have some interesting news that could be exciting for the einstein. > A dutch company is releasing a new MSX computer - this uses FPGA chip technology i.e. a lump of silicon in which the hardware is 'created' through the VDPL proramming language. The new machine has 2 MSX rom slots,32 mb ram (yes 32 mb!)vga / rgb connection,ps/2 keyboard mouse, 2 usb ports and a SD card slot which is treated as a mega scsii drive. The processor is configured as a z80A. The machine is configured as MSX and comes with MSX dos. > The beauty of this is that CP/M progs can be run on it of course but the main thing is that VDPL (source is supplied) enables hardware to be totally reconfigured. Since the Einey is very closely speced to MSX it should be possible to reconfigure the machine as an Einstein but using a VGA connector if desired and access to modern ports and slots. > I have pre-ordered one of these machines. The company is taking pre-orders and this process closes 20 November. The machine should be delivered in the spring. > > Check out the web site - you know you want one! > http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 53	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message 3

Edited copy of personal email from Chris Coxall to Phil Simmons No 3   Hi Phil,   Thanks for your e-mail putting me wise to a technology I didn't Know about.   I spared a bit of time to surf the net for FPGAs. A lot of work with integrated circuits, strip board and soldering irons it seems can be bypassed using FPGA chips.   My way to describe it is that Field Programmable Gate Arrays are a lot of electronic components in a lump of silicon which are wired up using a VHDL language instead of a soldering iron. From the FPGA MSX thats been created I can see that complex ICs like the Z80a and other supporting electronic hardware can be created in a single block of silicon. It was not as my previous thinking, that of an IC having its own processors built in and a software interpreter built in for Z80a programming.   Yes! I can now definitely see there being a modern Einey rebuild using FPGA technology in the new future. Possibly even a similar hardware with Z80 processing that can be switched to run as different old Z80 retro computers.   From your comment:- >Now I'm not saying that we would be able to reconfig the Basix machine as an Einey tomorrow because it would require some VHDL coding for exactly the same PSG and TI grapihcs chip as on the Einstein - however there are a lot of people open sourcing VHDL modules for all sorts of stuff so if it hasn't been done yet it will be and we may be able to ask some one nicely to help.<   I haven't had the time to do a serious research on web yet but by quickly typing in "FPGAs Z80" in Yahoo a lot of interesting sites came up. Already the Zx81 and the TRs 80 seem to have been created with FPGAs and the sites hold VHDL sources for download so asking someone nicely to help with an Einey VHDL might not be such a big favour.   Ok so what kind of new Einey can we expect. I can see a little box with sockets for plugging in a standard IBM computer monitor also for plugging in modern computer keyboard but what of EIney's user, printer, serial and analogue ports, can these be added on and/or will they need traditional hardware wiring up? And what of the "Tatung Pipe" a socket for the Z80 bus that enabled enthusiasts to add on their own home built hardware attachments? Could floppy drives be used on the new machine?   I think we need to brief out a spec sheet for a new FPGA Einey before we start asking help from others for its development. We will only get what we ask for. Even though excepting that compromises will have to made, if we ask simply for FPGA Einey and only get input for a keyboard and output for a monitor a lot of present Einey users might regard it as a toy Einey.   A new FPGA Einey is possible. It is not a matter of if but when and what. Some clever person will want to it in the same way Keven Thacker provided Einey emulation for MESS although he never touched a real Einstein. What we need to do is have a clear idea what we want and be prepared for that nice clever person who is prepared to create our new Einey.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 54	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message No 4

Edited copy of personal email from Phil Simmons to Chris Coxall No 4   Hi Chris,   I'm glad you are as intigued and enthused as I am about the possibilities of FPGA for a 'new' Einey.   The reason I have ordered the Basix machine is because it comes configured as an MSX1/2 which is already very close to the Einstein spec and gives us access to the VHDL for many of the Einey components.   Discrete working VHDL components seem to be called 'cores' in the community. The Basix machine comes with all of the source code so there are already cores for the Z80 and TMS9918 graphics chip and a variety of ports - so in theory a lot of Einey software should run straight away and we will have a big VHDL headstart. As for ports etc. yes these are created in VHDL but they must become physical of course at the point of contact so a circuit board and physical interface to the FPGA is necessary but this is of course much simpler than the original. The Tatung pipe for instance is really just a pluggable extension of the Z80 bus. We are fortunate in that the Einstein was/is a well documented machine - probably the best documented of its type. so we have full circuit diagrams and access to technical specs for every component which makes modelling a lot easier.   I agree entirely that we should first decide on a new enhanced spec for the Einey and this should be thrown open to the group to see what everyone would like to see. Following a group discussion a spec could be drawn up and a vote of approval taken on the final spec. I suggest that this could be a major launch topic for the new site.   Please publish these e-mails as you see fit. If you think its a good idea I will write an article to introduce the idea to the group and launch the topic.   Best regards   Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 55	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX message 2

Edited copy of personal email from Phil Simmons to Chris Coxall No 2       Dear Chris,   Hi - thanks for your reply. Ok Basix seem to have missunderstood your question slightly and you seem to be slightly off message with regards to FPGA - this is hardly surprising it took me awhile to get it - it's a mind blowing concept. Basically the old idea of computers is dead - ie you get a bunch of chips and solder them together on a board and the sum is a computer. No more - now you can create these things in software - that's where VHDL comes in - it is a language for representing hardware both as an abstract layer, a simulation layer and an implementation layer. ie. you can design something, test it and verify it and then produce it. The Z80 A on the Basix machine is a Z80A - no doubt about it. You can program it with Z80 assembler just like a 'real' Z80A - it's just not in DLL package like the old hardware version -it exists as a configuration of nand gates in the FPGA silicon so it can't be yanked out with a pair of pliers. The difference between hardware and software is pretty much an abstraction anyway and we tend to think of anything shoved in a chip package as hardware -where as it's really mostly a container for a specialised low level piece of software. Now I'm not saying that we would be able to reconfig the Basix machine as an Einey tomorrow because it would require some VHDL coding for exactly the same PSG and TI grapihcs chip as on the Einstein - however there are a lot of people open sourcing VHDL modules for all sorts of stuff so if it hasn't been done yet it will be and we may be able to ask some one nicely to help. But make no mistake this is not an emulator in any way and it is and will function like the real thing because it is - its just that because one is no longer constrained by material chunks of metal and silicon so you can cheat a bit and implement all sorts or up to date interfaces like VGA and flash memory. A lot of people havn't got this message yet. I think in the next 5-10 years people like Ms are going to disappear becuse the traditional idea of a computer an OS is going out the window - literally we will have FPGAs that will do any task we want simply by reconfiguring on the fly. But at the moment it should be very interesting to use the Basix machine and see how much Einey software can be got to run on it :)   Best regards   Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 56	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/11/2006
Subject: The new FPGA MSX machine

Hi All,   During the time of transferring from smartgroups Phil and I exchanged e_mails with reference to the new FPGA MSX machine. We both agree that under normal circumstances would have corresponded by postings to the Einstein Group and I have Phil's permission to now forward on our exchange of e-mails.   Edited copy of personal email from Chris Coxall to Phil Simmons No 1   Hi Phil,       Regarding your email post to the Einstein_club ---- Message #42 of 44 at smartgroups Transfered message to Yahoo no 51 >A dutch company is releasing a new MSX computer - this uses FPGA chip technology   I would have normally responded earlier but with the old group coming to a close at smartgroups transferring over to yahoo is taking up my time. I seem to be making a hash of things at the moment. Forgive me if I have bombarded your inbox with old e-mails forwarded from the old site. I have now for the moment set all members settings to "read posts only while online" to a time that I've transferred all old posts from the old site to the new.   I have visited the web site http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html. and e-mailed the querry   "Is the One Chip MSX programmable with z80 code. Like the MSX MACHINES?"   There reply Dear Chris,   >The One Chip MSX device must be programmed in VHDL if you want to change the functionality of the computer itself. If you would like to develop for the MSX 'inside' the One Chip MSX computer, you can develop in any language you can on any other MSX computer.   I hope this anwers your question. If not, please do not hesitate to contact us again.   Kind regards,<   I'm trying to work out the native code of the chip. The VHDL seems to be a higher level language and the chip has a language interface built in which must be used to change the computer its self. There seems to be no mention as to what VHDL compiles too. This could mean z80 programing would be running in emulation mode. IF the current MSX is an emulation interpreting Z80 to and from some other code, Z80 programming will be limited to its emulator within the chip. Z80 programing from msx emulation would would not maybe access the chips I/O ports directly but need further VHDL programing.   The question I'm asking is the NEW MSX an emulation in a new chip or is the New MSX using a new Chip?   I like the principal of using new processors to recreate old computers in updated smaller packages but I would want original programing for the old computer to be able access and use serial, printer and user ports with original programming.   I was hoping that some one would create a similar package using Zilog's Acclaim chip as, as I understand it, Z80 code is still native to it (although more advanced assembly can be used).   Old computer systems that used the Z80 chip could be transferred to the Acclaim hardware and the original programing languages i.e. Z80 assembly programs could be used to access the new hardware features such as USB.   Moving the Einstein into new hardware using Zilogs Acclaim chip would not be an emulation but more like moving Win95 O/S from a pentium 486 computer to a pentium 4 computer. Once in the new hardware upgrades to the Einstein's O/S can be taken up.   I have nothing against Einstein emulation in any form but I do think of it as a "genie trapped in a bottle". Until I know more of the new chips workings I have reservations as to whether it can be a new hardware environment for the Einstein.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 60	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 25/11/2006
Subject: Re: The new FPGA MSX message 2

Hi Einey Folk Fpga has captured my imagination - seems you will be able to calculate the cycles per instruction, unlike an emulation. Perhaps I reveal that I still live in that bygone era of the micro when I ask what would the expected clock rate be for a Z80 programmed into one of these? Thanks. Bob On 11/24/06, Chris Coxall <chris> wrote: > Edited copy of personal email from Phil Simmons to > Chris Coxall No 2 > > > > Dear Chris, > > > Hi - thanks for your reply. Ok Basix seem to have > missunderstood your question slightly and you seem > to be slightly off message with regards to FPGA - > this is hardly surprising it took me awhile to get > it - it's a mind blowing concept. Basically the > old idea of computers is dead - ie you get a bunch > of chips and solder them together on a board and > the sum is a computer. No more - now you can > create these things in software - that's where > VHDL comes in - it is a language for representing > hardware both as an abstract layer, a simulation > layer and an implementation layer. ie. you can > design something, test it and verify it and then > produce it. The Z80 A on the Basix machine is a > Z80A - no doubt about it. You can program it with > Z80 assembler just like a 'real' Z80A - it's just > not in DLL package like the old hardware version > -it exists as a configuration of nand gates in the > FPGA silicon so it can't be yanked out with a pair > of pliers. The difference between hardware and > software is pretty much an abstraction anyway and > we tend to think of anything shoved in a chip > package as hardware -where as it's really mostly a > container for a specialised low level piece of > software. Now I'm not saying that we would be able > to reconfig the Basix machine as an Einey tomorrow > because it would require some VHDL coding for > exactly the same PSG and TI grapihcs chip as on > the Einstein - however there are a lot of people > open sourcing VHDL modules for all sorts of stuff > so if it hasn't been done yet it will be and we > may be able to ask some one nicely to help. But > make no mistake this is not an emulator in any way > and it is and will function like the real thing > because it is - its just that because one is no > longer constrained by material chunks of metal and > silicon so you can cheat a bit and implement all > sorts or up to date interfaces like VGA and flash > memory. A lot of people havn't got this message > yet. I think in the next 5-10 years people like Ms > are going to disappear becuse the traditional idea > of a computer an OS is going out the window - > literally we will have FPGAs that will do any task > we want simply by reconfiguring on the fly. But at > the moment it should be very interesting to use > the Basix machine and see how much Einey software > can be got to run on it :) > > Best regards > > Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 61	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/11/2006
Subject: Is Club file space going to be a problem?

Hi All, I uploaded the Einstein Video chip manuals as a 2 part pdf - I notice that the upload limit is 20mb and its already 34% full. At this rate if we upload a complete Einstein hardware/software manual library as pdf files we're going to run out of space long before this is achieved. Can the file space be increased? Also please note that individual uploads are limited to 5Mb - so if you want to upload a biggewr file you'll have to split it.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 62	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 26/11/2006
Subject: Reply: Is Club file space going to be a problem?

Hi All,   Regarding Phil's comment on groups file space. 20mb is as he says not very big for the type of Einey documentation that needs to be put there. I think I can get 2 web site spaces of 30mb with Orange where I can transfer an overflow of Einey related documents too. I will also search the web for free ftp space. If anyone knows of large free space providers please let us know.   I have to give caution to copyright the nature of the web space facility might have to be private with a password for all group members.   The Lycos web space provider shuts you down if you don't get more than 50 visits a month this maybe a problem but Orange seems ok at the moment. Will it stay that way? After smartgroups shutting up shop on us I now expect free web space providers to move the goal posts at their whim. We all want money after all. Their free space provision is expendable.   The Texas Instruments video chip manual is documentation that I should make available from the Einstein Web Site but along with other manuals for Einey hardware space on a web site would be restrictive. If documents are already available for download from other sites I can add links to these sites. Let some one else worry if there are copyright issues. It is important though that these documents are downloaded gathered together and backed up ready to be put on CD ROM for others.   A list of all manuals for hardware in Einey would be helpful and links to where they can be downloaded would be ideal for the web site. Can anybody help with this?   For the moment members can consider that there will be an extra 50 to 60mb for an overflow of group files to be transferred to. I can't say I'm in control of the situation but have already given the problem some thought and made some preparation.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 63	From: fil_simmons	Date: 27/11/2006
Subject: Web space, files and all of that.

Hi All, I've had a look at the provision from free web hosting services and it's deffinately a case of you get what you pay for. My feeling is that Chris already does enough for the group without him having the additional burden of having to juggle files in free space. I would like to offer to pay for a hosted domain on behalf of the club for at least the next five years. The one I have in mind is this http://www.hostmonster.com/ -it is very reasonable and has huge bandwidth and storage for the club as well as a free domain name (Einstein.com? :))and an easy management interface which might simplify Chris's work. I am not hugely knowledgeable about web hosting but it seems to me the club website could be hosted here with enough space to meet the clubs needs and bandwidth for the forseeable future. Please have alook and see what you think. Regards Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 64	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/11/2006
Subject: Response: Web space, files and all of that.

Hi All,   Regarding Phil's generous offer "I would like to offer to pay for a hosted domain on behalf of the club for at least the next five years. The one I have in mind is this http://www.hostmonster.com/ "   I really need to have more time to consider this. A few days at least to think it through before responding.   An issue I'm thinking of is the new site being managed by one person. If for any reason that person could not continue managing the site it could become dormant and stagnant. If the offer is taken up provision needs to made so others can take over.   This web space has facilities I know nothing of and have to find out about.   Give me three or four days to consider.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 65	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/11/2006
Subject: Re: Response: Web space, files and all of that.

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > > Hi All, > > Regarding Phil's generous offer "I would like to > offer to pay for a hosted domain on behalf of the > club for at least the next five years. The one I > have in mind is this http://www.hostmonster.com/ " > > I really need to have more time to consider this. > A few days at least to think it through before > responding. > > An issue I'm thinking of is the new site being > managed by one person. If for any reason that > person could not continue managing the site it > could become dormant and stagnant. If the offer is > taken up provision needs to made so others can > take over. > > This web space has facilities I know nothing of > and have to find out about. > > Give me three or four days to consider. > > Regards Chris Coxall > Hi, Well i wasn't planning to do the management myself. I would help if asked of course but it seems to me that Chris should continue to manage the site if he wants too and I would send him the access details to hold on behalf of the group. If it is too much work then maybe it could be managed by a couple of nominated members. I can't see that the problem of passing on to someone else is any different than it is now - what happens if Chris goes? I guess a nominated person could always be sent the details as a backup.As regards facilities I'm sure the webspace technical support will be happy to answer any questions about features and suitability. :) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 66	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/12/2006
Subject: Re: Response after some thought : Web space, files and all of that.

Hi All,   I've had a quick tot up of the web space I have for Einey from free web site providers.   Four web sites   6.3mb used of 50mb provided by Lycos original site   5.54mb used of 100mb provided by Orange mirror of the above.   2.3mb used of 30mb provided by Orange used at the moment for my personal use.   3.27mb used of 30mb provided by Orange used for an Einstein emulator page.   68.4kb used of 20mb provided by Lycos Anglefire one page of Einstein related material on a site I created by mistake.   As you can see taking into consideration that two sites are just copies of each other for backup reasons the amount of space used for the Einstein at the moment amounts to just under 10mb.   The web space on offer at http://www.hostmonster.com/ is 50 gigabyte. If I increased my present Einstein content by 5 times it would still be less than one thousandth of the 50 gigabyte. I can't see myself alone filling up that amount of space.   To get to specifics of where large web space is needed.   Besides my web sites there is also this Einstein user group at Yahoo. It is not a web site of mine. I have not designed it. The facilities such as a message board and uploading files are already installed which I manage and which members can use.   Yahoo's space for members to upload files to and with a Maximum size 5mb per upload is not helpful. It is too miserly for uploading Einstein related (hardware & software) manuals to, for keeping them stored in one permanent space. To create a file uploading web page for visitors, and to document the uploaded files, on a web site requires server side software and programming. I have not used server side programming myself on my existing sites except for a Guest Book facility which was installed by the web site provider not me.   Can I create server side run features?   For the last six days and the best part of four nights I've downloaded and installed a number of windows sever packages until I've found one "FoxServ" that will install and run on my computer. I've surfed the web for PHP/MYSQL tutorial sites looking for example scripts that would upload files and document them. I have eventually got something to work but this only demonstrates the feasibility. I've yet to learn PHP/MYSQL programming to feel more competent of what can be done and the way it should be done.   How long will this take? I don't know yet.   I'm not a grand web master. My present web site building and design skills has been self taught. I've learnt from internet tutorials, library books, down loading web site design software and using trial and error. There is not a family member, friend or acquaintance I know who has their own web site or knows anything of web site building I can confer with. I'm not just bemoaning my lot here. I'm saying I can't give assurances to have the skill or to how long it would be before I would have the ability for server side programing.   The only assurance I can give at the moment is that I could copy my present web site pages of 10mb to 50gb site and have it working there.   How much time would I have to run the new site?   The reason I can run my present web sites and the yahoo group along side those other commitments of life such as family, career and also other interests is because my time and effort to Einey web sites is kept flexible. Recently the web sites have been on the back burner while I've been creating an Einstein Disk Image Program. A web site does not fade away by neglect. It is not like a magazine with schedules and date lines to keep. I deliberately maintain the sites in a way that they can be neglected for long periods. There is a lot more content I have myself that I could add to the existing sites but it takes time to prepare.   Making use of 50gb.   Even if manual and other reference material was stored there would still be a lot (most) of the 50gb space left. Too much for one person. The site would have to be interactive and have pages where visitors can add their own content to the site e.g. a message board or where visitors could submit their own word document content for others to view on web pages.   Pictures or even video of Einey running a program would fill more space.   More people taking responsibility   Response to Phils comment:- >I can't see that the problem of passing on to someone else is any different than it is now - >what happens if Chris goes?   If the Grim Reaper calls for me: my present web sites continue on as long as there are visitors to it. If someone knows of my circumstance any visitor can download the web pages with existing support folders and download files for download to there own computer and, then put it up on there own created site without much trouble. With server side: software and database files can't be downloaded that way. They also have to be checked and maintained as web site visitors are adding content to or with them. They would also hold personal information.   A large paid for web site shouldn't be in the hands of one person in my view. There is a responsibility to the sponsor. There is also a responsibility to keep it going for the regular visitors that come to rely on it. Having a deputy manager and sub managers needs to be considered. The deputy manager's skill level only needs to be that to which is needed to maintain the site in existence. Holding the fort until sub managers can be found with enough skill to update the site with new content. I'm not asking for knowledgeable competent webmasters I'm saying I would feel more comfortable if I knew of other interested Einey enthusiasts who were learning the basics of web management as I am at the moment.   The real issue comes down to-if paying to have the 10mb of my existing Einey web sites on www.hostmonster.com 50gb is all that is expected then its ok with me. If as I believe its expected I create similar enhanced features of those in use at Yahoo groups- message boards and file uploading (without size limits) this is not going to be done quickly by me.   If its expected that by having a larger amount of web space I will increase my output of the type of web page content I already have on my existing sites it would be a mistake. I do not have the time to prepare the content I have at the moment for web pages.   If others create Einey web pages there is little work involved in adding it to an existing web site. If it is shown to me that others are prepared to do this I would feel more encouraged.   Right! So that is my present state of thought after doing some research and trial testing on my own computers. My next step for considering the matter: after six days and the most of four nights of R&D it is to write out my Christmas cards, do my christmas shopping and defer any decisions to the new year.   Regards Chris Coxall     ----- Original Message ----- From: fil_simmons To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 5:09 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Response: Web space, files and all of that. --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > > Hi All, > > Regarding Phil's generous offer "I would like to > offer to pay for a hosted domain on behalf of the > club for at least the next five years. The one I > have in mind is this http://www.hostmons ter.com/ " > > I really need to have more time to consider this. > A few days at least to think it through before > responding. > > An issue I'm thinking of is the new site being > managed by one person. If for any reason that > person could not continue managing the site it > could become dormant and stagnant. If the offer is > taken up provision needs to made so others can > take over. > > This web space has facilities I know nothing of > and have to find out about. > > Give me three or four days to consider. > > Regards Chris Coxall > Hi, Well i wasn't planning to do the management myself. I would help if asked of course but it seems to me that Chris should continue to manage the site if he wants too and I would send him the access details to hold on behalf of the group. If it is too much work then maybe it could be managed by a couple of nominated members. I can't see that the problem of passing on to someone else is any different than it is now - what happens if Chris goes? I guess a nominated person could always be sent the details as a backup.As regards facilities I'm sure the webspace technical support will be happy to answer any questions about features and suitability. :) Phil No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.14.19/555 - Release Date: 11/27/06 6:09 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 67	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Manuals/MosCallsV100.pdf Uploaded by : fil_simmons <phil_simmons> Description : Einstein Mos functions information You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Manuals/MosCallsV100.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, fil_simmons <phil_simmons>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 68	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Demos & Sources/scroller.com Uploaded by : jltursan <jltursan> Description : Smooth scroller You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Demos%20%26%20Sources/scroller.com To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, jltursan <jltursan>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 69	From: jltursan	Date: 17/01/2007
Subject: Hi to all!

Hi, My name is Jose and I'm trying to port a MSX game coded by me to the Einey, of course it will be a long job; but I hope that soon I'll know enough about the micro to face the conversion. Today I've downloaded some DSK utils from the repository and I've been able to compile on my PC my first demo (already uploaded). I still need to build a serial cable, meanwhile I've used MESS to test it; so I'm not totally sure about how can it works on the real thing, can someone test it on the machine? Btw, thanks again Phil for your document, it will be very useful for sure! :) Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 70	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/01/2007
Subject: Catching up after Christmas

Hi All,   With the interuption of the Christmas festive season over I can get back to Einey matters but not before I wish you all a happy New Year.   First I must welcome new member Jose Luis Tur to the Einstein Group and assure him that his program uploaded to the Group's files "scroller.com" worked ok in my real Einstein, in 40 column mode. I would be interested to know how he put the converted MSX program into an Einstein disk image to run it with MESS emulation?   A big thanks to Phil Simmons for his pdf document of MOS calls "MosCallsV100.pdf". This is his own made up document just cross referenced with other sourses so there would be no infringemet with copy right. I've attemted a start at doing this myself some time ago so I know how time consumming it must have been. "MosCallsV100.pdf" holds programing information and is a resourse that I would like to put up on the Tatung Einstein Web Site with Phil's permission.   Before Christmas prompted by the problem of online large file storage I looked into how a larger sized web site could be used for group members to upload their own Einstein related files to. A facility for site visitors to upload files to be archived, listed and made available to others for down load requires server side programing. This software will not run in a standard PC setup as HTML files where web site files and folders can be tested at home before uploading to a site. To develope server side programing to test on a home computer a local host server needs to be set up on the home PC. To get some idea of what was involved a freeware software package FOXserv provided a working package. Learning the basics of server side PHP & MSQL programing was a challenge I enjoyed and I will continue on with but I think it will be long time before I'm confident to use it for real on a web site.   Another line of interest put a side for Christmas FPGA development which I will have to pick up on again.   A project I've had in mind for some time has been linking Einey's user port to a biderectional printer port on a PC. Has anyone any idea what is needed?   Best Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 71	From: jltursan	Date: 19/01/2007
Subject: Re: Catching up after Christmas

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > With the interuption of the Christmas festive > season over I can get back to Einey matters but > not before I wish you all a happy New Year. > > First I must welcome new member Jose Luis Tur to > the Einstein Group and assure him that his program > uploaded to the Group's files "scroller.com" > worked ok in my real Einstein, in 40 column mode. > I would be interested to know how he put the > converted MSX program into an Einstein disk image > to run it with MESS emulation? Once compiled the COM, I used EDIP_1 program (is it yours, isn't it?) to create a blank XTAL disk and add the COM file. The new DSK can be used with MESS without problems. The only thing I dislike is the EDIP_1 GUI, it's cool; but looking from a developer's point of view could be better a plain command line tool able to create blank DSK and ADD files (editing of existing DSK is not necessary at all), something like: dsktool -create new.DSK -add test.com test001.dat test002.dat It could be very handy to fully automatize the process of developing and especially the debugging, from the editor to the Einstein (MESS :P) in only one click. Just a suggestion... :) > > A big thanks to Phil Simmons for his pdf document > of MOS calls "MosCallsV100.pdf". This is his own > made up document just cross referenced with other > sourses so there would be no infringemet with copy > right. I've attemted a start at doing this myself > some time ago so I know how time consumming it > must have been. "MosCallsV100.pdf" holds > programing information and is a resourse that I > would like to put up on the Tatung Einstein Web > Site with Phil's permission. Great work indeed!, only one minor detail: as I'm still familiarizing with the Einstein, I'm a bit puzzled when I read (as an example): Performs as 'A' (ARITHMETIC) from MOS Values Passed xxxx in HL pair yyyy in DE pair (See manual) Some functions are easy to guess looking the input parameters; but some other like the one above are a bit cryptic. Where can I found the full explanation of all MOS functions? > > Before Christmas prompted by the problem of online > large file storage I looked into how a larger > sized web site could be used for group members to > upload their own Einstein related files to. A > facility for site visitors to upload files to be > archived, listed and made available to others for > down load requires server side programing. This > software will not run in a standard PC setup as > HTML files where web site files and folders can be > tested at home before uploading to a site. To > develope server side programing to test on a home > computer a local host server needs to be set up on > the home PC. To get some idea of what was involved > a freeware software package FOXserv provided a > working package. Learning the basics of server > side PHP & MSQL programing was a challenge I > enjoyed and I will continue on with but I think it > will be long time before I'm confident to use it > for real on a web site. > > Another line of interest put a side for Christmas > FPGA development which I will have to pick up on > again. I've already seen that some of you are waiting the OCM (One Chip MSX). I hope that mine will arrive on spring :). As for now it's being sold on Japan and some VHDL japanese developers are posting the first VHDL modifications (upgrades & patches), look here : http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~hra/note/onechipmsx/index.htm If you don't speak/read a fluid japanese :P , the page talks about mods like : - How to change the LEDs from 'Knightrider' mode to SD/MMC access leds. - Improvement to code that fixes a boot issue when starting/resetting in 10MHz mode. The VHDL code is being distributed freely and I know of several people working on it; so I'm sure that if someone needs info wouldn't be hard to find it. There's even some little tutorials here: http://map.tni.nl/articles/taste_of_vhdl.php > > A project I've had in mind for some time has been > linking Einey's user port to a biderectional > printer port on a PC. Has anyone any idea what is > needed? > > Best Regards Chris Coxall > Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 72	From: jltursan	Date: 23/01/2007
Subject: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

Hi!, As I've found the info about the ports that the PSG uses on the Einstein I've uploaded a little demo showing how works the PT2 replayer. This time I'm afraid it's easy to spot differences between MESS and the real thing, some music flaws can be clearly heard during the play :( (I've selected a specially hard tune :P). Anyway, as the last time, I'll be happy to hear how it sounds on the Einstein, thanks! :) Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 73	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 23/01/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Demos & Sources/pt2.com Uploaded by : jltursan <jltursan> Description : ProTracker 2 Play Demo You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Demos%20%26%20Sources/pt2.com To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, jltursan <jltursan>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 74	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

Hi Jose Do you mean clicks? (caused, I think by Einey's interrupts) Are these on the MESS the Einey or both? The Einey sound is quite frankly bad - compared to Commador64 - when used with other graphics going on, which naturally is most of the time. This is the sort of thing I would want to get rid of in an emulator, unless of course you were developing a program to remove the clicks, but then you would have to be at machine code level - I don't know if the MESS is capable of that, not having it working myself. Unfortunatly, if I remember... the clicks can't be avoided, being at hardware level. Best wishes, Bob On 1/23/07, jltursan < jltursan> wrote: Hi!, As I've found the info about the ports that the PSG uses on the Einstein I've uploaded a little demo showing how works the PT2 replayer. This time I'm afraid it's easy to spot differences between MESS and the real thing, some music flaws can be clearly heard during the play :( (I've selected a specially hard tune :P). Anyway, as the last time, I'll be happy to hear how it sounds on the Einstein, thanks! :) Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 75	From: jltursan	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

Hi Bob, No, not really clicks. Seems that it's related to some faulty PSG emulation on MESS. The tune it's a bit hard on the rythm side and periodically it gets overdubbed and distorted; but then, it quickly recovers and keeps playing fine. Seems that there're some kind of cummulative error on PSG registers data with a repeating pattern. I'm pretty sure that the sound on the Einstein must be as clear as the speaker allows. And yes, usually "clicks" on music are related to a (too much) long interrupt or an undesirable interrupt. You can minimize it (or even avoid at all) thanks to machine code of course and knowledge of how the interrupts works. Right now I don't have the slightest idea of how the ISR works on the Einey (seems that there's a vector table); but the player works without interrupts, using an active loop synchronized with the VDP vblank. It's a fast routine; so I don't think that it could be affected by interrupts execution.... Anyway, I need the serial cable right now! :P ...or maybe mount the Einey second drive on my PC to have a fast way to transfer files between machines. Best regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Robert Deeley" <bobdeeley@...> wrote: > > Hi Jose > > Do you mean clicks? (caused, I think by Einey's interrupts) > > Are these on the MESS the Einey or both? > > The Einey sound is quite frankly bad - compared to Commador64 - when used > with other graphics going on, which naturally is most of the time. > > This is the sort of thing I would want to get rid of in an emulator, unless > of course you were developing a program to remove the clicks, but then you > would have to be at machine code level - I don't know if the MESS is capable > of that, not having it working myself. > > Unfortunatly, if I remember... the clicks can't be avoided, being at > hardware level. > > Best wishes, Bob > > On 1/23/07, jltursan <jltursan@...> wrote: > > > > Hi!, > > > > As I've found the info about the ports that the PSG uses on the > > Einstein I've uploaded a little demo showing how works the PT2 > > replayer. This time I'm afraid it's easy to spot differences between > > MESS and the real thing, some music flaws can be clearly heard during > > the play :( (I've selected a specially hard tune :P). > > > > Anyway, as the last time, I'll be happy to hear how it sounds on the > > Einstein, thanks! :) > > > > Greets, > > > > Jose > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 76	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 25/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > Anyway, I need the serial cable right now! :P ...or maybe mount the > Einey second drive on my PC to have a fast way to transfer files > between machines. > Why do that? The Einey supports up to 4 floppy drives. You can mount a 3 1/2" pc style floppy drive on the einstein connected by a ribbon cable to the "External disks" connector. If you don't have a 3 1/2" floppy drive that can be jumpered as drive 2 or 3 then you just have to switch two wires on the cable over to force the drive number. I can't remember wich ones but I'll try to find the information (just google for "floppy drive pinouts") (One of the things to remember is that nearly all 3 1/2" drives are defined as drive 1 by default, that's why your primary PC floppy drive is on the cable after the twist, to make it drive 0.) Then you can format the disks in the einstein and use the einstein disk image manipulation tools to put data onto the disk from the PC. I used this method to connect a 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" drive to my einstein giving me a four disk system. You'll need to take power from inside the einey or use an old pc power supply (or use an old external hard drive case with built in power supply). The main advantage of doing this is that if you damage the drive it's easy to replace a 3 1/2" but very hard to replace a 3". It's also very useful to be able to backup all your old 3" disks onto nice new 3 1/2" media (just make sure you get a reliable brand) Regards Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 77	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 26/01/2007
Subject: External Floppy drive wiring

Hi All,   With regards to Geoff's e-mail and comment   >If you don't have a 3 1/2" floppy drive that can be jumpered as drive 2 or 3 then you just have to switch two wires on the cable over to force the drive number.   The two wires are 12 from the floppy drive end to 14 from the Einstein.                                                      ___ <-to Einstein ______________ |  |    _______________________|  | Foppy drive    _______________________|  | IDC    _______________________|  |    _______________________|  | Do not use    _______________________|  | IDC plug    _______________________|  | after a twist.    _______________________|  |    _______________________|  |    _______________________|  |    _________ _____________ |  | 12 _________/____________ |  | cut line 12        ________/ ____________ |  | join loose end from 14 14 ______________________|  | floppy drive end to    _______________________|  | join to cut line 14    _______________________|  | loose end Einstien side    _______________________|  |                                                       |  |   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 78	From: jltursan	Date: 26/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

Weird, seems that my frist attempt to send the message has failed, I can't see it.... :-? I quote myself: "Indeed it looks like a much better solution :) . I'd try with an old mitsumi drive (it has a config jumper; but a bit hard to understand :P) and after some swapping I was able to access to it. If I try a "DIR 2:" the drive light flashes and seems to start spinning. Now I need to create 3.5" floppys from DSK images, last night was trying to dump some images using CPCwrite; but without success. Maybe it's related to the SO I'm using,I only have XP and 2000 and they're very unfriendly with low level access to drives; so I guess I must try first with something like MS-DOS or Linux. Anyway, can anyone point me out about the best way to dump Einstein images to 3.5" floppies? Thanks for the hints! Best regards, Jose" Well, I'm ready to try with CPCDiskXP now... --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > Anyway, I need the serial cable right now! :P ...or maybe mount the > > Einey second drive on my PC to have a fast way to transfer files > > between machines. > > > > Why do that? The Einey supports up to 4 floppy drives. You can mount a > 3 1/2" pc style floppy drive on the einstein connected by a ribbon > cable to the "External disks" connector. If you don't have a 3 1/2" > floppy drive that can be jumpered as drive 2 or 3 then you just have > to switch two wires on the cable over to force the drive number. I > can't remember wich ones but I'll try to find the information (just > google for "floppy drive pinouts") > > (One of the things to remember is that nearly all 3 1/2" drives are > defined as drive 1 by default, that's why your primary PC floppy drive > is on the cable after the twist, to make it drive 0.) > > Then you can format the disks in the einstein and use the einstein > disk image manipulation tools to put data onto the disk from the PC. > > I used this method to connect a 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" drive to my einstein > giving me a four disk system. You'll need to take power from inside > the einey or use an old pc power supply (or use an old external hard > drive case with built in power supply). > > The main advantage of doing this is that if you damage the drive it's > easy to replace a 3 1/2" but very hard to replace a 3". It's also very > useful to be able to backup all your old 3" disks onto nice new 3 1/2" > media (just make sure you get a reliable brand) > > Regards > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 79	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.

Hi All,   Regarding turning disk images into Einstein floppies for those fitting a three an a half inch floppy drive to an Einstein for the first time. The prime purpose for transferring files in a disc image from the PC to the Einstein.   For three and a half inch Einstein floppies CPCdiskXP working in XP & win2000 O\S makes CPDRead and CPDWrite obsolete. CPCdiskXP was designed for Amstrad CPC computers but it works for creating disk images of Einstein floppies in a PC floppy drive. It will also create an Einstein floppy disk in a PC floppy drive from an Einstein disk image. The other features of CPCdiskXP are specific and specialized to Amstrad computer floppy disks and disk images.   Using CPCdisk is simple to use. For reading standard Einstein floppies single side 40 track just set the side to "A" and tracks to 40 before left mouse clicking the "Read Disc" box.   The second side of a three and half inch Einstein floppy can also if it has been formatted for single side 40 tracks be read by setting side to "B". Formatting side 2 of an Einstein three and a half inch floppy for single side 40 track requires some hardware manipulation. Connecting lines 32&33 of the floppy disc drive together for second side and disconnecting for side 1. I do not recommend this to beginners as is it can change the settings of other drives.   Writing an Einstein disk image to a three and a half inch floppy using CPCdiskXP is simpler left click the mouse on the open button and select the disk image. For beginners and those who have fitted an external drive to Einey select a standard single side 40 track image. CPCdiskXp will set tracks and side automatically.   CPCdiskXP can be found for download at http://www.cpcmania.com/   Regarding different Einstein floppy formats problems with:- For non standard single side discs with more than 40 tracks and double side discs these need to be booted up in the Einstein boot drive to configure the Einstein to read them. Not suitable for an external three and half inch floppy which is not a boot disc.   If side 2 select has been manually selected by connecting wires 32&33 together of the cable attaching the floppy drive to the Einstein double side discs will not work properly.   All the double side Einstein floppies I have configure on boot up to set drives 0\A and 1\B to be the same format as the boot disc and set 2\C and 3\D to be standard single side 40 track. This does not have to be the case for all double side boot disks.   Single side three and a half disks with more than 40 tracks and double side format disks appear to be a creation of Einstein enthusiasts they are not the format of official O/S discs or vendor software suppliers. My Einstein is set up with an option to have a 3 inch or a 3.5 inch floppy for boot up. I also have a 5.25 inch drive fitted. I have in the past used double side boot disks for running Einey and the manual side select switch (not at the same time though). It was ok when I could remember what I was using and which files were stored on which format floppy. Copying files from a double side disk to a single side disk can be done but if its from single side 3.5 inch floppy to a double side 3.5 inch floppy the drives have to be set up so one 3.5 inch drive is 0 and the other 2 or 3. My preference now is to keep all Einstein 3.5 floppies as one side discs with the standard 40 tracks and keep life simple.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 80	From: jltursan	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: ProTracker 2 Play Demo

Indeed it looks like a much better solution :). I'd try with an old mitsumi drive (it has a config jumper; but a bit hard to understand :P) and after some swapping I was able to access to it. If I try a "DIR 2:" the drive light flashes and seems to start spinning. Now I need to create 3.5" floppys from DSK images, last night was trying to dump some images using CPCwrite; but without success. Maybe it's related to the SO I'm using,I only have XP and 2000 and they're very unfriendly with low level access to drives; so I guess I must try first with something like MS-DOS or Linux. Anyway, can anyone point me out about the best way to dump Einstein images to 3.5" floppies? Thanks for the hints! Best regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > Anyway, I need the serial cable right now! :P ...or maybe mount the > > Einey second drive on my PC to have a fast way to transfer files > > between machines. > > > > Why do that? The Einey supports up to 4 floppy drives. You can mount a > 3 1/2" pc style floppy drive on the einstein connected by a ribbon > cable to the "External disks" connector. If you don't have a 3 1/2" > floppy drive that can be jumpered as drive 2 or 3 then you just have > to switch two wires on the cable over to force the drive number. I > can't remember wich ones but I'll try to find the information (just > google for "floppy drive pinouts") > > (One of the things to remember is that nearly all 3 1/2" drives are > defined as drive 1 by default, that's why your primary PC floppy drive > is on the cable after the twist, to make it drive 0.) > > Then you can format the disks in the einstein and use the einstein > disk image manipulation tools to put data onto the disk from the PC. > > I used this method to connect a 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" drive to my einstein > giving me a four disk system. You'll need to take power from inside > the einey or use an old pc power supply (or use an old external hard > drive case with built in power supply). > > The main advantage of doing this is that if you damage the drive it's > easy to replace a 3 1/2" but very hard to replace a 3". It's also very > useful to be able to backup all your old 3" disks onto nice new 3 1/2" > media (just make sure you get a reliable brand) > > Regards > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 81	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.

Hi, I had trouble with CPCdiskXP running under Win2000, so I tried with OmniFlop (available for free from http://www.shlock.co.uk/Utils/ ). That also failed for me but the other utility from the same site called OmniDisk worked very well (I later discovered that I could get OmniFlop to work when Win2000 was booted in "safe mode") I used OmniDisk to read single density disks from an Osborne 1 when I thought that the hardware couldn't read single density. There's a bootable diks image for an OmniDisk setup here - http://www.shlock.co.uk/Utils/OmniDiskImg.zip just unzip it and follow the instructions to make a bootable FreeDOS disk with OmniDisk included. OmniDisk is very flexable, meaning it might take some time to get used to, but once you are used to it it will read *every* disk format and you can even create your own. You'll have to setup the format of the disk for the einstein then copy the image to the disk. I'll look up the specification for the Einstein disk format and post them here (unless Chris beats me to it as he probably already knows them)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 82	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 27/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies. R

Hi All,   Regarding OmniDisk id_fuga_is_unavailable wrote >I'll look up the specification for the Einstein disk format and post them here (unless Chris beats me to it as he probably already knows them) <   I don't allready know them and I haven't heard of OmniDisk before but I will download it now.   Thanks for the tip and the link.   It sounds like very useful utility.   Regards Chris Coxall   ----- Original Message ----- From: id_fugu_is_unavailable To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 11:50 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies. Hi, I had trouble with CPCdiskXP running under Win2000, so I tried with OmniFlop (available for free from http://www.shlock. co.uk/Utils/ ). That also failed for me but the other utility from the same site called OmniDisk worked very well (I later discovered that I could get OmniFlop to work when Win2000 was booted in "safe mode") I used OmniDisk to read single density disks from an Osborne 1 when I thought that the hardware couldn't read single density. There's a bootable diks image for an OmniDisk setup here - http://www.shlock. co.uk/Utils/ OmniDiskImg. zip just unzip it and follow the instructions to make a bootable FreeDOS disk with OmniDisk included. OmniDisk is very flexable, meaning it might take some time to get used to, but once you are used to it it will read *every* disk format and you can even create your own. You'll have to setup the format of the disk for the einstein then copy the image to the disk. I'll look up the specification for the Einstein disk format and post them here (unless Chris beats me to it as he probably already knows them) No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.17.12/653 - Release Date: 1/26/07 11:11 AM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 83	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: 3.5 inch external disk drives

Confusion seems to reign with the 3.5 inch disk issue. I have a a 720k 3.5 inch floppy drive so this this not a problem for me - except I would like even higher capacity :), but I find it all confusing when it comes to using modern 3.5 inch 1.44 FDD drives - this is what I believe I know - The Einstein uses the WD1770 family 8 bit FDD contoller For Einstein drives we want the cable wired as the Shuggart type interface . With a modern floppy drive and twisted cable it should work for drives one and two because the wiring for PC/AT (shown below) is 'compatible-ish' with the Shuggart for drives A/B but it appears you are really selecting drives 1 & 2. Thus to use 2 external drives on the Einey it seems we really need to select 2,3 i.e. pins 14 & 6. Older 3.5inch 720k disk drives have a 4 way jumper select so there is no problem. Modern HD 1.44 floppy drives(the only ones available now) only use the cable select A/B method and there are other differences - the modern drives use 500 mbs transfer rate as opposed to 250/mbs on 3in & older 3.5in drives. Question -Is the WD1770 controller up to this or will newer drives accept the lower transfer speeds happily? Finally system 5 contains parameters for 80 track DS DD drives. To get the Einstein to use the 1.44+ capacity we need to increase sectors/ track to 20? - is the controler happy with this?. Does this all work? Are there really those of you sitting out there quietly using external (&/or internal 2nd drives) with a formatted capacity of 1.6Mb? If so, you are sitting on the best kept Einstein secret I have come across in awhile - so please tell us how to do it! Remember that very few of us have the ability to solder at ribbon cable level so if anyone out there can make the correct external drive cable please sell them - I for one would be happy to buy one. By the way if any one is interested I have a quantity of NEW 3.5inch TDK 720k DD/DS disks some of which I'm happy to sell in lots of 10-50 at a reasonable price. Following data by courtesey of Tomi Engdahl The following table shows signals of the most commonly used floppy disk drive computers. The pinout is somehow de-facto and the use of certain signals may be different in various systems. This interface is used in both PC and Amiga computers, but the use and handling of various signals are different. Anyway those signals are always TTL- level signals. Pin Function 1 GND 2 High density select 4 Head load / In Use, Eject 6 Drive select 3 8 Index pulse + 10 Drive select 0 / Motor on A 12 Drive select 1 / Drive select B 14 Drive select 2 / Drive select A 16 Motor On / Motor on B 18 Direction 20 Step 22 Write data 24 Write enable 26 Track Zero + 28 Write Protect + 30 Read Data + 32 Select Head 34 Disk Changed + / Ready + 3-33 Odd pins are GND PC/AT disk drive signals PC/AT computers use those disk drive signals in the following way. In this system the drives are jumpered to be type A or B depending the situation. Usually PC and AT systems use a special cable which changes singal positions of drive A and B motor on and select signals between disk drive connectors. This makes it possible to have both drives to be jumpered as drive A and one drive works in this way as A and another as B. Pin Function Direction 1 GND 2 High density sel ??? 8 Index pulse from drive 10 Motor on A to drive 12 Drive select B to drive 14 Drive select A to drive 16 Motor On B to drive 18 Direction to drive 20 Step pulse to drive 22 Write data to drive 24 Write enable to drive 26 Track Zero from drive 28 Write Protect from drive 30 Read Data from drive 32 Select Head to drive 34 Disk Changed ??? 3-33 Odd pins are GND

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 84	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Floppy Disc Drives And That

Hi All'   In response to Phil's queries on 3.5 floppy drives.   For any of you that are old subscribers to the Einstein Magazine you will recall that fitting 3.5 drives became the big issue when we found out that 3 inch floppies were no longer in production and were hard to find. The late Ted Cawkwell an ex Editor of the Einey Mag referred to it as the "BOMB" in parody to the millenium bug scare at the time. So there began a lot of RD by mag subscribers who contributed articles of there findings.   To answer Phil's queries from this information at the time.   It was found that the wd1770 floppy controller would quite happily work a 720kb 3.5 inch floppy drive.   It would work 3.5 inch 1.44mb floppy drive but in 720kb mode only. I have such a drive attached to my Einstein working ok.   People tried all sorts of hardware tricks to get a higher capacity but the conclusion was that the wd1770 chip would only allow up to 720kb capacity.   Fitting an external 3.5 drive to Einey   Finding a neat tidy way to do it is difficult as box with power supply and housing for 3.5 floppy drives don't seem to be made.   A floppy disc ribbon cable with IDC plugs from a PC can be plugged into Einey's external drive port but connecting a drive to the connector after the twist will not work with Einey. The twist for the IBM\PC is of 7 wires 10 to 16. This sets non jumpered 3.5 to be A and B on PC. How this works and why its that way for a PC I haven't been able to find out but this method doesn't involve a simple swap of drive select wires. The floppy disc controller in the PC knows what its doing myself and Einey's floppy disc controller don't. To have a twist for Einey that sets to non jumpered drives to A and B you only need to twist 3 wires 10, 11 and 12. This makes a simple swap over of d1 to d0 for the drive after the twist. Its all the same Shuggart system. Confused? I am.   If Einey's internal drives are set to d0 and d1 adding a d0 and d1 external drives will clash. An external drives needs to be set for d2 or d3. With a non jumpered 3.5 drive pin 12 has to be set by Einey for the drive to know its to be used but if Einey wants to use that drive as drive d2 or C line 14 from Einey has to be attached to pin 12 on the drive. A simple way to do that is to cut wires 12 and 14 of the ribbon cable and join wire 12 from the drive to wire 14 from Einey.   Phil's Comment: >Modern HD 1.44 floppy drives(the only ones available now) only use the cable select A/B method and there are other differences - the modern drives use 500 mbs transfer rate as opposed to 250/mbs on 3in & older 3.5in drives.   The 500mbs was a big concern when we were first started using 1.44 HD floppy drives. A fear was that the magnetic data would migrate. Two bits of magnetic material attracting or repelling each other and corrupting data. The 1.44 floppy drives I used on Einey don't seem to have done this but I have found that 720kb will format some used corrupted floppies where the 1.44 drive won't. I think the 720kb drives are more robust. It has to be remembered that the wd1770 can only use a 1.44mb drive in 720kb mode.   Something I should mention when using CPCdisk, CPDRead\Write with 1.44mb floppies I set them to 720kb mode by blocking up the right side hole on the floppy (opposite the read\write protect setting) with a screwed up piece of paper. I'm not sure whether this necessary.   With this posting I've restricted fitting a non boot 3.5 inch drive to Einey for a quick fix with a readily available PC floppy disk cable. On the Einstein Web Site http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ select the drop down site menu and select ABBA switch for Einey. An ex Einstein Magazine article by me describes how I first made the boot drive to be switched from a 3 inch internal to a 3.5 inch external drive.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 85	From: geoff	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: 3.5 inch external disk drives

Please read to the end for possible solutions, don't give up part way through when it starts to look impossible... > > Confusion seems to reign with the 3.5 inch disk issue. I have a a > 720k 3.5 inch floppy drive so this this not a problem for me - except > I would like even higher capacity :), but I find it all confusing > when it comes to using modern 3.5 inch 1.44 FDD drives - this is what > I believe I know - > > The Einstein uses the WD1770 family 8 bit FDD contoller Yes, it does. > > For Einstein drives we want the cable wired as the Shuggart type > interface . With a modern floppy drive and twisted cable it should > work for drives one and two because the wiring for PC/AT (shown > below) is 'compatible-ish' with the Shuggart for drives A/B but it > appears you are really selecting drives 1 & 2. Thus to use 2 external > drives on the Einey it seems we really need to select 2,3 i.e. pins > 14 & 6. > > Older 3.5inch 720k disk drives have a 4 way jumper select so there is > no problem. > Modern HD 1.44 floppy drives(the only ones available now) only use > the cable select A/B method and there are other differences The changes needed for the cables may be different for drives from different eras but it is possible on all drives I've seen, so nothing to worry about here. > - the > modern drives use 500 mbs transfer rate as opposed to 250/mbs on 3in > & older 3.5in drives. > Question -Is the WD1770 controller up to this or will newer drives > accept the lower transfer speeds happily? No, and Yes(ish). The 177x controllers only support data transfer rates up to 250Kbps. Most newer drives will automatically switch to double density when a suitable disk is inserted (otherwise you can force it with a cable cut) and will then accept the lower transfer rate, but were not going to get any more storage that way. > Finally system 5 contains parameters for 80 track DS DD drives. To > get the Einstein to use the 1.44+ capacity we need to increase > sectors/ track to 20? - is the controler happy with this?. The controller would be happy with this but unless the data transfer rate is increased you'll end up having to use sectors that are half the size. The 'bbc b' used the 1771 and 18 sectors per track. > Does this all work? Are there really those of you sitting out there > quietly using external (&/or internal 2nd drives) with a formatted > capacity of 1.6Mb? > If so, you are sitting on the best kept Einstein secret I have come > across in awhile - so please tell us how to do it! Remember that very > few of us have the ability to solder at ribbon cable level so if > anyone out there can make the correct external drive cable please > sell them - I for one would be happy to buy one. By the way if any > one is interested I have a quantity of NEW 3.5inch TDK 720k DD/DS > disks some of which I'm happy to sell in lots of 10-50 at a > reasonable price. > No-one I know of has 1.6m drives, yet... Two solutions do present themselves to the problem of increased bit density on the High Density disks; 1. Increase the data Transfer Rate from the 177x controllers. The 177x family do not handle 500Kbps transfer rate but luckily it is double the one that is usually provided. So all we'd need to do is overclock the 177x :) Can it be done? Has it been done? Yes - http://www.6502.org/users/andre/csa/shug/index.html Quote - "Using this board with HD-drives (i.e. 1.44M 3.5" floppies overclocks the WDC1772 chip used in this board, as it is only specified for DD-disks (720k)." 2. Reduce the spin speed of the drive. Many drives have selectable speeds (300/360prm) but we'd need a spin speed of 150rpm to get the same data density. Can it be done? Has it been done? Yes - Quote - "Commodore never upgraded the Amiga chip set to support high-density floppies, but sold a custom drive (made by Chinon) that spun at half speed (150RPM) when a high-density floppy was inserted, enabling the existing floppy controller to be used." Okay so of the two options the second looks best as it's less invasive and wouldn't involve changing anything inside the Einstein or risking frying a disk controller. We'd all have to look out for old commodore Chinon drives or modify existing ones. All that would be left after that would be to modify "System 5" to use 20 sectors instead of 10 and that shouldn't be all that hard. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 86	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: More thoughts on floppy drives.

Hi All,   Many thanks to Geoff for sharing his Knowledge on floppy disk drives. A lot of info here I didn't know about.   A question I'd like to ask everyone is if they had 3.5 HD 1.44mb attached to Einey that wouldn't work where another would or a 720kb 3.5 would? I haven't come across 1.44mb drive yet that wouldn't work with Einey. I might have just lucked out. I'm not talking of damaged drives I'm speaking of drives that will still work if mounted in IBM\PC.   If Geoff or anyone else knows the reason for the strange 7 wire twist in IBM\PC cable I would love to know the answer.   A consideration of changing floppy drive settings is to compatibility and backward mobility. Floppy disks are way for getting files and programs from one Einey to another. Even if it is via a disk image and been transported across the WEB. Would over clocking the wd1770 set the Einey only to read HD floppies? Could files on one HD floppy drive be transferred to a low density floppy on another drive? At the moment sides and sectors per track are set for all drives by the boot disk at boot up. Can a program be written so after boot up the status of each drive be read for density, sides and tracks per side and individual drives be configured as such? Would this be automatic or need to be set manually?   A broader question for the future if there is going to be a floppy drive interface on a FPGA Einey should it be to the present wd1770 settings or use the common in use MS\DOS settings?   Upgrading floppy drives for higher capacity is a good idea but how are existing files going to be put on them if other floppy drive formats can't be recognized?   Just a couple more questions I'm curious about.   One of my computer curios bought at a bootsale cheep was an Irwin tape drive that fitted to a floppy disk plug. All web searches for info on it brought warnings that it would not work for windows. Anyone know what computer this worked on.   I have some vague memory that for a short period before USB established itself that memory cards for camera's and such could be put into a cassette that fitted into a 3.5 floppy and could be read and written to. Did I really see this advertised I was I dreaming?   Best Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 87	From: Paul Bunyan	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: More thoughts on floppy drives.

On 28 Jan 2007, at 20:46, Chris Coxall wrote: > If Geoff or anyone else knows the reason for the > strange 7 wire twist in IBM\PC cable I would love > to know the answer. The Floppy cable twist is used to determine which drive [in a multi- drive] system is drive 'A' or 'B' [also called drive '1' or '2']. The swapped pins determine the floppy drive enabled, and which motor is enabled. The pins are line 10, line 12, line 14, and line 16, while the other lines in the twist are ground lines. In general, the Floppy drive ships with a jumper positioned so that the drive is a 'B' drive, the cable does the rest. > Just a couple more questions I'm curious about. > > One of my computer curios bought at a bootsale > cheep was an Irwin tape drive that fitted to a > floppy disk plug. All web searches for info on it > brought warnings that it would not work for > windows. Anyone know what computer this worked on. Not sure about "Irwin" but I once had a QIC (quarter inch cartridge) tape drive that plugged into the floppy interface on a PC motherboard. Worked with Win98 (with drivers) but nothing later. > I have some vague memory that for a short period > before USB established itself that memory cards > for camera's and such could be put into a cassette > that fitted into a 3.5 floppy and could be read > and written to. Did I really see this advertised I > was I dreaming? You weren't dreaming. A friend uses one for SmartMedia cards, and you can still buy them! I'm not sure if adapters for other formats of flash memory exist. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smartdisk-Flashpath-Floppy-Adaptor-SmartMedia/ dp/B00005QXW7 Regards Paul B.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 88	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: scroller & PT2

Hi All,   With reference to Jose's programs up loaded to files "scroller" and "PT2". I've run these both with MESS emulation and on the real Einstein. What has to be remembered is that Einstein MESS Emulation runs a lot slower than a real Einstein. I'm afraid I haven't got a musical ear like Bob's for musical detail but PT2 certainly has a faster tempo in the real Einstein. Scroller also moves across the screen faster.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 89	From: geoff	Date: 28/01/2007
Subject: Re: More thoughts on floppy drives.

> Many thanks to Geoff for sharing his Knowledge > on floppy disk drives. A lot of info here I didn't > know about. Thnaks for the Thanks. > A question I'd like to ask everyone is if they had > 3.5 HD 1.44mb attached to Einey that wouldn't work > where another would or a 720kb 3.5 would? I > haven't come across 1.44mb drive yet that wouldn't > work with Einey. I might have just lucked out. I'm > not talking of damaged drives I'm speaking of > drives that will still work if mounted in IBM\PC. NOne that I've come across. > If Geoff or anyone else knows the reason for the > strange 7 wire twist in IBM\PC cable I would love > to know the answer. Simple. As far as I've been able to find out in the past it just comes down to cost. It's the easiest way to swap the drive select cables. Twisting all 7 doesn't move anything critical (every other wire is ground and the others don't matter for a PC FDC because they only handle 2 drives.) > A consideration of changing floppy drive settings > is to compatibility and backward mobility. Floppy > disks are way for getting files and programs from > one Einey to another. Even if it is via a disk > image and been transported across the WEB. Would > over clocking the wd1770 set the Einey only to > read HD floppies? Could files on one HD floppy > drive be transferred to a low density floppy on > another drive? At the moment sides and sectors per > track are set for all drives by the boot disk at > boot up. Can a program be written so after boot up > the status of each drive be read for density, > sides and tracks per side and individual drives be > configured as such? Would this be automatic or > need to be set manually? It would probably be easiest to have a config utility to set the size of each drive (like the PC's bios being used to set floppy drive sizes). > A broader question for the future if there is > going to be a floppy drive interface on a FPGA > Einey should it be to the present wd1770 settings > or use the common in use MS\DOS settings? > > Upgrading floppy drives for higher capacity is a > good idea but how are existing files going to be > put on them if other floppy drive formats can't be > recognized? Probably stick with the old Einstein format that can now be manipulated on a pc, just with one change to the definition, either defining the number of sectors per track as double the original, or doubling the size of each sector. As this would be a new format, we get to define it. > Just a couple more questions I'm curious about. > > One of my computer curios bought at a bootsale > cheep was an Irwin tape drive that fitted to a > floppy disk plug. All web searches for info on it > brought warnings that it would not work for > windows. Anyone know what computer this worked on. > > I have some vague memory that for a short period > before USB established itself that memory cards > for camera's and such could be put into a cassette > that fitted into a 3.5 floppy and could be read > and written to. Did I really see this advertised I > was I dreaming? > Is this what you mean? - http://www.camerahacker.com/Forums/DisplayComments.php?file=Digital%20Camera/Sony/floppy_disk_to_memory_card_adapter.html Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 90	From: jltursan	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.

Finally, I've been able to dump an image to disk using CPCdiskXP! :D; as it has already been pointed, I've set "Side 1/Head 1" options and the disk created works like a charm on the Einstein. There're some problems with the software that needs to boot from unit 0; but I've not much of them. I've been lucky about the disk drive, it doesn't need any twisting because it's an old unit and has a jumper set :) Now I've plans to build a full external kit using the following: - Old video tape box (the drive fits quite well!) - External PSU (5V 1A) - ...and of couse some power connectors (floppy molex, female jack) If I'm able to build it, I'll take some photos. Greets, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I had trouble with CPCdiskXP running under Win2000, so I tried with > OmniFlop (available for free from http://www.shlock.co.uk/Utils/ ). > That also failed for me but the other utility from the same site > called OmniDisk worked very well (I later discovered that I could get > OmniFlop to work when Win2000 was booted in "safe mode") > > I used OmniDisk to read single density disks from an Osborne 1 when I > thought that the hardware couldn't read single density. > > There's a bootable diks image for an OmniDisk setup here - > http://www.shlock.co.uk/Utils/OmniDiskImg.zip just unzip it and follow > the instructions to make a bootable FreeDOS disk with OmniDisk included. > > OmniDisk is very flexable, meaning it might take some time to get used > to, but once you are used to it it will read *every* disk format and > you can even create your own. You'll have to setup the format of the > disk for the einstein then copy the image to the disk. > > I'll look up the specification for the Einstein disk format and post > them here (unless Chris beats me to it as he probably already knows them) >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 91	From: jltursan	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: scroller & PT2

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > With reference to Jose's programs up loaded to > files "scroller" and "PT2". I've run these both > with MESS emulation and on the real Einstein. What > has to be remembered is that Einstein MESS > Emulation runs a lot slower than a real Einstein. > I'm afraid I haven't got a musical ear like Bob's > for musical detail but PT2 certainly has a faster > tempo in the real Einstein. Scroller also moves > across the screen faster. > > Regards Chris Coxall > Thanks Chris!, now I've been able to test by myself the demos and I've found some nasty surprises. First of all, the scroller demo is not totally smooth, there're little hiccups that seems produced by some heavy interrupt routine on the Einstein. It's enough annoying to justify working with interrupt disabled :P The speed must be of 50 pixels second as it's synchronized using the VDP 50Hz frequency. I haven't take measurements on the MESS; but, is it really so slow?. Last day I was digging on the MESS Einstein module and they use the correct 4Mhz for the Z80 (is it 4Mhz, right?) and the TMS99x8 is a very well known VDP. The PT2 seems to suffer a more complex problem. The interrupts seems to disturb the playing causing the same stuttering suffered by the scroller and even later the song seems to dephase the channels (?!). I'll try with another replayer routines; but I'm afraid that I need to test a lot more the Einstein's interrupt services.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 92	From: geoff	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: Re: turning disk images into Einstein external 3.5 inch floppies.

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Finally, I've been able to dump an image to disk using CPCdiskXP! :D; > as it has already been pointed, I've set "Side 1/Head 1" options and > the disk created works like a charm on the Einstein. There're some > problems with the software that needs to boot from unit 0; but I've > not much of them. Is there really no keyboard shortcut to force booting from another drive? There was on several old computers I own. I seem to remember having to press shift and 2 to force an osborne 1 to boot from it's second drive (effectively swapping the drive numbers).

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 93	From: fil_simmons	Date: 29/01/2007
Subject: More on 3.5 inch drives

Hi All, Many thanks to Chris and Geoff for their very clear exposition of the current state of knowlege regarding the use of 3.5 inch drives on the Einstein. Having been elswhere for many years I missed all the fun over the demise of the 3inch drive. (If any one manages to source new 3 inch media please post. I have purchased some 2nd hand from Ebay but the quality is very variable - many disks are damaged. Amsoft seems to be the most reliable.) Getting back to 3.5 inch drives. The twisted cable was definitely a cost saving measure and also a convenience thing. With the rise of MSDOS and hard drives and the demise of CP/M, the necessity for 4 floppy drives (or more) disappeared. However having 2 floppy drives was an essential add-on in the days when the FDD was the primary method of pc to pc data transfer. To make it easy for non- techies to add a second floppy disk the cable twist was introduced - no jumpers to set as all drives were B: The cost reduction came in removing the DS jumper switches and reducing the selection from 4 to 2. On some older 3.5inch floppy drives this transition can be seen since the solder points for the old 4 way jumpers are still there but the jumper pins are missing. The solder points are still labelled DS0 - DS3. If you have one of these a drive select can be acheived by simply soldering a short piece of wire across the adjoining solder points on the pcb. I believe the 2 drive cable select system was intdoduced with the IMB PS/2. Chris wrote - ''The 500mbs was a big concern when we were first started using 1.44 HD floppy drives. A fear was that the magnetic data would migrate. Two bits of magnetic material attracting or repelling each other and corrupting data. The 1.44 floppy drives I used on Einey don't seem to have done this but I have found that 720kb will format some used corrupted floppies where the 1.44 drive won't. I think the 720kb drives are more robust. It has to be remembered that the wd1770 can only use a 1.44mb drive in 720kb mode.'' The formatting effect whereby 720k drives seem to correct errors on corrupted floppies is not exactly due to their 'robustness'. The true 720k drive uses a much higher write current than its HD counterpart and thus steamrollers over defects that might have been apparent on disks used in a 1.44 HD drive, which uses a much lower write current. In fact the media surface of 720k and 1.44mb disks are vastly different. This controversy still rages on MSDOS forums. Many say that you should under no circumstances use 720k media in a 1.44 drive. I personally haven't found a problem on the pc. But more importantly the use of HD media (with the hole covered up) in a 720k drive is considered dangerous to data integrity as the higher write current could damage themedia surface - you experiences with this would be appreciated. Of course if you are using a 1.44 Hd drive set to 720k and use Hd media ther won't be any problem. Likewise you should use 720k media in a true 720k drive. Getting a higher capacity from a 1.44 3.5 inch drive is an interesting prospect. Overclocking the WD 1770 sounds too scary to me - the Einstein as an overclockers board - I think not :) However slowing down a disk drive seems an interesting avenue. A quick and dirty method might be to take a 1.44 fdd and place a variable resitor across the drive motor thus slowing the spindle speed. By marking the the counterweight and using a stop watch the rpm could be measured across a good number of revolutions and the resitor gradually adusted until a rotation speed of 150rpm was acheived. A 1.44 mb disk actually has a 2mb capacity. The 18 sectors/track used by MSDOS was selected merely as a convenience, the reason for which I can't remember. Formatting these disks to 20 tracks is not a problem so a 1.6mb capacity is possible. Maybe we should offer a prize for the 1st person to get this to work! Finally I tried to put a 3inch disk in a pc the other day without success. Although I got the drive select ok and set the Bios to 5.25 360k fdd - I just got a time out (not ready) signal every time I tried to access the disk. I was using an Einstein cable since my card ended pc floppy cables are still in storage somewhere but I don't see why it shouldn't hav worked - any ideas please? Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 94	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Fitting a three inch drive to a PC.

Hi All,   Fitting a three inch drive to a PC.   Phil Wrote >Finally I tried to put a 3 inch disk in a pc the other day without success. Although I got the drive select ok and set the Bios to 5.25 360k fdd - I just got a time out (not ready) signal every time I tried to access the disk. I was using an Einstein cable since my card ended pc floppy cables are still in storage somewhere but I don't see why it shouldn't hav worked - any ideas please?   "I just got time out" What o/s do you have installed? My three inch Einey drive is in a 486 PC. Bios set to 5.25 360k fdd as drive "B". Win95 o/s. Trying to access the three inch drive from windows just seizes up the computer. Trying to access drive from DOS (dos 7) gets error reports no sector and other errors.   Just tried something:- I've just tried a DOS format command "format b: /1" with a three inch floppy in the drive. This seems to have worked. I used the copy command to put text files on floppy. Dir b: shows files but the type command "type filename.txt) just gets "error no sector".   Ok experiment over. The three inch drive with 3 inch floppies needs to be accessed by specialized software in our case CPDRead and CPDwrite. Cpdread to read an Einstein, Amstrad CPC or Spectrum+3 3 inch floppy to disk image files. CPDWrite to write disk images to create an Einstein, Amstrad CPC or Spectrum+3 floppy in the 3 inch drive mounted in the PC.   CPDRead in DOS (not in a Windows dos prompt) I found will work in most PCs installed with windows 95 and 98. I have not tried DOS in a computer installed with XP or win2000. I know others that have and they told me it won't work. These two operating systems I understand need special drivers, dll files and programing to access a PC's ports directly.   CPDWrite I found works in a 486 PC. Others have told me that they have it working in a 386 PC. It wouldn't work in a 286 computer I had.   When I've tried using CPDWrite in computers faster than a 486 I got a time out error. Is this what Phil is getting or is it due to something else? If you were using CPDWrite try CPDRead to see if that works.   What does all this mean for me. It means I keep a scruffy 486 tucked away in a corner which is only used when I need to write or read an image to a 3 inch floppy.   CPCdiskXP ver. 1.6 we are told will read and write to a 3 inch floppy drive using XP or win2000. It does with XP. I tried it but it came with a price not only wouldn't CPCDisk not read an Einey disk in the 3.5 inch drive "A", XP wouln't access an MS formatted floppy in drive "A".   So it seems for the moment fitting a 3 inch drive to a PC means a compromising your PC's system. Something to do on a second PC not for essential use. There is also a problem that there is not a standard fitting to mount a 3 inch drive into a PC.   Best Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 95	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Re: Fitting a three inch drive to a PC.

Hi Einey Folk 180k comes to mind - that's a single sided 5,1/4". I had a couple that, with an edge adapter, worked identically on the Einey in place of the 3" - I believe the track/sector layout were identical. 5,1/4" disks were in abundance - I found much more reliable than the 3.5", I have a box of these drives that wouldn't work on the Einey yet OK on other machines, we haven't gone into the finer details of how noisy some of them were, because they were becoming an after-thought on the ubiquitous PC, manufacturers cut corners - also using 3.5" as 3" formated had better results. You must stick to the lower density 5,1/4" disks - that goes for the 3.5" one slot only type - the reason is the heads work in a more concentrated area so the disk particles are smaller denser and therefore more difficult to orientate. Sometimes they work but later let you down. Also don't be tempted to flip the 5,1/4" disks over, this drags dirt in and scratches them because unlike the 3" they rub the sleeve - a build-up forms on the slot edge. I think the true test for drives comes when one spends hours writing machine-code routines - the thing the Einey is best for - where do you wish to preserve your precious work? A 3" disk with the cross hatch pattern on it - smooth cases weren't good quality - was always my choice. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 96	From: fil_simmons	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Fitting 3 inch drives

Hi all, OK I was using 'true' DOS but Ver7x booted under Win98 bypassing the GUI - also a celeron 533mhz, the slowest beast I have in one piece at the moment although I do have a P233 that could be resurrected. Hmm... it seems to me that the floppy control is/should be independent of CPU speed otherwise drives on different speed machines would never work ... The time out I had occured with CPDRead/Write which is why I then tried to format a 3inch uder DOS just to see what would happen. I still got a time out. Oh well back to the drawing board. I seem to be in a catch 22 situation at the moment. My serial cable isn't working correctly - I need to test this (only tried on an XP machine so far). I can't get Xtal 2.0x onto a 3inch because I only have images - so I can't get my 2nd 3.5 inch drive working. I 've tried patching Xtal 1.31 which I do have - there is just enough space to squeeze in a second drive definition in the F900 area, but no cigar. Guess I'll try CPDXP on a 3.5 inch, transfer Xtal 2.0x onto this, patch it, Swap the 3.5 inch to boot the einstein with the 3 inch as second drive - then if this works copy the system to 3inch and then put it all back again - which really explains why I was trying to write direct to 3inch in the first place :) Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 97	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: 3 inch on the PC

3 inch on the PC   Hi ALL,   Phil Simmons Wrote: >OK I was using 'true' DOS but Ver7x booted under Win98 bypassing the GUI - also a celeron 533mhz,   533mhz is definitely too fast for CPDWrite maybe not CPDRead. I think the P233 will be too fast to. I believe that CPDRead\Write software was written on a 386 at a time when a 386 was the state of the art. I made a disassembly of CPDWrite some time ago to see if I could see the time out sequence and alter it but I wasn't knowledgeable enough to see where it was.   Getting hold of a working 486 used to be easy you could pull them out of skips for free. They might be as rare as Eineys now. What I'm looking out for is an old Amstrad portable 386 or 486 I've heard that they use a standard desk top floppy drive and connector. It would take up less space than my present desk top 486 and monitor.   I'm new to XP I have it installed in two computers but I'm not sure of the minimum system requirements needed. I've thought of getting a cheep computer for XP and mounting a three inch drive in that. The compromise as previously mentioned would be no floppy drive except the three inch drive for use with CPCdiskXP ver 1.6. only. Two XP computers could be networked together also remote control of one by the other. For non Einstein related work the XP computer could be used as an extra storage resource. With remote access software like "RealVNC" there would be no need for a second monitor. If the two computers are desk tops one could be stacked on top of the other. Keeping things compact, simple and tidy is the requirement and not having everything sprawled about. Not easy for an Einey enthusiast.   Our Einey was born with two internal three inch disk drives one as boot drive. This is the way we would like it to stay but is it wise? Eineys natural diet of 3 inch media can't be had fresh anymore its out of production. Today the boot drive needs to be a 3.5 inch drive and for the media that is still in production. Face up to it Einey needs that transplant.   Changing internal 3 inch drive 0\A to 2\C and having a 3.5 drive as 0\A is the quickest way to do it. Alternatively have an ABBA switch to exchange boot drives-more complicated.   So to 3.5 inch media Phil wrote: >But more importantly the use of HD media (with the hole covered up) in a 720k drive is considered dangerous to data integrity as the higher write current could damage themedia surface - you experiences with this would be appreciated.   My experiences; I have both a 720k and 1.4m HD 3.5 drives attached to einey and I can say that I have not noticed any problems. But! I'm taking note of Bob Deeley's latest posting that data on a 1.4m HD floppy has an unreliable shelf life. Are 720k floppy disks still in production?   Hardware and cables for Einey are not easy to come by and maybe cause to what hasn't been mentioned in recent postings-file transfer by a Einstein\PC serial link. Einstein users have an excellent windows software for this created by Ste Ruddy "WinEinTrans". I use this to back up important individual files to be stored on the PC. Eintrans also has another feature. I ran Jose's "scroller.com" and "PT.com" on Einey without ever putting the files on an Einstein floppy disk. The "execute" command with EinTrans will download from the PC and run individual programs in the Einstein. Making up a serial link cable is well worth the effort.   Without 3 inch media being in production and available, other storage will always I think be a problematic.   Best regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 98	From: geoff	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > OK I was using 'true' DOS but Ver7x booted under Win98 bypassing the > GUI - also a celeron 533mhz, the slowest beast I have in one piece at > the moment although I do have a P233 that could be resurrected. > Hmm... it seems to me that the floppy control is/should be > independent of CPU speed otherwise drives on different speed machines > would never work ... It's not the speed of the processor that is the problem but the type of floppy disk controller on the motherboard. CPDread/write were written to work on the older chipsets and were not updated for newer ones. Some newer motherboards have compatible chipsets and some don't. > The time out I had occured with CPDRead/Write which is why I then > tried to format a 3inch uder DOS just to see what would happen. I > still got a time out. One thing I discovered a while back was that it sometimes made a difference if I booted to dos and rau CPDread from a floppy or a hard drive. I discovered this while testing a few machines with dos and CPDread on floppy. finding one that worked, than installing dos and CPDread to the hard drive to discover they didn't work. I could only read disks on that machine (a P233) if a had a 3.5" and a 3" floppy connected and booted with a win95 dos boot system disk from the 3.5" then swapped disks and ran CPDread from the same 3.5" then I could copy images from the 3" to the hard drive. I don't know why this tricked CPDread into working, but it did. > Oh well back to the drawing board. I seem to be in a catch 22 > situation at the moment. My serial cable isn't working correctly - I > need to test this (only tried on an XP machine so far). I can't get > Xtal 2.0x onto a 3inch because I only have images - so I can't get my > 2nd 3.5 inch drive working. I 've tried patching Xtal 1.31 which I do > have - there is just enough space to squeeze in a second drive > definition in the F900 area, but no cigar. I'd be interested in more information as to how you were patching xtal and if you think that including different disk definitions would be possible. (I'm hot on the trail of drives that will spin at 150rpm) Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 99	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/01/2007
Subject: Floppy Drives Shugart twisted cables.

Hi ALL,   http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/floppies.html   Just found this. It  might explain the why twists are different for the PC and Einey. Seems IBM did break the Shugart Standard.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 100	From: geoff	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Getting a higher capacity from a 1.44 3.5 inch drive is an > interesting prospect. > Overclocking the WD 1770 sounds too scary to me - the Einstein as an > overclockers board - I think not :) However slowing down a disk drive > seems an interesting avenue. A quick and dirty method might be to > take a 1.44 fdd and place a variable resitor across the drive motor > thus slowing the spindle speed. By marking the the counterweight and > using a stop watch the rpm could be measured across a good number of > revolutions and the resitor gradually adusted until a rotation speed > of 150rpm was acheived. That might work on an old belt drive floppy with a dc motor (but even then would probably be unrelaible at best) but not a new brushless direct drive one where the speed is controlled by frequency. You'll need to look for the resonator (probably 3pin ceramic resonator) on the circuit board. I've just pulled apart a Teac FD-235HF and found a "4.0MC TDK 16" ceramic resonator (not sure exaclty what frequency that is), replacing this with one half the frequency will reduce the drive speed by half. And this after getting an email reply from Teac today telling me that the drive cannot be modified to run at half speed. Connecting the original and replacement resonators to the microswitch that detects high/double density disks inserted into the drive would cause the drive to run at normal speed for a Double Density disk and half speed (and therefore double the data density) for a High Density disk. I believe this is what commodore did for their 880k/1760k drives instead of upgrading the FDC. > A 1.44 mb disk actually has a 2mb capacity. The 18 sectors/track used > by MSDOS was selected merely as a convenience, the reason for which I > can't remember. Formatting these disks to 20 tracks is not a problem > so a 1.6mb capacity is possible. Maybe we should offer a prize > for the 1st person to get this to work! I think IBM did this to allow for bigger tollerances. Some IMB drives run a bit too fast to format 1.6mb disks but can read and write to them (actually that's not strictly true, you can format them but you have to use some nifty tricks to format the sectors in reverse order and stop the format before it overwrites the previously written data). Acorn ADFS F+ used the 1.6mb format as I recall. > > Finally I tried to put a 3inch disk in a pc the other day without > success. Although I got the drive select ok and set the Bios to 5.25 > 360k fdd - I just got a time out (not ready) signal every time I > tried to access the disk. I was using an Einstein cable since my card > ended pc floppy cables are still in storage somewhere but I don't see > why it shouldn't hav worked - any ideas please? It should have worked, providing the hardware is sound, but depends on what software you are using to read the disk, try an OmniDisk bootable floppy. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 101	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

Hi Einey Folk As Chris's '3 inch on the PC' has reminded me, the objective - as with the 'bomb' - is to get a standard hardware replacement for the 3" on the Einey - never mind all the emulations, have we achieved this? Could we all exchange a disk today and be able to read it? Of course we settled on the 3.5", I stocked up on 720k disks, now I wonder how much longer 1.44k will be around. We are now in the age of USB, mem cards, stick, DVD, internet... Never mind changing drive belts, bit rates, delay loops, 98 - XP, can anyone have some inspiration for a standard Einey memory back-up - it doesn't have to be earth shatteringly fast, huge, even cheap - dare I say - but readily available easy to fit and envisaged lasting sometime into the future. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 102	From: geoff	Date: 31/01/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Robert Deeley" <bobdeeley@...> wrote: > > Hi Einey Folk > > As Chris's '3 inch on the PC' has reminded me, the objective - as with the > 'bomb' - is to get a standard hardware replacement for the 3" on the Einey - > never mind all the emulations, have we achieved this? Could we all exchange > a disk today and be able to read it? If it's 3 1/2" it should be fine as long as you have as you're using the same type of drive, and the same DOS (40/80track). > > Of course we settled on the 3.5", I stocked up on 720k disks, now I wonder > how much longer 1.44k will be around. We are now in the age of USB, mem 3 1/2" will be arround for a while. Isf you want to install Windows Vista onto a Raid array you'll still be using a floppy disk to get the drivers loaded. > cards, stick, DVD, internet... Never mind changing drive belts, bit rates, > delay loops, 98 - XP, can anyone have some inspiration for a standard Einey > memory back-up - it doesn't have to be earth shatteringly fast, huge, even > cheap - dare I say - but readily available easy to fit and envisaged lasting > sometime into the future. Memory sticks are evolving too fast, most are now too small to fit into my original reader. IDE is on it's way out. I don't know who's going to try to build an SATA adaptor for the einey but it's beyond me. Serial cables and transfer from a pc will be arround for a long time. Even it the serial ports on a pc disappear it's easy to impliment a custom design. Maybe it's as simple as that. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 103	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

Hi Geoff '3 1/2" will be arround for a while. Isf you want to install Windows Vista onto a Raid array you'll still be using a floppy disk to get the drivers loaded.' What's that about!? - I haven't seen a 3.5" drive on a PC in years - everything boots and loads from a CD if it's new or broke. ' IDE is on it's way out' I can believe that. 'Memory sticks are evolving too fast' - Ahhr! So PC manufacturers can see it! That's why they need to keep the nice old standard 3.5" floppy ;^/ ' Serial cables and transfer from a pc will be arround for a long time.' Do you mean 'D' socket 25, 9 pin RS232? Or anything? ' Even it the serial ports on a pc disappear it's easy to impliment a custom design. ' Do you mean plug an old RS232 printer port card into a spare slot - will they last? Ethernet, Firewire, USB adaptors - might be some hope - never got XP to see them yet though, but got bored trying... Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 104	From: geoff	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

Hi Bob, > > '3 1/2" will be arround for a while. Isf you want to install Windows > Vista onto a Raid array you'll still be using a floppy disk to get the > drivers loaded.' > > What's that about!? - I haven't seen a 3.5" drive on a PC in years - > everything boots and loads from a CD if it's new or broke. A friend of mine has just had to use a floppy supplied with his raid card to load the drivers before installing win2003 server in the UK. I've spent about 10 weeks travelling arround India and China over the last year or so and I can assure you that the vast majority of PCs in use arround the world still have floppy drives that are regularly used. I never did jump on the CD bandwagon. I've got a couple that hardware drivers were supplied on but I buy most of my software via download and put is straight onto DVD-r :) My point was that 3.5" will be a valid format for the next 10 years. I can still, after all, buy unused 5 1/4" disks easily today. > ' IDE is on it's way out' > > I can believe that. > > 'Memory sticks are evolving too fast' - Ahhr! So PC manufacturers can see > it! That's why they need to keep the nice old standard 3.5" floppy ;^/ > I have a usb1.1 card reader from a few years ago that that doesn't have the right slots for the new sd cards and refuses to read the faster ones. A few years from cutting edge to obsolete :( > ' Serial cables and transfer from a pc will be arround for a long time.' > > Do you mean 'D' socket 25, 9 pin RS232? Or anything? > ..on the other hand I have computers in my basement dating back to the late 1970s (almost 30 years old), that I can happily link to my win2000 box with a simple serial cable. The sockets don't matter as they nearly all communicate with RS232 (or a simple varient of, apart from the awkward Commodore 3032) > ' Even it the serial ports on a pc disappear it's easy to impliment a > custom design. ' > > Do you mean plug an old RS232 printer port card into a spare slot - will > they last? "RS232 printer port card" - how quaint :) I really meant easy to impliment yourself, but as to the question of will RS232 last there are plenty of USB to RS232 or RS422 adaptors available. *Even* from Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=34449&doy=search but this one is cheaper - http://www.cabling4less.co.uk/USB_Devices.php?referrer=google&gclid=CMDsnrH2jIoCFSxEMAodYxungA Or for a more comprehensive solution, an "IEEE 802.11b/g 54Mb/s High Performance Wireless Ethernet - RS232, 422, 485 Serial Server." http://www.easysync.co.uk/ (scroll down the page). Schools, Universties and Industry still use RS232. It should still have a very long shelf life. > Ethernet, Firewire, USB adaptors - might be some hope - never got XP to see > them yet though, but got bored trying... > > Bob > Yeah, but that's a problem with XP :) I think we need a group vote as to the best long term storage solution and develop it. For example an SATA adaptor that is easy to build and could connect to either a hard drive, compact flash card, DVD rom would be a great solution but might take far too much effort. Implimenting a TCP/IP stack and network adaptor for the Einey would be very cool (source code for Z80 based TCP/IP is out there) but would still equire a mass storage medium. Anyone want to build a USB port for the Einstien? I'm happy to put in the time and effort into developing something (with help, of course) but we need to decide which direction to go in. Anyway, this weekend I should be trying out my first 150rpm floppy mod. I decided to use a binary counter on the output of the ceramic resonator to divide the frequency by 2 as this would work for other floppy drives that started with different resonators. Just need to figure out how to modify the xtal dos or system80 to use 20 sectors Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 105	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 01/02/2007
Subject: Re: More on 3.5 inch drives

Hi all Glad to get the ball rolling again. I shouldn't ever rely on what China does, they'll ditch the lot at a moments notice, they've done it many times before, their culture is capable. We all have old PCs and operating systems kicking around, but can we take the basic Einey plus some recent technolgy for and make it future proof in terms of trnsfer media? The 'bomb' was the best stab at it so far but judging by recent chat those great efforts have not been taken up as a standard. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 106	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/02/2007
Subject: Floppy drives and other ideas.

Hi all   Bob Deeley Wrote > As Chris's '3 inch on the PC' has reminded me, the objective - as with the > 'bomb' - is to get a standard hardware replacement for the 3" on the Einey - > never mind all the emulations, have we achieved this?   In one way yes 3.5 drives work on Einey. Do we have reliable in production media we can put into them. Surfing the web for new 720k floppies didn't show many and those were all quite a bit more expensive than the 1.44m HD that can be bought say in the super market.   I use the HD 1.44m floppies. I have said that I have not noticed any problems but this is not a fair assessment. Most of my work for a long time with floppies has been to test disk image to Einstein floppy creation on the PC then testing in Einey. I was using the same HD disks over and over again. Not only the data but the format was being refreshed regularly. I haven't as Bob has done sat at my Einey and regularly updated data to single HD floppy. His experience of unreliability is the one that should be taken into account.   Phils reservations >But more importantly the use of HD media (with the hole covered up) in a 720k drive is considered dangerous to data integrity as the higher write current could damage themedia surface - your experiences with this would be appreciated.   As I said in my posting. I'm not sure whether this is necessary. I can recall a few times when I was using HD floppy media in either PC and Einey during disk image creation and the disk wouldn't read or write I blocked up the hole and it did. After that it became a habit. A bad habit really but at the time all I wanted to do was test EDIP created disk images during the time of its creation. I haven't got a 720k drive in a PC so this might be where I found blocking up the hole worked with using CPCdiskXP or CPDRead\Write.   All my Einey files are backed up to storage on PC media either in disk images or as single files so crunching up a few disks is not a great problem.   I've been checking out my 3.5 Einey disks just the standard single side 40 track ones. I can set Einey to have a 720k drive 0 and a 1.4mb HD drive. I definitely had working HD floppies without the hole covered up and with. Taking into consideration phil's reservations I put those without the hole covered up into 1.4m HD drive and read the data ok. I put those with the hole filled in the 720k drive and read data ok. I then swopped the disks with the different drives, reading became precarious and eventually became unreadable.   I'm going to have a make proper assessment of Einey floppies again. Of my working 3.5 disks I don't know whether their format was created by CPDWrite, CPCdiskXP or whether they were formatted with Einey. The out come I want is to know that 1.4m 3.5 drives with HD discs work and are reliable with Einey as these are current and in production. Then I can say the objectives of the "Bomb" have been achieved. If 1.4m drives and HD media can be trusted I will disconnect the 720k drive. That way CPDWrite, CPCdiskXP and Einey will all be using HD media. Your experiences and comments would be welcome.   To comment on issues of recent posts:   A Compact Flash Card is an IDE hard drive or can be. Go to ebay type in "IDE to Compact Flash" and for less than £5 an IDE to compact flash card can be had. I have a working Toshiba Tecra 500cs notebook with a non moving part solid state hard drive. Its a 2gig compact flash card. Is this the way of the future for storage? ATA interfaced flash memory?   At a quick glance the wiring on the IDE\compactflash adapter looked more or less straight through. So what about that smart card in the floppy drive? Surfing the web to one forum not so good it said "the FDC only reads a few sectors then passed control to the windows driver". From Wikipedia "SmartMedia was initially named the Solid State Floppy Disk Card (SSFDC) and pitched as a successor to the floppy disk," now that looked promising.   I downloaded the pinout for a smart card there is no simple translation to the Shugart pinout. There are 8 pins for data for a start. The smart media pinout did look familiar though. Back in the "Bomb" days I had library book dealing just with floppy drives back to an era when the time and expense of re alining floppy drives was cost effective. They had special machines to do this. The book described how the disk drive electronics took pulses from the shugart write lines and latched them into bytes. Then those bytes in another circuit were broken down to single pulses to put magnetic data on the disk. It was not a case of just passing through pulses from the FDC as could easily be assumed. One of diagrams for wiring went to something like the SM pinout if my memory is that good.   Somewhere up on the web there is a techy who has analyzed that floppy\smartmedia adapter wiring and programing. Or there will be. Keeping my fingers crossed.   In this day of chip and pin it should be easy to mass produce silicon floppies and floppy drives to put them in. Will it happen?   Getting rid of the floppy In current postings Geoff wrote: '3 1/2" will be arround for a while. Isf you want to install Windows Vista onto a Raid array you'll still be using a floppy disk to get the drivers loaded.'   It seems there is a computer market for those who want to use it as bought with O\S installed and including in some cases installed software. They want the latest Vista O\S they buy a new computer. They don't upgrade. No need for a floppy boot disk for these people.   This doesn't content every one. A good portion of computer owners want themselves to upgrade their own computers. The boot floppy gives a quick simple alternative O/S to go to. Simple just put a boot floppy in drive "A" power up and you don't go to windows. No need to change bios settings. Add drivers from floppy easy. They haven't produced an alternative for this simplicity yet.   Could a memory card slot be used as an alternative boot device instead? If it is it won't be connected to a floppy drive port. There will be no need for that floppy connector on the motherboard. I think its that motherboard connector that computer manufacturers want to get rid of. Its only use is for floppy drives. If a floppy drive is wanted their thought is that it can be an optional extra on USB.   How long will floppy disks be in production? For quite some time I think but as demand for them decreases they will become more expensive.   I think the new "Bomb" issue is memory card slots in Einey. These are not only used in computers but cameras and other gadgets. They are going to be here for a long time.   Regarding adding USB and Ethernet and other upgrades to Einey. Does Einey have the memory to hold the drivers? Can the present dos be reworked to use them?   On the PC I think the serial and parallel ports will remain if not on the motherboard as optional plug in cards. I don't think computer manufactures will want to cut off third party peripheral development that attach to these ports. Both these ports are versatile and have many adaptions. Its the floppy drive port that is considered specialized.   The Einstein in common with the PC has serial and printer ports. For the PC parallel\printer port I've had an Amacom printer port to IDE adapter. I have at the moment a Shuttle Connection a scsi to printer port adapter. There are Compact Flash printer port adapters. There is an RS232 to Smart card adapter. There would be no hardware build to add these to Einey just finding out and adapting PC drivers to work in Einey. Comodore used to have a serial port floppy drive if I remember rightly it meant sending out various codes to the serial port to configure the drive before streaming file data to it.   There is also another addon to Einey's parallel\printer port that can be had. This addon will access IDE, scsi and USB card readers its called a PC. What is needed is a reliable PC\Einey 8bit bidirectional cable and programing. In my case the programing on the PC would be in Bbcbasic for Windows. I'm trying to work the cable configuration and the right parallel port modes to use on Einey to do this at the moment.   Back to Einstein floppy drives. Running the Einstein Web Site I feel responsible to focus on Bob's question "the objective - as with the 'bomb' - is to get a standard hardware replacement for the 3" ". For new Einey owners, by boot sale purchase or by finding one in Grandad's loft, that visit the site I need to assure them that the media to boot is still in production an works ok (1.4 HD 3.5 floppies). Einey doesn't boot into a home basic like other computers. I also need to know Einey floppies created by CPCdiskXP and CPDWrite are reliable. So feedback on your experiences please.   I hope some of you have been to http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/floppies.html and now fully understand the difference between the floppy disk pinouts of the PC's floppy disc connector and Einey's. If you do please tell me. I'm still baffled.   Regards Chris Coxall.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 107	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 03/02/2007
Subject: Re: Floppy drives and other ideas.

Hi - and thanks Chris for a wealth of info that will take me some time to follow up and absorb. Just one comment about disk hole blocking - changing media apearance to trick different drives and formats - this may well work. I would expect a fair margin of over magnetizing to allow for stray fields and degredation over lets suppose ten years. How much that is reduced with different density we don't know - to find out we re-invent the wheel. I seem to remember one cost saving trick was to punch a second slot on a 5,1/4" floppy because it was discovered that single sided disks had in fact both sides coated - that could well work for a time. However bear in mind that quality control - doing multiple write/reads maybe one in ten might fail - accepted both sides of some becoming double sided discs, rejected bothsides then scrapped, but where one side was rejected the good side was orientateded to the slot to become single sided discs - efficient eh. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 108	From: geoff	Date: 03/02/2007
Subject: A long term replacement for floppy drives.

After a couple of hours searching for a method of replacing a floppy drive with something like a Compact Flash card or other programmable media (possible), using a PC to replace a Floppy drive by using it as a floppy drive emulator (could be done but I'd be starting from scratch), forgetting a floppy and goint for a herd drive option (shouldn't be too difficult to adapt the GIDE Z80 hard drive card to connect to the Einay's TUBE, but does require an XTAL re-write). I think I may have found a better soultion. SVD, the Semi-Virtual Drive. It's a floppy drive replacement based on a PIC microcontroller and connects to the Einstein in place of the floppy drive and to a PC via a serial cable. You can download disk images onto it, then use then to run software or even boot the Einstein from. It's a work in progress and isn't set up for the Einstein but should be flexible enough to adapt (I've emailed the creator to ask for details about adapting it), it only runs SSDD disk images at the moment, not double sided ones, but that's not a problem for the EInstein. The source code is available, as are schematics. It means we don't need to develop a custom version of Xtal DOS or System80, don't need to build dedicated hardware for the Einstein, and don't have to rely on magnetic media. With some work on the software it should also be able to br written to to transfer file to the PC from the Einstein Best of all it can be built with about £30 of parts (or ordered complete). Now for the bad news. It's is not in production at the moment so if you want one you'll have to build it, and as I said it need's a little work to function with the Einstein. http://www.thesvd.com/SVD/ Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 109	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 04/02/2007
Subject: Good news SVM floppy.

Hi All,   First let me say thanks to Geoff for his productive searching.   I to have spent many hours searching, to no avail, for that dream a new floppy drive that instead of floppy disk uses some kind of silicon memory storage. A floppy drive no matter whether attached to the Einstein, PC, Amstrad CPC or the Spectrum+3 would work as a floppy and be configured, written to and read to by any floppy controller on any system intended to use the standard floppy drive. Geoff has found it. Thank God. I was in despair. Thinking that everyone professional and amature had given up on the floppy disk interface altogether and no one was interested in developing any other use for it.   Even if this "Semi-virtual Drive" shows itself to be problematic the fact that it has been attempted will I think start a ball rolling. Even computer peripheral manufactures might follow suit.   I'm now putting the "SVD" at the top of my priority list for the reasons To Quote Geoff: >It means we don't need to develop a custom version of Xtal DOS or >System80, don't need to build dedicated hardware for the Einstein, and >don't have to rely on magnetic media.   All other options mean a new dos or pointing an existing dos to other forms of storage media. That would be changing the nature of Einey as we know it.   Regarding Geoff's comment: >With some work on the software >it should also be able to br written to to transfer file to the PC >from the Einstein   I think an adaption to Ste Ruddy's Eintrans could do this.   With a summary glance at SVM site http://www.thesvd.com/SVD/; I'm not sure but I don't see the the SVD serial connection to the PC as essential for Einey. Its a bonus feature I don't want removed but Ste Ruddy's Einsys can be used to format a blank floppy disk in the boot drive with dos and put the Einstein component of Eintrans file onto the floppy just from MOS. Once in dos Eintrans can format a floppy in an Einstein drive an can also send a disk image to it. It all depends whether SVD will allow it to happen that way. If not SVD is still what we need.   Regards to All Chris Coxall.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 110	From: jltursan	Date: 04/02/2007
Subject: Re: A long term replacement for floppy drives.

I must say that this SVD looks amazing and weird at the same time, if I've understood the mechanism, it's some kind of interfaced solid hard disk that can be "feed" from PC and used on the target machine. If it works fine it could become a very handy tool; but I think that's a big drawback, why the hell it mounts so little memory?!, with only 1Gb (or possibility to recycle old memory hardware like SIMMs, DIMMs or even socketed chips) could have been a killer device. I don't have the slightest idea of electronics, maybe it's too hard to design... :( Bad news the lack of production, :( ....what's the reason?, any plans to start production again soon? Promising anyway, I'll keep an eye on the page and updates. For now, I'm happy with my new external 3.5" drive, I've mounted it on a videotape box and with an old Nokia PSU I'll try to power the drive. I'll upload some photos soon, seems a very cheap solution to tidy up a bit the Einstein cover. Greets, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > After a couple of hours searching for a method of replacing a floppy > drive with something like a Compact Flash card or other programmable > media (possible), using a PC to replace a Floppy drive by using it as > a floppy drive emulator (could be done but I'd be starting from > scratch), forgetting a floppy and goint for a herd drive option > (shouldn't be too difficult to adapt the GIDE Z80 hard drive card to > connect to the Einay's TUBE, but does require an XTAL re-write). I > think I may have found a better soultion. > > SVD, the Semi-Virtual Drive. It's a floppy drive replacement based on > a PIC microcontroller and connects to the Einstein in place of the > floppy drive and to a PC via a serial cable. You can download disk > images onto it, then use then to run software or even boot the > Einstein from. > > It's a work in progress and isn't set up for the Einstein but should > be flexible enough to adapt (I've emailed the creator to ask for > details about adapting it), it only runs SSDD disk images at the > moment, not double sided ones, but that's not a problem for the > EInstein. The source code is available, as are schematics. > > It means we don't need to develop a custom version of Xtal DOS or > System80, don't need to build dedicated hardware for the Einstein, and > don't have to rely on magnetic media. With some work on the software > it should also be able to br written to to transfer file to the PC > from the Einstein > > Best of all it can be built with about £30 of parts (or ordered complete). > > Now for the bad news. It's is not in production at the moment so if > you want one you'll have to build it, and as I said it need's a little > work to function with the Einstein. > > http://www.thesvd.com/SVD/ > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 111	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: Some after thoughts.

Hi All,   Although the Semi-Virtual Drive is now at the top of my priority list I'd like rethink again the alternatives thought about with out the need to regard them now as essential.   Using a PC to replace a Floppy drive by using it as a floppy drive emulator. This was not quite how I saw it. The Einstein DOS Copy command has the ability to copy files to peripheral devices including the printer port. Programing to transfer programs to and from the Transient Program Area is not difficult I have already done this using the serial port. Eintrans does so with the execute command but from the PC end.   Its allowing running applications such as Tasword or Xtal Basic to save and load their programs through the printer port that is the problem. My idea was to add something like drive "4" or "E" that dos could be made to see and then jump to a new routine. With the new routine a command like "DIR " would be sent through the printer\parallel port picked up by BBCBASIC FOR WINDOWS program translated into an operating command line instruction for PC dos command line then, send the directory listing back through the printer cable to be displayed on the Einstein screen.   A "*CD" command would be used to change the directory on the PC. The save command would have to first send the file name to be put into string by the BBC4W program, open a file for it then spool the data stream from the parallel port to it. Load would work in a reverse way. Understanding how applications use dos is what I don't know. If an application has embedded data within it to save as a file how does it tell dos its start address and end address.   Another problem. I already have good information on how to use bidectional printer ports on two PCs to send bytes (full 8 bits) to each other. Its how to make Einey's printer port compatible with one of them. The Einstein z80 pio gives us two parallel ports one of them is configured as a unidirectional centronics printer port by MOS on start up but this can be changed to bidirectional input and output. A little RD has told me that this can be done but there seems a number of ways to do it.   There would be no question of the PC here emulating a floppy disc. Einey files would be saved as MS windows dos files on any drive, media or directory the PC could use. The PC would become one big multi drive for Einey.   I'm sure I can make this method work. What I didn't like about it is that it would have made Einey dependant on the PC. Einey would cease to be a stand alone entity. Now if we have the SVD working, parallel file transfer with the PC would be an optional extra and I am comfortable with that.   A Hard Drive For Einey. Up on the Tatung Einstein Website Z80 Developments Page there is a link to a very simple IDE hard drive interface thats proven to work on the Spectrum+3. The price of its simplicity to build is that it only uses half the capacity of the hard drive because it only uses 8bit data transfers. I have mentioned this in previous postings so I will not elaborate further except to say our challenge would be to find a dos to access it.   As mentioned in a recent posting a compact flash card can be used as an IDE drive with an adapter. Evidently the compact flash can be configured and used in different ways. There is also a link on the Z80 development page for this pdf magazine. ZXF MAGAZINE ISSUE 4 at http://zxf.magazine.googlepages.com/downloads. On page 14 and 15 of this magazine there are pictures and diagram of a compact flash card fitted to a Spectrum by Roelof Koning. Wired, crudely maybe, as a memory mapped configuration. The short article then goes on to show how he accessed the card using basic. With even a little knowledge it seems even a beginner could read and write 512 byte sectors to the flash card.   My thoughts to using this were various as to hold an alternative MOS, DOS or programing that would act like additional Machine Calls. Lately for it to hold floppy disk images that Xtal DOS could be pointed to. I don't know how. If there was an SVD ram disc though a program could be written to store a copy of its sectors to the compact flash card and later written back to the RAM floppy.   Whatever the draw backs to it might be, for someone who for a long time new of only RAM and ROM Compact Flash and static memory to me are RAM and ROM. RAM because it can be written and read to ROM because after powering down and powering up whats been written to the memory can still be read. If only it had been around at the time Einey was built.   Roelof Koning's interface is very simple just wires and two diodes. I have a spare IDC connector for the tatung pipe and ribbon cable so I will give this a try. The port adresses would have to be changed though at the moment the settings I think clash with I\O ports already used by Einey. If it can be set up what ever its used for its extra memory for Einey.   Best Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 112	From: geoff	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: Re: A long term replacement for floppy drives.

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > I must say that this SVD looks amazing and weird at the same time, if > I've understood the mechanism, it's some kind of interfaced solid hard > disk that can be "feed" from PC and used on the target machine. If it > works fine it could become a very handy tool; but I think that's a big > drawback, why the hell it mounts so little memory?!, with only 1Gb Almost, The SVD is a floppy disk replacement. This means that complete bootable disk images can be transfered from a PC to the SVD and used exactly like the original floppy drive, it's transparent to the Einstein. The problem with giving it more memory is that we'd need to re-write the DOS to cope with bigger storage and wouldn't be able to guarantee that all software would run with it. Transfering a protected game like "Elite" would prove to be nearly imopssible because it uses it's own custom DOS with it's protection. Using "Elite" in the SVD is, at least, theoretically possible. > possibility to recycle old memory hardware like SIMMs, DIMMs or even > socketed chips) could have been a killer device. I don't have the > slightest idea of electronics, maybe it's too hard to design... :( > Bad news the lack of production, :( ....what's the reason?, any plans > to start production again soon? The SVD is designed and made by 1 or 2 people as a hobby. At the moment the person who makes them has some back orders which he is trying to complete at the same time as doing a redesign of the SVD to work with double sided disks and be more flexable. > Promising anyway, I'll keep an eye on the page and updates. > > For now, I'm happy with my new external 3.5" drive, I've mounted it on > a videotape box and with an old Nokia PSU I'll try to power the drive. I look forward to seeing the photos. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 113	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 05/02/2007
Subject: SVD JIT

Hi folk Exciting developments recently, and it's great the SVD folk are so open. Thanks Geoff for your searching. Just seen this: http://www.itpro.co.uk/storage/news/103503/floppy-disks-scrapped-by-pc-world.html loppy disks scrapped by PC World Posted by Nicole Kobie at 1:33PM, Wednesday 31st January 2007 Leading computer retailer ejects floppies, marking the end of an era for the iconic low-cost storage devices. A fan of floppy disks? Then get them while you can! The iconic devices will no longer be stocked by major retailer PC World once current supplies run out. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 114	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/02/2007
Subject: Time to reach a consensus on the way forward with storage?

Hi All, When we talk about storage for the Einstein we need to clarify the objectives in mind. It seems that everyone has different ideas about what they want. What I would like to do is to try to place the discussion in a more objective context although naturally I have personal views as well :) When we talk about storage we are talking about two things long term backup on some sort of media and available volatile RAM. The three things we should be looking for when choosing a storage method are: 1. Capacity - how big? Generally speaking bigger is better. 2. Performance - how fast? Needs to be fast enough to support critical operations and OS. 3. Interoperability. - how flexible? Can I use the storage across a variety of machine types? Lets examine these in the light of what is avaliable and what the implications are. If we first take volatile memory - the Einey is 'stuck' with 64k of RAM. This need not be the case and was not always so. There was a silicon disk by ACC computers which hung off the pipe.It supported 256k RAM and used a 2nd ROM. Apparently it was very good. If anyone has one working or no, please own up. It would be very easy to copy and expand these days. The thing about the Z80A that not many people know about is that it supports memory paging. Not the horrible kludgy sort that Intel processors have, but in a fast and easily implemented manner. The CPU supports banked memmory. ie up to 256 64kb pages of RAM = 16mb! the reason this never caught on in the old days is that 16mb was beyond the wildest financial dreams of any user - today it costs pennies. To use it 3 things are required 1. A multiplexed memory board hanging of the bus (pipe) 2. Control ie page switching mechanism in say a 2nd ROM 3. Modification of the OS to use the new features. Is this a desirable thing to do? Well advantages would be the ability to run multiple programs in memory, share data between programs and even implement multitasking if desired. A similar system is utilised in MSX machines with MSX DOS (this is really just 8 bit MSDOS which uses the first 40 CP.M 2.2 BDOS functions and then adds another 40 of its own. If the hardware can be built (very cheap), the OS mods are pretty simple. Also memory bank switching could be easily accessible via new MemMOS & BDOS functions making it available to all programmers. That about wraps it up for volatile memory so lets look at how we are going to store it all. At the moment we have Floppy drives - whatever flavour and capacity and MOS, Xtal DOS managing it all. XTal DOS will currently support a maximum disk size of 128 Mb per drive and a maximum individual file size of 8mb. How do we work this out? Well a disk sector is 512bytes which is equal to 4x128byte CP/M records. Files are allocated in 2k blocks ie. 4 sectors or 16 x 128 byte records. The maximum number of allocation blocks is 65535. So 128 X 16 X 65535 = 128Mb. Maximum drive size could be extended to say 512 Mb by increasing the block size from 2k to 8k However we run into file wastage and I/O speed problems with increasing block size - e.g. a 1 byte file would be 8k long. MSDOS experience shows us that blocksizes are best kept at 2-4k. When we consider the storage needs for the Einey and the expectations we have of it I would say that the existing 128mb per drive is quite respectable. Xtal Dos currently limits drives to 4 (0-3) and slightly sabotages the CP/M user function by masking out some of the bits. You can use the user feature through BDOS but if I recall correctly users >6 can be masked out by the OS and overwritten. By modifying Xtal Dos the 4 drive limit could be removed and say drives 2: (C:) and beyond could be transparently consolidated into 1 logical drive with a capacity of 2Gb less 256 mb for the existing drives while also restoring the full functionality of the user function if desired. If the user function were to be eliminated then the drive capacity could be increased further but at a cost of losing some CP/M compatibility. A summary of the above discussion is that the current floppy storage method seriously under utilises the storage potential of the OS. If we are to use the OS to capacity then what we need is a fast, reliable long term storage system. It needs to be fast because to handle the file allocation on a large storage medium takes time. If file I/O requires a tea break it has no practical use. This consideration leaves us with 2 realistic options - Hard drives or Flash memory. In order to utitilse these we again need 3 things. 1. an interface - speed dictates we hang off the bus (pipe) 2. control - a 2nd ROM could definately perform a lot of the storage I/O 3. Some modification of the OS. Modifications to Xtal would be as those already described above. We also need to bear in mind that for every 128Mb of storage we need 8kb of file allocation tables. At the moment the file allocation table is rebuilt from scratch in memory by scanning the directory every time a disk is logged in. With a large drive frequent re-logging would not occur but common sense tells us that saving the file blocking table to disk and updating as necessary would be a quicker and more sensible action on a large medium. If the file allocation table were to be corrupted then a utility would simply rebuild it from the file information. If you think about this we are now approaching something similar to MSDOS... Substitute file allocation table for FAT and file allocation block for cluster and we are now talking something resembling DOS file systems although a FAT is a linked list not an allocation block structure. This brings me neatly to the one big failing of Xtal Dos - interoperability. Xtal is of course 99% interoperable with CP/M 2.2- jolly good - after all this is the machine from the era when CP/M was the only OS contender. CP/M software is excellent, available and useful. But what if Xtal were to be interoperable with MSDOS? What if you could just copy a file to floppy on a pc and stick it in the Einstein and visa versa - gone are the serial cables and software cludges and yes the PC is a great store for progs. Well it is possible and it can be done while maintaining CP/M compatibility. We need to replace the CP/M file structure with FAT. By doing this we get the best of both worlds, Access to large disk structures and simple transfers. This is why I intend to make FAT available in my verion 3 release of the Xtal DOS rewrite now known as XDOS. I do stress that I am rewriting XTAL not copying it. For all its improvements on CP/M it has some serious short comings. I'm adding user customisable features such as the ability to boot from any drive you please, simple drive reconfiguration, rename commands eg ERA to DEL if you prefer it,true batch processing command language and directories. Another reason for using FAT is that directories are simpler to implement for technical reasons but these will be available with the current file system. By increasing utility; the size of the OS increases significantly but I plan to keep it the same size as now by using some internal trickery. It may even turn out smaller. What, more RAM? So lets back off a bit now. I skated over floppies. To my mind the goal of a 1.44 mb floppy interface is desirable if acheivable without too much effort.Lets not panic about the demise of the floppy disk. Because PC world have discontinued them is more of a reflection on the fact that PC world sells new PC's without floppies so they are hardly creating a markrt for themselves and personally I would shop somewhere cheaper :) Floppy disks and drives will be obtainable for a long time to come. Xtal is idealy suited for floppy drive operation. Beyond this I believe the floppy system loses its utility. It's too slow and limiting. Silicon SVD or no, a floppy is a floppy and the throughput is ultimately limited by the speed of the floppy controller or serial port. 150-250mbs floppy interface or 19200kbs serial under ideal conditions. With an IDE controller (which is built in to the drive interface) or other type - we could expect a reasonable 1000mbs or better. Whether the media is hard disk platters or silicon flash memory is of little consequence to the result. You may gather from this that I'm not at all impressed by SVD I think its quirky and unnecessary. Ok so what do we need to do in the mean time? Well my personal opinion is that we should get the 1.44 FDD working to capacity and reach a consensus to develop a (eventually FAT based) mass storage system off the pipe. One technical point is that currently XTAL DOS V2.05 has file allocation tables of 50 bytes per drive i.e. 800k each. To use a 1.44 FDD (actually 1.6mb on the Einstein) to capacity requires the use of two consecutive allocation tables - thus reducing by one the number of drives you can attach without modifying (enlarging) the OS. This should be OK for most people -losing a drive but increasing capacity of one of them. I have taken of board what Chris is saying about using the PC for storage via the serial cable and it is similar to the ideas I have had for awhile - which is using the PC as a defacto remote hard drive for the Einstein. I'm not so sure why Chris thinks a parallel port exchange would be superior - my experiences with MSDOS and laplink showed the parallel port exchanges of much poorer perfomance however I was able to use higher baud rates with the PC's serial port. Whatever the method, my idea is to slave a PC to the Einstein using a set of disk based commands on the Einstein. Under contol of the Einstein a disk partition would be set aside for Einstein progs - this being simply a reconfigurable DOS directory. Einstein progs could be viewed with an SDIR command, Loaded,run and saved etc. and operations perfomed on the PC such as directory browsing, file deletion etc. I have also considered creating the PC as a virtual drive Z: which could be treated transparently by the OS but I believe the the file I/O would be too slow and unreliable to be useful. Best to do the work on board the Einstein and transfer the completed files back and forth. I intend to start work on this at once and for the system to evolve. I will release betas to the group as they become available. Any ideas, wish list, welcome. So folks my view is to use what we have to the maximum and work on something for the future which is acheivable. Unfortunately because the Speccy and CPC had a huge following they have a lot more technical people to draw upon. The speccy has its hard drive and the CPC has RAM extensions and a hard drive and a GUI which puts windows to shame (not hard eh?). If you know any of these people we might get a hand but otherwise we're on our own. We are fortunate to have Chris & Geoff to whom electronics is not quite the black art it is to the rest of us but they can't be expected to do everything. So lets try to acheive a consensus about where we want to go with storage and move on from here. Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 115	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 06/02/2007
Subject: Re: Time to reach a consensus on the way forward with storage?

Don't forget to preserve the Einey in as near to its original form and spec in finding the future proof storage media. Bob On 2/6/07, fil_simmons <phil_simmons> wrote: Hi All, When we talk about storage for the Einstein we need to clarify the objectives in mind. It seems that everyone has different ideas about what they want. What I would like to do is to try to place the discussion in a more objective context although naturally I have personal views as well :) When we talk about storage we are talking about two things long term backup on some sort of media and available volatile RAM. The three things we should be looking for when choosing a storage method are: 1. Capacity - how big? Generally speaking bigger is better. 2. Performance - how fast? Needs to be fast enough to support critical operations and OS. 3. Interoperability. - how flexible? Can I use the storage across a variety of machine types? Lets examine these in the light of what is avaliable and what the implications are. If we first take volatile memory - the Einey is 'stuck' with 64k of RAM. This need not be the case and was not always so. There was a silicon disk by ACC computers which hung off the pipe.It supported 256k RAM and used a 2nd ROM. Apparently it was very good. If anyone has one working or no, please own up. It would be very easy to copy and expand these days. The thing about the Z80A that not many people know about is that it supports memory paging. Not the horrible kludgy sort that Intel processors have, but in a fast and easily implemented manner. The CPU supports banked memmory. ie up to 256 64kb pages of RAM = 16mb! the reason this never caught on in the old days is that 16mb was beyond the wildest financial dreams of any user - today it costs pennies. To use it 3 things are required 1. A multiplexed memory board hanging of the bus (pipe) 2. Control ie page switching mechanism in say a 2nd ROM 3. Modification of the OS to use the new features. Is this a desirable thing to do? Well advantages would be the ability to run multiple programs in memory, share data between programs and even implement multitasking if desired. A similar system is utilised in MSX machines with MSX DOS (this is really just 8 bit MSDOS which uses the first 40 CP.M 2.2 BDOS functions and then adds another 40 of its own. If the hardware can be built (very cheap), the OS mods are pretty simple. Also memory bank switching could be easily accessible via new MemMOS & BDOS functions making it available to all programmers. That about wraps it up for volatile memory so lets look at how we are going to store it all. At the moment we have Floppy drives - whatever flavour and capacity and MOS, Xtal DOS managing it all. XTal DOS will currently support a maximum disk size of 128 Mb per drive and a maximum individual file size of 8mb. How do we work this out? Well a disk sector is 512bytes which is equal to 4x128byte CP/M records. Files are allocated in 2k blocks ie. 4 sectors or 16 x 128 byte records. The maximum number of allocation blocks is 65535. So 128 X 16 X 65535 = 128Mb. Maximum drive size could be extended to say 512 Mb by increasing the block size from 2k to 8k However we run into file wastage and I/O speed problems with increasing block size - e.g. a 1 byte file would be 8k long. MSDOS experience shows us that blocksizes are best kept at 2-4k. When we consider the storage needs for the Einey and the expectations we have of it I would say that the existing 128mb per drive is quite respectable. Xtal Dos currently limits drives to 4 (0-3) and slightly sabotages the CP/M user function by masking out some of the bits. You can use the user feature through BDOS but if I recall correctly users >6 can be masked out by the OS and overwritten. By modifying Xtal Dos the 4 drive limit could be removed and say drives 2: (C:) and beyond could be transparently consolidated into 1 logical drive with a capacity of 2Gb less 256 mb for the existing drives while also restoring the full functionality of the user function if desired. If the user function were to be eliminated then the drive capacity could be increased further but at a cost of losing some CP/M compatibility. A summary of the above discussion is that the current floppy storage method seriously under utilises the storage potential of the OS. If we are to use the OS to capacity then what we need is a fast, reliable long term storage system. It needs to be fast because to handle the file allocation on a large storage medium takes time. If file I/O requires a tea break it has no practical use. This consideration leaves us with 2 realistic options - Hard drives or Flash memory. In order to utitilse these we again need 3 things. 1. an interface - speed dictates we hang off the bus (pipe) 2. control - a 2nd ROM could definately perform a lot of the storage I/O 3. Some modification of the OS. Modifications to Xtal would be as those already described above. We also need to bear in mind that for every 128Mb of storage we need 8kb of file allocation tables. At the moment the file allocation table is rebuilt from scratch in memory by scanning the directory every time a disk is logged in. With a large drive frequent re-logging would not occur but common sense tells us that saving the file blocking table to disk and updating as necessary would be a quicker and more sensible action on a large medium. If the file allocation table were to be corrupted then a utility would simply rebuild it from the file information. If you think about this we are now approaching something similar to MSDOS... Substitute file allocation table for FAT and file allocation block for cluster and we are now talking something resembling DOS file systems although a FAT is a linked list not an allocation block structure. This brings me neatly to the one big failing of Xtal Dos - interoperability. Xtal is of course 99% interoperable with CP/M 2.2- jolly good - after all this is the machine from the era when CP/M was the only OS contender. CP/M software is excellent, available and useful. But what if Xtal were to be interoperable with MSDOS? What if you could just copy a file to floppy on a pc and stick it in the Einstein and visa versa - gone are the serial cables and software cludges and yes the PC is a great store for progs. Well it is possible and it can be done while maintaining CP/M compatibility. We need to replace the CP/M file structure with FAT. By doing this we get the best of both worlds, Access to large disk structures and simple transfers. This is why I intend to make FAT available in my verion 3 release of the Xtal DOS rewrite now known as XDOS. I do stress that I am rewriting XTAL not copying it. For all its improvements on CP/M it has some serious short comings. I'm adding user customisable features such as the ability to boot from any drive you please, simple drive reconfiguration, rename commands eg ERA to DEL if you prefer it,true batch processing command language and directories. Another reason for using FAT is that directories are simpler to implement for technical reasons but these will be available with the current file system. By increasing utility; the size of the OS increases significantly but I plan to keep it the same size as now by using some internal trickery. It may even turn out smaller. What, more RAM? So lets back off a bit now. I skated over floppies. To my mind the goal of a 1.44 mb floppy interface is desirable if acheivable without too much effort.Lets not panic about the demise of the floppy disk. Because PC world have discontinued them is more of a reflection on the fact that PC world sells new PC's without floppies so they are hardly creating a markrt for themselves and personally I would shop somewhere cheaper :) Floppy disks and drives will be obtainable for a long time to come. Xtal is idealy suited for floppy drive operation. Beyond this I believe the floppy system loses its utility. It's too slow and limiting. Silicon SVD or no, a floppy is a floppy and the throughput is ultimately limited by the speed of the floppy controller or serial port. 150-250mbs floppy interface or 19200kbs serial under ideal conditions. With an IDE controller (which is built in to the drive interface) or other type - we could expect a reasonable 1000mbs or better. Whether the media is hard disk platters or silicon flash memory is of little consequence to the result. You may gather from this that I'm not at all impressed by SVD I think its quirky and unnecessary. Ok so what do we need to do in the mean time? Well my personal opinion is that we should get the 1.44 FDD working to capacity and reach a consensus to develop a (eventually FAT based) mass storage system off the pipe. One technical point is that currently XTAL DOS V2.05 has file allocation tables of 50 bytes per drive i.e. 800k each. To use a 1.44 FDD (actually 1.6mb on the Einstein) to capacity requires the use of two consecutive allocation tables - thus reducing by one the number of drives you can attach without modifying (enlarging) the OS. This should be OK for most people -losing a drive but increasing capacity of one of them. I have taken of board what Chris is saying about using the PC for storage via the serial cable and it is similar to the ideas I have had for awhile - which is using the PC as a defacto remote hard drive for the Einstein. I'm not so sure why Chris thinks a parallel port exchange would be superior - my experiences with MSDOS and laplink showed the parallel port exchanges of much poorer perfomance however I was able to use higher baud rates with the PC's serial port. Whatever the method, my idea is to slave a PC to the Einstein using a set of disk based commands on the Einstein. Under contol of the Einstein a disk partition would be set aside for Einstein progs - this being simply a reconfigurable DOS directory. Einstein progs could be viewed with an SDIR command, Loaded,run and saved etc. and operations perfomed on the PC such as directory browsing, file deletion etc. I have also considered creating the PC as a virtual drive Z: which could be treated transparently by the OS but I believe the the file I/O would be too slow and unreliable to be useful. Best to do the work on board the Einstein and transfer the completed files back and forth. I intend to start work on this at once and for the system to evolve. I will release betas to the group as they become available. Any ideas, wish list, welcome. So folks my view is to use what we have to the maximum and work on something for the future which is acheivable. Unfortunately because the Speccy and CPC had a huge following they have a lot more technical people to draw upon. The speccy has its hard drive and the CPC has RAM extensions and a hard drive and a GUI which puts windows to shame (not hard eh?). If you know any of these people we might get a hand but otherwise we're on our own. We are fortunate to have Chris & Geoff to whom electronics is not quite the black art it is to the rest of us but they can't be expected to do everything. So lets try to acheive a consensus about where we want to go with storage and move on from here. Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 116	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: Storage Objectives

Hi All,   Storage Objectives.   Phil's perspective: >When we talk about storage for the Einstein we need to clarify the >objectives in mind.   It shouldn't be looked at here purely as a storage problem but also of having Einey backwardly mobile to its original concept. A floppy disk O\S operating system.   An insurance policy for an alternative floppy disk reader and writer whether directed to its original floppy drive hardware port or to some new storage addon emulation or real. Einey would have to be able to boot from this to be faithful.   As for mass storage long term storage. We already have this in a way via diskimage creation and Ste Ruddy's Eintrans both Windows GUI and command line versions.   Phil's view point: >You may gather from this that I'm >not at all impressed by SVD I think its quirky and unnecessary.   I also see the SVD, as it is, as bit quirky and unnecessarily complex. But! I also see what wasn't and what can be. I spent a day and a half searching the web to find information of the on board electronics and programing of the floppy drive. I found none. Kept getting pages on how this floppy controller in this computer worked or that floppy controller worked and there output lines. None gave an explanation of what or how the floppy managed say the write data it received.   The creators of the SVD do have this technical information and more. What is more they are open. They make freely available the hardware build and programing to any visitor to their web site. Where everyone else had given up on the floppy drive port they are still finding another use for it. They have had to stop tacking orders for SVD because they are overloaded by demand. People who didn't know they wanted one-but now its there--well its just what they need or something like it.   Let me stick my neck out with a prediction. In the near future up on Ebay you will be able to buy a solid state floppy drive and floppies. Might be quickly built using FPGAs. For it to happen a lot more people will have to know of the SVD existence so drop the word about. I've already E-mailed the link to some Amstrad CPC people.   The SVD people are the first pioneers. If another solid state floppy drive is built commercially, unfortunately, they won't get the credit they deserve.   From a posting by Geoff: >The SVD is designed and made by 1 or 2 people as a hobby. At the >moment the person who makes them has some back orders which he is >trying to complete at the same time as doing a redesign of the SVD to >work with double sided disks and be more flexible.   Not easy to both I think.   I wish one of the two people could get on a fast plane to China and get them made up professional. If they don't some one else will use the information up on their site and, with their own redesign, get them made up.   >We are fortunate to have Chris >& Geoff to whom electronics is not quite the black art it is to the >rest of us.   Well I'm not a great master. A black art as I interpret is one that no one wants to share with you unless you show yourself special in some way such as having worked out a few tricks for yourself. I've worked out a few things for myself but learnt as much if not more from the recent posts from others to this topic.   What makes anyone's computer development interest seem like a black art is when your trying to get information on a need to know basis for your project and all the masters of cult chant spells to you that do some other magic. From recent experience asking how a floppy disk drive works and all answers are to how the floppy disc controller works.   To get to magic I will share with you, which I've had hands on experience of. It will also show the viewpoint I have to creating managed storage on Einey. In creating EDIP to read a disk image directory, to extract files, to insert files into the image and then update images directory with inserted files you could say I created my own DOS. EDIP is a kind of DOS.   EDIP's first task is to create an array holding the position address of each 512 byte sector in the image. The sector array is numbered from 0 to the total number of sectors in the image as the images dos sees them. Sector skew means sector data is not sequential. Data for sector 32 as the images dos sees it might be in a 512 byte sector in the image before data sector 30 for example.   A disk image created by Eintrans does not have a sector skew. Eintrans will create Einstein disk images for single side 40 track. I couldn't get it to work for other formats. An Einstein floppy created with CPDWrite or CPCdiskXP from a Eintrans created disk image will also have no sector skew. It that sense an Eintrans disk image is not a true disk image. They still work in the emulator and floppies created by them still work in the Einstein but there is a loss in access time. That was what the sector skew was for increasing access time.   For extracting files EDIP reads the the disk images file descriptor block. File names in extents and values underneath them which give values for saved blocks four 512 byte sectors per block. Taking a block value multiplying by four and adding twenty it gives the array number which holds the first sector address to be extracted.   If your not following this to well don't worry the point to grasp is that when disk data is a linear memory environment there is no need to worry about tracks and, a sector skew can be dispensed with. All dos sees for saving and loading files is blocks of memory given in value that is only concerned with 512 byte sectors.   So! Looking at that article of a compact flash card that has been attached to the Speccy if I get the gist of it right it can be accessed just as 512 byte sectors. Much in the same way as EDIP sees sectors in a disk image. Pointing Xtal DOS to see some of these sectors as a drive might not be as complicated as we might think. Far from adding something to it we might just need to simplify it. No need for track recognition or for sector skew.   Is there a president in Einey history for example?   Phil again: >There was a silicon >disk by ACC computers which hung off the pipe.It supported 256k RAM >and used a 2nd ROM. Apparently it was very good. If anyone has one >working or no, please own up. It would be very easy to copy and >expand these days.   There certainly was and it wasn't easy to come by. The late Ted Cawkwell had one and made the rest of us envious. He has an article in an Einey Mag No.99/17. I'll get this scanned in and up in the group's files ASAP. I'm afraid at its best its just a small piece of the jig saw.   It does say that on boot up the silicon disk came up as drive 3/D that Xtal Dos recognized. Ted's article tells how he got it to warm boot up as drive 0/D. From this we can conclude that Xtal Dos can be pointed to a virtual floppy in a linear memory.   Will it work the same for a Compact Flash Card?   Phil's 3 things: In order to utilise these we again need 3 things. 1. an interface - speed dictates we hang off the bus (pipe) 2. control - a 2nd ROM could definitely perform a lot of the storage I/O 3. Some modification of the OS.   1 Yes. 2 Not necessarily so. No need to be totalitarian with the compact flash. It doesn't have to be all drive. Sectors could be reserved and used for those control routines. 3 Yes but it might be there already under our noses.   Well thats the way I'm looking at it. My plans are, the hard bit getting my Einey out of its user position and up on a work bench. Making start at fixing a Compact Flash to the Tatung Pipe. Wiring is easy two diodes one resister. What I need to know is how to wire it up for different I\O ports that won't clash with Einey's existing hardware. Not sure how to do this. Any help with that Einey People?   Best Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 117	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: More on Storage Objectives.

More on Storage Objectives.   Hi everyone,   Still digesting aspects of Phil's posting.   Phil: >But what if Xtal were to be interoperable with MSDOS? What if you >could just copy a file to floppy on a pc and stick it in the Einstein >and visa versa.   Already can be done. Tatung Einstein Website CPM Plus page. You need MOS 1.2, Xtal DOS boot disk with an added file to run to configure it to CPM+. Another program transfer.com can be run to copy files from a 720kb MS\DOS floppy in one Einey drive to an Xtal Dos floppy in another Einey Drive-vice the versa. Files and disk image can be downloaded if your more techy than me you might be able to understand the Pascal source code as well.   Credit here to Duncan Elvin.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 118	From: fil_simmons	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: More on storage

OK Having re-read my posting I can see that I might be suspected of advocating turning the Einey into some kind of 21st century freakazoid mutation. Not the case. The beauty of the Einstein as a machine is that you should always be able to do exactly what you want with it. Backwards compatibility is essential which is one reason I favour the development of peripherals that hang off the pipe - because that's what it was designed for and because you can just disconnect them and use your Einstein in 'native mode'. I would not like to see something like the internal compact flash on the spectrum. The speccy always had that clamshell PDA feel to it as well as smart black styling and the rainbow logo - years ahead f its time in designer chic - so I can see why you would want a nice discrete slot :) However the Einey has always been a big square box, real keyboard- developers machine and it just wouldn't be right without cables and other boxes sprouting out of it. I'm happy to leave dirty case mods to others :) What I've been talking about here is choice. We all think of the Einey as the machine who's potential was never fully realised or recognised. Adding stuff like a compact flash drive to me is to liberate the Einey from the its PC dependence which itself a result of the demise of the 3 inch floppy and the lack of mass storage. Unfortunately I didn't have the several hundred quid a 10mb SCSII drive cost for the Einstein back in the days when I could have bought one. I had kids and a mortgage of gigantic proportions. I nearly got throttled for buying an Einstein in the first place! We also have access to large Einstein software libraries now that would have bankrupted us in had we purchased them at the time. As for XtalDOS, XDOS I see a whole range of XDOS versions to use as choice. Enhanced versions will keep compatibility as far as is possible. For example directories would simply appear as files (or be hidden) if you looked at an XDOS disk with XTAL DOS - you just wouldn't be able to directly access them from older versions unless you opened them as a file. However if a mass storage device like compact flash does become available then we WILL need a modded OS to deal with it. Any notion that it can be accessed ad hoc in a meaningful way is fanciful as you will see below. For now I'm concentrating on CP/M file system compatibility with XDOS. FAT can be an option for later down the line if there is any use for it. Chris > 'If your not following this to well don't worry the point to grasp is that when disk data is a linear memory environment there is no need to worry about tracks and, a sector skew can be dispensed with. All dos sees for saving and loading files is blocks of memory given in value that is only concerned with 512 byte sectors.' Yes all formats deal with 512 byte sectors these days. There was a time when block devices were written to with different sizes but 512 bytes has been one standard that survives to today. So when we talk about writing/reading floppies,hard drives, flash memory - we are talking 512 byte chunks of data. 512 bytes is what we call 'atomic' ie its the smallest indivisible data unit. The Einstein uses 512 bytes for file I/O which is why the smaller logical CP/M record of 128 bytes is mapped to a window in BIOS memory and disk reads/writes are only performed in 512 byte chunks. Now when we come to cylinders,sectors and tracks - these are only a convenience. They have historical baggage because they refer to circular magnetic media block devices like the platters of hard drives or the single platter of a floppy disk. The point is that whatever we use to store stuff on we will need a way of addressing (locating) our 512 byte chunks in linear address space. Thus the existing sector,track mechanism is a way of linear addressing our 512 byte chunks. It is also a great convenience that a sector is also exactly the same size ie. a sector is 512 bytes - so sectors are atomic to any filing system. This is why in 'ultra modern' OS's aka Windoze you will now find these huge virtual storage devices reporting their size as a total number of sectors. To address any mass storage device we will need to use this mechanism. This is a great convenience since XTAL already uses this system. Tracks are useful because they subdivide our sectors into manageble units for addressing purposes ie. you can address any sector with 2 values (rather like coordinates) in linear address space. However using this system would only let us address 32 mb since the current values for identifying tracks & sectors are 8 bit so we could have up to 256 tracks of 256 sectors of 512 bytes = 32Mb. This is a pain in the butt. What we can do is to modify the OS to introduce a third value - alias the old cylinder value for any mass storage device. This would then give us a third level of addressing ie 256 X 256 x 256 x 512 = 8Gb - sufficient for our purposes I think. When it comes to modifying the OS then the existing stuctures are maintained and the third adressing value is only utilised when a mass storage device is installed. An alternative way of modifying the OS is to overlay the exiting 8 bit values in the OS with 16 bit values for compatibilty. For example, when the floppy disk is accessed using 8 bit track and sector values in the BC register pair they would now be internally converted to 16 bit values. This would make no difference to the operation of the floppy drive since the 8 bit track and sector values would now reside in the low order bytes of the 2 16 bit values However when it came to adressing mass storage we can now have 16 bit track and sector numbers available ie. 65535 x 65535 x 512 bytes = 2Tb which is more like it. I need to investigate which is going to be the most practical to implement of the two methods to but I favour the second because it takes full advantage of the Z80's 16 bit arithmetic and the former method is archaic. The final point to stress is that either mod will be invisble to the existing operation of the OS. You will get a 100% XTAL comptible OS with the potential to address huge storage. Now that we can address our huge virtual memory efficiently we have the problem of how we are going to map it. Its all well and good being able to address data but a file system needs to keep a record of where the data is stored in order to retrieve it. When you write a file and close it the file's directory entry is updated with addresses of the blocks on the disk that it has used. In the case of XTAL, CP/M these are allocation blocks. We already know that files are allocated in 2 kb chunks so each time you save a new file it has this minimum size. When you go over 2 kb size another 2 kb chunk is added and this is recorded in the files directory entry. If the directory entry is becomes full then a new extent is opened. This is continuation directory entry. you can keep opening extents until you exceed the maximum extent value which is either 128 or 256 depending on the implementation. So there is a limit to file size. The allocation blocks used are mapped into memory whenever a floppy disk is logged in. This is why you can usually swap floppies with impunity when you use Xtal DOS because it logs in the disk at every oportunity. so you always have the correct disk map. The allocation blocks are bitmapped which means 1 allocation block = 1 bit. With an allocation block size of 2k then each byte of the map can record 8 x 2k = 16kb. To address an 720k floppy drive ie 800k unformatted we need 800k / 16k bytes = 50 bytes to map the disk. Now when we start accessing mass storage we are quickly going to run into memory problems if we try to store the entire allocation table in memory. eg 128mb of storage would require an 8k memory map to be stored. This means 8 kb less for your TPA. Address 8 times this amount ie. a measly 1GB then you have no memory left at all as it requires 64kb :) OK so you can make the allocation map smaller by increasing the allocation unit size eg to 4kb. This halves the size of the map but starts penalising small files and introduces compatibility problems with files stored with different allocation block sizes. ie. you now have to inroduce a mechanism to deal with this. Also we have just doubled the amount of virtual storage we can adress so we could ultimately end up with the same no memory problem. So how do we get around all of this? Well in a similar way to how XTAL deals with CP/M records- we map the allocation table to a memory window. This means that the allocation table must now be stored on the mass storage medium not reconstructed every login from the directory entries (although it could be in an emergency). Space must be set aside for it relative to the size of the storage device on the storage device itself - not a problem. When accessing a file the position of a stored allocation block must first be converted to a logical window, the window read into memory and the alloction block located. So for a file read we will need an allocation map read and a data read. Since if we modify a file, the converse is true, we will need a data write and an allocation map write. This halves I/O speed but with the significantly faster throughput we should comfortably out perform floppies by a factor of 5-10. There is one problem I've only glossed over so far. The directory entry where the allocation blocks are recorded has space for 16 x 8bit entries. When we are using small devices then we use 8 bit offsets into the the allocation tables. For larger devices XTAL can use 16 bit offsets up to 32Mb. This is fine but it halves thenumber of blocks that can be referenced by a directory entry to 8 - this means you will run out of extents twice as fast and the maximum file size will be smaller.If we were to use 32 bit entries to map the whole of virtual space then we would quarter the max file size again. This is unnaceptable. This is the reason why FAT is used - since only 1 allocation entry is stored in the directory entry - the first. Once you access the first you follow the linked chain of allocation units to the last one. This also leaves loads of room in the directory entry for date time stamping etc. But we don't want to use FAT at the moment so what do we do? Well I propose the logical partition method. We subdivide the mass storage into smaller managable units each with its own allocation blocks. This is invisible to the user. To the user it looks like one big block of storage. Address translation is done internally by the OS. I can do this but at he moment I have to figure out how to store the logical partition references and relate them to individual files in a compact and compatible way - I think it is acheivable - just need to excercise the brain ... About sector skew - this was very popular in the 80's and was even used on hard drives.It was done to increase data transfer speed and the reason is because slow read/write heads have a longer period to react to position over the disc for a data transfer and if they miss their window the first time there is usually less platter rotation time to the next window. Sector skew was implemented in some versions of XTAL DOS but I can't remember which. If you know then please post so I can sort this out. Having worked on XTAL before in the distant past I can assure you of one thing - sector skew is not necessary - its performance gains are negligible and it can be dispensed with entirely. In theory any version of the OS should be 'skew aware'. Even when it doesn't use skewing itself it should deal with skewed data. If it does not then this needs to be fixed. Once I've figured it out again I should be able to post a patch to turn sector skewing off. The other thing I would like info on is a list of all the versions of XTAL DOS everyone knows about, their features and issue dates. At the moment I'm aware of XTAL DOS 1.1, 1.31,2.05 and System80. Info and .dsk images of Sys80 and any others not in this list will be greatly appreciated. Eventually I hope to post complete dissasemblies of all of them. Regarding slaving the PC.I've looked at parallel port transfer and I can see the advantages over serial. In most cases it seems that bi- directionality is 4-5 bits each way with the others being used for control. Apparently there are probelms detecting the strobe in software if its used as 8 in 8 out. Also since PP transfer is heavily software intensive some speed advantage may be lost. See this link for more info <ur/l>http://www.lvr.com/files/ibmlpt.txt<ur/l> Cheers, Phi :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 119	From: fil_simmons	Date: 07/02/2007
Subject: About FAT

Hi All, Chris wrote > 'Already can be done. Tatung Einstein Website CPM Plus page. You need MOS 1.2, Xtal DOS boot disk with an added file to run to configure it to CPM+. Another program transfer.com can be run to copy files from a 720kb MS\DOS floppy in one Einey drive to an Xtal Dos floppy in another Einey Drive-vice the versa. Files and disk image can be downloaded if your more techy than me you might be able to understand the Pascal source code as well. Credit here to Duncan Elvin.' Absolutely - but my point here is that this this is still a transfer system between 2 incompatible file systems. It requires the use of software to convert from one file system to another. If we had a FAT version of XTAL you could do immediate writes and reads between MSDOS and XTAL. Any (minor) differences in the directory entry structure could be handled automatically and transparently. Cheers Phil:)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 120	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Responding to Phil's postings

Hi All,   Responding to Phil's postings:   I think we are getting in a chicken and egg situation.   I want to keep things in broad and simple terms. Phil's XDOS is work in progress for him and he can speak from his has hands on experience. I can follow some of what he says from my hands on experience with EDIP. Others might be getting lost.   Phil: >However if a mass storage device >like compact flash does become available then we WILL need a modded >OS to deal with it. Any notion that it can be accessed ad hoc in a >meaningful way is fanciful as you will see below.   What is meant by ad hoc? Regarding meaningful, meaningful to whom?   We can write and read data to a floppy disc using MOS. Using the MODIFY command we can type in a machine code program as hexadecimal. With the write command the code from its start address to the end address can be specified to be put on a selected drive at a specified sector in a specified track. In a similar way after shut down and reboot the data on disc can be read back into the Einstein memory called and run.   If you use this method for saving a number of programs to disk you would either need a very good memory or keep a notebook for program size and the track and sector numbers to where they have been put on the disk.   If a program can be written to act like that notebook to keep a record of where the programs are kept on disk, use that data to load automatically the code into memory, also to save new code to new areas of a floppy disc it could be called a DOS.   Using the MOS save and load from disc is not very meaningful way for those who want to run a vendor supplied spreadsheet application on Einey. For someone who wants to get an understanding of the elementary way floppy discs are accessed it can be.   When I was testing loading Xtal dos down from the serial port, using the MOS "READ" command to load in the code to receive the input was meaningful. It saved me typing it in as HEX every time.   Fitting a compact flash to Einey, if it will work as reported in the Spectrum accessed by basic, it will allow Einey users of only a small amount of skill to access it as 512 byte sectors. How and why they choose to use it the way they do will be meaningful to them.   One good reason to use the Einstein today is to explore the inner workings of the computer and its peripherals. Matching your wits with simple programing to see if you have understood the complexities correctly is a good teaching tool.   Advanced users can develop a serious DOS to test and access the compact flash and its larger capacity in a more meaningful way. They won't be able to do this if a compact flash hasn't been attached.   New hardware for the Einey like Einey its self is for all Einey users of all skill levels. I don't see any logical reason to delay the physical fitting of hardware until there is developed a sophisticated software or firmware to use it when simple if maybe not ideal programing can.   The last thing I want to happen is for members of this group to hold back posting their experiences of using the Einstein because they feel their skill or knowledge is not up to a standard. There is no standard. Basic programing is there for the Einstein and for all to tinker and dabble with. To peek and poke around the system and find out what can be done. To quote the late Ted Cawkwell "Basic is an area where some one with a germ of an idea and not much skill can put their theories into practice". If a thread of postings seems to be going over your head don't hold back on some novel thought on the subject. You might have the right germ of an idea.   We are fortunate to have Phil already developing a new DOS and getting to grips with the complexities. Working through the choices. When I have a compact flash fitted I would be interested, before the final developed of an XDOS, in any example programs that could demonstrate ways to access compact flash. Programs that demonstrate the use of FAT tables which I don't yet understand for example.   Lets get back to the issues that started the recent posts. Having an alternative to booting the Einey from a floppy as an insurance is needed. Is it urgent or just a longer term problem that we should start to address now?   There is some question whether Einey data written to 1.44mb HD 3.5 floppy is stable for more than a short time. This media is still in production and readily available from many local outlets. The demand for floppy discs is decreasing. As this continues many more retail outlets will cease to stock them. Floppies will become more bothersome to buy. At the present Einey is dependant on floppy disks to boot up DOS. Other floppy drives and floppy media are out of production. Those that are still to be found are aging making them less reliable as time goes on.   Having an alternative to booting the Einey from a floppy as an insurance is might be needed.   There is possibly of an alternative floppy drive, not a very neat contraption, but one that might be used to boot Einey and keep it to its original boot up design.   An alternative is to get Einey to boot a DOS and access another storage medium and media. It does not have to be some optimized sophisticated O\S to access large storage devices. Its prime task will be to run existing programs that can be transferred from existing media or those downloaded from the PC and be operational similar and familiar to us as Xtal DOS. Emulated floppies on another storage media that Xtal DOS can see and use would be ok even if that storage medium is not used to full capacity. An optimized sophisticated O\S will always be better but never best as by its nature it will always be something in continuing development.   Is there an immediate serious problem?   Tacking into consideration that floppy drives don't last forever and because unlike the old days its not worth time and expense to re aline drives it doesn't mean they don't have alinement problems. So your experiences of using 1.4mb floppy media. Geoff has reported no problems Bob found data on them to become unreliable. Thanks to Phil's posts to the group I've found out some of my useless floppies have become so by using them in both 720kb drives and 1.4m drives.   Keeping a mental or written record of your floppies as to whether their formatted construction was by the Einstein, by CPDWrite or by CPCdiskXP will help. Is Einstein data unreliable in 1.4mb floppies or is it due to aging drives and\or using media in wrongly in other systems (Cpdwrite-Cpcdiskxp).   I need to know. We all need to know how reliable and durable data is on floppy media. Today at least we have the means to back up files to the PC. How often should we do this?   The rest is work in progress.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 121	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Recent mail condensed

Attachments : Hi Folk I wanted to peruse our recent listings in print form so put them together and repaginated. I thought others may find useful - see attachment. Being a MSword file I hope your machine doesn't say 'macros present' and not download but this was done on an AppleMac anyway so no PC virus can lurk. Let me know any problems. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 122	From: geoff	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: Information about Compact Flash cards and FAT

Some of this may be a repeat from the information in the ZXF magazine article, but that article didn't make some things clear. You do NOT need to build an IDE interface and then use a compact flash to IDE adaptor. Compact flash cards can be used in "true IDE" mode but this is unnecessarily awkward. There is a much better way to use compact flash and that's in "PC memory mode" (there's also PC card I/O mode but I haven't gone into that yet). The main advantage is the full capacity of the card can be used (unlike a 16-bit hack where none of the high 8-bits are used and the drive loses half it's capacity) The other advantage is the simplicity of the interface with the Einstein pipe. Full capacity CF interface for spectrum - http://members.tripod.com/~piters/zxcf.htm This is a slightly different method of connection to the ZXF magazine one, I don't yet know the significance of this. Now, If we want to store the information in a MSDOS FAT that would easily make it accessible from any other machine we put teh card into we could implimant a complete FAT oursellves or we could unload the file procesing onto the device hanging of the pipe, that way we could just send somple MSDOS stlye commands over the tube and that woul dbe that. Fortunatly there is a simple solution (okay, when I say simple...) and that's the VFAT chip - "ALFAT is a full FAT file system precompiled and programmed on a very small but powerful 32-bit processor chip" http://www.alfat.co.uk/alfat.html This would save all the effort creating a file system compatible with existing FAT systems. So what is the cost of these fantastic file handling sytems on a chip? £18+vat - http://www.crownhill.co.uk/product.php?prod=1404 So, build an adaptor incorperating the VFAT chip that plugs into the pipe, then plug your CF card or IDE hard drive into that and have a universal storage medium. Simple(ish). Is it possible to route all XTAL DOS file system calls through the pipe to the new device? I'm not suggesting this as a solution but it's another option. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 123	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/02/2007
Subject: SECTOR SKEW

Hi Phil,   SECTOR SKEW   Phil wrote: >Sector skew was implemented in some versions of XTAL DOS but I can't >remember which. If you know then please post so I can sort this out.   The sector skew can be found from disk images created by CPDRead and CPCdiskXP (not disk images created by Eintrans) by opening them up with a HEX text editor. EDIP will give half the story. Open up a single side disk image with EDIP. From the disk image details drop down box last on the list is the sector skew for the first track. For double side disk images two track sector skews are given. This feature is a hang over from its development days to test whether side 2 had sector values incremented from side 1. I heard that some double side disks didn't have side two sector values incremented. I haven't come across any double side disk images as such but EDIP is designed to take the lack of increments into account but it hasn't been tested.   Some where in the back numbers of the Einstein Magazine I recall seeing a way for enthusiasts to alter the skew to their own preference so expect some odd skews to turn up.   Sector Skew:   Xtal DOS 1.31 40 track single side 05 06 07 08 09 00 01 02 03 04 alternate track 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09   Xtal DOS 2 05 00 05 01 06 02 07 03 08 04 09 for all tracks   Xtal DOS 205 double side disk tracks side 1 00 05 01 06 02 07 03 08 04 09 tracks side 2 sector values incremented from side 1 0F 0A 10 0B 11 0C 12 0D 13 0E Tracks are read alternately side 1 then side 2   CPM 2.2 40 track single side 05 06 07 08 09 00 01 02 03 04 alternate track 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09   ZDOS 40 track single side 05 06 07 08 09 00 01 02 03 04 alternate tracks 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 124	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Information about Compact Flash cards and FAT

A quick note about the FAT file system; "FAT file system is a patent of Microsoft Corporation. Licensing fee for using FAT file system must be paid by companies who wish to use FAT file system in their products. For more information, visit Microsoft's website. www.microsoft.com"

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 125	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: USB ports on the einstein (another option, sorry)

Hi, I don't want us to miss out on any options and someone mentioned USB ports as a possibility for the einstein. The problem would always have been the drives and file system. However, the uALFAT (microALFAT) chip would solve these problems as it already contains the FAT file system and drivers for USB mass storage devises (ie. external USB hard drives, thumb drives, mempory card adaptors, etc.). It, like the ALFAT chip, does communicate over a serial connection by default, but an adaptor could be made to convert the high speed serial data (up to 921600!!) from the UALFAT and turn it into parallel data for the 'pipe'. The obvious advantages of a USB thumb stick (or 400GB hard drive) are clear; portability, universal (almost) accessability, and relative ease of implimentation (from the hardware side) The firmware on the chip can also be flash updated, to help us solve any interfacing issues, i fwe can't do it einstein side, we can adaptor side. This still doesn't solve the problem with initial booting of the einstein, but none of the mass storage solutions do. I'm tending to veer towards the USB solution as it seems more long term that the Compact Flash one as USB is more flexable and will be arround for longer. NOTE: This would nat allow you to connect a USB soundcard to the Einstein as it wouldn't have the right drivers, but would allow you to connect your digital camera as they normally just show up as mass storage devices. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 126	From: paul.bunyan@	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Storage for the Einstein

Any mileage in considering the parallel port 100MB Zip drive as an option? Paul B. ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 127	From: fil_simmons	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Comments and more about FAT

Hi All, To summarise all of my technical arguments to date about mass storage - is simply this- a plea for consensus and cooperation on the development of what ever it is thus focusing the effort to deal with it from both a hardware and software point of view. Technical discussions allow us all to gain an idea of what is and isn't possible and also to open one anothers minds. It's been interesting and enlightening so far! We all have much too learn from one another. From Chris's latest comments I can now see a way of accessing mass storage via a virtual software device where the file system is contained externally to the OS. In plain terms, a program that runs to handle it all. This would be a good interim measure. In the long term it would be advantageous if it were combined with the OS so that new standard BDOS functions could be included allowing the development of software that could be interchanged by all. Geoff>"FAT file system is a patent of Microsoft Corporation. Licensing fee for using FAT file system ...' Ah yes, I was aware that MS think that they own the linked list concept. Somehow (probably because the legal system couldn't comprehend the arguments) MS have got away with patenting their FAT system. Having disseminated it widely for free to all and sundry for many years and encouraged its inclusion in all kinds of devices on he grounds of MS compatibility, (whatever that is) they have now turned around and decided to charge a royalty. Fortunately it's a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted and apart from stuff that includes specific MS code it can't be enforced. MS once decided to try and patent the 'windows' concept, however the idea of pop up graphical view ports was shown to be a universal computer concept and not patentable. Likewise, and in my opinion more so, the linked list is a fundamental programming concept that MS did not invent and does not own. FAT is an implementation of a linked list. However it is a specific implementation and thus when I speak of FAT I mean in the most general terms, as a linked list. To infringe the patent a FAT would have to be written in exactly the same way as MS and and operate in exactly the same way. I have never seen the MS code for FAT, nor do I want too, so whatever I write it won't infringe, but it will have an 'MS compatibility mode':) - yes, two can play at your game Bill. Indeed you can buy a licenced royalty paid chip to implement FAT and I believe it has an API (Application Programming Interface) - that's a bunch of useable functions to you and me. I need to look up the spec to see how 8 bit friendly it is. We might have some difficulties if has a 32bit C++ API - which is likely :) Finally I would like to ask if anyone can supply me or post a text/ pdf of the article on configuring a second disk drive in Einstein user vol2, issue 2.I'd like to see what was said about it. To the list of OS releases I would like to add Xtal 2.1 - the first release of System5 - which did have sector skewing. Does that mean there were inetermedoate releases betwen 2.1 & 2.5, or was 2.5 the next release? Cheers Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 128	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Comments and more about FAT

Hi, <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > To summarise all of my technical arguments to date about mass > storage - is simply this- a plea for consensus and cooperation on the > development of what ever it is thus focusing the effort to deal with > it from both a hardware and software point of view. Technical > discussions allow us all to gain an idea of what is and isn't > possible and also to open one anothers minds. It's been interesting > and enlightening so far! > We all have much too learn from one another. > I think that once the list of suggestions runs out (or slows down) we can take a vote, I for one hadn't even thought about 100MB parallel ZIP drives. I'm still working on the 1.44Mb floppy option too and have a 150rpm drive sitting in front of me right now (I just have to get the "British Micro - Mimi 802" back into the basement and drag up one of the Einsteins so I can connect it). > Licensing fee for using FAT file system ...' > Ah yes, I was aware that MS think that they own the linked list > concept. Somehow (probably because the legal system couldn't > comprehend the arguments) MS have got away with patenting their FAT > system. I don't think they'd enforce any patent unless it was a commercial project. Then again, what's wrong with one of the Linux open source file systems. The code is already available. > Indeed you can buy a licenced royalty paid chip to implement FAT and > I believe it has an API (Application Programming Interface) - that's > a bunch of useable functions to you and me. > I need to look up the spec to see how 8 bit friendly it is. We might > have some difficulties if has a 32bit C++ API - which is likely :) Fortunately it doesn't. The commend set is *very* simple and already impliments most things we need for CP/M. This is an example session for uALFAT: (the lines showing !00 confirm command complete) >U (Mount USB Mass Storage device) !00 >M LOG_DATA (create new directory) !00 >A LOG_DATA (change directory) !00 >O 1W>VOLTAGE.LOG (create new file for write inside LOG_DATA folder) !00 >O 2W>CURRENT.LOG (create new file for write inside LOG_DATA folder) !00 >W 1>7 (command to write 7 bytes to file at handle 1) !00 (μALFAT accepted the write command) 12.123V (enter the data to go to the file) !00 (data written successfully) >W 7>A (writes 10 bytes to file at handle 7) !00 (μALFAT accepted the write command) 1234567890 (enter your data) !00 (data written successfully) W 1>7 (add 7 bytes(characters) to file at handle 1) !00 (μALFAT accepted the write command) 10.194V (enter the data to go to the file) !00 (data written successfully) > (μALFAT is ready for more commands.) XTAL DOS commands could just be piped to the chip and that handles everything else (all for £40+vat - http://www.crownhill.co.uk/product.php?prod=1577 ) > Finally I would like to ask if anyone can supply me or post a text/ > pdf of the article on configuring a second disk drive in Einstein > user vol2, issue 2.I'd like to see what was said about it. Unless someone else beats me to it I'll scan it this evening. > To the list of OS releases I would like to add Xtal 2.1 - the first > release of System5 - which did have sector skewing. Does that mean > there were inetermedoate releases betwen 2.1 & 2.5, or was 2.5 the > next release? > > Cheers > > Phil > Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 129	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Compact Flash-for what use.

Hi All,   Compact Flash-for what use.   I think we are focussing to different objectives here. When I first saw the compact flash article in the ZXF magazine what excited me and drew my attention was that basic programing was used to access it in an elementary way. My first thoughts as my last thoughts are that here is a lot "ramy rom" that could be attached to the Einstein that programers from the lowest skill to highest could play with. Matching their wits to write programs to make good use of it in a ad hoc meaningful way to them selves. I had and have a lot of ideas for its use. I saw myself sharing these ideas with other Einey people saying the compact flash can be programed for this or for that. Not saying the compact flash needs to be or should be used for this and used for that. The intention is to see it as an additional programing area for all users without restraint.   When the issue of finding an alternative to a floppy drive came up, for booting DOS and accessing files from another media, I could see possibilities that the above compact flash configuration (some of it not all of its capacity) could be used to emulate floppy discs in the same way as the silicon disk used to.   The other objective for compact flash. Some tunnel vision might have occurred. As a compact flash cards can have large capacities their seems to be the belief that it should be turned over to the monopoly of an operating system so its mass storage capacity can be used like a hard drive.   I have nothing against Einey using a compact flash that way-as a hard drive. I would like to have one on my Einey if its possible to have have two compact flash cards hanging off the tatung pipe. But! If Einey users just wanted an O\S to access a hard drive they wouldn't be Einey users they would boot up there IBM/PC and let windose do it for them.   Einey users want to have a deeper understanding of the system their using and its peripherals. They want to know the inner workings. Many of them want to write their own programs to access the hardware not to create software for everyone but to see if they can manipulate and control and know how the hardware is accessed and used. A didactic interest.   A compact flash as a hard drive and the O\S for it should not be abandoned, put aside or forgotten but neither should a "user area" compact flash be overlooked. Neither of the objectives are fanciful. One can be the means to the other. There will be a time when the O\S for a hard drive compact flash will have to come off the drawing board and elements of it will have to be tested in practice. A "user area" configured compact flash might act as a test bed.   Phil would like to see some consensus. Unfortunately some of us are not so knowledgeable to grasp all the aspects that are involved. I've read Phils posts I'm still re-reading Phil's posts and picking up a bit more know how each time. Thanks to Bob its all in a single document file. With out a good number of people who know what is involved its difficult to get a consensus. If Phil can show with some example programing, what FAT is maybe I would understand more. The gist I get is that FAT is a file that is run as a program. Unlike a section of data that is read by DOS.   Without understanding the choices its hard to make serious comment to share in the development of a new O\S. If there were to become a number of new working O\Ses to choose from we could all say our own preference. But! We could all choose to use the O\S of our own preference and there would be no real need for consensus.   Where a consensus is needed is where new hardware is placed on the Tatung Pipe. Which input\output ports they will use. They will need to be placed so further future hardware can be added and to not conflict with the 80 column card that many of us use at the moment. A compact flash will need to be set to the same ports for everyone so that software that use it will work in all Einsteins.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 130	From: geoff	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Re: Comments and more about FAT

> Hi All, > > Finally I would like to ask if anyone can supply me or post a text/ > pdf of the article on configuring a second disk drive in Einstein > user vol2, issue 2.I'd like to see what was said about it. > > > Cheers > > Phil I've posted a scan of it in the files section of this group. I tried to do an Optical Charactor Recognition but if failed badly, so it's only a gif. I hope it helps. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 131	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 09/02/2007
Subject: Zip Drives parallel port Black Arts

Zip Drives parallel port Black Arts   Attaching HD drives to the printer ports with adapters. Quite a few of these about for the PC.   Attaching an IDE drive to the tatung bus, without looking up the docs I have in files, if I remember rightly the IDE drive has 8 registers (there are more that don't need to be used) those that are used are used by the 8bit data bus to organize its self for reading, writing, selecting sectors and other stuff. The tatung pipes dater lines go to the registers of the drive by using 8 of Einey's I\O ports to set the address lines that to go to right drive registers. My numbers might be wrong but the principle should be right.   I'm not sure but an inner logic tells me that when a parallel port is used it can only send 8bits a byte out to one receptor in the parallel IDE adapter. That receptor or register whatever its called needs to receive special code bytes to know to which of the IDE registers to send the next byte or bytes to. Some serial attached floppy drives worked something like this on old micro computers.   Those special code bytes are a black art. Whatever they are the adapter manufactures are keeping it to themselves. I've searched the web for hours trying find programing specs for the Amacom parallel IDE adapter and the Shuttle Connection scsi parallel connector. I tried a disassembly of the Amacom driver but I couldn't work out any special code bytes.   I'm guessing here of course but can anyone give another way it could work.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 132	From: geoff	Date: 10/02/2007
Subject: Re: Zip Drives parallel port Black Arts

> Those special code bytes are a black art. Whatever > they are the adapter manufactures are keeping it > to themselves. I've searched the web for hours > trying find programing specs for the Amacom > parallel IDE adapter and the Shuttle Connection > scsi parallel connector. I tried a disassembly of > the Amacom driver but I couldn't work out any > special code bytes. Here's a link to a patch for the Linux drivers for parallel ports. It contains code for Shuttle EPSA2 and EPST parallel to SCSI drivers. The Amacom adaptor, I believe, used hardware from Kingbyte. The Kingbyte driver code is also at this link. http://cyberelk.net/tim/data/parport/ppSCSI-0.91.patch Of course a knowledge of c is useful to read the code, but if you need more information about the drivers themselves the best bet is probably in linux newsgroup archives. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 133	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 11/02/2007
Subject: Attached EM article on the silicon disk.

Attachments : Hi All,   Attached EM article on the silicon disk. might be of help to some one.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 134	From: fil_simmons	Date: 13/02/2007
Subject: The 1.6mb FDD is here

Hi All, Last night I sucessfully formatted a disk in 1.44 fdd (Drive 1: on the Einey)to 1,600k size,1596k Free! So far I've only got around to transfering about 500k of files to it. I have been running Wordstar quite hapilly from it. I have always suspected it was nothing to do with the drive controller. Forgive me if I spend a few more days testing the configuration, bug hunting and documenting before I post exactly how to do it :) For example, at the moment I only have 790k floppies which I have been force formatting to 1.6 Mb - against my own advice:) I want to experiment with genuine 1.44 media and also see what happens when the disks are running at capacity. If I am correct then it is theoretically possible to use the existing FFD contoller on a device up to 128mb. Many thanks to Geoff for posting the reprinted magazine article so that I could check I hadn't missed anything. I have been using CPC READ/WRITE for XP to transfer data and I must say that so far I have found it to be excellent and fault free. Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 135	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 14/02/2007
Subject: Re: The 1.6mb FDD is here

Hi Folk If it's thoreticaly possible to format 128mb with the Einey what's to prevent the SVD being setup/adapted for that? Bob On 2/13/07, fil_simmons <phil_simmons> wrote: Hi All, Last night I sucessfully formatted a disk in 1.44 fdd (Drive 1: on the Einey)to 1,600k size,1596k Free! So far I've only got around to transfering about 500k of files to it. I have been running Wordstar quite hapilly from it. I have always suspected it was nothing to do with the drive controller. Forgive me if I spend a few more days testing the configuration, bug hunting and documenting before I post exactly how to do it :) For example, at the moment I only have 790k floppies which I have been force formatting to 1.6 Mb - against my own advice:) I want to experiment with genuine 1.44 media and also see what happens when the disks are running at capacity. If I am correct then it is theoretically possible to use the existing FFD contoller on a device up to 128mb. Many thanks to Geoff for posting the reprinted magazine article so that I could check I hadn't missed anything. I have been using CPC READ/WRITE for XP to transfer data and I must say that so far I have found it to be excellent and fault free. Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 136	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/02/2007
Subject: Just Thoughts

Hi All,   I was going through my oddments of retro computer bits for z80 computers. Items bought cheep at boot sales. I assume their edge connectors are all expansion addons to the z80 bus. Maybe just another another wiring and pinout configuration.   ZX 16k RAM   dk'tronics 64k memory this I had working on the Amstrad CPC.   Another 2 dk'tronics with an edge connector with two male 9 pin D plugs. I think I had one of these working on a Spectrum+3. It was a kind of debugging tool.   Can the memory expansions be wired up for Einey?   Surffing the Web   I allways thought MSX was just another retro computer like the Spectrum, Comodore and Einey.   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s. It was a Microsoft-led attempt to create unified standards among hardware makers-----------------many Japanese electronic manufacturers along with Goldstar, Philips and Spectravideo built and promoted MSX computers. Any piece of hardware or software with the MSX logo on it was compatible with MSX products of other manufacturers. In particular, the expansion cartridge form and function were part of the standard; any MSX expansion or game cartridge would work in any MSX computer.   I came across this http://www.msx.ch/sunformsx/products/hardware/ide.html This page gives the pinout for the MSX ROM slot. http://www.faq.msxnet.org/connector.html   Can an MSX ROM slot be wired up for Einey? If not fully featured partially?   Just thoughts.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 137	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Re: The 1.6mb FDD is here

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Last night I sucessfully formatted a disk in 1.44 fdd (Drive 1: on > the Einey)to 1,600k size,1596k Free! > So far I've only got around to transfering about 500k of files to it. > I have been running Wordstar quite hapilly from it. > > I have always suspected it was nothing to do with the drive > controller. Forgive me if I spend a few more days testing the > configuration, bug hunting and documenting before I post exactly how > to do it :) For example, at the moment I only have 790k floppies > which I have been force formatting to 1.6 Mb - against my own > advice:) I want to experiment with genuine 1.44 media and also see > what happens when the disks are running at capacity. Cool!, I'm eager to test the new format!! Just to clear a bit things, when you say that you've transferred about 500Kb, do you mean that you've found some kind of limit or just that you haven't tried with more files? > If I am correct then it is theoretically possible to use the existing > FFD contoller on a device up to 128mb. > > Many thanks to Geoff for posting the reprinted magazine article so > that I could check I hadn't missed anything. > > I have been using CPC READ/WRITE for XP to transfer data and I must > say that so far I have found it to be excellent and fault free. Have you tried with CPCDiskXP?, since now it has worked fine for me... > > Cheers, > > Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 138	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Re: Just Thoughts

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > > Hi All, > > I was going through my oddments of retro computer > bits for z80 computers. Items bought cheep at boot > sales. I assume their edge connectors are all > expansion addons to the z80 bus. Maybe just > another another wiring and pinout configuration. > > ZX 16k RAM > > dk'tronics 64k memory this I had working on the > Amstrad CPC. > > Another 2 dk'tronics with an edge connector with > two male 9 pin D plugs. I think I had one of these > working on a Spectrum+3. It was a kind of > debugging tool. > > Can the memory expansions be wired up for Einey? > > Surffing the Web > > I allways thought MSX was just another retro > computer like the Spectrum, Comodore and Einey. > > From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > > MSX was the name of a standardized home computer > architecture in the 1980s. It was a Microsoft-led > attempt to create unified standards among hardware > makers-----------------many Japanese electronic > manufacturers along with Goldstar, Philips and > Spectravideo built and promoted MSX computers. Any > piece of hardware or software with the MSX logo on > it was compatible with MSX products of other > manufacturers. In particular, the expansion > cartridge form and function were part of the > standard; any MSX expansion or game cartridge > would work in any MSX computer. > > I came across this > http://www.msx.ch/sunformsx/products/hardware/ide.html The Sunrise IDE, I have one of those and I must say that although it's a great piece of hardware, you usually ends with a bulky set-up of HDs,CDROMs and so on, all of them plugged on a bare PC PSU. Very unpleasant to see and even more tough to handle. It's much more useful the Sunrise CF-IDE, allowing two CF cards to be plugged and accessed like standard IDE HDs. > This page gives the pinout for the MSX ROM slot. > http://www.faq.msxnet.org/connector.html > > Can an MSX ROM slot be wired up for Einey? If not > fully featured partially? I'm not a hardware guy; but if it can be done you must remember the tons of conversion work behind the drivers/tools. There're IDE & SCSI interfaces, sound cards, video cards, etc. and most of the software that comes with all of this hardware is not free; for example, the sources of the driver and tools of the Sunrise IDE interfaces aren't available; so you must try to figure how it works disassembling the executables :( There're some other projects, like the old SCSI interfaces, that now are more or less public domain, take a look at the B.E.R.T. SCSI INTERFACE at the bottom of the following page: http://www.hansotten.com/msxscsi.html Btw, in this page there're tons of hardware info and DIY projects for MSX, they could be a source of ideas for new Einstein hardware ;) As a final thought, the MSX is one of the most expanded machines out there and being so close to the Einstein,...it must be possibe to adapt something for sure! > > Just thoughts. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 139	From: jltursan	Date: 15/02/2007
Subject: Cheap! external drive case

Hi all, I've uploaded a photo album showing the external case I've build for my 1.44 FDD. There's no need for explanations, although the photos are not very good, it's easy to realize how has been done :) Just a minor note about the PSU, a floppy drive needs 5V with 1A (prolly less; but the seek peaks seems to need that); so I've finally used a standard multi voltage adapter. My first attempt with a Nokia PSU failed miserably. Seems that above 5,5V (the Nokia PSU gives 5,7V and in fact I've measured 6V) the FDD locks and it starts to spin endlessly; so it's safer to use a short voltage and raise the intensity. Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 140	From: fil_simmons	Date: 16/02/2007
Subject: Just thoughts ...

Hi All, Testing of 1.6 FDD proceeds apace - I hope to be posting by Monday - Its partly that I'm transfering stuff to the disc from the pc and I'm being selective so it's taking awhile to fill a disk. I also want to write a couple of utilities to simplify the set up process for the less technicaly minded but I will at least be posting a manual set up method by then :) I think Jltursans external floppy case is totally awesome. A detail or diagram of the power socket type, wiring and some info on the psu used would be interesting. Thanks chris for pointing out to me that I already have the info on the Dsk format. I have so many images I havn't browsed through them all yet,let alone remember what they are! Xtal DOS disassembly is ongoing - I'm about two thirds of the way through the CCP portion, working on the really difficult bits now! After that its the BDOS portion. I recall it took me three months solid work when I did it many years ago - unfortunately this is lost. Hopefully this time it will be a little faster since I can do a lot of the work under Windoze. The effort of having a fully documented OS will be worth it. About 2 years ago I approached Trevor Brownen of Xtal Research on behalf of the group and asked him if he would release the Xtal sources. He kindly contacted all of the authors and agreed to release XTal DOS sources and others under a GPL licence. It only remained for him to sort out the sources. These were expected to arrive about a year ago. I have contacted him a couple of times since but have never received any reply so I can't say what has happened or if they will ever arrive. I don't want to hassle him obviously, so I have taken the decision to dissassemble XTal myself. If the official sources do ever arrive then that's great but we can't wait forever and a diss is required to allow experimental OS mods and to test any new OS's compatibilty. So I'm getting on with it. Chris mentioned DK'tronics interfaces. Years ago I bough the rights to the Speccy microsource from them - Forth box that hung off the edge connector. Dk was a one man owned company. I beleive Dk'tronics were still going recently so you could get in touch and ask them for info - if its the same guy he knows all of the products.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 141	From: jltursan	Date: 16/02/2007
Subject: Re: Just thoughts ...

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Testing of 1.6 FDD proceeds apace - I hope to be posting by Monday - > Its partly that I'm transfering stuff to the disc from the pc and I'm > being selective so it's taking awhile to fill a disk. I also want to > write a couple of utilities to simplify the set up process for the > less technicaly minded but I will at least be posting a manual set up > method by then :) > > I think Jltursans external floppy case is totally awesome. A detail > or diagram of the power socket type, wiring and some info on the psu > used would be interesting. I've uploaded a simple wiring diagram showing the position of both cables, 5V and ground. The materials used are: - 1 x 1.44 FDD configured properly. - 1 x 34 pin data cable, twisted or untwisted, it depends on the drive used. - 1 x old videotape box. The color is up to you :) - 4 x screws to fix the drive. You can also use some rubber rings to lift a bit the drive and leave a bit of empty space between the drive bottom and the plastic case. If the box used is a clear one, you'll be able to mark the screw positions in a hurry, if it's black or whatever you'll need to take measures to position the holes :P - 1 x old PC floppy standard molex connector. You can keep the cables I show in the picture (5V and GND) - 1 x power plug THAT MATCHES THE PSU CONNECTOR you're planning to use. Doesn't matter the type of connector although I recommend one with nut. - 1 x PSU with 5VDC and AT LEAST 1A. A medium/good typical multi voltage PSU (>1300mA) could be enough. - 4 x Sticky rubber feets. If you don't have some spare feets of PC towers, you can use door rubber tops (I don't know the exact english word, sorry :( ) - Cutter and sandpaper. Thanks god, the plastic case can be easily mechanized :) Just a final idea, if you keep the videotape plastic cover, you can insert a piece of paper with quick commands references, images or simply plain white to match the color of the Einstein case :D > > Thanks chris for pointing out to me that I already have the info on > the Dsk format. I have so many images I havn't browsed through them > all yet,let alone remember what they are! > > Xtal DOS disassembly is ongoing - I'm about two thirds of the way > through the CCP portion, working on the really difficult bits now! > After that its the BDOS portion. I recall it took me three months > solid work when I did it many years ago - unfortunately this is lost. > Hopefully this time it will be a little faster since I can do a lot > of the work under Windoze. The effort of having a fully documented OS > will be worth it. > About 2 years ago I approached Trevor Brownen of Xtal Research on > behalf of the group and asked him if he would release the Xtal > sources. He kindly contacted all of the authors and agreed to release > XTal DOS sources and others under a GPL licence. It only remained for > him to sort out the sources. These were expected to arrive about a > year ago. > I have contacted him a couple of times since but have never received > any reply so I can't say what has happened or if they will ever > arrive. I don't want to hassle him obviously, so I have taken the > decision to dissassemble XTal myself. If the official sources do ever > arrive then that's great but we can't wait forever and a diss is > required to allow experimental OS mods and to test any new OS's > compatibilty. So I'm getting on with it. > > Chris mentioned DK'tronics interfaces. Years ago I bough the rights > to the Speccy microsource from them - Forth box that hung off the > edge connector. Dk was a one man owned company. I beleive Dk'tronics > were still going recently so you could get in touch and ask them for > info - if its the same guy he knows all of the products. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 142	From: geoff	Date: 17/02/2007
Subject: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG??

Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein software, previously held by Jim Ellacot, and running into 250+ packages of software, still exists. Did the archive go the way of most old software and get "skipped" or is it safe and sound? (maybe still hidden in the loft at Jim's old house in Westcliff-on-Sea) Another question. Does anyone have a copy of Emsoft's "PC Utility" which ran on a pc and would convert an Einstein 5 1/4" disk to msdos? Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 143	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply

Hi Geoff,   Your Query >Another question. Does anyone have a copy of Emsoft's "PC Utility" >which ran on a pc and would convert an Einstein 5 1/4" disk to msdos?   A program that ran on the PC and would extract an Einstein's floppy disk files into the PC environment was Einread.   The copyright status.   From an e-mail sent to me:- *|As I thought you understood, since I supplied you *|with your copy, EINREAD was written many years ago *|by Vin Davies as a "quick and dirty" use-once *|text-file transfer tool when he upgraded from an *|Einey to a PC. He then transferred his interest in *|it to the user group. Like many other Einstein *|software titles it was transferred to EinSoft - *|the commercial softwarehouse which was set up to *|subsidise the user group, and which passed into my *|personal ownership morethan ten years ago.   As you can see from the above I have Einread and used it to extract Einey files from 3.5 Einey floppies under DOS. At the time of its creation I think 5 1/4 drives were the standard fit for the PC. It will extract all files not just text files. I heard that it would not extract reliably fragmented files i.e. from disks that had files deleted and others added to them in the Einstein. A trick was to copy in the Einstein files from disk to another new disk and use that in a PC floppy drive to use Einread. Its a kind of de fragment I think.   The owner of Einread has made it plain to me that he intends to keep the sole distribution rights. For that reason I'm not allowed to make it publicly available for download.   From the same e-mail:- *|Since the original user group organisers *|systematically acquired distribution and author *|rights by purchase and by contract from authors *|and former publishers on a vast range of Einstein *|software and then set this up as a commercial *|operation using EinSoft, Taurus and a range of *|other labels, and since after buying them out on *|taking over the user group I systematically *|acquired author and distribution rights on as many *|other Einstein titles as I could track the authors *|and publishers of, it would be far more to the *|point if you checked the copyright position with *|me on any software that you wish to put up online *|before embarking on a wild goose chase after the *|original authors or publishers.   >Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein software, previously >held by Jim Ellacot, and running into 250+ packages of software, still >exists.   I can't recall of hearing of Jim Ellacot but the UKEUG so called PD library as mentioned in the Einstein Magazine is, I'm told by the same e-mail sender, questionable and most of it was and is under his ownership. It seems to me that writers have sent in their programs to libraries managed by commercial companies believing it would be held in freeware status when it has not.   I'm not resoursed to take up legal arguments but my thoughts are that buying up a company which managed a freeware i.e. PD described software library that others volentary sent programs to would be still freeware i.e. PD within the new company. The physical holding of the library would not give ownership of copyright.   This is a argument you may take up with the e-mail sender "A E Adams former secretary of the UK Einstein User Group and Printer of the Einstein Magazine".   My position is that with the a copyright status uncertain I can't make publicly available for download programs from a website that have been described as "PD" in the Einstein Magazine.   Geoff wrote:- >Did the archive go the way of most old software and get "skipped" or >is it safe and sound?   At the time of corresponding with Tony Adams he said he didn't have the library disks but had lent it out to someone else. Where it is now, if it is, I don't know.   Members of this group sending each other data and software is a matter entirely for them selves. For managing a website and to some degree the yahoo group I have to give caution to copyright.   Regards Chris Coxall ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 7:17 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein software, previously held by Jim Ellacot, and running into 250+ packages of software, still exists. Did the archive go the way of most old software and get "skipped" or is it safe and sound? (maybe still hidden in the loft at Jim's old house in Westcliff-on- Sea) Another question. Does anyone have a copy of Emsoft's "PC Utility" which ran on a pc and would convert an Einstein 5 1/4" disk to msdos? Regards, Geoff No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.1/690 - Release Date: 2/16/07 2:25 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 144	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG??

Hi Geoff,   Your Query >Another question. Does anyone have a copy of Emsoft's "PC Utility" >which ran on a pc and would convert an Einstein 5 1/4" disk to msdos?   A program that ran on the PC and would extract an Einstein's floppy disk files into the PC environment was Einread.   The copyright status.   From an e-mail sent to me:- *|As I thought you understood, since I supplied you *|with your copy, EINREAD was written many years ago *|by Vin Davies as a "quick and dirty" use-once *|text-file transfer tool when he upgraded from an *|Einey to a PC. He then transferred his interest in *|it to the user group. Like many other Einstein *|software titles it was transferred to EinSoft - *|the commercial softwarehouse which was set up to *|subsidise the user group, and which passed into my *|personal ownership morethan ten years ago.   As you can see from the above I have Einread and used it to extract Einey files from 3.5 Einey floppies under DOS. At the time of its creation I think 5 1/4 drives were the standard fit for the PC. It will extract all files not just text files. I heard that it would not extract reliably fragmented files i.e. from disks that had files deleted and others added to them in the Einstein. A trick was to copy in the Einstein files from disk to another new disk and use that in a PC floppy drive to use Einread. Its a kind of de fragment I think.   The owner of Einread has made it plain to me that he intends to keep the sole distribution rights. For that reason I'm not allowed to make it publicly available for download.   From the same e-mail:- *|Since the original user group organisers *|systematically acquired distribution and author *|rights by purchase and by contract from authors *|and former publishers on a vast range of Einstein *|software and then set this up as a commercial *|operation using EinSoft, Taurus and a range of *|other labels, and since after buying them out on *|taking over the user group I systematically *|acquired author and distribution rights on as many *|other Einstein titles as I could track the authors *|and publishers of, it would be far more to the *|point if you checked the copyright position with *|me on any software that you wish to put up online *|before embarking on a wild goose chase after the *|original authors or publishers.   >Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein software, previously >held by Jim Ellacot, and running into 250+ packages of software, still >exists.   I can't recall of hearing of Jim Ellacot but the UKEUG so called PD library as mentioned in the Einstein Magazine is, I'm told by the same e-mail sender, questionable and most of it was and is under his ownership. It seems to me that writers have sent in their programs to libraries managed by commercial companies believing it would be held in freeware status when it has not.   I'm not resoursed to take up legal arguments but my thoughts are that buying up a company which managed a freeware i.e. PD described software library that others volentary sent programs to would be still freeware i.e. PD within the new company. The physical holding of the library would not give ownership of copyright.   This is a argument you may take up with the e-mail sender "A E Adams former secretary of the UK Einstein User Group and Printer of the Einstein Magazine".   My position is that with the a copyright status uncertain I can't make publicly available for download programs from a website that have been described as "PD" in the Einstein Magazine.   Geoff wrote:- >Did the archive go the way of most old software and get "skipped" or >is it safe and sound?   At the time of corresponding with Tony Adams he said he didn't have the library disks but had lent it out to someone else. Where it is now, if it is, I don't know.   Members of this group sending each other data and software is a matter entirely for them selves. For managing a website and to some degree the yahoo group I have to give caution to copyright.   Regards Chris Coxall ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Saturday, February 17, 2007 7:17 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein software, previously held by Jim Ellacot, and running into 250+ packages of software, still exists. Did the archive go the way of most old software and get "skipped" or is it safe and sound? (maybe still hidden in the loft at Jim's old house in Westcliff-on- Sea) Another question. Does anyone have a copy of Emsoft's "PC Utility" which ran on a pc and would convert an Einstein 5 1/4" disk to msdos? Regards, Geoff No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.1/690 - Release Date: 2/16/07 2:25 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 145	From: mjbrearley	Date: 18/02/2007
Subject: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Hi there everyone I have just joined the group and have had a long interest in the Z80 processor and just obtained a Tanung Einstein. I am very happy to have found this group. I notice many of you are trying differant drives and the problem I have will amuse a lot of you and make you think 'Oh no not another new starter' but anyway here is my problem: I have a few 1.44meg floppy drives and want to use them on my Einstein but cannot workout why I can't format the 720k disks I have. When I run the Backup program the format will step through the disk but will not verify. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong. Thanks a lot Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 146	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply

Hi Einey Folk Just to say the name Jim Ellacot did ring a bell when I saw it the other day but goes back quite a bit as does the problems with tha PD library - someone somewhere is sitting on Mbs of s/w written and shared in all good faith. I'm dismayed to have to hear Chris Coxall's caution as I would have thought by now as a long standing ambassador for the Einstein that those responsible would have been passed all over to him. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 147	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: 1.6 Mb FDD info

Hi All, Sorry it looks like I was wrong about the floppy drive. Although I was apparently able to format it to 1.6mb, once I transfered data to it I got a sector not found beyond 780k, which means that the controller is not able to deal with the additional density. I havn't repeated this with true 1.44 media yet but if you format one of these then you get an error unless the hole is covered ie. it is acting as 790k disk so I expect the same result. Anyway if anyone wants to fool around with this themselves then here's how to do it.The following info applies to Xtal DOS 2.05 only as I have not had a chance to test it on any other version. The Bios has four 16 byte drive parameter tables starting at location F969 these are used to address four 15 byte drive definition tables starting at location F9D6.These contain definitions for 40 track singlesided, 40 track double sided, 80 track single sided and 80 track double sided drives, in that order. Lets take an example where we want to use a larger disk format on the second floppy drive - Drive 1: Go into Mos and do an R 100 1B00. Then M 106 and enter 22. This sets up your second drive for 80 track double sided operation. Now modify from location 19DB and enter the following 1F 3C FE. This sets up your disk size in the drive definition table to 1.6 mb and 256 directory entries. Do a write 100 1B00 and reboot. Format a 790k fd or a 1.44 fd (with the hole covered)using backup. You should now have a disk which appears to be 1.6 mb in size. Just a word about where the file allocation table needs to fit if this did actually work. Xtal Dos 2.5 also sets aside 4 allocation tables, one for each drive The allocation blocks used by each disk are mapped into Bios RAM when the disks are logged in and are used to keep track of which parts of the disk have been written to and the free space remaining. The allocation blocks are mapped as 1 bit per allocation block ie. 1 bit represents a block size of 2k. Thus 1 byte maps 16k. Xtal Dos 2.5 sets aside 50 of these mapping bytes per drive like this: DAT0 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 0 DAT1 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 1 DAT2 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 2 DAT3 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 3 A quick bit of maths shows that 50 bytes can map 800k of disk space ie. one 790k drive. For our 1.6mb drive we need 100 bytes. Since we can't make this space any bigger without re-compiling XTAL DOS and losing some RAM, we have to steal the allocation table of another drive. Obviously these bytes need to be contiguous i.e. the overlapping tables need to be adjacent to one another. The following drive configurations are allowable. XTAL DOS 2.05 Possible drive combinations using a 1.6 Mb FDD Comb 1 No of Drives ------ Drives up to 790k each ........ 2 1.6Mb Drive ........ 1 Comb 2 ------ 1.6Mb Drive ........ 2 ('Drives' can be either 3 or 3.5 inch) Anyway I'd like to hear how anyone else gets on with this. That's all for now folks. Disclaimer ---------- Although this information is supplied in good faith - it is experimental. Anyone making these OS mods does so entirely at their own risk.I make no guarantee as to the accuracy of any of this information, nor accept any liability whatsoever for any resultant data loss or consequential damage resulting from its use - i.e. in plain english - if you screw up its entirely down to you so don't blame me :) Happy experimenting & have fun.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 148	From: geoff	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Where is thePublic Domain Library of the UKEUG?? reply

> The owner of Einread has made it plain to me that he > intends to keep the sole distribution rights. For that > reason I'm not allowed to make it publicly available > for download. Then why not offer it for sale? Not that it's a problem for me as I've just found a copy in the box of 200+ 5 1/2 " disks that I was given by an ex Einstein user last year. > From the same e-mail:- > *|Since the original user group organisers > *|systematically acquired distribution and author > *|rights by purchase and by contract from authors > *|and former publishers on a vast range of Einstein > *|software and then set this up as a commercial > *|operation using EinSoft, Taurus and a range of > *|other labels, and since after buying them out on > *|taking over the user group I systematically > *|acquired author and distribution rights on as many > *|other Einstein titles as I could track the authors > *|and publishers of, it would be far more to the > *|point if you checked the copyright position with > *|me on any software that you wish to put up online > *|before embarking on a wild goose chase after the > *|original authors or publishers. I've heard people make claims like this before. I'm happily believe him but why doesn't he sell the software that we'd be prepared to buy? Come to that how much does he want for the rights to all the software and copies of each. That way the group could buy the commercial rights and distribute the software. If the software is on old floppys and he holds onto it for too long then all he'll have are rights to software that doesn't exist anymore. > >Does anyone know if the PD library of Einstein > software, previously >held by Jim Ellacot, and running > into 250+ packages of software, still >exists. > > I can't recall of hearing of Jim Ellacot but the UKEUG > so called PD library as mentioned in the Einstein > Magazine is, I'm told by the same e-mail sender, > questionable and most of it was and is under his > ownership. It seems to me that writers have sent in > their programs to libraries managed by commercial > companies believing it would be held in freeware > status when it has not. If you look through the old copies of Einstein Monthly there are frequent updates as to the contents of the PD library and many referances to Jim Ellacot at the Einstein user shows spending asll his time making copies of the PD library disks for anyone who wanted them. The Public Domain software was sent to Jim Ellacot (his address is in the magazine) who acted as the guardian of the library. Even if it had been sent to a company, the original author is the one who holds the copyright and by releasing it into the public domain and sending it to Jim they gave him permission to distribute it for them freely. As there is a bulk of evidence of free distribution of all the PD (Public Domaian) software and as people submitted it to the library on the understanding that it was released as public domain there is NO possible way that the rights could have been aquired by a company. It is possible that a few pieces of code made it into the public domain library when the rights were previously owned, but these would be the exception to the majority of software packages (running into more than 344 packages as that is the highest number PD disk I have). I'm prepared to make all of the software I have that is listed as Public Domain, by Einstein Monthly, available for download and will happily challange in court anyone who claims that they have rights stop the distribution of such Public Domain software. I have enough paper evidence that the software was intended for free distribution to refute their claim. > I'm not resoursed to take up legal arguments but my > thoughts are that buying up a company which managed a > freeware i.e. PD described software library that > others volentary sent programs to would be still > freeware i.e. PD within the new company. The physical > holding of the library would not give ownership of > copyright. You're right, it doesn't. He is on dangerous ground by claiming to have rights to software that was released by the authors into the public domain, and could open himself up to a legal case from the original authors, which he would surely lose. The programms sent to the magaziene were different and the original author swould have granted the magazine a non-exclusive license to publish them, but still retain copyright themselves. I can't see any of the writers giving anyone exclusive rights to their programs as they were written to help all mambers of the einstein community. Programs written for the magazine by the employees would obviously remain copyright of the magazine. It's interesting to note that there seems to have been a feude between "B+H computers" and "Einstein magazine" towards the end. With very harsh words being written about B+H by the publishers of Einstein Magazine who basically accused B+H of stealing the subscribers money. I think the publishers of Einstein Magazine were lucky not to get slapped with a law suit. > This is a argument you may take up with the e-mail > sender "A E Adams former secretary of the UK Einstein > User Group and Printer of the Einstein Magazine". I'll happily let you contact the sender to see if he want's to sell the commercial software and rights to it or if he wants to let it fade away to be lost to history. As for the Public Domain software; I'll fight that corner. I have every issue of "Einstein User", "The Brain", "Einstein Monthly". and "Alternative Micro News" which was variously published with different names based on the initials A.M.N. such as "All Micro News" and even "Alien Micro News". This later became the "All Micro Magazine", "Einstein News and All Micro News". There is no mention in any issue of any of these publications of the public domain software being anything other than public domain, and was distributed for the copying costs and never sold. > My position is that with the a copyright status > uncertain I can't make publicly available for download > programs from a website that have been described as > "PD" in the Einstein Magazine. The copyright status is not uncertain. He is the one challenging the status of the Public Domain software, and as such the onus is on him to prove that he owns the copyright. I understand your reluctance to rock the boat, but I'm prepared to host the PD files on my servers. > Geoff wrote:- >Did the archive go the way of most old > software and get "skipped" or >is it safe and sound? > > At the time of corresponding with Tony Adams he said > he didn't have the library disks but had lent it out > to someone else. Where it is now, if it is, I don't > know. Shame. > Members of this group sending each other data and > software is a matter entirely for them selves. For > managing a website and to some degree the yahoo group > I have to give caution to copyright. > > Regards Chris Coxall > Regards, Geoff (with a team of lawyers in the family)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 149	From: geoff	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: 1.6 Mb FDD info

Hi Phill, I now have a second 150rpm drive (allowing high density to be written by the WD177x series disk controllers at 250k) and will send it to you for you to try if you want. I've been reading as much as I can find about DOS mods and will work through things this week, but as yet haven't made any high density disks from the Einey yet. Please let me know if you want the drive sent to you (I'll list the mods made). You can email me from the contacts page. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Sorry it looks like I was wrong about the floppy drive. > Although I was apparently able to format it to 1.6mb, once I > transfered data to it I got a sector not found beyond 780k, which > means that the controller is not able to deal with the additional > density. I havn't repeated this with true 1.44 media yet but if you > format one of these then you get an error unless the hole is covered > ie. it is acting as 790k disk so I expect the same result. > > Anyway if anyone wants to fool around with this themselves then > here's how to do it.The following info applies to Xtal DOS 2.05 only > as I have not had a chance to test it on any other version. > > The Bios has four 16 byte drive parameter tables starting > at location F969 these are used to address four 15 byte drive > definition tables starting at location F9D6.These contain definitions > for 40 track singlesided, 40 track double sided, 80 track single > sided and 80 track double sided drives, in that order. > > Lets take an example where we want to use a larger disk > format on the second floppy drive - Drive 1: > > Go into Mos and do an R 100 1B00. > > Then M 106 and enter 22. This sets up your second drive for 80 track > double sided operation. > > Now modify from location 19DB and enter the following > 1F 3C FE. This sets up your disk size in the drive definition table > to 1.6 mb and 256 directory entries. > > Do a write 100 1B00 and reboot. > > Format a 790k fd or a 1.44 fd (with the hole covered)using backup. > You should now have a disk which appears to be 1.6 mb in size. > > Just a word about where the file allocation table needs > to fit if this did actually work. > > Xtal Dos 2.5 also sets aside 4 allocation tables, one for > each drive The allocation blocks used by each disk are > mapped into Bios RAM when the disks are logged in and are > used to keep track of which parts of the disk have been > written to and the free space remaining. The allocation > blocks are mapped as 1 bit per allocation block ie. 1 bit > represents a block size of 2k. Thus 1 byte maps 16k. > > Xtal Dos 2.5 sets aside 50 of these mapping bytes per > > drive like this: > > DAT0 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 0 > DAT1 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 1 > DAT2 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 2 > DAT3 50 bytes ... Allocation bits Drive 3 > > A quick bit of maths shows that 50 bytes can map 800k of > disk space ie. one 790k drive. For our 1.6mb drive we > need 100 bytes. Since we can't make this space any bigger > without re-compiling XTAL DOS and losing some RAM, we have > to steal the allocation table of another drive. > Obviously these bytes need to be contiguous i.e. the > overlapping tables need to be adjacent to one another. > The following drive configurations are allowable. > > > XTAL DOS 2.05 > Possible drive combinations using a 1.6 Mb FDD > > Comb 1 No of Drives > ------ > Drives up to 790k each ........ 2 > 1.6Mb Drive ........ 1 > > > Comb 2 > ------ > 1.6Mb Drive ........ 2 > > ('Drives' can be either 3 or 3.5 inch) > > Anyway I'd like to hear how anyone else gets on with > this. That's all for now folks. > > Disclaimer > ---------- > Although this information is supplied in good faith - it > is experimental. Anyone making these OS mods does so > entirely at their own risk.I make no guarantee as to the > accuracy of any of this information, nor accept any > liability whatsoever for any resultant data loss or > consequential damage resulting from its use - i.e. in > plain english - if you screw up its entirely down to you > so don't blame me :) > > Happy experimenting & have fun. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 150	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: 1.6Mb Fdd info - erratum

Hi All, Sorry a typo crept in to the last post 1.6Mb Fdd info should read... 'these are used to address four 15 byte drive definition tables starting at location F9A9' ... NOT F9D6 as in the post Apologies, Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 151	From: fil_simmons	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Dear Mike, A few more details are needed to answer your question accurately. Which version of Xtal DOS are you using, how are your drives configured etc?. If you try to format a 1.44 disk without the hole covered you will get a verify error. You will also get one with a any disk that is shonky - damaged surface etc. It will appear to format OK but then fall over on verify. This is different from MSDOS, where, if a sector cannot be formatted it's marked as bad and added to an avoidance list before any verify is made. There are no avoidance lists in CP/M or XTAL DOS so the format just fails at the verify stage. Hope this helps. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "mjbrearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Hi there everyone > I have just joined the group and have had a long interest in the Z80 > processor and just obtained a Tanung Einstein. I am very happy to have > found this group. I notice many of you are trying differant drives and > the problem I have will amuse a lot of you and make you think 'Oh no > not another new starter' but anyway here is my problem: > > I have a few 1.44meg floppy drives and want to use them on my Einstein > but cannot workout why I can't format the 720k disks I have. When I > run the Backup program the format will step through the disk but will > not verify. > Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong. > Thanks a lot > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 152	From: M.Brearley	Date: 19/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Thanks for your reply. I will attempt to answer your questions. The computer shows XtalDOS 1.31 when it boots. I have set the link in the diskdrive to DS3 and when I try to access it as DRIVE 3 it responds. I am using 720k disks so there is no hole anyway. Is there any more infomation I could supply to cast light on this problem. By the way what exactly do you mean by 'how the drives are configured' ? Thanks again Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: fil_simmons To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 3:12 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive Dear Mike, A few more details are needed to answer your question accurately. Which version of Xtal DOS are you using, how are your drives configured etc?. If you try to format a 1.44 disk without the hole covered you will get a verify error. You will also get one with a any disk that is shonky - damaged surface etc. It will appear to format OK but then fall over on verify. This is different from MSDOS, where, if a sector cannot be formatted it's marked as bad and added to an avoidance list before any verify is made. There are no avoidance lists in CP/M or XTAL DOS so the format just fails at the verify stage. Hope this helps. --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "mjbrearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Hi there everyone > I have just joined the group and have had a long interest in the Z80 > processor and just obtained a Tanung Einstein. I am very happy to have > found this group. I notice many of you are trying differant drives and > the problem I have will amuse a lot of you and make you think 'Oh no > not another new starter' but anyway here is my problem: > > I have a few 1.44meg floppy drives and want to use them on my Einstein > but cannot workout why I can't format the 720k disks I have. When I > run the Backup program the format will step through the disk but will > not verify. > Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong. > Thanks a lot > Mike > No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.2/692 - Release Date: 18/02/2007 16:35

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 153	From: geoff	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Hi, First thing to do is try the drive and disk in a PC. Set the jumper to DS1 as the pc would expect, try a 1.44m disk then the 720k one you are using in the einstein. Format the disk and see what happens. If it takes a long time to format this might not be a problem initially but may mean that the disk will be prone to failure fairly soon. I have had disks that I couldn't format in the einstein and then succeeded with in the pc. They then would format in the einstein, I don't know why. If the format of the 720k disk fails then try the 1.44m disk with the density hole covered up. If it fails to format in the pc there then you'll need to make sure the other jumpers are set properly. You'll need to google for the make and model of the drive and the word "jumpers". If you have trouble post the details here. The other possibility is that the density switch that detects the hole in the disk is broken and the drive thinks the disk is high density. This will give you the same verification error as you are getting, as will a bad 720k disk (I have many bad ones). If it then works then try the same drive and disk back in the einstein with the same jumper settings. This will work if you have one internal 3" drive set as 0/A, the pc drive will now show as 1/B. If formatting with "backup.com" fails now then there's a possibility that the drive isn't giving the einstein the right signals on the "density" or "ready" lines. Try another 3 1/2" drive. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "M.Brearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Thanks for your reply. I will attempt to answer your questions. The computer shows XtalDOS 1.31 when it boots. I have set the link in the diskdrive to DS3 and when I try to access it as DRIVE 3 it responds. I am using 720k disks so there is no hole anyway. Is there any more infomation I could supply to cast light on this problem. By the way what exactly do you mean by 'how the drives are configured' ? > Thanks again > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 154	From: fil_simmons	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Hi, Xtal Dos 1.31 won't support larger disk capacities without modification. Although it contains drive parameter tables there is as far as I know only one disk definition table and that is set up for 40 track double sided ie. 190k per side which is what I assume your boot up drive 0: is. I guess you want the 1.44 to be configured as 790k at the moment so you have to tell the operating system what you want(configure) In order to do this you will need Xtal Dos Version 2X, 2.05 is best. There is a link to it on Chris's website - follow the link to Tevor Brownens' images, download it (40 track version) and transfer it to a 720k floppy using one of the PC utilities listed. Place it in your drive 1: and do a backup to drive 0. This will give you a 2.05 Boot disk. You then drop into MOS do a R 100 1B00 , then a M 106 to value 22 (for Drive 1:) , do a W 100 1b00, reboot and you will then have 790k disk support. At the moment Xtal 1.31 should just format your second drive 720k floppies as if they were 40 track disks to 190k so I can't understand why you are getting verify errors unless the medium is faulty. If you get stuck, confused or need more detailed explanations just e- mail me Phil :) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "M.Brearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Thanks for your reply. I will attempt to answer your questions. The computer shows XtalDOS 1.31 when it boots. I have set the link in the diskdrive to DS3 and when I try to access it as DRIVE 3 it responds. I am using 720k disks so there is no hole anyway. Is there any more infomation I could supply to cast light on this problem. By the way what exactly do you mean by 'how the drives are configured' ? > Thanks again > Mike > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: fil_simmons > To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 3:12 PM > Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive > > > > Dear Mike, > > A few more details are needed to answer your question accurately. > Which version of Xtal DOS are you using, how are your drives > configured etc?. If you try to format a 1.44 disk without the hole > covered you will get a verify error. You will also get one with a any > disk that is shonky - damaged surface etc. It will appear to format > OK but then fall over on verify. > This is different from MSDOS, where, if a sector cannot be formatted > it's marked as bad and added to an avoidance list before any verify > is made. There are no avoidance lists in CP/M or XTAL DOS so the > format just fails at the verify stage. > > Hope this helps. > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "mjbrearley" <mike@> > wrote: > > > > Hi there everyone > > I have just joined the group and have had a long interest in the > Z80 > > processor and just obtained a Tanung Einstein. I am very happy to > have > > found this group. I notice many of you are trying differant drives > and > > the problem I have will amuse a lot of you and make you think 'Oh > no > > not another new starter' but anyway here is my problem: > > > > I have a few 1.44meg floppy drives and want to use them on my > Einstein > > but cannot workout why I can't format the 720k disks I have. When I > > run the Backup program the format will step through the disk but > will > > not verify. > > Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong. > > Thanks a lot > > Mike > > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.2/692 - Release Date: 18/02/2007 16:35 >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 155	From: M.Brearley	Date: 20/02/2007
Subject: Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive

Thanks Geoff The drive works fine in a PC with both 1.44m and 720k disks. I have found if I link pins 33 & 34 of the ribbon cable then everything is OK Thanks Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 10:35 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Usina a 3.5" floppy drive Hi, First thing to do is try the drive and disk in a PC. Set the jumper to DS1 as the pc would expect, try a 1.44m disk then the 720k one you are using in the einstein. Format the disk and see what happens. If it takes a long time to format this might not be a problem initially but may mean that the disk will be prone to failure fairly soon. I have had disks that I couldn't format in the einstein and then succeeded with in the pc. They then would format in the einstein, I don't know why. If the format of the 720k disk fails then try the 1.44m disk with the density hole covered up. If it fails to format in the pc there then you'll need to make sure the other jumpers are set properly. You'll need to google for the make and model of the drive and the word "jumpers". If you have trouble post the details here. The other possibility is that the density switch that detects the hole in the disk is broken and the drive thinks the disk is high density. This will give you the same verification error as you are getting, as will a bad 720k disk (I have many bad ones). If it then works then try the same drive and disk back in the einstein with the same jumper settings. This will work if you have one internal 3" drive set as 0/A, the pc drive will now show as 1/B. If formatting with "backup.com" fails now then there's a possibility that the drive isn't giving the einstein the right signals on the "density" or "ready" lines. Try another 3 1/2" drive. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "M.Brearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Thanks for your reply. I will attempt to answer your questions. The computer shows XtalDOS 1.31 when it boots. I have set the link in the diskdrive to DS3 and when I try to access it as DRIVE 3 it responds. I am using 720k disks so there is no hole anyway. Is there any more infomation I could supply to cast light on this problem. By the way what exactly do you mean by 'how the drives are configured' ? > Thanks again > Mike > No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.441 / Virus Database: 268.18.3/693 - Release Date: 19/02/2007 17:01

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 156	From: geoff	Date: 21/02/2007
Subject: Re: Using a 3.5" floppy drive

Hi, I was just about to suggest something similar (but using a couple of NAND gates and a D type flip flop?!?) after I discovered that there is on ommission in the technical specs for the einstein and I found I had a similar problem that I realised was due to singaling. More boring details follow. ---- WARNING - Most of what is written here was done so at about 3 in the morning and added to in a hurry this evening, I reserve the right to wrong about any or all points below. ---- There is an error in the "An Introduction to; Tatung Einstien" which came to light last night (at about 2:45am) when I was having trouble getting my 150rpm 3 1/2" drive to format a 1.44M floppy without covering the density hole in the disk. I was getting the same error, in that the drive would seem to format but not verify. The drive was jumpered as it would have been for a pc and relates to pin34. I had not concerned myself with this as the Einstein manual states on page 222 that pin34 in not connected. This is WRONG. Pin34 *is* used as the ready signal in the Einstein and that's where the problem starts. The pc drives use pin34 for "ready" and "disk change" signals. <SPECULATION>There seems to be a difference between the way that a pc drive sends signels on pin34. This isn't normally a problem with a 720k disk but is nearly always with a 1.44M floppy as the line isn't held with a ready signal for long enough.</SPECULATION> Tying pin34 to pin33 (ground) in a permanent ready state works, so I won't try to make it complicated by trying to produce a correct ready signal (but I may post pictures of the prototype to amuse you). There are some floppy drives that can be configured to work correctly with the right ready signal being sent to pin34. You'll gave to make sure that your drives are jumpered across the RDY pins and not the DC pins. I have now formatted a 1.44M disk in the 150rpm drive and it verifies correctly. It still only has 720k of formatted space (and LOTS of blank space on each track). I'll try some drive definition Mods later. I'll also have to re-write the Format command (in the backup.com utility) to create sectors 0-39 on each track. Then modify the DOS to accept that there are twice as many sectors. That should be fun. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "M.Brearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Thanks Geoff > The drive works fine in a PC with both 1.44m and 720k disks. I have found if I link pins 33 & 34 of the ribbon cable then everything is OK > Thanks > Mike > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 157	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/02/2007
Subject: 1.44mb drives again

Hi All,   First let me welcome Mike as a new member to the group.   His first post on the subject of 3.5 floppy drives has resulted in posts from others which seems to show everyone has their own method to format 3.5 floppies.   For the website visitors I want to find one reliable trusted way to format and use 3.5" floppies with the Einstein. Preferable with 1.44mb floppies in 1.44mb HD drives as these are currently in production.   As mentioned in previous posts I'm using 3.5 floppies quite happily on my Einstein but can't recall which ones were formatted in the Einstein, with CPDWrite or CPCdiskXP. I can't remember why on some 1.44nb floppies I blocked up the hole for DD density switching and for others I didn't. I've bought a new 10 pack 3.5 HD floppies just for testing purposes but first I want look at the experiences of others.   Geoff wrote: "I have had disks that I couldn't format in the einstein and then succeeded with in the pc. They then would format in the einstein, I don't know why. If the format of the 720k disk fails then try the 1.44m disk with the density hole covered up."   That has also been my experience. I also found that for a floppy that wouldn't format in my Einstein, CPDWrite in a 486 would write successfully a disk image to it that could be used in the Einstein.   Jose has 3.5 1.44mb HD drive working on his Einstein (in the best home built casing I've seen-thanks for the photos Jose) and says he successfully uses CPCdiskXP in a PC to create working Einstein floppies.   Mike now reports: The drive works fine in a PC with both 1.44m and 720k disks. I have found if I link pins 33 & 34 of the ribbon cable then everything is OK   Mike doesn't say if he blocked up the density hole for 1.44mb HD floppies.   I think mike has found something I haven't considered. From the Einstein manual we can see line 33 and 34 (drive ready for a standard Shugart pinout) are not used and not connected for the Einstein's FDC. Connecting lines 33 and 34 must then make changes only at the floppy drive end. From a reference to floppy drives I made some time ago "Later 3 1/2" drives and MS DOS use line 34 for disk change instead of drive ready"   Using CPDWrite and CPCdiskXP to create Einstein floppies could mean that line 34 is used by the PC's floppy disk controller.   At one time before I had a PC I made up box holding 3", 3.5" HD and a 5 1\4" floppy drives all set to drive 0/A. There was also a data switch box to switch any of the thee drives to be drive 0\A. I also shared this box with an amstrad CPC and a Spectrum+3.   From my notes at the time: Re. Bent Pin-a connection that pulled lines 34 and 33 together. Note: the bent pin connector on the 3.5" Mitsubishi MF 355c-18UC drive was needed for the Spectrum+3 and Amsrad CPC 6128 to avoid "Drive not ready " error, with the Einstein TC01 this is not required. It can be used or not used with the Einstein.   At that time didn't remove the pin for use on the Einstein and I can't recall any problems then formatting disks.   The present problem seems to be specifically to formatting a floppy with the Einstein but not with reading or writing to an already formatted disk.   I'm guessing here but as I understand it the Einstein's FDC uses a raw write feature to format disks. Although the standard Shugart line 34 is an output from the drive to the FDC there maybe some switching on the modern 1.44mb drive operated needed to enable raw write. Pulling line 34 to 33 might just be doing that.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 158	From: chriscoxall	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.

Hi Geoff,   Just checked out an old Einey TC01 mother board with a continuity checker. Floppy disk ports external and internal pin 34 does not connect into the Einstein. The same for pin 2 and 4.   Pulling lines 33 and 34 must back feed in some way and tweak a 1.44mb drive to allow verify.   The mystery goes on.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 159	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Re: Using a 3.5" floppy drive Motherboard check.

Hi Geoff,   Just checked out an old Einey TC01 mother board with a continuity checker. Floppy disk ports external and internal pin 34 does not connect into the Einstein. The same for pin 2 and 4.   Pulling lines 33 and 34 must back feed in some way and tweak a 1.44mb drive to allow verify.   The mystery goes on.   Regards Chris Coxall ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 6:34 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Using a 3.5" floppy drive Hi, I was just about to suggest something similar (but using a couple of NAND gates and a D type flip flop?!?) after I discovered that there is on ommission in the technical specs for the einstein and I found I had a similar problem that I realised was due to singaling. More boring details follow. ---- WARNING - Most of what is written here was done so at about 3 in the morning and added to in a hurry this evening, I reserve the right to wrong about any or all points below. ---- There is an error in the "An Introduction to; Tatung Einstien" which came to light last night (at about 2:45am) when I was having trouble getting my 150rpm 3 1/2" drive to format a 1.44M floppy without covering the density hole in the disk. I was getting the same error, in that the drive would seem to format but not verify. The drive was jumpered as it would have been for a pc and relates to pin34. I had not concerned myself with this as the Einstein manual states on page 222 that pin34 in not connected. This is WRONG. Pin34 *is* used as the ready signal in the Einstein and that's where the problem starts. The pc drives use pin34 for "ready" and "disk change" signals. <SPECULATION> There seems to be a difference between the way that a pc drive sends signels on pin34. This isn't normally a problem with a 720k disk but is nearly always with a 1.44M floppy as the line isn't held with a ready signal for long enough.</SPECULATIO N> Tying pin34 to pin33 (ground) in a permanent ready state works, so I won't try to make it complicated by trying to produce a correct ready signal (but I may post pictures of the prototype to amuse you). There are some floppy drives that can be configured to work correctly with the right ready signal being sent to pin34. You'll gave to make sure that your drives are jumpered across the RDY pins and not the DC pins. I have now formatted a 1.44M disk in the 150rpm drive and it verifies correctly. It still only has 720k of formatted space (and LOTS of blank space on each track). I'll try some drive definition Mods later. I'll also have to re-write the Format command (in the backup.com utility) to create sectors 0-39 on each track. Then modify the DOS to accept that there are twice as many sectors. That should be fun. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "M.Brearley" <mike@...> wrote: > > Thanks Geoff > The drive works fine in a PC with both 1.44m and 720k disks. I have found if I link pins 33 & 34 of the ribbon cable then everything is OK > Thanks > Mike > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 160	From: geoff	Date: 22/02/2007
Subject: Re: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.

Hi Chris, I stand corrected. I was beginning to doubt that too. I've tested several drives and found that it makes no difference to any that I have if pin 34 is shorted to ground, but than all mine will format 720k discs with the hole covered. I can't see how jumpering a drive to signal "ready" and/or "disc change" on pin34 (is pulling pin34 to ground) makes a difference to the drive itself but it does seem to. I have been unable to discover any information online about signaling that adds to that at I have found that a couple of drives I have seem to have intermittent problems in the pc and einstein (both 3 and 3 1/2"). I have now narrowed my selection of drives down to those that work reliably, and haven't had any problems formatting both DD, and HD discs with the holes covered. MOre news on my 1.6M floppy to follow... Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "chriscoxall" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff, > > Just checked out an old Einey TC01 mother board > with a continuity checker. Floppy disk ports > external and internal pin 34 does not connect into > the Einstein. The same for pin 2 and 4. > > Pulling lines 33 and 34 must back feed in some way > and tweak a 1.44mb drive to allow verify. > > The mystery goes on. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 161	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 23/02/2007
Subject: Re: Line 34 not connected on motherboard.

Hi Geoff Thanks for your efforts - I think any findings on this subject need repeated experiments with a cross section of manufacturers and eras - I'll be suprised if you can find a pattern to it. Bob On 2/22/07, geoff <geoff> wrote: Hi Chris, I stand corrected. I was beginning to doubt that too. I've tested several drives and found that it makes no difference to any that I have if pin 34 is shorted to ground, but than all mine will format 720k discs with the hole covered. I can't see how jumpering a drive to signal "ready" and/or "disc change" on pin34 (is pulling pin34 to ground) makes a difference to the drive itself but it does seem to. I have been unable to discover any information online about signaling that adds to that at I have found that a couple of drives I have seem to have intermittent problems in the pc and einstein (both 3 and 3 1/2"). I have now narrowed my selection of drives down to those that work reliably, and haven't had any problems formatting both DD, and HD discs with the holes covered. MOre news on my 1.6M floppy to follow... Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "chriscoxall" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff, > > Just checked out an old Einey TC01 mother board > with a continuity checker. Floppy disk ports > external and internal pin 34 does not connect into > the Einstein. The same for pin 2 and 4. > > Pulling lines 33 and 34 must back feed in some way > and tweak a 1.44mb drive to allow verify. > > The mystery goes on. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 162	From: jltursan	Date: 23/02/2007
Subject: FDD emulator & DIY IDE interface

Here's another FDD emulator like the old SVD. It seems a bit more sophisticated and it comes with the circuit diagrams, VHDL code, etc. It's mainly oriented to 16 bits machines; but maybe could be useful to keep it as reserve :) http://jeanfrancoisdelnero.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html And for the techie guys, here comes a MSX project, a DIY HDD IDE interface capable of manage until 5 drives: http://www.msxarchive.nl/pub/msx/mirrors/hanso/hwdoityourself/IDE.zip An article explaining how the interface works: http://www.pjrc.com/tech/8051/ide/wesley.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 163	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Port addresses

Hi all, Chris posed a question awhile ago about which port addresses might be free so as not to interfere with existing ones. Addresses 4dh and above are available. So 50h would seem a convenient place to start. The only questions remaining about this are what port addresses the original SCSII HDD controller and the silicon disk used - since no one has any of these any more that we know of or documentation on the port addresses they used then this probably doesn't matter. It appears that the pipe itself does not have a specific port address since it is a an extension of the Z80 bus so any device hanging off it should be selectable by latching the addresses of whatever controller is used for it. My question for electronically minded people is this - how do you fix a controller to a given port address? Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 164	From: geoff	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re: Port addresses

Phil, (I'll get that drive in the post to you soon, it had some head alignment problems) If you have a list of used ports that you could post that would be great. To attach a device to a port you simply need to make sure it is only active when the correct address is on the bus along with either the RD or WR (Read or Write) lines and the IOREQ (Input/Output Request) line. If you want to read from a device on port 50h then you would need to get it to put information on the data lines only when the following are true; RD=0 (active low) IOREQ=0 (active low) a0=0 a1=0 a2=0 a3=0 a4=1 a5=0 a6=1 a7=0 So, it would respond when an "Input/Output Request" was made to "Read" from port 0101000b (50h). this can be achieved by using some AND and NOT gates so the device is active and sends data when; NOT(RD and IOREQ and a0 and a1 and a2 and a3 and a5 and a7) and AND(a4 and a5) this is using full decoding of the 8 lower bits of the address line, and ensures that the device only responds to requests to port=50h. If you were being lazy or knew that no other devices used an address above port 80h you can simplify the logic and just check for address line 7 being high (if you remember your binary bit 7=128=80h). The logic would be; AND(A7 and (NOT(RD or IOREQ)) this is partial decoding (and would also hold true for address 81h, 82h..FFh etc. as it doesn't check that the other bits are low are low.) but if no ports above 80h are used it's okay. It then just needs one AND gate and one NOR (Not OR) gate. The output of this logic is what signals your device to be active, and output it's data to the data lines. reading the data on port 80h is now as simple in BASIC as; LET A=INP(&80) simple, Let 'A' equal the input from port 80h. Once the port is read the address and data lines are available for everything else again. Obviously reading a stream of data is an extension of this, possibly using the WAIT, BUSREQ, INT lines depending on the device. Th esequence woul dprobably be to write some data to the port, ie. a request for data from a certain area of storage, then receiving a stream of data back. Some specific devises, like IDE hard drives / compact flash cards, expect requests in a specific form and will return formatted data that needs to be processed, there are also other shortcuts that can be used on complicated devices, like letting them recieve data on several ports, this can reduce the onboard logic used and replace it with different port requests. this is just, of course, a basic overview. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > Chris posed a question awhile ago about which port addresses might > be free so as not to interfere with existing ones. > Addresses 4dh and above are available. So 50h would seem a convenient > place to start. The only questions remaining about this are what port > addresses the original SCSII HDD controller and the silicon disk used > - since no one has any of these any more that we know of or > documentation on the port addresses they used then this probably > doesn't matter. > It appears that the pipe itself does not have a specific port > address since it is a an extension of the Z80 bus so any device > hanging off it should be selectable by latching the addresses of > whatever controller is used for it. My question for electronically > minded people is this - how do you fix a controller to a given port > address? > > Phil :) >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 165	From: geoff	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re: Port addresses

Phil, (I'll get that drive in the post to you soon, it had some head alignment problems) If you have a list of used ports that you could post that would be great. To attach a device to a port you simply need to make sure it is only active when the correct address is on the bus along with either the RD or WR (Read or Write) lines and the IOREQ (Input/Output Request) line. If you want to read from a device on port 50h then you would need to get it to put information on the data lines only when the following are true; RD=0 (active low) IOREQ=0 (active low) a0=0 a1=0 a2=0 a3=0 a4=1 a5=0 a6=1 a7=0 So, it would respond when an "Input/Output Request" was made to "Read" from port 0101000b (50h). this can be achieved by using some AND and NOT gates so the device is active and sends data when; NOT(RD and IOREQ and a0 and a1 and a2 and a3 and a5 and a7) and AND(a4 and a5) this is using full decoding of the 8 lower bits of the address line, and ensures that the device only responds to requests to port=50h. If you were being lazy or knew that no other devices used an address above port 80h you can simplify the logic and just check for address line 7 being high (if you remember your binary bit 7=128=80h). The logic would be; AND(A7 and (NOT(RD or IOREQ)) this is partial decoding (and would also hold true for address 81h, 82h..FFh etc. as it doesn't check that the other bits are low are low.) but if no ports above 80h are used it's okay. It then just needs one AND gate and one NOR (Not OR) gate. The output of this logic is what signals your device to be active, and output it's data to the data lines. reading the data on port 80h is now as simple in BASIC as; LET A=INP(&80) simple, Let 'A' equal the input from port 80h. Once the port is read the address and data lines are available for everything else again. Obviously reading a stream of data is an extension of this, possibly using the WAIT, BUSREQ, INT lines depending on the device. Th esequence woul dprobably be to write some data to the port, ie. a request for data from a certain area of storage, then receiving a stream of data back. Some specific devises, like IDE hard drives / compact flash cards, expect requests in a specific form and will return formatted data that needs to be processed, there are also other shortcuts that can be used on complicated devices, like letting them recieve data on several ports, this can reduce the onboard logic used and replace it with different port requests. this is just, of course, a basic overview. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > Chris posed a question awhile ago about which port addresses might > be free so as not to interfere with existing ones. > Addresses 4dh and above are available. So 50h would seem a convenient > place to start. The only questions remaining about this are what port > addresses the original SCSII HDD controller and the silicon disk used > - since no one has any of these any more that we know of or > documentation on the port addresses they used then this probably > doesn't matter. > It appears that the pipe itself does not have a specific port > address since it is a an extension of the Z80 bus so any device > hanging off it should be selectable by latching the addresses of > whatever controller is used for it. My question for electronically > minded people is this - how do you fix a controller to a given port > address? > > Phil :) >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 166	From: fil_simmons	Date: 28/02/2007
Subject: Re Port Addresses

Hi All, Thanks Geoff for explaining that mystery to me. Somewhere I have a book on digital logic - have to blow the dust off it and sketch out some circuits to get it into my head. Port list - good idea - I've been meaning to do a port list for some time and also a Bios scratch pad list as an addition to the MOS calls- I'll get this together in the next few days. Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 167	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 01/03/2007
Subject: Einey I/O ports.

Hi All,   Thanks Phil for the information on free Einey ports. Also the additional information from Geoff's response.   At the moment I'm downloading all I can regarding Compactflash technical information. A lot of technical sheet detail. Working out which data on a need to know basis is needed for simple fitting and programing isn't easy. I'm going to use Koring's interface from the ZX mag as this gives a start also the article gives some simple basic programing to access it in a limited way. To read and write to all sectors of its capacity I will work out later. If I'm getting the gist of it right there are 256 sectors of 512 bytes that can be accessed then 256 off sets to other 256 sectors to read and write to. This is said to have a potential capacity to 8gb. How they work that out I don't know?   I've always wanted make addon hardware builds to the Tatung Pipe but kept putting it off. It all looked a bit too messy and hit and miss. Soldering up a circuit then unsoldering components mistakenly placed or wired up wrong.   Now I've made a start I can see it doesn't have to be like that. I've made up a just over a metre of 60 line ribbon cable with an IDC connectors at each end. One end plugs into the tatung pipe (or in my case the 80 column card pass through extension). At the other end I found if I set the IDC connector upright so its sockets are facing upwards it will aline itself along side solder less breadboards. Making up a neat experimental prototype board for pipe shouldn't be difficult.   Up to a day or two ago I had my external Einey floppy drives housed in an old PC AT tower case making use of its power supply. I will return the external drives to a PC case again but to a desk top. Einey can sit on top of this, also in place of an absent PC motherboard I can place tatung pipe addon circuits.   In the mean time I've fitted a single external 1.44mb 3.5 drive without jumpers for testing formatting.   So far I've found the Xtal backup.com format command will format and verify 1.44mb floppy with the density hole covered. The 34 & 33 lines have been pulled together.   I'm putting together a check list cover all events of Einstein format 1.44mb floppies. Tests will include loading in either Xtal's or BBC basic and running to verify full working order.   Tests to do so far thought of:   See if format and verify of a 1.44mb floppy will work without the hole covered.   See if an Einstein floppy can be made by CPDWrite with a 1.44mb HD floppy without the density hole covered.   See if an Einstein floppy can be made by CPDWrite with a 1.44mb HD floppy with the density hole covered.   See if an Einstein floppy can be made by CPCdiskXP with a 1.44mb HD floppy without the density hole covered.   See if an Einstein floppy can be made by CPCdiskXP with a 1.44mb HD floppy with the density hole covered.   The CPM+ package for Einey holds an Eform.com file for formatting selected drives to selected single side, double side and different track numbers. Check this program for formatting 1.44mb HD drives.   See if all the work with 34 & 33 lines pulled together.   See if all the work without 34 & 33 lines pulled together.   Once I get a check list that looks fairly comprehensive I will start using new HD floppies and keep a written record.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 168	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 01/03/2007
Subject: some links

Hi All,   These two links maybe of interest to Einey development.   'This page is dedicated to hardware, operating systems and programming tools of 8bit computers. Here are also described other things that could be useful with 8bit computers (like IDE harddisks or ISA cards and motherboards). http://8bit.yarek.pl/index.html'   'The ZX-Spectrum ZXMMC Interface's page http://www.zxbada.bbk.org/zxmmc/index.htm '   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 169	From: geoff	Date: 04/03/2007
Subject: Compacf Flash Adaptor

HI, I've know built a working Compact Flash adaptor and will post details as soon as it's fully tested. I'm having problems with the einstein ports though. If I load BASIC and use the "INP" command I'm getting data when it shouldn't be there. For example; PRINT INP(&FF) Should try to get input from port 255 and as there is nothing connected should return a result of 0 but instead gives 121. if I try on another machine with an 80 column card I get 120. This hapans on all ports that don't have anything connected. It is also affecting the data when something is connected. If I try to send a command to my compact flash card to send me it's configuration data it does send data but it's corrupted. It seems to be the 121 that is present on the data bus that is causing the problem. I can read different information from different cards so I know the address and data lines to the card are okay I just can't work around the corruption. Does anyone have any ideas why? Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 170	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > HI, > > I've know built a working Compact Flash adaptor and will post details > as soon as it's fully tested. > > I'm having problems with the einstein ports though. If I load BASIC > and use the "INP" command I'm getting data when it shouldn't be there. > For example; > > PRINT INP(&FF) > > Should try to get input from port 255 and as there is nothing > connected should return a result of 0 but instead gives 121. if I try > on another machine with an 80 column card I get 120. This hapans on > all ports that don't have anything connected. It is also affecting the > data when something is connected. > > If I try to send a command to my compact flash card to send me it's > configuration data it does send data but it's corrupted. It seems to > be the 121 that is present on the data bus that is causing the > problem. I can read different information from different cards so I > know the address and data lines to the card are okay I just can't work > around the corruption. > > Does anyone have any ideas why? > > Geoff > Hi Geoff - just a couple of thoughts on your problem Which Basic are you refering to? Maybe Basic is 'normalising' the port addresses into bit fields. Have you tried using straight ASM ? In/Out? As I said, according to the info I got from Albert Revealed anything above 4Ch (76 decimal) should be OK. Try masking the signals by ANDing with 121 dec If you are using memory below 8000h you may be inadvertently paging in MOS and then I don't know what will happen ! :) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 171	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Hi Phil, Basic was X5 runing under on MOS IF I use MOS and write to the port with 3E EC (LDA ECh) D3 80 (OUT 87H) to tell the card to output it's configuration information (ie send command ECh to port &87 where the card's command port is listening) Then read from the port with DB 80 (IN 80h) repeatedly to read from port 80h there the data in/out port is I get a strean of data as expected but this time I only seem to get figures above 80 and below 16. This seems to mean that when using basic to read the port that bits 3,4,5 and 6 are always 1 and when using MOS bits 3,4,5,and 6 are always 0 confused... > Hi Geoff - just a couple of thoughts on your problem > > Which Basic are you refering to? > Maybe Basic is 'normalising' the port addresses into bit fields. > Have you tried using straight ASM ? In/Out? > > As I said, according to the info I got from Albert Revealed > anything above 4Ch (76 decimal) should be OK. > Try masking the signals by ANDing with 121 dec > > If you are using memory below 8000h you may be inadvertently paging > in MOS and then I don't know what will happen ! > > :) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 172	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Hi Geoff, Ok it looks like we have a MOS effect here. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Xtal does some alteration of port addresses. This is what I suggest. Do some vanilla Z80 assembler access to the ports and locate your code above 8000h in memory. This should give you a true picture of what is going on. Any attempt to run code below 8000h will automatically page in MOS. :) Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Phil, > > Basic was X5 runing under > on MOS > > IF I use MOS and write to the port with > > 3E EC (LDA ECh) > D3 80 (OUT 87H) > > to tell the card to output it's configuration information (ie send > command ECh to port &87 where the card's command port is listening) > > Then read from the port with > > DB 80 (IN 80h) > > repeatedly to read from port 80h there the data in/out port is I get a > strean of data as expected but this time I only seem to get figures > above 80 and below 16. > > This seems to mean that when using basic to read the port that bits > 3,4,5 and 6 are always 1 > and when using MOS bits 3,4,5,and 6 are always 0 > > confused... > > > > > Hi Geoff - just a couple of thoughts on your problem > > > > Which Basic are you refering to? > > Maybe Basic is 'normalising' the port addresses into bit fields. > > Have you tried using straight ASM ? In/Out? > > > > As I said, according to the info I got from Albert Revealed > > anything above 4Ch (76 decimal) should be OK. > > Try masking the signals by ANDing with 121 dec > > > > If you are using memory below 8000h you may be inadvertently paging > > in MOS and then I don't know what will happen ! > > > > :) Phil > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 173	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Sorry that should have said; "Basic running under XtalDOS 2.05. on MOS 1.21" > Hi Phil, > > Basic was X5 runing under > on MOS >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 174	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Okay, back to basics. Power on. MOS 1.21 type; "M 8100 DB 40 ." to enter the command 'IN A (40h)' into memory location 8200h. type "G 8200" to execute the command and display the contents of the registers. Damn! Why is it showing the contents of register A as 41h? Surely it should be 00h as there is nothing on that port!? :( Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > > Hi Geoff, > > Ok it looks like we have a MOS effect here. > I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Xtal does some alteration of > port addresses. This is what I suggest. > Do some vanilla Z80 assembler access to the ports and locate your > code above 8000h in memory. This should give you a true picture of > what is going on. Any attempt to run code below 8000h will > automatically page in MOS. > > :) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 175	From: fil_simmons	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > Uh? All port addresses below 4Dh are used! So 40 ain't gonna work since its an 80 column card video control port. I should imagine that this is reserved by MOS/BIOA even if the thing isn't connected. Your CF adaptor should be port 50h or above. :) Phil > Okay, back to basics. > > Power on. > MOS 1.21 > > type; > "M 8100 > DB > 40 > ." > > to enter the command 'IN A (40h)' into memory location 8200h. > > type > "G 8200" > > to execute the command and display the contents of the registers. > > Damn! Why is it showing the contents of register A as 41h? Surely it > should be 00h as there is nothing on that port!? > > :( Geoff > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" > <phil_simmons@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi Geoff, > > > > Ok it looks like we have a MOS effect here. > > I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Xtal does some alteration of > > port addresses. This is what I suggest. > > Do some vanilla Z80 assembler access to the ports and locate your > > code above 8000h in memory. This should give you a true picture of > > what is going on. Any attempt to run code below 8000h will > > automatically page in MOS. > > > > :) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 176	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Hi, sorry for causing confusion. I've got no 80 column card on that Einstein :) On an unexpanded Einstein only ports up to 38h are used. 40h was just an example. I get a response of 51h when grabbing data from port 50h and 88h when grabbing data from port 80h. My compact flash card is configured for ports 80h through to 87h. Looking at Alternative Micro News 1/5 page 3 - the interface project uses ports 40h, 50h, 60h, 70h, so port 40h should be okay without the 80 column card. Even if port 40h was reserved for 80 column card I should still be able to read/write it. The other ports aren't protected (even if they should be, try reading port &24 from basic 5.05) Here's a BASIC port scan (avoiding getting input from port &24 and presenting the results in binary so you can see the bits that always show as 1 or 0) 0 FOR A=0 TO &FF 10 PRINT A;"-"; 20 IF A=&24 THEN NEXT 30 PRINT BIN$(INP(A),8) 40 NEXT WARNING - This program will probably lock up Basic because some of the ports don't like being read, save it before you run it :) Regards, Geoff > > Uh? All port addresses below 4Dh are used! So 40 ain't gonna work > since its an 80 column card video control port. I should imagine that > this is reserved by MOS/BIOA even if the thing isn't connected. > Your CF adaptor should be port 50h or above. > > :) Phil > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 177	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Testing Einey Ports.

Hi GEOFF,   I haven't made a start at wiring up a CF yet so I can't share any hands on experience.   Testing Einey Ports.   To test I used Xbas on my Einey with just 80 column card attached. PRINT INP(&FF) prints 120 so do other non used ports. I used bbcbasic N=GET(&FF):PRINT N and this prints out the value 104 &68 so do other non used ports.   The machine code by bbcbasic assembly below just echoes the port number for an unused port.    10 BEGIN=&9000    20 CODE=&9000    25 P%=CODE    30 [OPT 1    40 .BEGIN IN A,(&EF);    50 RST &08    60 DEFB &AA    70 RET    80 ]    90 PRINT"DONE"   100 CALL &9000   I think this must be some kind of programing default used for unused ports.   *|I can read different information from different *|cards so I *|know the address and data lines to *|the card are okay I just can't work *|around the *|corruption.   I'm here at a loss with understanding the CF tech info. Some make reference to heads and some make reference to cards within the Compactflash. When you say "I can read different information from different cards" do you mean cards\head within a Compactflash or another compact flash?   Some idea of the way your CF is wired up would help. There are three different modes for using a CF memory mapped, true ATA mode and I/O mode with 4 different settings. Some of the CF info I have which give programming are for specific projects on other systems. Its not clear to which mode the programming is used for. It all adds to more confusion. The ZX mag CF interface and programming gives a simple start specifically for Z80 memory mapped mode but this is of limited help. I can see its going to be a long trial and error process to make sense of the CF info technical jargon.       I hope soon to have a CF wired up on Einey.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 178	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compacf Flash Adaptor

Back to basics II I've just put a logic probe on the data lines of the pipe and guess what; there's no data visable on D6, D5, and D4! This port is a direct connection to the data bus so there should be data but there isn't. ...screwdriver time...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 179	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Re: Testing Einey Ports.

Hi Chris, Thanks for the program. I love bbc basic for it's assembler in program feature. The information you've posted about "120" confirms my tests with an 80 column card attached on another Einstein. I just thought that the 121 I was getting was because of the first Einstein not having the 80col. However it turns out that there is a problem with the pipe connections on the machine with the CF card attached. There are 3 dead data pins on the pipe. I've just taken the board out and there they are. d4, d5, d6 all bad. I'll connect some fly leads later to fix it, then once I've read data from teh CF card in a format I can confirm I'll post details of the wiring and interface (It involves 1 ic to give a card select signal at the right time, very easy.) Geoff > > Hi GEOFF, > > I haven't made a start at wiring up a CF yet so I > can't share any hands on experience. > > Testing Einey Ports. > > To test I used Xbas on my Einey with just 80 > column card attached. PRINT INP(&FF) prints 120 so > do other non used ports. I used bbcbasic > N=GET(&FF):PRINT N and this prints out the value > 104 &68 so do other non used ports. > > The machine code by bbcbasic assembly below just > echoes the port number for an unused port. > > 10 BEGIN=&9000 > 20 CODE=&9000 > 25 P%=CODE > 30 [OPT 1 > 40 .BEGIN IN A,(&EF); > 50 RST &08 > 60 DEFB &AA > 70 RET > 80 ] > 90 PRINT"DONE" > 100 CALL &9000 > > I think this must be some kind of programing > default used for unused ports. > > *|I can read different information from different > *|cards so I > *|know the address and data lines to > *|the card are okay I just can't work > *|around the > *|corruption. > > I'm here at a loss with understanding the CF tech > info. Some make reference to heads and some make > reference to cards within the Compactflash. When > you say "I can read different information from > different cards" do you mean cards\head within a > Compactflash or another compact flash? > > Some idea of the way your CF is wired up would > help. There are three different modes for using a > CF memory mapped, true ATA mode and I/O mode with > 4 different settings. Some of the CF info I have > which give programming are for specific projects > on other systems. Its not clear to which mode the > programming is used for. It all adds to more > confusion. The ZX mag CF interface and programming > gives a simple start specifically for Z80 memory > mapped mode but this is of limited help. I can see > its going to be a long trial and error process to > make sense of the CF info technical jargon. > > > > I hope soon to have a CF wired up on Einey. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 180	From: geoff	Date: 05/03/2007
Subject: Compact Flash Success

Hi, I now have a working Compact Flash adaptor and a working program to read the Manufacturer's name, size of card, etc. My mistake was to assume that the Einstein's pipe was working. I've re-wired the broken tracks and all is successful. I've also made tests on an Einstein *with* 80 column card and no conflicts. The interface I've made does not do full address decoding for simplicity. but could be made to do so if it is found that anyone has an interface that uses ports &80 to &87 (or &90 to &97, &A0 to &A7 etc... as the card shows up as being mirrored to these ports too) I'll post a full schematic and some pictures of my prototype later. Thanks to Phil and Chris for their help and suggestions. Now we can work on the software to read and write a file structure with :) Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 181	From: geoff	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: Re: Compact Flash Success

Pictures online now. Schematic to follow... Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 182	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: CF Interface

Hi All, Congratulations to Geoff for a fantastic job and a new milestone for the Einey. Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 183	From: fil_simmons	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: CF Interface

Geoff, can you please mail me some stuff on reading/writing to the interface thanx Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 184	From: jltursan	Date: 06/03/2007
Subject: Re: CF Interface

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Congratulations to Geoff for a fantastic job and a new milestone for > the Einey. > > Phil :) > Indeed it's great news!. As I've told before I'm not very good at soldering; but this time I'll try to do my best!. I'm still trying to learn about the Einstein architecture; but maybe I could help with some software...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 185	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /CFpcb-mockup.png Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : Graphic of the CF adaptor layout, not to scale, for reference only. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/CFpcb-mockup.png To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 186	From: geoff	Date: 08/03/2007
Subject: Compact Flash Update

Hardware all seems okay. I'm working on putting together a bundle of information about accessing the card but it's taking time as I'm getting conflicting information from different sources and need to filter out the correct info. I've also put together a list of pinouts and their purpose (now on it's third revision) for this implimentation. The card is running in PC memory mode and the base address is mapped to port &80. The task file is mapped to base + &00 to &0F but only registers &00 to &07 are used (that's why only address lines A0, A1 and A2 are connected and not A3) this will all make sense later (once my head has stopped hurting from reading the compactflash.org's 195 page spec sheet.). regards, Geoff (º_º)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 187	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/03/2007
Subject: Thanks To Geoff

Hi All,   Lets all thank Geoff for a working schematic for fitting a Compactflash.   He wrote in his last post:- this will all make >sense later (once my head has stopped hurting >from reading the compactflash.org's 195 page spec >sheet.).   I know what he means. CF spec sheets give so much information and present different options for configuring the card it becomes confusing.   This web site for interfacing to a PIC ic is not ideal but it does give info for 8bit common memory mode in way not too difficult to follow. http://archive.chipcenter.com/circuitcellar/february01/c0201ms1.htm   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 188	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /cf to einstein pinouts.pdf Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : List of pinouts and how to connect the CF to the 60 way pipe (with explanation ot the IC used for signal logic) You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/cf%20to%20einstein%20pinouts.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 189	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Compact Flash/cf to einstein pinouts.pdf Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : CF to pipe pinout You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/cf%20to%20einstein%20pinouts.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 190	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Compact Flash/Compact Flash Accrss Guide.pdf Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : how to read data from the compact flash card You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/Compact%20Flash%20Accrss%20Guide.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 191	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Compact Flash/Compact Flash Accrss Guide v2.pdf Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : Geoff 's Compact Flash Access guide (v2) for the Tatung Einstein interface You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/Compact%20Flash%20Accrss%20Guide%20v2.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 192	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Compact Flash/Compact Flash Accrss Guide v2.1.pdf Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : Geoff 's Compact Flash Access guide (v2.1) for the Tatung Einstein interface You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/Compact%20Flash%20Accrss%20Guide%20v2.1.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 193	From: geoff	Date: 13/03/2007
Subject: Another Compact Flash Update

I'm putting together a guide to accessing the compact flash card for anyone that is interested, and to help me gather my thoughts. The guide will be updated in the files section as it grows, or I spot mistakes. For those that are interested my adapter was made with; 1 x 60 way IDE bump polarized socket - RS stock number 1207460 1 x 50 way top mount r/a CF card header - RS stock number 4867015 2 x 25 way 6" ribbon cables - cut from old floppy drive lead There is a pinout file in the files section which describes how to connect the cables coldered to the CF header to the 60 way pipe connecter along with the connections for the IC that alters the CardEnable logic. I should have some working assembly code very soon, based on the GIDE software. Then I'll need help patching one of the Einey DOSs to work with the driver code. Any volunteers?? Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 194	From: mjbrearley	Date: 15/03/2007
Subject: Re: Another Compact Flash Update

Hi Geoff I am very interested in what you are doing with CF cards but there is one thing I have noticed in your schematic diagram and wiring list to do with CF pin 37 READY. Is there any reason it is connected to 0v as, according to the Sandisk CF data sheet, it is an output signal. Mike --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > I'm putting together a guide to accessing the compact flash card for > anyone that is interested, and to help me gather my thoughts. The > guide will be updated in the files section as it grows, or I spot > mistakes. > > For those that are interested my adapter was made with; > 1 x 60 way IDE bump polarized socket - RS stock number 1207460 > 1 x 50 way top mount r/a CF card header - RS stock number 4867015 > 2 x 25 way 6" ribbon cables - cut from old floppy drive lead > > There is a pinout file in the files section which describes how to > connect the cables coldered to the CF header to the 60 way pipe > connecter along with the connections for the IC that alters the > CardEnable logic. > > I should have some working assembly code very soon, based on the GIDE > software. Then I'll need help patching one of the Einey DOSs to work > with the driver code. Any volunteers?? > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 195	From: geoff	Date: 15/03/2007
Subject: Re: Another Compact Flash Update

Hi Mike, Yes, there's an interesting story behind that, it's called a cock-up, Sorry. Thanks for pointing that out. When laying out the circuit diagram I included it by mistake and it got transfered from there to the wiring list. The adapter does still work with it but it obviously shouldn't be there. I'll post an updated wiring list and mock up PCB later. At the moment I'm working my way through the commands needed to support the compact flash card as if it were a hard drive, under CP/M. I have source code for all the relevant parts of CP/M but not XtalDOS. Once it all works under CP/M I'll then look at getting help supporting it under fully XtalDOS. As the interface stands it will work for all kinds of access using the commands listed in the compact flash specifications. So it should be great for experimenting. If you build one please let me know how it goes, and if you need help. If you wan't to look up the commands but don't want to plough through the CF specifications (I never do again), then there's a nice IDE interface manual that has most of the useful information about registers and commands here - http://www.pt.com/Manuals_Legacy/ZT_8952_Manual.pdf Things to note about that pdf are bit 7 on the Drive/Head register should always be set to 1. And Addresses 1F0h, 1F1h, 1F2h...1F7h map to ports 80h, 81h, 82h...87h Regards, Geoff > Hi Geoff > I am very interested in what you are doing with CF cards but there > is one thing I have noticed in your schematic diagram and wiring > list to do with CF pin 37 READY. Is there any reason it is connected > to 0v as, according to the Sandisk CF data sheet, it is an output > signal. > Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 196	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Geoff's CF interface

Hi All,   Geoff has I think has already established the working Compactflash interface needed for Einey. He is now racing ahead with the programming to access it while the rest of us are still struggling to get to grips with the hardware. I still need to put an order into RS components for the 74ls00 IC.   Geoff has done the scary bit and from the information he has provided, the rest of us can follow on confident that we won't destroy our Eineys or put together something that can't ever work.   He has also made sense of the Compactflash tech specs and started an on going guide with basic programming which I can understand.   I see a CF card which Einey users can access at the low level for reading and writing to its sectors for their own programming as an essential upgrade. Something that will put new life and interest back into Einey use. Also members sharing their CF programing and their ideas with the group.   But! Hardware building isn't easy for everyone. My aging eyes aren't exactly soldering friendly especially for the closely separated pins of the CF card header.   Geoff's CF interface seems more fiddeley than complex so what's the possibility of having and what would be the price of getting them made up by someone? The interface is generic to to the Z80 processor so there would be more than just an Einstein interest. The demand would be still small though, so does anybody know a company or individual who would do this? Someone who builds electronic circuits as a paying hobby for example?   I intend my first CF interface to be temporary using solder less prototype breadboard for the 74LS00 and dry wiring into a female 60 way IDC connector on a ribbon cable attached to the pipe also to the CF card. This won't be ideal for a permanent fixture.   To make a start I need to put an order into RS components for the 74ls00 IC. 74ls00 rs order number 544 1743 it makes sense to order a number of these to cover postage and packaging. I will have some spare so in the future if someone just needs the 74LS00 I can send it to members letter post.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 197	From: mjbrearley	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface

Hi there everyone If I can make a small suggestion on the hardware front. I notice that CF card pin 17 (address line A3) is tied to ground in the schematic diagram. If this signal was connected to the pipe pin 30 (address line A3) then it would be possible to access both halves of the data register (MSB and LSB) using CF registers 8 & 9 (port 0x88 & 0x89) Mike --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > > Hi All, > > Geoff has I think has already established the > working Compactflash interface needed for Einey. > He is now racing ahead with the programming to > access it while the rest of us are still > struggling to get to grips with the hardware. I > still need to put an order into RS components for > the 74ls00 IC. > > Geoff has done the scary bit and from the > information he has provided, the rest of us can > follow on confident that we won't destroy our > Eineys or put together something that can't ever > work. > > He has also made sense of the Compactflash tech > specs and started an on going guide with basic > programming which I can understand. > > I see a CF card which Einey users can access at > the low level for reading and writing to its > sectors for their own programming as an essential > upgrade. Something that will put new life and > interest back into Einey use. Also members sharing > their CF programing and their ideas with the > group. > > But! Hardware building isn't easy for everyone. My > aging eyes aren't exactly soldering friendly > especially for the closely separated pins of the > CF card header. > > Geoff's CF interface seems more fiddeley than > complex so what's the possibility of having and > what would be the price of getting them made up by > someone? The interface is generic to to the Z80 > processor so there would be more than just an > Einstein interest. The demand would be still small > though, so does anybody know a company or > individual who would do this? Someone who builds > electronic circuits as a paying hobby for example? > > I intend my first CF interface to be temporary > using solder less prototype breadboard for the > 74LS00 and dry wiring into a female 60 way IDC > connector on a ribbon cable attached to the pipe > also to the CF card. This won't be ideal for a > permanent fixture. > > To make a start I need to put an order into RS > components for the 74ls00 IC. 74ls00 rs order > number 544 1743 it makes sense to order a number > of these to cover postage and packaging. I will > have some spare so in the future if someone just > needs the 74LS00 I can send it to members letter > post. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 198	From: geoff	Date: 16/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface

Hi Mike, I don't think that accessing both Odd and Even halves (LSB and MSB) of the data register really benefits us, as reading the lower half (on port &80) twice gives both the lower then higher bytes, and we can't use 16 bits of data input as the bus only has 8. The main benefit of connecting another address line (A3 pipe to A3 CF), as I realized last night, is that it will allow us to directly access the Digital Output Register at port &8E (sometimes known as Device Control Register) and the Alternative Status Register. I hadn't thought this necessary as no other 8bit CF interface uses it, but I was looking into adapting the GIDE driver for use with the CF interface. The driver uses the Device Control register to send a soft reset command. I didn't initially think that the CF card would need a soft reset as I'd assumed that it would just be a NOP like the drive initialization command is, but as it does do something implementing it will make adapting the GIDE driver much easier. The CF interface obviously doesn't have a RTC (real time closck) so those sections of the driver need removing, unless we're going the whole hog and adding one?! ...maybe for the interface version 2 and fabricated by a PCB manufacturer, once we know the software all works. If adapting the GIDE driver works it should be a simple case of patching XtalDOS to use the CF card as drive 3, or 4, as many people have done with the GIDE and CP/M. It's a great shame that no-one has an Einstein hard drive and software as it would be great to be able to make the CF interface backwardly compatible with it. Chris, check out the contents of any old computer interface boards for a 74ls00, the first one I used came from a 16k memory expansion board for an nascom 2 (it was used to invert the chip select signal for an Atari 2600 cartridge that I needed to read into a BBC B I'll post the schematic, showing a different chip, in the files section for anyone interested). I mainly listed it as it is so common (and cheap). I picked up a few when I realised that at a push you can use NAND gates to make any other logic gate and not be left at 1.00am not being able to finish something until RS opens in the morning. If you find any other ICs you can always google for the number, you might be lucky. Regards, Geoff > > Hi there everyone > If I can make a small suggestion on the hardware front. I notice > that CF card pin 17 (address line A3) is tied to ground in the > schematic diagram. If this signal was connected to the pipe pin 30 > (address line A3) then it would be possible to access both halves of > the data register (MSB and LSB) using CF registers 8 & 9 (port 0x88 > & 0x89) > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 199	From: geoff	Date: 17/03/2007
Subject: Re: Geoff's CF interface

Hi, I'm still trying to work out if we need the address line A4 connected or not. There's another CF project here http://www.mpic3.com and a diagram of the CF connections they use here http://www.mpic3.com/downloads/file_info/download1.php?file=CF%20pins.jpg As you can see A4 isn't used. On another note they have c style source code for the CF commands and the FAT16 file system here - http://www.mpic3.com/downloads/file_info/download1.php?file=CF.zip it's a simple implementation without a directory structure, but would allow for file transfer from floppy to CF and then access from a PC, from what I can tell. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Mike, > > I don't think that accessing both Odd and Even halves (LSB and MSB) of > the data register really benefits us, as reading the lower half (on > port &80) twice gives both the lower then higher bytes, and we can't > use 16 bits of data input as the bus only has 8. The main benefit of > connecting another address line (A3 pipe to A3 CF), as I realized last

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 200	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 19/03/2007
Subject: Einey CF interface just an idea.

Hi ALL,   Just some idea that might make the Einey CF interface simpler to build.   I've been looking at CF card holder still attached to a circuit board taken out of an EPSON printer. Looking at the 50 header pins in two rows of 25 they seem to aline to a scsi card female micro D sockets. The adapters below might convert the 50 pins of the CF to more manageable IDC plug. Soldering could be reduced.   A good picture of an adapter here. SCSA-2040 HD-50 Female with PC L Bracket to IDC-50 Male, External to Internal http://www.computercablesource.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=139   A British supplier here. http://www.span.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=26_1005_1069   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 201	From: geoff	Date: 23/03/2007
Subject: einstein software online

http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein/ there will be loads of PD software posted on that page as soon as I figure how to use the "USER.COM" software to switch user areas while using the file transfer software. the problem I have is that if I run load the file transfer software I fin'd I can't switch to another user area without overwriting the file transfer software, which I can't reload as I'm in the wrong user area. i'll write some code to switch user areas without messing things up. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 202	From: geoff	Date: 24/03/2007
Subject: Re: einstein software online

...oh, and the CompactFlash test programs I wrote are in the "CFsoft" folder. Regards, Geoff (still struggling with the different user areas on disks under XtalDOS 2.05) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein/ >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 203	From: geoff	Date: 24/03/2007
Subject: Re: Einey CF interface just an idea.

Chris, et al. The easiest way seems to be to buy a CompactFlash to IDE adapter (ebay, about £1 + £3 shipping from Hong Kong, mine arrived here fine and cost about the same as the CF header from RS), then using that and an old IDE hard drive lead, split and connected to the 60 way IDE connector for the pipe. That will avoid any tricky soldering. I believe it has all the required CF pins connected to the IDE plug but I haven't tested it yet, as I have a working prototype already. I'll try to pick up another 60 way connector and once I've got that working with the IDE to CF adaptor will post instructions here, unless you beat me to it. If you're buying one from ebay thet should all work fine but I picked one wth the least components on it, that looked simplest. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi ALL, > > Just some idea that might make the Einey CF > interface simpler to build. > > I've been looking at CF card holder still attached > to a circuit board taken out of an EPSON printer. > Looking at the 50 header pins in two rows of 25 > they seem to aline to a scsi card female micro D > sockets. The adapters below might convert the 50 > pins of the CF to more manageable IDC plug. > Soldering could be reduced. > > > A good picture of an adapter here. SCSA-2040 HD-50 > Female with PC L Bracket to IDC-50 Male, External > to Internal > http://www.computercablesource.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=139 > > A British supplier here. > http://www.span.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=26_1005_1069 > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 204	From: mjbrearley	Date: 26/03/2007
Subject: system5

Hi there everyone Can anyone help me with the editor and assembler programmes which are included on the system 5 disk. I would like to know where I could get any instructions on what the commands are and what they do Thanks Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 205	From: geoff	Date: 27/03/2007
Subject: Switching User areas under XtalDOS 2.05

Hi, If like me you've come across a disk split into different user areas (which you would normally have to access with the USER.COM program) and need to quickly run a program from one user area with files or data from another then this short piece of code will help. LOAD PROGRAM.COM - to load the program you need to use MOS - to drop to the MOS M8000 - to modify memory from address &8000 (may need to be higher) 0E20 3E01 5F CD0500 C30001 . (the "full stop" is to exit from modifying the memory) G8000 - to goto address &8000 (to match the address used above) This code will RUN your PROGRAM after switching the USER area to 01. IF you need to switch to another user area just Modify the address &8003 to hold the number of the user area. here's an explanation - 0E20 LD C,#20 3E01 LD A,#1 5F LD E,A CD0500 CALL #0005 C30001 JP #0100 1. load C with the number of the DOS function &20 (=32 in decimal). Function 32 is the "Set/Get User Code" function. 2. load A with the user number. 3. load E with the contents of A 4. Call &0005 (this is to be compatible with CP/M as well as XtalDOS, you could also use a 'RST &28' here instead.) 5. jump to the start of the program you loaded earlier. This short routing can also be adapted to call any of the DOS Functions listed in the back of the DOS/MOS Introduction. I wrote it to help me transfer files from USER style disks before I figured out how to use NS.COM The OpCode sheet I have indicates that I should be able to Load E with &01 but it doesn't work. I assume that it was for a later incarnation of the Z80. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 206	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/04/2007
Subject: Simple ide interface not working.

Hi All,   I've spent some time wiring up the speccy simple ide interface to my Einey, schematic at http://www.worldofspectrum.org/zxplus3e/interface.html#simple   I've been over and over the circuit checking the wiring through but the TC01 jams up as soon as the hard drive is powered up.   Any ideas to what's going wrong.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 207	From: geoff	Date: 02/04/2007
Subject: Re: Simple ide interface not working.

Hi, It sounds like the drive is responding when it's not supposed to. It's either a problem with the Logic or the address. Which address line did you connect to the IC? (I'd suggest the same one as for the CF interface ie A7, using A4 will cause the drive to respond to lower port requests and may conflict with ones in use already) Which address lines did you use for the port addressing? (A0,A1,A2 on the IDE side. Again I'd use the same ones for the CF adaptor. A0, A1, A2 on the pipe, as using higher address lines like A8,A12,A13 as in the spectrum version will cause problems as the einstein can only directly address ports up to 255) Where did you connect M1? Remember the IOREQ line is LOW when active. Address lines are HIGH. I don't know if the spectrum is the same. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > I've spent some time wiring up the speccy simple > ide interface to my Einey, schematic at > http://www.worldofspectrum.org/zxplus3e/interface.html#simple > > I've been over and over the circuit checking the > wiring through but the TC01 jams up as soon as the > hard drive is powered up. > > Any ideas to what's going wrong. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 208	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: IDE interface

Hi Geoff,   Thanks for your interest and help.   I've been checking through the logic of the simple ide for the speccy. Tracing back from "host chip select 0" CS1fx pin 37 on the drive. This has to be active low to activate the drive. The logic meets this condition via two not gates from A4 address line and IORQ from the pipe going to a triple nand gate. The third input to the nand is directly from M1 off the Tatung Pipe. For the drive to be accessed CS1fx pin 37 has to made low by A4 being low, IORQ being low and M1 being high.   This is not the same as the logic for the working CF on the Einey where the address attached to the logic (A7) has to be high. For the speccy ide logic address from the pipe (A4) has to be low this creates a primary address of &EF BIN 11101111. Depending on which of the three address lines of the pipe are attached to DA0, DA1 and DA2 on the ide drive another eight addresses on the dive can be accessed. None of which can have A4 as high.   Looking at it this way I don't think the speccy interface is suitable for Einey. It works on the Speccy probably because A4 is used to access all existing hardware.   Just rewiring the existing speccy interface to the CF addresses as used on the CF as you suggest would not work as A7 would be low and not high. The logic is back to front.   Adapting the wiring logic used on the CF for the ide seems the way to go but I don't want to use the addresses used for the CF as this would stop a CF being added later.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 209	From: geoff	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: Re: IDE interface

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff, > > Thanks for your interest and help. > meets this condition via two not gates from A4 > address line and IORQ from the pipe going to a > triple nand gate. The third input to the nand is Then try removing the NOT from A4 and see if the einstein stops locking up. (To be honest I managed to lock up my einstein on the first go with the CF adaptor that same way.) I'll look through the logic later... As for future expansion, I wouldn't worry too much. You can always build an adapter that decodes A6 as well to select either HD or CF. Unless we design more decoding into both adaptors now, to be selected with jumpers. It's probably better to keep working on the software side. Fixing the port decoding later is easy :) If I get more time this week I'll look at the IDE drivers again, then look at CM/P modifications to support the HD/CF. The gide IDE drivers should compile for the Einstein with just a few changes to the port/memory locations. If you look at the beginning of the source code for GIDE you'll see some similar figures for ports and base addresses as those in my CF access guide.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 210	From: M.Brearley	Date: 03/04/2007
Subject: Re: IDE interface

Hi there I have just read your problems and I think the trouble is due to the fact you are trying to use ports under &40 because the decoding is not absolute. The Einstein uses ports 0 to &3F (0 to 63) for it's own internal I/O and I suppose if you also have an 80 column video card then that will use port addresses above &40 (64). I would build any homebrew circuits to use ports &80 (128) and above. Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 1:13 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: IDE interface --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff, > > Thanks for your interest and help. > meets this condition via two not gates from A4 > address line and IORQ from the pipe going to a > triple nand gate. The third input to the nand is Then try removing the NOT from A4 and see if the einstein stops locking up. (To be honest I managed to lock up my einstein on the first go with the CF adaptor that same way.) I'll look through the logic later... As for future expansion, I wouldn't worry too much. You can always build an adapter that decodes A6 as well to select either HD or CF. Unless we design more decoding into both adaptors now, to be selected with jumpers. It's probably better to keep working on the software side. Fixing the port decoding later is easy :) If I get more time this week I'll look at the IDE drivers again, then look at CM/P modifications to support the HD/CF. The gide IDE drivers should compile for the Einstein with just a few changes to the port/memory locations. If you look at the beginning of the source code for GIDE you'll see some similar figures for ports and base addresses as those in my CF access guide. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.25/744 - Release Date: 03/04/2007 05:32

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 211	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 08/04/2007
Subject: Adapting Spectrum Hardware for the Einstein.

Attachments : Hi All,   Adapting Spectrum Hardware for the Einstein.   I've been checking up on the info I have for addressing Z80 ports and making notes. My mistake was to assume it would be more or less the same for all Z80 computers. Just a matter of juggling addresses for free ports.   With the example of a known working Einstein CF interface I thought the Spectrum simple IDE interface would be basically the same in working principle. There are differences it seems in the way the Einey and Spectrum use of the Z80.   The reason for trying the simple IDE interface is that I had all the parts. I don't have a Compactflash at the moment but I will abandon ide interface and work on the CF. We know from Geoff thas works.   I'm not sure if I'm making the right assumptions but in the text attachment is the way I'm trying to make sense of it. The notes are intended for my own reference but may have information and references that are helpful to others.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 212	From: mjbrearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Transfering files from pc to einstein

Hi everybody A while ago I asked if anyone could help me with assembler software for the einstein and since I got no reply I decided to look at this problem from a differant direction. I wrote some routines using a cross assembler on the PC. I have another problem now, how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Could anyone help me with a method on how to do this? Thanks Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 213	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?

Hi Mike,   >I have another problem now, how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?   There is excellent dedicated software by Ste Ruddy for serial transfer in a zip archive from the web site.   http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download/EinTrans200.zip   You will need to make up a PC/Einstein serial cable Pin outs at http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download/nullmdm2.jpg   Making up the cable is a bit of a pain but well worth the effort. EinTrans is an impressive GUI software on the windows side. It will display all disk directories in the Einstein, renaming, deleting, sending, receiving files, also disk images can be done easily from the PC.   ASSEMBLERS   The only assembler software I use and confident to use in the Einstein is the one built into BBCBASIC. Writing something that works in basic then gradually in steps replacing lines of basic with machine until I've built a complete executable file is my method.   I'm afraid to say that I haven't come to grips with linker and rel program use.   On the web site "downloads" page http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download.htm#links_software A link to download SRLASM, SRLDIS, and a manual for them is given. These will run under XTAL DOS in the Einstein. It will also run in the MYZ80 CPM emulator on the PC very quickly a lot faster than the in the Einstein. I've used this because SRLASM will compile a binary file from a disassembly made by SRLDIS in between I can make some useful alterations.   I also give a link to a Z80 cross assembler that runs in windows "Z80WIN" but I've had trouble with this. If the cross assembler you used worked ok I would like to give it a try.   TROUBLE WITH YAHOO GROUPS   I'm not getting some posts to the Yahoo groups I belong to passed on to me as e-mail. Instead I get e-mail from Yahoo saying "Please reactivate your Yahoo group e-mail address." Which I have to do before receiving group e-mail again. Is anybody else experiencing this.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 214	From: M.Brearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?

Hi Chris The  Z80 cross assembler I use came from the Zilog web site from the Support>downloads>zds3.6.8 I know it is in the Z8 section but there is an option for the z80/z80180 processor Mike       ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:30 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Hi Mike,   >I have another problem now, how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?   There is excellent dedicated software by Ste Ruddy for serial transfer in a zip archive from the web site.   http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ EinTrans200. zip   You will need to make up a PC/Einstein serial cable Pin outs at http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ nullmdm2. jpg   Making up the cable is a bit of a pain but well worth the effort. EinTrans is an impressive GUI software on the windows side. It will display all disk directories in the Einstein, renaming, deleting, sending, receiving files, also disk images can be done easily from the PC.   ASSEMBLERS   The only assembler software I use and confident to use in the Einstein is the one built into BBCBASIC. Writing something that works in basic then gradually in steps replacing lines of basic with machine until I've built a complete executable file is my method.   I'm afraid to say that I haven't come to grips with linker and rel program use.   On the web site "downloads" page http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download. htm#links_ software A link to download SRLASM, SRLDIS, and a manual for them is given. These will run under XTAL DOS in the Einstein. It will also run in the MYZ80 CPM emulator on the PC very quickly a lot faster than the in the Einstein. I've used this because SRLASM will compile a binary file from a disassembly made by SRLDIS in between I can make some useful alterations.   I also give a link to a Z80 cross assembler that runs in windows "Z80WIN" but I've had trouble with this. If the cross assembler you used worked ok I would like to give it a try.   TROUBLE WITH YAHOO GROUPS   I'm not getting some posts to the Yahoo groups I belong to passed on to me as e-mail. Instead I get e-mail from Yahoo saying "Please reactivate your Yahoo group e-mail address." Which I have to do before receiving group e-mail again. Is anybody else experiencing this.   Regards Chris Coxall No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 14/04/2007 21:36

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 215	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot

Hi Mike,   Another way to get the *.com file over to Einey.   If I recall correctly from your previous posts you have a working 3.5 inch drive on Einey.   You can insert the *.com file into a disk image with "EDIP_1". Download from http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/edip/edip.html   If you then have a windows XP computer you can use CPCdiskXP download from http://www.cpcmania.com/cpcdiskxp/CPCDiskXP%20v1.6.zip   With this program you can create 3.5 inch Einstein disk in the PC floppy drive from the disk image the *.com file has been inserted into.   Regards Chris Coxall    ----- Original Message ----- From: M.Brearley To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 4:11 PM Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Hi Chris The  Z80 cross assembler I use came from the Zilog web site from the Support>downloads>zds3.6.8 I know it is in the Z8 section but there is an option for the z80/z80180 processor Mike       ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:30 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Hi Mike,   >I have another problem now, how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?   There is excellent dedicated software by Ste Ruddy for serial transfer in a zip archive from the web site.   http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ EinTrans200. zip   You will need to make up a PC/Einstein serial cable Pin outs at http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ nullmdm2. jpg   Making up the cable is a bit of a pain but well worth the effort. EinTrans is an impressive GUI software on the windows side. It will display all disk directories in the Einstein, renaming, deleting, sending, receiving files, also disk images can be done easily from the PC.   ASSEMBLERS   The only assembler software I use and confident to use in the Einstein is the one built into BBCBASIC. Writing something that works in basic then gradually in steps replacing lines of basic with machine until I've built a complete executable file is my method.   I'm afraid to say that I haven't come to grips with linker and rel program use.   On the web site "downloads" page http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download. htm#links_ software A link to download SRLASM, SRLDIS, and a manual for them is given. These will run under XTAL DOS in the Einstein. It will also run in the MYZ80 CPM emulator on the PC very quickly a lot faster than the in the Einstein. I've used this because SRLASM will compile a binary file from a disassembly made by SRLDIS in between I can make some useful alterations.   I also give a link to a Z80 cross assembler that runs in windows "Z80WIN" but I've had trouble with this. If the cross assembler you used worked ok I would like to give it a try.   TROUBLE WITH YAHOO GROUPS   I'm not getting some posts to the Yahoo groups I belong to passed on to me as e-mail. Instead I get e-mail from Yahoo saying "Please reactivate your Yahoo group e-mail address." Which I have to do before receiving group e-mail again. Is anybody else experiencing this.   Regards Chris Coxall No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 14/04/2007 21:36 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 4/14/07 9:36 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 216	From: M.Brearley	Date: 15/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot

Thanks Chris I never thought of that. I will give it a try tomorrow! Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 7:10 PM Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Another way. Hi Mike,   Another way to get the *.com file over to Einey.   If I recall correctly from your previous posts you have a working 3.5 inch drive on Einey.   You can insert the *.com file into a disk image with "EDIP_1". Download from http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/edip/ edip.html   If you then have a windows XP computer you can use CPCdiskXP download from http://www.cpcmania .com/cpcdiskxp/ CPCDiskXP% 20v1.6.zip   With this program you can create 3.5 inch Einstein disk in the PC floppy drive from the disk image the *.com file has been inserted into.   Regards Chris Coxall    ----- Original Message ----- From: M.Brearley To: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 4:11 PM Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Hi Chris The  Z80 cross assembler I use came from the Zilog web site from the Support>downloads>zds3.6.8 I know it is in the Z8 section but there is an option for the z80/z80180 processor Mike       ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:30 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Hi Mike,   >I have another problem now, how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file?   There is excellent dedicated software by Ste Ruddy for serial transfer in a zip archive from the web site.   http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ EinTrans200. zip   You will need to make up a PC/Einstein serial cable Pin outs at http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download/ nullmdm2. jpg   Making up the cable is a bit of a pain but well worth the effort. EinTrans is an impressive GUI software on the windows side. It will display all disk directories in the Einstein, renaming, deleting, sending, receiving files, also disk images can be done easily from the PC.   ASSEMBLERS   The only assembler software I use and confident to use in the Einstein is the one built into BBCBASIC. Writing something that works in basic then gradually in steps replacing lines of basic with machine until I've built a complete executable file is my method.   I'm afraid to say that I haven't come to grips with linker and rel program use.   On the web site "downloads" page http://mysite. wanadoo-members. co.uk/retrocompu ter/download. htm#links_ software A link to download SRLASM, SRLDIS, and a manual for them is given. These will run under XTAL DOS in the Einstein. It will also run in the MYZ80 CPM emulator on the PC very quickly a lot faster than the in the Einstein. I've used this because SRLASM will compile a binary file from a disassembly made by SRLDIS in between I can make some useful alterations.   I also give a link to a Z80 cross assembler that runs in windows "Z80WIN" but I've had trouble with this. If the cross assembler you used worked ok I would like to give it a try.   TROUBLE WITH YAHOO GROUPS   I'm not getting some posts to the Yahoo groups I belong to passed on to me as e-mail. Instead I get e-mail from Yahoo saying "Please reactivate your Yahoo group e-mail address." Which I have to do before receiving group e-mail again. Is anybody else experiencing this.   Regards Chris Coxall No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 14/04/2007 21:36 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 4/14/07 9:36 PM No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 14/04/2007 21:36

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 217	From: jltursan	Date: 16/04/2007
Subject: Re: how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? Anot

As Chris has already suggested you, I believe that the EDIP_1/CPCDiskXP is the easiest way if you have the 3.5" drive hooked. You only need to create a XTAL boot disk with EDIP and then simply add you *.COM file into the image, dump it using CPCDiskXP and that's all. The COM file it's very easy to create using a Z80 cross assembler like sjASM (that's the one I'm using). Look for it at: http://home.planet.nl/~realfun/sjasm.html Now you only need to start to code heading your listing always with: ORG $0100 . . <rest of your code here> . . At least it has worked for since now. Best regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chris@...> wrote: > > Hi Mike, > > Another way to get the *.com file over to Einey. > > If I recall correctly from your previous posts you have a working 3.5 inch drive on Einey. > > You can insert the *.com file into a disk image with "EDIP_1". Download from > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/edip/edip.html > > If you then have a windows XP computer you can use CPCdiskXP download from > http://www.cpcmania.com/cpcdiskxp/CPCDiskXP%20v1.6.zip > > With this program you can create 3.5 inch Einstein disk in the PC floppy drive from the disk image the *.com file has been inserted into. > > Regards Chris Coxall > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: M.Brearley > To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 4:11 PM > Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? > > > > Hi Chris > The Z80 cross assembler I use came from the Zilog web site from the Support>downloads>zds3.6.8 > I know it is in the Z8 section but there is an option for the z80/z80180 processor > Mike > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Chris Coxall > To: Einstein yahoo > Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 2:30 PM > Subject: [tatung_einstein] how do I transfer the code to the einstein as a .com file? > > > > Hi Mike, > > >I have another problem now, how do I transfer the > code to the einstein as a .com file? > > There is excellent dedicated software by Ste Ruddy > for serial transfer in a zip archive from the web > site. > > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download/EinTrans200.zip > > You will need to make up a PC/Einstein serial > cable Pin outs at > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download/nullmdm2.jpg > > Making up the cable is a bit of a pain but well > worth the effort. EinTrans is an impressive GUI > software on the windows side. It will display all > disk directories in the Einstein, renaming, > deleting, sending, receiving files, also disk > images can be done easily from the PC. > > ASSEMBLERS > > The only assembler software I use and confident to > use in the Einstein is the one built into > BBCBASIC. Writing something that works in basic > then gradually in steps replacing lines of basic > with machine until I've built a complete > executable file is my method. > > I'm afraid to say that I haven't come to grips > with linker and rel program use. > > On the web site "downloads" page > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download.htm#links_software > A link to download SRLASM, SRLDIS, and a manual > for them is given. These will run under XTAL DOS > in the Einstein. It will also run in the MYZ80 CPM > emulator on the PC very quickly a lot faster than > the in the Einstein. I've used this because SRLASM > will compile a binary file from a disassembly made > by SRLDIS in between I can make some useful > alterations. > > I also give a link to a Z80 cross assembler that > runs in windows "Z80WIN" but I've had trouble with > this. If the cross assembler you used worked ok I > would like to give it a try. > > TROUBLE WITH YAHOO GROUPS > > I'm not getting some posts to the Yahoo groups I > belong to passed on to me as e-mail. Instead I get > e-mail from Yahoo saying "Please reactivate your > Yahoo group e-mail address." Which I have to do > before receiving group e-mail again. Is anybody else > experiencing this. > > Regards Chris Coxall > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 14/04/2007 21:36 > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.4.0/761 - Release Date: 4/14/07 9:36 PM >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 218	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file

Hi All,   Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file they can send as an attachment. I have the Software package, the manual etc. but the disk is corrupted.   I've had 3 inch disks sent to me by someone now without an Einstein who wanted the word processor files transferred. I've put these into text files on the PC ok.   BUT! The WDPRO.COM application disk he sent is also corrupted and I want to send him a disk image with WDPRO to use in the emulator.   Your help appreciated.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 219	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Re: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file

Chris, I've a disk you can have if that any use to you. Give me your address and I'll send it off. Regards Andrew Chris Coxall <chris> wrote: Hi All,   Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file they can send as an attachment. I have the Software package, the manual etc. but the disk is corrupted.   I've had 3 inch disks sent to me by someone now without an Einstein who wanted the word processor files transferred. I've put these into text files on the PC ok.   BUT! The WDPRO.COM application disk he sent is also corrupted and I want to send him a disk image with WDPRO to use in the emulator.   Your help appreciated.   Regards Chris Coxall     Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 220	From: M.Brearley	Date: 21/04/2007
Subject: Re: Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file

Attachments : Hi Chris It's about time that I could help someone after all the help people have given me so here is an image of wdpro/m Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 7:59 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file Hi All,   Has anyone a Kuma WDPRO com file they can send as an attachment. I have the Software package, the manual etc. but the disk is corrupted.   I've had 3 inch disks sent to me by someone now without an Einstein who wanted the word processor files transferred. I've put these into text files on the PC ok.   BUT! The WDPRO.COM application disk he sent is also corrupted and I want to send him a disk image with WDPRO to use in the emulator.   Your help appreciated.   Regards Chris Coxall     No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 269.5.6/770 - Release Date: 20/04/2007 18:43

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 221	From: fil_simmons	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: FPGA Stuff

Hi All, Hi folks - sorry for vanishing - had to go away for awhile. With all of the interest in CF adapters etc and previous discussions about FPGA einey I found this link for a development board which I think will allow those who like me are not electonic buffs to develop interfaces with just about anything. This board could even be used to produce a full new einstein. it's also refreshingly inexpensive. Phil :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 222	From: fil_simmons	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: FPGA stuff - the link :)

Hi, Duh! you might need this link :) http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl? Language=English&CategoryNo=39&No=14

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 223	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO

Hi All,   Many thanks to Mike Bready for posting a WDPRO disk attachment and to Andrew McRobbie for offering to send an actual disk by post.   I do have WDPRO from Mike's disk image working in the Einstein successfully.   I have found though a flaw in EDIP_1 when extracting from the image. The program listed as WDPRO/M.COM in the images directory holds an illegal character "/" for ms dos and windows. EDIP gives option to change name of the extracted file which it does but it just creates an empty file. I will fix this in EDIP_2.   I can't get WDPRO to work with Einstein emulation in three MESS versions I can run on the PC. I also seem to be having trouble now with XBAS. BBCBASIC works ok.   If anyone has WDPRO working ok with MESS emulation can they tell me which version they are using.   Thanks again to Mike and Andrew.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 224	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /EDIP_!a.zip Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : Uploaded to files section EDIP_1a.ZIP. Edip update to fix extracting Einstein files with illegal MS DOS and Windows characters. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/EDIP_%21a.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 225	From: M.Brearley	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Re: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO

Hi Chris The illegal character "/" was not inserted by EPID_1 it was the actual file name on the genuine KUMA disk where I got the file from ! ! ! ! Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11:27 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO Hi All,   Many thanks to Mike Bready for posting a WDPRO disk attachment and to Andrew McRobbie for offering to send an actual disk by post.   I do have WDPRO from Mike's disk image working in the Einstein successfully.   I have found though a flaw in EDIP_1 when extracting from the image. The program listed as WDPRO/M.COM in the images directory holds an illegal character "/" for ms dos and windows. EDIP gives option to change name of the extracted file which it does but it just creates an empty file. I will fix this in EDIP_2.   I can't get WDPRO to work with Einstein emulation in three MESS versions I can run on the PC. I also seem to be having trouble now with XBAS. BBCBASIC works ok.   If anyone has WDPRO working ok with MESS emulation can they tell me which version they are using.   Thanks again to Mike and Andrew.   Regards Chris Coxall     No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.5.9/773 - Release Date: 22/04/2007 20:18

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 226	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2007
Subject: Re: Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO

Hi Mike,   You are right EDIP_1 did not insert "/" the character into the WDPRO file name.   With the Einstein and Xtal DOS the character "/" is perfectly permissible and KUMA have used it in the WDPRO filename as WDPRO\M.COM. This is ok in the disk image and for use with Einstein emulation but when extracting the individual file into PC folder MS DOS and Windows will not create a file of the same name as characters \/*?<>| are not allowed by MS\DOS.   To stop EDIP jamming up on extracting Einstein file names with these characters, the illegal characters for MS are changed to character "_" so WDPRO\M.COM would become WDPRO_M.COM.   The error in EDIP_1 was to use the changed name to read the directory block of image to locate and extract the data blocks and sectors for the file name changed to WDPRO_M.COM. This is not how the file was named in the image's file descriptor block so finding no data for that file name EDIP just created an empty file named WDPRO_M.COM.   If I had used CPCdiskXP to create an Einsten floppy from the image you sent it would have worked in the Einstein as Kuma intended. There is nothing wrong with the disk image you sent.   I extracted the WDPRO program into PC folder so I could send it to the Einstein using a serial connection. Using EinTrans's execute command a *.com file can be sent from the PC to Einey and run without the need to save it to a floppy in the Einstein first. Doing it this way I discovered the flaw in EDIP_1.   I hope you weren't thinking I was criticizing the disk image you sent.   Best Regards Chris Coxall ----- Original Message ----- From: M.Brearley To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 5:54 PM Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO Hi Chris The illegal character "/" was not inserted by EPID_1 it was the actual file name on the genuine KUMA disk where I got the file from ! ! ! ! Mike   ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Coxall To: Einstein yahoo Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11:27 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Thanks to Mike and Andy WDPRO Hi All,   Many thanks to Mike Bready for posting a WDPRO disk attachment and to Andrew McRobbie for offering to send an actual disk by post.   I do have WDPRO from Mike's disk image working in the Einstein successfully.   I have found though a flaw in EDIP_1 when extracting from the image. The program listed as WDPRO/M.COM in the images directory holds an illegal character "/" for ms dos and windows. EDIP gives option to change name of the extracted file which it does but it just creates an empty file. I will fix this in EDIP_2.   I can't get WDPRO to work with Einstein emulation in three MESS versions I can run on the PC. I also seem to be having trouble now with XBAS. BBCBASIC works ok.   If anyone has WDPRO working ok with MESS emulation can they tell me which version they are using.   Thanks again to Mike and Andrew.   Regards Chris Coxall     No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.5.9/773 - Release Date: 22/04/2007 20:18 No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.5.10/774 - Release Date: 4/23/07 5:26 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 227	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 04/05/2007
Subject: Re: FPGA stuff - the link :)

I find I'm not let in to this link? Bob On 4/24/07, fil_simmons <phil_simmons > wrote: Hi, Duh! you might need this link :) http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl? Language=English&CategoryNo=39&No=14

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 228	From: jltursan	Date: 04/05/2007
Subject: Re: FPGA stuff - the link :)

Because the URL is incomplete. I'm sure that Phil is trying to point about that FPGA board: http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=39&No=14 The TREX board is right now being used with Commodore and Amstrad cores to fully emulate these machines. Anyway, being the Einstein a relative of MSX machines, why not use the OCM? http://www.bazix.nl/onechipmsx.html It already has implemented most of the logic used on the Einey (even the 256!). So for anyone with VHDL knowledge would be the most logic starting point. Greets, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Robert Deeley" <bobdeeley@...> wrote: > > I find I'm not let in to this link? > > Bob > > On 4/24/07, fil_simmons <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > Duh! > > you might need this link :) > > > > http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl? > > Language=English&CategoryNo=39&No=14 > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 229	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 03/06/2007
Subject: XBASIC emulators?

I have used xbasic on our applemac but don't find one for the PC suprisingly. This would be useful for my son could anyone help with a link to the right download please. Bob

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 230	From: geoff	Date: 03/06/2007
Subject: Re: XBASIC emulators?

http://www.xbasic.org/ there are versions for Windows and Linux there. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Robert Deeley" <bobdeeley@...> wrote: > > I have used xbasic on our applemac but don't find one for the PC > suprisingly. This would be useful for my son could anyone help with a link > to the right download please. > > Bob >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 231	From: julia_pa_211	Date: 06/07/2007
Subject: TOP 300 Freeware Software!

TOP 300 Freeware Software! Download More then 300 Software Free Free Free http://thinktarget.net

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 232	From: julia_pa_211	Date: 28/07/2007
Subject: 25 Web Sites to Watch

25 Web Sites to Watch What's tomorrow's YouTube? The Web's next breakout hit may be one of these innovative, useful, and fun new sites. think that all of the great Web sites have already been invented? Think again. The Internet is evolving in new and inventive ways thanks to mashups that pull data from all over the Web and to AJAX-based interfaces that give sites the same degree of interactivity and responsiveness that desktop apps possess. To keep you ahead of the curve, we've rounded up 25 innovative Web sites and services that are well worth watching. Some of them help you design your own personalized Web site mashups; others enable you to create video mixes, build wikis, share personal obsessions, and more. But take note: A number of these sites are works in progress, and user-generated sites depend on developing a critical mass of content, which doesn't happen right away. With that in mind, check out the following dot-com destinations. One of them may become the next big Web hit. http://thinktarget.net

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 233	From: Paul Bunyan	Date: 28/07/2007
Subject: Re: 25 Web Sites to Watch

Could the group owner please remove this spammer? On 28 Jul 2007, at 08:15, julia_pa_211 wrote: [SPAM DELETED] Messages in this topic (1)Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar   Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)  Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional  Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe RECENT ACTIVITY 1 New Members Visit Your Group Yahoo! 360 Share what matters Share your photos, blog. Control who sees what. Yahoo! Toolbar Get it Free! easy 1-click access to your groups. Yahoo! Groups Start a group in 3 easy steps. Connect with others. .

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 234	From: nisha2530a	Date: 12/08/2007
Subject: http://www.hotshare.net

http://www.hotshare.net Free downloads/ uploads. Share your personal videos, movies, musics and files. No upload limit and no download limit. Free website.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 235	From: Esmeralda Stone	Date: 13/08/2007
Subject: Hi Tatung_einstein

Attachments : Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. There is nothing an economist should fear so much as applause. Talking much is a sign of vanity, for the one who is lavish with words is cheap in deeds. Hasten slowly. The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does. Each man must grant himself the emotions that he needs and the morality that suits him. Ignorance is no excuse, it's the real thing. Nothing is there more friendly to a man than a friend in need. Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity. You're biggest expense is the money you don't make. There is but one step from the Academy to the Fad. Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty. If God had an agent, the world wouldn't be built yet. It'd only be about Thursday.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 236	From: Concepcion Kearney	Date: 13/08/2007
Subject: for Tatung_einstein

Attachments : You have to be tough. To emphasize only the beautiful seems to me to be like a mathematical system that only concerns itself with positive numbers. Never swap horses crossing a stream. One of the surest signs of the Philistine is his reverence for the superior tastes of those who put him down. Because people have no thoughts to deal in, they deal cards, and try and win one another's money. Idiots! That which builds is better than that which is built. Happiness consists in activity -- it is a running stream, not a stagnant pool. A cult is a religion with no political power. Reprove your friends in secret, praise them openly. The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes. Weakness on both sides is, the motto of all quarrels. Remember that nobody will ever get ahead of you as long as he is kicking you in the seat of the pants. Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 237	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 14/08/2007
Subject: Re: Hi Tatung_einstein

Attachments : More Bxxxxx spam Andrew Esmeralda Stone <dbeachswgk@sh-jiashuai.com> wrote: Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. There is nothing an economist should fear so much as applause. Talking much is a sign of vanity, for the one who is lavish with words is cheap in deeds. Hasten slowly. The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does. Each man must grant himself the emotions that he needs and the morality that suits him. Ignorance is no excuse, it's the real thing. Nothing is there more friendly to a man than a friend in need. Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity. You're biggest expense is the money you don't make. There is but one step from the Academy to the Fad. Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty. If God had an agent, the world wouldn't be built yet. It'd only be about Thursday. For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month. For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 238	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 14/08/2007
Subject: Re: Hi Tatung_einstein

Hi All,   I've now set the groups settings so that only members can post messages.   I kept it open for anyone for as long as I could so the odd person with an Einey interest could post a message without comitting themselves to membership.   I new once the spammers found us this would have to change.   The time has come.   Regards Chris Coxall   ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrew McRobbie To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 8:55 PM Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Hi Tatung_einstein More Bxxxxx spam Andrew Esmeralda Stone <dbeachswgk@sh- jiashuai. com> wrote: Traveling is a fool's paradise. Our first journeys discover to us the indifference of places. There is nothing an economist should fear so much as applause. Talking much is a sign of vanity, for the one who is lavish with words is cheap in deeds. Hasten slowly. The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does. Each man must grant himself the emotions that he needs and the morality that suits him. Ignorance is no excuse, it's the real thing. Nothing is there more friendly to a man than a friend in need. Talk well of the absent whenever you have the opportunity. You're biggest expense is the money you don't make. There is but one step from the Academy to the Fad. Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty. If God had an agent, the world wouldn't be built yet. It'd only be about Thursday. For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month. For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.17/951 - Release Date: 8/13/07 10:15 AM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 239	From: fil_simmons	Date: 04/10/2007
Subject: Disaster Strikes

Hi Folks, I've been out of the loop for awhile - work commitments meant I had to drop everything to wind up a project on time. Unfortunately I had to return my loan laptop to the company - it contained all of my Einstein stuff - including 4 months work on dissassembling xtal dos - I'd finished the console command processor and was a fair way into the BDOS. The BIOS is already done. I copied everything to an SD card - it was all in the'my documents' folder - so I copied the entire folder to the sd card.. I then deleted the 'my documents folder' on my laptop. For some reason windows didn't like this - so it decided that my copy on the SD card was linked to the documents folder and deleted that too! All that work has gone down the microsoft drain and I've got to summon the energy to do it again as well as rediscover all of the tools I'd got together to do it. I've just logged on to recover a copy of the MOS calls document I wrote because I lost my original too. On the good new front I've been messing as ya do and I shortly hope to post an experimental boot image for a fat file system for anyone interested in playing with such things :)-also some more documentation on the system.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 240	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 05/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes

Hi Phil Sounds like great stuff you've been doing - don't be discouraged you'll refine and improve it all second time around. Bob On 10/4/07, fil_simmons <phil_simmons> wrote: All that work has gone down the microsoft drain and I've got to summon the energy to do it again as well as rediscover all of the tools...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 241	From: jltursan	Date: 05/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi Folks, > > I've been out of the loop for awhile - work commitments meant I had > to drop everything to wind up a project on time. > Unfortunately I had to return my loan laptop to the company - it > contained all of my Einstein stuff - including 4 months work on > dissassembling xtal dos - I'd finished the console command processor > and was a fair way into the BDOS. The BIOS is already done. > > I copied everything to an SD card - it was all in the'my documents' > folder - so I copied the entire folder to the sd card.. I then > deleted > the 'my documents folder' on my laptop. For some reason windows > didn't > like this - so it decided that my copy on the SD card was linked to > the documents folder and deleted that too! > > All that work has gone down the microsoft drain and I've got to > summon > the energy to do it again as well as rediscover all of the tools I'd > got together to do it. I've just logged on to recover a copy of the > MOS calls document I wrote because I lost my original too. > > On the good new front I've been messing as ya do and I shortly hope > to > post an experimental boot image for a fat file system for anyone > interested in playing with such things :)-also some more > documentation on the system. > Oops, indeed seems that you've lost a lot of work. I really hope that, as Bob says, you'll be able to refine your ideas if you face again the task. Talking about the deleted files, maybe you can use some tool to try to recover them?. I can point you some tools that usually work fine recovering lost files even in the worst cases (of course you must keep the harddisk/memorycard as quiet as possible). Keep on! Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 242	From: geoff	Date: 06/10/2007
Subject: Re: Disaster Strikes

Hi Phil, Sorry to hear about your data loss. You should be able to do a raw dump of the card to a bin/hex file if it hasn't been overwritten to much - http://www.freelabs.com/~whitis/sd_card/rawimages.html (scroll down to the instructions on making an image in Cygwin under Windows if you don't have a Linux system to use) Or you could try some software like this - http://www.vaiosoft.com/products/recoverymanager.html if you haven't already. If I can be of any help let me know. regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 243	From: grez1m	Date: 18/11/2007
Subject: Help required for new Einstein owner

Hi, having recently obtained an Einstein and some disks, but unfortunately no manuals, I'm a bit stuck. Are there any 'how to' guides available for novices to learn how to operate the Einstein. I am fairly familiar with other home micros of the early 80's but am unsure of the commands available for accessing disks etc that the Einstein uses. Any help or links that anyone can offer will be gratefully received. thanks Grez1m

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 244	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 19/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner

I have an Einstein TC01. If you have access to a PC, Google will list a few sites of interest Where are you based? This will give me a clue if a visit either way would help. There are guides available but even the handbook is rather cryptic at times. E-bay usually has something on offer. What kind of Einstein do you have? Is it a TC01 (40 column display) or 256  (80 Column)? The make should be at the back of the machine on the serial plate. Where do you want to start? What software do you have that you want to get to grips with? Sorry for all the questions but it gives me a clue where to start. Andrew grez1m <grez1m> wrote: Hi, having recently obtained an Einstein and some disks, but unfortunately no manuals, I'm a bit stuck. Are there any 'how to' guides available for novices to learn how to operate the Einstein. I am fairly familiar with other home micros of the early 80's but am unsure of the commands available for accessing disks etc that the Einstein uses. Any help or links that anyone can offer will be gratefully received. thanks Grez1m For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 245	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 19/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner

Should have paid more attention more closley. Switch on the Einstein with a disc inserted and the machine should boot into DOS mode. Switch it on without a disc and it should display MOS. Insert a disk and press Ctrl + Break. It should boot into DOS. Type DIR and press enter lists the contents of a disc. Anything with .COM is a program so type the name and it should fire up Andrew   grez1m <grez1m> wrote: Hi, having recently obtained an Einstein and some disks, but unfortunately no manuals, I'm a bit stuck. Are there any 'how to' guides available for novices to learn how to operate the Einstein. I am fairly familiar with other home micros of the early 80's but am unsure of the commands available for accessing disks etc that the Einstein uses. Any help or links that anyone can offer will be gratefully received. thanks Grez1m For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 246	From: grez1m	Date: 25/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner

Thanks for the advice I get the MOS screen with no disc in, but don't have a list of commannds to use at this point. If I insert a disk and press ctrl-break the drive accesses but comes back with a 'Bad Sector' error. This happens with all the discs that I have. (Watching the drive with the cover off shows the disc spinning but the heads not moving) I'm not sure if this is likely to be a duff disk drive or duff disks - any ideas? Can I fit an Amstrad 3" floppy drive, as I have a spare one of those.? any help gratefully received. Grezm --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Andrew McRobbie <xminiminorx@...> wrote: > > Should have paid more attention more closley. > Switch on the Einstein with a disc inserted and the machine should boot into DOS mode. > Switch it on without a disc and it should display MOS. Insert a disk and press Ctrl + Break. It should boot into DOS. > Type DIR and press enter lists the contents of a disc. Anything with .COM is a program so type the name and it should fire up > Andrew > > grez1m <grez1m@...> wrote: > Hi, having recently obtained an Einstein and some disks, but > unfortunately no manuals, I'm a bit stuck. > > Are there any 'how to' guides available for novices to learn how to > operate the Einstein. > > I am fairly familiar with other home micros of the early 80's but am > unsure of the commands available for accessing disks etc that the > Einstein uses. > > Any help or links that anyone can offer will be gratefully received. > > thanks Grez1m > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit Yahoo! For Good this month. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 247	From: geoff	Date: 25/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner

Hi, Does your einstien have two drives? are you using the correct one? (sorry if that seems like a stupid question but I had to ask. The drive could be dead but they are fairly robust. It's normally the disks. DON'T replace the drives with ones from the Amstrad I believe the wiring is different. The einstein's 3" drives follow the same standard as normal PC 3.5" ones, and can in fact be replaced with 3.5" drives (both 760k and 1.44M). You can find a some more information on chris' site http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download.htm#dsk about transfering files to the einstein and recreating a system disk (including the MOS command needed to transfer the files using Steve Ruddy's software.) it should work with 1.44M drives too but I haven't tested it. I'll get quick a mos guide posted here soon. regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "grez1m" <grez1m@...> wrote: > > Thanks for the advice > I get the MOS screen with no disc in, but don't have a list of > commannds to use at this point. > If I insert a disk and press ctrl-break the drive accesses but comes > back with a 'Bad Sector' error. This happens with all the discs that I > have. (Watching the drive with the cover off shows the disc spinning > but the heads not moving) > I'm not sure if this is likely to be a duff disk drive or duff disks - > any ideas? > Can I fit an Amstrad 3" floppy drive, as I have a spare one of those.? > > any help gratefully received. > Grezm >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 248	From: grez1m	Date: 26/11/2007
Subject: Re: Help required for new Einstein owner

Geoff thanks for the advice, - only one floppy drive fitted. I'll dig out a PC floppy drive and give that a go at the weekend regards Graham --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > Does your einstien have two drives? are you using the correct one? > (sorry if that seems like a stupid question but I had to ask. > > The drive could be dead but they are fairly robust. It's normally the > disks. DON'T replace the drives with ones from the Amstrad I believe > the wiring is different. The einstein's 3" drives follow the same > standard as normal PC 3.5" ones, and can in fact be replaced with 3.5" > drives (both 760k and 1.44M). > > You can find a some more information on chris' site > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download.htm#dsk > about transfering files to the einstein and recreating a system disk > (including the MOS command needed to transfer the files using Steve > Ruddy's software.) it should work with 1.44M drives too but I haven't > tested it. > > I'll get quick a mos guide posted here soon. > > regards, > Geoff > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "grez1m" <grez1m@> wrote: > > > > Thanks for the advice > > I get the MOS screen with no disc in, but don't have a list of > > commannds to use at this point. > > If I insert a disk and press ctrl-break the drive accesses but comes > > back with a 'Bad Sector' error. This happens with all the discs that I > > have. (Watching the drive with the cover off shows the disc spinning > > but the heads not moving) > > I'm not sure if this is likely to be a duff disk drive or duff disks - > > any ideas? > > Can I fit an Amstrad 3" floppy drive, as I have a spare one of those.? > > > > any help gratefully received. > > Grezm > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 249	From: Mario Castro	Date: 17/12/2007
Subject: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hello all! I'm wanting to create Einstein .dsk images for my website. I have lots of software I want to convert to PC .dsk format for the MESS emulator. There is a lot of great advice on Chris' site but unfortunately I am no good at sorting out the cable required to connect Einy to my PC. Does anybody have one or could make one for me? Obviously I would reimburse any effort including postage. Thanks for reading! Cheers Mario Castro

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 250	From: geoff	Date: 18/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hi Mario, I can send you details of the cable later and probably make one for you, however, the quickest and easiest way to make DSK images is to install the 3" drive in your PC following Chris' instructions http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/3INCHWEB.htm Make sure you use an original Einstein drive not an Amstrad one as the wiring is different. Then you can use either CPDRead under DOS (details on the same link above), or CPCDiskXP under winXP (details on Chris' homepage here - http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ ) This will be faster than copying the data over the RS232 and will save you from having to make a cable. I have the details for the RS232 cable and in fact have one connecting my PC to an Einstein at the moment. I have used it to transfer many disks worth of files to my pc when the files were in separate "user" areas using the Kermit software. The public domain files I transfered are here - http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein and the ReadMe for those files is here; http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein/readme.txt Of course if you need to put those files onto a DSK image you can use Chris' fantastic EDIP program - http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/edip/edip.html I have a lot more Public domain software for the Einstein and I'll slowly get round to posting it all. I'm also nearly all the way through doing a scan and OCR of the original MOS/DOS manual that I'll post here when I'm finished. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mario Castro" <maz4suz2000@...> wrote: > > Hello all! > > I'm wanting to create Einstein .dsk images for my website. I have lots > of software I want to convert to PC .dsk format for the MESS emulator. > There is a lot of great advice on Chris' site but unfortunately I am > no good at sorting out the cable required to connect Einy to my PC. > > Does anybody have one or could make one for me? Obviously I would > reimburse any effort including postage. > > Thanks for reading! > > Cheers > > Mario Castro >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 251	From: Mario Castro	Date: 18/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hi Geoff! Thanks for replying so quickly! I have a big catalogue of software and I'm desperate to transfer some of it to .dsk image to showcase on my site. It really would be something. I don't profess to be very good with the technical side of the Einstein and computers in general!, but as it happens, before I contacted the Einstein user group, I had a good read of Chris' advice, and found it really helpful, so much so I decided last night to try and connect my 3 inch Einstein drive to my computer. I have quite a powerful computer, it's an Intel Celeron 2.53 Ghz with 1Gb of RAM, and running Windows XP with service pack 2. I connected the Einstein drive to my computer, temporarily replacing the original 3.5" PC Floppy drive (A:) with the Einstein one. I think I should have connected it as B: shouldn't I? I fed it power through the computer and hey presto so far so good! I then changed its status in system settings to a 720K Floppy drive and the computer then indicated in windows that it was a 5 and a quarter inch drive. I then downloaded CPDRead, CPDWrite and also CPDDisk XP. I tried initially to use CPDDisk XP. I put an Einstein disk in the drive and asked the computer to read it. Well, the Einstein drive light came on and I could hear the drive trying to read the disk! So close.... but the program kept reporting "Error in Sector 3, Error in Sector 4...", etc and it did not complete the read process. The progress line was blue which I think indicated that it had not even attempted a proper read of the disk. CPDRead and CPDWrite tried to work but everytime I tried to read a disk the DOS prompt just froze. I know I'm stumbling a bit along this process, but I really thought I had cracked it last night. Just can't seem to get the computer to recognise the Einstein drive properly. There was no damage or detriment to the drive at all, my computer was happy to host it. When I reconnected my Einstein together again all was well. Do you know what I'm doing wrong? (probably a load of things!) I know my computer may be too powerful for this, perhaps that is the problem. I just feel there is something silly I have not thought of which would solve the problem. Any help would be very much appreciated... also could I possibly request permission to use some of those disk images you created on my website? --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Mario, > > I can send you details of the cable later and probably make one for > you, however, the quickest and easiest way to make DSK images is to > install the 3" drive in your PC following Chris' instructions > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/3INCHWEB.htm > Make sure you use an original Einstein drive not an Amstrad one as the > wiring is different. > > Then you can use either CPDRead under DOS (details on the same link > above), > or > CPCDiskXP under winXP (details on Chris' homepage here - > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ ) > > This will be faster than copying the data over the RS232 and will save > you from having to make a cable. > > I have the details for the RS232 cable and in fact have one connecting > my PC to an Einstein at the moment. I have used it to transfer many > disks worth of files to my pc when the files were in separate "user" > areas using the Kermit software. > > The public domain files I transfered are here - > http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein > and the ReadMe for those files is here; > http://www.galactictourist.com/einstein/readme.txt > > Of course if you need to put those files onto a DSK image you can use > Chris' fantastic EDIP program - > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/edip/edip.html > > I have a lot more Public domain software for the Einstein and I'll > slowly get round to posting it all. > > I'm also nearly all the way through doing a scan and OCR of the > original MOS/DOS manual that I'll post here when I'm finished. > > Regards, > Geoff > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mario Castro" > <maz4suz2000@> wrote: > > > > Hello all! > > > > I'm wanting to create Einstein .dsk images for my website. I have lots > > of software I want to convert to PC .dsk format for the MESS emulator. > > There is a lot of great advice on Chris' site but unfortunately I am > > no good at sorting out the cable required to connect Einy to my PC. > > > > Does anybody have one or could make one for me? Obviously I would > > reimburse any effort including postage. > > > > Thanks for reading! > > > > Cheers > > > > Mario Castro > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 252	From: geoff	Date: 19/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hi Mario, The computer speed shouldn't be a problem when using the XP software. It is an issue with older software like CPDRead. > I connected the Einstein drive to my computer, temporarily replacing > the original 3.5" PC Floppy drive (A:) with the Einstein one. I think > I should have connected it as B: shouldn't I? I fed it power through > the computer and hey presto so far so good! I then changed its status > in system settings to a 720K Floppy drive and the computer then > indicated in windows that it was a 5 and a quarter inch drive. It doesn't matter which drive letter it is set to as long as long as it works :) but yes, the einstein drive jumpered as B will show up as drive A on your PC when connected to the floppy cable after the twist. I believe the drive should be set as 5.25" 360K in the computer's BIOS, not 720k. That looks like your problem. Try reading a backup of a known working disk first, don't risk your valuable ones until you have it all working. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 253	From: Mario Castro	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hi Geoff and other members! Well, success at last. I had another bash at connecting my 3" Einstein drive to my PC, changing the jumper settings to DS0 and MI respectfully, and it read my disks perfectly. The BIOS settings in my computer only allow me to set the floppy disk A: as low as 720k, but changing the jumper settings did the trick! I have another problem that I don't understand. Any .XBS Einstein files I transfer over to disk image load perfectly in the MESS emulator. However any .COM files I transfer just fail to load, the emulator screen just goes black once I type in the filename via MESS. I know others have successfully managed to transfer .COM files successfully to disk image that load via MESS... what am I doing wrong :) I have tried game after game and any that happen to be .COM just fail to load. I just feel it's something obvious!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 254	From: andrewdunipace	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: disk transfers

Hi Mario, When I transferred my einstein disks I connected a drive from albert to a spare pentium machine running DOS and transferred everything over. The only thing that didn't work was ELITE and KONAMI 4 PACK. I think they both used odd formats to prevent copying. Does the copy of MESS you are using work with other disks images but not the ones you have transferred? Have you asked someone else to try and see if they can read your disk images? either the disk images are not transferring OK or the copy of MESS you are using has issues. -Andrew Dunipace

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 255	From: susan mitchell	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers

Hi Andrew and thanks for replying so quick, I'm connecting my drive to a fast Pentium 4 running windows XP... I'm trying to get my hands on an older computer but no luck yet.. you wouldn't think it would be this hard!! I'm using CPDDiskXP V 1.6 to transfer the files via Windows XP. When I perform the transfers all the tracks in each sector show green which indicates a successful transfer, so I'm now flummoxed! I've tried running the .COM files on different versions of MESS, but the same problem each time. I'm providing a link to the .COM files I tranferred that don't run successfully. They include HIGHWAY ENCOUNTER which boots up immediately from disk, it seems to load the intro screen but doesn't go into the main game when selected. If yourself or anybody else could try them out and see if anything more positive happens then I would be very grateful! Here is the link to my files :- www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/Files/THEWRECK.DSK www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/Files/HIGHWAY.DSK www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/Files/shark.dsk www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/Files/buzz.dsk Thanks for your help! andrewdunipace <andrewdunipace@googlemail.com> wrote: Hi Mario, When I transferred my einstein disks I connected a drive from albert to a spare pentium machine running DOS and transferred everything over. The only thing that didn't work was ELITE and KONAMI 4 PACK. I think they both used odd formats to prevent copying. Does the copy of MESS you are using work with other disks images but not the ones you have transferred? Have you asked someone else to try and see if they can read your disk images? either the disk images are not transferring OK or the copy of MESS you are using has issues. -Andrew Dunipace Sent from Yahoo! - a smarter inbox.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 256	From: geoff	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: Einstein RS232 TO PC Serial Cable wanted!

Hi Mario, If you can run .XBS files then you must be able to run some .COM files because that's how BASIC loads, from a .COM file. Are you booting from the same disk that you are trying to run the .COM files from? Or are you booting from one disk then running the .COM file from another disk? There are different versions of DOS (both xdos versions and CP/M versions, the Elite disk uses a completely custom loader and file handler and doesn't have a DOS as such) and you need to use the version that the .COM files were meant for. Some .com file will require the correct version of the MOS (Machine Operating System) ROM to be installed too. The ROM image on Chris' site (which you copied into your BIOS folder in MESS is "TATUNG/Xtal MOS 1.2 (C) 1983" It may be that the .COM file you are trying to run require 1.21 which corrected several problems (although some .COM files only work on 1.2 just to complicate things.). I haven't used MESS but I do know that the disc controller firmware emulation isn't perfect, especially when it comes to timing, and that the Elite.dsk image will not run due to the copy protection used. You can still make a real disk from the protected disk image with CODread and CPD write, but MESS fails to report back to the Elite software correctly (either a timing problem or an incorrect interpretation of the non standard format the Einstein disk uses.) So, to sum up. 1. boot from the disk that the files are on. 2. if the disks work in a physical Einstein then check the MOS version (power up the machine without a disk in and look at the screen.) Hope this helps, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mario Castro" <maz4suz2000@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff and other members! > > Well, success at last. I had another bash at connecting my 3" Einstein > drive to my PC, changing the jumper settings to DS0 and MI > respectfully, and it read my disks perfectly. The BIOS settings in my > computer only allow me to set the floppy disk A: as low as 720k, but > changing the jumper settings did the trick! > > I have another problem that I don't understand. Any .XBS Einstein > files I transfer over to disk image load perfectly in the MESS > emulator. However any .COM files I transfer just fail to load, the > emulator screen just goes black once I type in the filename via MESS. > > I know others have successfully managed to transfer .COM files > successfully to disk image that load via MESS... what am I doing wrong > :) I have tried game after game and any that happen to be .COM just > fail to load. > > I just feel it's something obvious! >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 257	From: geoff	Date: 23/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers

Hi Mario, Sorry my last post was in reply to the wrong thread and is here - http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/message/256 The XTal DOS version on the .DSK image from Chris' site which you probably used to boot MESS from the first time is DOS 1.31 I can't remember if this was the last version but you may find that this could be your problem too. MOS (machine operating system) is in the bios folder in MESS. DOS (either XtalDOS or CP/M) is loaded from the disk you boot from. They both need to be compatible with the .COM file you are trying to run. All XBASIC programs (.XBS files) will work with the version of XBASIC on the disk that boots if you follow the instructions on Chris' site but some .COM files might not. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 258	From: Mario Castro	Date: 24/12/2007
Subject: Re: disk transfers

Thanks Geoff I appreciate your help! I see my Tatung Einstein MOS is V1.1 as it happens. I'm not sure how you do a ROM dump like Chris did, is it quite easy? I've had sporadic success with certain COM files, whilst others seem to load but the game freezes for some reason. I've transferred over images of 4 different DOS versions to test with each COM file... but no change. Very strange! I managed to transfer the Konami 4 game pack successfully and it seemed to load, entering into the menu screen... I almost fell off my seat... but it doesn't load any of the games... bah! Anyway thanks for your help again, I'll keep plugging on! Regards Mario --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Mario, > > Sorry my last post was in reply to the wrong thread and is here - > http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/message/256 > > The XTal DOS version on the .DSK image from Chris' site which you > probably used to boot MESS from the first time is DOS 1.31 I can't > remember if this was the last version but you may find that this could > be your problem too. > > MOS (machine operating system) is in the bios folder in MESS. > DOS (either XtalDOS or CP/M) is loaded from the disk you boot from. > > They both need to be compatible with the .COM file you are trying to > run. All XBASIC programs (.XBS files) will work with the version of > XBASIC on the disk that boots if you follow the instructions on Chris' > site but some .COM files might not. > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 259	From: cjbridport	Date: 02/01/2008
Subject: TC01 info please

Hi All I have a TC01 with original monitor, quite a few games (not originals) and possibly a few other bits and pieces. It hasn't been used for over three years but was carefully packed away so should be fully functioning. Although I like it I don't think I will get much, if any, use from it. My questions are: 1) Is it valuable? (I plan to give it away but might reconsider if it was worth a lot) 2) Can anyone offer a good home for it, or suggest an organisation that might want it? All comments welcomed Chris

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 260	From: fil_simmons	Date: 03/01/2008
Subject: Re: TC01 info please

Hi All, Happy New Year! Well valuable is relative. Good condition Eineys fetch between 20 & 60 squid on EBay - if anyone wants them but the cost of shipping is high. Group members will often give an Einey a new home even if only for spares and repairs and will often collect. If you want to help an organisation eg a charity then sell the Einey on EBay and donate the money. I can't really think who else would want one except a compter museum. :) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "cjbridport" <cjbridport@...> wrote: > > Hi All > > I have a TC01 with original monitor, quite a few games (not > originals) and possibly a few other bits and pieces. > > It hasn't been used for over three years but was carefully packed > away so should be fully functioning. > > Although I like it I don't think I will get much, if any, use from it. > > My questions are: > > 1) Is it valuable? (I plan to give it away but might reconsider if > it was worth a lot) > > 2) Can anyone offer a good home for it, or suggest an organisation > that might want it? > > All comments welcomed > > Chris >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 261	From: tallpaul_b	Date: 04/01/2008
Subject: 2 keyboard keyswitches needed

Whilst attending to my trusty Einstein, 2 keys snapped i.e. the shafts of the keyswitches snapped off. Does anyone know if keyswitches are still available from any electronics supplier? Or, failing that, does anyone have a dead Einstein keyboard I can steal them from? (I am able to desolder them and unclip them from the metal plate). All help grateful. Superglue isn't good enough in this case... Thanks Paul

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 262	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 13/02/2008
Subject: serial link einey/pc

This link might provide made up serial serial cables for the Einstein/PC. http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/tyepro/tyepro16.htm sales@tyepro.co.uk <sales@tyepro.co.uk> Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 263	From: clarkjonathan32	Date: 04/03/2008
Subject: I'd like to buy an Einstein

Dear Einstein club people, I'd like to buy an Einstein TC-01. If anybody has one for sale and isn't a million miles away from Durham (or is willing to post it), I'd be very interested. Best wishes, Jonathan Clark Co. Durham

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 264	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 06/03/2008
Subject: Re: I'd like to buy an Einstein

Hi Jonathon,   Finding an Einstein for sale just around the corner doesn't happen very often.   People in the past have contacted me looking for a good home for their once loved but now unwanted Einsteins. This doesn't happen very often these days. Ebay is best place to look now. I've seen Einsteins auctioned here with post and packaging for as little as £15.   Others, as currently being on Ebay, want the buyer to collect. This is at Brighton so not very helpful to you. But keep a watch on Ebay this is the most likeley place to find what you are looking for.   The current Einstein on ebay could be of interest to other members as it includes an additional eprom and an eprom programer. If you live in that area it could be a good buy for someone.   Regards Chris Coxall     ----- Original Message ----- From: clarkjonathan32 To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 5:46 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] I'd like to buy an Einstein Dear Einstein club people, I'd like to buy an Einstein TC-01. If anybody has one for sale and isn't a million miles away from Durham (or is willing to post it), I'd be very interested. Best wishes, Jonathan Clark Co. Durham No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.4/1310 - Release Date: 3/4/08 8:35 AM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 265	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 14/03/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /EFL - SELF EXTRACTING ZIP.exe Uploaded by : fil_simmons <phil_simmons> Description : Experimental Fat Loader Self Extracting Zip You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/EFL%20-%20SELF%20EXTRACTING%20ZIP.exe To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, fil_simmons <phil_simmons>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 267	From: fil_simmons	Date: 14/03/2008
Subject: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi folks, Well here it is at last! - EFL - an Experimental FAT loader for the Einstein, for those of you who want to play with the FAT file system. It's particularly useful for developing your own flavour of OS and for developing drivers for compact flash and hard disks - since it uses LBA addressing. The FAT file sytem isn't an MS clone - I have used my own methods, values and improvements so there wil never be a licensing issue. At some point EFL will cease to be called a FAT system loader at all :) The enclosed version is FAT16, I will be releasing a FAT32 version at some point. The loader has been deliberately kept simple - it boots a file embedded in the data sectionof the object code, addressed by a directory entry of FAT clusters. To use it simply overlay your own code over the bootable example in the ASM file and reassemble - and your code will boot! Full details are given in the acompanying documentation and the asm file is fully documented. I am posting a both a self extracting and a regular Zip archive of the files. Sorry for the delay - I actually finished this last October but I didn't have a freebee pdf documentconverter handy and I was busy ... so anyway here it is. I hope someone finds it useful. The EFL files are in the new utilities folder, to which I hope to be adding stuff to soon. There is a stray copy that found its way into the folder list - perhaps you could remove this please Chris? Other news - after losing all of my work on XTAL OS disassembly last year I have now redone it and I'm actually further along than before :) At the moment I'm just doing final cleaning up of the CCP disassembly and integrity checking it - so I hope to release the CCP portion very shortly. Disassembly of the BDOS portion is well under way now. Of course the reverse engineering of this is quite challenging so it may take a little longer. The BIOS is done but I want to tie in the original Xtal labels with the rest of the disassembly before releasing it. Maybe by autumn I will be able to release the entire Xtal OS system fully disassembled and documented. If you find any bugs with EFL or have code improvements please let me know so that they can be sorted for an update. :) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 268	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 16/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

EFL - an Experimental FAT loader for the Einstein, I made an Einey floppy from the disk image and tried in the early hours satuday. Worked fine on power up. Keep up the good work. Looking foreward to further developments. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "fil_simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi folks, > > Well here it is at last! - EFL - an Experimental FAT loader for the > Einstein, > for those of you who want to play with the FAT file system. > It's particularly useful for developing your own flavour of OS and > for developing drivers for compact flash and hard disks - since it > uses LBA addressing. > > The FAT file sytem isn't an MS clone - I have used my own methods, > values and improvements so there wil never be a licensing issue. > At some point EFL will cease to be called a FAT system loader at > all :) > > The enclosed version is FAT16, I will be releasing a FAT32 version at > some point. > The loader has been deliberately kept simple - it boots a file > embedded in the data sectionof the object code, addressed by a > directory entry of FAT clusters. To use it simply overlay > your own code over the bootable example in the ASM file and > reassemble - and your code will boot! > > Full details are given in the acompanying documentation and the asm > file is fully documented. > I am posting a both a self extracting and a regular Zip archive of > the files. > > Sorry for the delay - I actually finished this last October but I > didn't have a freebee pdf documentconverter handy and I was busy ... > so anyway here it is. I hope someone finds it useful. > > The EFL files are in the new utilities folder, to which I hope to be > adding stuff to soon. There is a stray copy that found its way into > the folder list - perhaps you could remove this please Chris? > > Other news - after losing all of my work on XTAL OS disassembly last > year I have now redone it and I'm actually further along than > before :) > > At the moment I'm just doing final cleaning up of the CCP disassembly > and integrity checking it - so I hope to release the CCP portion very > shortly. > > Disassembly of the BDOS portion is well under way now. Of course the > reverse engineering of this is > quite challenging so it may take a little longer. The BIOS is done > but I want to tie in the original Xtal labels with the rest of the > disassembly before releasing it. > > Maybe by autumn I will be able to release the entire Xtal OS system > fully disassembled and documented. > > If you find any bugs with EFL or have code improvements please let me > know so that they can be sorted for > an update. > > > > :) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 269	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 17/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi Phil. Great work. The FAT loader sounds fantastic. It should help me get the Compact Flash project back on track.I should get time to play with it this evening. I'll be looking into making up a batch of adaptors once I can fully test my interface, the FAT loader should help me do that. I can't wait for the disassembley of the Xtal OS. It would be great to be able to patch it to work with large volume drives and CF cards. Then eventually aim for a full IDE interface, but that's some way off yet. FAT compatibility would also open up the possibility of using USB ports. Only for mass storage devices, unless someone wants to write other drivers. With so many devices showing up as mass storage devices, everything from phones to thumb drives, to digital cameras, and all using FAT. Taken to it's extreme it should be possible to connect a digital camera through a USB port, pull photos onto an Einstein IDE hard drive and send them over your LAN with a serial-LAN adaptor. ( I have some z80 tcp/ip code, but I'm more capable with the hardware side of things) Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 270	From: geoff	Date: 20/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi Phil, A couple of questions; If I wanted to read from a CF card plugged into my adaptor would I just have to re-write "ReadSectors:" to call the code to read a block from the CF instead of calling ZRBLK? (I'll obviously have to write the code first. I know there's no space for it, yet...) Assuming the CF card contains the same data as created by your ASM file (i.e. formatted FAT16 with one file called XCOMMANDBIN), would I simply be able to add another file to the Root Directory like so; Root: DM "XCOMMANDBIN" DB 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 FClust: DW $0000 ; points to first cluster of file (0) DB 0,0,0,0 DM "YCOMMANDBIN" DB 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0 DW $0002 ; points to first cluster of file (1) DB 0,0,0,0 DS (512*8)-32,$E5 then add the data for the file after "SignOnMsg:" and "Endprog:", making sure to fill the space as "Endprog:" does. Or do I also need to ad anything to "Fat1:" I may be reading it wrong but I think that I could then change "CmdFileName:" to either run XCOMMANDBIN or YCOMMANDBIN NOTE: I'm not planning on doing the above but want to know if I understand the concepts in your code. Like I've said before I'm no software expert. If it helps you there is some information on LBA addressing for a CF card in my Compact Flash Access Guide in the files section of the site. Addressing an IDE adaptor would be the same Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 271	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 21/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi Geoff,   I'll try to answer your questions as clearly as possible.   1. Regarding the Read Sectors routine -   This is just used to load the fat, directory and boot file from the floppy disk into memory. As you have correctly understood - EFL doesn't write the code for you it just simplifies booting a file from a fat structure. What you want to do is write code to be placed in the boot file to handle your access to the CF card. Think of it as a mini OS. Using the example of EFL you could write code to create a fat for your CF card and then write a few functions to use the card e.g.create_file, read_sectors and write_sectors.  Place this code in the XCOMMAND.BIN file. You could alter the load address used by EFL to boot your code into high memory. You could then load some code at 100H ie. a program, to play with and test the functions you have written. The two routines which you may find directly useful are CLUSTER2LBA and LBA2CHS which translate between LBA and CHS adressing - To keep things simple I only used track and sector addressing but say, a hard disk, would also use head addressing in CHS mode. Since LBA can simply use sector addressing this is the simplest and (these days) most universally compatible method. A logical sector is just a physical sector adjusted by for the sectors offset of the fat and directory - in EFL the data section starts at logical sector 0. So, yes you are correct - a rewritten subroutine along the lines of Read Sectors but specifically for the CF card would be one such function - with the qualifier that it reads from the CF cards own fat. Ultimately I would envisage the developed LBA low level disk routines as MOS routine counterparts of the floppy functions to be added to an expanded EPROM - MOS 2.0? :) These would then be called by the CBIOS of whatever operating system is developed.   A tip : Creating a FAT for your CF card is dead easy. All you have to do is calculate and reserve the number of sectors that will hold all of the FAT words to address the entire card. As EFL is just Fat 16 at the moment you might have to use large cluster sizes or partition the card into smaller virtual drives.   Because a fat is just a linked list of cluster pointers, a new unused fat is just a sequential series. So all you have to do is write words 1,2,3,...nnn in order, to your reserved sectors and there is your fat, ready for action. (0 points to 1, 1 points to 2 etc.) It is also useful to keep a a tracking variable called something like FirstFree which as its name suggests, always points to the first free cluster in the chain - useful when creating a new file.   2. Yes! You add additional files to the Root directory exactly as you described. Remember to reduce the directory space tail by 32 bytes for each additional entry. So once you have formatted YCOMMAND.BIN you have DS (512*8)-64,$E5 to the end of the Directory.   Fat1 does need to be altered also. e.g.    Fat1:                 DW $0001               ; Cluster 0  (XCOMMAND.BIN)  ... uses 2 clusters                         DW $FFFF               ; Cluster 1 (XCOMMAND.BIN)                         DW $0003                ; Cluster 2 (YCOMMAND.BIN) ... uses 3 clusters                         DW $0004                ; Cluster 3 (YCOMMAND.BIN)                         DW $FFFF               ; Cluster 4 (YCOMMAND.BIN)                                                      adjust this                         DS ((512*2)-10),0       ; the rest are free.     Finally the Data section currently contains the allocated cluster for file XCOMMAND.BIN so you are right, the next file cluster to be allocated would start at EndProg. However I spotted a bug since the boot block is set to 2 sectors per cluster. XCOMMAND.BIN uses 2 clusters ,so in fact it is 2k long not 1k The real free space for XCOMMAND.BIN should have been -    EndProg:                DS (2048-(EndProg-SignOnMsg)),'D' and YCOMMAND.BIN data would start after this.   Filling to the end of space is not essential. It does however provide a wayof checking if your load has worked as you expected it to and it avoids loading garbage from the disk.     ----- Original Message ----- From: geoff To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:25 AM Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: The Experimental FAT Loader Hi Phil, A couple of questions; If I wanted to read from a CF card plugged into my adaptor would I just have to re-write "ReadSectors: " to call the code to read a block from the CF instead of calling ZRBLK? (I'll obviously have to write the code first. I know there's no space for it, yet...) Assuming the CF card contains the same data as created by your ASM file (i.e. formatted FAT16 with one file called XCOMMANDBIN) , would I simply be able to add another file to the Root Directory like so; Root: DM "XCOMMANDBIN" DB 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0 FClust: DW $0000 ; points to first cluster of file (0) DB 0,0,0,0 DM "YCOMMANDBIN" DB 0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0 DW $0002 ; points to first cluster of file (1) DB 0,0,0,0 DS (512*8)-32,$ E5 then add the data for the file after "SignOnMsg:" and "Endprog:", making sure to fill the space as "Endprog:" does. Or do I also need to ad anything to "Fat1:" I may be reading it wrong but I think that I could then change "CmdFileName: " to either run XCOMMANDBIN or YCOMMANDBIN NOTE: I'm not planning on doing the above but want to know if I understand the concepts in your code. Like I've said before I'm no software expert. If it helps you there is some information on LBA addressing for a CF card in my Compact Flash Access Guide in the files section of the site. Addressing an IDE adaptor would be the same Regards, Geoff No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1329 - Release Date: 14/03/08 12:33 Finally - A spam blocker that actually works. http://www.bluebottle.com/tag/4

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 272	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 23/03/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Compact Flash/z80CFcode.asm Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : Concept code and notes for IDE/CF replacement for ZRBLK MOS call You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/z80CFcode.asm To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 273	From: geoff	Date: 23/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi Phil, I've uploaded some initial code and notes for an IDE and CF version of the MCAL ZRBLK. It would just replace the ZRBLK call in your code. It's only initial ideas and not proper code (I don't even know if the syntax is right as I've never done any Z80 assembler before.) all thoughts and corrections are welcome It uses the same registers and memory as your EFL and when I get time to check the code and correct my many errors I'll merge the two for a quick test. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil Simmons" <phil_simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff,

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 274	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/03/2008
Subject: PC/EINEY printer port connection.

Hi, Does anyone have programming examples of using the Einstein user ports in mode 1 (eight bit import) in their Einey Docs. From the Z80 PIO tech doc (can be found at http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/eineydocs/erdhsm.html) "Selecting Mode 1 puts the port into the input Mode. To start handshake operation, the CPU merely performs an input read operation from the port. This activates the Ready line to the peripheral to signify that data should be loaded Into the empty input register. The peripheral device then strobes data into the port input register using the strode line. Again, the rising edge of the strobe causes an interrupt request (it has been enabled) and deactivates the Ready signal. Data may be strobed into the input register regardless of the state of the Ready signal if care is taken to prevent a data overrun condition." I've linked a printer cable between a PC and Einey's printer port 8 data lines and swopped over the strobe and ACK lines. Strobe goes from PC to Einey's printer port's ACK pin 19 as listed in the Einstein Introduction manual. I know if I had used the user port Z80 PIO's B port Strobe from the PC would have gone to STB pin 10 of the user port as listed in Einstein Introduction manual and RDY to PC's ACK. But Ive used the printer port and set that as mode 1 which is wired to PIO. Data streams across from the PC ok but there is no hand shaking as specified by the tech doc. Get a lot of duplicate bytes. It could be that the Z80 PIO's hand shaking facility for mode 0 and 1 have not been made available for the Einstein. Or more probable I've missed something in the set up programming. If is this is the case the tech doc has not been helpful. In my Einey Mag back numbers lots of info on using mode 3-control mode. Nothing on mode 2. For mode 0-only mentions to set mode 0 by an OUT to the control of &0F. For mode 1-only mentions to set mode 1 by an OUT to the control of &47. There isn't any programming examples for mode 0 or 1. Any help appreciated. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 275	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.

Hi Chris, Mode 0 Either A or B as 8-bit output (active strobe after output) Mode 1 Either A or B as 8-bit input (triggering interrupt request if enabled) Mode 2 Port A bidirectional plus interrupts and handshakes. Mode 3 Both Ports individual bits defined as input or output, interrupts used. I could be wrong but it looks like you need to use Mode 2 to use handshaking. Geoff Chris Coxall wrote: > > Hi, > > Does anyone have programming examples of using the Einstein > user ports in mode 1 (eight bit import) in their Einey Docs. > > >From the Z80 PIO tech doc (can be found at > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/eineydocs/erdhsm.html > <http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/eineydocs/erdhsm.html>) > > "Selecting Mode 1 puts the port into the input Mode. To > start handshake operation, the CPU merely performs an input > read operation from the port. This activates the Ready line > to the peripheral to signify that data should be loaded Into > the empty input register. The peripheral device then strobes > data into the port input register using the strode line. > Again, the rising edge of the strobe causes an interrupt > request (it has been enabled) and deactivates the Ready > signal. Data may be strobed into the input register > regardless of the state of the Ready signal if care is taken > to prevent a data overrun condition." > > I've linked a printer cable between a PC and Einey's printer > port 8 data lines and swopped over the strobe and ACK lines. > Strobe goes from PC to Einey's printer port's ACK pin 19 as > listed in the Einstein Introduction manual. I know if I had > used the user port Z80 PIO's B port Strobe from the PC would > have gone to STB pin 10 of the user port as listed in > Einstein Introduction manual and RDY to PC's ACK. But Ive > used the printer port and set that as mode 1 which is wired > to PIO. > > Data streams across from the PC ok but there is no hand > shaking as specified by the tech doc. Get a lot of duplicate > bytes. > > It could be that the Z80 PIO's hand shaking facility for > mode 0 and 1 have not been made available for the Einstein. > Or more probable I've missed something in the set up > programming. If is this is the case the tech doc has not > been helpful. > > In my Einey Mag back numbers lots of info on using mode > 3-control mode. Nothing on mode 2. For mode 0-only mentions > to set mode 0 by an OUT to the control of &0F. For mode > 1-only mentions to set mode 1 by an OUT to the control of > &47. There isn't any programming examples for mode 0 or 1. > > Any help appreciated. > > Regards Chris Coxall > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 276	From: geoff	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.

Hi Chris, I think I was was wildly wrong earlier (depending on how things were implemented in the Einstein). Mode 1 should handle the handshaking. I did, however notice a discrepancy between your control code and the one listed in the docs. The PIO doc mentions that to set the mode the control code must use the two most significant bits for the mode number (ie 01 for mode 1), then two unused bits (set to 00), followed by the last nibble all 1 (to indicate you want to set the Mode and not issue a different command) making 01001111 or &4F not &47 as you had in your message. If the last 4 bits were set to 0111 (&7) then the PIO will think the control code is for setting interrupts (or ignore it as it would have been sent at the wrong time) So to use Parallel Port A (the printer port) in Mode 1; OUT (&4F,&31) - To send &4F to the printer control register at &31 IN (&30) - To read from the printer data register at &30 (that's for Basic, in assembler the op codes are OUT and IN but the syntax is obviously different depending on the assembler) To do the same for Parallel Port B (the User Port) you'd send the control code to &33 and read data from &32. Let me know if this helps. I have assumed that the PIO is wired up in the Einstein in a standard format. I don't have a schematic for the main board so can't check without opening one up. I have also assumed that there is nothing stopping input from the printer port. Regards, Geoff > In my Einey Mag back numbers lots of info on using mode > 3-control mode. Nothing on mode 2. For mode 0-only mentions > to set mode 0 by an OUT to the control of &0F. For mode > 1-only mentions to set mode 1 by an OUT to the control of > &47. There isn't any programming examples for mode 0 or 1. > > Any help appreciated. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 277	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 25/03/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff

Hi Geoff, A bit map of Einey mother board can be downloaded from the web site. http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download.htm http://mysite.wanadoo- members.co.uk/retrocomputer/download/mb_wiring.zip Thanks for the correction. I was using the wrong pair of glasses miss read &47 for &4F in the Einey Mags. Unfortunately making a change made no difference. I don't know if my theory is right but I tried this test. I ran this BBCBASIC prog on Einey for the user port without anything connected to it. 10 PUT &33,&4F 20 N=GET(&32) 30 PRINT N 40 GOTO 20 The value of N variable 253 streamed down the screen probably a default value. According to the Z80 PIO manual if a steady high is applied to STB pin 11 without a negative pulse the data from the port should not be accessed. To test I crossed pin 11 STB with pin 1 5v. The streaming didn't stop. I think the Z80 PIO handshake for mode 1 and 2 on Einey has been hard wired out for normal access just leaving line input and output. STB & RDY for the port a must be available for Einey's printer driver. So it might be available with some other configuaring. This extract from the Tatung Einstein Hardware Manual might hold the answere. Parallel Input/Output (Printer and User I/0) The PIO has two 8 bit parallel ports which can be used as either inputs or outputs under software control. Port A is dedicated as a printer output by the MOS at power-on, and this port has a monostable (1053b) which provides a (lus) pulse triggered by the Ready (ARDY;I063 pin 18) line of the PTO port A and is fed to the STROBE output (M001, pin 1). This pulse is needed to comply with the Centronics printer -interface timing. As well as the eight data-line outputs (1063 pins 7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15) which are fed direct to the printer connector (M001 pins 3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17 respectively). there are three "handshake" input lines from the printer connector BUSY, PAPER EMPTY, ERROR (M001 pins 21,23,28) which are connected to the tri-state buffer 1036 (pins 15,13,11) to allow printer error conditions to be detected. The even-numbered pins of the printer connector (M001) are connected to OV. The data-lines from port B (1063 pins 27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34) are connected to the user 1/0 connector (M002, pins. 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16) and the Ready (BRDY; I063 pin 2) is connected to M002 pin 5. Strobe lines from each connector (M001, pin 19 and M002 pin 11) are connected to pull- up resistors R057 and R058 as well as the strobe inputs of the P10 (ASB,BSTB; 1063 pins 16,17 respectively) Try to make sense of it later. Thanks for your help. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 278	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/03/2008
Subject: Re: The Experimental FAT Loader

Hi Geoff, I'll download it and have a look. Cheers Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "geoff" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Phil, > > I've uploaded some initial code and notes for an IDE and CF version of > the MCAL ZRBLK. It would just replace the ZRBLK call in your code. > > It's only initial ideas and not proper code (I don't even know if the > syntax is right as I've never done any Z80 assembler before.) all > thoughts and corrections are welcome > > It uses the same registers and memory as your EFL and when I get time > to check the code and correct my many errors I'll merge the two for a > quick test. > > > > Regards, > Geoff > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil Simmons" > <phil_simmons@> wrote: > > > > Hi Geoff, >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 280	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/03/2008
Subject: ZBasic wanted

Hi, Would someone be kind enough to send me a .dsk image of ZBasic ver 3.xx for the Einey. I did pay for a copy of this a year ago from B&H Computers but it never arrived and the guy refuses to answer my e-mails. I don't want to do everything in assembler and sometines Z is handy. cheers Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 281	From: geoff	Date: 06/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff

damn the computer crashed and I have to re-type. Einey running in X5 (XTAL Basic V5) 10 OUT &33,&4F 20 A=INP(&32) 30 PRINT A 40 GOTO 20 I made a 16 way IDC lead with a PC floppy lead, a hacksaw and some superglue. It works well. I connected all the data lines of the user port together (looking into the user port from the back D7, 5v, D6, 0v, D5, STB, D4, 0v, D3, 0v, D2, RDY, D1, 0v, D0, 5v ) and stripped back the 5v, 0v and STB (strobe) lines. NOTE; the program streams data from the user port regardless of whether the input has been updated or not. The program streams 255, 255, 255, etc. I connected all the date lines to 0v and tapped the STB to 0v. The program streams 0, 0, 0, etc. I connected all the data lines to 5v and tapped the STB to 0v The program streams 255, 255, 255, etc. I believe the RDY line goes high after the data has been read once (or many times) but I can't test that at this time on night after this amount of Gin. Your previous program in BBC Basic should be fine 10 PUT &33,&4F 20 N=GET(&32) 30 PRINT N 40 GOTO 20 ..but your assumption that pulling STB high would stop the stream was incorrect. As you can test from the above example the handshaking works as you can spend time setting the bits high and low as you desire (try "High, High, High, High, Low, Low, Low, Low") and only register the changes when you pulse the STB line low. I'll look into setting the port to cause an interrupt when data is received, but not after this amount of Gin :) Hope this helps. Regards Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 282	From: geoff	Date: 06/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection. Thanks Geoff

Hi Chris, Further to my tests with the User Port, there's some code here http://www.alioth.net/Projects/Z80/piotest-intr.asm to use the interrupts from the PIO chip but for a different computer. Everything should be accessible in the Einstein. I see no reason for anything to not be enabled. In XBasic the command you might need to use is WAIT instead of INP. I can't find my BBC Basic reference guide at the moment but there should be a similar command. The WAIT command is followed by 3 numbers, ie; 20 WAIT J1,J2,J3 J1 is the port number (&32 for User Port) J2 and J3 are used to compare the data from the port with a user specified scheme and return a result if there is a match. 1. Get data from port. 2. XOR with J3 3. AND with J2 4. continue if result is non-zero But I don't think that's really what you intended. If you need to pass a stream of data from the PC to the Einstein with handshaking in Basic you need some form of the INPUT# command and set it to read data from the User port, or do it in assembler. The code in the page I linked to above can be changed for the Einstein (including but not limited to); First, change the port addresses ----- ; Port and function - place one of these on the address bus. DEFINE PortA_DATA #30 DEFINE PortA_CMD #31 DEFINE PortB_DATA #32 DEFINE PortB_CMD #33 ----- You might also need to change the org, Stack Pointer and VectorTable Second, set up the port for input instead ----- SetupPIO ld a, Input ; Put PIO port A into input mode ----- Third, re-write "BlinkerLights" and the "PortA_Intr" to read a stream of data and display it. I'll leave that bit up to you. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 283	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 07/04/2008
Subject: PC/EINEY printer port connection.not enough output power.

Hi Geoff, Thanks for the info and the tests you've done. From your tests it seems to me now clear that the Einey side of mode 1 does work with the specified hand shaking. I made this assumption a couple days ago and thought I had better check out the PC side of things. In brief: On the Einey I set up the port b in mode 3 set bit 0 pin 2 for output the rest left as inputs. I made a circuit using 303 resister and a LED connected to data pin 0. The LED lit up but not very brightly. If I connected the LED circuit to 5v pin 1 of the user port the LED came on much brighter. I tried an analog switch TC4016BP ic scrimped off an old Einey mother board connecting 5v pin 1 through the IC to the LED and data pin 2 bit 0 of the user port to the gate of the IC the LED lit but only dimly. Next I connected a wire from 5v pin 0 to the gate of the IC the LED lit up bit more brightly but not as bright as directly connecting the LED circuit to 5v pin 1. It seems the outputs of the user ports are week on power. With the above knowledge I tried the connections to the PC printer port. Just a connection for ground and pin 10 Acknowledge of the centronics plug on the printer cable connected to the PC. On the PC I have a program running which sets the ECP parallel port to byte mode and pols the status port for the state of acknowledge. Here is an irritation! Information off the web says that reading the inputs of the status port will always show high if there is nothing connected to the port. No one seems to be saying how the PC is to know that there is something connected. Never the less after fiddling with wires my program does read acknowledge as low when there is no power supplied to the acknowledge pin. Ok connecting 5v pin 1 of the user port to pin 10 acknowledge for the PC printer port does get my program polling acknowledge as high and disconnecting puts it back to polling low. Connecting the output pin 2 data bit 0 to acknowledge makes no difference. As with LED circuit I tried to use the data output as a gate switch for the IC with power from pin 1 5v going through IC to acknowledge. This did not work. Putting 5v from pin 1 onto the gate of the IC also didn't work. I tried a transistor of unknown specs this did not switch power with data pin going to the gate but did when I wired 5v from pin 1 to the transistor base. It seems outputs from the user ports are too week in themselves to register on the PC printer port. Volt meter reading for data pin 0 was around 3.4v for pin 1 4.94v. Surfing for answers on the web there is a suggestion that an op-amp would be the option to boost power on week out put lines. If I can find one I'll try this. Many Thanks for your time and effort. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 284	From: geoff	Date: 07/04/2008
Subject: Re: PC/EINEY printer port connection.not enough output power.

Hi Chris, Thanks for the update. I know the Einey user port is TTL level (can't remember the specs) and I thought that the PC Parallel port was the same but I know there are sometimes problems interfacing the parallel port. I'll look into it. I'm going to be trying to boot into DOS from a compact flash card later this week and will let you know how things go. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 285	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: ZBasic wanted

Attachments : Hi phil, I don't know if anyone already sent you this but I've just found my ZBASIC disk. The attached inage was made with CPCDiskXP v1.6 If you have any problems with it just let me know. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 286	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: Re: ZBasic wanted

Sorry about that, It wasn't meant to go to everyone.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 287	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 24/04/2008
Subject: Parallel port connections. Update.

Parallel port connections. Update. Hi Geoff, Still no success with hand shaking using mode 1 on port A the port used for the Einey printer port. I have though established parallel port import with hand shaking from the PC printer port by using port A for data and polling bit 2 busy in the Einey auxiliary register and using port b Einey user port line 2 bit 0 to toggle acknowledge on the PC. Both ports are used in mode 3; port A set for 8 bit import; port B bit 0 for output. The data output pin from the user port was only 3.4v multi metre reading not enough to put acknowledge high on the PC. To get it to higher voltage the data line was put through a 74ls244 (an 8 line buffer)taken off an old Einey mother board. VCC for the IC came from the 5v pin 1 of the user port. After the IC the voltage was still 3.4v so a 1k resister was used to pull up to the 5v from pin 1 (I think a 2k should be used here). This brought the output up to around 4v enough to set acknowledge on the PC. The 74ls244 might not be needed just the pull up resister but I'm guessing the IC gives Einey some protection against to much power back feeding. I have programming on the PC and Einey to receive streams of data to Einey without bytes missing or duplicating. As a test for data output power levels from Einey's port A to the PC I used some simple programming for Einey to send and the PC to receive. Einey streamed data over to the PC ok (no hand shaking established here yet) but it shows no additional hardware circuitry is needed for data lines for the PC. Regarding mode 1: A multi metre test on the printer port showed strobe pin 1 of printer port connected to Aready of the z80 pio to have a healthy 5v. Enough to hold acknowledge high for the PC. With a connection to the PC there is no sign of strobe going low with a negative pulse. This should happen when strobe from the PC to acknowledge pin 19 (connected to ASTB of z80 PIO) goes from low to high. Triggering on the rising edge. A test I can try later (when I can disconnect my present improvised connection) is to use strobe pin 1 to power a LED. run the program 10 PUT &31,&4F 20 N=GET(&30) 30 PRINT N 40 GOTO 20 Then touch the line attached to acknowledge pin 19 to 5v an see if the LED blinks off. Given that this works unlike my present set up where I have programming polling control over monitoring hand shaking inputs and setting handshaking outputs-: mode 1 hand shaking is invisible to the programmer. There is no control in mode 1 to read the state of acknowledge or set a hand shake to the peripheral. The only way I can see mode 1 handshaking to be effective is that the programming to import a byte as above or its machine code equivalent is only run when triggered by an interrupt. I'm still mode 1 confused. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 288	From: fil_simmons	Date: 26/04/2008
Subject: Xtal Dos Dissassembly Update

Hi All, Recently I said that I had nearly completed the disassembly of the Xtal Dos CCP (Console Command Processor), the bit that does the command line procesing, and that I had started on the BDOS portion and that I hoped to complete this by the Autumn. Well I'm pleased to say that the BDOS disassembly is nearly finished too! The reason is that it occured to me to compare Xtal Dos to the source code for CP/M 2.2. I have a copy of this. It was never optimised for Z80, merely copied from the 8080 intsruction set which is a subset of Z80 machine code. Guess what! The Xtal Dos code is about 85% identical to CP/M 2.2. Apart from raising an interesting historical question (did Xtal license CP/M code from Digital Research or did they reverse engineer it?), it means that it's saved me a huge amount of work. So the chances are the now the whole thing will be posted sooner than later. Having said this I have decided to rework some of the CCP disassembly so that the labels conform more closely to those of CP/M 2.2 - this should help anyone else who wants to compate the two OS's. Since I did the CCP entirely from my own head the labels are different at the moment. So I won't now be releasing the CCP until this is done. The entire piece of work is going to be in excess of 100 documented pages with a detailed commentary on every routine, so it's still a substantial chunk of work to get through, please be patient :) I apologise for not posting the forumn more frequntly and being slow to answer any postings, I don't actually have a phone or an internet connection so I have to venture to civilisation once in awhile to post. Also my laptop is broken at the moment. Soon I'll be moving closer to other beings and the joys of modern technology will once more be available to me - can't wait :)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 289	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 29/04/2008
Subject: general comment

Hi All, Over the time that I've been involved with the Einstein community I've known enthusiasts to be absent from contact for long periods only for them to reappear after researching and developing Einey projects of benefit to all of us. There are also less fortunate reasons where active contact has to be put aside for a time for the fear that Einey interest and enthusiasm will be a distraction for dealing with other important personal issues such as employment and family. Members of this group can have varying depths of Einstein interest and should be able to make postings, not make postings or just be a passive observer without fear of embarrassment. So please apologies for absence are not required. If postings to the group have become sparse then from Phil's latest post for what is to come, for example (100 documented pages with a detailed commentary on every routine) will be well worth the wait. This will be useful information and complementary to making good use of the compact flash interface that Geoff has shown to work. I have made an attempt to interface the CF with unfortunate results. My eyes are not as good as I would like them to be or my hands as steady. Soldering the closely pitched pins of a CF holder seemed a bit ambitious for me so I had the idea to push wires into the CF to hold them in place then use super glue along the rows of wires to make a rigid and manageable adapter. It may well work but in my case the glue flooded out the tube and glued not only the wires but wires to the CF and the CF to the work bench. One useless CF for my efforts. A problem with hardware developments are that many of us are not capable when things become too intricate. Ways need to be found to make building hardware less fiddly even at the expense of a lack of compactness. With a suggestion from one of Geoff's posts to use a CF to IDE adapter I had a look on Ebay. Regularly auctioned 3 x CF to IDE Compact Flash Adapter Male Bootable B03 Buy it now price: £0.99 Postage costs: £3.99 Seller xiandaixg Just 2P short of £5 for three seems pretty good to me. Up on the internet I found a pinout for the CF/IDE adapter at http://pinouts.ru/DiskCables/ide2cf_cable_pinout.shtml Another problem I had in making up development board for tatung pipe projects using solder less breadboards was that I wanted to work on the board in front of the Einstein monitor. The ribbon cable from the pipe to the front of the computer seemed to be too long to maintain signal strength. So how close does the CF need to be? The problem of neatly housing addons becomes more difficult if things just have to dangle off the pipe. Another hardware project of my own. I've made up a link between the Einstein's printer and user port to the PC printer port. My initial intention to create the link and machine code hand shaking routines that can be called from basic both on the Einstein and PC to transfer one byte reliably. I'm leaving others to decide how the routines can be repeatedly called to chain bytes for use in their own programming. I've used the byte sending routines to open a text file on the PC and have it displayed on the Einstein screen. I have done so as a demonstration and test for myself to make sure no bytes were missing or duplicated. On the PC I'm using Bbcbasic for Windows. I was hoping the link would be a straight forward wiring job but as Muphy's law would have it this was not how it has become at the moment. There are a number hidcups which make the link more complicated. Hidcup 1: In mode 1 port A the printer port has two hand shaking lines strobe and acknowledge but there isn't a register where these handshakes can be read or set. The PIO appears to have its own automatic hand shaking built in. The strobe hand shake is an output and I have it attached to the ACK pin on the PC which can be polled from the status register. There is not a way though to monitor the input to the Einstein on port A's acknowledge pin. A programming loop to read port A's data port can't be held for not being able to read the Acknowledge pin status. Without this ability the same data byte is read repeatedly instead of waiting for a new byte sent. In the Z80 PIO manual it says the raising edge of the strobe (an import to acknowledge pin on port A) generates an interrupt (if it has been enabled). It seems to get the kind of hand shacking required more sophisticated programming using the interrupt will be needed. Until I can find a working program example or work out by trial and error how it can be done I've put using mode 1 aside. I am instead successfully using port A Einey's printer port and port b the user port to transfer data. Data from the PC printer port is sent to port A Einstein's printer port and strobe from the PC to bit 2 busy in the Einey auxiliary register. I'm using port b Einey user port line 2 bit 0 to toggle acknowledge on the PC. Hidcup 2: Unfortunately this is not straight forward wiring. Data outputs from the user port is low in voltage and needs additional circuitry to make the voltage high enough to set acknowledge on the PC. Using port B might make the link more complicated but there is an extra potential. There are 5 line inputs to the PC status register. ACK will be needed for normal hand shaking but the other four could be set by the Einstein's user output for the PC to read 15 different values for a menu to run different communication services. The user port could also be used by the Einstein to read 3 bit imports in addition to strobe from the PC's control port. Hidcup 3: My present programming on the PC uses access directly to the I/O registers of the printer port. This is OK with win95 & win98 but it will not work with XP or win2k. BBC4W comes with a third party utility WINIO which can be used directly for reading and writing to I/O ports using BBC4W with XP and win2k. I tried using it but it seemed unreliable some times working some times not. I need time to read the WINIO documentation if I can understand more fully how it operates I might see what the problems are. Once I've decided on the best option to use I'll post hardware and software details to the group and create a web page for the web site. I also want to get a CF attached to my Einstein with Geoff's interface and put the details of the build and software to read and write to CF sectors up on the web site. For a web site surfers the build will have to be simple as possible and the mounting and housing a neat and tidy construction. Something as good as Jose's external 3.5 floppy he built in a vidio case. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 290	From: fil_simmons	Date: 29/04/2008
Subject: A few ideas

Hi All, In the library today - so I have internet :) We have talked about a lot of diverse things over the last couple of years. One problem arising from this is that the message board is not optimised for threads - so it's really hard to keep track of topics and the 'state of play' with a particular discussion - especially if they are left for awhile and returned to. Since it is in the nature of the tinkering that we are all engaged in, one way or another, that we dip in and out of topics - some way of tying this up better would be great. Beggars cannot be choosers and we are stuck with the format of the messageboard. I wonder if Chris could be prevailed upon (or more considerately, someone else might volunteer) to get a listing of all the posts and sort them chronologically under discussion threads. These could be posted as a zip and be downloadable from the files section. The first one would be a lot of work, but if it were then done quarterly it would be a fairly simple and quick job? Other hardware project ideas - As you know the Einey has an internal clock supported by the CTC. In a previous incarnation I had an Einey with a real time clock piggy- backed onto the z80 Cpu - it was a Texas Intruments package and I developed routines to date and time stamp files. I believe the person who developed it is no longer with us, and my DOS (that used it) was destroyed. I believe the chip is still available and is dirt cheap. It was mounted on a chip holder which was soldered to the CPU and drew power from it - it was able to feed date and time info direct onto the bus via a port setting. If we develop XTAL dos further to support big drives and directories then Date Time stamping will become essential. Ram - this has been talked about before. The Z80 supports very fast pageing in chunks of up to 64kb, this is why the ROM works. This is how the silicon disc worked once upon a time. This is how banked CP/M 3 works. For an electronics person taking some large chunks of RAM, sticking them on the bus, and integrating some chip select multiplexing is probably no more difficult than any of the other the fine work that's been done to date. Imagine being able to run concurrent programs, imagine how powerful the OS could become if it had its own 64k page, imagine having a common data page, imagine having a 64k TPA for each of your running applications,imagine being able to grab an extra few 64kb pages of memory for your application when you wanted them, imagine being able to store the FAT of a large hard drive in its own memory page... The software to enable and select paging is very simple and could be implemented in a BDOS call. There is a Zilog chip called the Z180A? - not sure. It's pin compatible with the Z80A - but it runs at 8Mhz. A little bird told me once upon a time that to get it to run on the Einstein all you need to do is replace the CPU and the oscillator crystal (to 8Mhz) and everything works a treat - at twice the speed :) Finally, is anyone else here sad enough to want to meet up at a convention sometime i.e. have our own meeting somewhere where we can bring our stuff, chat and see what every one else up too?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 291	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 30/04/2008
Subject: Re: general comment

Just to let folk know I'm an avid follower of the groups progress. Thanks. Just waiting for the space to reinstall my Eineys again. Bob On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 1:36 PM, Chris Coxall <albertstc01> wrote: > Hi All, > > Over the time that I've been involved with the Einstein community > I've known enthusiasts to be absent from contact for long periods > only for them to reappear after researching and developing Einey > projects of benefit to all of us.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 292	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /all_postings.txt Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : ALL POSTS FROM 1 TO 290 Date: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:56 pm You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/all_postings.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 293	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /all_postings.doc Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : POSTS FROM 1 TO 290 Date: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:56 pm Text file has been deleted. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/all_postings.doc To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 294	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: Re: A few ideas

Hi All,   #290 From: "fil_simmons" *|I wonder if Chris could *|be prevailed upon (or more considerately, someone else might *|volunteer) to get a listing of all the posts and sort them *|chronologically under discussion threads. *|These could be posted as a *|zip and be downloadable from the files section.   I'm not sure how best to do this. As Phil has said the message board is not optimized for threads as with other forum groups I've visited where a choice of thread titles is given to post to. With yahoo groups if a post is made as a reply to another posting it becomes part of that thread, if a post is sent as a new post its classed as new thread. It will remain a stand alone post unless some one else posts a reply to it.   How threads are made with yahoo depends on how an individual member makes their posting. To get posts structured into yahoo discussion threads it really needs the member making the post to first consider whether it would be better to post it as a reply to an existing post. Even possibly in making a reply to one of their own previous posts.   When a reply to an existing post is made it appends the original post to it. I'm not sure how to consider this - good or bad. It does duplicate messages useful for reference to another post but when reading posts in a thread online it just duplicates the same text which is in the next post of the thread to read.   Up until now I've more of less just waited until postings have come down to my inbox and rarely ever glanced on line at group messages. Inbox e-mails from the group do not show the post number. Online a post number is shown prefixed by "#" which is in chronological order of all postings sent. This can be used to make references to other posts. Selecting individual message text for copy and paste online I've now found simpler than opening outlook express, selecting an e-mail and then copying that to a text editor. The former will also show the post number the latter doesn't.   Online Yahoo Groups provides a search facility for specific text and lists all the posts its in. Unfortunately messages from a search can not be expanded so select copy and paste to a text editor will not show all message content but making a note of post numbers can be made.   Example: For search text "Fpga" can be found in posts 42 51 52 53 54 55 56 60 70 71 86 89 116 221 222 227 228   Getting a text copy of all messages posted to the group so far has been easy and quick its been uploaded to the files root folder as all_postings.doc size 146kb this will load into M/s WordPad. A previous up upload with a TXT extension has been deleted as it opened up in the browser window, was too large to cut and paste to NotePad and wouldn't paste into WordPad.   The question how to get messages listed into discussion threads? Another question could be which messages should be in which thread and who decides. A message that one person thinks should be in one thread another person might think it to be in another.   I don't want rules made up to how posts should be made. Or even to be seen to be advising as to how posts should be made. This for some members especially new members could discourage them from making posts.   I think the best thing for the moment is to let members, who want to, read the messages in all_postings.doc or online at the Yahoo Group and make up their own listing of post numbers of messages they consider should be grouped together. They can post their listing of message numbers to the group or copy and paste their selection of messages into a document file and upload it to the group files and/or can add their own comment.   From what is contributed there might be seen a clear and obvious way to go forward.   Regards Chris Coxall     ----- Original Message ----- From: fil_simmons To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 2:56 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] A few ideas Hi All, In the library today - so I have internet :) We have talked about a lot of diverse things over the last couple of years. One problem arising from this is that the message board is not optimised for threads - so it's really hard to keep track of topics and the 'state of play' with a particular discussion - especially if they are left for awhile and returned to. Since it is in the nature of the tinkering that we are all engaged in, one way or another, that we dip in and out of topics - some way of tying this up better would be great. Beggars cannot be choosers and we are stuck with the format of the messageboard. I wonder if Chris could be prevailed upon (or more considerately, someone else might volunteer) to get a listing of all the posts and sort them chronologically under discussion threads. These could be posted as a zip and be downloadable from the files section. The first one would be a lot of work, but if it were then done quarterly it would be a fairly simple and quick job? Other hardware project ideas - As you know the Einey has an internal clock supported by the CTC. In a previous incarnation I had an Einey with a real time clock piggy- backed onto the z80 Cpu - it was a Texas Intruments package and I developed routines to date and time stamp files. I believe the person who developed it is no longer with us, and my DOS (that used it) was destroyed. I believe the chip is still available and is dirt cheap. It was mounted on a chip holder which was soldered to the CPU and drew power from it - it was able to feed date and time info direct onto the bus via a port setting. If we develop XTAL dos further to support big drives and directories then Date Time stamping will become essential. Ram - this has been talked about before. The Z80 supports very fast pageing in chunks of up to 64kb, this is why the ROM works. This is how the silicon disc worked once upon a time. This is how banked CP/M 3 works. For an electronics person taking some large chunks of RAM, sticking them on the bus, and integrating some chip select multiplexing is probably no more difficult than any of the other the fine work that's been done to date. Imagine being able to run concurrent programs, imagine how powerful the OS could become if it had its own 64k page, imagine having a common data page, imagine having a 64k TPA for each of your running applications, imagine being able to grab an extra few 64kb pages of memory for your application when you wanted them, imagine being able to store the FAT of a large hard drive in its own memory page... The software to enable and select paging is very simple and could be implemented in a BDOS call. There is a Zilog chip called the Z180A? - not sure. It's pin compatible with the Z80A - but it runs at 8Mhz. A little bird told me once upon a time that to get it to run on the Einstein all you need to do is replace the CPU and the oscillator crystal (to 8Mhz) and everything works a treat - at twice the speed :) Finally, is anyone else here sad enough to want to meet up at a convention sometime i.e. have our own meeting somewhere where we can bring our stuff, chat and see what every one else up too? No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1402 - Release Date: 4/28/08 1:29 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 295	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /all_postings2.doc Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : UPDATED missing posts inserted. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/all_postings2.doc To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 296	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 02/05/2008
Subject: Re: A few ideas

Hi All, In continuing response to Phil's post #290       >Other hardware project ideas -   When I saw it suggested surfing the web I didn't believe it. It seemed like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. The tip to remove ICs from a circuit board was to use an electric heat gun the type used in DIY to strip paint. Use the high setting in my case that was 600w but 500w is ok. On the other side of the board use pliers or an IC extracter. I tried it 10 seconds to remove a chip. Not a mark left on the board. Up until then I had spent a lot of time using the traditional method of a soldering ion and solder sucker. It was hit and miss some removed ok. Just as many were stubbon and got cooked useless. Some are still left stuck in the board ruined surrounded by soldering iron burn marks.   The dred of having no alternative to remove an IC from a board has gone. So folks, before chucking those old boards get out the heat gun. And if you need a chip post a wanted to the group.   Regards Chris Coxall ----- Original Message ----- From: fil_simmons To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 2:56 PM Subject: [tatung_einstein] A few ideas Hi All, In the library today - so I have internet :) We have talked about a lot of diverse things over the last couple of years. One problem arising from this is that the message board is not optimised for threads - so it's really hard to keep track of topics and the 'state of play' with a particular discussion - especially if they are left for awhile and returned to. Since it is in the nature of the tinkering that we are all engaged in, one way or another, that we dip in and out of topics - some way of tying this up better would be great. Beggars cannot be choosers and we are stuck with the format of the messageboard. I wonder if Chris could be prevailed upon (or more considerately, someone else might volunteer) to get a listing of all the posts and sort them chronologically under discussion threads. These could be posted as a zip and be downloadable from the files section. The first one would be a lot of work, but if it were then done quarterly it would be a fairly simple and quick job? Other hardware project ideas - As you know the Einey has an internal clock supported by the CTC. In a previous incarnation I had an Einey with a real time clock piggy- backed onto the z80 Cpu - it was a Texas Intruments package and I developed routines to date and time stamp files. I believe the person who developed it is no longer with us, and my DOS (that used it) was destroyed. I believe the chip is still available and is dirt cheap. It was mounted on a chip holder which was soldered to the CPU and drew power from it - it was able to feed date and time info direct onto the bus via a port setting. If we develop XTAL dos further to support big drives and directories then Date Time stamping will become essential. Ram - this has been talked about before. The Z80 supports very fast pageing in chunks of up to 64kb, this is why the ROM works. This is how the silicon disc worked once upon a time. This is how banked CP/M 3 works. For an electronics person taking some large chunks of RAM, sticking them on the bus, and integrating some chip select multiplexing is probably no more difficult than any of the other the fine work that's been done to date. Imagine being able to run concurrent programs, imagine how powerful the OS could become if it had its own 64k page, imagine having a common data page, imagine having a 64k TPA for each of your running applications, imagine being able to grab an extra few 64kb pages of memory for your application when you wanted them, imagine being able to store the FAT of a large hard drive in its own memory page... The software to enable and select paging is very simple and could be implemented in a BDOS call. There is a Zilog chip called the Z180A? - not sure. It's pin compatible with the Z80A - but it runs at 8Mhz. A little bird told me once upon a time that to get it to run on the Einstein all you need to do is replace the CPU and the oscillator crystal (to 8Mhz) and everything works a treat - at twice the speed :) Finally, is anyone else here sad enough to want to meet up at a convention sometime i.e. have our own meeting somewhere where we can bring our stuff, chat and see what every one else up too? No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.6/1402 - Release Date: 4/28/08 1:29 PM

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 297	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/05/2008
Subject: message sorter

Attachments : Hi All,   With Ref: to phils post 290 message 290 From: "fil_simmons" *|I wonder if Chris could *|be prevailed upon (or more considerately, someone else might *|volunteer) to get a listing of all the posts and sort them *|chronologically under discussion threads. *|These could be posted as a *|zip and be downloadable from the files section.   Well if you have downloaded all_postings2.doc you know I'm working on it. In the text attachment is a program listing designed to be pasted into the BBCBASIC FOR WINDOWS free DEMO VERSION which will run in all versions of windows. The prog is a quickly hashed job just to get something up and running that I can use for myself at the moment. But you being Einey users most of you will have least have some hands on experience of writing basic. You might want to develop your own programs from the listing attached. Except for a couple of lines this is bbcbasic as you know of it in the Einstein. The program might even run in the Einstein but the PC is the target intention.   The program opens up all_postings2.doc and allows the user to select messages by post number and put just the selected into a new text file.   As Phil has said "it's really hard to keep track of topics and the 'state of play'". Browsing through all_postings2.doc I've noticed a lot message content on a subject that would be useful to give reference to the same subject in another message. There is a lot of message content including that of my own that gets lost from memory.   I'm working at an indexing method where similar subject material in different messages can be located by post numbers. A way that any group member who makes a new post can list message numbers where they know similar subject content is held.   The BBCBASIC for Windows can be Downloaded from http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/.   The more help the better it will be to get messages sorted into some categorized way. Some original thinking is also needed here.   Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 298	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 18/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /ROM/ROMDIS.ZIP Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : Rough commented disassembly of the Tatung Einstein ROM 1.2. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/ROM/ROMDIS.ZIP To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 299	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 25/05/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /ROM/Einstein.zip Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : Einstein MOS: Excellent commented disassembles by Ric Hohne. Professionally done. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/ROM/Einstein.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 300	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 25/05/2008
Subject: Uploaded to the group files in the ROM folder-file Einstein.zip

Uploaded to the group files in the ROM folder-file Einstein.zip Hi All, An email to the web site from Ric Hohne. >I've come across some disassembles done back in 86/87. >Are you interested in a copy ? They are soft copies which Ric generated back in 86/7. He believes he has identified all the data areas. Suitable comments were added at the time, including info on the MCAL calls. He started to put together some info on the IO registers, but never got round to finishing it. These have been uploaded to the group files in the ROM folder-file Einstein.zip This makes my meeger attempt to make sense of a mos disassembly pretty much useless. Ric's work is Professionally done. Lots of documented comment as you would expect in an assemble file. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 301	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 11/06/2008
Subject: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel

Hi All, I've successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel port. The wiring is straight forward PC data lines D0 to D7 to Einstein D0 to D7. PC strobe to Einstein STB. PC acknowledge to Einstein RDY. Plus one or more grounds. No additional circuitry needed. In post #289 I reported "It seems to get the kind of hand shacking required more sophisticated programming using the interrupt will be needed. Until I can find a working program example or work out by trial and error how it can be done I've put using mode 1 aside." The working example code was where I should have looked first in MOS. Its there to configure port "A" of the Z80 PIO for a printer port. Thanks to Ric Holne's disassembles of MOS it was easy to find. I also reported "The data output pin from the user port was only 3.4v multi metre reading not enough to put acknowledge high on the PC." This seemed to be true when using mode 3 and one data line from the user port for handshaking when, to exchange data to and from the printer port but when all user port data lines, RDY and STB were connected the 3.4v was enough power to set the inputs on the PC printer port. In one way or another I was totally side tracked, confused and reported problems that didn't exist. I have now though working example programs for exchanging data in both directions via the user port using interrupts with mode 0 and 1 and the PC eccp printer port. Regarding the printer port:- The programing used for the user port was a direct copy of that used by the printer port as set by MOS at power up. There is a problem I have with using the printer port. I can't get strobe from pin 1 to go low and set acknowledge on the PC printer port low. It remains permanently high. The programing I use on the PC to import data (which works with RDY with the user port) only works with one hand shaking line instead of two. Using a timing delay on the PC does allow streams of data to be imported without bytes being missed or duplicated but when output from the Einstein has stopped there is no hand shaking to stop the last byte output being repeatedly read by the PC program. Besides slowing down transfer defeats the purpose. This is a nuisance. As the printer port programing is installed at power up no further programing would be required and any established means to use the printer port such as pressing "CTRL" "R" or a MCALL would work and be held at the termination of output. There is a difference between the wiring of the printer and user ports. From the Einstein Hardware Manual. Port A is dedicated as a printer output by MOS at power-on, and this port has a monostable (IO53b) [this is a circuit using a 74LS123 chip] which provides a (1us) pulse triggered by the ready line of the PTO port A and is fed to the strobe output (M001, pin 1). This pulse is needed to comply with the centronics printer-interface timing. I understand this to mean that the high on pin 1 strobe would be mainly off and only going on for short bursts when data has been put on the data lines. I have tested this with the BBC4W program and by using strobe from pin 1 to power an LED. Strobe from my Einstein stays permanently high. This could be a fault with my Einstein. I'll make another attempt to use the printer port and test more thoroughly. I'll upload the example programing to files as soon as I've made them more tidy than they are at the moment. They will be provisional and still rudimentary. Spare space in the Einstein above the transient program area will be needed for the code and some scratch pad bytes for serious implementation. At the moment they just show an example of how user port interrupt handling can be made. Regards Chris Coxall Topic reference in messages #283 #282 #281 #277 #276 #275 #274 #111

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 302	From: geoff	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: Re: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel

Hi Chris, Firstly let me thank you for posting the MOS disassembly that Ric Holne sent to you. I'll be working on a MOS to boot from my compact flash card next month, it seems easiest to add some code to MOS to make the CF card drive 4 then any existing software will just treat the CF like another floppy (with partitions as separate disks for now). I'll also look into getting some adaptors made up but that will take some time yet. I've got a newer version of the "Compact Flash Access Guide" to post with some corrections and new programs, there were some anomalies with data transfer that I wasn't aware of until I did some testing. I also found some Compact Flash breakout boards available here http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=493 they might be suitable for my CF to Pipe adaptor if you can't wait for me to get boards done. They are certainly easier than trying to solder to the tiny pins of the CF holder. > In one way or another I was totally side tracked, confused and > reported problems that didn't exist. I know that feeling all to well. > I understand this to mean that the high on pin 1 strobe would be > mainly off and only going on for short bursts when data has been put > on the data lines. I have tested this with the BBC4W program and by > using strobe from pin 1 to power an LED. Strobe from my Einstein > stays permanently high. > > This could be a fault with my Einstein. I believe you're right it should go low in between each of the pulses unless the 74LS123 has failed. Have you tried using a printer connected to the printer port? That might be the easiest way to test the port. > I'll upload the example programing to files as soon as I've made them > more tidy than they are at the moment. They will be provisional and > still rudimentary. Spare space in the Einstein above the transient > program area will be needed for the code and some scratch pad bytes > for serious implementation. At the moment they just show an example > of how user port interrupt handling can be made. Thanks again for all your work, I can't wait to see this working. Regards, Geoff > > Regards Chris Coxall > > Topic reference in messages > #283 #282 #281 #277 #276 #275 #274 #111 >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 303	From: jltursan	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: Re: Successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <albertstc01@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > I've successfully linked the Einstein user port to the PC parallel > port. The wiring is straight forward PC data lines D0 to D7 to > Einstein D0 to D7. PC strobe to Einstein STB. PC acknowledge to > Einstein RDY. Plus one or more grounds. No additional circuitry > needed. > > In post #289 I reported "It seems to get the kind of hand shacking > required more sophisticated programming using the interrupt will be > needed. Until I can find a working program example or work out by > trial and error how it can be done I've put using mode 1 aside." > > The working example code was where I should have looked first in MOS. > Its there to configure port "A" of the Z80 PIO for a printer port. > Thanks to Ric Holne's disassembles of MOS it was easy to find. > > I also reported "The data output pin from the user port was only 3.4v > multi metre reading not enough to put acknowledge high on the PC." > This seemed to be true when using mode 3 and one data line from the > user port for handshaking when, to exchange data to and from the > printer port but when all user port data lines, RDY and STB were > connected the 3.4v was enough power to set the inputs on the PC > printer port. > > In one way or another I was totally side tracked, confused and > reported problems that didn't exist. I have now though working > example programs for exchanging data in both directions via the user > port using interrupts with mode 0 and 1 and the PC eccp printer port. > > Regarding the printer port:- > The programing used for the user port was a direct copy of that used > by the printer port as set by MOS at power up. There is a problem I > have with using the printer port. I can't get strobe from pin 1 to go > low and set acknowledge on the PC printer port low. It remains > permanently high. The programing I use on the PC to import data > (which works with RDY with the user port) only works with one hand > shaking line instead of two. Using a timing delay on the PC does > allow streams of data to be imported without bytes being missed or > duplicated but when output from the Einstein has stopped there is no > hand shaking to stop the last byte output being repeatedly read by > the PC program. Besides slowing down transfer defeats the purpose. > > This is a nuisance. As the printer port programing is installed at > power up no further programing would be required and any established > means to use the printer port such as pressing "CTRL" "R" or a MCALL > would work and be held at the termination of output. > > There is a difference between the wiring of the printer and user > ports. > > From the Einstein Hardware Manual. > Port A is dedicated as a printer output by MOS at power-on, and this > port has a monostable (IO53b) [this is a circuit using a 74LS123 > chip] which provides a (1us) pulse triggered by the ready line of > the PTO port A and is fed to the strobe output (M001, pin 1). This > pulse is needed to comply with the centronics printer-interface > timing. > > I understand this to mean that the high on pin 1 strobe would be > mainly off and only going on for short bursts when data has been put > on the data lines. I have tested this with the BBC4W program and by > using strobe from pin 1 to power an LED. Strobe from my Einstein > stays permanently high. > > This could be a fault with my Einstein. > > I'll make another attempt to use the printer port and test more > thoroughly. > > I'll upload the example programing to files as soon as I've made them > more tidy than they are at the moment. They will be provisional and > still rudimentary. Spare space in the Einstein above the transient > program area will be needed for the code and some scratch pad bytes > for serious implementation. At the moment they just show an example > of how user port interrupt handling can be made. > > Regards Chris Coxall > > Topic reference in messages > #283 #282 #281 #277 #276 #275 #274 #111 > Good work Chris!. I know that it's still in its first stages; but about the possibilities of the parallel connection,...could it be possible to use the Einstein as a slave of the PC (or even master :) )?, as an inmediate use I'm thinking in the 3" disk drives, because I don't want to disassemble one of the Einey drives to assemble it back in the PC. Keep on the good work! Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 304	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 12/06/2008
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /PRINTER PC LINK/P_LINK.zip Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <albertstc01> Description : Einstein User Port to PC Printer Port com software You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/PRINTER%20%20PC%20%20LINK/P_LINK.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <albertstc01>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 305	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 13/06/2008
Subject: User port/PC printer link

Hi Geoff, Jose and All, I've up loaded a zip archive for the user port/PC parallel link to files. http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/PRINTER%20% 20PC%20%20LINK/P_LINK.zip It has programing for both the Einstein and PC. The present PC programing will only work with win95/98. I am making up win2000 and XP versions at the moment. I've added a text file holding the program listings. These are not as tidy as I would like. To heavily commented and still have remed out debugging lines. I've burnt the midnight oil on this and my eyes and hands need a rest from the monitor and keyboard but I will update them to something more respectable. The important feature is the interrupt handling for mode 0 and 1. With this known new peripherals can be considered. I've read a lot of good programing for using node 3 on the user port for control factors but nothing for data exchange. The link with the PC is just one example to be thought of. Jose wrote #303 >could it be possible to >use the Einstein as a slave of the >PC (or even master :) )? The present link only uses 8 data lines and two hand shaking lines. This leaves the PC printer port with 4 input lines not being used and 3 outputs not being used. If we are prepared to use two Z80 PIO ports the 7 wires could be linked to the Einstein with one port in mode 3 configured for 3 inputs and 4 outputs to the PC. This would give the PC the programing option to send instructions for Einstein programing to call 7 different routines. In reverse the Einstein could ask the PC to implement up to 16 routines. So yes I would say. Einstein slave or master, all that would be neccessary is thinking out the logic for the programing. >as an >immediate use I'm thinking in the 3" disk drives This is a thought that occupies my mind. With my experience of writing EDIP I think I might be able to write the programing at the PC end but as I posted in message #111 >Understanding how applications use dos is what I >don't know. If an application has embedded data >within it to save as a file how does it tell dos >its start address and end address. > How do you point dos to recognize a virtual disk connected to the user or printer port? I'm hoping Phil's work with DOS and new O/Ss might provide the answers. My immediate thought to use the link is to create 32k of memory space on the PC as a kind of shadow memory. Then different portions of that memory to be downloaded into the Einstein's RAM to be run. I not sure whether it will work like a ROM switch or something like jump and call far in early IBM computers. Its a thought that keeps crossing my mind at the moment. In general I think the question to ask is what kind of hardware can be attached to the user port and then could it be emulated by programing on the PC? From Geoff #302 >Firstly let me thank you for posting the MOS disassembly that Ric >Holne sent to you. Yes! But a very big thanks to Ric Holne himself. I started myself to get a MOS dis assemblies commented to known I/O ports and scratch pad locations. I didn't seem to be getting any where fast. The MOS disassembly must of taken up a lot of Ric's time and effort back in 86/87. >I've got a newer version of the "Compact Flash Access Guide" to post >with some corrections and new programs, there were some anomalies with >data transfer that I wasn't aware of until I did some testing. Excellent >I also >found some Compact Flash breakout boards available here >http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=493 Now that does look a lot more manageable. Regarding CF connectors. I've chased some dead ends. 1: IDE>CF adapter, the 50 pin CF to 40 pin IDC do not give the interfacing required for Geoff's wiring. Some of the CF pins wanted for the pipe connect directly to the 5v supply of the adapter others to ground. 2:SCSI micro "D" sockets and plugs. This does look promising. The pins horizontally have same pitch as the CF card but the pitch vertically between the two rows 25 pins is not the same. From Geoff >I can't wait to see this working. I still do but on the printer port. If the strobe from pin 1 of the printer port on my Einstein is at fault it will mean other Einstein users could wire up the connecting link and any established programing for output to a printer will go to the PC. No need for more programing on the Einstein for output just on the PC to receive. I've been going through the back numbers of my Einstein magazines. I seem to recall reading some time ago that there is spare space above the transient program area and also in the vidio ram that is available for the users own programing. With Geoff's work with the CF, Phil's new O/S and the printer link this could become useful to know. Can anyone recall in which magazines this info is? Regards Chris Coxall Topic reference in messages #303 #302 #301 #283 #282 #281 #277 #276 #275 #274 #111

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 306	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 19/08/2008
Subject: web site problems again.

Hi All, Just to let you know I'm having web site problems again. The original site http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ is still ok and has improved as Lycos are not putting a column of adds down the side. Also links to other sites don't get locked into Lycos frames any more. The mirror site http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/xindex.html and the emulator http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/xindex.html have been closed down by Orange. I'll arrange new web space for these as soon as I can. I've come to the end of my tether with Orange formerly Wanadoo formerly Freeserve. They provide and promote services which they later close down. First it was smart groups which I had to transfer to this Yahoo group now the ftp web space they provided. They offer replacement web space but you are restricted to using their templates. Uploading own designed HTML pages can't be done. Also the original web site addresses can't be transferred so I've lost the the established links with search engines like Yahoo which took time to build up. Orange seems to be for kids and mobile phones. They don't have much interest for their IP customers. Orange was my Internet Provider but I've just moved to TalkTalk. I've moved from dial up with Orange to broadband with TalkTalk and it costs me £5 less per month. Good riddens Orange. Work in progress with the parallel Einstein/PC link. I have now working programing to upload the whole of the Einstein's ram to a file on a PC running XP and vice the versa. Uploading takes just over 7 seconds. There is also a feature which will add an Einstein *.com file into the transient program area of an Einstein ram file on the PC which then can be downloaded to the Einstein and run. I've used the downloading ram programing from MOS just to make sure a working DOS would be put into ram. This I hope will possibly be helpful for developing new or adapted DOS types which could point to different storage media such as compact flash. Its early days yet but the program on the pc will be an executable. On the Einstein a ram.com file is used to load the up and downloading code into memory. Another *.com file can then be loaded and run. A call to the uploading code's address (provided it has not been over written) is all thats needed to upload the ram. The call is usually made by dropping down into MOS and using the "G" HEX ADDRESS command. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 307	From: fil_simmons	Date: 20/08/2008
Subject: Re: web site problems again.

Hi, The mirror site appears to have been blocked by clean web 'providing a service to the community' ha. ha. - they supply a support link if you think the site should be unblocked but it's non clickable :) very helpful. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Just to let you know I'm having web site problems again. > > The original site > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ > is still ok and has improved as Lycos are not putting a column of > adds down the side. > Also links to other sites don't get locked into Lycos frames any more. > > The mirror site > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/xindex.html > and the emulator > http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/retrocomputer/xindex.html > have been closed down by Orange. > > I'll arrange new web space for these as soon as I can. > > I've come to the end of my tether with Orange formerly Wanadoo > formerly Freeserve. They provide and promote services which they > later close down. First it was smart groups which I had to transfer > to this Yahoo group now the ftp web space they provided. They offer > replacement web space but you are restricted to using their > templates. Uploading own designed HTML pages can't be done. Also the > original web site addresses can't be transferred so I've lost the the > established links with search engines like Yahoo which took time to > build up. > > Orange seems to be for kids and mobile phones. They don't have much > interest for their IP customers. > > Orange was my Internet Provider but I've just moved to TalkTalk. I've > moved from dial up with Orange to broadband with TalkTalk and it > costs me £5 less per month. Good riddens Orange. > > Work in progress with the parallel Einstein/PC link. I have now > working programing to upload the whole of the Einstein's ram to a > file on a PC running XP and vice the versa. Uploading takes just over > 7 seconds. There is also a feature which will add an Einstein *.com > file into the transient program area of an Einstein ram file on the > PC which then can be downloaded to the Einstein and run. I've used > the downloading ram programing from MOS just to make sure a working > DOS would be put into ram. This I hope will possibly be helpful for > developing new or adapted DOS types which could point to different > storage media such as compact flash. > > Its early days yet but the program on the pc will be an executable. > On the Einstein a ram.com file is used to load the up and downloading > code into memory. Another *.com file can then be loaded and run. A > call to the uploading code's address (provided it has not been over > written) is all thats needed to upload the ram. The call is usually > made by dropping down into MOS and using the "G" HEX ADDRESS command. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 308	From: mmath1x	Date: 21/08/2008
Subject: Einstein TC 01 for sale.

Hi All, I recently rediscovered my Tatung Einstein and also your club website. I wondered if anyone would like to make me a reasonable offer for the following - Einstein TC01 computer s/n 6028319 with 1 disk drive. (In original box/packaging – although box is now a little "dog eared"). Machine is working, had it running for about an hour today, hooked up to a portable TV. It loads the system master disk & and boots into dos etc. Also had a play with some of the games so colour display and sound all seems to be OK. I also have - Einstein System Master Disk V3.0 s/n 36146. Bumper Games Pack disk (came with machine). 8 New – shrink wrapped – Tatung CF2 3" floppy disks. Einstein Quick Reference Card. Einstein DOS/MOS Introduction Manual. Einstein BASIC Reference Manual. Einstein Relatively Basic - Book by Solo Software. Einstein Assembly Language Course – by Glentop, Dr Watson. (Assembler/Disassembler & tutorials – Book & Disk – Mike Bayliss & Graham Rounce). Einstein User Mags - V1 num 1 – Nov 84, V1 num 2 – Mar 85 & V2 num 4 – Dec 86. TV aerial co-ax lead. 5 pin din to 5 pin din lead (pin layout like the 5 on a dice) fits RS232 port. 240 degree 7 pin din plug (plug only) fits Analogue 1 or 2 port.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 309	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 21/08/2008
Subject: Einsteins And Other Equipment

Hi All, Sad News. Stan Gibbs long time article contributor to Einstein Magazines has passed away. The sad news came by the web sites Guest Book http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/guestbook.html There is a list of equipment including 13 Einsteins the beneficiary needs to clear. They only want a donation to a local Cancer charity. However, the items would need to be collected from West Bromwich, West Midlands. See Guest Book. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 310	From: geoff	Date: 22/08/2008
Subject: Re: Einsteins And Other Equipment

Hi Chris, I'll be happy to pick up everything, sort through it and see if there are any bits that the group here needs then auction the rest off and split the profits with the cancer charity of their choosing. If you could contact then ang put them in touch with me that would be great. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Sad News. > Stan Gibbs long time article contributor to Einstein Magazines has > passed away. > > The sad news came by the web sites Guest Book > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/guestbook.html > > There is a list of equipment including 13 Einsteins the beneficiary > needs to clear. > > They only want a donation to a local Cancer charity. However, the > items would need to be collected from West Bromwich, West Midlands. > See Guest Book. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 311	From: adunipace	Date: 26/08/2008
Subject: Stan

Hello everyone, I just wanted to de-lurk here and say how sad I was at Stan's passing. I knew him for over 15 years and we used our interest in the einstein as an excuse to keep in touch. He was a really lovely guy and was so positive throughout his chemotherapy. It's a real loss of a friend and enthusiastic einstein owner. -Andrew Dunipace

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 312	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 30/08/2008
Subject: Stan's legacy for Einstein enthusiasts.

Hi All, Regarding Stan Gibbs passing. The items listed by Derek Waller in his post to the Guest book at http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/guestbook.html have now passed into the hands of of a Sharp User Group member. A member of our own group is in contact and arranging to how Stan's past work with the Einstein will not be lost to Einstein owners and users. There is the big collection of discs, documentation etc. that went with the hardware items mentioned. This could hold Stan's true legacy for Einstein enthusiasts. That which is of his own programing on disk and notes and documentation. It would be a shame if this was overlooked. Stan's passing has shaken me up in a peculiar way. Although Stan Gibbs and other names of authors contributing articles to Einstein magazines might have not been active for some time I still think of them as young active enthusiasts. Then suddenly there is a reminder that we are all not getting any younger. I'm not going to ask members of this group their ages or am I going to tell you mine but I will tell you that I now get free bus rides. I see another member of the established Einstein community and article contributor Andrew Dunipace has become a member of the group and posted his own memorial message to Stan. First let me welcome Andrew to the group and say that "lurking" or as I would prefer to say just being a passive observer of group activity is perfectly permissible. It is not like the magazine days where deadlines had to be met and editors sent out urgent requests to members to contribute content to fill out pages. With an online news group members can be left alone to focus on their interests and post or not post their Einstein activity for others as and when they see fit. Andrew it appears from his post had kept in personal contact with Stan up until his passing. Without creating any demand for this group to have direct contact with past contributors to the Einstein community if current members are still in personal contact it would be good to here of the wellbeing of past article writers to Einstein magazines. With condolences to Stan's family and Friends Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 313	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 03/11/2008
Subject: A few developments

Hi All, Just a few things. 1: A message on the Web Sites guest book "A good home wanted for an Einstein" Location Shropshire. See guest book http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/guestbook.html 2: A new web page for a Einstein user port PC printer port 8bit data transfer link. Wiring and program listings. http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/pio.html 3: I've spent the weekend signing up to about half a dozen free web space providers to find one that appears reliable and does the work I want it to for a mirror site. The winner is CEDHOST Site address http://tatungeinstein.cedhost.com/ still under development. If you want to see work in progress try http://tatungeinstein.cedhost.com/z.php Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 314	From: jltursan	Date: 04/11/2008
Subject: Re: A few developments

Hey!, Firefox seems to identy the WIP page as a phishing site... :D Anyway, I'm not a design expert; but maybe it's a good time to make some changes to the design (of course only if Chris has enough time ;)). I've always find a bit confusing the page layout, it remembers me the multi-column layout of a newspaper. A standard page with a menu/tree in the left and the body at the right could be even easier to design as there're dozens of downloadable templates of such model...:) Just an idea... Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris Coxall" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Just a few things. > > 1: > A message on the Web Sites guest book > "A good home wanted for an Einstein" > Location Shropshire. > See guest book > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/guestbook.html > > 2: > A new web page for a Einstein user port PC printer port 8bit data > transfer link. > Wiring and program listings. > http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/pio.html > > 3: > I've spent the weekend signing up to about half a dozen free web > space providers to find one that appears reliable and does the work > I want it to for a mirror site. The winner is CEDHOST > Site address http://tatungeinstein.cedhost.com/ still under > development. > If you want to see work in progress try > http://tatungeinstein.cedhost.com/z.php > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 315	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 20/02/2009
Subject: Web Site Problems Again

Hi All, If you have visited the original web site at http://members.lycos.co.uk/albertstc01/ you will see I give notice "THIS WEB SPACE IS BEING CLOSED BY THE PROVIDER". Well that's what they said was going to happen on the 16/02/2009. This was just before Christmas last week they have given notice that the web site will continue with a different provider. In the mean time I have been working in a panic to set up alternatives. http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/ is just a straight forward port to secure the existing site as is but now without advertising. The web space is by my present broad band provider. Hope this provides lasting service until I get something better. In my last post I mentioned > I've spent the weekend signing up to about half a dozen free web > space providers to find one that appears reliable and does the work > I want it to for a mirror site. I also gave an address for the one I thought to be the most reliable. It was the least reliable and has closed down. These sites are still going for anyone who wants to view the work in progress for a mirror site. http://einstein.hostrator.com/mirror/index.html http://einstein.freehost10.com/mirror/index.html Many thanks to Jose for his interest in responding to my last post. I value his comments and I am now trying new design ideas that are more easy to navigate. The old web site must now have a ten year history. I started out with limited knowledge and skill using a basic HTML editor and added java scripts downloaded from the web for additional features as time went on. I did borrow the occasional use of a computer with Dreamweaver to wysiwyg up pages but most of the time had to rely on typing in or pasting in script, viewing in a browser and then retyping in adjustments. Time consuming. Recently I found Serif's WEBPLUS SE freeware version excellent and it's features suited for wysiwyging up the pages I want. For just under £10 I've bought the full version. An additional advantage is that it has a desk top publishing sister publication PAGEPLUS SE. I've been using the freeware PagePlus for a long time now and I am comfortable with it's use. A real advantage is that the PagePlus DTP pages can be loaded into WEBPLUS as web pages. Better still copying PAGEPLUS pages to clipboard then pasting into WEBPLUS can be done. With this ability I've created both web pages and a copy pdf document to download from the mirror sites. Acrobat Reader gives the option to shrink to paper size so I've tried to make the document pages both visually comfortable for the default A4 and a shrink to A5 size. Every thing on the mirror sites are very exploratory and experimental at the moment. My intention is to make use of their free facilities until I have something put together I'm confident enough to put up on a premium site with my own domain name. With all the hassles with threats to close down web space I forgot to find the time to wish you all the best for the New Year. I hope you all had a good Christmas. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 316	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 18/09/2009
Subject: USB port for the EInstein

Hi, Well, I've gathered some bits that should enable me to add a USB host port to the Einsten. The chips and firmware I'm using have built in support for the FAT 12, 16 and 32 file systems (with the standard 8.3 naming convention) and should be able to support a limited number of printers too. The CompactFlash project gave me a good insight into the hardware side of things but the problem was always going to be that supporting IDE interfaces was looking more like a dead end as IDE drives are being phased out in favour of SATA, and adding onboard support for FAT file systems just for IDE looked like a lot of effort for a small amount of supported hardware. USB seems far more logical as, once implimented, it will support any USB Mass Storage device. Most digital cameras currently use the same storage system so it should be with us for a while. USB Flash Drives and Hard drives will all be accessable the same way, regardless of how they are actually built. There's also the possibility of adding a number of USB HIDs (Human Interface Devices) such as keyboards, touchpads and mice. I'm also looking into making a network adaptor to get all these Einsteins online, firstly for email, then for an Einstein BB style internet service, but that's some way off yet. I'll keep you all updated but posting this here will help me get my act together. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 317	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 22/09/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein

Hi Geoff and ALL All success to your new project. A USB would really bring the Einstein into the modern world. It does though raise issues which are similar to my own development of linking the Einstein user port and PC printer Port. Interfacing a new device to the Einstein whether a PC, CF or USB for exchanging memory is one thing but to intergrate it with DOS and making it compatible with MOS is another. Additional code in the Einstein for interfacing the device would have to be placed in the Einstein's RAM where exiting applications loaded in and run will not over write it. It all starts to get more complicated. So some questions to satisfy my curiosity. >USB seems far more logical as, once implimented, it will support any USB Mass Storage device. Most digital cameras currently use the same storage system so it should be with us for a while. USB certainly seems a more versatile option. >adding onboard support for FAT file systems I take it that this means the FAT file systems will need to be loaded into the Einstein RAM at some location. 1: If this is so it will have to stay there when running other Einstein programs in the TPA. 2: So where to put it and how big will it be? 3: Can it be placed without reducing the size of the TPA for other programing? 4: With a smaller piece of code could a piece of Einstein RAM be exchanged with memory in a storage device run and be swopped back? Act something like a MOS Mcal but from the storage device? The CF Interface I'm sorry you have brought closure to the compact flash interface. My regret is that I didn't have the steadiness of hand and eyesight to solder up the finley pitched pins of the compact flash holder. If I find a more manageable way to do it I still will. As I understand it from the documentation you have already provided there was hardware and software instructions to read and write sector by sector to and from the Einstein. I would be content and enjoy experimenting with this feature alone. Find answers to my question 4. Since providing your original documentation has there been any further development hardware and/or software you can share with the group? With hardware has full address decoding with the CF since been established? Is there any new programing you have developed for accessing the CF you can share with us? My Own Development As mentioned in a previous post I have established an Einstein user port / PC printer port link for exchanging data. Example programing can be found at http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/pio.html . A pdf document viewed or downloaded from http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/download/pio_extra.pdf From this I have further programing developed which will snapshot the whole of Einstein RAM to a binary file on the PC. The MOS monitor command can be used to type in a 194 bytes of code which will download a snapshot RAM file from the PC, DOS as well, into the Einstein. So it is a way to boot Einey with a DOS without a floppy disk drive and boot floppy. I do not of course type in MOS the hex every time. I have saved it to a track and sector of a formatted disc with the MOS Write command. The track and sector and address to load to are written on the floppy. I start up the Einstein with out a disk inserted and go into MOS. Insert the disk and load the code using MOS READ. Then I remove the floppy. This is so I know the DOS I am using is always that which has been downloaded from the user port and not been reloaded from a disc. The snapshot Einstein RAM files saved on the PC are useful for opening and exploring the workings of the Einstein RAM with Windows HEX editors and Z80 disassemblers. The snap shot RAM files can be altered in the PC. One innovation I've tried is using BBCBASIC for Windows programing to insert an Einstein *.COM file into the snapshot RAM before downloading into the Einstein. I've done this successfully with XBAS basic and BBCBASIC, and as with other applications, had them running. But! Where do I insert an *.XBS file? With BBCBASIC I know from documentation a *.BBC file is inserted at &400. The real answer I want is to alter or create a DOS which will point to the user port to receive files and to be located in RAM where needed. For *.COM files this is known to be the beginning of the TPA at &100 but when an application wants to load its own file where is the destination address kept? I know from documentation and from viewing the RAM snap shot files that the name of a file to be downloaded by an application is placed at &5C. I also know the 2kb buffer for reading and writing bytes to and from disc is at &FE00. But! Where is the address held to where the application wants these bytes transferred to? Is there a &FB?? scratch pad location that gives this address listed in a way that it doesn't describe its real purpose. I've been trying to find this answer for months now and it is holding up my progress. It has really shown up my ignorance of the workings of the Einstein MOS and DOS. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Mcals and ROM switch-A Question? To show my ignorance. When switched into ROM usually an "OUT (&24)" instruction is the code in the ROM run by the processor or is it loaded into RAM to run? I've been following through MCAL RST 8 insruction and the code it jumps to in RAM at &FC22. The code for RAM is easy to follow then at &FC3B the ROM switch OUT (24H),A - CALL L0FD7-OUT (24H),A. The CALL L0FD7 routine in MOS is then quite happy to load &FB-- scratch pad values that are in RAM into registers such as LD HL,(0FB3AH). How can it access RAM addresses if it is in ROM. IF it can do this why doesn't the CALL L0FD7 in ROM goto &FD7 in RAM? !Totally confused. For my own interest do any members have and use BBCBASIC for Windows? All the best to all with there Einey projects. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > Well, I've gathered some bits that should enable me to add a USB host port to the Einsten. > > The chips and firmware I'm using have built in support for the FAT 12, 16 and 32 file systems (with the standard 8.3 naming convention) and should be able to support a limited number of printers too. > > The CompactFlash project gave me a good insight into the hardware side of things but the problem was always going to be that supporting IDE interfaces was looking more like a dead end as IDE drives are being phased out in favour of SATA, and adding onboard support for FAT file systems just for IDE looked like a lot of effort for a small amount of supported hardware. USB seems far more logical as, once implimented, it will support any USB Mass Storage device. Most digital cameras currently use the same storage system so it should be with us for a while. > > USB Flash Drives and Hard drives will all be accessable the same way, regardless of how they are actually built. > > There's also the possibility of adding a number of USB HIDs (Human Interface Devices) such as keyboards, touchpads and mice. I'm also looking into making a network adaptor to get all these Einsteins online, firstly for email, then for an Einstein BB style internet service, but that's some way off yet. > > I'll keep you all updated but posting this here will help me get my act together. > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 318	From: richard.croskell	Date: 28/09/2009
Subject: New member looking for some programming help

Hi there I used to own an Einstein back when Dixons where selling them off cheap, and must admit I was really impressed by the quality and build of the machine. I did use it for quite a while doing some programming in Basic / z80 Assembler. Now I'm looking to relive my youth, so after deliberating on which of the old 8-bit computers I previously owned and would like to start playing around with once again, I have decided to purchase either a TC-01 or a 256 at some point in the near future (funds allowing). So I was wondering if there is anyone that can help me out with some documentation:- 1) Basic Language Manual 2) Einstein Memory Map 3) Firmware (MOS) guide 4) Programmers reference guide Items 2 - 4 being related to me getting up and running on the assembly language front. I have googled for info and tried what few links I found, but seemed to draw a blank except for a PDF copy of the MOS/DOS intro manual. I'm currently playing around with MESS/TC-01 Emulation atm until I can get hold of the real thing. Thanks in advance for any help that may be forthcoming.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 319	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 28/09/2009
Subject: A message For Phil

Hi Phil, !The first attempt at sending this to your own email address from my own inbox returned "delivery status notification error". So has the second. I've only had a quick glance for the moment at your e-mail you sent to me directly and it has already brought sense for what has been confusion to me for a long time. Already very helpful. I think you may have meant this to be posted to the group as a whole. as its addressed "Hi all - " If not it would be very good to have it here. Regards Chris Coxall.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 320	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Rply to Richard Croskell

Hi Richard, Welcome to this discussion group. You will find this group has flourishes of activity then very long periods of inactivity. This is probably, especially in my case, because members are heavily involved in their own development projects for the Einstein computer. Don't let this stop you from making as many posts and as frequently as you want. Post any queries you have. They will be welcome. If there is a long period of inactivity don't worry we will still be here. And! I mean long. >So I was wondering if there is anyone that can help me out with some documentation:- >1) Basic Language Manual >2) Einstein Memory Map >3) Firmware (MOS) guide >4) Programmers reference guide For your questions 2 & 3. Mario's excellent Einstein Reborn web site for Einstein resources. MOS/DOS Introduction Manual Hardware Manual WEB SITE http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/ WEB PAGE http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/mans.htm Also look at page http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/micronews.htm Alternative Micro News volume 1 issue 2 hold scratch pad locations for MOS. In the groups Files folder Manuals MosCallsV100.pdf A good listing of Machine calls by Phil Simmons In the groups Files folder ROM Einstein.zip Excellent commented disassembles by Ric Hohne. Professionally done. For your question 1 This site might be of help http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/ You could download a trial version of BBC BASIC for Windows and use its help file. Although intended for the PC most of its commands are compatible with Bbcbasic for the Einstein. You can also play with BBC4W itself. Don't be put off by all the clever stuff that BBC4W can do. You can still type in what I call basic basic as you would with BBCBASIC for the Einstein. Only difference the output is viewed in a window instead of the whole screen. I hope this will get you started. When I think of more I'll post. Any more queries just ask. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 321	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help

Hi Richard, Nice to have a new member here. I have several complete Einstein set-ups (Boxed, complete set of manuals, Introduction, logo, Basic, DOS/MOS and boot disks etc) that I will be disposing of in the near future. They were part of Stan Gibbs legacy and profits from the sales go the unit that treated Stan for the cancer that he eventually succumbed to. Group members will be offered stuff here first for vary fair prices / donations. I just need to catalogue stuff. The best reference for All things Einstein are; 1. Tatung Einstein Hardware Manuel published by Tatung (ISBN 1-85086-010-6) 2. Albert Revealed (unknown publisher) Albert Revealed has full listings of all MOS commands, MCAL routines, Scratch-pad locations, XTAL DOS, XTAL Basic, and a memory map. Unfortunately my copy is missing the Appendices with the memory map and Index of basic reserved keywords and error messages. I'll try to scan some useful bits soon to add to the files section here. Regards, Geoff > Now I'm looking to relive my youth, so after deliberating on which of the old 8-bit computers I previously owned and would like to start playing around with once again, I have decided to purchase either a TC-01 or a 256 at some point in the near future (funds allowing). > > So I was wondering if there is anyone that can help me out with some documentation:- > > 1) Basic Language Manual > 2) Einstein Memory Map > 3) Firmware (MOS) guide > 4) Programmers reference guide > > Items 2 - 4 being related to me getting up and running on the assembly language front.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 322	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein

Hi Chris, I don; have much time but here are a couple of quick answers, I'm trying to source parts, and information on the ACC hard drive with the ACC BIOS that accessed their hard drice as they had already dealt with the hard drive integration problem. The FAT file system is too large to reasonably fit into the Einstein. It will be dealt with by the adaptor I'm building. The Einstein will merely send commands to the Pipe and my adaptor will deal with directory creation, reading and writing files, handling folders etc. If I can get more information on the ACC device I might follow their lead and have the hard drive showing as drive 2 (following the PC standard of a C drive) > 4: With a smaller piece of code could a piece of Einstein RAM be exchanged with memory in a storage device run and be swopped back? Act something like a MOS Mcal but from the storage device? That should be possible. > The CF Interface > I'm sorry you have brought closure to the compact flash interface. My regret is that I didn't have the steadiness of hand and eyesight to solder up the finley pitched pins of the compact flash holder. If I find a more manageable way to do it I still will. I'll try make a second and send it to you if I get time. > With hardware has full address decoding with the CF since been established? Full address decoding is possible (I've followed the Einstein standard of addressing in 8bit chunks (ie only bits 3 to 7 are used for each device, bits 0 to 2 are used by those devices) > Is there any new programing you have developed for accessing the CF you can share with us? Nothing above what's posted here. Just blind reading and writing of sectors without implementing any file system. > My Own Development > As mentioned in a previous post I have established an Einstein user port / PC printer port link for exchanging data. Example programing can be found at http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/pio.html . A pdf document viewed or downloaded from http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/download/pio_extra.pdf > Your developments look very interesting. I'll reply to the rest of your post later when I can read it properly. Do you have a copy of the "FlexiDos" ROM? Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 323	From: richard.croskell	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: Rply to Richard Croskell

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "bbcchris2000" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Richard, > > Welcome to this discussion group. You will find this group has flourishes of activity then very long periods of inactivity. This is probably, especially in my case, because members are heavily involved in their own development projects for the Einstein computer. Don't let this stop you from making as many posts and as frequently as you want. Post any queries you have. They will be welcome. If there is a long period of inactivity don't worry we will still be here. And! I mean long. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Chris Many thanks for the info you provided, I have found and downloaded some bits and pieces to get me started. Regards Richard

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 324	From: richard.croskell	Date: 29/09/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help

H Geoff Thanks for the reply and information. Unless I manage to find one in the meantime (not too likely), I would certainly be interested in purchasing one of the set-ups once you have catalogued them. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Richard, > > Nice to have a new member here. I have several complete Einstein set-ups (Boxed, complete set of manuals, Introduction, logo, Basic, DOS/MOS and boot disks etc) that I will be disposing of in the near future. They were part of Stan Gibbs legacy and profits from the sales go the unit that treated Stan for the cancer that he eventually succumbed to. Group members will be offered stuff here first for vary fair prices / donations. I just need to catalogue stuff. > > The best reference for All things Einstein are; > 1. Tatung Einstein Hardware Manuel published by Tatung (ISBN 1-85086-010-6) > 2. Albert Revealed (unknown publisher) > > Albert Revealed has full listings of all MOS commands, MCAL routines, Scratch-pad locations, XTAL DOS, XTAL Basic, and a memory map. Unfortunately my copy is missing the Appendices with the memory map and Index of basic reserved keywords and error messages. > > I'll try to scan some useful bits soon to add to the files section here. > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 325	From: jltursan	Date: 01/10/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help

Hi Richard, Welcome aboard!. It's nice to see that new nembers are still joining the group, in fact I joined the group some years ago also looking for programming info :) In the "Files" section, you can find some demos that you can try on your Einstein/emulator and if you want, feel free to contact me about the sources....or much better, I'm wondering why I didn't upload the sources along the COM. So, probably I'll update a bit the "Files" section. If you've any question about programming (I must warn you that I'm not an expert at all when talking about MOS, I'm more into the direct hardware access) I'll do my best to answer you. There're a lot of MOS/DOS expert around here; so I'm sure you'll find a lot of info asking here. Of course, don't hesitate to contact me through email if you want more detailed info. Again, welcome to the group! P.D.: There're some nice and exciting new projects "growing" (USB support!) in the group; so I think that it's a good time to join and take part of them ;) Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "richard.croskell" <richard.croskell@...> wrote: > > Hi there > > I used to own an Einstein back when Dixons where selling them off cheap, and must admit I was really impressed by the quality and build of the machine. > > I did use it for quite a while doing some programming in Basic / z80 Assembler. > > Now I'm looking to relive my youth, so after deliberating on which of the old 8-bit computers I previously owned and would like to start playing around with once again, I have decided to purchase either a TC-01 or a 256 at some point in the near future (funds allowing). > > So I was wondering if there is anyone that can help me out with some documentation:- > > 1) Basic Language Manual > 2) Einstein Memory Map > 3) Firmware (MOS) guide > 4) Programmers reference guide > > Items 2 - 4 being related to me getting up and running on the assembly language front. > > I have googled for info and tried what few links I found, but seemed to draw a blank except for a PDF copy of the MOS/DOS intro manual. > > I'm currently playing around with MESS/TC-01 Emulation atm until I can get hold of the real thing. > > Thanks in advance for any help that may be forthcoming. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 326	From: richard.croskell	Date: 01/10/2009
Subject: Re: New member looking for some programming help

Hi Jose Thanks for the welcome and info. I'm slowly getting up and running on MESS emulator ATM - not purchased any hardware yet (BTW anyone reading this that has contacted me with hardware for sale - if I don't get back to you for a while it's due to considering my options as I have had a few offers and awaiting potential others). I would appreciate and sources you can make available - thanks. I'm currently playing around with ZEN assembler/MOS Calls doc - only Assembler I could find any documentation for (was for the MSX version - but I got it sussed in the end - except for how to overwrite an existing file - which is a pain) Saying that I have managed to successfully Assemble some simple stuff and create a *.com file that works (after a few crashes). Not done much with basic yet - except use the basic tutorial disk image to find out all the keywords and play around a little. I probably take a look at BBC basic for now as I think I can get some documentation for that. Anyways thats all for now - it's been a little frustatrating with lack of tools/docs - but fun all the same - bye for now :) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi Richard, > > Welcome aboard!. It's nice to see that new nembers are still joining the group, in fact I joined the group some years ago also looking for programming info :) > > In the "Files" section, you can find some demos that you can try on your Einstein/emulator and if you want, feel free to contact me about the sources....or much better, I'm wondering why I didn't upload the sources along the COM. So, probably I'll update a bit the "Files" section. > > If you've any question about programming (I must warn you that I'm not an expert at all when talking about MOS, I'm more into the direct hardware access) I'll do my best to answer you. There're a lot of MOS/DOS expert around here; so I'm sure you'll find a lot of info asking here. > > Of course, don't hesitate to contact me through email if you want more detailed info. > > Again, welcome to the group! > > P.D.: There're some nice and exciting new projects "growing" (USB support!) in the group; so I think that it's a good time to join and take part of them ;) > > Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 327	From: joanne	Date: 03/10/2009
Subject: games for the tatung einstein

hi, just wondering if there is any one around shropshire or the midlands who could help with some einstein games. I have a couple of 3" disks, and would like to use the machine again . The only games which i have at the moment are oh mummy, chuky egg, fukung in las vegas. please e mail me on ag004r1244@blueyonder.co.uk/ or yahoo, or tel 01952 402200. thanks adam

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 328	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 17/10/2009
Subject: Re: USB port for the EInstein

Hi all, Very quick message to say that the the USB adaptor is coming along well. I now have the "Pipe" cabling to "glue logic" to "FAT" to "USB stack" to "Mass storage device" sections up and running and can read the ID from the Mass storage device (in my case a thumbdrive with a FAT file system) I'm planning on updating the whole design once I have done some testing and perfected the file transfers and ironed out the bugs that I will inevitably find. My plan is possably to introduce a "translator" to accept the same commands that would be sent to the 1770 FDC and implement the same port structure as the 1770. Then to use the USB in place of an external floppy all we'd need to do the the OS is divert transfers for drive 3 to a different port, and write a disc change (folder change) routine. This plan may change, I'd love to hear your feedback. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 329	From: charlie	Date: 29/01/2010
Subject: Patching DOS

Has anyone patched the OS in order to transparently interfaced their new hardware? I've read about dos routine vectors and I'm wondering; > which vectors need patching > where to load code to stay resident If there are examples around that would save me some time; else I'm off to work with MESS :) Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 330	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS

Hi, Which hardware are you interested in interfacing? I started to implement the CP/M GIDE bios and software modifications for the CompactFlash adaptor to act as multiple 8MB hard drives (so not altering CP/M too much and keeping it compatible with the latest XtalDOS software There's some information here >> http://www.lesbird.com/sebhc/HeathkitGIDE.html I stopped with that project when it became apparent that a USB port could be added. I have USB hardware finished but might move back to CF for the software additions as it will make the development easier if I do it in two parts. I'll send some more details when I get back from work. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Has anyone patched the OS in order to transparently interfaced their new hardware? > > I've read about dos routine vectors and I'm wondering; > > > which vectors need patching > > where to load code to stay resident > > If there are examples around that would save me some time; else I'm off to work with MESS :) > > Charlie >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 331	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 30/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS

Greetings Geoff!   I posted on the off chance that someone was still reading - it's been a while since the last post.   I've enjoyed reading about your add-on exploits. I'm an MMC/SD fan myself and that's what I'll be interfacing; probably on the pipe.   I'd like to be as transparent as possible so existing software 'just works' - I'd hoped to implement a virtual floppy.   Charlie     From: id_fugu_is_unavailable Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 1:29 PM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Patching DOS   Hi, Which hardware are you interested in interfacing? I started to implement the CP/M GIDE bios and software modifications for the CompactFlash adaptor to act as multiple 8MB hard drives (so not altering CP/M too much and keeping it compatible with the latest XtalDOS software There's some information here >> http://www.lesbird. com/sebhc/ HeathkitGIDE. html I stopped with that project when it became apparent that a USB port could be added. I have USB hardware finished but might move back to CF for the software additions as it will make the development easier if I do it in two parts. I'll send some more details when I get back from work. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@ ...> wrote: > > Has anyone patched the OS in order to transparently interfaced their new hardware? > > I've read about dos routine vectors and I'm wondering; > > > which vectors need patching > > where to load code to stay resident > > If there are examples around that would save me some time; else I'm off to work with MESS :) > > Charlie >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 332	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS

Hi, The work I did on interfacing the CF card is in the files section of this group. Link is on the left menu ( or here > http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Compact%20Flash/ ) As I mentioned the only previously done and documented modifications, that might be easy to adapt, for using different devices for the file system used the GIDE (add on Z80 IDE interface) for hardware and the CP/M modifications that I linked to in my last post, although this hasn't been implemented on the Einstein it has on many other Z80 systems. As XtalDOS 2.1 was fully compatible with CP/M all the software that ran under one should work under he other. I'd ultimately like to patch XtalDOS so that it was compatible in exactly the same manner that wad used for the ACC hard drive for the Einstein but I've never come across one, or even a disk with the modified DOS on it. I'll clear some space and set up an Einstein today and see if I have any success at figuring out which parts of the CP/M BIOS need patching. It probably sounds harder than it is. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Charlie Robson" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Greetings Geoff! > > I posted on the off chance that someone was still reading - it's been a while since the last post. > > I've enjoyed reading about your add-on exploits. I'm an MMC/SD fan myself and that's what I'll be interfacing; probably on the pipe. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 333	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 31/01/2010
Subject: Re: Patching DOS

Great!   I'll help where I can. My Z80's pretty strong, it's only the time which is lamentably lacking :¬)   C From: id_fugu_is_unavailable Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 3:23 PM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Patching DOS   Hi, The work I did on interfacing the CF card is in the files section of this group. Link is on the left menu ( or here > http://uk.groups. yahoo.com/ group/tatung_ einstein/ files/Compact% 20Flash/ ) As I mentioned the only previously done and documented modifications, that might be easy to adapt, for using different devices for the file system used the GIDE (add on Z80 IDE interface) for hardware and the CP/M modifications that I linked to in my last post, although this hasn't been implemented on the Einstein it has on many other Z80 systems. As XtalDOS 2.1 was fully compatible with CP/M all the software that ran under one should work under he other. I'd ultimately like to patch XtalDOS so that it was compatible in exactly the same manner that wad used for the ACC hard drive for the Einstein but I've never come across one, or even a disk with the modified DOS on it. I'll clear some space and set up an Einstein today and see if I have any success at figuring out which parts of the CP/M BIOS need patching. It probably sounds harder than it is. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk, "Charlie Robson" <charlie_robson@ ...> wrote: > > Greetings Geoff! > > I posted on the off chance that someone was still reading - it's been a while since the last post. > > I've enjoyed reading about your add-on exploits. I'm an MMC/SD fan myself and that's what I'll be interfacing; probably on the pipe. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 334	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 14/02/2010
Subject: Will HxC unit work on the Tatung Einstein?

Will HxC unit work on the Tatung Einstein? I asked this question in forum for http://torlus.com/floppy/ Reply from Jeff Site Admin if the Tatung Einstein used Extended *.DSK, this should works without problem. From the web site "The project is currently in a prototype stage : it means that most of the stuff works (both hardware and software), but that it is still not ready to be delivered to the public. We are now planning to have ready-to-use boards manufactured and sell them at a reasonable price. " Looks like there is now a virtual floppy drive for the Einstein. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 335	From: ian	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Einstein from e Bay

Hi All, I just bought an Einstein from e Bay without any disks with it whatsoever. Now I've never used one before and don't know what I should expect from the start up screen. My thoughts being that I haven't bought a fully functioning computer. OK if somebody could answer please, without the Basic and DOS disk should I be able to enter anything on the screen? I can tune in the TV I use with it to a black screen and have tried typing but get no characters. I know it boots in to a monitor I thought the disk might have to be present for that to allow the output of what you type? Thanks for your help Ian

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 336	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

Hi Ian,   You should get a blue screen with yellow text inviting you to enter MOS commands at a * prompt.   You can download the dos.mos manual here:   http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/mans.htm   Charlie     From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk [mailto:tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk] On Behalf Of ian Sent: 01 July 2010 17:41 To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay     Hi All, I just bought an Einstein from e Bay without any disks with it whatsoever. Now I've never used one before and don't know what I should expect from the start up screen. My thoughts being that I haven't bought a fully functioning computer. OK if somebody could answer please, without the Basic and DOS disk should I be able to enter anything on the screen? I can tune in the TV I use with it to a black screen and have tried typing but get no characters. I know it boots in to a monitor I thought the disk might have to be present for that to allow the output of what you type? Thanks for your help Ian

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 337	From: Ian Smith	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

Hi Charlie,  Thanks for your help, as I thought the Einsteins a duff one. Never mind I'll try it with a VDU before giving up hope, and if no joy there be on the lookout for another one. Cheers Ian --- On Thu, 1/7/10, Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Date: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 17:50 Hi Ian,   You should get a blue screen with yellow text inviting you to enter MOS commands at a * prompt.   You can download the dos.mos manual here:   http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/mans.htm   Charlie     From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk [mailto:tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk] On Behalf Of ian Sent: 01 July 2010 17:41 To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay     Hi All, I just bought an Einstein from e Bay without any disks with it whatsoever. Now I've never used one before and don't know what I should expect from the start up screen. My thoughts being that I haven't bought a fully functioning computer. OK if somebody could answer please, without the Basic and DOS disk should I be able to enter anything on the screen? I can tune in the TV I use with it to a black screen and have tried typing but get no characters. I know it boots in to a monitor I thought the disk might have to be present for that to allow the output of what you type? Thanks for your help Ian

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 338	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

Hi, Might be a silly question, but it doesn't have an 80 column card on the back of it does it? I believe that you could set them to default on so you won't get any useful output from the "tv" connector on the side. Aside from that you can also set jumpers inside the Einstein to give different video outputs. You can even set them up with a high res 80 column monochrome monitor and a low res 40 column monitor and go "dual head" switching from one monitor to the other as you wished and still displaying the last thing to be shown on each monitor while you use the other. Remember that with an 80 column card fitted there are *three* different connectors you can get video output from. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 339	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 01/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

You need to check the appropriate part of the hardware manual - available at the site I linked before - because the monitor socket can output YUV or RGB depending on how some internal jumpers are set. They're usually set to YUV by default because that's how the Tatung monitor worked.   If you need a new Einy then you should go to b & h computers - they bought up all the stock when Tatung went tats up - you'll get a guaranteed as-new machine. http://www.bandhcomputers.co.uk/einstein.htm    You could also consider getting this one fixed..!       Charlie     From: Ian Smith Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 7:57 PM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay   Hi Charlie,  Thanks for your help, as I thought the Einsteins a duff one. Never mind I'll try it with a VDU before giving up hope, and if no joy there be on the lookout for another one. Cheers Ian --- On Thu, 1/7/10, Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@ hotmail.com> wrote: From: Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@ hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay To: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk Date: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 17:50 Hi Ian,   You should get a blue screen with yellow text inviting you to enter MOS commands at a * prompt.   You can download the dos.mos manual here:   http://www.tatungei nstein.co. uk/front/ mans.htm   Charlie     From: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk [mailto:tatung_ einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk] On Behalf Of ian Sent: 01 July 2010 17:41 To: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay   Hi All, I just bought an Einstein from e Bay without any disks with it whatsoever. Now I've never used one before and don't know what I should expect from the start up screen. My thoughts being that I haven't bought a fully functioning computer. OK if somebody could answer please, without the Basic and DOS disk should I be able to enter anything on the screen? I can tune in the TV I use with it to a black screen and have tried typing but get no characters. I know it boots in to a monitor I thought the disk might have to be present for that to allow the output of what you type? Thanks for your help Ian

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 340	From: Ian Smith	Date: 02/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

Hi Geoff, I'll check if it has an 80 column card though I think the problem lies elsewhere. When I press the Alpha Lock key it doesn't toggle the light, and there's no brief drive light when I switch on searching to see if there's a floppy disk inserted. Regards Ian --- On Thu, 1/7/10, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> wrote: From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Einstein from e Bay To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Date: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 20:16 Hi, Might be a silly question, but it doesn't have an 80 column card on the back of it does it?  I believe that you could set them to default on so you won't get any useful output from the "tv" connector on the side. Aside from that you can also set jumpers inside the Einstein to give different video outputs. You can even set them up with a high res 80 column monochrome monitor and a low res 40 column monitor and go "dual head" switching from one monitor to the other as you wished and still displaying the last thing to be shown on each monitor while you use the other. Remember that with an 80 column card fitted there are *three* different connectors you can get video output from. Regards, Geoff ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/ <*> Your email settings:     Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/join     (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email:     tatung_einstein-digest@yahoogroups.co.uk     tatung_einstein-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:     tatung_einstein-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:     http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 341	From: Ian Smith	Date: 02/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein from e Bay

Hi Charlie, I'll check the manual to see if the VDU internal jumpers affect the TV port, as I'm using a TV. Apparently it could be affected by an 80 column card which I'll check for when I get home tonight. Thanks Ian --- On Thu, 1/7/10, Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> wrote: From: Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Date: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 20:28 You need to check the appropriate part of the hardware manual - available at the site I linked before - because the monitor socket can output YUV or RGB depending on how some internal jumpers are set. They're usually set to YUV by default because that's how the Tatung monitor worked.   If you need a new Einy then you should go to b & h computers - they bought up all the stock when Tatung went tats up - you'll get a guaranteed as-new machine. http://www.bandhcomputers.co.uk/einstein.htm    You could also consider getting this one fixed..!       Charlie     From: Ian Smith Sent: Thursday, July 01, 2010 7:57 PM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay   Hi Charlie,  Thanks for your help, as I thought the Einsteins a duff one. Never mind I'll try it with a VDU before giving up hope, and if no joy there be on the lookout for another one. Cheers Ian --- On Thu, 1/7/10, Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@ hotmail.com> wrote: From: Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@ hotmail.com> Subject: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay To: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk Date: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 17:50 Hi Ian,   You should get a blue screen with yellow text inviting you to enter MOS commands at a * prompt.   You can download the dos.mos manual here:   http://www.tatungei nstein.co. uk/front/ mans.htm   Charlie     From: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk [mailto:tatung_ einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk] On Behalf Of ian Sent: 01 July 2010 17:41 To: tatung_einstein@ yahoogroups. co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein from e Bay   Hi All, I just bought an Einstein from e Bay without any disks with it whatsoever. Now I've never used one before and don't know what I should expect from the start up screen. My thoughts being that I haven't bought a fully functioning computer. OK if somebody could answer please, without the Basic and DOS disk should I be able to enter anything on the screen? I can tune in the TV I use with it to a black screen and have tried typing but get no characters. I know it boots in to a monitor I thought the disk might have to be present for that to allow the output of what you type? Thanks for your help Ian

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 343	From: teeeby	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale

Hello! I am the person who created the Spectrum Emulator (aka Speculator) and Silicon Disc for the Einstein. I designed the Speculator for the Memotech originally. I made the Einstein version a bit later. I didn't know there was a book about the Speculator until today. I'd like to read it sometime to find out how the thing works! :-) The Silicon Disc was done for the Einstein only. I have quite a lot of Einstein items, including an original Einstein computer + monitor + 80-column card, along with Speculator and Silicon Disc hardware + software + documentation. Also a 12" amber Zenith monitor for use with the 80-column card, plus full source code listings for one version of the MOS and DOS. I tried the hardware today and it still works. I also have an Einstein 256 computer + monitor, which I have modified so that double-sided discs can be used with it. I added a Side Select signal to the disc drive connector and modified the DOS to support 800K discs. Unfortunately the built-in 3" disc drive does not work, so I cannot load the modified DOS (or any other DOS for that matter). I would not need much persuading to part with all of my Einstein bits and pieces. I still have all the stuff I used to create the Speculator and Silicon Disc. For example, I have between twenty and thirty 60-way ribbon connectors and nearly 100 bare Silicon Disc PCBs if somebody fancies assembling some! If you are interested in anything I have mentioned, please say so. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 344	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale

Hi Tony, I replied to you via email so sorry if you get this twice. I have developed a CompactFlash and USB adaptor for the Einstein but the software side has been slow progress as I haven't wanted to modify any DOS code in a way that would make it incompatible with previous hardware and software. I'd be very interested in the Silicon Disk hardware, software and documentation and MOS, DOS listings too. The 60 way connectors would help me make adaptors for other group members and it'd be a pleasure to resurrect the silicon disk too. The modifications you made to the DOS to support 800K discs on the 256 would be very interesting. I already have some Einsteins, a 256, 80 column cards and an a couple of your Speculators so they might find better homes with other people in the group. Really anything you can let me know about how the software for the silicon disk works, or how you modified any DOS code to work with bigger drives or different hardware would help the whole group. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 345	From: teeeby	Date: 07/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale

Hello Geoff, Thanks for the reply. The Silicon Disc (please note spelling, SD for short) came with its own MOS-extension ROM which buyers had to fit in the spare ROM socket on the Einstein motherboard. This new ROM automatically formatted the SD each time the machine was switched on. I also wrote some utilities, e.g. to test the SD by writing and reading random data and to make the SD drive 0:, not the default 3:, and increase the floppy drive numbers accordingly. I'm not sure if these were ever released to the public. Have you created your own MOS ROM for your new hardware? If something works in MOS, it should work automatically in DOS (although some extra software on floppy might be needed for new functionality). Regarding the 256, compared to the original Einstein and not withstanding the enhanced VDP, it is a crippled machine. No Pipe and also no Side Select (SS) on the drive interface. My mod to the 256 consists of a PAL stuck on top of the Z80 with wiring connecting the two and a SS wire from the PAL to the appropriate pin on the drive connector. I should take a photo of it. Earlier today, I rediscovered a tube full of PALs programmed for this mod and, even better, some Z80+PAL combos with the wiring already done. Simply remove the existing Z80, plug in the Z80+PAL instead and hey presto! There is a little bit more to it. One track on the underside of the PCB needs to be cut and one wire soldered. I can't remember why, but I could work it out from the circuit diagram. Also, a modified MOS or DOS is needed. The new DOS could be loaded from floppy, but if you want drive 0: at boot-up to be double-sided, then a new MOS ROM is required. I found an EPROM with just such a modified 256 MOS as well today. More later ... Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Tony, > > I replied to you via email so sorry if you get this twice. > > I have developed a CompactFlash and USB adaptor for the Einstein but the software side has been slow progress as I haven't wanted to modify any DOS code in a way that would make it incompatible with previous hardware and software. I'd be very interested in the Silicon Disk hardware, software and documentation and MOS, DOS listings too. The 60 way connectors would help me make adaptors for other group members and it'd be a pleasure to resurrect the silicon disk too. > > The modifications you made to the DOS to support 800K discs on the 256 would be very interesting. > > I already have some Einsteins, a 256, 80 column cards and an a couple of your Speculators so they might find better homes with other people in the group. > > Really anything you can let me know about how the software for the silicon disk works, or how you modified any DOS code to work with bigger drives or different hardware would help the whole group. > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 346	From: charlie	Date: 08/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc / Items For Sale

Hi Tony, again apologies if you receive this twice - I emailed you but I'm dubious about its arrival! I would *love* to build a speculator - putting one of these together would be a huge thrill! I've seen various postings and articles about them and I'm very impressed by the work. Could you please tell me what components you have available to build one and how much you would be willing to part with them for? It would be amazing to see one of these in action :¬) If others on the list wanted one but weren't willing/able to build then I'd be happy to help out assembling if it ever came to that. Regards Charlie (C:=

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 349	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 09/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc - photos

Hi All Something nasty happens from your images - warning to all. Bob On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 6:44 PM, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:   Some photos. I hope the links are clickable! Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 350	From: teeeby	Date: 09/07/2010
Subject: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc pics - second attempt

Here are the Speculator, Silicon Disc and modified 256 photos and scans again, with a better image host this time, I hope. (You might want to block access to www.motorvision.de, though. Nothing naughty, I think, just annoying.) I have put these images here as proof of ownership. A trip down memory lane is fun, but all of my Einstein stuff must go. If you are interested in anything and have not contacted me yet, please do so as soon as possible. Tony Brewer ----------------------------------------- Silicon Disc http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/4KjGTY9X3cqM.jpg Silicon Disc socketed PCBs http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/SM5QAZVqh7er.jpg Silicon Disc bare PCBs http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/EvUxKJxqlNCE.jpg Silicon Disc bare PCBs in box http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/ejSG5cOmAbDt.jpg Silicon Disc labels http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/uKZS65ZAebSs.jpg Silicon Disc instructions http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/XI8EXlJxBWWN.jpg Silicon Disc design 1 of 2 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/nZ4HV9YitXjD.jpg Silicon Disc design 2 of 2 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/ZbuLGLUkWJwm.jpg Speculator http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/9C9iLk7lf6rQ.jpg Speculators http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/50JHgGp1GuaE.jpg 60-way PCB connectors in box http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/upEHfs9euArr.jpg 256 modified for double-sided drives http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/wiHZbPkODPIu.jpg 256 modification - PAL on Z80 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/J0fYGKuLGdMZ.jpg 256 Z80+PAL combos http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/EmkxunpJMSEK.jpg Hardware manual http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/nXiQupwpOUND.jpg MOS source listing http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/uyGKfOLKXczk.jpg DOS source listing http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/iIac1cu2cPht.jpg Yamaha EVDP technical data http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/iWwkAc31a0Eg.jpg

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 351	From: Chris	Date: 10/07/2010
Subject: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

Hi All Just recovered from a severe crash on the PC hard drive and now catching up with the recent activity on the Einstein group. Hi Tony and welcome to the group. I'm a little taken back to have some one who has developed the hardware for both the silicon disk and the spectacular for the Einstein in the group. As a long time user and enthusiast for the Einstein I've heard about these two pieces of equipment but only new one person to have a silicon disc who I'm afraid now is dead. I came to believe both these Einstein add ons were rare and so scarce that even any record of there existence was lost for us present Einstein users. As Geoff has already mentioned he has fitted a compact flash working as hardware but creating a dos or adapting a dos to access it is the hard part. I've established an Einstein user port/PC printer port link and software at both ends to upload and download snapshots for the whole of the Einstein RAM. This though has limited uses. Ideally I would like to be able have the dos in the Einstein save files to the PC, not just file transfer but applications running in the Einstein transferring their files through the link just as they would with a save to an Einstein floppy. To help find out how dos works I've created binary and dissemblings of the Einstein RAM one with just MOS another with just XTAL DOS 205 booted in also as there is more documentation for CP/M, a snapshot of the Einstein RAM booted with XTAL DOS 205 then Duncan Elvin's CP/M+ for the Einstein loaded on top. Of course the snapshots of RAM also hold the code used to transfer the snapshots to and from the PC, also as the the code was loaded in with the MOS Read command a full sector 512 bytes holds garbage as well as the transfer code. I will put these files in a zip archive in the groups files folder. Any information for how an Einstein DOS works and where and how applications running in the Einstein use DOS to specify that part of memory it wants to save as a file on disk would be helpful. How does DOS know the start code and end code of the bytes wanted by an application to be saved to file? In Tony's post he asks Geoff "Have you created your own MOS ROM for your new hardware?" Knowing how to write code for MOS is needed. How does a MOS machine call work? What are the basics? How can you write a new one? It is still all a mystery to me. Can any one explain in simple terms? Probably like most members I don't have the equipment to program an EPROM to try out in the Einstein but the Einstein ROM file used for the MESS emulator can be experimented with by tinkers and dabblers and tested out with emulation. No hardware needed just time and the willingness to use trial and error to test out different Z80 code in ROM files. I've been looking for the answers for some time now see Post #22 30 May 2005. Can anyone give me a lead in with a MOS machine code example. Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 352	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 11/07/2010
Subject: Re: Spectrum Emulator & Silicon Disc pics - second attempt

Hi Tony That's better, no need to block. Bob On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 7:36 PM, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:   Here are the Speculator, Silicon Disc and modified 256 photos and scans again, with a better image host this time, I hope. (You might want to block access to www.motorvision.de, though. Nothing naughty, I think, just annoying.) I have put these images here as proof of ownership. A trip down memory lane is fun, but all of my Einstein stuff must go. If you are interested in anything and have not contacted me yet, please do so as soon as possible. Tony Brewer ----------------------------------------- Silicon Disc http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/4KjGTY9X3cqM.jpg Silicon Disc socketed PCBs http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/SM5QAZVqh7er.jpg Silicon Disc bare PCBs http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/EvUxKJxqlNCE.jpg Silicon Disc bare PCBs in box http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/ejSG5cOmAbDt.jpg Silicon Disc labels http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/uKZS65ZAebSs.jpg Silicon Disc instructions http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/XI8EXlJxBWWN.jpg Silicon Disc design 1 of 2 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/nZ4HV9YitXjD.jpg Silicon Disc design 2 of 2 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/ZbuLGLUkWJwm.jpg Speculator http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/9C9iLk7lf6rQ.jpg Speculators http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/50JHgGp1GuaE.jpg 60-way PCB connectors in box http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/upEHfs9euArr.jpg 256 modified for double-sided drives http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/wiHZbPkODPIu.jpg 256 modification - PAL on Z80 http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/J0fYGKuLGdMZ.jpg 256 Z80+PAL combos http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/EmkxunpJMSEK.jpg Hardware manual http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/nXiQupwpOUND.jpg MOS source listing http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/uyGKfOLKXczk.jpg DOS source listing http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/iIac1cu2cPht.jpg Yamaha EVDP technical data http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/iWwkAc31a0Eg.jpg

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 353	From: teeeby	Date: 11/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

Hello Chris, Some quick answers to your questions below. Q1. "Any information for how an Einstein DOS works and where and how applications running in the Einstein use DOS to specify that part of memory it wants to save as a file on disk would be helpful. How does DOS know the start code and end code of the bytes wanted by an application to be saved to file?" A1. I have what I believe is a full set of photocopies of the DOS 1.32 source code. DOS 1.32 is DOS 1.31 modified with a larger 1KB buffer for a Winchester (hard) drive. The source code also includes the XIOS (Xtal BIOS for DOS) and the Tatung Winchester System BIOS. It is a very long time since I did anything with Xtal DOS (a modified CP/M), but it is the application that tells DOS what is wants saved via various DOS function calls. The DOS/MOS Introduction book lists the DOS functions and if you have a CP/M manual as well then you should be able to work out what to do. Q2. "Knowing how to write code for MOS is needed. How does a MOS machine call work? What are the basics? How can you write a new one? It is still all a mystery to me. Can any one explain in simple terms?" A2. I also have what I believe is a full set of photocopies of the MOS 1.2 source code (which is lucky because my Einstein has MOS 1.2). The MOS makes extensive use of all of the Z80 restart instructions (RST xxH), e.g. RST 38 (opcode FFH) for a MOS break-point. A MOS function call or MCAL for short is made using RST 08 (opcode CFH) followed by the function number, e.g. RST 08H DB 0BFH ;outputs "*** EINSTEIN" logo Note that each MCAL uses only two bytes compared to three for CALL xxxx but there is an overhead reading the function number and calling the actual routine. MOS functions, with code inside the MOS ROM, have the high bit set so start at 80H. User-defined MOS functions have the high bit reset and so run from 00H-7FH. There are two separate tables in RAM that contain the two-byte addresses of each function. One excellent feature of the Einstein is the spare ROM socket, which I use for the Silico Disc. I can't remember what my Silicon Disc ROM does exactly, but it probably patches certain addresses to intercept disc drive routines. I don't think I created my own MCALs (below 80H). The second ROM starts at address 4000H and the first byte must be 00H for it be auto-detected by the main ROM. If so, a CALL 4001H instruction is made. If there is no ROM, the data bus will float or be pulled high so FFH will be returned when reading address 4000H. Address 4001H in the second ROM should have a JP xxxx instruction to an initialization routine. There is a second entry into the second ROM at address 4004H. This can be called by using MCAL D2 as the ROMs are usually switched out so a simple CALL 4004H will not work. Do you have a fulll listing of the MOS functions/ MCALs? Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 354	From: teeeby	Date: 12/07/2010
Subject: Re: Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

I wrote: "MOS functions, with code inside the MOS ROM, have the high bit set so start at 80H. User-defined MOS functions have the high bit reset and so run from 00H-7FH. There are two separate tables in RAM that contain the two-byte addresses of each function." Correction. The last sentence is wrong. There are two addresses in RAM, FMVCT and FUVCT, which in MOS 1.2 are at FB3AH and FB3CH, respectively. FMVCT holds the address of a vector table of addresses for MOS calls, starting with MCAL 80. This table is in ROM. FUVCT holds the address of a subroutine (not a vector table) that deals with all the user-defined MCALs (00-7FH). The default address is also in ROM, early in the MOS initialization so that user-undefined MCALs can be trapped. By changing the contents of FMVCT and FUVCT, all the MCALs can be intercepted and made to do entirely different things if that's what you want! Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 355	From: Chris	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

Hi Tony and all, Thanks Tony for your reply. From your post >Do you have a fulll listing of the MOS functions/ MCALs? Yes there is a a listing of MCALs in the group's files. A pdf document created by Phil Collins. http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gG49TBaU8vveRuMtxh9GooPQBo62QQEXGTabXsHynk0AjqK-1wuUj2tSuxttQAjkaQKJKJGVSVp-Zu-M6FBC8A/Manuals/MosCallsV100.pdf There are also excellent commented disassembles by Ric Hohne of Einstein's MOS AND DOS. http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gG49TIqgBb7eRuMtXTewDT19HUJcGR-TLZn_k4jHq5ceMkzPajj2iNg7C6ngfl5E1a4x3oHq-TJSFsSsj66Ubw/ROM/Einstein.zip Also http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/gG49TJmFUPbeRuMtBxcoKXiTv2hSExlkmbHkD7_L7JHAStGwbF-Y-gI73e_GAMf5DLqz42rwm59gXEMrqpKjzw/ROM/Einstein_ram_DOS.zip I have in pdf documents CP/M Manuals saved in my PC. I'm in possession of a hard copy of the MOS/DOS manual which are also available for download from Mario's excellent Einstein Reborn web site. See POST Message #320 for other links for Einstein info. From these I believe all the necessary tech data to decode and follow through the workings of MOS and DOS is there but understanding which parts of the code and routines are needed is not sow simple. In a way its like a jigsaw in reverse. You see the picture but not the jigsaw pieces you want to extract and manipulate and change. To do this some idea to outline how MOS and DOS need to be described. For example on MCALLs. RST 8 followed by a function number. The RST like the CALL jumps to a new memory address and at the same time puts the return address onto the stack. This address holds the Mcall's function number. The Mcall function number can be found for use by loading it in from the address given by SP. In the Einstein RST 8 "RAM &0008" has JP &FC22. A jump to a routine in RAM at &FC22 the routine listed below. fc22 2279FB LD (&FB79),HL ;tempory store for HL fc25 E1 POP HL fc26 F5 PUSH AF fc27 7E LD A,(HL) fc28 23 INC HL fc29 E3 EX (SP),HL fc2a ED737BFB LD (&FB7B),SP ;tempory store for SP fc2e E5 PUSH HL fc2f B7 OR A fc30 2100FB LD HL,&FB00 fc33 ED72 SBC HL,SP fc35 E1 POP HL fc36 3803 JR C,&FC3B ; (+&03) fc38 31FFFC LD SP,&FCFF fc3b D324 OUT (&24),A ; ROM toggle switch fc3d CDD70F CALL &0FD7 fc40 D324 OUT (&24),A ; ROM toggle switch fc42 ED7B7BFB LD SP,(&FB7B) ;tempory store for SP fc46 C9 RET Within the routine there is an (&24),A instruction whitch switches in the ROM. AS I understand it the processor sees then the Einstein RAM of 65535 bytes as being MOS upto &2000 (8192 bytes)and the remaining Bytes to &FFFF left as it was in RAM. CALLs and Jumps to below &2000 will be to MOS above &2000 to RAM and stay that way until another (&24),A instruction. Then memory is back to RAM as it was. I've tried to follow through the code CALLed to in the ROM for MCALLs at &0FD7 and became some what confused. It seemed at one time to be copying code from MOS to upper RAM. So the QUESTION. When a machine call is executed is it run from the MOS ROM or code exported from ROM to a a buffer in RAM? From a list of scratch pad locations &FBB8 is listed as "Input buffer for MOS entries". No mention is made to how big this buffer is or how to use it. If this was known it might go to some where to answer my question 4) in POST Message #317 Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:19 pm. >4: With a smaller piece of code could a piece of Einstein RAM be exchanged with >memory in a storage device run and be swopped back? Act something like a MOS >Mcal but from the storage device? Could the MOS buffer be used for this? The storage device for Geoff would be the CF, mine would be the PC memory and storage mediums with an Einstein User Port/PC printer Port Link and Tony's a silicon disk all these would be a lot faster than floppy which be so slow to be impracticable. There still remains a problem where would the code to switch memory back and forth be kept without it being over written by applications loaded in and running in the Einstein? It would be small but you can bet every nook and cranny of spare memory tucked away from the TPA has been exploited by one Einstein application or another. I think existing DOS will need to be squashed down for additional routines to be added for new storage systems. To summarize the point I'm trying to make with the above having lots of dater on the O/S is not always helpful for use i,e, a list of scratchpad locations without any example to how they are used. We all need to Know more about DOS and MOS before adding alterations. What now could be helpful is to map out the parts of RAM away from the TPA area that are apparently empty after MOS then DOS has been loaded in and find out if they are allocated space for MOS and DOS buffers. Making up a list of how MOS and DOS use them as they might be borrowed for accessing new hardware while not in use by MOS and DOS. Silly Question. User defined Mcals do these need to be in ROM or can they written in RAM? Regards to all Chris Coxall.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 356	From: Chris	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: Semi virtual Floppy Drive

Hi ALL, Take a look at these two links http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180532244914 http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2102#2102 Interesting Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 357	From: msmithuk	Date: 14/07/2010
Subject: Re: Semi virtual Floppy Drive

I have one of the HCX floppy emulators and a Einstein but have not tried to use them together. I use it with my Amstrad CPC. In effect the HCX just emulates a floppy drive, it has a standard floppy disc cable, so should work with the Einstein. I got mine from a guy who was making some on the retrocomputermuseum forums. Regards Mark --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi ALL, > > Take a look at these two links > http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180532244914 > http://torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2102#2102 > > Interesting > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 358	From: Chris	Date: 15/07/2010
Subject: Corrections: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and genera

Sorry Tony and All My urls to the groups files don't work in post #355 The file MosCallsV100.pdf is in the group's files Manuals/MosCallsV100.pdf Commented disassembles by Ric Hohne of Einstein's MOS AND DOS is in the group's files ROM/Einstein.zip Snapshot binary and disassemblies of Einstein RAM Just MOS, loaded with Xtal DOS205 and CP/M+ in the group's files ROM/Einstein_ram_DOS.zip Regards To ALL Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 359	From: teeeby	Date: 15/07/2010
Subject: Re: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: Hello Chris, Answers intermingled with your questions. > Hi Tony and all, > > <snip> > In the Einstein RST 8 "RAM &0008" has JP &FC22. > A jump to a routine in RAM at &FC22 the routine listed below. > <snip> > Within the routine there is an (&24),A instruction whitch switches in > the ROM. > AS I understand it the processor sees then the Einstein RAM of 65535 > bytes as being MOS upto &2000 (8192 bytes)and the remaining Bytes to > &FFFF left as it was in RAM. > > CALLs and Jumps to below &2000 will be to MOS above &2000 to RAM and > stay that way until another (&24),A instruction. Then memory is back > to RAM as it was. No, the ROMs are switched in when the output from the ROM select flip-flop (toggled by OUT 24H, data irrelevant) is low and address line A15 is also low. A14 determines which ROM output is enabled, low for MOS ROM and high for the 2nd ROM. A jumper on the motherboard selects either 8KB or 16KB size for the 2nd ROM. The memory map with ROMs switched in is as follows: 0000H-1FFFH = MOS ROM (either size) 2000H-3FFFH = MOS ROM (upper half of 16KB ROM) 4000H-5FFFH = 2nd ROM (either size) 6000H-7FFFH = 2nd ROM (upper half of 16KB ROM if jumper selected) 8000H-FFFFH = RAM Only the upper half of RAM is available when ROMs switched in. There is no input port to read the state of the ROM flip-flop. Instead presence of MOS ROM is indicated by zero byte at address 0038H and presence of 2nd ROM by zero at 4000H. > I've tried to follow through the code CALLed to in the ROM for MCALLs > at &0FD7 and became some what confused. It seemed at one time to be > copying code from MOS to upper RAM. So the QUESTION. I think you have been led up the garden path by an incorrect address. It should be CALL 0FCAH. The routine at FC22H is one of a small number of routines copied from the MOS ROM into high memory for when ROM is switched out. The FC22H routine is the RAM interface to the MOS MCAL routine. It does two extra things that the MOS routine doesn't need to, switch in the ROM and reset the stack to high memory if necessary. The stack can be under 100H in DOS - obviously no good when ROM is switched in! > When a machine call is executed is it run from the MOS ROM or code > exported from ROM to a a buffer in RAM? From MOS ROM. > From a list of scratch pad > locations &FBB8 is listed as "Input buffer for MOS entries". No > mention is made to how big this buffer is or how to use it. If this > was known it might go to some where to answer my question 4) in POST > Message #317 Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:19 pm. >> 4: With a smaller piece of code could a piece of Einstein RAM be >> exchanged with memory in a storage device run and be swopped back? >> Act something like a MOS Mcal but from the storage device? > Could the MOS buffer be used for this? FBB8 is start of line buffer for keyboard entry, used mainly by MCAL 9D ZGETLN. > The storage device for Geoff would be the CF, mine would be the PC > memory and storage mediums with an Einstein User Port/PC printer Port > Link and Tony's a silicon disk all these would be a lot faster than > floppy which be so slow to be impracticable. > > There still remains a problem where would the code to switch memory > back and forth be kept without it being over written by applications > loaded in and running in the Einstein? It would be small but you can > bet every nook and cranny of spare memory tucked away from the TPA > has been exploited by one Einstein application or another. I think > existing DOS will need to be squashed down for additional routines to > be added for new storage systems. > > To summarize the point I'm trying to make with the above having lots > of data on the O/S is not always helpful for use i,e, a list of > scratchpad locations without any example to how they are used. We all > need to Know more about DOS and MOS before adding alterations. > > What now could be helpful is to map out the parts of RAM away from > the TPA area that are apparently empty after MOS then DOS has been > loaded in and find out if they are allocated space for MOS and DOS > buffers. Making up a list of how MOS and DOS use them as they might > be borrowed for accessing new hardware while not in use by MOS and > DOS. It would help a lot if you (and I) knew what my Silicon Disc ROM does. I don't have a 5.25" floppy cable with a twist at the moment, so I can't transfer files from Tatung floppies to my PC yet. > Silly Question. User defined Mcals do these need to be in ROM or can > they written in RAM? They could be in RAM or in 2nd ROM or in top half of expanded 16KB MOS ROM. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 360	From: Chris	Date: 16/07/2010
Subject: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi Tony, Many thanks for your answers. You have described how and where MOS and DOS are when implemented, which if all the technical data I have does, it is hidden in with so much detail to confuse a novice like myself. With your response I can now start to make sense of the techy manuals and disassemblies. See some of the jigsaw pieces in the big picture. I will see if I can transfer a snapshot of the whole of the Einstein RAM to the PC with the ROM switched in then make a disassembly. Up until now I was looking at RAM disassembies for code above &2000 then the MOS disassembly. >I don't have a 5.25" floppy cable with a twist at the moment, so I can't >transfer files from Tatung floppies to my PC yet. I'm not quite sure of your Einstein set up here. I gather from what you say on your Einstein you used 5.25 inch floppy drives and to read and/or transfer them to the PC you need a floppy disk cable that has a 4 wire twist for connecting it as drive "A" on the PC? On the http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/ website There are a number of ways to transfer files from the Einstein to the PC. WinEintrans created by Ste Ruddy uses a serial link. If you have the null modem cable to install it you only need to type in and run a small piece of code with the MOS editor. Visit http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/wintran.html Probably most popular method with group members for Einstein 3.5 inch disks is to use CPCDiskXP to transfer them as a disk image from a floppy drive in a PC then use EDIP to extract the files. CPCDiskXP http://www.cpcmania.com/ EDIP http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/edip.html CP/M+ and transfer.com. To install CP/M+ files need to be added to an XTAL DOS boot disk also the TRANSFER.COM file. Once this has been done a MS/DOS 720k floppy 3.5 disk added to the Einstein can have files transferred to it from other xtal dos floppies in other Einstein drives. http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/cpmplus.html CPDRead & CPDWrite This is some what dated but I still keep an old 486 PC with an Einstein 3 inch drive installed as "B" as its the only safest way I know to read Einstein 3 inch discs to disk images in the PC environment. http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/3inch.html I hope every thing above is not something you already know but I'm curious to which method and software you will use in case its not one I know of. Probably more silly questions. With reference to the silicon disk. This I'm assuming is a RAM disk similar in working principle to that which is built in on the Spectrum+3. A long time ago now I made use of the Speccy Ram disk by loading it up with small basic files all with the same line numbers which could by a user menu driven basic program loaded and running in RAM use the merge command to load in and swap different routines in the main basic program to be run. This way I could write a programme doing more things that would be too big to run in RAM alone. You can see from this the way mind was set and still is set to swap in and out different machine code routines to enhance the existing operating systems for the Einstein without using more of the space in RAM. Question 1 From message #345 >This new ROM automatically formatted the SD each time the machine was >switched on. If the silicon disk had not been automatically formatted when the Einstein powered up could the silicon disk be accessed by user created routines to read and write to its addresses? 2)If the objective is to swap code around code between the silicon disk and Einstein RAM would there be any advantage to do this as RAM or more advantage to keep it as a formatted disk and import and export files to and from RAM. 3)If the silicon disk was acting as RAM could the Einstein run code in it in a similar way it can be made to run routines in ROM. 4)I think Geoff will be interested in the answer to this one to. To run the silicon disk as floppy drive 3: it seems to me that DOS needs to be pointed to the Tatung pipe instead of the floppy disk controller. In general terms without to much detail can you explain what needs to done to make this happen? Most new storage Media will be on the pipe (Z80 Expansion Bus) i.e. Geoff's CF and now his USB interface (see group's photos). 5) In your message 453 >I have quite a lot of Einstein items,......Silicon Disc hardware + >software + documentation,.......I would not need much persuading to part >with all of my Einstein bits and pieces. But you do not mention whether you have ROM ICs for the silicon disk. With reference to my question 1 if the silicon disk can be accessed by user created routines for reading and writing without the ROM installed I would still be interested to have one if you are making them available. I would like to use it to experiment with the ideas dicussed above. I can always install a ROM at a later date. I hope my questions are not a burden to you but the general descriptions you respond with save a lot of head banging an time wasting when looking up technical manuals. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 361	From: teeeby	Date: 17/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Chris and all, I borrowed a cable with a twist yesterday and using CPDRead and EDIP I have transferred most of my Einstein floppies to my PC, with only a few data errors in CPDRead. I have a complete set of source files for the Speculator, which is good because it is complicated. One of the files has some gibberish instead of text but luckily it consists of Equates only and it should be possible to work out what is missing and what their values should be. I'll see how this file looks on the Einstein. I think CPDRead doesn't keep trying if a data error occurs. I have no source files for the Silicon Disc (SD for short), so I have disassembled the ROM. Only 1.5KB of the 8KB are used and most of this is devoted to intercepting the MOS MCALs. There are only ~500 bytes of code. Some answers below. > Hi Tony, > > <snip> > Probably more silly questions. > > With reference to the silicon disk. This I'm assuming is a RAM disk > similar in working principle to that which is built in on the > Spectrum+3. A long time ago now I made use of the Speccy Ram disk by > loading it up with small basic files all with the same line numbers > which could by a user menu driven basic program loaded and running in > RAM use the merge command to load in and swap different routines in > the main basic program to be run. This way I could write a programme > doing more things that would be too big to run in RAM alone. You can > see from this the way mind was set and still is set to swap in and > out different machine code routines to enhance the existing operating > systems for the Einstein without using more of the space in RAM. I don't know how the Spectrum+3 RAM disk works. Probably by paging RAM in and out. In contrast, my SD RAM is accessed indirectly via I/O ports using INIR and OTIR instructions to read and write sectors. > Question 1 > From message #345 >> This new ROM automatically formatted the SD each time the machine >> was >switched on. > If the silicon disk had not been automatically formatted when the > Einstein powered up could the silicon disk be accessed by user > created routines to read and write to its addresses? You could access the SD yourself and use its RAM for something else. For example, the disc parameters could be modified to reduce the size to 200KB with the other 56KB for whatever you like. As long as less than 200K of files are on the SD it should be possible, although I haven't tried it. > 2)If the objective is to swap code around code between the silicon > disk and Einstein RAM would there be any advantage to do this as RAM > or more advantage to keep it as a formatted disk and import and > export files to and from RAM. As the SD RAM is not memory-mapped, it would be better to access it as drive, I think. > 3)If the silicon disk was acting as RAM could the Einstein run code > in it in a similar way it can be made to run routines in ROM. There were very good reasons to make the SD RAM I/O-mapped. However, if I were to do it or something similar again, I would make it memory-mapped and therefore code would be able to run directly in its RAM. The architecture of the Einstein allows this to be done dead easily. Can you work out how? > 4)I think Geoff will be interested in the answer to this one to. To > run the silicon disk as floppy drive 3: it seems to me that DOS needs > to be pointed to the Tatung pipe instead of the floppy disk > controller. In general terms without to much detail can you explain > what needs to done to make this happen? In a nutshell, I re-direct MCALs that read or write sectors. If drive 3 is selected, new SD routines are executed. If not, the existing MCALs are run. I don't bother with the MCALs that talk to the FDC as they are irrelevant. Incidentally, I have a printed list of the MCALs, but the MCALs for the DOS disc routines are missing. All of these are in the MOS source listing I have, of course. A couple of other bits of info. The MCAL vector table in the MOS 1.2 ROM ends at D4, with Z80 code immediately after. However, unsupported MCALs above D4 are not trapped. (The vector table in my SD ROM supports MCALs 80-FF, but I still don't do any trapping. If it's nothing to do with the SD, the MCAL is passed onto the MOS ROM. I made MCAL FF do something for some reason, maybe as a test.) An input from port 24H toggles the ROM, in the same way as an output. (The Z80 RD and WR signals are ignored.) However, IN A,(24H) destroys the contents of A so OUT (24H),A is better! > Most new storage Media will > be on the pipe (Z80 Expansion Bus) i.e. Geoff's CF and now his USB > interface (see group's photos). Any new drive interface could operate in a similar way to the SD. It really needs a firmware, i.e. routines in ROM. The main "problem" in interfacing to a CF card for instance is translating between FAT16 or FAT32 and the CP/M drive format. Although most code would and should be in ROM, a little RAM would be needed in high memory for new code, data and perhaps tables. This RAM must be free and unused by MOS and all the DOSes. The SD needs four bytes of extra data space and a critically important subroutine copied from ROM to RAM takes up another eight bytes, including an unnecessary NOP! :-) > 5) In your message 453 >> I have quite a lot of Einstein items,......Silicon Disc hardware + >> software + documentation,.......I would not need much persuading to >> part >with all of my Einstein bits and pieces. > > But you do not mention whether you have ROM ICs for the silicon disk. I have three spare SD ROMs (latest version 1.1, from 1986) and two pairs of PALs (latest versions 1Y & 2Y). I also have four pairs of earlier PALs (versions 1 & 2) but these might not work. > With reference to my question 1 if the silicon disk can be accessed > by user created routines for reading and writing without the ROM > installed I would still be interested to have one if you are making > them available. I would like to use it to experiment with the ideas > dicussed above. I can always install a ROM at a later date. I'd be happy to supply a PCB, 60-way connector and ribbon cable to anyone who'd like to have a go at making a SD. I have quite a lot of discrete logic, too. If somebody has access to an EEPROM programmer, then new ROMs could be done. You'll want a ROM to go with it, trust me. Programming new PALs/GALs could be more tricky. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 363	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 19/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi Tony, Glad you got the files transferred. Being able to have a look at how the SD works and finding out what changes were made to DOS 1.32 should enable an even bigger solid state drive to be built. Do you have any idea of the size limit is for hard drives supported by the DOS modifications to add a Winchester? Intercepting the MCALs was my intention with the CF and USB adaptors. The USB adaptor already copes with FAT 16/32 as well as the USB stack as a host for mass storage devices. You can send a DIR command and get back a directory listing straight from a USB thumb drive, then open the file and read the contents. The CF adaptor could handle FAT with the addition of a uALFAT chip (or similar). Translating the Einstein's file system to FAT could even be handled with a dedicated micro-controller programmed to cope with everything after the pipe. ie. Einstein pipe > micro-controller[CP/M > FAT > USB] > External Hard Drive. The sticking point has always been intercepting the MCALs to direct everything to the pipe without having a detrimental effect on anything else. Something which is on the edge of my current abilities, and which your posts have really helped me understand better. Hardware is the easy bit for me, software/firmware less so. I would love to construct an SD and could help figure out the PAL programming if you don't have the details. There are still retro chip suppliers that will source and program PALs although I'm sure there's a modern direct replacement for the 14L4 that you used, if not I can rig up a handful of logic gates to do the same thing. I can also program more EPROMS here if needed. Did the Spectrum Emulator use the same port numbers and addressing or are the PALs set up completely differently? Could you post the source for the SD ROM so I can see process and start working out the contents of the PALs? Is it compatible with DOS 2.05? I presume the MCALS didn't change significantly. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@..., "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > Any new drive interface could operate in a similar way to the SD. It really needs a firmware, i.e. routines in ROM. The main "problem" in interfacing to a CF card for instance is translating between FAT16 or FAT32 and the CP/M drive format. > > I'd be happy to supply a PCB, 60-way connector and ribbon cable to anyone who'd like to have a go at making a SD. I have quite a lot of discrete logic, too. If somebody has access to an EEPROM programmer, then new ROMs could be done. You'll want a ROM to go with it, trust me. Programming new PALs/GALs could be more tricky. > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 364	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 20/07/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sdrom11.asm Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc ROM version 1.1 source code You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sdrom11.asm To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 365	From: teeeby	Date: 21/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Geoff and all, I have uploaded source code for silicon disc ROM . Please see Files section and if you have any questions then ask away! > Hi Tony, > > Glad you got the files transferred. Being able to have a look at how > the SD works and finding out what changes were made to DOS 1.32 > should enable an even bigger solid state drive to be built. My SD ROM makes very few changes to DOS. I modify the existing DPH for disc 3 and copy the new SD DPB into high memory and that's about it. > Do you > have any idea of the size limit is for hard drives supported by the > DOS modifications to add a Winchester? I think the size limit for the Tatung hard drive was 8MB. This is because the MOS stores only the low byte of the logical sector and the same for the track, so the maximum value is 256 for each. 128 bytes x 256 x 256 = 8MB. It would be possible to modify the MOS to store the high byte of the logical sector, but it's not worth it really. 8MB is a good size. Larger drives require more allocation vector space. There is space for two 8MB drives in DOS 2 and DOS80 as they are, i.e. no need to disassemble, add space and re-assemble. DOSes 1.11 and 1.31 only support 200K discs without modification and it would be a waste of time trying to get them to support a hard drive. > Intercepting the MCALs was my intention with the CF and USB adaptors. > The USB adaptor already copes with FAT 16/32 as well as the USB stack > as a host for mass storage devices. You can send a DIR command and > get back a directory listing straight from a USB thumb drive, then > open the file and read the contents. I think the best option is to have multiple 8MB disc image files on the flash drive. Like I have said, two could be used as active DOS drives at any one time. Users could choose which files to be active by using a small disc utility. > The CF adaptor could handle FAT with the addition of a uALFAT chip > (or similar). Translating the Einstein's file system to FAT could > even be handled with a dedicated micro-controller programmed to cope > with everything after the pipe. > ie. > Einstein pipe > micro-controller[CP/M > FAT > USB] > External Hard > Drive. No need to translate between file systems as entire drive is inside a single file. Would need a prog on the PC to insert and extract files from disc image, but that exists already to a large extent. > <snip> > > I would love to construct an SD and could help figure out the PAL > programming if you don't have the details. There are still retro chip > suppliers that will source and program PALs although I'm sure there's > a modern direct replacement for the 14L4 that you used, if not I can > rig up a handful of logic gates to do the same thing. I can also > program more EPROMS here if needed. Thanks for that. > > Did the Spectrum Emulator use the same port numbers and addressing or > are the PALs set up completely differently? Speculator PALs are totally different from SD PALs. Different ports, different functionality. Source files for PALs were on 5.25" floppies, which I might have thrown out. PAL programmers can read fuse maps so PALs could be "disassembled". I'm pretty sure that none of my designs ever had the security fuse blown to stop that. > Could you post the source for the SD ROM so I can see process and > start working out the contents of the PALs? Is it compatible with DOS > 2.05? I presume the MCALS didn't change significantly. SD source code posted. It won't help you much with the PALs, apart from port addressing decoding. Tony P.S. I have decided to keep my Einstein. It's too good a Z80 platform to get rid of! :-) I'm donating my 256.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 366	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi Tony, > > Hello Geoff and all, > > I have uploaded source code for silicon disc ROM . Please see Files section and if you have any questions then ask away! > Thanks for that. I've had a quick read through and it seems to make sense to me but I'm sure I'll have a couple of questions when I realise I don't understand as much as I thought. > I think the size limit for the Tatung hard drive was 8MB. This is because the MOS stores only the low byte of the logical sector and the same for the track, so the maximum value is 256 for each. 128 bytes x 256 x 256 = 8MB. > > It would be possible to modify the MOS to store the high byte of the logical sector, but it's not worth it really. 8MB is a good size. Larger drives require more allocation vector space. There is space for two 8MB drives in DOS 2 and DOS80 as they are, i.e. no need to disassemble, add space and re-assemble. DOSes 1.11 and 1.31 only support 200K discs without modification and it would be a waste of time trying to get them to support a hard drive. > Yes, that's the same size that most modified CP/M systems stuck with. Several systems had the additional 8MB drives show up as extra drive numbers 3,4,5,6... meaning that you don't have to keep swapping out disk images into "drives" 2 and 3. One spectrum set-up had drives lettered A-Z and used the first letter of the file name as the drive letter so a 26x8MB=224MB drive was accessible, but I never really liked that idea. As far as I know the drive number is stored as a whole byte so, in theory, it wouldn't be too difficult to support 254x8MB drives as separate number/letter combinations as well as 2 floppy drives. Maybe 2GB is overkill. DOS 2.x and DOS 80 also offer better compatibility with other CP/M software, so seems the best way forward. > I think the best option is to have multiple 8MB disc image files on the flash drive. Like I have said, two could be used as active DOS drives at any one time. Users could choose which files to be active by using a small disc utility. > In much the same way as USER.COM for splitting discs into different areas then. That does seem more in keeping with previous CP/M work. 8MB swappable virtual hard drives it is then. > No need to translate between file systems as entire drive is inside a single file. Would need a prog on the PC to insert and extract files from disc image, but that exists already to a large extent. > I'm sure Chris could update EDIP to handle the 8MB images. I don't know if we'd need to use the full extended .DSK format to keep the images usable on an emulator. Then again that would be a shortcoming of the emulator. > Speculator PALs are totally different from SD PALs. Different ports, different functionality. Source files for PALs were on 5.25" floppies, which I might have thrown out. PAL programmers can read fuse maps so PALs could be "disassembled". I'm pretty sure that none of my designs ever had the security fuse blown to stop that. > Ah, the innocent days of yore when security fuses were left intact. > > SD source code posted. It won't help you much with the PALs, apart from port addressing decoding. No, but with the layout of the board you posted ohere > http://250kb.de/u/100709/j/ZbuLGLUkWJwm.jpg and the source, I can work out what they do and how to programme more. Of course, reading existing ones is far easier. There is another option if the fuses are blown http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?page_id=40 but only for those with a very steady hand. > > Tony > > P.S. I have decided to keep my Einstein. It's too good a Z80 platform to get rid of! :-) I'm donating my 256. > A wise choice :) it really is a great Z80 machine. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 367	From: teeeby	Date: 24/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Geoff and all, > Hi Tony, > >> <snip> > >> I think the size limit for the Tatung hard drive was 8MB. This is >> because the MOS stores only the low byte of the logical sector and >> the same for the track, so the maximum value is 256 for each. 128 >> bytes x 256 x 256 = 8MB. >> >> It would be possible to modify the MOS to store the high byte of the >> logical sector, but it's not worth it really. 8MB is a good size. >> Larger drives require more allocation vector space. There is space >> for two 8MB drives in DOS 2 and DOS80 as they are, i.e. no need to >> disassemble, add space and re-assemble. DOSes 1.11 and 1.31 only >> support 200K discs without modification and it would be a waste of >> time trying to get them to support a hard drive. Correction. If the maximum block size of 16384 is chosen, the allocation vector would be 64 bytes long. (64 bytes = 512 bits and 512 x 16384 = 8MB.) There is room for four such 8MB hard drives in both DOS 2.x and DOS80 as they are, not just two. I have a sheet of important DOS addresses for each version which I wrote a long time ago and have updated in the last few days. > Yes, that's the same size that most modified CP/M systems stuck with. > Several systems had the additional 8MB drives show up as extra drive > numbers 3,4,5,6... meaning that you don't have to keep swapping out > disk images into "drives" 2 and 3. One spectrum set-up had drives > lettered A-Z and used the first letter of the file name as the drive > letter so a 26x8MB=224MB drive was accessible, but I never really > liked that idea. > > As far as I know the drive number is stored as a whole byte so, in > theory, it wouldn't be too difficult to support 254x8MB drives as > separate number/letter combinations as well as 2 floppy drives. Maybe > 2GB is overkill. A byte is used for the disc number but the four-drive limit is pretty much hardwired into MOS and DOS. More drives require extra DPH and allocation vector space. Four drives and four drive types are supported by DOS 2.x and DOS 80. The four drive types could be 200K floppy, 800K floppy, 8MB hard drive and silicon disc. The latter two could take over the DPB space currently reserved for two 400K floppy formats (single-sided 80 track and double-sided 40 track). Does anybody use 400K floppies? Or 800K? > DOS 2.x and DOS 80 also offer better compatibility with other CP/M > software, so seems the best way forward. > >> I think the best option is to have multiple 8MB disc image files on >> the flash drive. Like I have said, two could be used as active DOS >> drives at any one time. Users could choose which files to be active >> by using a small disc utility. >> > > In much the same way as USER.COM for splitting discs into different > areas then. That does seem more in keeping with previous CP/M work. Or a modified CONFIG.COM could be used. > 8MB swappable virtual hard drives it is then. It would be best to have a very minimal FAT on the flash drive, with each 8MB image contiguous and starting on a fixed boundary. >> No need to translate between file systems as entire drive is inside >> a single file. Would need a prog on the PC to insert and extract >> files from disc image, but that exists already to a large extent. >> > > I'm sure Chris could update EDIP to handle the 8MB images. I don't > know if we'd need to use the full extended .DSK format to keep the > images usable on an emulator. Then again that would be a shortcoming > of the emulator.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 368	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 28/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi Tony, Having spent some time delving into details of CP/M with the aid of "The Programmes CP/M Handbook" and Eiestein Monthly Vol. 1 Nos. 9 & 10 I now think I have a much better understanding of the the DPH, DPB and Allocation vector / bitmap. Is anything I've written below fundamentally wrong? > > Correction. If the maximum block size of 16384 is chosen, the allocation vector would be 64 bytes long. (64 bytes = 512 bits and 512 x 16384 = 8MB.) There is room for four such 8MB hard drives in both DOS 2.x and DOS80 as they are, not just two. > > I have a sheet of important DOS addresses for each version which I wrote a long time ago and have updated in the last few days. > If we were to try to find some more free space for the allocation bitmap there is an obvious place to look. I'm not saying this is a sensible approach. I just wanted to know if I had understood how things worked correctly. All 4 bitmaps for the 4 drives are 512 bits, but I've never seen an Einstein without a 40 track single sided drive 0 (out of the 19 I have here), All original software was supplied on 40tss discs and it seems like everyone kept one as drive 0. The bitmap for a 40t ss drive only needs to be 100 bits long (or 104 to the nearest byte), with the Einstein's standard block size of 2k. This could free up 408 bits towards a "hard drive". Also the second floppy drive would use a maximum of 400 bits to be able to use any drive up to 80t ds. This frees up another 112 bits. This would allow for an original drive, any second floppy drive, and 1 24M drive or 3 8M "hard drives". OR, as long as the hard drive was numbered as 2, a smaller hard drive and a SD on 3. I do have one question. I'm still unsure how the DOSs handle selection of drive type as the setting seems to be stored as 2 bits; 00=40tss, 01=40tds, 10=80tss, 11=80tds. How does the SD use a fifth type of DPB? I'll look back at the SD ROM source later. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 369	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 28/07/2010
Subject: Silicon Disc with System5 (Dos2.05)

Hi, I just came across some information that may be useful to Tony and others with regards to the SD. A letter was posted in Einstein Monthly Vol. 1 No. 6 Page 28. reproduced word for word; "Dear Mike, The new version of System 5 which you offered in Einstein Monthly has some useful features, but I find that there are some problems with my silicon disc because DOS 2.05 is not a CP/M-compatible system (for the technically minded, d.p.b. has been hacked). If any readers hare having trouble accessing files from the silicon disc after changing the boot disc, the following patch will provide the fix: E200 C3 56 E2 E256 3E 01 E258 32 F4 FD E35B C3 1A E5 The code must of course be written to sector 2 of the disc. A spin off from this is that if you keep a disc with no patch, you can use it to convert AMTAT files on the silicon disc to normal DOS files on a 3" disc. Cecil Wallis."

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 370	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 29/07/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /80 colunm ROM/tk02v1.zip Uploaded by : id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> Description : TC02 ROM v1.0 I noticed this was missing from the MESS emulation, causing 80 column emulation to fail, so I dumped the ROM. Just need to get the name and checksum included in the einstein driver now. Chris, over to you. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/80%20colunm%20ROM/tk02v1.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 371	From: teeeby	Date: 29/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Geoff and all, > Hi Tony, > > Having spent some time delving into details of CP/M with the aid of > "The Programmes CP/M Handbook" and Eiestein Monthly Vol. 1 Nos. 9 & > 10 I now think I have a much better understanding of the the DPH, DPB > and Allocation vector / bitmap. Is anything I've written below > fundamentally wrong? > >> >> Correction. If the maximum block size of 16384 is chosen, the >> allocation vector would be 64 bytes long. (64 bytes = 512 bits and >> 512 x 16384 = 8MB.) There is room for four such 8MB hard drives in >> both DOS 2.x and DOS80 as they are, not just two. >> >> I have a sheet of important DOS addresses for each version which I >> wrote a long time ago and have updated in the last few days. >> > > If we were to try to find some more free space for the allocation > bitmap there is an obvious place to look. I'm not saying this is a > sensible approach. I just wanted to know if I had understood how > things worked correctly. Using the maximum block size of 16KB, the minimum allocation vector for an 8MB drive is 64 bytes long. There is space for four ALVs of this length in DOS 2.x and DOS80. Officially, only four lots of 50 bytes (for 800K floppies) are reserved, in two chunks of 50 and 150 bytes for drive 0 and drives 1-3, respectively. However, it is safe to extend them to 64 and 192 bytes. A bigger drive than 8MB would need an ALV of more than 64 bytes, but the real-world de facto limit for a hard drive on the Einstein is 8MB. The single-byte storage in the MOS for track and sector is the limiting factor, not the ALV size. Therefore, there is no point trying to find more space for larger ALVs as it would not make the drive any bigger. A 128-byte ALV would allow a smaller block size of 8KB on an 8MB drive, but 16KB blocks are fine and are smaller as a fraction of the total disc space than the 2KB blocks on floppies. > All 4 bitmaps for the 4 drives are 512 bits, but I've never seen an > Einstein without a 40 track single sided drive 0 (out of the 19 I > have here), All original software was supplied on 40tss discs and it > seems like everyone kept one as drive 0. The bitmap for a 40t ss > drive only needs to be 100 bits long (or 104 to the nearest byte), > with the Einstein's standard block size of 2k. This could free up 408 > bits towards a "hard drive". It is best to work in bytes. The ALV size is the total disc capacity minus the reserved system tracks, divided by the block size, divided by eight and rounded up to the nearest whole byte. Thus for 200K floppies with 10K of reserved tracks and 2K blocks, ALV size = (200-10) / 2 = 95, / 8 = 12. Note that the total ALV space for DOS1.x is only 48 bytes, permitting four 200K floppies, the only drive type allowed as there is space allocated for only one DPB (disc parameter block). > Also the second floppy drive would use a maximum of 400 bits to be > able to use any drive up to 80t ds. This frees up another 112 bits. > > This would allow for an original drive, any second floppy drive, and > 1 24M drive or 3 8M "hard drives". OR, as long as the hard drive was > numbered as 2, a smaller hard drive and a SD on 3. Even if a hard drive larger than 8MB were possible, say 16MB, it would be very much better in my view to have two 8MB drives instead because then you would be able to transfer files between different hard drive image files on the Einstein. And besides 8MB is the practicable drive limit. > I do have one question. I'm still unsure how the DOSs handle > selection of drive type as the setting seems to be stored as 2 bits; > 00=40tss, 01=40tds, 10=80tss, 11=80tds. How does the SD use a fifth > type of DPB? I'll look back at the SD ROM source later. The SD ROM is called very early in the MOS initialisation, before any attempt is made to boot DOS. So how can the SD patch the DOS DPH table with the SD DPB address if DOS is not yet loaded? The intercepted Select Disc MCAL B6 routine does this later, the first time disc 3 is selected. Please see the SELDSC routine in the disassembly. The SD DPB is stored separately in RAM and does not overwrite any existing DPB. There is a MOS variable called SIDFLG in the source code at address 0FBB1H, with the following format: bits 0-3 are 0 for single-sided or 1 for double-sided for discs 0-3, respectively, and bits 4-7 are 0 for 40 track or 1 for 80 track for discs 0-3, respectively. Thus for disc 0, only bits 0 and 3 are relevant, so you are right that two bits are used but they are a nibble apart. SIDFLG is set when the very first disc sector is loaded. The seventh byte (i.e. start + 6) of track 0 sector 0 is SIDFLG. The first two bytes are start address of DOS, next two are end of BIOS + 1, next two are start of BIOS, then SIDFLG. The four DPBs are stored one after the other in RAM and the order is very important for floppy drives. The first must be SS 40T, then DS 40T, then SS 80T, then DS 80T. For a new system with, for example, a 200K floppy, 800K floppy, flash hard drive and silicon disc, the second and third DPBs could be overwritten with HD and SD parameters. The first and last DPBs must be left alone otherwise the floppies will not work. Except for track 0 sector 0 and the DPBs, SIDFLG is not relevant to HD or SD and I ignored it completely in my SD ROM. I'll reply to message 369 on Friday. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 372	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi Tony, I had made some incorrect assumptions in my last reply. Thanks for clearing them up. I've also found some other limiting factors with DOS2.5 that aren't a problem but which I'm glad I found. The total number of drives is limited to 16 by the Drive Log Vector because it's 16 bit, but there seems to be another limit with MOS detailed below. > Using the maximum block size of 16KB, the minimum allocation vector for an 8MB drive is 64 bytes long. There is space for four ALVs of this length in DOS 2.x and DOS80. Officially, only four lots of 50 bytes (for 800K floppies) are reserved, in two chunks of 50 and 150 bytes for drive 0 and drives 1-3, respectively. However, it is safe to extend them to 64 and 192 bytes. > > A bigger drive than 8MB would need an ALV of more than 64 bytes, but the real-world de facto limit for a hard drive on the Einstein is 8MB. The single-byte storage in the MOS for track and sector is the limiting factor, not the ALV size. Therefore, there is no point trying to find more space for larger ALVs as it would not make the drive any bigger. A 128-byte ALV would allow a smaller block size of 8KB on an 8MB drive, but 16KB blocks are fine and are smaller as a fraction of the total disc space than the 2KB blocks on floppies. > That was one of my incorrect assumptions. Id been thinking of the 512 byte physical sectors ( 512 bytes x 256 sectors x 256 tracks = 32MB ) not the de-blocked 128 byte sectors limiting the size to 8MB. Thanks for clearing that up. I suppose the only benefit of a smaller block size would be the ability to store more than 512 individual files in the 8MB but that isn't a problem. > It is best to work in bytes. The ALV size is the total disc capacity minus the reserved system tracks, divided by the block size, divided by eight and rounded up to the nearest whole byte. Thus for 200K floppies with 10K of reserved tracks and 2K blocks, ALV size = (200-10) / 2 = 95, / 8 = 12. > > Note that the total ALV space for DOS1.x is only 48 bytes, permitting four 200K floppies, the only drive type allowed as there is space allocated for only one DPB (disc parameter block). I have seen modifications to DOS1.x that patch the DPH and create another DPB to support larger drives much in the way you do for the SD. I don't know if the ALV was extended to match but I presume it must have been. > > Even if a hard drive larger than 8MB were possible, say 16MB, it would be very much better in my view to have two 8MB drives instead because then you would be able to transfer files between different hard drive image files on the Einstein. And besides 8MB is the practicable drive limit. > Yes, that's what I'll stick with for the CF adaptor. I'll try go get something working over the next week or so (I can only work on this during the night.) if I have your permission to cannibalise your SD ROM code to see if it will work. I won't distribute anything I derive from your code though, it would just be for testing. > > The SD ROM is called very early in the MOS initialisation, before any attempt is made to boot DOS. So how can the SD patch the DOS DPH table with the SD DPB address if DOS is not yet loaded? The intercepted Select Disc MCAL B6 routine does this later, the first time disc 3 is selected. Please see the SELDSC routine in the disassembly. The SD DPB is stored separately in RAM and does not overwrite any existing DPB. Ah, I'd seen that but not understood it properly. Thanks. > > There is a MOS variable called SIDFLG in the source code at address 0FBB1H, with the following format: bits 0-3 are 0 for single-sided or 1 for double-sided for discs 0-3, respectively, and bits 4-7 are 0 for 40 track or 1 for 80 track for discs 0-3, respectively. Thus for disc 0, only bits 0 and 3 are relevant, so you are right that two bits are used but they are a nibble apart. SIDFLG is set when the very first disc sector is loaded. The seventh byte (i.e. start + 6) of track 0 sector 0 is SIDFLG. The first two bytes are start address of DOS, next two are end of BIOS + 1, next two are start of BIOS, then SIDFLG. Thanks again. I hadn't come across any mention of SIDFLG. Actually, in the MOS source there seems to be something stopping selection of drives higher than 3, even though there's explicit support for a total of 16 drives in DOS. Then again I could be wrong, assembly really is a weak point for me. ZSLDSC: LD HL,0000H LD A,C LD (CPMDRV),A CP 4 RET NC ;RETURN IF DRIVE > 4....CARRY SET ...<snip>... That might need re-directing too. > > The four DPBs are stored one after the other in RAM and the order is very important for floppy drives. The first must be SS 40T, then DS 40T, then SS 80T, then DS 80T. For a new system with, for example, a 200K floppy, 800K floppy, flash hard drive and silicon disc, the second and third DPBs could be overwritten with HD and SD parameters. The first and last DPBs must be left alone otherwise the floppies will not work. Except for track 0 sector 0 and the DPBs, SIDFLG is not relevant to HD or SD and I ignored it completely in my SD ROM. I'll have to remember that. It's something that will come back to haunt me later, I'm sure. > > I'll reply to message 369 on Friday. > > Tony > Thanks for the detailed replies. They are a real help. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 373	From: teeeby	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc with System5 (Dos2.05)

Hello Geoff and all, Thanks for posting the letter. > Hi, > > I just came across some information that may be useful to Tony and > others with regards to the SD. > > A letter was posted in Einstein Monthly Vol. 1 No. 6 Page 28. > reproduced word for word; > > "Dear Mike, > The new version of System 5 which you > offered in Einstein Monthly has some > useful features, but I find that there > are some problems with my silicon disc > because DOS 2.05 is not a > CP/M-compatible system (for the > technically minded, d.p.b. has been > hacked). > > If any readers hare having trouble > accessing files from the silicon disc > after changing the boot disc, the > following patch will provide the fix: > E200 C3 56 E2 > > E256 3E 01 > E258 32 F4 FD > E25B C3 1A E5 > > The code must of course be written to > sector 2 of the disc. A spin off from > this is that if you keep a disc with no > patch, you can use it to convert AMTAT > files on the silicon disc to normal DOS > files on a 3" disc. Cecil Wallis." The code translates as: E200: JP E256 ... E256: LD A,1 E258: LD (0FDF4H),A E25B: JP E51A This changes the extent mask EXM byte in the SD DPB from zero to one. The correct value for CP/M should be one, but the value used by DOS1.x for 200K floppies is zero and I used the same for the SD, probably because one did not work. I mention this DPB discrepancy in the disassembly. It is DOS1.x that is not CP/M-compatible in this instance, not System V / DOS2.x. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 374	From: teeeby	Date: 30/07/2010
Subject: Re: More thoughts Einstein RAM snapshots DOS MOS and general Mcalls

> Hello Chris, > Answers intermingled with your questions. > > > Hi Tony and all, > > > > <snip> > > In the Einstein RST 8 "RAM &0008" has JP &FC22. > > A jump to a routine in RAM at &FC22 the routine listed below. > > <snip> > > Within the routine there is an (&24),A instruction whitch switches in > > the ROM. > > AS I understand it the processor sees then the Einstein RAM of 65535 > > bytes as being MOS upto &2000 (8192 bytes)and the remaining Bytes to > > &FFFF left as it was in RAM. > > > > CALLs and Jumps to below &2000 will be to MOS above &2000 to RAM and > > stay that way until another (&24),A instruction. Then memory is back > > to RAM as it was. > > No, the ROMs are switched in when the output from the ROM select flip-flop (toggled by OUT 24H, data irrelevant) is low and address line A15 is also low. A14 determines which ROM output is enabled, low for MOS ROM and high for the 2nd ROM. A jumper on the motherboard selects either 8KB or 16KB size for the 2nd ROM. The memory map with ROMs switched in is as follows: > > 0000H-1FFFH = MOS ROM (either size) > 2000H-3FFFH = MOS ROM (upper half of 16KB ROM) > 4000H-5FFFH = 2nd ROM (either size) > 6000H-7FFFH = 2nd ROM (upper half of 16KB ROM if jumper selected) > 8000H-FFFFH = RAM > > Only the upper half of RAM is available when ROMs switched in. The last sentence is partially true. Only the upper half of RAM is available for reading when the ROMs are switched in. All 64K of RAM is always enabled for writing. Switching in the ROMs, then writing to the ROM space will write to the lower 32K of RAM, but the data written cannot be read until the ROMs are switched out again. The memory map above applies to reads only. Apologies if I created confusion. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 375	From: teeeby	Date: 01/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Geoff and all, > Hi Tony, > > <snip> >> Even if a hard drive larger than 8MB were possible, say 16MB, it >> would be very much better in my view to have two 8MB drives instead >> because then you would be able to transfer files between different >> hard drive image files on the Einstein. And besides 8MB is the >> practicable drive limit. >> > > Yes, that's what I'll stick with for the CF adaptor. I'll try go get > something working over the next week or so (I can only work on this > during the night.) if I have your permission to cannibalise your SD > ROM code to see if it will work. I won't distribute anything I derive > from your code though, it would just be for testing. Free free to cannibalise! >> <snip> > Actually, in the MOS source there seems to be something stopping > selection of drives higher than 3, even though there's explicit > support for a total of 16 drives in DOS. Then again I could be wrong, > assembly really is a weak point for me. > > ZSLDSC: LD HL,0000H > LD A,C > LD (CPMDRV),A > CP 4 > RET NC ;RETURN IF DRIVE > 4....CARRY SET > ...<snip>... > > That might need re-directing too. There are quite a few "CP 4"s in the MOS. Four drives at any one time are plenty in my view. Extra ones would need more DPH space and the currently-selected discs are easy to change, so different drives could be mapped in and out. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 376	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 11/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hi, I've got all the information I need and written some replacement routines. I just need to know what can handle the ASM file format that the source of the SD ROM came in. Both XSM.COM supplied with XtalDOS and the assembler that came with the Einstein Assembly Language Course don't like the file and throw errors or refuse to do anything with it. I don't really want to manually re-write the whole thing just to be able to test my alterations. Of course I might have more luck if I could find any documentation for XSM.COM. What would you use on the Einstein, or is it better so assemble on a pc and copy across? Regards, Geoff > > Free free to cannibalise! > > >> <snip>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 377	From: teeeby	Date: 12/08/2010
Subject: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor

Hello all, Could somebody with some fairly accurate scales (e.g. bathroom) please tell me the weight of the Einstein 256 monitor, either on its own or in its original box with original packing. Many thanks. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 378	From: jltursan	Date: 12/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > Hello all, > > Could somebody with some fairly accurate scales (e.g. bathroom) please tell me the weight of the Einstein 256 monitor, either on its own or in its original box with original packing. Many thanks. > > Tony > Hi Tony, Measured with a cheap bathroom scale (sorry, Tony), the 256 monitor weights 9Kg unboxed. Add about 1Kg-1.5Kg if the box is included. The dimensions are fairly standard... Regards, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 379	From: teeeby	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > Hello all, > > > > Could somebody with some fairly accurate scales (e.g. bathroom) please tell me the weight of the Einstein 256 monitor, either on its own or in its original box with original packing. Many thanks. > > > > Tony > > > > Hi Tony, > > Measured with a cheap bathroom scale (sorry, Tony), the 256 monitor weights 9Kg unboxed. Add about 1Kg-1.5Kg if the box is included. The dimensions are fairly standard... > > Regards, > > Jose Hello Jose, Thanks for the reply. To test the accuracy of your scales could you please weigh the Einstein 256 computer on its own? Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 380	From: jltursan	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > Hello all, > > > > > > Could somebody with some fairly accurate scales (e.g. bathroom) please tell me the weight of the Einstein 256 monitor, either on its own or in its original box with original packing. Many thanks. > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > Hi Tony, > > > > Measured with a cheap bathroom scale (sorry, Tony), the 256 monitor weights 9Kg unboxed. Add about 1Kg-1.5Kg if the box is included. The dimensions are fairly standard... > > > > Regards, > > > > Jose > > > Hello Jose, > > Thanks for the reply. To test the accuracy of your scales could you please weigh the Einstein 256 computer on its own? > > Tony > Sure, using the same scale, a plain E256 weights about 1,9Kg. Hope this helps... Greets, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 381	From: Chris	Date: 13/08/2010
Subject: Catching Up with latest posts,

Hi All, I've been following the latest postings to the group but while suffering one of those summer colds. Been too irritable to concentrate on any thing. Back to normal I can respond to some of the comments in recent postings. >I'm sure Chris could update EDIP to handle the 8MB images. I don't know if >we'd need to use the full extended .DSK format to keep the images usable on >an emulator. Then again that would be a shortcoming of the emulator. Probably what I'm saying now will all ready be known by some members and others might not have faintest idea of what is being said but I'm doing so so others can have some idea of why I've come to be thinking the way I am. My experience of writing EDIP may have set my mind to see accessing a CF with a DOS in a way which is not compatible with reality. EDIP works with the extended disk image format for Einstein floppy disk images. Amstrad CPC and Spectrum+3 also use the extended .DSK format. How CPDRead and CPCXP create these images is not something I've looked into yet as up till now there has been no need. Basically the extended image has an Image header 256 bytes and each track in the image also has its own header 256 bytes. The headers hold information on track size, sector size, scew factor and other details. I would like to have said that the full details of header information were available on the web site but I've just noticed the link is broken. I have now put this right. http://www.cepece.info/amstrad/docs/extdsk.html Note: The headers had what seemed me to have quite a bit of spare space so for the benefit of blank disk images created by EDIP I added this information to the Disk Image Header. For the blank images for different Einstein DOSes I also added whether it was XTAL, CPM2 or ZDOS. These were my additions to Einstein disk image headers. A block size for CM2 and ZDOS is one KB normal for CPM systems for XTAL DOS its two KB. A block being the portion of a file saved on disk:- 2 512 sector bytes for CPM and 4 512 sector bytes for XTAL. Where the blocks for a particular file are on disk or in a disk image is given by rows of bytes in a file descriptor block. The file descriptor is not part of the disk image header information but part of the floppy's O/S found on track 2 sector 0. It looks like a directory display but large files have there name repeated a number of times and are referred to as extents. A row of sixteen bytes for each extent gives the location of where blocks for file are. For CPM2 and ZDOS 16 one bytes are used for 1kb blocks this is normal for CPM. For XTAL DOS 8 two bytes are used for the location for 2kb blocks. If XTAL had used the standard 1kb block EDIP would have been simpler and cleaner program to use. For creating image and track headers for Einstein CF images I think this would be more or less logical, probably irritatingly fiddly as was writing EDIP but I think I can do this. As for extraction and insertion of files then I would have to know the file allocation tables "FAT" and how they work. I've taken some time to read up on MS/DOS FAT 12 for floppies and on fist appearances the FAT systems seems more strait forward than CPM. Whether this would work with MESS emulation I wouldn't like to say. BUT! Does a program such as EDIP need to be written for CF images? In a posting from Tony >I think the best option is to have multiple 8MB disc image files on the >flash drive. Like I have said, two could be used as active DOS drives at >any one time. Users could choose which files to be active by using a small >disc utility. I'm assuming that if a CF used by the Einstien was read in the PC the 8mb Einstein disks would show up as MS/DOS files. But! Internally these files would be using a FAT system that would be recognized by MS/DOS. These files might be able to be loaded into virtual drives that are available for MS XP. Just An Idea. Going through the recent postings now without sneezing and with a clear head I wonder whether we are on the right track with the CF. The Einstein was created for a floppy disk operating systems using a floppy disk controller and a Shugart physical hardware port. It seems to me that our efforts have been to fit the CF which is not floppy disk controller dependant to that system. A more radical approach might be to reversing this to a CF dependant O/S with an optional support for for a floppy disk. The lines I'm thinking along: yes a floppy XTAL boot disk would be needed hold a program that would load a new O/S into RAM or would load a new O/S into RAM from the CF. I also have the means to download this through the user port from the PC. The new OS would not rely entirely on firmware MOS MCALLs but would download and run routines from the CF. Three virtual floppy drives could be on the CF and access to one physical floppy drive could be used to copy over a real floppy to virtual floppy drives and vice the versa. Still a lot of CF space left for hard drives. With a little more thought if the CF held four virtual floppy drives an Einstein floppy placed in the existing floppy drive could be given the option to be copied to one of four CF logical floppies. From then on all reading and writing would be to the virtual floppies with the option to copy back to a real floppy drive later. I think I read some where in an Einstein mag that some one used the silicon disk this way. No need for all that mechanical stuff of motors spinning disks and moving heads back and forth. Every thing was quieter and faster. A CF virtual floppy unlike the silicon disk would not need to be copied back to a real floppy before powering down the Einstein. Basically what I'm looking to here is having an Einstein O/S that doesn't use the floppy disk controller and also has no need to use MOS. The CF then should not only be seen as a storage device but parts of it being used also for the new O/S. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 382	From: teeeby	Date: 14/08/2010
Subject: Re: Weight of Einstein 256 monitor

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Hello all, > > > > > > > > Could somebody with some fairly accurate scales (e.g. bathroom) please tell me the weight of the Einstein 256 monitor, either on its own or in its original box with original packing. Many thanks. > > > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > > Hi Tony, > > > > > > Measured with a cheap bathroom scale (sorry, Tony), the 256 monitor weights 9Kg unboxed. Add about 1Kg-1.5Kg if the box is included. The dimensions are fairly standard... > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Jose > > > > > > Hello Jose, > > > > Thanks for the reply. To test the accuracy of your scales could you please weigh the Einstein 256 computer on its own? > > > > Tony > > > > Sure, using the same scale, a plain E256 weights about 1,9Kg. Hope this helps... > > Greets, > > Jose Hello Jose, According to my electronic kitchen scales (pretty accurate I think but only 5kg limit) the E256 weighs about 2.5kg. I'm donating my E256 stuff and I need to know weights for the courier. Many thanks for your help. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 383	From: teeeby	Date: 14/08/2010
Subject: Re: DOS MOS silicon disk

Hello Geoff and all, My SD ROM disassembly is not guaranteed to work with any assembler without slight modification. I used M80 and L80 on the Einstein and I've sent Geoff an email with more details. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I've got all the information I need and written some replacement routines. I just need to know what can handle the ASM file format that the source of the SD ROM came in. Both XSM.COM supplied with XtalDOS and the assembler that came with the Einstein Assembly Language Course don't like the file and throw errors or refuse to do anything with it. I don't really want to manually re-write the whole thing just to be able to test my alterations. > > Of course I might have more luck if I could find any documentation for XSM.COM. > > What would you use on the Einstein, or is it better so assemble on a pc and copy across? > > Regards, > Geoff > > > > > Free free to cannibalise! > > > > >> <snip> >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 384	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/08/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /DOS info/DOS Info.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : DOS addresses and other info for various DOS versions You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/DOS%20info/DOS%20Info.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 385	From: teeeby	Date: 19/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: Hello Chris and all, Your long post deserves some comments, so better late than never. > Hi All, > > I've been following the latest postings to the group but while > suffering one of those summer colds. Been too irritable to > concentrate on any thing. > > Back to normal I can respond to some of the comments in recent > postings. > >> I'm sure Chris could update EDIP to handle the 8MB images. I don't >> know if >> we'd need to use the full extended .DSK format to keep the images >> usable on >> an emulator. Then again that would be a shortcoming of the emulator. > > Probably what I'm saying now will all ready be known by some members > and others might not have faintest idea of what is being said but I'm > doing so so others can have some idea of why I've come to be thinking > the way I am. My experience of writing EDIP may have set my mind to > see accessing a CF with a DOS in a way which is not compatible with > reality. Many thanks for writing EDIP. With CPDRead, it enabled me to copy all my Einstein files onto my PC. Two of my Speculator source files (out of total of 17!) have an unrecoverable bad sector, but I think I could recreate the missing code sometime. > EDIP works with the extended disk image format for Einstein floppy > disk images. Amstrad CPC and Spectrum+3 also use the extended .DSK > format. How CPDRead and CPCXP create these images is not something > I've looked into yet as up till now there has been no need. Basically > the extended image has an Image header 256 bytes and each track in > the image also has its own header 256 bytes. The headers hold > information on track size, sector size, scew factor and other > details. I would like to have said that the full details of header > information were available on the web site but I've just noticed the > link is broken. I have now put this right. > http://www.cepece.info/amstrad/docs/extdsk.html > Note: The headers had what seemed me to have quite a bit of spare > space so for the benefit of blank disk images created by EDIP I added > this information to the Disk Image Header. For the blank images for > different Einstein DOSes I also added whether it was XTAL, CPM2 or > ZDOS. These were my additions to Einstein disk image headers. And thanks for explaining about the headers. I have a few comments / suggestions about EDIP. 1. EDIP does not appear in the task bar on my Win98 PC and I have to minimise everything to see it again when I switch to something else. (I could ALT-TAB but I forget about that quite often.) 2. Deleted files look the same as undeleted ones. Sometimes there are multiple deleted files with the same name. Could deleted files by indicated as such? 3. Could the rename option be altered or expanded so that files could be saved using their plain CP/M filenames, with dot but without trailing spaces? In other words, extract COPY COM as simply COPY.COM with no 'Einstein' appendages. Saving the files in a separate Einstein folder avoids any possible confusion with MS-DOS programs. 4. Could the 10K of system track(s) be listed and extractable as a separate file called SYSTEM? This would make it easier to examine the system tracks. The real end of the system could be hard to pinpoint but that does not matter - just save all 10K. I don't know whether it would be worthwhile making any changes, however. (Part 2 of my comments tomorrow, I hope.) Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 386	From: teeeby	Date: 21/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: Hello Chris and all, Part 2 of my reply. > Hi All, > > <snip> > > For creating image and track headers for Einstein CF images I think > this would be more or less logical, probably irritatingly fiddly as > was writing EDIP but I think I can do this. As for extraction and > insertion of files then I would have to know the file allocation > tables "FAT" and how they work. I've taken some time to read up on > MS/DOS FAT 12 for floppies and on first appearances the FAT systems > seems more straight forward than CPM. Whether this would work with > MESS emulation I wouldn't like to say. > > BUT! Does a program such as EDIP need to be written for CF images? > In a posting from Tony >> I think the best option is to have multiple 8MB disc image files on >> the flash drive. Like I have said, two could be used as active DOS >> drives at any one time. Users could choose which files to be active >> by using a small disc utility. > > I'm assuming that if a CF used by the Einstein was read in the PC the > 8mb Einstein disks would show up as MS/DOS files. But! Internally > these files would be using a FAT system that would be recognized by > MS/DOS. These files might be able to be loaded into virtual drives > that are available for MS XP. The PC program to copy files to and from the Einstein 8MB disc image files stored on a CF/SD card should ideally offer drag and drop as well as copy and paste. N.B. Knowledge of the MS-DOS FAT system is not required as the contents of the 8MB file is a virtual disc image in CP/M format, not MS-DOS. The number of reserved tracks, number of directory blocks and the block size, plus the knowledge gained while writing EDIP should be enough info. The new DPH for the hard drive is included in the file I uploaded the other day at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/DOS%20info/DOS%20Info.txt Knowledge, probably fairly minimal, of the MS-DOS FAT system is required for the Z80 code running on the Einstein that communicates with the CF/SD card. > Just An Idea. > Going through the recent postings now without sneezing and with a > clear head I wonder whether we are on the right track with the CF. > The Einstein was created for a floppy disk operating systems using a > floppy disk controller and a Shugart physical hardware port. It seems > to me that our efforts have been to fit the CF which is not floppy > disk controller dependant to that system. A more radical approach > might be to reversing this to a CF dependant O/S with an optional > support for for a floppy disk. > > The lines I'm thinking along: yes a floppy XTAL boot disk would be > needed hold a program that would load a new O/S into RAM or would > load a new O/S into RAM from the CF. I also have the means to > download this through the user port from the PC. The new OS would not > rely entirely on firmware MOS MCALLs but would download and run > routines from the CF. Three virtual floppy drives could be on the CF > and access to one physical floppy drive could be used to copy over a > real floppy to virtual floppy drives and vice the versa. Still a lot > of CF space left for hard drives. > > With a little more thought if the CF held four virtual floppy drives > an Einstein floppy placed in the existing floppy drive could be given > the option to be copied to one of four CF logical floppies. From > then on all reading and writing would be to the virtual floppies with > the option to copy back to a real floppy drive later. I think I read > some where in an Einstein mag that some one used the silicon disk > this way. No need for all that mechanical stuff of motors spinning > disks and moving heads back and forth. Every thing was quieter and > faster. A CF virtual floppy unlike the silicon disk would not need to > be copied back to a real floppy before powering down the Einstein. > > Basically what I'm looking to here is having an Einstein O/S that > doesn't use the floppy disk controller and also has no need to use > MOS. The CF then should not only be seen as a storage device but > parts of it being used also for the new O/S. I think is best to use as much as possible of the existing MOS and DOS, to reduce the amount of work. Just add new low-level routines for initialising the CF/SD card and reading from and writing to it, in an expanded (16KB) MOS ROM. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 387	From: teeeby	Date: 21/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,

> The new DPH for the hard drive is included in the file I uploaded the other day at > http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/DOS%20info/DOS%20Info.txt Correction. The new DPB ...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 388	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 22/08/2010
Subject: Re: Catching Up with latest posts,

My time is usually severely limited but I'll be happy to help out with any z80 or windows coding required. I've written a fair number of disk image compilers for my work with the ZX81 & Acorn Atom SD interfaces. I haven't coded for the einy yet but I'm looking forward to it :D   Charlie (C:=   To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From: yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:39:49 +0000 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Catching Up with latest posts,   > The new DPH for the hard drive is included in the file I uploaded the other day at > http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/DOS%20info/DOS%20Info.txt Correction. The new DPB ...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 389	From: Chris	Date: 22/08/2010
Subject: MORE ON EDIP

Hi Tony Charlie and All Tony It has been some time now since writing EDIP and making it available for others. For a long time I've been expecting some one to report bugs or suggest improvements that could be made so your comments are very much appreciated. First before responding to your specific comments a little history of how EDIP came to be so that any thought that it follows conventions created for DOS can be put aside. What made writing EDIP possible for me was two sources of information that were available 1) the Extended Disk Image header information thats given at http://www.cepece.info/amstrad/docs/extdsk.html 2) information given on page 2 of Einstein Magazine (77/17) Compendium No. 2 which gives an explanation and detail of the directory of extents that are held on a floppy disks and are also in the disk image. What I didn't have! I had then as I do now no knowledge of the workings of DOS. Any notion that the routines and procedures in EDIP in some way replicate DOS functions could be misleading. From Charlie Robinson's message >I've written a fair number of disk image compilers for my work with the >ZX81 & Acorn Atom SD interfaces. I very much doubt if there is any similarity EDIP has with the disk image compilers Charlie has written. EDIP's way of accessing disk image files is really an invention of my own logic. How I made EDIP work. EDIP works by taking information from the image header number of tracks per side, sides 1 or 2, track size EDIP then looks at each track header to view the sector labels and the scew factor in doing this it uses an array to number sequentially all the sectors in the image as DOS would have them ordered (not as they are positioned in each track) at the same time it lists the address as pointer to where each sector is in the image file. When EDIP reads the directory of extents and the list of allocated blocks for an extent, each block value can be used to calculate the address position in the image file from the array for the first sector for that block. The remaining 3 sectors per block for xtal or a second sector for a block for CPM would be first sector for a block then first sector + 1 three times for XTAL once for CPM. I won't go into all the other fiddly bits that also need to be done but in a nutshell that is more or less how edip works for extracting files. Had I known how DOS does things EDIP could have been simpler and a better programme. If Einey floppies had the same format as AMSTRAD CPC disks 9 sectors a track, 1kb a block and sector labeling which started off at HEX 41 Einey people would be using CPCdiskXP ver 2.0 disk editor to extract and insert files into Einstein disk images. Or! If the creators CPCdiskXP could make their disk editor Einstein friendly EDIP could then become history. By comparison EDIP doesn't match up but at the moment as CPCdiskXP's disk editor can't read the directory of Einstein disk images so EDIP is what there is. To improve on EDIP and to make it more like CPCdiskXP disk editor but for Einstein images I would need to know more about how DOS handles things especially in one specific area which I will come to as go through Tony's queries. >1. EDIP does not appear in the task bar on my Win98 PC and I have to >minimise everything to see it again when I switch to something else. (I >could ALT-TAB but I forget about that quite often.) After a quick look at the BBCBASIC FOR WINDOWS HELP FILE there is listed "Putting an icon in the SysTray" so this could be done. >2. Deleted files look the same as un deleted ones. Sometimes there are >multiple deleted files with the same name. Could deleted files by >indicated as such? This is an area where my lack of know ledge of DOS has stopped EDIP being improved. From page 2 of Einstein Magazine (77/17) the byte before the file name in the extent "User number or HEX E5 if the file has been erased." Out of all the Einstein disk images I looked at during the development of EDIP which was every image I could put my hands on at the time I never found one that had &E5 in the user number byte. If &E5 is there then EDIP should not display the file name in the image directory. Tony If you can send me an example disk image in which EDIP displays deleted files with a note to which files displayed should be deleted files then I will look to getting this part sorted out. Here is the big question for me. When a file has been deleted by a user how does DOS know what to do with all the allocated blocks in the extents for that file? I think it should free them up for new files. If a new file is written to some of those freed sector blocks and also to unused sector blocks then the allocated blocks in that files extents would be fragmented and not in sequential order. This is of course is an assumption on my part. On that assumption I again went through disk images and there extents looking for an un sequential order of allocated blocks. I didn't find any. So! It seems I'm completely on the wrong track. For the lack of the above knowledge EDIP is some what flawed compared to CPCdiskXP's disk editor in that it cannot insert files into an existing disk image but has to have files put into a new image with each new file being allocated blocks in sequential order. >3. Could the rename option be altered or expanded so that files could be >saved using their plain CP/M filenames, with dot but without trailing >spaces? In other words, extract COPY COM as simply COPY.COM with no >'Einstein' appendages. Saving the files in a separate Einstein folder >avoids any possible confusion with MS-DOS programs. File names displayed in EDIP's disk image directory are taken from the first extent for that file I should not overlooked adding the dot before the extension. Can be done. Removing spaces from file names for extraction can be done. Adding a check box so that files can be be extracted without the 'Einstein' appendages can be done. BUT! By default the 'Einstein' appendages should remain >Saving the files in a separate Einstein folder >avoids any possible confusion with MS-DOS programs. This is true for you and most people who are the sole user of a computer but for a shared computer, especially a family computer where you might have a child seeing just how many old computers he can run under MESS emulation then, non MS files with *.COM extension could get saved anywhere, in the windows directory for example. I don't think idiot proofing should be dismissed because its thought be patronizing for intelligent and responsible adults. > 4. Could the 10K of system track(s) be listed and extractable as a >separate file called SYSTEM? This would make it easier to examine the >system tracks. The real end of the system could be hard to pinpoint but >that does not matter - just save all 10K. Yes. In one way this already happens with EDIP internally when creating a blank image. After the blank image has been created just the sectors from the first two tracks are copied from the original image to the new. To sum up I never regarded EDIP as the finished programme or as a model for a finished programme. During its development after a lot of testing when it reached a stage where I thought it could be used and be useful for other Einstein users I made it available. I was expecting a lot of users to be reporting errors. Except for Tony regarding deleted files which is a serious issue I must deal with there has been none. The "Disk Image Details" drop down box was put in EDIP because I at least expected someone to report an unusable image in EDIP because it had an Einstein DOS I hadn't catered for. Feed back for such as the sector scew from the "Disk Image Details" would have been helpful to me but I can't see it being information of use to anyone else. No need for that now. An improved and enhanced EDIP would I think need a new windows GUI. Features such as a system tray icon and extraction for a system file could be added as is but a sector reader and/or extended disk image header and track header reader would need some more space. A drag and drop feature could also be added. But! Any real structural improvement will come from me having a better understanding of the workings of DOS also knowing how programs like CPDread and CPCdiskXP can from a disk in the floppy drive find out all that information it puts in the extended disk image headers for sectors per track, sector size and sector scew this knowledge would be helpful. EDIP for my lack of any understanding for disk operating systems is really an invention of an amateurs logic written with Bbcbasic For Windows. I'm not ashamed of that but if Charlie or any experienced programme writer in this field can write a disk image programme for the Einstein all to the good for the Einstein community. I'm just surprised that some one who has written disk image programs for similar systems haven't come to adapting there programs to be Einstein friendly. I've adapted a version of EDIP "AMSDIP" to work with CPC disk images. Not that Amstrad CPC users need it with CPCdiskXP available, but at the time I hoped it might stimulate some interest so that CPCdiskXP disk editor would be made Einstein friendly. So folks at the moment what you have is EDIP and I can make improvements and enhancements for it but if a really good Einstein friendly disk image programme comes into being I shall be using that not EDIP. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 390	From: Chris	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Tony Response to your post part 2

Hi Tony and All, Tony Response to your post part 2 >The PC program to copy files to and from the Einstein 8MB disc image files >stored on a CF/SD card should ideally offer drag and drop as well as copy >and paste. N.B. Knowledge of the MS-DOS FAT system is not required as the >contents of the 8MB file is a virtual disc image in CP/M format, not MS >DOS. In catching up with recent posts I seemed to have confused references to Geoff's USB interface and the CF. Seeing this from Geoff in the recent thread. >The CF adaptor could handle FAT with the addition of a uALFAT chip (or >similar). Translating the Einstein's file system to FAT could even be >handled with a dedicated micro-controller programmed to cope with >everything after the pipe, ie. >pipe > micro-controller[CP/M > FAT > USB] > External Hard Drive. I had the notion that FAT 16 is we had to have. I see in a later message you and Geoff have come to agree that CP/M 8mb drives are the way to go. Going on the assumption we are just referring to 8mb and not 1mb, 2mb or anything up to 8mb drives then writting a file extraction programme for just a set 8mb drive in the PC environment would I think be a lot simpler than for different types of floppies. One thing that we won't be able to do is put an Einey CF into a PC floppy drive and have CPCdiskXP make an Extended Disk Image file from it. I'm assuming the method used will be to use a card reader on the PC and an Einey HD will appear as a MS file. The need to know basis. An einstein HD image loaded into the PC will not be an extended disk image which has three elements disk image header, track header and all the rest sector data, that includes data for the o/s system, for the table of file extents and not just data space for files. The Einstein HD image; I'm reading from information given on page 2 of Einstein Magazine (77/17) Compendium No. 2 "When a disk is formatted the data sectors are filled with bytes usually &E5. But what concerns us here is the information that which goes between the sectors. These areas are referred to as the inter-block gaps(IBG's)." The article then gives a byte reference table for the IBG. Unlike an extended disk image file an Einstein image will have in it bytes used for formatting the drive. I'm assuming here put me right if I'm wrong. For a program like EDIP to extract files from this image it doesn't need to know about the IBG or any thing else except where the data sectors are and how the drives DOS would have them ordered. Scew factors making it more complicated of course. The other need to know factor is where the table of file extents are. Then from a file extents table of allocated blocks the value of each allocated block with a bit of maths tells us which sectors in a numbered list for all the sectors for that disk image which number for a sector and where it is located in the image file for it to be extracted. There is no need as there would be in a real floppy drive to work out which disk tracks are needed. So for my need to know to have an EDIP working for an Einstein HD file. 1)Is a byte for byte list of the formatting codes so I can eliminate them and I can work out where just all the data sectors are. 2)The nature of the file extents (whether they will be similar to those for a floppy drive) Whether there will be directories and sub directories and where the file extent tables are for the disk or sub directories are in the file. There is of course the problem I have mentioned in my previous message for inserting files. I don't know how to do this with an an existing disk image. I can do it for a newly created image but we are now thinking of 8mb not 420kb that could be asking users to use up to much of their storage space. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 391	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Re: Tony Response to your post part 2

Hello all, Please forgive me if I'm not understanding something, and please be assured that I'm not trying to be controversial ;) But why the discussion about floppy disk images? Aren't things in the hard-disk world all very simple and sector-based? The Amstrad extended disk image format is an archival format intended to reproduce the actual information layout of a floppy disk with a high degree of fidelity. This is mainly in order to allow the archival of software along with its attendant copy protection. Meta-information such as inter-block gaps, timing, parity and other miscellaneous bits are not required in most cases to make a physical floppy from an image. All you really need is a dump of the sectors. EDIP would be used to extract individual program/data files from existing floppy dumps. The rest of the process would involve some other piece of software for manipulating CPM formatted hard-disk images. I'm sure this already exists. If anyone would find an emulated interface useful for development under the MESS emulator then I'll be happy to advise as I've used this method with great success for all my SD interfaces. C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 392	From: teeeby	Date: 23/08/2010
Subject: Re: MORE ON EDIP

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: Hello Chris and all, Just a very quick reply for now. > <snip> >> 1. EDIP does not appear in the task bar on my Win98 PC and I have to >> minimise everything to see it again when I switch to something else. >> (I could ALT-TAB but I forget about that quite often.) > > After a quick look at the BBCBASIC FOR WINDOWS HELP FILE there is > listed "Putting an icon in the SysTray" so this could be done. No icon in the system tray needed, just make prog visible on task bar if possible (two things are not the same). >> 2. Deleted files look the same as un deleted ones. Sometimes there >> are multiple deleted files with the same name. Could deleted files by >> indicated as such? > > This is an area where my lack of know ledge of DOS has stopped EDIP > being improved. From page 2 of Einstein Magazine (77/17) the byte > before the file name in the extent "User number or HEX E5 if the file > has been erased." > > Out of all the Einstein disk images I looked at during the > development of EDIP which was every image I could put my hands on at > the time I never found one that had &E5 in the user number byte. If > &E5 is there then EDIP should not display the file name in the image > directory. > > Tony > If you can send me an example disk image in which EDIP displays > deleted files with a note to which files displayed should be deleted > files then I will look to getting this part sorted out. > > Here is the big question for me. When a file has been deleted by a > user how does DOS know what to do with all the allocated blocks in > the extents for that file? I think it should free them up for new > files. If a new file is written to some of those freed sector blocks > and also to unused sector blocks then the allocated blocks in that > files extents would be fragmented and not in sequential order. This > is of course is an assumption on my part. On that assumption I again > went through disk images and there extents looking for an un > sequential order of allocated blocks. I didn't find any. So! It seems > I'm completely on the wrong track. When an Einstein disc image file is loaded into MS-DOS Debug the directory starts at 3700H. So that everyone can see them, I've uploaded into the DOS info folder two images captured from Debug showing directories with deleted files. They are fairly easy to understand and provide the answers to some your questions. Sample directory 1 as viewed in Debug: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/UOFyTLFAow4QTiN5YjlRq4Cl7zaGiyIY_RDce36eDPPcuSH3K5UAAKQTIrVIOZRAxulFAoqjQDuh6wL8H5NeUfp_A4r6/DOS%20info/Sample%20Directory%201%20in%20debug.gif Sample directory 2 as viewed in Debug : http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/UOFyTA38AOIQTiN5CVdUsM7zaQQEChsJUYvsKh05XdYz0BTFq0zIqT3HE-UTAU-nnSiLSEZuFbwuavk__IJ2Ce9gcYs_/DOS%20info/Sample%20Directory%202%20in%20debug.gif More later ... Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 393	From: Chris	Date: 26/08/2010
Subject: Continuing on from latest posts.

Hi Tony Charlie and All Continuing on from latest posts. Forgive the size of this message but its meant clear up and straiten out any miss understanding from comments in the latest posts. First let me correct an oversight by my part. In the latest posts I have incorrectly implied that EDIP was the only extended disk image extraction program for Einstein floppies at the moment. This is false and doesn't pay tribute to Ste Ruddy who has created and contributed the excellent serial PC/Einstein file transfer software WinEintrans for the Einstein community also einsys.exe which will with a PC/Einstein serial link and a small piece of code typed into the Einstein with the MOS editor can format and create an Einstein boot disk from the PC. Ste has also written a file extraction programme for Einstein disk images eindsk.exe and it is in the groups library and has been there a long time. Its a command line programme that works from the windows MS DOS Prompt. It does not work in DOS. I had it working successfully for standard single sided Xtal floppy images but couldn't get it to work for double sided floppy images. I haven't tried CP/M and Zdos images. Response for Tony's last message/ Thanks Tony for uploading your captured debug files that show the &E5 in the user byte for deleted files. I hadn't seen any in the disk images I had when viewing them with hex editors (displays same as your debug files) any &E5 for deleting files until creating one just before receiving your latest message. My Comment in previous message > Out of all the Einstein disk images I looked at during the > development of EDIP which was every image I could put my hands on at > the time I never found one that had &E5 in the user number byte. As an explanation how this could be its best to say how to create a disk image which displays a deleted file in the extent directory when using hex editors and to have one that has had a file deleted but will not be shown. How I have done this. With a floppy disk in the Einstein with about six saved files I ran Bbcbasic and then loaded a file K.BBC into Bbcbsic. I then saved it again as K2.BBC. After going back to DOS I used ERA K.BBC to delete it. I put the floppy into a PC and used CPCdiskXP to create a disk image file view1.dsk. I then put the floppy back into the Einstein and ran Bbcbasic. Loaded in K2.BBC and saved it again as K3.BBC. Strait back to the PC, CPCdiskXP and created view2.dsk. Looking at the directory of extents with the debug type hex editor first view1.dsk K.BBC was displayed in the first extent with &E5 in the user byte to show it had been deleted as it had been. It also showed it was allocated one block 0100 low byte high byte. Next with view2.dsk in the hex editor K3.BBC was displayed in the first extent, user byte &00. It also showed it was allocated one block 0100 low byte high byte. From my comments in previous posts-said more than once with reference to inserting files into an existing disk image. >To improve on EDIP and to make it more like CPCdiskXP disk editor but for >Einstein images I would need to know more about how DOS handles things. . So now I know how in part how DOS does things. For inserting saved files it will over write any extent that has been deleted. Simple really. It also says why you can have a lot of disk images and not one showing a deleted file. In general users would usually create a disk image after saving files to it so file extents deleted with &E5 in the user byte will be over written by saved files. What I need to do now is a similar thing, but this time deleting a small file then saving a large file needing two or more extents. Need to see where the second extent for the file is put and which allocated block values are used. From the debug gifs you have made available I can see that saved active files and deleted files in the extents have allocated bytes all in sequential order and I'm guessing the deletion of files was the last operation made before creating the disk image. The image also has a number of deleted files. It would be interesting to see a debug dump image of the same floppy after it had a new file saved to it. >When an Einstein disc image file is loaded into MS-DOS Debug the >directory starts at 3700H. Not true for all image files. The directory of extents can always be found in the third track in in an extended disk image (track 2 "tracks numbered 0 1 2") sectors start at &2C00 after &100 bytes track header at &2B00 so &100 image header + 3*&100 track headers +(10*sector 512 bytes) *3 tracks in. The directory of extents officially starts at track 2 sector 0 but because in the image file due to to the scew factor used track 0 will not always be the first sector. With a scew of 0 5 1 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 the directory will be at &2C00. A ZDOS has a scew which is different for alternate tracks in track 2 the scew is 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4. Sector 0 is 4 sectors in so &2B00+(4*512)=&3300. It was one of those fiddly bits I had with writting EDIP. EDIP needs to know where the start of the directory of file extents is in the disk image. It could look at the scew factor and do a little arithmetic with it as above. BUT! EDIP has on loading a disk image already created a numbered list taking into account the sector scew for all the sectors in an image so if the directory of extents is always track 2 sector 0 then 10 sectors a track * 2 tracks in, from the list number 20 would hold the directory position in the image file by the number bytes it is from the beginning of the file. Charlie's query >But why the discussion about floppy disk images? Aren't things in the >hard-disk world all very simple and sector-based? I hope things in the hard-disk world are all very simple but before I go on to the Einey hard disk issue some points to make about floppy disk images and why the extended disk image is used by Einstein users. As Charlie mentions >The Amstrad extended disk image format is an archival format intended to >reproduce the actual information layout of a floppy disk with a high >degree of fidelity. By this I take it that the Extended DISK IMAGE is a faithfully copied real floppy to a file which can be stored (archived) on systems with large storage space and at any time can be used to reproduce a real floppy scew factor warts and all as it was from the copied floppy. Some readers and Einstein users might consider Charlie's comment to mean that the extended disk image should only be used to maintain an exact or you could say cloned copies of floppy disks. Ste Ruddy's EINTRANS can also create an extended disk image from a standard single side 40 track floppy in an Einstein drive via a serial link but not with same standard of fidelity. Extended disk images will not replicate scew factor. Scew is always 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. I can't say how Ste's Eintrans does this but the way I would have it would be to have Eintrans on the PC create a blank standard single side extended disk image with image header and track headers all ready prepared to have the sectors to be in sequential order 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9. Eintrans would then instruct the Einstein side of the software to use MOS MCALLS from the Einsten ROM to read sectors from each track. This would be done in order of the scew not as they are positioned in the track. At reading, each sector would be output to the serial port. On the PC a track of 10 sectors a time would be dumped into the prepared image. If a disk image was required just for extracting and inserting Einstein files in and out in the PC environment an extended disk image would not be required. All that would be needed would be a file of joined up sectors. The Einstein extended disk images made by us Einey people at first were not created for any great archival of floppy disk integrity to origin but because if users wanted Einstein programs they have on their floppies to run under MESS emulation they needed to be put in extended images. For Einstein emulation with MESS to load and save programs it wants an extended image. The reason why Einstein users aren't using a different disk image format is because at the moment for Einstein emulation there is only MESS. Why change this? We have had now simple to use CPCdiskXP for some time with its windows GUI interface instead of having to drop down into DOS for CPDread and Write. EDIP can be used to extract files from a number of images and put them into to a new image. With all this mix and match ability the Einstein extended disk image has probably come to be the most poplar way to transfer files back and forth between the Einstein and PC. I personally use WinEinTrans for a lot of file transfer but I haven't heard mention of other group members using it. I'm sure Charlie's comment was not meant to imply that the extended disk image should only be used for faithfully copying and reproducing floppy disks for archival purposes and somehow we are being naughty in creating extended images by other ways or that inserting files into extended image is in some way corrupting the principle of an extended disk image. I take it that he sees references to the extended disk image making things more complex than need be for issues regarding a hard disk or a compact flash attached to the Einstein. If Charlie is failing to understand something then I am totally perplexed. What are we talking about here? An IDE hard drive attached to the pipe but its not a hard drive but a compact flash that acts like an IDE, but is better for fitting to the Einstein because it can be read and written to 8 bits at a time. The CF is not a mechanical device but is spoke of as having heads and tracks and not just sectors. There is talk of einstein 8mb drives which will not be the CF not even a an fdisk type partition in the CF but will be an Einstein hard disk file in the CF. The Einstein will see this file and read and write to it as a hard drive but if the CF is put into a card reader on the PC MS windows will see it as a file. The file MS Windows sees will not be anything like disk images as we understand them. We are not talking here about program in the Einstein which is sending over sectors of data to the PC but a file for Windows in a windows storage medium. But! Internally it will be an XTAL or CP/M formatted hard drive. In a nut shell explanations if you want but as Geoff and Tony are under way with this development and I trust them to know what is possible and practicable so I will leave that side of things to them. My part will be that file Windows sees an Einstein Hard Drive File and writting a file extraction and insertion program for it. A conversion to an extended disk image would be possible but is Einstein emulation in MESS capable of handling large drives? MESS will also need to be able to read a second ROM file. For my part if some one can tell me the make up of the einey hard drive file. If its all sectors great! If its not can someone say where sectors are in the drive. If not can they tell me the bits which are not sectors and I can work out where the sectors are. It could be that if Tony and Geoff can confidently predict the make up of the Einey HD file I might be able to mock one up on the PC before it has been built by the Einstein. I could then get under way writting a file insertion and extraction program for it. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 394	From: teeeby	Date: 26/08/2010
Subject: Re: Continuing on from latest posts.

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: Hello Chris and all, Another quick reply. > Hi Tony Charlie and All > > <snip> > For my part if some one can tell me the make up of the einey hard drive file. If its all sectors great! If its not can someone say where sectors are in the drive. If not can they tell me the bits which are not sectors and I can work out where the sectors are. It's all sectors and it's great! > It could be that if Tony and Geoff can confidently predict the make up of the Einey HD file I might be able to mock one up on the PC before it has been built by the Einstein. I could then get under way writing a file insertion and extraction program for it. Please see my DOS Info.txt: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/oKt2TJWjPI-9sFoEspsYjsYO8JYJQnUUFNP2Qpi5B36yWWTKvUcpnuDC4gp3drftauAtKnRme8sMZIxPq3pxMUzQMsw2/DOS%20info/DOS%20Info.txt The 8MB hard drive image format is very simple: the first byte is at offset 0, the last byte is at offset 8388607 and all the other bytes in between are in consecutive order. There is no sector skew, no sector interleave and no added headers or anything else. Einstein DOS will think there are 256 tracks, each consisting of 256 logical sectors of 128 bytes. One track at the beginning is reserved for the operating system. The block size is 16K and the directory is one block in size. Therefore: First 32K is for system Next 16K is for directory Remaining 8144K is for files That's it! Don't worry about stuff that won't be there. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 395	From: Chris	Date: 29/08/2010
Subject: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD

Hi Tony I've either assumed wrongly that the directory of file extents in the in the Einey HD will be similar lay out to that of the floppy but with different values for block size; if I have assumed wrongly then I've wasted some time with this post and I will need details of the actual structure of file directory on the Einey HD. If I've assumed correctly that directory structure would be the same as the floppy and I haven't made some stupid calculation there is a problem with a 16kb block. Go to the bottom of this message and work back a bit to see the problem before reading the rest of this post. Tony Responding to your "Another quick reply" A lot of this will be thinking aloud. Parts inside curly brackets are not really on my need to know basis. Just there for reflection and maybe for future consideration. No need to respond to. >The 8MB hard drive image format is very simple: the first byte is at offset 0, the last byte >is at offset 8388607 and all the other bytes in between are in consecutive order. There is >no sector skew, no sector interleave and no added headers or anything else. > >Einstein DOS will think there are 256 tracks, each consisting of 256 logical sectors of 128 >bytes. One track at the beginning is reserved for the operating system. The block size is >16K and the directory is one block in size. Therefore: > >First 32K is for system >Next 16K is for directory >Remaining 8144K is for files >The 8MB hard drive image format is very simple: the first byte is at offset 0, the last >byte is at offset 8388607. SIZE of HD 8388608 bytes=&800000 bytes Display in hex editor 000000 to 7FFFFF First 32K is for system {1 track 256*128 bytes} Next 16K is for directory starts at &8000 OFFSET Remaining 8144K is for files starts at &C000 OFFSET { >Einstein DOS will think there are 256 tracks, >each consisting of 256 logical sectors of 128 bytes. } The first 32kb in an Einey made HD file will hold system data. For creating a file inserting and extraction program on the PC it does not need to be there. IT can be inserted later. On the PC a file of 8388607 bytes of &E5 would act as a blank non system Einey HD >There is no sector skew, no sector interleave and >no added headers or anything else. If none of the above is there the only thing that will cause files in the HD to be fragmented (parts of a file separated here there or anywhere) in the 8144K for files will be in 16kb blocks. Blocks will be all an EDIPHD programme has to manipulate. A blank HD file of all &E5 bytes will not look anything like an hard disk when viewed with an hex editor until files have been saved to it. This will not only save file data to blocks but also start to create the directory of file extents. Blocks of data for saved files will not become fragmented until some files have been deleted and further files have been saved to the HD. EDIPHD will probably need to make and keep a record of used and unused blocks. I assume that as the Einey HD is to be accessed by an upgraded XTAL DOS the table of directory will be similar (near same) as floppy but larger. Table of file extents starts at &008000 ends &00DFFF If Table Of Extents same-similar to floppy Difference floppy block 2kb HD 16kb If bytes used for an extent same as floppy 32bytes Maximum number of extents availabe in directory 512 ;DRM Maximum number of files for HD (need to be less than 128kb to use one extent) would be 512. If one or more files larger than 8*16kb=128kb=131072bytes less than 512 files can be saved. {Largest Einstein file I've seen in a floppy disk image is *.PRN file 224kb this is a text type file and would be loaded in an application a bit at a time to be read. Needs 14 16kb blocks 2 extents two 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. Largest *.COM file I've seen 24kb two 16k blocks 1 128kb extent 6 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. Largest *.XBS file I've seen 6kb one block 7 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. ?What is maximum size of file that can be loaded into the transit programming area. ?If an Einstein HD had all 512 extents used by a most likely average sized file how many unused blocks of drive space would be lost.} Another difference between floppy and HD I've seen referred to in posts is for the HD using the user byte for a directory structure. One byte 0 to 255 - &E5 for deleted files. 255 possible directories. Is this going to be be implemented on the Einstein? IF so EDIPHD will need to make and keep up dated a record for the number of directories and their user byte number so their file names can be displayed on screen separately. Later features such as creating, deleting or moving files from one directory to another can be thought about later in the development of EDIPHD. To get an Einey HD file looking something like a hard disk when viewed with a hex editor I'll need to start saving files to it. So a run down to check I'm getting things right with extent values. EXAMPLE OF DIRECTORY OF FILE EXTENTS 6 EXTENTS SHOWN FOR FLOPPY 0x02C00: E54B 2020 2020 2020 2042 4243 0000 0007 åK BBC.... 0x02C10: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02C20: 0045 3420 2020 2020 2043 4F4D 0000 0010 .E4 COM.... 0x02C30: 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02C40: 0042 4243 4241 5349 4343 4F4D 0000 0078 .BBCBASICCOM...x 0x02C50: 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 0A00 ................ 0x02C60: 0054 5241 4E53 4645 5243 4F4D 0000 0080 .TRANSFERCOM... 0x02C70: 0B00 0C00 0D00 0E00 0F00 1000 1100 1200 ................ 0x02C80: 0054 5241 4E53 4645 5243 4F4D 0100 0030 .TRANSFERCOM...0 0x02C90: 1300 1400 1500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02CA0: 0043 504D 3320 2020 2053 5953 0000 0060 .CPM3 SYS...` 0x02CB0: 1600 1700 1800 1900 1A00 1B00 0000 0000 ................ Each extent length 32bytes OFFSET &0 User Number. &E5 if file has been deleted. &1 to &8 filename &9 to &0B file extension &C file extent number. extent(0) to extent(n) &D not used &E Used in CP/M to record the number of extents in a file. Not used for floppy EDIP. Is it used by Einey HD DOS? &F The number of 128byte records in an extent maximum 8*16k blocks 128k/128=1024 !!!!!!PROBLEM I'm missing something or have got something wrong. 1024 dec= hex 0400 or in low byte high byte order as 0040 which ever way two bytes are required to express the maximum value for which only one byte is designated for in the extent table. For file inserting and extraction with an EDIPHD the value for the number of 128 byte records is not needed. Does Einstein HD DOS need it? Closing here for now. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 396	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 30/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD

Sounds like the work is coming along - great stuff! I have a thought - Is there any need to preserve the disk format when editing a disk? If you think of the function of the image editing program then this is an unnecessary complication. When you open an H.D. image simply decant the contents to a collection of einy files in the correct directory structure. When all the editing is done then re-constsitute a disk image and hey presto! There's no need to preserve the internal block structure or layout of the files in DOS. Sorry if this is blatantly obvious to everyone - I just thought it worth mentioning :)  Looking forward to seeing the results!   Charlie (C:=   To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From: chriscoxall@talktalk.net Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:28:41 +0000 Subject: [tatung_einstein] PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD   Hi Tony I've either assumed wrongly that the directory of file extents in the in the Einey HD will be similar lay out to that of the floppy but with different values for block size; if I have assumed wrongly then I've wasted some time with this post and I will need details of the actual structure of file directory on the Einey HD. If I've assumed correctly that directory structure would be the same as the floppy and I haven't made some stupid calculation there is a problem with a 16kb block. Go to the bottom of this message and work back a bit to see the problem before reading the rest of this post. Tony Responding to your "Another quick reply" A lot of this will be thinking aloud. Parts inside curly brackets are not really on my need to know basis. Just there for reflection and maybe for future consideration. No need to respond to. >The 8MB hard drive image format is very simple: the first byte is at offset 0, the last byte >is at offset 8388607 and all the other bytes in between are in consecutive order. There is >no sector skew, no sector interleave and no added headers or anything else. > >Einstein DOS will think there are 256 tracks, each consisting of 256 logical sectors of 128 >bytes. One track at the beginning is reserved for the operating system. The block size is >16K and the directory is one block in size. Therefore: > >First 32K is for system >Next 16K is for directory >Remaining 8144K is for files >The 8MB hard drive image format is very simple: the first byte is at offset 0, the last >byte is at offset 8388607. SIZE of HD 8388608 bytes=&800000 bytes Display in hex editor 000000 to 7FFFFF First 32K is for system {1 track 256*128 bytes} Next 16K is for directory starts at &8000 OFFSET Remaining 8144K is for files starts at &C000 OFFSET { >Einstein DOS will think there are 256 tracks, >each consisting of 256 logical sectors of 128 bytes. } The first 32kb in an Einey made HD file will hold system data. For creating a file inserting and extraction program on the PC it does not need to be there. IT can be inserted later. On the PC a file of 8388607 bytes of &E5 would act as a blank non system Einey HD >There is no sector skew, no sector interleave and >no added headers or anything else. If none of the above is there the only thing that will cause files in the HD to be fragmented (parts of a file separated here there or anywhere) in the 8144K for files will be in 16kb blocks. Blocks will be all an EDIPHD programme has to manipulate. A blank HD file of all &E5 bytes will not look anything like an hard disk when viewed with an hex editor until files have been saved to it. This will not only save file data to blocks but also start to create the directory of file extents. Blocks of data for saved files will not become fragmented until some files have been deleted and further files have been saved to the HD. EDIPHD will probably need to make and keep a record of used and unused blocks. I assume that as the Einey HD is to be accessed by an upgraded XTAL DOS the table of directory will be similar (near same) as floppy but larger. Table of file extents starts at &008000 ends &00DFFF If Table Of Extents same-similar to floppy Difference floppy block 2kb HD 16kb If bytes used for an extent same as floppy 32bytes Maximum number of extents availabe in directory 512 ;DRM Maximum number of files for HD (need to be less than 128kb to use one extent) would be 512. If one or more files larger than 8*16kb=128kb=131072bytes less than 512 files can be saved. {Largest Einstein file I've seen in a floppy disk image is *.PRN file 224kb this is a text type file and would be loaded in an application a bit at a time to be read. Needs 14 16kb blocks 2 extents two 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. Largest *.COM file I've seen 24kb two 16k blocks 1 128kb extent 6 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. Largest *.XBS file I've seen 6kb one block 7 16kb blocks would not be available for further saved files. ?What is maximum size of file that can be loaded into the transit programming area. ?If an Einstein HD had all 512 extents used by a most likely average sized file how many unused blocks of drive space would be lost.} Another difference between floppy and HD I've seen referred to in posts is for the HD using the user byte for a directory structure. One byte 0 to 255 - &E5 for deleted files. 255 possible directories. Is this going to be be implemented on the Einstein? IF so EDIPHD will need to make and keep up dated a record for the number of directories and their user byte number so their file names can be displayed on screen separately. Later features such as creating, deleting or moving files from one directory to another can be thought about later in the development of EDIPHD. To get an Einey HD file looking something like a hard disk when viewed with a hex editor I'll need to start saving files to it. So a run down to check I'm getting things right with extent values. EXAMPLE OF DIRECTORY OF FILE EXTENTS 6 EXTENTS SHOWN FOR FLOPPY 0x02C00: E54B 2020 2020 2020 2042 4243 0000 0007 åK BBC.... 0x02C10: 0100 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02C20: 0045 3420 2020 2020 2043 4F4D 0000 0010 .E4 COM.... 0x02C30: 0200 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02C40: 0042 4243 4241 5349 4343 4F4D 0000 0078 .BBCBASICCOM...x 0x02C50: 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900 0A00 ................ 0x02C60: 0054 5241 4E53 4645 5243 4F4D 0000 0080 .TRANSFERCOM... 0x02C70: 0B00 0C00 0D00 0E00 0F00 1000 1100 1200 ................ 0x02C80: 0054 5241 4E53 4645 5243 4F4D 0100 0030 .TRANSFERCOM...0 0x02C90: 1300 1400 1500 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 ................ 0x02CA0: 0043 504D 3320 2020 2053 5953 0000 0060 .CPM3 SYS...` 0x02CB0: 1600 1700 1800 1900 1A00 1B00 0000 0000 ................ Each extent length 32bytes OFFSET &0 User Number. &E5 if file has been deleted. &1 to &8 filename &9 to &0B file extension &C file extent number. extent(0) to extent(n) &D not used &E Used in CP/M to record the number of extents in a file. Not used for floppy EDIP. Is it used by Einey HD DOS? &F The number of 128byte records in an extent maximum 8*16k blocks 128k/128=1024 !!!!!!PROBLEM I'm missing something or have got something wrong. 1024 dec= hex 0400 or in low byte high byte order as 0040 which ever way two bytes are required to express the maximum value for which only one byte is designated for in the extent table. For file inserting and extraction with an EDIPHD the value for the number of 128 byte records is not needed. Does Einstein HD DOS need it? Closing here for now. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 397	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD

Hi Chris, > > I've either assumed wrongly that the directory of file extents in the in the Einey HD will be similar lay out to that of the floppy but with different values for block size; if I have assumed wrongly then I've wasted some time with this post and I will need details of the actual structure of file directory on the Einey HD. > The data stored at &F represents the number of 128 byte records in the last partially filled allocation block not the total count. therefore it will never need ti be above 16k/128b=128, all previous blocks will already be full. > &0 User Number. &E5 if file has been deleted. > &1 to &8 filename > &9 to &0B file extension > &C file extent number. extent(0) to extent(n) > &D not used > &E Used in CP/M to record the number of extents in a file. Not used for floppy EDIP. > Is it used by Einey HD DOS? > &F The number of 128byte records in an extent maximum 8*16k blocks 128k/128=1024 > !!!!!!PROBLEM I'm missing something or have got something wrong. > 1024 dec= hex 0400 or in low byte high byte order as 0040 > which ever way two bytes are required to express the maximum value for which only > one byte is designated for in the extent table. > > For file inserting and extraction with an EDIPHD the value for the number of 128 byte records is not needed. Does Einstein HD DOS need it? > > Closing here for now. > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 398	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/08/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD

Hi Chris, Tony, Charlie, et al. It seems my last post was wrong, at least with regard to XTALdos 2.02, I haven't checked ZDOS. > > The data stored at &F represents the number of 128 byte records in the last partially filled allocation block not the total count. therefore it will never need ti be above 16k/128b=128, all previous blocks will already be full. > The data stored at offset &F in the almost CP/M compatible XTALdos does actually contain the total number of 128 byte records in that extent. It does not follow CP/M 2.2 as mentioned on page 27 of "The Programmer's CP/M Handbook" "...the count of the records in the last partially filled allocation block..." Annoyingly, the "Record Count" also does not start at 0 but at 1 (as you will see if you examine the count of the first extent of files spread over more than one extent, when full they are 80 not 7F) so two blocks cannot be allocated to one file within the same extent as this would mean the count reaching 256 (bigger than one byte), if the count had started at 0 the count for two 16k blocks would be 255. So, each additional 16k block will have to use it's own extent. I don't yet know if XTALdos 2.02 will handle this seamlessly, or need tweaking. The limits this imposes on the number of files on each HD image are pretty much the same either way. Either the larger files use more blocks listed in the FCB (as in the intended method under CP/M) and the number of files is reduced by because there are less blocks available, or additional extents are used and the number of files is reduced because there are less directory entries available. There won't be any unusable 16k blocks though, just unusable space within each of those bocks used by smaller files. So you were right, the limiting factor does seem to be the "Record Count". Unless I too have missed something, which given my current work-load wouldn't be too unexpected. It would be really interesting to see how ACC overcame these limits as their biggest hard drives for the Einstein could be formatted to be 2 x 10MB partitions or 1 x 20MB partition! As always corrections are welcomed. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 399	From: Chris	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: EDIPHD

Hi Charlie and All. >I have a thought - Is there any need to preserve the disk format when editing a disk? If you >think of the function of the image editing program then this is an unnecessary complication. >When you open an H.D. image simply decant the contents to a collection of einy files in the >correct directory structure. When all the editing is done then re-constsitute a disk image and >hey presto! There's no need to preserve the internal block structure or layout of the files in >DOS. If what you are suggesting is some thing like this; 1) Extract all files from the Einey HD file to a designated PC folder creating sub directories from user numbers as we go. 2) Copy Einstein files to other PC folders. Copy Einstein files from other PC folders into user number labelled sub directories in the Einey HD designated PC folder. Create new user number labelled sub directories. Move files between user number labelled sub directories. Delete files. All this can be done by good old windows in the PC environment. 3) Delete all files in the Einey HD file which is just putting a &E5 value in the user byte location in the file extent directory. Then insert all files back into the Einey HD file. An added benefit would be that any file fragmentation that had occurred by use in the Einstein would be straightened out. This now is how I've come to be thinking. Before as mentioned in a previous post this is similar to what can be done with the present floppy EDIP but there a new blank floppy image has to be created, that is ok, its small. I had not wanted to it with an 8mb drive as I thought this would be a bit too demanding on users storage space on their PC's but the Einey HD file, with its straight forward construction, it is simple just to use the original Einey HD file. Also from my point I know how to do this by adapting the programing that is used by the present EDIP. This is one part of the reason to choose the above method. Another reason why I consider it acceptable for not using up to much storage space; there is something else that can miss the mind here. The CF is not the Einey HD. The Einey HD is just a MS windows file on it. If CF has a large capacity the designated PC folder for Einey HD files can be on the CF so can EDIPHD its self. The method does though use up more computer resources than need be. Consider a near full Einey HD file to which a 2kb file wants to be added. For the sake of keeping programming simple for the programer a theoretically 8mb but in practice up to between 6mb to 7mb of files will need to be copied from the Einey HD file and duplicated in a PC folder. This is bloat ware. For future consideration and to muse thoughts but lets get an Einey HD up and working first. AS Einey HD DOS will not be able to made to see the CF as an MS DOS drive it shouldn't be over looked that a utility program running in Einey could not. A file transfer programme for Einey might be able to move files between Einey drives and MS DOS part of the CF. No room for bloat ware here. There will not be the capacity to copy all files to any kind of buffer before writting them all back, but MOS and DOS as I see it already have the functions to it sector by sector. Another thought is that the Einey HD could have floppy images saved to it. Floppy block 2kb HD block 16k. Eight 2k blocks in an floppy extent = 16kb = one HD block. Sixty four extents in single side floppy=64 HD blocks = 8 HD extents. 512 HD extents / 8 =64 floppy images in HD. I hope my sums are right here. No need to have the HD all floppy images just some. The images could be dumped to a floppy drive. If it is a silicon drive this would be quicker and quieter. A future development of a CF logical floppy can be considered. A lot more files because of the smaller block size could be saved on the HD by using floppy images. These are a consideration for future development but in the mean time there is no need to think that for adding a CF to Einstein all we are going to get is a possible extra 512 file storage space on a HD. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 400	From: Chris	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD continued

Hi Geoff and All, >The data stored at offset &F in the almost CP/M compatible XTALdos does actually contain the >total number of 128 byte records in that extent. It does not follow CP/M 2.2 as mentioned on >page 27 of "The Programmer's CP/M Handbook" "...the count of the records in the last partially >filled allocation block..." Just checked out CP/M 2.2 extended disk image created from a floppy with CPCdiskXP not EDIP in a HEX editor. In the directory of extents for full extent (maximum number blocks per extent) &80 is given for offset &F. Same for ZDOS image. >It would be really interesting to see how ACC overcame these limits as their biggest hard >drives for the Einstein could be formatted to be 2 x 10MB partitions or 1 x 20MB partition! Don't know of this ACC! But! Reading from Einstein Magazine (77/16) COMPENDIUM 2 "A DOS (CP/M) record is 128 bytes. DOS function 20 is provided to 'read sequential' one record and function 21 to 'write sequential' one record." (Doesn't say what it does with the records. Would be nice to know?) "Having just read the above paragraph" (Paragraph not quoted by me here) "which states 1 sector 512 bytes is the unit of transfer this sounds like an anomaly. However when DOS receives the first instruction to read a record it actually reads 1 sector 4 records into its own buffer at &FE00 - FFFF. It then provides the 128 record from the buffer. Then the next 3 records are provided from this buffer. The next disc read is only made when the buffer has been emptied." It then states a similar process takes place when writting. A disc sector will be written to the buffer when it is full with 4 records. Quoting again "This is why it is essential to close a file when writting to disk has finished , because it is very likely there are 1, 2 or three records in the buffer. DOS will only write a SECTOR, if it has received less than 4 records when a file is closed." Whatever number of records there are in the buffer it seems DOS still writes whats in the buffer of 4*128 bytes as a sector to disk. I think I can remember reading some where that the 128 byte record was a legacy thing back to a time when disk drives had 128 byte sectors. Updated CP/M had to be kept backwardly mobile for these drives. It could be that the offset &F byte value has no meaningful purpose anymore. If we can view a HEX dump of the directory of extents on the CP/M 10mb drive it might tell us something. Just a thought. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 401	From: teeeby	Date: 01/09/2010
Subject: CP/M manual and EDIPHD

Hello all (you know who you are :-), For those without a hard copy, the Digital Research "CP/M Operating System Manual" can be viewed online and downloaded. Webpages: http://www.iso.port.ac.uk/~mike/interests/chistory/documents/cpm-22-manual/ PDF: http://www.cpm.z80.de/manuals/cpm22-m.pdf I hope these links are allowed. Some useful quotes from the manual follow. My comments inside { } ------------------------------------------------------------- [Section 1.1] "Features of CP/M 2 include field specification of one to sixteen logical drives, each containing up to eight megabytes. Any particular file can reach the full drive size with the capability of expanding to thirty-two megabytes in future releases. The directory size can be field-configured to contain any reasonable number of entries, and each file is optionally tagged with Read-Only and system attributes. Users of CP/M 2 are physically separated by user numbers, with facilities for file copy operations from one user area to another. Powerful relative-record random access functions are present in CP/M 2 that provide direct access to any of the 65536 records of an eight-megabyte file." [Section 5.2] "Files in CP/M can be thought of as a sequence of up to 65536 records of 128 bytes each, numbered from 0 to 65535, thus allowing a maximum of 8 megabytes per file. However, the user should note that although the records maybe considered logically contiguous, they may not be physically contiguous in the disk data area. Internally, all files are divided in 16K byte segments called logical extents, so that counters are easily maintained as 8-bit values. The division into extents is discussed in the paragraphs that follow; however, they are not particularly significant for the programmer, since each extent is automatically accessed in both sequential and random access modes." {File Control Block (FCB) format described in this section. FCBs are almost identical to directory entries.} [Section 6.1] "File expansion is achieved by providing up to 512 logical file extents, where each logical extent contains 16K bytes of data. CP/M 2 is structured, however, so that as much as 128K bytes of data are addressed by a single physical extent (corresponding to a single directory entry) maintaining compatibility with previous versions while taking advantage of directory space." ------------------------------------------------------------- The second half of each 32-byte directory entry (or physical extent) consists of eight words which specify the block numbers for the file. Non-zero words are allocated blocks. For a 2K block size, a physical extent can address up to 8 * 2K = 16K, the same as the fixed logical extent value used within CP/M. For a 16K block size, a physical extent can address up to 128K. The byte at offset 15 decimal (rc) is the number of 128-byte records actually used by the file in the 16K logical extent. This pinpoints the end of the file to within 128 bytes. If rc = 128, the file size is an exactly multiple of 16K, or more likely this is not the end of the file and there is at least one more directory entry. The byte at offset 12 decimal (ex) is the extent number (directory entry number) and is zero for the first entry. Chris asked how can the 7-bit rc value address up to 128K, when 128K / 128 = 1024. Geoff said that rc is the count of the records in the last partially filled allocation block. He later said that Xtal DOS does things differently from CP/M and posed this question about large files on an 8MB drive (paraphrasing): is there one directory entry per 128K (a la CP/M} or are there in fact eight entries? The only way to know for sure is to create a 8MB drive under Xtal DOS. Geoff says rightly that it makes no real difference which it is. The total number of 16K blocks on the 8MB drive is the same as the number of directory entries, i.e. 512. There could be 512* different files all no more than 16K, or a huge file that uses up the entire directory space if necessary, or any combination in between. (* Actually 509 as track 0 uses two blocks and the directory another.) Tip to Chris for EDIPHD: apply rc to the last non-zero allocation block in the directory entry, wherever that may be. *** There is a bug in EDIP - it does not appear to take any notice of rc. For example, files that should be only 128 bytes long are 2K long. *** Some comments about file deletion. A file is marked as deleted by setting the byte at offset 0 as 0E5H. The file blocks themselves are not deleted. Only when the last block on the drive has been allocated and more drive space is needed will blocks from deleted files be re-cycled for other files. This scheme has two important benefits: (1) it stops files becoming fragmented unnecessarily and (2) it provides an opportunity to undelete a file intact. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 402	From: teeeby	Date: 02/09/2010
Subject: Re: PROBLEM WITH EDIPHD - 16K block too big!

Hello Geoff and all, > Annoyingly, the "Record Count" also does not start at 0 but at 1 (as > you will see if you examine the count of the first extent of files > spread over more than one extent, when full they are 80 not 7F) so > two blocks cannot be allocated to one file within the same extent as > this would mean the count reaching 256 (bigger than one byte), if the > count had started at 0 the count for two 16k blocks would be 255. So, > each additional 16k block will have to use it's own extent. I don't > yet know if XTALdos 2.02 will handle this seamlessly, or need > tweaking. The record count (rc) does start at 0. If you call the DOS functions Make File then Close File, rc remains as 0 in the extent, indicating a zero-length file. rc only becomes 1 after a record has been written to the file. After 128 records the logical extent is full up and rc is 128. Thus the possible values of rc are 0 to 128 inclusive, which fits into one byte. If there were 256 records per logical extent, more than one byte would be needed to hold the values 0-256. I think rc must be set to zero for Read Sequential and Write Sequential from the beginning of the file, but it is ages since I did that sort of thing. > The limits this imposes on the number of files on each HD image are > pretty much the same either way. Either the larger files use more > blocks listed in the FCB (as in the intended method under CP/M) and > the number of files is reduced by because there are less blocks > available, or additional extents are used and the number of files is > reduced because there are less directory entries available. There > won't be any unusable 16k blocks though, just unusable space within > each of those blocks used by smaller files. And unfortunately the amount of unusable space with 16K blocks will be huge. I looked at four random but important 200K floppies and the total number of files was 80 and disc space 600K, an average of 20 files and 150K per disc. This is with 2K blocks, of course. The amounts of disc space used if the blocks were 4K, 8K or 16K would be as follows: 4K: 704K, 85% utilised, 15% wasted 8K: 928K, 65% utilised, 35% wasted 16K: 1370K, 44% utilised, 56% wasted With 16K blocks half of the disc space or more would be wasted! This is way too much. The reason for choosing 16K blocks was to have the largest possible hard drive size with the limited amount of allocation vector space available in DOS 2 and DOS 80. Ideally, the block size should be 2K, but this would require a lot of allocation space (remember: one bit per block). A 4K block size is acceptable, however I don't think 16K is anymore in view of my file tests. Please do your own to check. There is room for 4 x 64 bytes of allocation space without recompiling the aforementioned DOSes. This is enough for 4 x 8MB drives with 16K blocks, but only one hard drive is really needed at any one time. It would be easy to select different images from the command line and a special utility could copy files between them if required, although this could be slow on the Einstein and something best done on a PC. It would be a better use of the allocation space to reserve 128 or even 192 bytes for one hard drive image with a smaller block size and maybe a small overall capacity, e.g. 128 bytes is enough for a 4MB drive with 4K blocks (or a 2MB drive with 2K blocks) and 192 bytes is enough for a 6MB drive with 4K blocks. Note that the size of the disc image file on the memory card could be 8MB in all cases with its currently unusable space available in the future if and when a new DOS version is compiled with more allocation space. Also note that 256 x 8MB images would fill a 2GB FAT16 partition very nicely. Conclusion: the 16K block is for the chop! I'm sorry if that messes people up. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 403	From: Chris	Date: 03/09/2010
Subject: A LEGACY OF OVERSIZED EINSTEIN FILES ON PCs

Hi Tony, Geoff and All Tony Said >*** There is a bug in EDIP - it does not appear to take any notice of rc. >For example, files that should be only 128 bytes long are 2K long. *** There is and it happens on extraction. The files extracted and saved by EDIP into PC storage are by blocks. All 2kb bytes are extracted for every block. This means the last block or only block which might have just one byte of file data gets extracted along with the unwanted bytes that make up the 2kb block. It means the extracted files are corrupted by being a lot bigger than they should be. Only a minimum record lengths of 128 bytes should be extracted from the last block. A file size of say 6k and 1 byte length = 3 blocks and 1 byte should be extracted to a file on the PC as 6k + 128 bytes so an extra 127 bytes more than the file needed. As it is, the extracted file gets saved onto the PC as 8K in size an extra 2047 bytes more than needed. Let me say now that will not happen with inserting files into the image which have not been extracted with EDIP. Soon as EDIP opens a file to be inserted one of the operations it does is to divide the length of the file by 128 byte record lengths, for remainder bytes it adds one record, calculates how many full extents this will fill (if any), writes the appropriate &80 into offset &0F in the directory extent table for full extents and writes the appropriate value for the remaninig number of records at offset &0F for the last partially filled extent. This puts everything into the directory of file extents as Einstein DOS wants it. File transfer is done byte by byte from the open file to the appropriate sectors in the image ( sectors I add which are split apart here there and every where due to sector scew, fragmented file blocks and extended image headers). The transfer of bytes stop when all the bytes from the file being copied have been read, it does not even add bytes to fill up the remaining bytes for a record length. I can and will put the extraction process right but unfortunately because EDIP as it is has been used for some time now I am responsible for a legacy of over sized Einey files on PCs and for them being loaded back into the Einstein as over sized files. All files when saved to disk use a fractionally more bytes than needed for the file. It happens on the PC. With windows select a file, right click the mouse and then select properties. Size gives the size of the file but also a value for total bytes used. They can be the same but more often "total bytes used" is bigger. This does not mean the file is corrupted. With Einstein extracted files, file size is a lot bigger than it should be. All the file dater the file is still there but added to the end of it is large amount of garbage bytes. I haven't noticed any problems loading in and running these oversized files but I can't guaranty this will always be. For Einstein *.COM loaded into the transit area I think problems would be rare but for applications that save and load their own files to and from disc there might not be enough space to load in an over sized file into a reserved area. The problem has occurred for my lack of understanding of the way DOS does things. In this case the relevance of the record count. I believed that the record count was important for the Einstein end of operation so for inserting files I made sure that it was put into the extent table but, for extraction I assumed that in blocks were the minimum units for file extraction. I didn't realize the record count needed to be read and used to minimize the file size before extraction. So folks I put my hands up I'm responsible for putting oversized bloat ware on other people's PCs. Please? If members see bugs or have irritations with EDIP can they do as Tony has and report them to this Group. I can then put things right. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 404	From: Chris	Date: 06/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD Reflection

Hi Tony, Geoff and ALL WARNING THIS IS A LONG POST In last message Tony said >Conclusion: the 16K block is for the chop! I'm sorry if that messes people up. As I've said in a previous message I trust Geoff and Tony to know what is possible and practicable with hardware, firmware and operating system. I will leave that side of things to them and my part of creating an image file extraction and insertion program for the PC Windows will be fitted in with what ever they come up with. I and I think possibly some other members who have been following Geoff's and Tony's posts can't always grasp the detail and technicalities. I for one would have liked to have asked quite a few questions, some silly ones which would have obvious answers when they were given. I haven't done this so not to break away Tony and Geoff from what they were doing. With the present temporary set back I would like to take time for reflection and make a "What did we have here?" as I understand it. Put forward some very speculative ideas. At the same time I might blog a bit and express my frustration at having such a little knowledge of the workings of DOS. First of all Blocks, Sectors and Records. Blocks: A file block for dives are the smallest unit on a disk that files can take up on a disk. A file length needing 3 and a bit blocks would use 4 blocks on disk that could not be used by other files saved to disk. The unused bytes in the last block whether in sector or record portions are lost for further use for new files. If you have read the MOS/DOS manuals SAVE and LOAD command do not believe that the method of saving and loading files by minimum blocks is the same. This has been done resulting in oversized Einstein files being saved as PC MS files. Ouch! Some thing just hit me in the ego. Sectors: Sector size 512 bytes. This seems to be universal for most systems. A sector is the smallest number of bytes that DOS can read and write to and from disk. On a read command 512 bytes from the appropriate place on disk are placed in its own buffer in Einstein RAM &FE00-&FFFF. Records: From DOS's 512 sector buffer it will use 4 128 byte record lengths in turn. To do what? Where do they go? From reading the directory of extents and the record count byte DOS will know that from the last sector loaded into the buffer how many 128 byte record lengths it needs to use from it. Four or less than four. And again! To do what? Where do they go? Who wants these records any way? And it would be nice to know how DOS does this? Writting to disc is more or less the reverse process. The proposed hard drive. As I understand it the Einstein was built for a floppy drive system able to use four floppy drives with a built in floppy disk controller. By altering DOS a bit, DOS can be made to see one or two of those drives attached to the Tatung Pipe (the z80 expansion bus) where a compact flash card has been fitted. Einstein DOS cannot see the whole capacity of CF but can be made to see a file on the CF as a drive. The file will be 8mb in size. Except for in the first 32kb which will hold system programming the drive will only hold bytes with the value &E5. Only when DOS has started to write files to the drive will file data and the directory of extents be written. It is then that talking in terms of dividing up bytes into tracks, blocks, sectors and records become a realistic way to view the hard drive logically, because this is the way DOS wants it to be. For different drives, track size and block size can vary but sector size will always be 512 bytes and record size 128 bytes. The way DOS wants the drive viewed can not be changed but it does allow altering the size of track in record portions of 128 bytes and an offset of track size portions to find the beginning of the data area, which at the same time points to the beginning of the directory of extents. It allows changing values for other allocations as well but I will let that be this time. I am looking at this as to make a file extraction and insertion program on the PC which simulates the way DOS does things. This will not be an ideal file extraction and insertion program. Example a DOS simulated system programme would have a 512 byte disk buffer from which 4 128 byte records would in turn be read and written to before or after a disk read or write. For creating a file extraction and insertion programme for an extended disk image this would be a waste of programming and processor time. So! For a simulated DOS programme for file saving and loading. What is the need to know and what can be done with it. Changing values for track and offset can be made in the disk parameter block which DOS holds in RAM. It is loaded at boot up. Tony's DOS20info.txt tells where. It also gives the parameter values for different drives. I have in Einstein Magazine (77/21) Compendium No 2 listed an explanation for parameter block offsets which with probably a play on words can create confusion. Tony's DPB describes sectors as one 128 byte unit, for the parameter the mag just says a 128 byte unit but also mentions a sector as having 4 128 byte units. Else where in the article it refers to a sector as being the minimum disk read and write of 512 bytes which goes into a disk buffer. Keeping this in mind in Tony's DPB for the Einey HD DPBHD: DW 256 ;SPT logical sectors per track DB 7 ;BSH for block size BLS = 16384 DB 127 ;BHM for block size BLS = 16384 DB 7 ;EXM extent mask DW 509 ;DSM BLS * (DSM + 1) + 32K for reserved track = 8192K = 8MB DW 511 ;DRM directory entries - 1 DW 080H ;AL0/1 one block for directory DW 0 ;CKS no check vector for non-removable disc DW 1 ;OFF one reserved track at start of disc In the world of mechanical hard drives tracks are a physical reality that impose restrictions but, for a disk image, going from track to track just means going up and down a fixed number bytes in the file. For EDIP I used track size and number only to map out a list of offsets in the file for 512 byte sectors. Once this had been done, for file extraction and insertion, using track size values to move up and down the image was dispensed with. There was no floppy disk controller involved that needed a head to move back and forth for physical tracks. In the parameter block above the only references to tracks are for SPT and OFF. All other values make no reference to tracks. The only use I can see for SPT and OFF is to create the offset, number of bytes in 128 byte units from the beginning of the image file to where the directory of extents start. Once SPT and OFF have pointed to the beginning of the data area all movement back and forth in the file to read or write file data is taken from the values of allocation blocks in the directory of extents. With a mechanical drive the SPT and OFFset in the parameter block would be dictated by the make up and format of a physical disk. It would be in the parameter block loaded in at boot up and would be need to stay fixed. In the virtual world of a disk image file SPT and OFF could be altered by a Console Command Processor at run time. From what has been proposed drive 03 in the disk parameter block instead of pointing to the floppy disk controller is pointed to an 8mb file in a compact flash attached to the pipe. Imagine that drive 02 in the disk parameter block also instead of pointing to the floppy disk controller is pointed to the same 8mb file in a compact flash attached to the pipe. But! This time just to use a small portion of the capacity available. A 40 track single side floppy sized portion. Lets say we saved a standard 40 track single side blank disk image as the first file to be in the HD. The first two system tracks or 20*512 sectors would not be required. Leaving 380 512byte sectors or with 4 sectors to a 2k block 95 blocks 190kb, total 194560 bytes. The saved image file in the HD would take up 12 16kb HD blocks. The last partially filled block losing 2kb for further file use. Viewed in a debug hex editor the disk image file would start at &C000, after 16kb reserved for the HD directory starting at &8000. 2kb from &C0000 would be reserved for the images directory. In a debug type HEX editor the area used by the image file would be 12*16kb HD blocks = 192kb and would be from &C000 to &3BFFF. As the disk image is a blank all bytes would show the value of &E5. Only on saving files to the disk image would file data and the images directory be shown up as different value bytes. The disk parameter block for drive 02 could look like this Tony's DPB is given with my changes to SPT and OFF Also for each offset in the DPB I've added the same table for single side 40 track from an Einstein magazine which gives explanations but here I haven't changed SPT or OFF. DPB40TSS: OFFSET 0 DW 192 ;SPT logical sectors/records (128 byte units) per track (In the mag offset 0 is for floppy given as 24 00 low byte high byte hex. Explanation in mag: The No. of 128 byte units in 1 track. (for simple single sided 10 sectors = 10*4 (128 byte units) = 40 = 24 00 HEX] My SPT is 192 dec. 2 DB 4 ;BSH for block size BLS = 2048 (In the mag offset 2. Explanation Log.(base 2) of No. of 128 byte units in an allocation block. The block is 2k so there are 16 sets of 128 byte units in 1 block and Log.(base 2) of 16 = 4 (2*2*4=16) 3 DB 15 ;BHM for block size BLS = 2048 (In the mag offset 3 is described as 'ASM'. Explanation (No. of 128 bytes units in one block)-:[16 units in one block, 16-1 =15 =0F] 4 DB 1 ;EXM extent mask *** non-CP/M value of 0 for DOS80 *** (In the mag offset 4. Explanation (No. of extents which can be described in one FCB(i.e. one dir entry) - 1. As described in the first article {!? it isn't!} only one 1 extent can be described for each dir entry so 1- 1= 0 for EXM] "I don't know what FCB means" 5 DW 94 ;DSM BLS * (DSM + 1) + 10K for reserved tracks = 200K (In the mag offset 5. Explanation The largest block number. [s_s disks have 94 blocks = 5E 00 n.b. LO - HI order d-s 40 track 194 blocks = C2 00 d-s 80 track 394 blocks = 8A 01] 7 DW 63 ;DRM directory entries - 1 (In the mag offset 7. Explanation (Maximum No. of dir entries)-1 [dir entry is 32 byte, 2k for s-s discs so 2048/32 =127 {!?They have done it wrong here should be with -1 63. They get the HEX right!!} = HEX 3F 00. 4k for ds discs so 4096/32 = 127 = HEX 7F 00] 9 DW 80H ;AL0/1 one block for directory (In the mag offset 9. Explanation Bitmap of dir block allocations [ss discs AL0 AL1 1000 0000 0000 0000 = HEX 80 ds discs Al0 AL1 1100 0000 0000 0000 = HEX C0 ] "???I can't follow the meaning of this." 11 DW 16 ;CKS check vector space = (DRM + 1) /4 (In the mag offset 11. Explanation No. of dir entries per sector [512 bytes per sector. 32 bytes per dir entry, so 512/32 = 16 = HEX 10 13 DW 2 ;OFF two reserved tracks at start of disc (In the mag offset 13. Explanation No. of reserved tracks [s-s discs : 2 tracks are reserved so value is 02 00 d-s discs : 1 track 2 sides is 01 00 So looking at my changes to SPT to 192 and OFF to 2 and later SPT to 160 and OFF to 12 Calculating SPT 192*128 byte records*2 tracks =249152 = &C000 offset in Einey HD Offset &C000 is the start of disk image first file saved in Einey HD IF a second similar image were to be saved to Einey HD it would be in HD file offsets between &3C000 and 6BFFF. SPT 160*128 byte records*OFF 12 tracks = offset &3C000 in Einey HD My changes to SPT and OFF have not been thought out for optimum use for switching to a larger number of disk images. At this time they have just been worked out to show the possibility of the theory. As you will have noted from my comments inserted in the DPB above I don't understand some of the values above or know the full consequences of those I do. But! In the virtual world of a windows PC, the DOS simulation would not need to have the DPB for drive 02 pointed to HD file in the CF. The simulated Consol Command Processor would just change all byte values in the DPB for drive 03. As a DPB for the Einey HD >DIR would show a directory of disk images or in other terms a directory of folders each with its own self contained directory. Switched to a DPB for smaller drives, only SPT and OFF would need to be changed for different images. This could happen many times with a Console Command Processor commands. i.e. : >COPY 8: MYFILE.TXT TO 11: In a Windows PC lots of memory and storage space so instead of a number the image file name could used. AS the simulation programme is intended to emulate DOS in the Einstein I have kept to numbers. The copy process would be more or less the same as presently used by DOS functions for coping to and from different floppy drives but with additional code to change SPT and OFF. 1: Read sector 2: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB to change image 8 to image 11) 3: Write sector 4: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB back to image 11 to image 8) 5: Repeat 1 2 3 4 until done. Thats the idea. In the PC I can see all this being possible with disk images but to simulate Einey DOS more accurately I would need to know more about the workings of the DOS functions described in the MOS/DOS Manual. Which ones would I need to use? What data do these functions need from other locations in RAM used by the operating system. i.e. The DPB offset values, scratch pad locations and whats described in in the MOS/DOS manual page 26 as the File Descriptor. This seems similar near same copy to a file extent in a disc directory except offset 0 is for drive number not user number or for a &E5 value for deleted files as in a disk's directory of extents. In the world of simulation emulated DOS functions I could modify and add functionality i.e. in a file directory extent I could use offset &0D listed "as not used" or offset &0E listed as "used for CP/M but not XTAL" to make up two bytes for the record count. In the real world of Einstein functionality how many DOS functions would need changing to do this? There is one issue regarding OFF in my theory for using it and SPT in the DPB as an offset to jump anywhere in 128 byte units in a disk. It could be thought questionable. For a disk image it still remains viable. OFF for single side disk is given as 2, for double side disc 1. The explanation given: (In the mag offset 13. Explanation No. of reserved tracks [s-s discs : 2 tracks are reserved so value is 02 00 d-s discs : 1 track 2 sides is 01 00 For d-s : 1 track 2 sides to make sense should mean 1 track * 2 sides = 2 It doesn't do this. Instead look at SPT for a double side 40 track disk from Tony's disk parameter block in his DOS20info.txt. 400K floppy double-sided DPB40TDS: DW 80 ;SPT logical sectors per track There are not 80 record size 128 byte logical sectors per track there are 40 same as a single side disc. This may have been better explained for double side as DW 2*40=80 ;SPT logical sectors per track for side 1 and side 2 It may have been worked this way as disk read and writes to a double side disk are made alternately side 1 track 0, then side 2 track 0, then side 1 track 1, then side 1 track 2 and so on. I don't know if Einey DOS would manage a change of SPT to 40 and OFF to 2 but in terms of creating an offset 128*80*1 = 128*40*2. For a windows programme to simulate DOS I would also need to consider the scratch pad byte at &FBB1. This one byte is given its value from a system disk at boot up. The boot disc (needs to be in drive 0) will configure the scratch pad byte for drive 0 for the format it has whether it is a single or double side disc, whether it had 40 tracks per side or 80 tracks. If the boot floppy did not do this it would not be able to be read or written to and would be useless as boot disc. With this scratch byte loaded from the boot disc it will also configure as to which format other floppy discs need to be for another 3 floppy drives. Whether they need to be a single or double side disc, whether it had 40 tracks per side or 80 tracks. If drive 01: has been configured for double side 40 track disc, a single side 40 track floppy put in that drive would not be able to be read or written to. It will not be like drive "B" in PC where when floppy is put into a drive and the operating system works out whether it is a 720kb floppy or a 1.44mb floppy. The Einstein's floppy disc controller device can use up to 4 floppy drives and the scratch pad byte at &FBB1 is probably used by DOS or MOS to configure the floppy disc controller for different floppy drive formats. In my simulated Einey DOS if I have an &FBB1 type scratch pad byte then I will have to have some kind of emulation for the floppy disk controller and a way to mount 4 floppy disk images. Storage for the simulation would be limited to 4 floppy drives. Extra storage with a CF device attached to the tatung pipe (z80 expansion bus) would not require the use of floppy disk controller. Additional drives can be added larger than the already installed floppy drives. They could be numbered from 04: up. They would not need to be configured in the &FBB1 scratch pad. Separate programming procedures can be written to access the CF drives but I want to simulate the way Einey would do things. DOS functions and MOS MCALLs which are specific to the floppy disc controller for accessing floppies would not be help full. Asking for a "dir 5:" would just report back "NO SUCH DRIVE". DOS functions used for floppy drives needed to access an Einey HD file in the CF would need to be modified to bypass code for the FDC. That is as far as I can go at the moment. The above is the way I have tried to make sense of the development of the Einey HD drive. By following Geoff's and Tony's posts to this group the best I can, from articles in Einstein magazines and reading a few bits from CP/M manuals. With the experience of writting disk image extraction and insertion programming on the PC it is hard for me not to see the actual operations of the Einey DOS with the eyes for writting an imaginary simulation on the PC. It is the way I've come to analyze technical information. Looking for the need to know for creating programming modules a step at a time, seeing how they inter relate and then writting the program's procedures. I can't see any of the above not being known or thought of by Tony and Geoff but it might help other members with modicum of interest follow the gist of the implications of the development. I've bound to have made errors. Corrections welcome. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 405	From: Chris	Date: 06/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD Reflection

TRY AGAIN AS TEXT Hi Tony, Geoff and ALL WARNING THIS IS A LONG POST In last message Tony said >Conclusion: the 16K block is for the chop! I'm sorry if that messes people up. As I've said in a previous message I trust Geoff and Tony to know what is possible and practicable with hardware, firmware and operating system. I will leave that side of things to them and my part of creating an image file extraction and insertion program for the PC Windows will be fitted in with what ever they come up with. I and I think possibly some other members who have been following Geoff's and Tony's posts can't always grasp the detail and technicalities. I for one would have liked to have asked quite a few questions, some silly ones which would have obvious answers when they were given. I haven't done this so not to break away Tony and Geoff from what they were doing. With the present temporary set back I would like to take time for reflection and make a "What did we have here?" as I understand it. Put forward some very speculative ideas. At the same time I might blog a bit and express my frustration at having such a little knowledge of the workings of DOS. First of all Blocks, Sectors and Records. Blocks: A file block for dives are the smallest unit on a disk that files can take up on a disk. A file length needing 3 and a bit blocks would use 4 blocks on disk that could not be used by other files saved to disk. The unused bytes in the last block whether in sector or record portions are lost for further use for new files. If you have read the MOS/DOS manuals SAVE and LOAD command do not believe that the method of saving and loading files by minimum blocks is the same. This has been done resulting in oversized Einstein files being saved as PC MS files. Ouch! Some thing just hit me in the ego. Sectors: Sector size 512 bytes. This seems to be universal for most systems. A sector is the smallest number of bytes that DOS can read and write to and from disk. On a read command 512 bytes from the appropriate place on disk are placed in its own buffer in Einstein RAM &FE00-&FFFF. Records: From DOS's 512 sector buffer it will use 4 128 byte record lengths in turn. To do what? Where do they go? From reading the directory of extents and the record count byte DOS will know that from the last sector loaded into the buffer how many 128 byte record lengths it needs to use from it. Four or less than four. And again! To do what? Where do they go? Who wants these records any way? And it would be nice to know how DOS does this? Writting to disc is more or less the reverse process. The proposed hard drive. As I understand it the Einstein was built for a floppy drive system able to use four floppy drives with a built in floppy disk controller. By altering DOS a bit, DOS can be made to see one or two of those drives attached to the Tatung Pipe (the z80 expansion bus) where a compact flash card has been fitted. Einstein DOS cannot see the whole capacity of CF but can be made to see a file on the CF as a drive. The file will be 8mb in size. Except for in the first 32kb which will hold system programming the drive will only hold bytes with the value &E5. Only when DOS has started to write files to the drive will file data and the directory of extents be written. It is then that talking in terms of dividing up bytes into tracks, blocks, sectors and records become a realistic way to view the hard drive logically, because this is the way DOS wants it to be. For different drives, track size and block size can vary but sector size will always be 512 bytes and record size 128 bytes. The way DOS wants the drive viewed can not be changed but it does allow altering the size of track in record portions of 128 bytes and an offset of track size portions to find the beginning of the data area, which at the same time points to the beginning of the directory of extents. It allows changing values for other allocations as well but I will let that be this time. I am looking at this as to make a file extraction and insertion program on the PC which simulates the way DOS does things. This will not be an ideal file extraction and insertion program. Example a DOS simulated system programme would have a 512 byte disk buffer from which 4 128 byte records would in turn be read and written to before or after a disk read or write. For creating a file extraction and insertion programme for an extended disk image this would be a waste of programming and processor time. So! For a simulated DOS programme for file saving and loading. What is the need to know and what can be done with it. Changing values for track and offset can be made in the disk parameter block which DOS holds in RAM. It is loaded at boot up. Tony's DOS20info.txt tells where. It also gives the parameter values for different drives. I have in Einstein Magazine (77/21) Compendium No 2 listed an explanation for parameter block offsets which with probably a play on words can create confusion. Tony's DPB describes sectors as one 128 byte unit, for the parameter the mag just says a 128 byte unit but also mentions a sector as having 4 128 byte units. Else where in the article it refers to a sector as being the minimum disk read and write of 512 bytes which goes into a disk buffer. Keeping this in mind in Tony's DPB for the Einey HD DPBHD: DW 256 ;SPT logical sectors per track DB 7 ;BSH for block size BLS = 16384 DB 127 ;BHM for block size BLS = 16384 DB 7 ;EXM extent mask DW 509 ;DSM BLS * (DSM + 1) + 32K for reserved track = 8192K = 8MB DW 511 ;DRM directory entries - 1 DW 080H ;AL0/1 one block for directory DW 0 ;CKS no check vector for non-removable disc DW 1 ;OFF one reserved track at start of disc In the world of mechanical hard drives tracks are a physical reality that impose restrictions but, for a disk image, going from track to track just means going up and down a fixed number bytes in the file. For EDIP I used track size and number only to map out a list of offsets in the file for 512 byte sectors. Once this had been done, for file extraction and insertion, using track size values to move up and down the image was dispensed with. There was no floppy disk controller involved that needed a head to move back and forth for physical tracks. In the parameter block above the only references to tracks are for SPT and OFF. All other values make no reference to tracks. The only use I can see for SPT and OFF is to create the offset, number of bytes in 128 byte units from the beginning of the image file to where the directory of extents start. Once SPT and OFF have pointed to the beginning of the data area all movement back and forth in the file to read or write file data is taken from the values of allocation blocks in the directory of extents. With a mechanical drive the SPT and OFFset in the parameter block would be dictated by the make up and format of a physical disk. It would be in the parameter block loaded in at boot up and would be need to stay fixed. In the virtual world of a disk image file SPT and OFF could be altered by a Console Command Processor at run time. From what has been proposed drive 03 in the disk parameter block instead of pointing to the floppy disk controller is pointed to an 8mb file in a compact flash attached to the pipe. Imagine that drive 02 in the disk parameter block also instead of pointing to the floppy disk controller is pointed to the same 8mb file in a compact flash attached to the pipe. But! This time just to use a small portion of the capacity available. A 40 track single side floppy sized portion. Lets say we saved a standard 40 track single side blank disk image as the first file to be in the HD. The first two system tracks or 20*512 sectors would not be required. Leaving 380 512byte sectors or with 4 sectors to a 2k block 95 blocks 190kb, total 194560 bytes. The saved image file in the HD would take up 12 16kb HD blocks. The last partially filled block losing 2kb for further file use. Viewed in a debug hex editor the disk image file would start at &C000, after 16kb reserved for the HD directory starting at &8000. 2kb from &C0000 would be reserved for the images directory. In a debug type HEX editor the area used by the image file would be 12*16kb HD blocks = 192kb and would be from &C000 to &3BFFF. As the disk image is a blank all bytes would show the value of &E5. Only on saving files to the disk image would file data and the images directory be shown up as different value bytes. The disk parameter block for drive 02 could look like this Tony's DPB is given with my changes to SPT and OFF Also for each offset in the DPB I've added the same table for single side 40 track from an Einstein magazine which gives explanations but here I haven't changed SPT or OFF. DPB40TSS: OFFSET 0 DW 192 ;SPT logical sectors/records (128 byte units) per track (In the mag offset 0 is for floppy given as 24 00 low byte high byte hex. Explanation in mag: The No. of 128 byte units in 1 track. (for simple single sided 10 sectors = 10*4 (128 byte units) = 40 = 24 00 HEX] My SPT is 192 dec. 2 DB 4 ;BSH for block size BLS = 2048 (In the mag offset 2. Explanation Log.(base 2) of No. of 128 byte units in an allocation block. The block is 2k so there are 16 sets of 128 byte units in 1 block and Log.(base 2) of 16 = 4 (2*2*4=16) 3 DB 15 ;BHM for block size BLS = 2048 (In the mag offset 3 is described as 'ASM'. Explanation (No. of 128 bytes units in one block)-:[16 units in one block, 16-1 =15 =0F] 4 DB 1 ;EXM extent mask *** non-CP/M value of 0 for DOS80 *** (In the mag offset 4. Explanation (No. of extents which can be described in one FCB(i.e. one dir entry) - 1. As described in the first article {!? it isn't!} only one 1 extent can be described for each dir entry so 1- 1= 0 for EXM] "I don't know what FCB means" 5 DW 94 ;DSM BLS * (DSM + 1) + 10K for reserved tracks = 200K (In the mag offset 5. Explanation The largest block number. [s_s disks have 94 blocks = 5E 00 n.b. LO - HI order d-s 40 track 194 blocks = C2 00 d-s 80 track 394 blocks = 8A 01] 7 DW 63 ;DRM directory entries - 1 (In the mag offset 7. Explanation (Maximum No. of dir entries)-1 [dir entry is 32 byte, 2k for s-s discs so 2048/32 =127 {!?They have done it wrong here should be with -1 63. They get the HEX right!!} = HEX 3F 00. 4k for ds discs so 4096/32 = 127 = HEX 7F 00] 9 DW 80H ;AL0/1 one block for directory (In the mag offset 9. Explanation Bitmap of dir block allocations [ss discs AL0 AL1 1000 0000 0000 0000 = HEX 80 ds discs Al0 AL1 1100 0000 0000 0000 = HEX C0 ] "???I can't follow the meaning of this." 11 DW 16 ;CKS check vector space = (DRM + 1) /4 (In the mag offset 11. Explanation No. of dir entries per sector [512 bytes per sector. 32 bytes per dir entry, so 512/32 = 16 = HEX 10 13 DW 2 ;OFF two reserved tracks at start of disc (In the mag offset 13. Explanation No. of reserved tracks [s-s discs : 2 tracks are reserved so value is 02 00 d-s discs : 1 track 2 sides is 01 00 So looking at my changes to SPT to 192 and OFF to 2 and later SPT to 160 and OFF to 12 Calculating SPT 192*128 byte records*2 tracks =249152 = &C000 offset in Einey HD Offset &C000 is the start of disk image first file saved in Einey HD IF a second similar image were to be saved to Einey HD it would be in HD file offsets between &3C000 and 6BFFF. SPT 160*128 byte records*OFF 12 tracks = offset &3C000 in Einey HD My changes to SPT and OFF have not been thought out for optimum use for switching to a larger number of disk images. At this time they have just been worked out to show the possibility of the theory. As you will have noted from my comments inserted in the DPB above I don't understand some of the values above or know the full consequences of those I do. But! In the virtual world of a windows PC, the DOS simulation would not need to have the DPB for drive 02 pointed to HD file in the CF. The simulated Consol Command Processor would just change all byte values in the DPB for drive 03. As a DPB for the Einey HD >DIR would show a directory of disk images or in other terms a directory of folders each with its own self contained directory. Switched to a DPB for smaller drives, only SPT and OFF would need to be changed for different images. This could happen many times with a Console Command Processor commands. i.e. : >COPY 8: MYFILE.TXT TO 11: In a Windows PC lots of memory and storage space so instead of a number the image file name could used. AS the simulation programme is intended to emulate DOS in the Einstein I have kept to numbers. The copy process would be more or less the same as presently used by DOS functions for coping to and from different floppy drives but with additional code to change SPT and OFF. 1: Read sector 2: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB to change image 8 to image 11) 3: Write sector 4: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB back to image 11 to image 8) 5: Repeat 1 2 3 4 until done. Thats the idea. In the PC I can see all this being possible with disk images but to simulate Einey DOS more accurately I would need to know more about the workings of the DOS functions described in the MOS/DOS Manual. Which ones would I need to use? What data do these functions need from other locations in RAM used by the operating system. i.e. The DPB offset values, scratch pad locations and whats described in in the MOS/DOS manual page 26 as the File Descriptor. This seems similar near same copy to a file extent in a disc directory except offset 0 is for drive number not user number or for a &E5 value for deleted files as in a disk's directory of extents. In the world of simulation emulated DOS functions I could modify and add functionality i.e. in a file directory extent I could use offset &0D listed "as not used" or offset &0E listed as "used for CP/M but not XTAL" to make up two bytes for the record count. In the real world of Einstein functionality how many DOS functions would need changing to do this? There is one issue regarding OFF in my theory for using it and SPT in the DPB as an offset to jump anywhere in 128 byte units in a disk. It could be thought questionable. For a disk image it still remains viable. OFF for single side disk is given as 2, for double side disc 1. The explanation given: (In the mag offset 13. Explanation No. of reserved tracks [s-s discs : 2 tracks are reserved so value is 02 00 d-s discs : 1 track 2 sides is 01 00 For d-s : 1 track 2 sides to make sense should mean 1 track * 2 sides = 2 It doesn't do this. Instead look at SPT for a double side 40 track disk from Tony's disk parameter block in his DOS20info.txt. 400K floppy double-sided DPB40TDS: DW 80 ;SPT logical sectors per track There are not 80 record size 128 byte logical sectors per track there are 40 same as a single side disc. This may have been better explained for double side as DW 2*40=80 ;SPT logical sectors per track for side 1 and side 2 It may have been worked this way as disk read and writes to a double side disk are made alternately side 1 track 0, then side 2 track 0, then side 1 track 1, then side 1 track 2 and so on. I don't know if Einey DOS would manage a change of SPT to 40 and OFF to 2 but in terms of creating an offset 128*80*1 = 128*40*2. For a windows programme to simulate DOS I would also need to consider the scratch pad byte at &FBB1. This one byte is given its value from a system disk at boot up. The boot disc (needs to be in drive 0) will configure the scratch pad byte for drive 0 for the format it has whether it is a single or double side disc, whether it had 40 tracks per side or 80 tracks. If the boot floppy did not do this it would not be able to be read or written to and would be useless as boot disc. With this scratch byte loaded from the boot disc it will also configure as to which format other floppy discs need to be for another 3 floppy drives. Whether they need to be a single or double side disc, whether it had 40 tracks per side or 80 tracks. If drive 01: has been configured for double side 40 track disc, a single side 40 track floppy put in that drive would not be able to be read or written to. It will not be like drive "B" in PC where when floppy is put into a drive and the operating system works out whether it is a 720kb floppy or a 1.44mb floppy. The Einstein's floppy disc controller device can use up to 4 floppy drives and the scratch pad byte at &FBB1 is probably used by DOS or MOS to configure the floppy disc controller for different floppy drive formats. In my simulated Einey DOS if I have an &FBB1 type scratch pad byte then I will have to have some kind of emulation for the floppy disk controller and a way to mount 4 floppy disk images. Storage for the simulation would be limited to 4 floppy drives. Extra storage with a CF device attached to the tatung pipe (z80 expansion bus) would not require the use of floppy disk controller. Additional drives can be added larger than the already installed floppy drives. They could be numbered from 04: up. They would not need to be configured in the &FBB1 scratch pad. Separate programming procedures can be written to access the CF drives but I want to simulate the way Einey would do things. DOS functions and MOS MCALLs which are specific to the floppy disc controller for accessing floppies would not be help full. Asking for a "dir 5:" would just report back "NO SUCH DRIVE". DOS functions used for floppy drives needed to access an Einey HD file in the CF would need to be modified to bypass code for the FDC. That is as far as I can go at the moment. The above is the way I have tried to make sense of the development of the Einey HD drive. By following Geoff's and Tony's posts to this group the best I can, from articles in Einstein magazines and reading a few bits from CP/M manuals. With the experience of writting disk image extraction and insertion programming on the PC it is hard for me not to see the actual operations of the Einey DOS with the eyes for writting an imaginary simulation on the PC. It is the way I've come to analyze technical information. Looking for the need to know for creating programming modules a step at a time, seeing how they inter relate and then writting the program's procedures. I can't see any of the above not being known or thought of by Tony and Geoff but it might help other members with modicum of interest follow the gist of the implications of the development. I've bound to have made errors. Corrections welcome. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 406	From: teeeby	Date: 11/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD Reflection

Hello Chris and all, A few comments on your long post. > Hi Tony, Geoff and ALL > > <snip> > Sectors: > Sector size 512 bytes. This seems to be universal for most systems. A > sector is the smallest number of bytes that DOS can read and write to > and from disk. Yes, but DOS sees only 128 byte logical sectors aka records. > On a read command 512 bytes from the appropriate place > on disk are placed in its own buffer in Einstein RAM &FE00-&FFFF. The BIOS routines in MOS use this 512 byte buffer, not DOS which has its own 128 byte buffer. MOS deals in 512 byte sectors because that is the physical sector size. The MOS routines do the sector blocking and deblocking. > Records: > From DOS's 512 sector buffer it will use 4 128 byte record lengths in > turn. To do what? Where do they go? From reading the directory of > extents and the record count byte DOS will know that from the last > sector loaded into the buffer how many 128 byte record lengths it > needs to use from it. Four or less than four. And again! To do what? > Where do they go? Who wants these records any way? And it would be > nice to know how DOS does this? DOS sees only 128 byte logical sectors or records. The reason for this size is that the very first 8" floppies had physical sectors 128 bytes long. > <snip> > The proposed hard drive. > <snip> > > The file will be 8mb in size. Except for in the first 32kb which will > hold system programming the drive will only hold bytes with the value > &E5. I doubt that an entire blank 8MB image file will contain E5H bytes as this is not necessary. Probably just the directory, but even then only if DOS requires E5H bytes to be present to indicate unused directory space. > <snip> > Changing values for track and offset can be made in the disk > parameter block which DOS holds in RAM. It is loaded at boot up. > Tony's DOS20info.txt tells where. It also gives the parameter values > for different drives. I have in Einstein Magazine (77/21) Compendium > No 2 listed an explanation for parameter block offsets which with > probably a play on words can create confusion. Tony's DPB describes > sectors as one 128 byte unit, for the parameter the mag just says a > 128 byte unit but also mentions a sector as having 4 128 byte units. > Else where in the article it refers to a sector as being the minimum > disk read and write of 512 bytes which goes into a disk buffer. > > Keeping this in mind in Tony's DPB for the Einey HD > > DPBHD: > DW 256 ;SPT logical sectors per track > DB 7 ;BSH for block size BLS = 16384 > DB 127 ;BHM for block size BLS = 16384 > DB 7 ;EXM extent mask > DW 509 ;DSM BLS * (DSM + 1) + 32K for reserved track = 8192K = 8MB > DW 511 ;DRM directory entries - 1 > DW 080H ;AL0/1 one block for directory > DW 0 ;CKS no check vector for non-removable disc > DW 1 ;OFF one reserved track at start of disc As I mentioned in my last message, I think that a 16K block size is not a good idea now. I'll post DPBs for 2K or 4K blocks soon. > <snip> > In the parameter block above the only references to > tracks are for SPT and OFF. All other values make no reference to > tracks. > > The only use I can see for SPT and OFF is to create the offset, > number of bytes in 128 byte units from the beginning of the image > file to where the directory of extents start. Once SPT and OFF have > pointed to the beginning of the data area all movement back and forth > in the file to read or write file data is taken from the values of > allocation blocks in the directory of extents. Correct. > <huge snip> > 1: Read sector > > 2: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB to change image 8 to > image 11) > > 3: Write sector > > 4: {New code to change SPT and OFF in the DPB back to image 11 to > image 8) > > 5: Repeat 1 2 3 4 until done. Changing SPT and OFF "on-the-fly" like this is almost certainly doomed to fail. I think it would do one of two things: nothing at all because DOS only looks at the DPB once before any reading or writing of sectors is attempted, or cause mayhem. Changing critical disc parameters such as these needs a warm boot afterwards. Some of what I deleted in <huge snip> is rather difficult to follow, but it seems that Chris is suggesting that the 8MB image file could contain two types of data: (1) a single hard drive image, or (2) multiple floppy images. I think this is a very good idea, but the implementation should be slightly different. An 8MB file could hold 40 x 200K floppies, guaranteed. It would be a better way to archive floppies than copying them to a hard drive, which could have the following drawbacks: (1) no indication about which floppy a file came from, (2) files with the same name on different discs and (3) block size would reduce effective capacity to less than 40 floppies, substantially less for 16K blocks. If the 8MB image file were to hold more than one type of data, then the data type in use should be specified in the file. This would require a special sector or header, to hold the DPB amongst other things. I have been thinking about this quite a lot. One sector of 512 bytes should be sufficient. This would reduce the theoretical maximum capacity of a hard drive by one block, but would have no effect on the number of 200K images. Only one drive size would be allowed within a file. A new drive mapping utility would allow the user to select the image file on the memory card to use and the particular disc image within it if necessary. > <snip> > For a windows programme to simulate DOS I would also need to consider > the scratch pad byte at &FBB1. > <snip> Please see message 371 for more info about SIDFLG. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 407	From: Chris	Date: 12/09/2010
Subject: EDIP "EDIPv1c.zip" Update

Hi All, Uploaded to the groups files an updated EDIP "EDIPv1c.exe" in a zip archive "EDIPv1c.zip" Below copy of UPDATE.TXT included in the archive with added comment in brackets. EDIP version 1c "EDIPv1c.exe" Fixed From EDIP version EDIP 1a "EDIP_1a.exe" UPDATED EXTRACTED FILES CORRECTLY SIZED Disk Image files are now extracted correctly to the smallest number of 128 byte records. Instead of to the smallest number of 2kb blocks. (Extracting correctly to the smallest number of 128 byte records has been tested many times. THE TEST PROCESS. Files were extracted from a CPCdiskXP created Einstein images into a PC folder. The same files were then inserted into a new disk image. The original files in the new image were extracted to another folder. Files with the same names from each folder were compared in a HEX editor and shown to be identical in size and bytes. This did not happen with the previous release of EDIP.) DELETED FILES Files that have been deleted during Einstein run time conditions i.e Einstein emulation or in the physical Einstein will be shown prefixed with four exclamation marks in image directory i.e. !!!!MYFILE.XBS. Deleted files can be extracted into PC folders as seen in the disk image's directory plus Einstein being added to the file extension. It has to be understood that these files would be salvaged from disk images where originally they were unwanted and intentionally deleted from floppy discs. Deleted files might be reclaimed as original or they could have become corrupted by having portions of their contents overwritten by further files saved to the floppy disk. (I was uncertain what to do here. Programs can be written for the basic software user who would want disc images to hold only files as intended by the original user of the floppy disc. For this purpose there would be no need to have deleted files displayed in the disk image directory. Then there is what could be described as the archival interest. Unwanted Einstein floppy disks and images can be donated to a new user for the purpose that they could hold applications of interest to the new user. The applications could have been on a working floppy and safely deleted to create more disc space as originally they were backed up on write protect vender disks or on other floppies created for archival purposes. The original archival floppies could have become lost or corrupted. Einstein software in deleted files wanted by a new user might be able to be reclaimed for use in new images.) ICON ON THE TASK BAR and ADDED WINDOW EDIP now opens a window with a black back ground. When a disk image is opened the dialogue box holding its directory will be positioned on the window. The dialogue box and the window can be individually moved and separated from each other on the screen. The window can be sized or expanded to fill the screen creating a black back ground. Adding a window as a feature to EDIP also creates an icon on the task bar to maximize or minimize EDIP on the screen. (When compiling a bbc4w programme to an executable the option is given not to show the window. As EDIP control and display are in dialogue boxes it was thought that there would be no need for the window in the previous versions. By adding the window an icon is also added to the task bar. Mouse clicking the icon allows EDIP to maximize or minimize on the PC screen. The window is just a black box which, when a disk image is opened, the dialogue box will sit on the blackened area. Visible will be the standard window header with the normal features for expanding to full screen, closing and reducing size. The window can also be sized via use of a mouse in the conventional manor. Use for the window might be found for future EDIP developments but for now its used only for creating an icon on the task bar. Except that if EDIP crashes or freezes up text could report the error in the window. This could be helpful for reporting bugs. Note: Using dialogue boxes without a window is used by windows. In a folder select a file, right click the mouse and select properties. The properties box will be shown on screen but does show in the task bar.) This is two of the features mentioned by Tony in message 385. "EDIPv1c.exe" is a bit of a quick patch to mainly get it in place of "EDIP_1a.exe" for download so to minimize the number of oversized Einstein files extracted. An upgrade to this is planned but will take time. Again if members spot bugs or have irritations with EDIP please do as Tony has and report them to this discussion group. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 409	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 19/09/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Image File Info/Image_File_Format.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Proposed Image File Format, v1.0 You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Image%20File%20Info/Image_File_Format.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 410	From: teeeby	Date: 19/09/2010
Subject: Proposed Image File Format

Hello all, I have uploaded a text document with proposed Image File Format for use with memory cards. The info in it should help with EDIPHD. All comments welcome. Please ask if you have any questions. Link for file: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wGuWTLRjDuLErVMMH9GfvVjkXDMe4E2cOHA5y4rjepubEi3YvPD5hkwGo1uEcBLOqp60VDsdQAZildTHmED4X88katu2/Image%20File%20Info/Image_File_Format.txt Although the image file was designed for virtual hard drive images, I think its first use should be for 200K floppy images. An 8MB file could hold 40 such images and, most importantly, they could be used as virtual floppy drives on any version of Xtal DOS, even version 1.x.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 411	From: Chris	Date: 25/09/2010
Subject: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP

Hi Tony and All, Tony I've looked at "Image_File_Format.txt" file uploaded to the groups files and I've mocked up an Einey HD file on the PC for an HD file containing 3 200kb images. There is no programing to insert or extract files yet, so it is just a the HD header and a HD directory for 3 200k images based on single side, 40 track and 10 512 sectors per track. File space has been created for these. Some details in case of confusion. Space for 3 200k images is not 200k I've assumed that two tracks reserved for system tracks will not be needed. So! 3 190k sized images To avoid confusion instead of using image can we use terms like the HD directory and sub directories for the 3 190k sized images. When viewing an HD file with a HEX editor the only way to know the beginning of 190k image would be to see the directory of extents. Files will need to be inserted first. If I've got it right so far, for writting a file insertion and extraction program, the sub directories offset will need pointing to. The block size will need to be known, whether block values are allocated by word (2 bytes like XTAL DOS) or a byte (1 byte like CP/M or ZDOS) There is something else that I've just found out regarding CP/M 2 and ZDOS for the Einstein. They seem to have been a bit of a compromise. They use one byte values for blocks but only use 8 one bytes in an extent where there is space for 16. The block size like XTAL is 2kb. Other systems such as Amstrad CPC use 16 one byte block allocations for a 1kb block. There is a bug with the present EDIP when inserting files into a CP/M 2 or ZDOS image if they are bigger than 16kb using more than 8 allocations. I have a fix for this. FROM THE PC END THE NEED TO KNOW. From the HD header the offset of the HD directory. From HD directory sub directory name, word or byte block allocations, maximum number of block allocations allowed per extent (not the same as space for block allocations in an extent) and block size. The maximum number records in an extent, if this can vary, it should also be given. With the above information once pointed to the offset of a sub directory all file extraction can be done from the sub directory's table of extents. I can start writting code to insert einey files into the sub directories as is, as I know where they should go, and sort out header detail later. Let me know if I'm on the right track? Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 412	From: teeeby	Date: 26/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP

Hello Chris and all, Firstly, I've modified Image_File_Format.txt. I've added names and changed the order of a few things in the header: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/4FGfTCMfyNAg0QrTLnagUXyXs4To23e9_InsBbtDB7zP2D4k9ZVI7KysmyaVC7C8TpjtZBsp4T77J8zDIVUGuoH8fJ8q/Image%20File%20Info/Image_File_Format.txt The new names should make things easier to understand, I hope. Please use these names not addresses, as the latter might change again (but ideally not). > Hi Tony and All, > > Tony I've looked at "Image_File_Format.txt" file uploaded to the > groups files and I've mocked up an Einey HD file on the PC for an HD > file containing 3 200kb images. There is no programing to insert or > extract files yet, so it is just a the HD header and a HD directory > for 3 200k images based on single side, 40 track and 10 512 sectors > per track. File space has been created for these. > > Some details in case of confusion. > > Space for 3 200k images is not 200k I've assumed that two tracks > reserved for system tracks will not be needed. So! 3 190k sized > images System tracks will be needed because it will be possible to boot the Einstein from one of them, so size is full 200K. > To avoid confusion instead of using image can we use terms like the > HD directory and sub directories for the 3 190k sized images. I think it's more confusing to talk about sub-directories. Each file contains one or more images. Fairly simple? > When > viewing an HD file with a HEX editor the only way to know the > beginning of 190k image would be to see the directory of extents. > Files will need to be inserted first. Start sector of image X = IMG_START + IMG_SIZE * (X - 1) Note that first image is defined as 1, not 0. > If I've got it right so far, for writting a file insertion and > extraction program, the sub directories offset will need pointing to. > The block size will need to be known, whether block values are > allocated by word (2 bytes like XTAL DOS) or a byte (1 byte like CP/M > or ZDOS) > > There is something else that I've just found out regarding CP/M 2 and > ZDOS for the Einstein. They seem to have been a bit of a compromise. > They use one byte values for blocks but only use 8 one bytes in an > extent where there is space for 16. The block size like XTAL is 2kb. > Other systems such as Amstrad CPC use 16 one byte block allocations > for a 1kb block. According to this webpage http://www.seasip.demon.co.uk/Cpm/format22.html if the total number of blocks on a disc is less than 256, then only one byte is needed for block numbers and therefore each directory entry holds up to 16 blocks. However, we know that the 200KB floppy format on the Einstein has only 95 blocks and yet word block numbers are used, so each directory entry holds up to 8 blocks. > > There is a bug with the present EDIP when inserting files into a CP/M > 2 or ZDOS image if they are bigger than 16kb using more than 8 > allocations. I have a fix for this. > > FROM THE PC END THE NEED TO KNOW. > > From the HD header the offset of the HD directory. > > From HD directory sub directory name, word or byte block allocations, > maximum number of block allocations allowed per extent (not the same > as space for block allocations in an extent) and block size. Please see my last comment. It might be necessary to add an AL field to the disc image Type specific data. If so, AL should come before DPB. > The > maximum number records in an extent, if this can vary, it should also > be given. Does this matter? Two parameters, block size and byte or word block allocation (latter seems to be word always for XtalDOS), should be enough once start of CP/M directory is known (as given by sector per track and reserved tracks). > <snip> Additional comments At the PC end, a "sanity check" should be performed to check that the file is valid, before any other operations are performed. If FILE_ID <>"CP/M" then not valid If FILE_VER <> 10H then not valid (version 1.0) If (FILE_END+1)*512 <> Length of file in bytes then not valid If FILE_END <= DIR_START then not valid If FILE_END <= IMG_START then not valid If DIR_START<>0 and IMG_START<>0 and DIR_START > IMG_START then not valid If IMG_COUNT > (FILE_END+1) / IMG_SIZE then not valid If IMG_TYPE <> 1 then not valid (file for disc images) Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 413	From: Chris	Date: 27/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP more

Hi Tony, From your last post >System tracks will be needed because it will be possible to boot the >Einstein from one of them, so size is full 200K. I've assumed wrongly that if a number of images had the same format and construction they could use the same system tracks with different offsets to different directory areas. I don't understand why the need for using 20 512byte sectors 10kb is needed for each 200k disk image. If they are also intended to be floppy disk images which can be extracted for the purpose of creating real floppy disks with programs such as CPCdiskXP then yes they would be disk images in there own right. If the system tracks for each sub image are specific for Einstein booting and running under different types of DOS they could could also be referred to as disk images and not just as a directory area. If different types DOS are going to be used, then for file extraction and insertion programming on the PC, the style in which the directory of file extents is read and manipulated can be different. As with present floppy disks for XTAL, CPM2 and ZDOS. EDIPHD development could be regarded in some way as a reverse engineering in that working backwards from the directory table of file extents is required. As long as the formats, which are similar, but different in terms of allocation of blocks in size, word or byte block allocations, maximum number of block allocations allowed per extent (not the same as space for block allocations in an extent). ? >> The >> maximum number records in an extent, if this can vary, >>it should also >>be given. >> >Does this matter? Two parameters, block size and byte or >word block allocation (latter seems to be word always for >XtalDOS), should be enough once start of CP/M directory is >known (as given by sector per track and reserved tracks). Is does matter if you are developing in reverse mode. The number of records in an extent is given &0F in each extent. As you have discovered by me not taking this into account extracted files from EDIP were bigger than need be. Also as we had with the proposed Einey HD in using 8*16K per extent a two byte value would not sit in the one byte allocation of offset &0F. On the Einstein developing in forward mode you appear to be working with DOS functions as is then altering parameter tables to suit and writting new MOS calls to access the pipe instead of the floppy disk controller. In doing so leaving DOS to interpret what is written into the directory of file extents. Your comment in a previous message >The only way to know for sure is to create a 8MB drive under Xtal DOS. With EDIP and developing EDIPHD I did not or have DOS functions to work the directory of file extents for me. I had to write my own. I didn't have a floppy disk controller to sort out sector scew either. For my need to know on the PC side of things to get file extraction and insertion working its only the where about of a sub image directory and the manor of the way the extents have to be accessed. Then I can make a start. My approach to this is first to mock up a size for an Einey HD file for three 200k disk images. Calculate the offset for a sub image directory insert files into it or maybe sector by sector copy a floppy disk image into it. The sub image directory of extents will be the same for a single side 40 track XTAL 205 floppy. No extended disk image track headers or sector scew involved. The reserved sectors for system are a dead zone for me. No use for them. As for the information you are proposing for the HD header and HD directory I will then view them as to what I need to know to get an offset, size of blocks (with Einey that will probably always have to be 2k), word or byte block allocations and the number of blocks per extent. This will probably mean doing some arithmetic with the values that Einey limitations can write. If you can predict that Einey DOS can read and write to a single side 40 track XTAL 205 sub directory in HD disk all will be well. I'm asking you here view things in reverse mode. It would help if both of us new more of how DOS functions work (not just what they do for us). Disassembly could tell us how when they read parameter blocks, scratch pads and how they configure MOS calls and call them. Regarding reading and writing directory extents DOS functions listed in the MOS/DOS manual all seem to use the FDESC. Listed on page 26/27 File Descriptor. >Additional comments > >At the PC end, a "sanity check" should be performed to check >that the file is valid, before any other operations are performed. > >If FILE_ID <>"CP/M" then not valid >If FILE_VER <> 10H then not valid (version1.0) >If (FILE_END+1)*512 <> Length of file in bytes then not valid >If FILE_END <= DIR_START then not valid >If FILE_END <= IMG_START then not valid >If DIR_START<>0 and IMG_START<>0 and DIR_START > IMG_START then not valid >If IMG_COUNT > (FILE_END+1) / IMG_SIZE then not valid >If IMG_TYPE <> 1 then not valid (file for disc images) Been there! Done that with EDIP. I know the importance of a "sanity check". Leave that side to me. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 414	From: teeeby	Date: 29/09/2010
Subject: Re: EINEY HD FILE MOCK UP more

Hello Chris and all, > Hi Tony, > > From your last post > >> System tracks will be needed because it will be possible to > boot the >Einstein from one of them, so size is full 200K. > > I've assumed wrongly that if a number of images had the same > format and construction they could use the same system > tracks with different offsets to different directory areas. > I don't understand why the need for using 20 512byte sectors > 10kb is needed for each 200k disk image. The reason is that it must be possible to boot from the memory card, so at least one lot of system tracks is needed, usually in the first image in the first file on the card. For simplicity at the Einstein end, all the images in a file must be the same length. It would be possible to get rid of the system tracks (set OFF = 0 in the DPB and don't bother with the system in EDIPHD) for files 2+, but I think there is little advantage. 43 x 190K would fit in an 8MB file or 21.5 x actual disc capacity, odd numbers compared to 40 x 200K or 20 actual discs. It would be a bit difficult on the Einstein to have just one set of the system tracks which all the images use as splitting system and directory/data would add complications. > <snip> > If you can predict that Einey DOS can read and write to a > single side 40 track XTAL 205 sub directory in HD disk all > will be well. I'm asking you here view things in reverse > mode. DOS80 was based closely on DOS 1.31 and both assume the use of word blocks in the directory, even if there are fewer than 256 blocks. There is not even any test to see whether byte blocks should be used, unlike DOS2.x. If the Einstein boots from either DOS1.x or DOS80, then I don't see how it could read 200K discs created by DOS 2.x if the latter actually utilises byte blocks. At the moment (but the situation might change), I think the only solution is for EDIPHD to convert byte blocks to word blocks when copying DOS2.x discs. To discover whether it's byte blocks or word blocks, look at EXM in the DPB. EXM+1 is the number of logical extents (16K) that each directory extent holds. If block size (derived from BSH and BLM in DPB) is 2K and EXM = 0, then it's word blocks (16K/2K = 8, therefore 8 word blocks). This is why EXM has the "wrong" value of 0 instead of CP/M recommended value of 1 for DOS 1.x and DOS80. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 416	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: Assemble a family with an Asian girl

edit family.c add #include "anAsianGirl.h" Sorry, I couldn't resist. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, arliearlie75 <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Assemble a family with an Asian girl <http://ow.ly/2NiOv> >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 417	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: group concern also SSdisk?

Thought this was more spam. Only the moderator can deal with spam on the group so for the rest of us I suggest we keep on topic. Now I'm emailing I have a question. Is the use of SD cards as floppy disk substitute proven on a standard Tatung Einstein computer or a PC simulation? I try to follow but lost the plot some time ago. Will a standard be arrived at? Is there a ready or part made hardware interface? Still chonking away on 3" disks. Bob D. On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 10:58 AM, id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> wrote: >edit family.c >add >#include "anAsianGirl.h" > >Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 418	From: Chris	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: SPAM & SPAMER

SPAM & SPAMER delt with

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 419	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?

Hi,   I'm new to the Einstein scene having only aquired a TC01 a few days ago....and being new to the scene do not have loads of 3" disks full of software.... I did get the System Disk and BBC Basic disk with the machine, but Hangman soon got boring.   I currently use the Hxc SD card floppy emulator with a number of older machines so am quite familiar with its use and can confirm it will work as Drive 0 or Drive 1 or both (It can emulate two drives) for the TC01 with a few notes.   For Drive 0, you need to disconnect the internal floppy otherwise you end up with two drive 0s on the same bus and nothing works.   I have used the HxC device to boot a selection of images ranging from standard XtalDOS 1.11, 1.12, 1.31 and 2.05 disks with various applications and games on them to some of the "copy protected" games such as Cluedo etc.   Two games that will not boot are Druid and Elite - this I suspect is down to their unusual copy protection. and thus they are not being "converted" from DSK format correctly.   I only have a limited set of images based on the available downloads, so if anybody has DSK images they are willing to share with me I would be most greatful.   Regards Simon From: Robert Deeley <bobdeeley@googlemail.com> To: tatung_einstein <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Fri, 15 October, 2010 12:31:29 Subject: [tatung_einstein] group concern also SSdisk?   Now I'm emailing I have a question. Is the use of SD cards as floppy disk substitute proven on a standard Tatung Einstein computer or a PC simulation? I try to follow but lost the plot some time ago. Will a standard be arrived at? Is there a ready or part made hardware interface? Still chonking away on 3" disks.   Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a new topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: New Members 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use .

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 420	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?

Link: http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html#SDCARDFloppyemulator From: Simon Hardy <simonhardy72> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Fri, 15 October, 2010 14:29:33 Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] group concern also SSdisk?   Hi,   I'm new to the Einstein scene having only aquired a TC01 a few days ago....and being new to the scene do not have loads of 3" disks full of software.... I did get the System Disk and BBC Basic disk with the machine, but Hangman soon got boring.   I currently use the Hxc SD card floppy emulator with a number of older machines so am quite familiar with its use and can confirm it will work as Drive 0 or Drive 1 or both (It can emulate two drives) for the TC01 with a few notes.   For Drive 0, you need to disconnect the internal floppy otherwise you end up with two drive 0s on the same bus and nothing works.   I have used the HxC device to boot a selection of images ranging from standard XtalDOS 1.11, 1.12, 1.31 and 2.05 disks with various applications and games on them to some of the "copy protected" games such as Cluedo etc.   Two games that will not boot are Druid and Elite - this I suspect is down to their unusual copy protection. and thus they are not being "converted" from DSK format correctly.   I only have a limited set of images based on the available downloads, so if anybody has DSK images they are willing to share with me I would be most greatful.   Regards Simon From: Robert Deeley <bobdeeley@googlemail.com> To: tatung_einstein <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Fri, 15 October, 2010 12:31:29 Subject: [tatung_einstein] group concern also SSdisk?   Now I'm emailing I have a question. Is the use of SD cards as floppy disk substitute proven on a standard Tatung Einstein computer or a PC simulation? I try to follow but lost the plot some time ago. Will a standard be arrived at? Is there a ready or part made hardware interface? Still chonking away on 3" disks.   Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a new topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: New Members 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use . Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a new topic Messages in this topic (2) Recent Activity: New Members 1 Visit Your Group Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use .

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 421	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 15/10/2010
Subject: Re: group concern also SSdisk?

Hi Simon and folk in the know - Hmmmn..... seems difficult. Remind me is there a USB interface for our Einey, perhaps a usb sd converter could be used? Bob D. On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 2:32 PM, Simon Hardy <simonhardy72> wrote:   Link: http://hxc2001.free.fr/floppy_drive_emulator/index.html#SDCARDFloppyemulator

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 422	From: teeeby	Date: 16/10/2010
Subject: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

Anybody interested in one of these? :-) Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 423	From: Chris	Date: 16/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

WHERE ARE THE PICTURES? --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > Anybody interested in one of these? :-) > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 424	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 17/10/2010
Subject: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

I assume you mean you have one going :¬)   Nice work!   C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 425	From: teeeby	Date: 18/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > WHERE ARE THE PICTURES? Here is a pic: http://250kb.de/u/101018/j/0376HsiuMAac.jpg Not very good, but the best my 1st generation camera can do.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 426	From: Chris	Date: 18/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

Hi Tony, The picture is excellent.Should be in the groups photos. The circuit looks basically simple. Unlike the CF it doesn't have pins finely set I think my aging hands and eyes could still solder one of these up. Have you got the circuit plans? Is the data transfer a nibble a time? Lots of questions. Can you tell us more? Well done. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@> wrote: > > > > WHERE ARE THE PICTURES? > > Here is a pic: > http://250kb.de/u/101018/j/0376HsiuMAac.jpg > > Not very good, but the best my 1st generation camera can do. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 427	From: teeeby	Date: 19/10/2010
Subject: Re: Micro SD Card interface on User I/O port

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Tony, > > The picture is excellent.Should be in the groups photos. > The circuit looks basically simple. > Unlike the CF it doesn't have pins finely set I think my aging hands and eyes could still solder one of these up. > Have you got the circuit plans? Is the data transfer a nibble a time? > Lots of questions. Can you tell us more? > > Well done. > > Regards Chris Coxall Hello Chris and all, My prototype (the brown Vero board) is an interface between the User I/O port and this 6-pin micro SD card adapter: http://www.mirifica.it/store/51-trioflex-microsd-adapter.html I had some Vero board left over from the 1980s, with holes on 0.1" pitch and I didn't want to mess about with finer pin pitch or surface mounting. Advantages of the User I/O port over the Pipe include much simpler hardware, quicker design time and probably lower cost. Disadvantage is slower speed. My prototype board can be replaced by a PCB measuring 1.5" x 1.2". I have a single-sided PCB design which I created using FreePCB. Only four of the eight User I/O data signals are needed by the micro SD card. The remaining four are available for other purposes and a separate 6-pin header is provided for these. The physical interface with the micro SD card is 1-bit serial in SPI mode. I have optimised the Z80 code and the maximum transfer speed when reading data is 10,000 bytes per second, or 100 microseconds per byte. Each input bit (not byte) requires two OUT instructions and one IN. Output bits need two OUTs and no INs. I have had the board working since early September. Please ask if you have more questions. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 428	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 26/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Micro SD Card interface/eusdproto.jpg Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Prototype board You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Micro%20SD%20Card%20interface/eusdproto.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 429	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 26/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Micro SD Card interface/eusdpcb.gif Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Printed Circuit Board layout, 1.50" x 1.20", to replace prototype board You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Micro%20SD%20Card%20interface/eusdpcb.gif To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 430	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 27/10/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Nice layout!   Are you going to produce some boards Tony? I can etch but drilling’s an issue for me :/   C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 431	From: joanne	Date: 30/10/2010
Subject: 3" disk problems formatting

hi, i recently purchase some 3" disks so as to back up my programs. They were orginaly from a amstrad pcw. i've tried to format using the tatung system disk , but keep on getting an error message " no disk sectors ". Am i using the right problem or is there a special way of formatting so as the tatung can read them . ( have approx 20 * disks, all the same message ) Also has any one got any games disks for the einstein. The kids have been interested in playing games like chuckie egg, lazy jones. was trying to more games for my machine . many thanks jo

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 432	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 30/10/2010
Subject: Re: 3" disk problems formatting

Joanne,   The Amstrad PCW used two different types of 3" disk, at least one is NOT compatible with the Einstein - and that may be the ones you have. The others, labelled as CF-2 should be compatible and I have managed to re-format these on the Einstein but it took a few goes before it worked and verified okay.   As for the games - I am also looking for some - I have a number of .DSK files that are images of Einstein disks and am informed you can connect the Einsteil 3" disk drive to an older PC (Windows 95) and transfer the image back to a real disk - I have not yet done this.   Regards Simon From: joanne <jog.avon@yahoo.com> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Sat, 30 October, 2010 15:13:16 Subject: [tatung_einstein] 3" disk problems formatting   hi, i recently purchase some 3" disks so as to back up my programs. They were orginaly from a amstrad pcw. i've tried to format using the tatung system disk , but keep on getting an error message " no disk sectors ". Am i using the right problem or is there a special way of formatting so as the tatung can read them . ( have approx 20 * disks, all the same message ) Also has any one got any games disks for the einstein. The kids have been interested in playing games like chuckie egg, lazy jones. was trying to more games for my machine . many thanks jo

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 433	From: Mark	Date: 31/10/2010
Subject: I wish to sell an Einstein with various disks!

Hi I have an Einstein computer and a set of various disks that I wish to sell for a reasonable price. We have had this computer in our family almost since it was created and it was my fathers workstation before the PC. All enquiries are welcome.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 434	From: teeeby	Date: 04/11/2010
Subject: Re: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Nice layout! > > > > Are you going to produce some boards Tony? I can etch but drilling's an > issue for me :/ Hello Charlie and all, I have simplified and finalised the PCB design. New image: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/QKDSTKgcyy15UxVH9XzESF_YnGieTTiE6OjcOLalqmv1gLYuouyRIytKqebwOcAPu5xRP-Ez1RLbYLsVA9KWR6kWJBfL/Micro%20SD%20Card%20interface/eusdpcb.gif More info about the design is available on request. Somebody needs to get the PCB made, but what is the likely demand? How many boards should be manufactured? Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 435	From: richard.croskell	Date: 08/11/2010
Subject: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools

Hi All I have recently come across an image of the System 5 diskette for use within the MESS Einstein TC01 emulation. Unfortunately I have no documentation for it at all. I'm looking for some info on supplied tools, especially XED (Editor) / XSM (Assembler) / HLOAD. Maybe someone out there has a scan of the manual that came with it, though I have scoured the Web to no avail. I have managed to ascertain what some of XED's commands are (after pressing ESC), but struggling with the rest. As far as XSM goes, wondering what command line parameters are used (if any), as well as supported directives etc. within a source file. HLOAD I'm not sure about at all, though I believe it's used to process the output of XSM to produce the final .COM file. Thanks in advance Richard

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 436	From: richard.croskell	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: New Tatung Einstein forums

Hi there I have recently created some new forums for Tatung Einstein discussion, in the hope of supplementing/adding to the information/discussion etc. that takes place here, but in a regular categorised forum environment for ease of use. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to add it it to your links page? I shall keep an eye out for a replay and if I get the thumbs up I will post the link to the forums here. Regards Richard

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 437	From: Chris	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: Re: New Tatung Einstein forums

Hi Richard. If its an Einstein related dicussion forum it should be in the links page. Not only on the links page but on the the introduction page of this group. I can also add the link to the Tatung Einstein Computer Site. Just give me the forum address and some kind of description for the forum and I'll get it done. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "richard.croskell" <richard.croskell@...> wrote: > > Hi there > > I have recently created some new forums for Tatung Einstein discussion, in the hope of supplementing/adding to the information/discussion etc. that takes place here, but in a regular categorised forum environment for ease of use. > > I was wondering if it would be possible for you to add it it to your links page? > > I shall keep an eye out for a replay and if I get the thumbs up I will post the link to the forums here. > > > Regards > > > Richard >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 438	From: richard.croskell	Date: 09/11/2010
Subject: Re: New Tatung Einstein forums

Hi Chris Thanks for the quick reply. The forum address is: http://tatungeinstein.freeforums.org/ Description: Forums for Discussing the Tatung Einstein home computer, categories include: General / Hardware / Operating Systems / Software / Programming / Emulation / Off topic (with sub forums below some of these for more specific discussion) It's early days yet with a bit of polishing to do, but maybe something useful to the Einstein community may come out this. Regards Richard --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Richard. > > If its an Einstein related dicussion forum it should be in the links page. Not only on the links page but on the the introduction page of this group. I can also add the link to the Tatung Einstein Computer Site. > > Just give me the forum address and some kind of description for the forum and I'll get it done. > > Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 439	From: jltursan	Date: 11/11/2010
Subject: Re: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools

Hi Richard, I've the manual for Xtal System 5.0; so as soon as possible I'll try to scan it and upload the file. Btw, congrats for the forum initiative. A forum always have a lot more possibilites than a group and specially now with all the ongoing projects I'm sure that it will prove useful. Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "richard.croskell" <richard.croskell@...> wrote: > > Hi All > > I have recently come across an image of the System 5 diskette for use within the MESS Einstein TC01 emulation. > > Unfortunately I have no documentation for it at all. > > I'm looking for some info on supplied tools, especially XED (Editor) / XSM (Assembler) / HLOAD. > > Maybe someone out there has a scan of the manual that came with it, though I have scoured the Web to no avail. > > I have managed to ascertain what some of XED's commands are (after pressing ESC), but struggling with the rest. > > As far as XSM goes, wondering what command line parameters are used (if any), as well as supported directives etc. within a source file. > > HLOAD I'm not sure about at all, though I believe it's used to process the output of XSM to produce the final .COM file. > > > Thanks in advance > > > Richard >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 440	From: richard.croskell	Date: 12/11/2010
Subject: Re: Looking for some help/info for System 5 Tools

Hi Jose Thanks for offering to scan and upload the manual, I appreciate your time and effort. Also thanks for the thumbs up on the forum front, it's early days yet but hopefully as time goes on more users will join and start posting. Regards Richard --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi Richard, > > I've the manual for Xtal System 5.0; so as soon as possible I'll try to scan it and upload the file. > Btw, congrats for the forum initiative. A forum always have a lot more possibilites than a group and specially now with all the ongoing projects I'm sure that it will prove useful. > > Regards, > > Jose > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "richard.croskell" <richard.croskell@> wrote: > > > > Hi All > > > > I have recently come across an image of the System 5 diskette for use within the MESS Einstein TC01 emulation. > > > > Unfortunately I have no documentation for it at all. > > > > I'm looking for some info on supplied tools, especially XED (Editor) / XSM (Assembler) / HLOAD. > > > > Maybe someone out there has a scan of the manual that came with it, though I have scoured the Web to no avail. > > > > I have managed to ascertain what some of XED's commands are (after pressing ESC), but struggling with the rest. > > > > As far as XSM goes, wondering what command line parameters are used (if any), as well as supported directives etc. within a source file. > > > > HLOAD I'm not sure about at all, though I believe it's used to process the output of XSM to produce the final .COM file. > > > > > > Thanks in advance > > > > > > Richard > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 441	From: Chris	Date: 14/11/2010
Subject: EDIPv1d up loaded

Hi All, I have up loaded a new version of EDIP to the group's files. EDIPv1d. Within the zip archive are txt files that list the updates. Two additions of functionality have been added. 1) Extracting system tracks to a file. 3) Extracting all sectors and only sectors without scew and track headers to a RAW image. I hope here that I'm using RAW in the right context. I'm not sure. It is a straight forward sector dump as mentioned in posts to this group by Charlie. It also can more or less with a difference to data in the system tracks create one disc image which can be in the proposed EINEYHD file. *EDIP version 1d now reads specific areas in the system tracks of an opened disk image to identify known DOSs and set CPM check box automatically. Known DOSs Recognized TATUNG/XtalDOS 1.11 XtalDOS 1.31, XtalDOS 2.05, CP/M 2.2 EINSTEIN ver 1.2, Zdos 1.61, If members have disk images with a different DOS than listed above it would be helpful to have them up loaded to the temporary folder in the groups files. I can then have them recognized with the next version of EDIP. CP/M and ZDOS should now extract and insert to and from the extended disk image correctly. I have tested them with the TESTlge.TXT file in the zip archive. It has been added to the archive so others if they want can also run a test. A debug type hex editor will be needed. The freeware HEX editor I use is PITPAD. It is simple and basic executable program that doesn't need to be loaded into windows programs folder and can be loaded in from removable media. It also acts as a simple text editor like notepad. EXTENSION_TRIM.exe a very simple programme written with BBC4W for reducing the extension length of EDIP extracted files to three characters. Again please report any bugs found or irritations you have with EDIP with messages to this group. There is another feature which I think should be added to EDIP. The standard format for Einstein floppies is single side 40 track. 80 track single side and double side 40 track and 80 track per side can also be used. CPCdiskXP and CPDWtite will also create disk images from these floppies. When a non standard ss40t is used as a boot disk in drive 0/A it will also configure the other up to three floppy drives on the Einstein. Depending on who configured the boot disc drive they will not be necessarily the same; 0/A & 1/B could be double side disks 2/C & 3/D could have been kept as single side 40 track, or any other combination could have been used. I think I remember from reading back numbers of Einstein Mags that there is a utility program that will read DOS and MOS scratch pads and tell how each floppy drive has been configured. This data must be originally in the system tracks of the floppy. If I can find the data and access it I could get EDIP to display which drives would be single side and which drives will be double side when a floppy made from the image has booted the Einstein. Any help or info will be appreciated. Regards Chris Coxall Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 442	From: christinedwalls76	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted

Hi I've recently been clearing my late father's house and have an old Einstein computer (TC01 I think), plus manuals, disc and monitor that I want to get rid of. I know the monitor isn't working (think the tube has gone) and I don't know about the PC (It was working about 20 years ago when I last turned it on!!!!). Complete list of manuals and discs is available if anyone wants to know what's there. There are also a couple of issue 1s of Einstein User magazine and some old computer books (mid 1980's). If anyone is interested in making me an offer for this, please let me know, or if you want further info on what discs/ books etc are there. Thanks Christine

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 443	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /xtal5.djvu Uploaded by : jltursan <jltursan> Description : Xtal System 5.0 Manual You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/xtal5.djvu To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, jltursan <jltursan>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 444	From: jltursan	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Xtal System 5.0 Manual

Hi all, I've just uploaded the Xtal 5 to the Manuals folder. It's in DejaVu format; so to open it you'll need the software from http://djvu.org/resources/ If anyone knows a good free tool to create a PDF from PNG images I'll be glad to create and upload a PDF file. This is the main book, there're some addendums still missing (specially the Basic Compiler) that hopefully will be uploaded in the next days. Regards, Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 445	From: richard.croskell	Date: 16/11/2010
Subject: Re: Xtal System 5.0 Manual

Hi Jose Much appreciate you taking out the time to do this :-) Regards Richard --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > I've just uploaded the Xtal 5 to the Manuals folder. It's in DejaVu format; so to open it you'll need the software from http://djvu.org/resources/ > If anyone knows a good free tool to create a PDF from PNG images I'll be glad to create and upload a PDF file. > > This is the main book, there're some addendums still missing (specially the Basic Compiler) that hopefully will be uploaded in the next days. > > Regards, > > Jose >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 446	From: Chris	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted

Hi Christine Could you give members some idea of location i.e. town or county for purposes of collection or post and packaging. Regards Chris Coxall. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "christinedwalls76" <christine@...> wrote: > > Hi > > I've recently been clearing my late father's house and have an old Einstein computer (TC01 I think), plus manuals, disc and monitor that I want to get rid of. I know the monitor isn't working (think the tube has gone) and I don't know about the PC (It was working about 20 years ago when I last turned it on!!!!). > > Complete list of manuals and discs is available if anyone wants to know what's there. There are also a couple of issue 1s of Einstein User magazine and some old computer books (mid 1980's). > > If anyone is interested in making me an offer for this, please let me know, or if you want further info on what discs/ books etc are there. > > Thanks > > Christine >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 447	From: Christine Walls	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted

Good point!  Will update message!  Thanks! Christine On 17/11/2010 10:55, Chris wrote:   Hi Christine Could you give members some idea of location i.e. town or county for purposes of collection or post and packaging. Regards Chris Coxall. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "christinedwalls76" <christine@...> wrote: > > Hi > > I've recently been clearing my late father's house and have an old Einstein computer (TC01 I think), plus manuals, disc and monitor that I want to get rid of. I know the monitor isn't working (think the tube has gone) and I don't know about the PC (It was working about 20 years ago when I last turned it on!!!!). > > Complete list of manuals and discs is available if anyone wants to know what's there. There are also a couple of issue 1s of Einstein User magazine and some old computer books (mid 1980's). > > If anyone is interested in making me an offer for this, please let me know, or if you want further info on what discs/ books etc are there. > > Thanks > > Christine >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 448	From: christinedwalls76	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Old Einstein computer no longer wanted

Proving my computer illiteracy here not realising I can post direct into the forum this way... I am based in Staines (J13 of the M25) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > > Hi Christine > > Could you give members some idea of location i.e. town or county for purposes of collection or post and packaging. > > Regards Chris Coxall. > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "christinedwalls76" <christine@> wrote: > > > > Hi > > > > I've recently been clearing my late father's house and have an old Einstein computer (TC01 I think), plus manuals, disc and monitor that I want to get rid of. I know the monitor isn't working (think the tube has gone) and I don't know about the PC (It was working about 20 years ago when I last turned it on!!!!). > > > > Complete list of manuals and discs is available if anyone wants to know what's there. There are also a couple of issue 1s of Einstein User magazine and some old computer books (mid 1980's). > > > > If anyone is interested in making me an offer for this, please let me know, or if you want further info on what discs/ books etc are there. > > > > Thanks > > > > Christine > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 449	From: Chris	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: PITPAD ????????

Hi All, In my last post I recomended PITPAD as a HEX editor. The PITPAD version I use is PITPAD 2.2. Later versions of PITPAD appear to be only text editors without the HEX editor. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 450	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Manuals/xtal5 XSM Compiler & Extras.djvu Uploaded by : jltursan <jltursan> Description : Xtal System 5.0 XSM Compiler & Extras You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Manuals/xtal5%20XSM%20Compiler%20%26%20Extras.djvu To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, jltursan <jltursan>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 451	From: jltursan	Date: 17/11/2010
Subject: Re: Xtal System 5.0 Manual

Hi, You're welcome. The last part is now uploaded. It contains the XSM compiler instructions and some other bits including a curious patching instructions for Silicon disks. Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "richard.croskell" <richard.croskell@...> wrote: > > Hi Jose > > Much appreciate you taking out the time to do this :-) > > > Regards > > > Richard > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > > > I've just uploaded the Xtal 5 to the Manuals folder. It's in DejaVu format; so to open it you'll need the software from http://djvu.org/resources/ > > If anyone knows a good free tool to create a PDF from PNG images I'll be glad to create and upload a PDF file. > > > > This is the main book, there're some addendums still missing (specially the Basic Compiler) that hopefully will be uploaded in the next days. > > > > Regards, > > > > Jose > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 452	From: teeeby	Date: 26/11/2010
Subject: Re: EDIPv1d up loaded

Hello Chris and all, Apologies for the slow reply. > Hi All, > > I have up loaded a new version of EDIP to the group's files. EDIPv1d. > <snip> > There is another feature which I think should be added to EDIP. The > standard format for Einstein floppies is single side 40 track. 80 > track single side and double side 40 track and 80 track per side can > also be used. CPCdiskXP and CPDWtite will also create disk images > from these floppies. When a non standard ss40t is used as a boot disk > in drive 0/A it will also configure the other up to three floppy > drives on the Einstein. Depending on who configured the boot disc > drive they will not be necessarily the same; 0/A & 1/B could be > double side disks 2/C & 3/D could have been kept as single side 40 > track, or any other combination could have been used. > > I think I remember from reading back numbers of Einstein Mags that > there is a utility program that will read DOS and MOS scratch pads > and tell how each floppy drive has been configured. This data must be > originally in the system tracks of the floppy. If I can find the data > and access it I could get EDIP to display which drives would be > single side and which drives will be double side when a floppy made > from the image has booted the Einstein. > Any help or info will be appreciated. The byte at offset +6 of the boot sector is copied to SIDFLG and this determines the disc configuration for each of the four drives. MOS uses SIDFLG to know whether a disc is single/double sided or 40/80 tracks. At bootup, this byte is used to copy the correct DPB address into DPH0/1/2/3, where DPHx is the DPH for disc x. The DPHs are contiguous (as mandated by CP/M) and so too are the DPBs (as mandated by MOS). The order of the DPBs is SS 40T, then DS 40T, then SS 80T, then DS 80T. However, for drives where sides and even tracks have little or no meaning, such as silicon disc and micro SD card interface, SIDFLG can be thought of as specifying a value of 0-3 for each drive, which is then used as an offset into the table of DPB addresses. Reading SIDFLG from the boot sector is dead easy. It might be harder to discover the DPB base address on a PC. You will need to recognise each DOS version and know where the DPBs start for each. On an Einstein, selecting disc 0 (register C=0) with BIOS call SELDSC (BIOS+1BH) returns the DPH address in HL. Normally the DPB address in DPH0, at (DPH0+10), is the base DPB address ("DPB0"), so then you'll know all the other DPB addresses automatically (DPB1=DPB0+15, DPB2=DPB1+15, etc.) More info here: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/message/371 http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/DOS%20info/ Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 453	From: richard.croskell	Date: 28/11/2010
Subject: Hybrid Screen2 / Screen 1 mode in the V9918 for the Einstein

I read about this on the MSX resource centre forums: http://www.msx.org/forumtopic6174.html I have tried this under emulation using MESS and it appears to work ok. Before I go any further with my coding, I need to make sure it will work on a real Einstein - can anyone confirm this for me. Thanks in advance Richard

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 454	From: richard.croskell	Date: 02/12/2010
Subject: Looking for a couple of Einstein books

Hi All Does anyone have the following books for sale?: Albert Revealed The Source As I dig deeper into the depths of the Einstein, I find I'm hitting a brick wall due to lack of technical info. From what I have read these two books are what I need to really get to know the machine. Regards Richard

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 455	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/02/2011
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /TEMPORARY/BOM3_1.txt Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@talktalk.net> Description : Einstein Operating Systems You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/TEMPORARY/BOM3_1.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@talktalk.net>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 456	From: Chris	Date: 15/02/2011
Subject: EDIP version 1e is now available for download.

Hi Tony and All, EDIP version 1e is now available for download from web page http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/edip.html Tony regarding Einstein floppies sides and tracks. Many thanks for your post Friday, November 26, 2010 5:56 PM I,m sorry for the slow reply. >The byte at offset +6 of the boot sector is copied to SIDFLG >and this determines the disc configuration for each of the >four drives. This makes things very simple for an EDIP feature to display the way drives will be configured when a floppy is created from an Einstein disk image and used as a boot disk. I have now created EDIP1e which will in the drop down disk images display box show the way drives will be configured example "Drive Configuration S40 S40 D80 D80". EDIP version 1e has now also added to the Einstein DOSes recognized DOS80. This was found on Mario's excellent Einstein Reborn web site titled "SYSTEM 80". WEB PAGE http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/imagefiles.htm A lot of other disk images here for download too. EDIP will not open the disk images for the EINSTEIN 256 computer though. Note for other Einstein disk images that can not be manipulated by EDIP. Einstein disk images not opened or displaying a directory by EDIP. Some Vendor software i.e. games and utility software for the Tatung Einstein boot their own operating system version. Such software might not use standard CP/M conventions. If the floppy is dedicated to one program they will not have a directory structure that can be displayed by EDIP. The standard convention for CP/M and other cloned operating systems like XTAL DOS have a directory extent table for files that begin in the first sector after the first two tracks reserved for the operating system. If vendor software uses its own o/s version which has a directory structure located on sectors different to the convention EDIP will not display the directory. Einstein floppy disks made from these images can still boot and run their software when mounted in the Einstein. Boot floppies made from disk images which do not load and run in the Einstein could be from corrupted images. EDIP version 1e is as far as I think EDIP can be taken for features and functionality. Debugging hopefully will not be neccessary. New DOSes unknown to me, if there are any, can still be added for recognition later. I've been going through the back numbers of Einstein magazines for references to drive formats and configuration. Also from Tony's posts to the group I get the impression that byte 6 on the system tracks can be modified to change up to four drives for sides and tracks after a reboot. Drive 0/A the boot drive would have to be kept as is but the other three drives might be changed. If it is just a matter of reconfiguring byte 6 it could be done in in the disk image before CPCdiskXP makes a boot floppy of it. For anyone who would want to experiment in changing byte 6 with a HEX editor program. The offset for byte 6 in the extended disk image can vary depending with the floppy disks sector scew but its position can be calculated using EDIP. 256 bytes disk image header + 256 track header then from EDIP's drop down disk details sector scew add 512 bytes for each sector ID before ID 00. Example Sector Scew 05 06 07 08 09 00 01 02 03 04 would be 5X512 then for byte six add six. So 256+256+(5*512)+6. OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR THE EINSTEIN I know little of the history of the operating systems available for the Einstein TC01. In terms for creating MS Windows program disk image file extraction and insertion it was only neccessary to put the Dos types into two categories XTAL type and CP/M type. The former using two bytes for file allocation blocks the later one byte. Both types only use 8 blocks per extent. I want to, if I can, get the operating systems available for the Einstein TC01 listed and explained in documentation for download. Where good information is available I've still to find out. For the Xtal type there seem to be two origins Tatung Xtal and Crystal Research. As far as I can make out these two are compatible and will read and write to each others disks. Both these systems seem to have at their origin a dedication to the Einstein computer. From what I know of Using ZDOS and CPM 2.2 boot disks. If ZDOS or CP/M 2.2 are used as a boot disk file loading and transfer from XTAL formatted disks will in most cases be corrupt. ZDOS and CP/M 2.2 operating system will display the directory of a XTAL formatted floppy. In some cases a file smaller than 2kb can be loaded and transferred to another drive with an XTAL format. Users who have done this successfully should not be miss led into thinking this will hold true for larger files or all files smaller than 2kb. Programs and files extracted from ZDOS or CP/M 2.2 images with EDIP in most cases can be inserted into XTAL DOS disk images and be functional in the Einstein when a floppy disk is made from the image. ZDOS and CPM 2.2 boot disks seem to be adaptions for the Einstein. ZDOS seems the more Einstein friendly. I have had only two ZDOS disk images passed on to me and I have up loaded these to the groups files temporary folder. They hold squeezed document files some of which give information on the ZDOS system. I've used the MESS emulator to unsqueese some files to a second disk image and then with EDIP extracted them into text files on the PC. I haven't had time to study them yet. Also up loaded to the temporary folder is "BOMB3.TXT". This is information taken from Einstein Magazine 89/10 an article written by the late Ted Cawkwell. The title was a parody for the millenium bomb at the time so the article is over a decade old. The Einstein bomb was that the PD library was on three inch disks that were out of production and needed to be transferred to modern three and half inch floppies for distribution by post. Where the PD library is now I don't know? Ten years on with extended disk images, CPCdiskXP, EDIP and serial transfer programs there is not the same need to distribute Einstein software on floppies by post. CPCdiskXP and EDIP create the ability for Einstein programs to be archived as individual files on PC media. Files can be inserted into a disk image as wanted and an Einstein floppy disk can be made from the image. The Bomb 3 article is the only reference I have to date that at least attempts to list and give explanation of the operating systems available for the Einstein TC01. I'm sure it holds errors of miss conceptions of it's time. There is a reference to ZDOS and the silicon disk which doesn't ring true to me but it is the best I have at the moment. Any other source of information for Einstein operating systems known by members would be helpful. Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 457	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 21/02/2011
Subject: Beginning a MESS TC01 on a Mac?

Hi Folk Seeing yet another uploaded file prompts me ask... Been a solely Mac owner past 8 years, missed out on the whole PC/MESS thing, just happy tinkering with an original TC01 - but the software now of age I think, the time has come for me to adopt one on the Mac. I've loaded the MESS files then got stuck not knowing what to do with them, also read Chris C's EINSTEIN EMULATION but acutely aware, though detailed, is only proven on a PC. I trust there is a another Mac/Einey user, or knowledgeable and wishes to prove the TC01 will work on a Mac, who can help me. Thanks, Bob D.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 458	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 13/03/2011
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /TK02-80Col.zip Uploaded by : malkavian_fdb <afra@aurigae.demon.co.uk> Description : 80 Column card schematic as Eagle schematic and pdf You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/TK02-80Col.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, malkavian_fdb <afra@aurigae.demon.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 459	From: pencoys	Date: 15/09/2011
Subject: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal

Hi, I have two TC01 twin drive einsteins, one with 80 columb card, possibly the other has too, but not looked. Both were working when put in dry warm loft some 10 years ago. software too numerous to recount but certainly two versions of Xtal Dos/basic. Both in original box, books and tatung disks as when new. also have the full set of tatung user magazines and a hardware maintainance/circuit diagram book anyonw interested in making an offer on either or all?.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 460	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/09/2011
Subject: Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal

Hi,   Would you consider donating some or all of it to an organisation such as the Retro Computer Museum - www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk ?   Regards Simon From: pencoys <pencoys> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 15 September 2011, 13:06 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal   Hi, I have two TC01 twin drive einsteins, one with 80 columb card, possibly the other has too, but not looked. Both were working when put in dry warm loft some 10 years ago. software too numerous to recount but certainly two versions of Xtal Dos/basic. Both in original box, books and tatung disks as when new. also have the full set of tatung user magazines and a hardware maintainance/circuit diagram book anyonw interested in making an offer on either or all?.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 461	From: Chris	Date: 16/09/2011
Subject: Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal

Hi Simon, Can you give members of this group some idea of where the Einsteins are located town or post code for pick up or delivery from? Members are spread geographicaly over the country and some might be close to your location. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Simon Hardy <simonhardy72@...> wrote: > > Hi, >   > Would you consider donating some or all of it to an organisation such as the Retro Computer Museum - www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk ? >   > Regards > Simon > > From: pencoys <pencoys@...> > To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > Sent: Thursday, 15 September 2011, 13:06 > Subject: [tatung_einstein] Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal > > >   > > Hi, > I have two TC01 twin drive einsteins, one with 80 columb card, possibly the other has too, but not looked. Both were working when put in dry warm loft some 10 years ago. > software too numerous to recount but certainly two versions of Xtal Dos/basic. Both in original box, books and tatung disks as when new. > > also have the full set of tatung user magazines and a hardware maintainance/circuit diagram book > anyonw interested in making an offer on either or all?. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 462	From: Chris	Date: 17/09/2011
Subject: Forward email from Simom to Chris Coxall

Forward email from Simom to Chris Coxall From: "Mike W" <pencoys> To: "Chris" <chriscoxall@talktalk.net> Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal Date: 16 September 2011 12:15 Hi Chris, they are located in west cornwall. There has been a large interest in them, but want to establish their condition ( working or not) before deciding what to do. I was'nt expecting any response at all. With Reference to two emails to the Einstein Yahoo Group Message 460 461 Hi, I have two TC01 twin drive einsteins, one with 80 columb card, possibly the other has too, but not looked. Both were working when put in dry warm loft some 10 years ago. software too numerous to recount but certainly two versions of Xtal Dos/basic. Both in original box, books and tatung disks as when new. also have the full set of tatung user magazines and a hardware maintainance/circuit diagram book anyonw interested in making an offer on either or all?. Hi, Would you consider donating some or all of it to an organisation such as the Retro Computer Museum - www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk ? Regards Simon

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 463	From: Chris	Date: 17/09/2011
Subject: Re: Correction Forward email from "Mike W"

Correction Forward email from "Mike W" <pencoys@... NOT Simom to Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Forward email from Simom to Chris Coxall > > From: "Mike W" <pencoys@...> > To: "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> > Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re: Einstein TC01's and bits for disposal > Date: 16 September 2011 12:15 > > Hi Chris, they are located in west cornwall. > There has been a large interest in them, but want to establish their condition > ( working or not) before deciding what to do. I was'nt expecting any response > at all. > > With Reference to two emails to the Einstein Yahoo Group Message 460 461 > > Hi, > I have two TC01 twin drive einsteins, one with 80 columb card, possibly the other has too, but not looked. Both were working when put in dry warm loft some 10 years ago. > software too numerous to recount but certainly two versions of Xtal Dos/basic. Both in original box, books and tatung disks as when new. > > also have the full set of tatung user magazines and a hardware maintainance/circuit diagram book > anyonw interested in making an offer on either or all?. > > Hi, > > Would you consider donating some or all of it to an organisation such as the Retro Computer Museum - www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk ? > > Regards > Simon >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 464	From: Ceri Owen	Date: 31/12/2011
Subject: Three Tatung Einstein, York, free to good home.

I have three Tatung Einstein computers in my garage. Would like to give them away for free to a good home. You will need to collect from near York Railway Museum. Brought to run my Grandfather's hardware shop, been in an attic for at least a decade, worked when stored but no idea if they still do. Various manuals, accessories, and so on to go with them. Thanks, Ceri.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 465	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 05/03/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /TEMPORARY/VGA_LCD_MONITOR/EinsteinOnVGAmonitor.pdf Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@talktalk.net> Description : LCD computer monitor for the Einstein. You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/TEMPORARY/VGA_LCD_MONITOR/EinsteinOnVGAmonitor.pdf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@talktalk.net>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 466	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 05/03/2012
Subject: Re: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hi Chris, Thanks for posting that. I have enough working Tatung monitors but I'm sure it'll come in useful, especially the part about forward bias on the transistor. I, too, have very little knowledge on the analogue side of things. This might inspire me to post the rest of the information about the USB adaptor, finally. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk wrote: > > > Hello, > > This email message is a notification to let you know that > a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein > group. > > File : /TEMPORARY/VGA_LCD_MONITOR/EinsteinOnVGAmonitor.pdf > Uploaded by : bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@...> > Description : LCD computer monitor for the Einstein. > > You can access this file at the URL: > http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/TEMPORARY/VGA_LCD_MONITOR/EinsteinOnVGAmonitor.pdf > > To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: > http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files > > Regards, > > bbcchris2000 <chriscoxall@...> >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 467	From: Chris	Date: 08/03/2012
Subject: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?

Hi Geoff and All, Many thanks for your response Geoff to.the EinsteinOnVGAmonitor.pdf document. It was a little comforting to here from some one who we know has contributed a number of complex electronic additions for the Einstein (fitting a compact flash being one) that they themselves are little weak on the analogue side of things. Makes me feel a little less inadequate. Are there any members that have some experience of modern video connections that can help? So far the composite out from the Einstein for LCD computer monitor is something I should be content with but as always with tinkering and dabbling you always come across the potential to do something else. Having had to repair the faulty display circuit by replacing a transistor I came to realize how advanced in many respects the Einstein was for its time. The YUV monitor output from the Einstein as far as I can tell is the same for the component/YpBpR input you have on some modern LCD TVs. My broken LCD TV has this facility but I can't test the theory with that until the back lighting is fixed. YUV is the primary display source for the Einstein. RGB and RF TV output have additional circuitry being taken from the YUV lines which more less come straight from the Texas Instruments video chip. The RGB modulator circuit to convert from YUV is a forest of capacitors, transistors and other stuff. A lot of things to go wrong here. If there are ready made converters for YUV to RGB some users could keep their Einstein's going for RGB output if the modulator circuit in the Einstein fails. My sense of irony is driving me on this one. Leaving aside digital display technology HDMI, DVI-D and the display port, on the analogue side from the highest order of preference - first YUV (Component/YpBpR) then RGBS, s-video, composite and finally from the composite a modulated radio frequency for a TV aerial socket. For our nearly 30 year old Einsteins it is easy to believe that they need to be upgraded for modern video display units when the reality it is the Einstein which has been waiting for TV inputs to catch up with it. Is the Einstein's YUV the same as component/YpBpR? I do have another another gadget Kworld TV Gamer Box SA-255. This is a TV set top box for VGA monitors but for the gamer side it has inputs for composite, s-video but also for YpBpR to convert to VGA. With a made up cable for 6 pin DIN socket to three RCA plugs I tried a connection. The result was mixed and not desirable. When the RCA plugs were plugged into the gamer box as should be all I got was a monochrome display. When I pulled back the red and blue RCA plugs so that only the centre of the plugs connected and the ground/shield did not connect I got colour but weaker than it should be. If it is just the signal strength of the YUV lines that need to be stronger for LCD video input than the original CRT monitors for the Einstein, I could try transistor circuits for additional amplification but what is this impedance that is mentioned? Can damage be done to equipment if the impedance is not right? Any One Know? Or where I can find out? Every thing I've read so far is confusing. No one is saying how a circuit is created to give right impedance. Regards to All Chris Coxall P.S Just a curiosity. While looking up what ever I could to help with composite out for the Einstein I came across an article by Rob Ward in Einstein Monthly VOL 2/2 page 12 "High Resolution Graphics Chip for the Einstein". I am completely mystified to the basics of what this article is about. It shows a circuit for the Tatung pipe for a single IC but I can not tell if this is meant to be an additional circuit for an existing 80 column card or if it is stand alone. Can any body work that one out.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 468	From: Tony Brewer	Date: 09/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?

Hello Chris and all, I don't know where the last year or so went ... Page 4.9. of the Einstein Hardware Manual shows the YUV voltages. YPbPr levels are 700mV peak-to-peak, I believe. There is no colour when the Pb and Pr colour component leads are plugged in fully because the DC biases of the Einstein U and V are too high. When you unplug them slightly to disconnect the ground, the signals become AC-coupled and only the voltage swings are relevant. To adjust the signal levels, you could try adding the following resistors between Einstein output and TV input: 75 ohm (Y-Y), 12 ohm (U-Pb), 20 ohm (V-Pr). It is not clear to me whether the Y in YPbPr is 700mV altogether or 700mV luminence + 300mV sync. If it's the latter, change the 75 ohm (Y-Y) to two 75 ohm resistors in parallel. Colours might still look washed-out or odd-looking, though. Tony Brewer --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Geoff and All, > > <snip> > > Having had to repair the faulty display circuit by replacing a > transistor I came to realize how advanced in many respects the > Einstein was for its time. The YUV monitor output from the Einstein > as far as I can tell is the same for the component/YpBpR input you > have on some modern LCD TVs. My broken LCD TV has this facility but I > can't test the theory with that until the back lighting is fixed. > > YUV is the primary display source for the Einstein. RGB and RF TV > output have additional circuitry being taken from the YUV lines which > more less come straight from the Texas Instruments video chip. The > RGB modulator circuit to convert from YUV is a forest of capacitors, > transistors and other stuff. A lot of things to go wrong here. If > there are ready made converters for YUV to RGB some users could keep > their Einstein's going for RGB output if the modulator circuit in the > Einstein fails. > > My sense of irony is driving me on this one. Leaving aside digital > display technology HDMI, DVI-D and the display port, on the analogue > side from the highest order of preference - first YUV > (Component/YpBpR) then RGBS, s-video, composite and finally from the > composite a modulated radio frequency for a TV aerial socket. > > For our nearly 30 year old Einsteins it is easy to believe that they > need to be upgraded for modern video display units when the reality > it is the Einstein which has been waiting for TV inputs to catch up > with it. > > Is the Einstein's YUV the same as component/YpBpR? > I do have another another gadget Kworld TV Gamer Box SA-255. This is > a TV set top box for VGA monitors but for the gamer side it has > inputs for composite, s-video but also for YpBpR to convert to VGA. > With a made up cable for 6 pin DIN socket to three RCA plugs I tried > a connection. > > The result was mixed and not desirable. When the RCA plugs were > plugged into the gamer box as should be all I got was a monochrome > display. When I pulled back the red and blue RCA plugs so that only > the centre of the plugs connected and the ground/shield did not > connect I got colour but weaker than it should be. > > If it is just the signal strength of the YUV lines that need to be > stronger for LCD video input than the original CRT monitors for the > Einstein, I could try transistor circuits for additional > amplification but what is this impedance that is mentioned? Can > damage be done to equipment if the impedance is not right? > > Any One Know? Or where I can find out? Every thing I've read so far > is confusing. No one is saying how a circuit is created to give right > impedance. > > Regards to All > Chris Coxall > <snip>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 469	From: teeeby	Date: 10/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?

Hello again all, Confirmed YPbPr voltage levels are as follows: Y = -0.3V (sync), 0V to +0.7V (luminence) Pb = -0.35V to +0.35V Pr = -0.35V to +0.35V Therefore 2 x 75 ohm in parallel are required for Y-Y. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Tony Brewer" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > Hello Chris and all, > > I don't know where the last year or so went ... > > Page 4.9. of the Einstein Hardware Manual shows the YUV voltages. YPbPr > levels are 700mV peak-to-peak, I believe. There is no colour when the Pb and > Pr colour component leads are plugged in fully because the DC biases of the > Einstein U and V are too high. When you unplug them slightly to disconnect > the ground, the signals become AC-coupled and only the voltage swings are > relevant. > > To adjust the signal levels, you could try adding the following resistors > between Einstein output and TV input: 75 ohm (Y-Y), 12 ohm (U-Pb), 20 ohm > (V-Pr). It is not clear to me whether the Y in YPbPr is 700mV altogether or > 700mV luminence + 300mV sync. If it's the latter, change the 75 ohm (Y-Y) to > two 75 ohm resistors in parallel. > > Colours might still look washed-out or odd-looking, though. > > Tony Brewer > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@> wrote: > > > > Hi Geoff and All, > > > > <snip> > > > > Having had to repair the faulty display circuit by replacing a > > transistor I came to realize how advanced in many respects the > > Einstein was for its time. The YUV monitor output from the Einstein > > as far as I can tell is the same for the component/YpBpR input you > > have on some modern LCD TVs. My broken LCD TV has this facility but I > > can't test the theory with that until the back lighting is fixed. > > > > YUV is the primary display source for the Einstein. RGB and RF TV > > output have additional circuitry being taken from the YUV lines which > > more less come straight from the Texas Instruments video chip. The > > RGB modulator circuit to convert from YUV is a forest of capacitors, > > transistors and other stuff. A lot of things to go wrong here. If > > there are ready made converters for YUV to RGB some users could keep > > their Einstein's going for RGB output if the modulator circuit in the > > Einstein fails. > > > > My sense of irony is driving me on this one. Leaving aside digital > > display technology HDMI, DVI-D and the display port, on the analogue > > side from the highest order of preference - first YUV > > (Component/YpBpR) then RGBS, s-video, composite and finally from the > > composite a modulated radio frequency for a TV aerial socket. > > > > For our nearly 30 year old Einsteins it is easy to believe that they > > need to be upgraded for modern video display units when the reality > > it is the Einstein which has been waiting for TV inputs to catch up > > with it. > > > > Is the Einstein's YUV the same as component/YpBpR? > > I do have another another gadget Kworld TV Gamer Box SA-255. This is > > a TV set top box for VGA monitors but for the gamer side it has > > inputs for composite, s-video but also for YpBpR to convert to VGA. > > With a made up cable for 6 pin DIN socket to three RCA plugs I tried > > a connection. > > > > The result was mixed and not desirable. When the RCA plugs were > > plugged into the gamer box as should be all I got was a monochrome > > display. When I pulled back the red and blue RCA plugs so that only > > the centre of the plugs connected and the ground/shield did not > > connect I got colour but weaker than it should be. > > > > If it is just the signal strength of the YUV lines that need to be > > stronger for LCD video input than the original CRT monitors for the > > Einstein, I could try transistor circuits for additional > > amplification but what is this impedance that is mentioned? Can > > damage be done to equipment if the impedance is not right? > > > > Any One Know? Or where I can find out? Every thing I've read so far > > is confusing. No one is saying how a circuit is created to give right > > impedance. > > > > Regards to All > > Chris Coxall > > <snip> >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 470	From: teeeby	Date: 10/03/2012
Subject: Re: YUV the same as component/YpBpR ?

33 ohm would be better than 2 x 75 ohm - Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > Hello again all, > > Confirmed YPbPr voltage levels are as follows: > Y = -0.3V (sync), 0V to +0.7V (luminence) > Pb = -0.35V to +0.35V > Pr = -0.35V to +0.35V > > Therefore 2 x 75 ohm in parallel are required for Y-Y. > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Tony Brewer" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > Hello Chris and all, > > > > I don't know where the last year or so went ... > > > > Page 4.9. of the Einstein Hardware Manual shows the YUV voltages. YPbPr > > levels are 700mV peak-to-peak, I believe. There is no colour when the Pb and > > Pr colour component leads are plugged in fully because the DC biases of the > > Einstein U and V are too high. When you unplug them slightly to disconnect > > the ground, the signals become AC-coupled and only the voltage swings are > > relevant. > > > > To adjust the signal levels, you could try adding the following resistors > > between Einstein output and TV input: 75 ohm (Y-Y), 12 ohm (U-Pb), 20 ohm > > (V-Pr). It is not clear to me whether the Y in YPbPr is 700mV altogether or > > 700mV luminence + 300mV sync. If it's the latter, change the 75 ohm (Y-Y) to > > two 75 ohm resistors in parallel. > > > > Colours might still look washed-out or odd-looking, though. > > > > Tony Brewer > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi Geoff and All, > > > > > > <snip> > > > > > > Having had to repair the faulty display circuit by replacing a > > > transistor I came to realize how advanced in many respects the > > > Einstein was for its time. The YUV monitor output from the Einstein > > > as far as I can tell is the same for the component/YpBpR input you > > > have on some modern LCD TVs. My broken LCD TV has this facility but I > > > can't test the theory with that until the back lighting is fixed. > > > > > > YUV is the primary display source for the Einstein. RGB and RF TV > > > output have additional circuitry being taken from the YUV lines which > > > more less come straight from the Texas Instruments video chip. The > > > RGB modulator circuit to convert from YUV is a forest of capacitors, > > > transistors and other stuff. A lot of things to go wrong here. If > > > there are ready made converters for YUV to RGB some users could keep > > > their Einstein's going for RGB output if the modulator circuit in the > > > Einstein fails. > > > > > > My sense of irony is driving me on this one. Leaving aside digital > > > display technology HDMI, DVI-D and the display port, on the analogue > > > side from the highest order of preference - first YUV > > > (Component/YpBpR) then RGBS, s-video, composite and finally from the > > > composite a modulated radio frequency for a TV aerial socket. > > > > > > For our nearly 30 year old Einsteins it is easy to believe that they > > > need to be upgraded for modern video display units when the reality > > > it is the Einstein which has been waiting for TV inputs to catch up > > > with it. > > > > > > Is the Einstein's YUV the same as component/YpBpR? > > > I do have another another gadget Kworld TV Gamer Box SA-255. This is > > > a TV set top box for VGA monitors but for the gamer side it has > > > inputs for composite, s-video but also for YpBpR to convert to VGA. > > > With a made up cable for 6 pin DIN socket to three RCA plugs I tried > > > a connection. > > > > > > The result was mixed and not desirable. When the RCA plugs were > > > plugged into the gamer box as should be all I got was a monochrome > > > display. When I pulled back the red and blue RCA plugs so that only > > > the centre of the plugs connected and the ground/shield did not > > > connect I got colour but weaker than it should be. > > > > > > If it is just the signal strength of the YUV lines that need to be > > > stronger for LCD video input than the original CRT monitors for the > > > Einstein, I could try transistor circuits for additional > > > amplification but what is this impedance that is mentioned? Can > > > damage be done to equipment if the impedance is not right? > > > > > > Any One Know? Or where I can find out? Every thing I've read so far > > > is confusing. No one is saying how a circuit is created to give right > > > impedance. > > > > > > Regards to All > > > Chris Coxall > > > <snip> > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 471	From: Chris	Date: 12/03/2012
Subject: YUV to Component

Hi Tony, In your Reply >There is no colour when the Pb and >Pr colour component leads are plugged in fully because the DC biases of the >Einstein U and V are too high. When you unplug them slightly to disconnect >the ground, the signals become AC-coupled and only the voltage swings are >relevant. This is a great help. It brings sense to all that I've read from text books and to what I've googled on the web. I did look at the pages 4.9. of the Einstein Hardware Manual YUV voltages. I was thinking in terms that this was Ok for YUV computer monitors of the Einstein's day but it doesn't meet the standard for modern day component input and all the Einstein's YUV lines would need amplifying. Pulling back the RCA plugs to disconnect the ground/shield for U and V and getting colour had me completely perplexed. Some of the circuits I looked up which were not specific to YUV but general to sine wave sound and video used capacitors for DC blocking. This fits in with to what you are saying about DC biases being to high and its disconnection by pulling back the RCA plugs to get colour.. I'm taking it that YUV signal strengths are not to be equal but have to be kept proportional to each other and adding different resistance's to the lines would do this. If this results in a weak colour display though would an alternative be to increase the Y signal strength? I can experiment with that idea later but first I'll see what adding the resistors you have suggested will do. Murphy's law here buy a bulk pack of resistors from Maplins and they never have any of the values you need in the pack. I think I'll need to a get a pack of variable resistors for experimental purposes. Many thanks again Tony. Where text books and experts have confused you have brought logic and understanding for the one piece of the jigsaw that helps me to see the big picture. Regards to All Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 472	From: Chris	Date: 22/03/2012
Subject: SD Floppy Emulator

Hi All, When surfing around the web I found some confirmation that the HXC semi virtual Floppy will work with the Einstein. Uploaded by StarshipUK on 19 Nov 2011 "This video shows Starquake loading on my Tatung Einstein (complete with Green Screen Monitor!) using a HXC Floppy Drive Emulator" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSql6wQuPYs&feature=channel Uploaded by MichaelHoggUK on 23 Mar 2010 http://www.vimeo.com/10384132 HXC forum http://www.torlus.com/floppy/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=321 Ebay SD Floppy Emulator http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SD-Floppy-Emulator-Rev-C-BLUE-EDITION-/170798641545?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item27c4647189 Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 473	From: Chris	Date: 14/04/2012
Subject: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

Hi All, A bit of help needed here to stop the einey world getting confused about ROMS. There seems quite a few places on the web to download an Einstein ROM for the Mess emulator but there are two versions MOS 1.2 and MOS 1.21 that I know of. The two versions could be either the same "einstein.rom" file name in the bios folders of the MESS emulator used by different people. I have MOS 1.21 working on my Einstein at the moment but have no record of 1.2 which was previously installed. If anyone has and can upload a binary of MOS 1.2 to the temporary folder I will be able to make both authentic versions available for download from the website. Your help appreciated Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 474	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

I have access to at least 5 TC-01s so will check them. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android From: Chris <chriscoxall@talktalk.net>; To: <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk>; Subject: [tatung_einstein] MOS 1.2 binary needed. Sent: Sat, Apr 14, 2012 9:02:35 PM   Hi All, A bit of help needed here to stop the einey world getting confused about ROMS. There seems quite a few places on the web to download an Einstein ROM for the Mess emulator but there are two versions MOS 1.2 and MOS 1.21 that I know of. The two versions could be either the same "einstein.rom" file name in the bios folders of the MESS emulator used by different people. I have MOS 1.21 working on my Einstein at the moment but have no record of 1.2 which was previously installed. If anyone has and can upload a binary of MOS 1.2 to the temporary folder I will be able to make both authentic versions available for download from the website. Your help appreciated Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 475	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /einstein.zip Uploaded by : jltursan <jltursan> Description : MESS Einstein ROM files (MOS 1.2 & 1.21) You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/einstein.zip To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, jltursan <jltursan>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 476	From: jltursan	Date: 15/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

Hi Chris, I've uploaded the files. Suposedly MOS 1.2 and 1.21 are included, they're different; but no idea of what are the changes between versions. Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > A bit of help needed here to stop the einey world getting confused about ROMS. > > There seems quite a few places on the web to download an Einstein ROM for the Mess emulator but there are two versions MOS 1.2 and MOS 1.21 that I know of. > > The two versions could be either the same "einstein.rom" file name in the bios folders of the MESS emulator used by different people. > > I have MOS 1.21 working on my Einstein at the moment but have no record of 1.2 which was previously installed. > > If anyone has and can upload a binary of MOS 1.2 to the temporary folder I will be able to make both authentic versions available for download from the website. > > Your help appreciated > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 477	From: Chris	Date: 16/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

Hi Jose, Thanks for uploading MOS 1.2 and 1.21. I'll test them with the MESS emulator later. Trouble is that I will have to give them the same "einstein.rom" name and swop them around in the MESS bios folder. Unless MESS allows two system configurations for the Einstein. >they're different; but no idea of what are the changes between >versions. I'm sure I've seen some document some where with that information. I'll do a search to see if I can find it. If any one boots up into MOS and has a different version I would like to here of it. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi Chris, > > I've uploaded the files. Suposedly MOS 1.2 and 1.21 are included, they're different; but no idea of what are the changes between versions. > > Regards, > > Jose > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@> wrote: > > > > Hi All, > > > > A bit of help needed here to stop the einey world getting confused about ROMS. > > > > There seems quite a few places on the web to download an Einstein ROM for the Mess emulator but there are two versions MOS 1.2 and MOS 1.21 that I know of. > > > > The two versions could be either the same "einstein.rom" file name in the bios folders of the MESS emulator used by different people. > > > > I have MOS 1.21 working on my Einstein at the moment but have no record of 1.2 which was previously installed. > > > > If anyone has and can upload a binary of MOS 1.2 to the temporary folder I will be able to make both authentic versions available for download from the website. > > > > Your help appreciated > > > > Regards Chris Coxall > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 478	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

Hi, Chris, Simon and Jose, As far as I remember the change from MOS1.2 to 1.21 was the addition of 80-column card detection and handling. but I could be wrong. My Einsteins aren't accessible at the moment so I can't check. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@...> wrote: > > Hi Jose, > > Thanks for uploading MOS 1.2 and 1.21. I'll test them with the MESS emulator later. Trouble is that I will have to give them the same "einstein.rom" name and swop them around in the MESS bios folder. Unless MESS allows two system configurations for the Einstein. > > >they're different; but no idea of what are the changes between >versions. > > > I'm sure I've seen some document some where with that information. I'll do a search to see if I can find it. > > If any one boots up into MOS and has a different version I would like to here of it. > > Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 479	From: Chris	Date: 27/04/2012
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 binary needed.

Hi Geoff, Previously I posted > I'm sure I've seen some document some where with that information. I'll do a >search to see if I can find it. Its in the groups files, Manuals folder, MosCallsV100.pdf uploaded by Phil Simmons. Where did he go to? He was doing some really good techy work for the Einstein. I'm sorry he has dropped out of circulation. Ok Page 10 of MosCallsV100.pdf EINSTEIN MOS 1.2 MCAL (ROM CALL) INFORMATION (Detailing changes from MOS 1.1) Source: Nigel Deakin 4.12.84 Altered MCALS from MOS 1.1 All MCALS in MOS 1.1 which output information to the screen will output information to the 80column card if present and selected. The exception to this is MCAL C3 (ZVROUT) and the graphics MCALS (C4 to CD) which still output to the VRAM. MCAL C2 (ZVRIN) works differently on MOS 1.2. When the 80 column card is present and selected, MCAL C2 reads from the 80 column card RAM and not VRAM. BC is still passed containing the address and the data returned in the A register. The 80 column card RAM addressing is as follows: M.S. Byte C - 40H to 47H 2K total L.S. Byte B - 0 to FFH MOS 1.2 and MOS 1.21 I have Any one have MOS 1.1 so it can be archived Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, Chris, Simon and Jose, > > As far as I remember the change from MOS1.2 to 1.21 was the addition of 80-column card detection and handling. but I could be wrong. My Einsteins aren't accessible at the moment so I can't check. > > Regards, > Geoff > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Chris" <chriscoxall@> wrote: > > > > Hi Jose, > > > > Thanks for uploading MOS 1.2 and 1.21. I'll test them with the MESS emulator later. Trouble is that I will have to give them the same "einstein.rom" name and swop them around in the MESS bios folder. Unless MESS allows two system configurations for the Einstein. > > > > >they're different; but no idea of what are the changes between >versions. > > > > > > I'm sure I've seen some document some where with that information. I'll do a search to see if I can find it. > > > > If any one boots up into MOS and has a different version I would like to here of it. > > > > Regards Chris Coxall >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 480	From: marksmith201130	Date: 20/07/2012
Subject: Advantages of Dell UltraSharp U3011

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 481	From: lez_anderson	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

Hi. Does anyone know if the Tatung Einstein has been put into VHDL and onto an FPGA Board like the Altera DE1. It's already been done for very similar machines like the MSX and Memotech MTX. So in theory it shouldn't be too hard too done for anyone with the necessary skills. Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 482	From: lez_anderson	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein best website for Dowloads ??

Hi. I can't seem to find a working link to any websites relating to the Einstein where schematics, tech docs etc can be downloaded. Can anyone help..I'm looking for schematics, memory maps etc. Many thanks.. Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 483	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 25/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein best website for Dowloads ??

http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/mans.htm  From: lez_anderson <lez_anderson> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, 25 July 2012, 19:21 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Tatung Einstein best website for Dowloads ??   Hi. I can't seem to find a working link to any websites relating to the Einstein where schematics, tech docs etc can be downloaded. Can anyone help..I'm looking for schematics, memory maps etc. Many thanks.. Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 484	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

Hi all, Not on an FPGA as far as I know. The Hardware Manual is the best starting point, you can also refer the the MESS source code as the Einstein emulation works well. MESS basically contains emulations of many chips; logic, memory and processors; and the emulation of each computer is achieved by coding the connections between those virtual chips, then loading appropriate firmware, such as the Einstein ROM image. The FDC hasn't been emulated though so non standard or encrypted disc images can't be read. The rest if the schematic is already coded on there. I can help out with hardware queries but I'm not any good with 6502 machine code, so any ROM questions will have to go to someone more knowledgeable. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > Does anyone know if the Tatung Einstein has been put into VHDL and onto an FPGA Board like the Altera DE1. It's already been done for very similar machines like the MSX and Memotech MTX. So in theory it shouldn't be too hard too done for anyone with the necessary skills. > > Best Regards > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 485	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

Hi all, Not on an FPGA as far as I know. The Hardware Manual is the best starting point, you can also refer the the MESS source code as the Einstein emulation works well. MESS basically contains emulations of many chips; logic, memory and processors; and the emulation of each computer is achieved by coding the connections between those virtual chips, then loading appropriate firmware, such as the Einstein ROM image. The FDC hasn't been emulated though so non standard or encrypted disc images can't be read. The rest if the schematic is already coded on there. I can help out with hardware queries but I'm not any good with 6502 machine code, so any ROM questions will have to go to someone more knowledgeable. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > Does anyone know if the Tatung Einstein has been put into VHDL and onto an FPGA Board like the Altera DE1. It's already been done for very similar machines like the MSX and Memotech MTX. So in theory it shouldn't be too hard too done for anyone with the necessary skills. > > Best Regards > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 486	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

On 26/07/2012 09:39, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > I can help out with hardware queries but I'm not any good with 6502 > machine code, so any ROM questions will have to go to someone more > knowledgeable. Wouldn't help if you where the worlds best 6502 coder anyway, as the Einstein uses a Z80..... :) :) :) Cheers. Phill.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 487	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

Ah.. that's why it never worked :) Not such a faux pas as last week when niether I nor the context ignorant spell check caught the fact that I signed off an email, not with "Regards", but with "Retards". Oops. On another note, I just received a CGA/EGA/YUV-VGA converter/scaler from an ebay seller. Total price £19.95 including delivery. So one of my Einsteins is now connected to an 17" Acer monitor. The same board with the single VGA output (I got the double for no good reason. is only £18.95 and will allow anyone to connect their vintage computers to a 42" LCD TV. pics to follow... --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...> wrote: > > On 26/07/2012 09:39, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > > I can help out with hardware queries but I'm not any good with 6502 > > machine code, so any ROM questions will have to go to someone more > > knowledgeable. > > Wouldn't help if you where the worlds best 6502 coder anyway, as the > Einstein uses a Z80..... :) :) :) > > Cheers. > > Phill. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 488	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein - LCD VGA Monitor.

Hi, Well, it's been a while. I just purchased a CGE/EGA/YUV-VGA converter from ebay. I have several old machines and little workspace so a flat screen monitor really helps. Most old computers, Einstein included, need their signal converted before they can be connected to a VGA monitor. In the past the cost has stopped me, but recently the price has come down so I thought I'd go for the cheapest option I could find. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150831180123?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Well, a quick look at the hardware manual and I got it hooked up to the YUV inputs, after setting the Einstein video input jumpers to their YUV positions, and it works. The colours are slightly screwy, so I'll try going back to RGBS. I'll do a write-up of the whole process when things are working better. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 489	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein - LCD VGA Monitor.

Okay, well this write-up will be quick. I am not associated with the seller below, I just picked them on price. Others on ebay are selling the same board for £49 WARNING. Don't just sling things together like I did. Read the Manual and check the connections on the Einstein. Double check your wiring. Einstein to VGA. 1. Purchase GBS-8200 or GBS-8220 (with 2 VGA outputs) I used ebay the choice is yours ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160818784971 £18.95 including postage) 2. Remember to ask for a 5 pin RGBS cable before your converter is shipped to you. As the advert says "if you need 5 pin (RGBS) cable, please let me know before i ship your order", then you won't need to bodge the connection like I did. 3. Download the manual from here >https://www.google.co.uk/url?q=http://www.digitalsystemsdesign.co.uk/product_uploads/13063261461.pdf&sa=U&ei=3i0RUN-kOcjV0QXRtoHgBw&ved=0CBQQFjAB&usg=AFQjCNGCOtYVdjZANcv8kNnFEFfe7O0E0g (I didn't, but I probably wouldn't have read it even if I had.) 4. Locate a suitable power supply. The specifications call for a 5V 2A supply! I didn't have one and used a 6V 1A supply for testing and was fine, but I'm not recommending it. It might be possible to power it from the Einstein via an unused floppy power connector's ground and 5V, but I don't know how much headroom the Einstein's power supply has. Anyone? 5. Make a lead for the RGBS cable to 6-pin din. As you look at the solder side of the din with the keyed slot upwards, the order of the pins going clockwise is Red, Green, Blue, Ground, Sync, the centre pin isn't used. (or jam the wires into the 6-pin din socket, as I did) 6. Connect it all up, plug the 6-pin din into the Einstein's RGB/YUV out, connect the other end to the RGBS header on the GBS board. Connect the monitor to the GBS board with a VGA lead. Connect the power supply you sourced to the GBS. 7. Power on the monitor, you'll probably get a "no signal" message generated by the monitor. Now, power on the GBS board and the monitor should show a "No Signal" message generated by the GBS. Now power on the Einstein and you should get the classic blue start-up screen. If not press the "SW" button to switch input signal between Ypbpr/RGBS/RGBHV 8. You're going to have to change the settings on the three potentiometers on the board, Use a medium Philips screwdriver and adjust them until the colours look good. If your monitor has settings for Horizontal and vertical adjustment use those instead of the ones on the GBS. My monitor tries to be cleaver and auto adjust, and messes up the changes I made on the GBS. 9. Bask in the glory of Chuckie Egg. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 490	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

6502 code... what's 6502 code got to do with anything ?? ???????? From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 26 July 2012, 9:14 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??   Hi all, Not on an FPGA as far as I know. The Hardware Manual is the best starting point, you can also refer the the MESS source code as the Einstein emulation works well. MESS basically contains emulations of many chips; logic, memory and processors; and the emulation of each computer is achieved by coding the connections between those virtual chips, then loading appropriate firmware, such as the Einstein ROM image. The FDC hasn't been emulated though so non standard or encrypted disc images can't be read. The rest if the schematic is already coded on there. I can help out with hardware queries but I'm not any good with 6502 machine code, so any ROM questions will have to go to someone more knowledgeable. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > Does anyone know if the Tatung Einstein has been put into VHDL and onto an FPGA Board like the Altera DE1. It's already been done for very similar machines like the MSX and Memotech MTX. So in theory it shouldn't be too hard too done for anyone with the necessary skills. > > Best Regards > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 491	From: lez_anderson	Date: 26/07/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA is first step to a 'One Chip Tatung

VHDL (very High Density Language) is a software language for designing digital logic. FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) are chips which can be programmed to a specific use. You could put a complete 8/16 bit computer on one. They can be reprogrammed over and over again, a bit like EEPROM. They are mainly used for prototyping new designs. Several Z80 machines based on the ubiquitous Z80, TMS9929 chipset have be put into VHDL. The MSX has been put into VHDL although obviously different from the Tatung Einstein the basic components are the same, Z80, TMS9918/V9938 decoding logic, memory Map, Sound chip etc. By altering the code for a MSX VHDL design and loading the Tatung Einstein OS you would have an Einstein running at 25MHz with SD card reader etc. Imagine BASIC programs running at a useful speed !! Loading programs in a fraction of a second from SD card !! And having a VGA output !! Another Z80 Machine to be put into VHDL is the British Memotech MTX512. Again a Z80 based machine with TMS9929 video. SN76489 sound, glue logic , memory decoder etc. Well it's just a thought..it's a shame to let a good machine like the Einstein lag behind!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 492	From: lez_anderson	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FREE t

Z80 microcomputer chipset going FREE to good home. A Z84C0020 microcomputer chipset for designing your own Z80 (Einstein) microcomputer. Comprises of: Z84C0020 20MHZ cpu 512K x 8bit SRAM 55ns V9958 VDP video chip EEPROM 64K bytes 45ns 512K Flash EEPROM (can be used like mini hard drive) Altera MAX7128 CPLD (glue logic) Altera MAX7064 CPLD Atmel ATF1502 CPLD GAL22V10 PLD 7805 Voltage regulator Numerous I/O connectors PS/2 DB9 etc Switches,knobs and stuff Double sided copper board etc..... I've also got these on ebay as I'm wanting rid of them from my toolboxes. Having a bit of a clear-out !! Anyone interest or want more details just email me.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 493	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Re: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FR

If I'd ever got round to finishing the software for the Einstein USB hard drive project I'd try my hand at a Small 20MHz Einstein clone. Looks like a nice project idea. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Z80 microcomputer chipset going FREE to good home. A Z84C0020 microcomputer chipset for designing your own Z80 (Einstein) microcomputer. > > Comprises of: > > Z84C0020 20MHZ cpu > 512K x 8bit SRAM 55ns > V9958 VDP video chip > EEPROM 64K bytes 45ns > 512K Flash EEPROM (can be used like mini hard drive) > Altera MAX7128 CPLD (glue logic) > Altera MAX7064 CPLD > Atmel ATF1502 CPLD > GAL22V10 PLD > 7805 Voltage regulator > Numerous I/O connectors PS/2 DB9 etc > Switches,knobs and stuff > Double sided copper board > etc..... > > I've also got these on ebay as I'm wanting rid of them from my toolboxes. Having a bit of a clear-out !! > > Anyone interest or want more details just email me. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 494	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein in VHDL on FPGA ??

Is that why it never works? :) must have spent too long with the PET, ITT2020 and the old BBCs. Never the less, my Z80 code is just as unlikely to run on the Einstein as anything else. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Lez Anderson <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > 6502 code... what's 6502 code got to do with anything ?? > > ???????? > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 495	From: lez_anderson	Date: 29/07/2012
Subject: Z84C0020 Board....What it entails...

I can supply the parts but obviously someone with more knowledge of the Einstein will have to design the schematic/ PCB layout. At an educated guess it will take someone (or a team) between 25-45 man-hours to design the system. This will also involve several hours of programming the CPLD to memory map with the 512K SRAM,EEPROM and I/O ports, keyboard (PS/2) mouse ?? etc. This project could be done on an individual level or as a team or even both as I have quite a few spare IC enough to supply several kits. The first task would be to lay down a general specification. something like: CPU : Z84C0020 20 MHz RAM 512K in blocks compatible with Einstein memory Map EEPROM 64K ?? 512K flash used like floppy disk or hard drive EPM7128 used as glue logic, memory decoder and I/O CTC chips EPM7064 used as serial port Com1 Com2 ATF1502 Ps2/ Mouse keyboard input I/O ports : LPT1 (parallel) Com1/Com2 Serial, PS2 Mouse/keyboard 7805 Voltage regulator --allow 9-15V input 1Amp Scart video output allowing TV connection SD card Reader ?? well you get the idea. Obviously there will need to be some modifications made to the Einstein's ROM routines to allow it to read a PC keyboard and stuff!! It will cost about £15-£20 to get a professional but BASIC double sided PCB made..about 220mm x 200mm So to make five prototypes will cost about £75-£100 as the ICs and Sockets will be FREE. The actual (true) cost for all the parts would still be under £50 per unit !! For an enhanced 'Super' Einstein running at about 5 times faster than the original !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 496	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Re: 20MHz Z80 Chipset for designing your own Z80 microcomputer , FR

Grab a kit while there still available then when you have time, in the future, you could start to design a Tatung Einstein V3 ! To see pics go to ebay ... --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > > If I'd ever got round to finishing the software for the Einstein USB hard drive project I'd try my hand at a Small 20MHz Einstein clone. Looks like a nice project idea. > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@> wrote: > > > > Z80 microcomputer chipset going FREE to good home. A Z84C0020 microcomputer chipset for designing your own Z80 (Einstein) microcomputer. > > > > Comprises of: > > > > Z84C0020 20MHZ cpu > > 512K x 8bit SRAM 55ns > > V9958 VDP video chip > > EEPROM 64K bytes 45ns > > 512K Flash EEPROM (can be used like mini hard drive) > > Altera MAX7128 CPLD (glue logic) > > Altera MAX7064 CPLD > > Atmel ATF1502 CPLD > > GAL22V10 PLD > > 7805 Voltage regulator > > Numerous I/O connectors PS/2 DB9 etc > > Switches,knobs and stuff > > Double sided copper board > > etc..... > > > > I've also got these on ebay as I'm wanting rid of them from my toolboxes. Having a bit of a clear-out !! > > > > Anyone interest or want more details just email me. > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 497	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Z80 kits....

I've got enough components to make up about 10 kits or so. It should be possible to make a complete Einstein microcomputer using about 12 ICs.. Based on most 80s computers used at least 8 DRAMs for main memory plus 8 for VRAM..and could use 70 or so ICs in total.A project like this would be considerably easier to design than the original !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 498	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 31/07/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

Hi, I hope someone actually does this. I'll happily give it a try, but my time is very limited. The only issue I can see is with the keyboard interface, In the original the Reset, Shift and Control keys are not wired to the matrix and don't route the same way. Instead of modifying the ROM it might be better to use the Atmel ATF1502 to translate from PS2 to original Keyboard connections. Lez, do you have any information on using the Atmel ATF1502 to interface to a PS2 keyboard. I can deal with most of the other logic but the ATF1502 is leaving me more than a little confused. Atmal's site hasn't shed any light on the matter, so any "idiots guide to..." would really help me out. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > I've got enough components to make up about 10 kits or so. It should be possible to make a complete Einstein microcomputer using about 12 ICs.. > Based on most 80s computers used at least 8 DRAMs for main memory plus 8 for VRAM..and could use 70 or so ICs in total.A project like this would be considerably easier to design than the original !! >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 499	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 01/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

Interfacing PS/2 keyboard : I'm no expert but I've seen a lot of PIC projects that interface to PS/2 keyboards.. Things like the PIC16F84 and the like, these can be obtained for about £1.. The other method is to simply include the PS/2 keyboard decoder in the CPLD either way you'll need to alter the ROM routines as these repeatedly scan the keyboard MATRIX and calculate autorepeat etc.. these can be quite long routines in ROM. This would simply be replaced by either an interrupt driven routine or keyboard POLL routine.  I have some 85C51 micro-controller these too are used a lot to interface to keyboards, mainly in the external keyboard itself.... I believe these where used in the original IBM PC  keyboard circuit. There is a lot of VHDL code written to decode the serial input from a PS/2 keyboard into ASCII code. Need to look in OpenCores and VHDL sites.. Someone, I can't recall has done a similar thing with the spectrum, making a small computer using an Altera MAX CPLD , best to look at World of Spectrum and stuff for details. Also worth going onto Amstrad CPC,Spectrum etc Forums and ask if anyone can help ?? Best Regards Lez P.S. If anyone buys one of my kits from ebay remember to email me and tell me that you heard about them on the TATUNG Einstein forum... I'll pop extra bits in for FREE ! From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, 31 July 2012, 17:48 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Z80 kits....   Hi, I hope someone actually does this. I'll happily give it a try, but my time is very limited. The only issue I can see is with the keyboard interface, In the original the Reset, Shift and Control keys are not wired to the matrix and don't route the same way. Instead of modifying the ROM it might be better to use the Atmel ATF1502 to translate from PS2 to original Keyboard connections. Lez, do you have any information on using the Atmel ATF1502 to interface to a PS2 keyboard. I can deal with most of the other logic but the ATF1502 is leaving me more than a little confused. Atmal's site hasn't shed any light on the matter, so any "idiots guide to..." would really help me out. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > I've got enough components to make up about 10 kits or so. It should be possible to make a complete Einstein microcomputer using about 12 ICs.. > Based on most 80s computers used at least 8 DRAMs for main memory plus 8 for VRAM..and could use 70 or so ICs in total.A project like this would be considerably easier to design than the original !! >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 500	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 01/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

On 01/08/2012 22:06, Lez Anderson wrote: > > > Interfacing PS/2 keyboard : > > I'm no expert but I've seen a lot of PIC projects that interface to PS/2 > keyboards.. Things like the PIC16F84 and the like, these can be obtained > for about £1.. The other method is to simply include the PS/2 keyboard > decoder in the CPLD either way you'll need to alter the ROM routines as > these repeatedly scan the keyboard MATRIX and calculate autorepeat etc.. > these can be quite long routines in ROM. This would simply be replaced > by either an interrupt driven routine or keyboard POLL routine. The other way is to do what I have done to interface a PS/2 to Dragon and Acorn machines, used an AVR** to interface to the PS/2 and then had that driving a cross point switch eg MT8816 connected to the matrix of the computer in question. That way as far as the machine is concerned it has a normal keyboard, no need to re-write the ROM. Also no need to try and work out why certain games don't work, as they read the keyboard directly and bypass the ROM. Cheers. Phill. ** I used an AVR, but no reason you couldn't use a PIC 80x51 etc. -- Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric ! "You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 501	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

The keyboard routine is rather academic, as the machine would be running at 20MHz instead of 4MHz none of the original games would be playable unless modified!. Imagine PACMAN running at 20MHZ.. the poor little chap would be running around the screen like someone had pushed a rat up his ass !! The game would be completely  unplayable !! Also using  a PS/2 keyboard is much more efficient, the ROM routine to scan it would only need to be a few lines, thus making the system even faster still, and  more efficient and freeing up ROM space.  There's  lots of VHDL code for reading PS/2 keyboards  already written so it would just be copied ! Anyhow at 20MHz you could write PACMAN type games in BASIC !! Even kids could do it ! Remember this is a new design,  a NEW improved, faster more efficient    'Einstein Plus'   or    'Super Einstein'  it won't be 100% compatible. From: Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@aurigae.demon.co.uk> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, 1 August 2012, 22:23 Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re: Z80 kits....   On 01/08/2012 22:06, Lez Anderson wrote: > > > Interfacing PS/2 keyboard : > > I'm no expert but I've seen a lot of PIC projects that interface to PS/2 > keyboards.. Things like the PIC16F84 and the like, these can be obtained > for about £1.. The other method is to simply include the PS/2 keyboard > decoder in the CPLD either way you'll need to alter the ROM routines as > these repeatedly scan the keyboard MATRIX and calculate autorepeat etc.. > these can be quite long routines in ROM. This would simply be replaced > by either an interrupt driven routine or keyboard POLL routine. The other way is to do what I have done to interface a PS/2 to Dragon and Acorn machines, used an AVR** to interface to the PS/2 and then had that driving a cross point switch eg MT8816 connected to the matrix of the computer in question. That way as far as the machine is concerned it has a normal keyboard, no need to re-write the ROM. Also no need to try and work out why certain games don't work, as they read the keyboard directly and bypass the ROM. Cheers. Phill. ** I used an AVR, but no reason you couldn't use a PIC 80x51 etc. -- Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric ! "You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 502	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Wanted Downloadable Version of Einstein 256 Service Manual.....

Hi. I'm looking for schematics, I/O port addressing, Memory Map decode logic, memory Map etc for the Einstein 256.. I'm assuming most of this stuff will be in the service manual ?? Does anyone know where I can download this information or the complete service manual . Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 503	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Re: Wanted Downloadable Version of Einstein 256 Service Manual.....

http://www.tatungeinstein.co.uk/front/mans.htm  256 Owners Manual has all that in the last section From: lez_anderson <lez_anderson> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 2 August 2012, 14:03 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Wanted Downloadable Version of Einstein 256 Service Manual.....   Hi. I'm looking for schematics, I/O port addressing, Memory Map decode logic, memory Map etc for the Einstein 256.. I'm assuming most of this stuff will be in the service manual ?? Does anyone know where I can download this information or the complete service manual . Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 504	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/08/2012
Subject: Get your FREE Z80 kit !!

Hi...to everyone !! Anyone interested in designing a Z80 based Einstein 256 Plus.. just email me and I'll send you a kit. Realistically it should take about six weeks on and off (weekends etc) to design the Schematic and PCB layout. Plus another couple of weeks to write the code and program the CPLD. Then a few weeks to alter the OS for the new hardware. And a littel time to debug everything. So about 12 weeks or so in total !! The OS would need to be altered to read a PS/2 PC keyboard. The Floppy/tape routines would no longer be used and these ROM routines could be used to read SD card or FLASH memory. Obviously you will need to have a descent knowledge of the Einstein's hardware and ideally a HNC/HND in electronic or electrical engineering or a degree with experience. Although an experienced hobbyist or enthusiast will do just as well. Skills needed :....Obviously electronics design. Schematic and PCB layout. Or willing to learn on the job. Then someone will need to write the VHDL code and program the CPLD to bring all the design together. Anyone interested...just drop me a line.. Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 505	From: lez_anderson	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

Having looked briefly at the Tatung 256 manual, I'm assuming that it simply had 64K user RAM ?? but it doesn't seem to have any ROM. I'm assuming ?? that it simply loaded the OS into RAM and didn't map in any ROM.. It doesn't seem to show if extra RAM or ROM can be added or mapped into memory ?? Also Is there any details on the 80 column card.. where is it's video ram mapped to ?? does it use a 6845 CRT IC ?? This is quite important as I need to know what size block RAM/ROM need to be. i.e 16K , 8K etc..

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 506	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

My advice would be to look at the source code for the MESS drivers where most of this has already been worked out and is contained within the C code. The 265 does have a ROM - a small one - can't remember details and my 256 is in storage and the 256 doesn't have an 80 column card - thats only available as an add-on to the TC-01 (again it exists as a MESS driver) From: lez_anderson <lez_anderson> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Friday, 3 August 2012, 16:38 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.   Having looked briefly at the Tatung 256 manual, I'm assuming that it simply had 64K user RAM ?? but it doesn't seem to have any ROM. I'm assuming ?? that it simply loaded the OS into RAM and didn't map in any ROM.. It doesn't seem to show if extra RAM or ROM can be added or mapped into memory ?? Also Is there any details on the 80 column card.. where is it's video ram mapped to ?? does it use a 6845 CRT IC ?? This is quite important as I need to know what size block RAM/ROM need to be. i.e 16K , 8K etc..

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 507	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 03/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

You'd be right if the entire keyboard matrix was wired to an encoder, or we had the source for the ROM. It isn't (look at the path for RESET) and we don't. Creating a pseudo-original keyboard and leaving the ROM alone would be best IMHO. There's a dump of the 80 column card's ROM in the files section. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 508	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Z80 kits....

Having said that, PS/2 is a dying standard. Looks like USB might be a better option, and with the entire USB stack on a chip option wouldn't be difficult to implement with something like the Vinculum VNC2 now having enough space to include user code it could provide a complete USB to Einstein keyboard in a single chip, and allow easy connection of mass storage. Development along those lines would also allow for swapping out the existing keyboard from a real Einstein. As you can tell, I'm biased to hardware based solutions that avoid changes to firmware and software. Did anyone ever find a working Einstein hard drive and firmware? Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > You'd be right if the entire keyboard matrix was wired to an encoder, or we had the source for the ROM. It isn't (look at the path for RESET) and we don't. Creating a pseudo-original keyboard and leaving the ROM alone would be best IMHO. > > There's a dump of the 80 column card's ROM in the files section. > > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 509	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

Taken from an article reproduced on www.tatungeinstein.co.uk; " As its name suggests, Einstein 256 has 256K of RAM. Many computers that give you lots of memory don't really give the user any substantial benefits. This is not the case with Einstein 256. The memory is partitioned into 64K of CPU memory, and 192K of video RAM (VRAM). The massive amount of VRAM means that the machine is capable of very impressive graphics.... more of which later! When not being used by the video display processor, the VRAM may be used for other purposes - RAM disc for example. The architecture ensures that the full 64K of CPU RAM is available for user software. With DOS loaded, the transient program area (TPA) - the space for your programs - is 56K. The machine operating system (MOS), COPY and BACKUP utilities reside in a 16k ROM. MOS is based upon TATUNG/Xtal MOS, but has been greatly enhanced by the design team to fully support the MSX 2 Enhanced Video Display Processor (EVDP) that is the heart of Einstein 256's graphics capabilities. There is a providision to expand the ROM to 32K." I believe that, like the Einstein, the 256 pages the ROM in and out as needed. I don't think 80-column emulation was ever completed in MESS. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Having looked briefly at the Tatung 256 manual, I'm assuming that it simply had 64K user RAM ?? but it doesn't seem to have any ROM. > > I'm assuming ?? that it simply loaded the OS into RAM and didn't map in any ROM.. It doesn't seem to show if extra RAM or ROM can be added or mapped into memory ?? > > Also Is there any details on the 80 column card.. where is it's video ram mapped to ?? does it use a 6845 CRT IC ?? > > This is quite important as I need to know what size block RAM/ROM need to be. i.e 16K , 8K etc.. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 510	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

Attachments : Z80 Board3.doc Z80 Board2.odt Thanks for the information.. What this means is that some idea of how to divide ROM & RAM up can be calculated. This is useful when wiring up the Address lines as: It could be configured up into RAM  16K blocks + ROM 8K Blocks ... like the Memotech MTX ROM addressing :      A0...A12 of the ROM would go to the address bus A13,A14,A15 to the CPLD to select which 8K block is selected. RAM addressing:       A0...A13 of RAM would go to address bus, A14,A15....  would go to CPLD to select which 16K block is selected. Though the memotech has a complete memory map. In ROM mode it can access 72K ROM 528K RAM or in RAM mode 768K RAM for CP/M Or    :    If the board where to be Einstein specific then ROM and RAM could be put into 8K blocks.. A rough BLOCK Diagram of a proposed board layout is attached. As can be seen from it the board layout is quite straight forward. Ideally only ONE CPLD should be used , something like a   EPM7128SQC160.... having 160 pins, and 100 I/O lines ! I've shown two CPLDs used , as the ones I have,  are PLCC84 type with 68 I/O lines  How it would be wired up: Z80 CPU  BUS 38 I/O lines from Z80 to CPLD   address,data,control,etc SRAM chip select, block select (A13,A15,A16,A17..) to CPLD   A0...A12 to address Bus, D0 to D7 to databus  8K blocks EEPROM   chip select, block select (A13,A14,A15) to CPLD.  A0...A12 to address bus, D0 to D7 to databus.   8K Blocks Flash chip select, block select etc to CPLD. A0....A13 to A19 to CPLD. A0..A12 to address bus. D0..D7 to databus. 8K Blocks. PS2 mouse (2 lines DATA,CLK) to CPLD PS2 Keyboard ( Data,CLK) to CPLD Joystick 1 (5 lines) to CPLD Joystick 2 (5 Lines) to CPLD SD card to CPLD LPT1 ( printer parallel) 17 lines to CPLD COM1  5 lines to CPLD COM2  5 Lines to CPLD Total I/O lines (approx) = 38+2+2+5+5+4+17+5+5  = 83 (minimum) 128K or 512K SRAM could be used. I believe that 64K SRAM ( according to Digikey) is dearer than 128K or 512K !!!! As you can see most of the wiring is straight forward as practically everything is just connected to the CPLD !! Best Regards Lez From: Simon Hardy <simonhardy72> To: "tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Friday, 3 August 2012, 21:35 Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.   My advice would be to look at the source code for the MESS drivers where most of this has already been worked out and is contained within the C code. The 265 does have a ROM - a small one - can't remember details and my 256 is in storage and the 256 doesn't have an 80 column card - thats only available as an add-on to the TC-01 (again it exists as a MESS driver) From: lez_anderson <lez_anderson> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Friday, 3 August 2012, 16:38 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.   Having looked briefly at the Tatung 256 manual, I'm assuming that it simply had 64K user RAM ?? but it doesn't seem to have any ROM. I'm assuming ?? that it simply loaded the OS into RAM and didn't map in any ROM.. It doesn't seem to show if extra RAM or ROM can be added or mapped into memory ?? Also Is there any details on the 80 column card.. where is it's video ram mapped to ?? does it use a 6845 CRT IC ?? This is quite important as I need to know what size block RAM/ROM need to be. i.e 16K , 8K etc..

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 511	From: lez_anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: REMEMOTECH an example, showing what can be done !!

Hi. A chap called Andy Key put the old Z80 Memotech MTX into VHDL code and onto a DE1 board in 6 months. Learning VHDL code (from scratch) on the way. His implementation can be seen on You-tube and on his website. Once you see this, you'll see what could be done with the Tatung Einstein. Andy is a 'Software' bloke and not that much into hardware. But what he's done in six month, includes, all the hardware in VHDL, 80 Column card too. Extra functions...SD card etc....plus altering the old ROM to run. His implementation runs at 25MHz.. so considerably faster than the original. He's aiming at making a 'One Chip' MTX512 plus. With as it's name suggests a complete MTX512 PLUS on a single FPGA/ASIC chip. Go to You-Tube and type ' REMEMOTECH' and see for yourselves !! If it can be done with an MTX it can be done with an Einstein !!!!!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 512	From: lez_anderson	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Send a Stamped address Envelope...

Hi. Anyone wanting a Z80 kit, even if you know nothing about electronics it's a good way to start... To try ( or give it a try) and design a microcomputer system. Then just send a stamped address envelope to : Lez Anderson 4A Wells Grove Willington CROOK County Durham DL15 0PS or just email me.. Even if you have no knowledge of electronics... It's a way of learning about digital systems, programmable logic and computer design. Everyone has to start somewhere !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 513	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

hi, In the 256, I think 64k RAM is directly accessible from the data and address bus and the rest is only accessible via the 9938 EVDP. Any software that uses it would have to addressed it that way. When it wasn't needed for graphics it could be used in the same way as the "Silicon Disk" on the Einstein. So any replica 256 would need to emulate that to be backwards compatible. Does anyone know why the top 64k of DRAM was referred to as "Expansion DRAM" rather than just DRAM and if the RAM accessed via the 9938 could be expanded further? Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Lez Anderson <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > > > Thanks for the information.. > > What this means is that some idea of how to divide ROM & RAM up can be > calculated. This is useful when wiring up the Address lines as: > > It could be configured up into RAM  16K blocks + ROM 8K Blocks ... like the Memotech MTX > > > ROM addressing :      A0...A12 of the ROM would go to the address bus > A13,A14,A15 to the CPLD to select which 8K block is selected. > > RAM addressing:       A0...A13 of RAM would go to address bus, A14,A15....  would go to CPLD to select which 16K block is selected. > > Though the memotech has a complete memory map. In ROM mode it can access 72K ROM 528K RAM or in RAM mode 768K RAM for CP/M > > > > > > Or    :  > > > >   If the board where to be Einstein specific then ROM and RAM could be put into 8K blocks.. > > > A rough BLOCK Diagram of a proposed board layout is attached. As can be seen from it the board layout is quite straight forward. > > > Ideally only ONE CPLD should be used , something like a   EPM7128SQC160.... having 160 pins, and 100 I/O lines ! > > > I've shown two CPLDs used , as the ones I have,  are PLCC84 type with 68 I/O lines  > > How it would be wired up: > > Z80 CPU  BUS 38 I/O lines from Z80 to CPLD   address,data,control,etc > SRAM chip select, block select (A13,A15,A16,A17..) to CPLD   A0...A12 to address Bus, D0 to D7 to databus  8K blocks > > EEPROM   chip select, block select (A13,A14,A15) to CPLD.  A0...A12 to address bus, D0 to D7 to databus.   8K Blocks > > Flash chip select, block select etc to CPLD. A0....A13 to A19 to CPLD. A0..A12 to address bus. D0..D7 to databus. 8K Blocks. > > PS2 mouse (2 lines DATA,CLK) to CPLD > PS2 Keyboard ( Data,CLK) to CPLD > Joystick 1 (5 lines) to CPLD > Joystick 2 (5 Lines) to CPLD > SD card to CPLD > LPT1 ( printer parallel) 17 lines to CPLD > COM1  5 lines to CPLD > COM2  5 Lines to CPLD > > Total I/O lines (approx) = 38+2+2+5+5+4+17+5+5  = 83 (minimum) > > > > 128K or 512K SRAM could be used. I believe that 64K SRAM ( according to Digikey) is dearer than 128K or 512K !!!! > > > As you can see most of the wiring is straight forward as practically everything is just connected to the CPLD !! > > > > Best Regards > > Lez > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 514	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/08/2012
Subject: Re: Tatung Einstein 256 Memory Map.

hi, In the 256, I think 64k RAM is directly accessible from the data and address bus and the rest is only accessible via the 9938 EVDP. Any software that uses it would have to addressed it that way. When it wasn't needed for graphics it could be used in the same way as the "Silicon Disk" on the Einstein. So any replica 256 would need to emulate that to be backwards compatible. Does anyone know why the top 64k of DRAM was referred to as "Expansion DRAM" rather than just DRAM and if the RAM accessed via the 9938 could be expanded further? Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Lez Anderson <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > > > Thanks for the information.. > > What this means is that some idea of how to divide ROM & RAM up can be > calculated. This is useful when wiring up the Address lines as: > > It could be configured up into RAM  16K blocks + ROM 8K Blocks ... like the Memotech MTX > > > ROM addressing :      A0...A12 of the ROM would go to the address bus > A13,A14,A15 to the CPLD to select which 8K block is selected. > > RAM addressing:       A0...A13 of RAM would go to address bus, A14,A15....  would go to CPLD to select which 16K block is selected. > > Though the memotech has a complete memory map. In ROM mode it can access 72K ROM 528K RAM or in RAM mode 768K RAM for CP/M > > > > > > Or    :  > > > >   If the board where to be Einstein specific then ROM and RAM could be put into 8K blocks.. > > > A rough BLOCK Diagram of a proposed board layout is attached. As can be seen from it the board layout is quite straight forward. > > > Ideally only ONE CPLD should be used , something like a   EPM7128SQC160.... having 160 pins, and 100 I/O lines ! > > > I've shown two CPLDs used , as the ones I have,  are PLCC84 type with 68 I/O lines  > > How it would be wired up: > > Z80 CPU  BUS 38 I/O lines from Z80 to CPLD   address,data,control,etc > SRAM chip select, block select (A13,A15,A16,A17..) to CPLD   A0...A12 to address Bus, D0 to D7 to databus  8K blocks > > EEPROM   chip select, block select (A13,A14,A15) to CPLD.  A0...A12 to address bus, D0 to D7 to databus.   8K Blocks > > Flash chip select, block select etc to CPLD. A0....A13 to A19 to CPLD. A0..A12 to address bus. D0..D7 to databus. 8K Blocks. > > PS2 mouse (2 lines DATA,CLK) to CPLD > PS2 Keyboard ( Data,CLK) to CPLD > Joystick 1 (5 lines) to CPLD > Joystick 2 (5 Lines) to CPLD > SD card to CPLD > LPT1 ( printer parallel) 17 lines to CPLD > COM1  5 lines to CPLD > COM2  5 Lines to CPLD > > Total I/O lines (approx) = 38+2+2+5+5+4+17+5+5  = 83 (minimum) > > > > 128K or 512K SRAM could be used. I believe that 64K SRAM ( according to Digikey) is dearer than 128K or 512K !!!! > > > As you can see most of the wiring is straight forward as practically everything is just connected to the CPLD !! > > > > Best Regards > > Lez > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 515	From: lez_anderson	Date: 05/08/2012
Subject: F18A video Chip TMS9918 replacement.

Hi. For those that have not already heard about it there's a pin compatible modern replacement to the TMS9918 VDP. The chip boasts most of the modes of the V9938 but in a 40 pin TMS9918 compatible DIP. It runs faster than the original, has 512K of VRAM and gives VGA output, so you'd need to pop a VGA socket on the back of your Einstein. Thus giving you VGA output to a standard monitor. I believe they cost $99 and just drop into the old 40 pin socket of the TMS9929, without any software modification. More information can be found at 'code[hack]create'

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 516	From: lez_anderson	Date: 06/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send a Stamped address Envelope...

** remember to put 'Tatung Einstein ' on the envelope, so I know that it's come from the user group.. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > Anyone wanting a Z80 kit, even if you know nothing about electronics it's a good way to start... > > To try ( or give it a try) and design a microcomputer system. > > Then just send a stamped address envelope to : > > Lez Anderson > 4A Wells Grove > Willington > CROOK > County Durham > DL15 0PS > > or just email me.. > > Even if you have no knowledge of electronics... It's a way of learning about digital systems, programmable logic and computer design. > > Everyone has to start somewhere !! >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 517	From: lez_anderson	Date: 07/08/2012
Subject: Overclocking ..Pro's and cons

Ever thought of Over-clocking an old vintage computer ...?? Well some are easier than others, some machines like the ZX Spectrum use a single clock to drive most things on the circuit board. These types of machines are very hard or impossible to over-clock, just to the nature of the hardware. Other machines like the Einstein are relatively easy, because the CPU uses it's own clock/crystal. When you over-clock some of the existing components, they may not be able to handle the new speed increase and so need upgrading. Things like the CTC,8255,and Z80 may need to be replaced. At faster speed then you may even need new DRAMs. 5MHz ... at this speed you may just need to replace the 4MHz Z80 crystal with a 5MHz though popping a Z80B in instead of the Z80A may be recommended. Also there might be glitches with the Floppy Discs. This would give you a 25% speed increase. 6MHz.. New Z80B CPU, New CTC,8255 ..floppies may not work as the timing willing be all out of synch ! So some modifications would be needed. 8MHz.. Need Z80H,CTC 8MHz etc probably need faster DRAMs <100ns type..floppies will definitely not work. The video can handle 8Mhz so no disruption to video should be encountered. If anyone has over-clocked their Einstein...then please leave a comment...

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 518	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/08/2012
Subject: Some Z80 kits ... still available..

There's some Z80 kits still available. Anyone wanting one just send a Self ,Stamped, Addressed Envelope to me. Postage is about £2.20 second class. Then I'll do a CRASH course on how to design a Z80 system over about five weeks on the Forum. It'll cover the BASICs of how to wire-up the RAM,ROM, Video etc to the CPLD and Z80. even if you don't make a working system you might have fun learning on the way ! Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 519	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/08/2012
Subject: Crash Z80 Course..What You'll Need ..

You don't need any components, no need for a Z80 kit ...! What you will need are: Datasheets, Z80, W27C512, HM628128 , EPM7128 , ATF1502, MAX232, AY-3-8912 , 7805 Etc. A logbook... for making notes and drawing schematics etc.. Einstein Service Manuals and user manuals.. Einstein256. PCB / Schematic capture software. things like Eagle. or FREEPCB FREEPCB has no board limits, whereas Eagle has 100mm x 100mm Anything else you can think of. Scart, Com1,Com2, LPT! pinouts and stuff can be found on Wikipedia.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 520	From: lez_anderson	Date: 11/08/2012
Subject: Gearing up for Z80 project... preparation..

For those that are wanting to follow the CRASH Z80 design course, then you'll need the following : Datasheets : Z80 Z84C0020 or Z80 CPU Databook with Z80 pinouts HM628128 128K SRAM datasheet W27C512 64K EEPROM databook/datasheet EPM7128ELC84 PLCC84 CPLD EPM7064 CPLD AM29F040 FLASH MAX232 V9938/V9958 USER MANUALS with schematics and pin-outs 7805 pinouts AY-3-8912A Sound generator You can get datasheets from alldatasheets.com , datasheetarchive.com plus lots of other sites. Best to print them out or at least the pinouts for each IC. Connectors /Scart / Com1 , Com2 , LPT1 etc pinouts can be found on Wikipedia. The Einsten256 /TC01 user manuals & Hardware Manuals. Schematic/PCB software. You'll need to obtain/download some PCB and/or Schematic capture. There's lots of FREE stuff on the net. Eagle is one of the best but it has a very limited PCB size (100mm x 100mm) . 'FREEPCB' is as it's name suggests a FREE PCB software package. You'll also need a Project logbook to make notes and drawings and stuff. It should be used to log all ideas and wiring etc. The logbook is a very important item. As without a logbook you'd soon get in a muddle. You don't actually need any components or stuff to start. As you only need the ICs and stuff once you've made a PCB and are ready to solder the sockets onto it and pop the ICs into them. You could etch/make your own PCB but I think this is a lot of hassle it probably easier just to get a PCB make professionally for about £15-£20 . *** remember preparation is everything ***

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 521	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/08/2012
Subject: Not too late to get Z80 kit..

There's still some Z80 stuff left... just send a SAE to : Lez Anderson 4A Wells Grove Willington CROOK County Durham DL15 0PS the envelope should have £2.20 or £2.70 worth of stamps second class,first class respectively.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 522	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/08/2012
Subject: Z80 project will start on FRIDAY.. with board layout, 5V supply, 780

Get ready: On Friday we'll start designing and doing the board layout for a BASIC Z80 system using as few chips as possible to make a high performance microcomputer that should be able to run Tatung Enistein256 MOS/DOS. So don't forget to get a logbook and pens/pencils, IC pinouts etc. Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 523	From: lez_anderson	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Send SAE ....

Hi. I've only received one SAE so far and I've returned that. There's still time, just send me a Stamped Addressed Envelope, it saves me a lot of time writing out the address and stuff and it stops me sending it to the wrong person by mistake !! I'm still waiting on some bits and bobs ... like V9958 VDPs when I get them I'll let everyone know.!! Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 524	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....

Hi Lez, I'll send you an SAE, when I manage to get some stamps. RS don't sell them and I hardly use them any more. What size/type does the envelope need to be? Very interested in how this project pans out. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > I've only received one SAE so far and I've returned that. > > There's still time, just send me a Stamped Addressed Envelope, it saves me a lot of time writing out the address and stuff and it stops me sending it to the wrong person by mistake !! > > I'm still waiting on some bits and bobs ... like V9958 VDPs when I get them I'll let everyone know.!! > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 525	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....

Hi An A4 Jiffy envelope will do it............. cost £2.20 second class, £2.70 first class If you give me your address I'll post it tomorrow and when you get it just post £2.70 worth of stamps to me !! That way you should get it Friday/Saturday ! Lez From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, 15 August 2012, 15:27 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Send SAE ....   Hi Lez, I'll send you an SAE, when I manage to get some stamps. RS don't sell them and I hardly use them any more. What size/type does the envelope need to be? Very interested in how this project pans out. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "lez_anderson" <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi. > > I've only received one SAE so far and I've returned that. > > There's still time, just send me a Stamped Addressed Envelope, it saves me a lot of time writing out the address and stuff and it stops me sending it to the wrong person by mistake !! > > I'm still waiting on some bits and bobs ... like V9958 VDPs when I get them I'll let everyone know.!! > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 526	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 15/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....

Hi, Thanks for that. I've sent you my address via the email link on here. Regards, Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Lez Anderson <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi > > > An A4 Jiffy envelope will do it............. cost £2.20 second class, £2.70 first class > > > If you give me your address I'll post it tomorrow and when you get it just post £2.70 worth of stamps to me !! > > That way you should get it Friday/Saturday ! > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 527	From: Phil	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: It's good to be back.:-)

Hi Everyone!, Due to my itinerant lifestyle I've been in limbo again for quite awhile. Now that I'm reconnected it's nice to see that there is lot's of group interest. I now have a roof over my head once more but my Eineys are packed away in storage for some time to come and I'm itching to get on with some pet ideas and projects. With a view to that I fired up the MESS emulator but I'm still not getting anywhere with he 80 col card ROM. I know I had this working quite awhile ago but Mess simply refuses to to use the 80 col ROM dump I downloaded from this site. Anyone know what's going on with this and how to fix it? I'm still working on Xtal DOS 3.0. A flavour of the features are 64 user areas and the user command restored (and maybe a secret surprise!); Interchangeable 0/A drive prefixes that don't fall over; Wild card renaming, batch processing ala MSDOS, chaining progs,re-nameable commands eg. so you can use del or type instead of era disp if you wish, an attribute command to replace lock/unlock with RO/H/S/A switches, intelligent type command that wont hang your screen ditto printer return if one not attached. SAVE from a start adress other than 100h; An editable command line. etc. I'm hoping to reduce the size of the CCP by modularising and intelligently loading built in commands on demand- unlike cp/m 3 which stuck them in separate.com files. I have written a low level graphics API which I'm testing at the moment. I may include it as an optionally installable module- with this you can use a new BDOS function to do graphics within a well behaved cp/m program rather than directly calling those messy unstable MOS calls and of course it will work below 8000H. I will also include a disk definition for a 1.6Mb FDD. My idea is to keep Xtal 3.0 downwardly compatible with Xtal & CP/M (hopefully 100%) while cramming it with as many useful extra features as I can squeeze in- so think about your wish list. I'll release beta stages for everyone to play with and bug report. I hope to release the first Xtal 3 Beta this winter. It is my intention that this will be the final release of Xtal as a homage to the original developers before I really ditch the cp/m format and build a more flexible micro OS capable of addressing large HDDs and SD cards with directories that will still run our existing progs - code name EDOS :-) Phil S

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 528	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Hi Phil, I'm looking forward to Xtal3. Did you ever find out how CP/M (or XtalDOS) on the Einstein was modified to handle any of the contemporary after-market hard-drives that were around? On my wish-list would be support for mass storage, but that might be easier with a hook to call code from a peripheral instead (I'll post my unpublished thoughts and information on the Pipe to USB interface one day, but I think a peripheral attached to the Pipe can add code to the boot sequence and modify MOS by responding to requests for data from the second empty ROM socket). I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good check. I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this weekend. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 529	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > check. I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > weekend. It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the first time), it should still be working. Cheers. Phill.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 530	From: lez_anderson	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Posted three Z80 kits....still some more left !

So far I've posted three Z80 kits ...there's still some left..so hurry while stocks last ! I've put one aside for someone..for when they're back in the UK.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 531	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 16/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Hi, MESS does seem a suitable name, for one version the Einstein wouldn't boot at all. I'm currently selling off my vintage games console collection to make some space. I'll get back onto some Einstein stuff soon. Lez's posts have got me inspired again. Maybe there'll be a tiny, fast Xtal 3, USB Einstein about in the furture. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...> wrote: > > On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > > check. > > I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and > have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > > > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > > weekend. > > It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years > back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the > first time), it should still be working. > > Cheers. > > Phill. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 532	From: Phil	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: Hard drive for Xtal?

Hi Geoff, Once upon a time I had a copy of the modified Xtal Dos used for the Einstein HDD drive - sadly lost. However I do remember having a look at it. Basically it had a big 1024 byte hole in it to accommodate the allocation table for up to 2 drives of 8mb each. If we are going to stick to traditional cp/m & xtal then we are stuck with a really big allocation bit map in memory with larger drives and the 8mb boundary. However this can be increased by using larger allocation block sizes eg using,4,8,16, or 32kb reservation block sizes but this is wasteful of space eg. a 1 byte file could occupy 32kb of disk space. Unfortunately I never got around to dissasembling the BIOS so I never saw the disk handling routines but the these were pre IDE days and the interface was scsi. However it should be relative easy to incorporate IDE calls in the Xtal Bios by designating a particular number to a hard drive and diverting any references to that drive number to IDE routines for the basic disk routines. The ones you would have to duplicate are set track, set sector write rec (128) and read rec(128). If you mail me the IDE code for this I'll see if I can knock something together you can play with for a single 8Mb disk. I plan to get around the large HHD problem in the future by storing the allocation bitmap on the drive and scanning it with a 128 byte window into memory. Also the there will only be 1 16/32bit reservation block pointer in a file descriptor which will point to a table of reserved blocks for that file in a kind of unix way. So a 4Tb drive for the einey will be possible! lol. Of course this will be a substantial step away from vanilla cp/m methods. I think the problem with the 80col ROM may be a corrupt copy uploaded or a config problem within MESS. Regards, Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Phil, > > I'm looking forward to Xtal3. Did you ever find out how CP/M (or XtalDOS) on the Einstein was modified to handle any of the contemporary after-market hard-drives that were around? On my wish-list would be support for mass storage, but that might be easier with a hook to call code from a peripheral instead (I'll post my unpublished thoughts and information on the Pipe to USB interface one day, but I think a peripheral attached to the Pipe can add code to the boot sequence and modify MOS by responding to requests for data from the second empty ROM socket). > > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good check. > > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't know the code was complete. > If I get time I'll take a look this weekend. > > Regards, > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 533	From: lez_anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Wanted Quality scan of Einstein 256 schematics..

Hi. Can anyone email me some good quality scans of the Einstein256 schematics.. Wanted : V9938 VDP schematics AY-3-8912 Sound Generator Centronics port Serial port. I've already got a PDF version of the manual but the quality isn't too good. Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 534	From: lez_anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Z80 Microcomputer Design --- PART 1

Hi. Week 1, Part 1 Z80 design This week we'll produce a basic z80 board, laying out componets and placement. And start to look at wiring up our basic Z80 design. As everyone knows any computer consists of a minimun number of components : CPU Z80 RAM 128k SRAM ROM 64K EEPROM Glue Logic CPLD EPM7128 or similar Output Display V9958 Output Printer DB25 or Centronics Input PS/2 keyboard You'll have to email me at lezanderson or lez_anderson@yahoo.com and I'll email a word document. This will go through what we'll do each week. You should of downloaded and played around with some PCB software like Eagle or FreePCB. At first it will be a steep learning curve as you get your head round the software etc. If you haven't received your Z80 kit don't worry, it's either on it's way or you can still get one! Some parts like the V9958 and 41464 DRAMs won't be in the kit as I haven't got them yet! Hopefully at the end of the five weeks or so I'll be able to prodcue a small booklet going through the whole process, complete with schematics etc . Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 535	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Attachments : Z80 Board Design.doc Part 1 Z80 Design.. DRAFT copy ..work in progress.. From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 16 August 2012, 15:46 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: It's good to be back.:-)   Hi, MESS does seem a suitable name, for one version the Einstein wouldn't boot at all. I'm currently selling off my vintage games console collection to make some space. I'll get back onto some Einstein stuff soon. Lez's posts have got me inspired again. Maybe there'll be a tiny, fast Xtal 3, USB Einstein about in the furture. Geoff --- In mailto:tatung_einstein%40yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...> wrote: > > On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > > check. > > I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and > have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > > > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > > weekend. > > It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years > back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the > first time), it should still be working. > > Cheers. > > Phill. >

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 536	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: Send SAE ....

Attachments : Z80 Part 1 Draft document attached...not yet finished From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Wednesday, 15 August 2012, 16:28 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: Send SAE ....   Hi, Thanks for that. I've sent you my address via the email link on here. Regards, Geoff --- In mailto:tatung_einstein%40yahoogroups.co.uk, Lez Anderson <lez_anderson@...> wrote: > > Hi > > > An A4 Jiffy envelope will do it............. cost £2.20 second class, £2.70 first class > > > If you give me your address I'll post it tomorrow and when you get it just post £2.70 worth of stamps to me !! > > That way you should get it Friday/Saturday ! > > Lez >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 537	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 17/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Attachments : Z80 Board Design-537.doc Z80 Part 1 Draft document attached...not yet finished From: Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@aurigae.demon.co.uk> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 16 August 2012, 14:07 Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re: It's good to be back.:-)   On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > check. I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > weekend. It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the first time), it should still be working. Cheers. Phill.

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 538	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/08/2012
Subject: Don't get phased...!!

Hi. To everyone folowing the Z80 quick design course, : Dont get phased !!... the first week or more will be Very difficult as learning the software and getting your head around the task will be quite difficult. Realistically you will only be anywhere near compotent, (as using the PCB software and stuff) at the end of the five weeks.. Just take it day by day and week by week.... I'm still working on the Z80 document that will accompany the course..as it's still a work in progress !! So you could say your guinea-pigs!! But you will learn alot from the course about modern componnets like CPLD (Complex programmable Devices). Which will hold you in good stead for your own homebrew Projects ! Lez P.S. I'm still trying to get some quality schematics for the Video and sound circuits (Einstein256).

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 539	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 22/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Attachments : Z80 Board Design-539.doc Hi..     I've made a DRAFT document of the Z80 Course, it's a work in progress and will evolve with time....see attached..   Best Regards   Lez From: id_fugu_is_unavailable <geoff> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 16 August 2012, 15:46 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: It's good to be back.:-)   Hi, MESS does seem a suitable name, for one version the Einstein wouldn't boot at all. I'm currently selling off my vintage games console collection to make some space. I'll get back onto some Einstein stuff soon. Lez's posts have got me inspired again. Maybe there'll be a tiny, fast Xtal 3, USB Einstein about in the furture. Geoff --- In mailto:tatung_einstein%40yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...> wrote: > > On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > > check. > > I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and > have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > > > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > > weekend. > > It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years > back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the > first time), it should still be working. > > Cheers. > > Phill. >

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 540	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 22/08/2012
Subject: Re: It's good to be back.:-)

Attachments : Z80 Board Design-540.doc Hi..     I've made a DRAFT document of the Z80 Course, it's a work in progress and will evolve with time....see attached..   Best Regards   Lez From: Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@aurigae.demon.co.uk> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 16 August 2012, 14:07 Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re: It's good to be back.:-)   On 16/08/2012 13:22, id_fugu_is_unavailable wrote: > I uploaded the 80-column card ROM after taking an image from the chip > in a working card, which was still working afterwards, but I didn't > burn it to a new EPROM and use that to fully check that the dump was > accurate. I have no reason to believe it isn't, but if you have > another card and can make a ROM image to compare that would be a good > check. I have a dump taken from the 80 Col card, I've also traced the board and have the schematic in Eagle format if anyone is interested. > I never tried to get MESS up and running with 80-columns and don't > know the code was complete. If I get time I'll take a look this > weekend. It Was working at one point, I did a little work on it a couple of years back, so unless the MESS team have broken it again (wouldn't be the first time), it should still be working. Cheers. Phill.

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 541	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: Programmable logic...

Hi. Anyone interested in logic design and programmable logic ? low cost programmers : TOP853 programs most EPROMS, GALs,PALs, EEPROMs etc.... cost £23 G540 Programs EPROMs,GAL,PAL,EEPROM, IC 74 series & 4000 series tester ....Costs approx £30 These are ideal ways to get into programming digital logic like CPLD, GAL16V8, GAL22V10 and programming EPROM/EEPROMs. You can get them from ebay.. For progbramming CPLD .. complex logic then you'll need a Altera USB Blaster cable and a PC/laptop. Then cost between 4-8 quid and agin are sold on ebay as well as other sites. I've got some logic design books in PDF format I can email anyone interested. Best regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 542	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: PCB design services.....

If you want a cheap PCB making you could try.. In my experience, iteadstudio (in China) turns around small boards in days. Good board quality. Cheap. Easy to use. Recommended. I know people that have used them and they seem quite satified. If anyone knows of any more please leave comments on forum.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 543	From: lez_anderson	Date: 24/08/2012
Subject: Z80 part2....

Hi. So you've started placing components, getting your head round the software and stuff... and by now you'll of found quite a few headaches...!! If you can't find an exact part use a generic component or even make a part and put it into the component library though this is time consuming. Examples are the SRAM and V9958... just use generic DIP sockets.. Part2 is all about connecting the Z80 BUS... just follow the instructions in the DRAFT document and if you get stuck leave comments on the forum for help.. Good Luck......and let the force be with you..!!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 544	From: Phil	Date: 28/08/2012
Subject: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved

Hi All, I worked out why i couldn't run 80 col Einstein emulation under MESS It doesn't tell you anywhere but both the Einstein MOS 1.21 ROM and the 80 col ROM file must be zipped up together into a single file and placed in the Roms folder. If placed separately the 80 col will not work. You need Mess version 1.42 or above. However I tried version 1.46 and they have mangled up the disk drive emulation at the moment which is a shame because it has an easy to use# menu bar under emulation to select new disk images etc. To save you the trouble I have uploaded MESS ready to run with all the right stuff in it - MESS142b.RAR. It's set up to boot Xtal 2.05. It also contains my entire disk image library within the software folder. It's a rar file so just extract it to the drive of your choice. There are still some flaws. There is not a way to emulate the 80 col jumper settings and have the system boot directly to 80 column. Instead the system boots into 40 col mode with the 80 column screen alongside. You need to do a Ctrl P to swith to 80 columns. Naturally you can go back to 40/32 using Ctrl N or Ctrl O. It's irritaing beciause you can't get rid of the 40 col screen alongside. Also in 80 col mode the cursor is invisible - this is because the on the Einstein the 80 col cursor is a hardware/software kludge and isn't emulated. Another thing I have noticed is that if you set the RTC using TIME.COM the time isn't updated so the normal service interrupt routines are not running under emulation which probably explains why there is no 80 col cursor. Please post any tips, tricks and comments about using MESS. It's getting there! Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 545	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 28/08/2012
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /MESS Emulation /ReadMe.txt Uploaded by : fil_simmons <p.simmons@gmx.com> Description : Download link for my files You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/MESS%20Emulation%20/ReadMe.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, fil_simmons <p.simmons@gmx.com>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 546	From: jltursan	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved

Thanks Phil, it's really a shame that the Einstein still doesn't have a stable emulation given the mostly common hardware it has :-( About the link, that Skydrive thingy it's asking me a login to download the archive. Am I doing wrong something? Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > > I worked out why i couldn't run 80 col Einstein emulation under MESS > It doesn't tell you anywhere but both the Einstein MOS 1.21 ROM and the 80 col ROM file must be zipped up together into a single file and placed in the Roms folder. If placed separately the 80 col will not work. > > You need Mess version 1.42 or above. However I tried version 1.46 and they have mangled up the disk drive emulation at the moment which is a shame because it has an easy to use# menu bar under emulation to select new disk images etc. > > To save you the trouble I have uploaded MESS ready to run with all the right stuff in it - MESS142b.RAR. It's set up to boot Xtal 2.05. It also contains my entire disk image library within the software folder. It's a rar file so just extract it to the drive of your choice. > > There are still some flaws. There is not a way to emulate the 80 col > jumper settings and have the system boot directly to 80 column. > Instead the system boots into 40 col mode with the 80 column screen alongside. > You need to do a Ctrl P to swith to 80 columns. Naturally you can go back to 40/32 using Ctrl N or Ctrl O. It's irritaing beciause you can't get rid of the 40 col screen alongside. > > Also in 80 col mode the cursor is invisible - this is because the on the Einstein the 80 col cursor is a hardware/software kludge and isn't emulated. > > Another thing I have noticed is that if you set the RTC using TIME.COM the time isn't updated so the normal service interrupt routines are not running under emulation which probably explains why there is no 80 col cursor. > > Please post any tips, tricks and comments about using MESS. It's getting there! > > Cheers, > > Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 547	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Skydrive link updated

Hi Jose, Thanks for your feed back. Please try this link and let me know if it works now - you shouldn't have to sign in unless you want to directly edit the file. Cheers, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 548	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: Skydrive link updated

Hi Phil, The new link is asking me to log in too. I'll try to dig up details of an old hotmail account to get access. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi Jose, > > Thanks for your feed back. > Please try this link and let me know if it works now - you shouldn't have to sign in unless you want to directly edit the file. > > Cheers, > > Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 549	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved

Hi Phil, Thanks for figuring that out, it must have been driving you crazy. It should be possible to add the jumpers to the MESS code and read their settings from a config file but I'm guessing as I haven't looked at any MESS stuff for a couple of years. While having the 40 and 80 column displays alongside each other might be annoying it is technically correct. Switching to 80 column doesn't disable to 40 column output, it just disables (most) normal updates to it. I used to have my machine set up exactly like that. A dual head Einstein with the 80col monitor used for coding and the 40col to display the graphics. When switching to the 80col the 40col would still display the last image rendered. This proved useful when writing software to create the stereoscopic images that you can see by diverging your eyes. The floppy drive "emulation" in MESS isn't (wasn't?) emulation at all, from what I remember there wasn't ever any effort to emulate the timing and repeated signals that would come from a raw floppy drive and there's just a software patch that reads the data from requested sectors on the disk image and serves it back to the machine. That's why protected disc images like Elite won't run in MESS but will if written to a real disk and used in an Einstein, they use timing, unusual sector numbering and non-standard separator tricks that the software fix doesn't bother with. I don't know why swapping discs has been tampered with though. I'm very pushed for time but if I suffer from a bout of insomnia in the near future I'll look through the MESS code and see if I can come up whit some ugly hacks to get things working more smoothly. Then pass the baton to someone else to re-code my hacks into real proper code. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 550	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Sorry about skydrive link :-(

Hi folks, Since I last used Skydrive it appears that MS have mangled its functionality - well there's a surprise. There is no way you should be required to logon blah blah blah. I'm setting up alternate hosting and I'll post the link ASAP Cheers Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 551	From: Phil	Date: 29/08/2012
Subject: Re: MESS & 80 column emulation - solved

Hi Geoff, I had no idea that you were previously so involved the MESS dev :-) This is incredibly encouraging. I agree entirely about running the 40/80 screens side by side being correct. I often do it myself but when I want to do straight DOS work then a full single screen of 80 col is so much better and less distracting which of course you can do in real life with a separate green screen monitor. That's good news about the possibility of emulating the 80 col jumpers - I envisage that if you set the emulated 80 col switches to auto boot 80 col then you would get a single 80 col screen. Otherwise you would get the dual screen. Or why not indeed have a 3 way setting of vanilla 40 col, side by side,or 80 column? Do you think it might be possible to get the 80 col cursor working? The disk drive problem I was referring to in the MESS10146u binary is simply an incorrect config somewhere. In this emu the einstein drives have all mutated into 5.25" devices and these wont boot the DSK images.Somehow the the einstein device file has become broken and I don't know how to fix that. Cheers Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi Phil, > > Thanks for figuring that out, it must have been driving you crazy. > > It should be possible to add the jumpers to the MESS code and read their settings from a config file but I'm guessing as I haven't looked at any MESS stuff for a couple of years. > > While having the 40 and 80 column displays alongside each other might be annoying it is technically correct. Switching to 80 column doesn't disable to 40 column output, it just disables (most) normal updates to it. I used to have my machine set up exactly like that. A dual head Einstein with the 80col monitor used for coding and the 40col to display the graphics. When switching to the 80col the 40col would still display the last image rendered. This proved useful when writing software to create the stereoscopic images that you can see by diverging your eyes. > > The floppy drive "emulation" in MESS isn't (wasn't?) emulation at all, from what I remember there wasn't ever any effort to emulate the timing and repeated signals that would come from a raw floppy drive and there's just a software patch that reads the data from requested sectors on the disk image and serves it back to the machine. That's why protected disc images like Elite won't run in MESS but will if written to a real disk and used in an Einstein, they use timing, unusual sector numbering and non-standard separator tricks that the software fix doesn't bother with. > > I don't know why swapping discs has been tampered with though. > > I'm very pushed for time but if I suffer from a bout of insomnia in the near future I'll look through the MESS code and see if I can come up whit some ugly hacks to get things working more smoothly. Then pass the baton to someone else to re-code my hacks into real proper code. > > Geoff >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 552	From: Phil	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: New Mess File Link Working

Hi, Well this one works - choose slow download - wait until delay times out, complete captcha and you will get the file. Annoying but free :-) http://www.filefactory.com/file/6kkd0267qj07/n/mess142b_rar Link also posted under Files Cheers Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 553	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: Re: New Mess File Link Working

Hi, You beat me to it. I just uploaded a copy here http://galactictourist.com/einstein/mess142b.7z in case you couldn't find another service. It can be unzipped with 7-zip (free) and is about 35% smaller than the rar file im case anyone has a slow connection. The rar version is here http://galactictourist.com/einstein/mess142b.rar I'll remove it if you don't want another copy hosted anywhere and would prefer your link in the files section to always point to the latest version. I did it just in case. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > Well this one works - choose slow download - wait until delay times out, complete captcha and you will get the file. Annoying but free :-) > > http://www.filefactory.com/file/6kkd0267qj07/n/mess142b_rar > > Link also posted under Files > > Cheers > > Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 554	From: Phil	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: Re: New Mess File Link Working

Thanks, Let's keep it for now! Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" <geoff@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > You beat me to it. I just uploaded a copy here http://galactictourist.com/einstein/mess142b.7z in case you couldn't find another service. It can be unzipped with 7-zip (free) and is about 35% smaller than the rar file im case anyone has a slow connection. The rar version is here http://galactictourist.com/einstein/mess142b.rar > > I'll remove it if you don't want another copy hosted anywhere and would prefer your link in the files section to always point to the latest version. I did it just in case. > > Geoff > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > Well this one works - choose slow download - wait until delay times out, complete captcha and you will get the file. Annoying but free :-) > > > > http://www.filefactory.com/file/6kkd0267qj07/n/mess142b_rar > > > > Link also posted under Files > > > > Cheers > > > > Phil > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 555	From: lez_anderson	Date: 30/08/2012
Subject: PCB quotes..

Hi. For those that are interested.. I've asked several companies for quotes for PCBs. 220mm x 160mm are (cheapest) aprrox $10 or £7.50 each for Basic double sided and drilled. smaller boards 200mm x 120mm are slightly cheaper. for those doing , still struggling with, the Z80 course. I'll pay for a batch of prototype boards to be made from my own pocket, for anyone that thinks that they might have a feasable design/board. Best regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 556	From: lez_anderson	Date: 31/08/2012
Subject: Z80 Part 3 ....

Hi. For those that are still with the Z80 project...you should by now be getting round heads round the software and slowly getting to grips with things..!!! If you're not you'll probably have turned to booze and valium .. or on your way to the local asylum !! Part 3 ... Memory SRAM and EEPROM !! It now time to connect up the 128K SRAM and 64K EEPROM. These chips are being used rather than the original sizes because they give expansion and are cheapest !! The SRAM is a 32 Pin DIP and the EEPROM is a 28 Pin Dip.. referre to your datasheets when connecting up the address Bus, Data Bus and control signals. not that CS chip select and some adddress lines will go to the CPLD ! if anyone is having problems use the forum to ask for help !! keep at it !!! things will get easier !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 557	From: lez_anderson	Date: 01/09/2012
Subject: Z80 part 3..continued.. Flash memory..

Hi. I forgot to mention the FLASH 29F040 that is in the Z80 course. It could be wired up like ROM/RAM address A0.A13 to addrerss bus and A14..A18 to CPLD..with R/W to Z80 control bus.Obviously it's read only at 5V.. 14V to write I believe ! This would be on the board itself and not as flexible as it could be! The best option however is to connect the FLASH via a cartridge connector, so NVRAM,ROM,EEROM,EPROM and flash could be connected just like any sort of modern Cartridge connector. Thus givivng 512K extra memory.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 558	From: lez_anderson	Date: 01/09/2012
Subject: Z80 parts on order !!

Anyone that's got or waiting for the Z80 kit don't worry if the kit is not complete! I've got Z84C0020 ,W27C512,V9958 etc in stock and EPM7128 PLCC84 on order.. I'll dish More out nearer the end of the course. Anyone with a plausible design should post it so everyone can see. The best design will be made into a 'Prototype' board. It would be nice to make lots of prototypes...but obviously money dictates otherwise ! Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 559	From: Phil	Date: 04/09/2012
Subject: DiskRead - a new utility

Hi, This is something that I have been working on for awhile. It's a Win32 command line program to list the contents of .DSK images you have on your PC drive - it allows wild card searches through multiple .DSK images for any file or specific files. Output is to the console or a text file. I usually keep it in the same directory as my images but it will accept a path name to search. The program and documentation DISKREAD.ZIP have been uploaded to the utilities folder. Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 560	From: lez_anderson	Date: 05/09/2012
Subject: Get ready for Z80 Part4 V9958 !!

Get ready for part 4 of the Z80 course... this is the most complex bit as the V9958 circuit is pretty complex.. especially if you use Six 41464 DRAMs ! I believe V9958 and other parts are soon to be made available as Eagle parts in the Eagle library.. you'll be kept informed. The V9958 was only used in the MSX Turbo R .. I think ! so you can get schematics from Turbo R service manuals.. which are on the internet.. even I found them quite quickly. They are Japanese only.. but that doesn't affect the schematics ! Also the Einstein256 schematic is excellent for showing how to wire up the V9938 ! Keep at it.. and post any question/problems on the Forum !

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 561	From: lez_anderson	Date: 06/09/2012
Subject: Interfacing V9938/V9958 to SRAM ????

Hi. Does anyone know if it's possible to interface the V9938/V9958 VDP to SRAM rather than using DRAMs ?? Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 562	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 06/09/2012
Subject: Re: Interfacing V9938/V9958 to SRAM ????

On 06/09/2012 12:21, lez_anderson wrote: > Hi. > > Does anyone know if it's possible to interface the V9938/V9958 VDP to > SRAM rather than using DRAMs ?? It should just be a case of latching the muxed address lines on /ras with say a 74LS573, then having the latched address lines connected to say A0..A7 of the ram chips with the muxed lines connected to A8..A15 of the RAM chips, and /CE of the RAM connected to /CAS. You may of course want to disable this for refresh cycles as SRAM doesn't need refresh. You may also need a buffer if the DRAM has separate Din and Dout pins if this will interfere with the rest of your design. Cheers. Phill.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 563	From: lez_anderson	Date: 07/09/2012
Subject: Part 4 V9958 Video Circuitry....

Now it's time for one of the hardest parts of the design and possibly the most interesting ...the Video display. The V9938/V9958 back in the 80s, where cutting edge video processors and produced probably the best graphics for the old Z80 and 68000 chips. These chips are still available on ebay and the web in general (I have a limited number). As there's probably hundreds of them still in warehouses in China! So now to the design.. I think the Einstein256 schematic is the best to copy, as it's clear and gives 192K VRAM. But you could copy MSX Turbo R schematics. Popping this into your design will take quite a few hours...! Once this is done you'll have what looks like a proper microcomputer !And you should start to feel like your getting somewhere, and probably a small sense of accomplishment ! Next Week is the Sound Chip (PSG) AY-3-8910/12/13. This shouldn't take too long too do, as by now you should be getting pretty proficient ! Until next week... Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 564	From: lez_anderson	Date: 13/09/2012
Subject: Z80.... Part 5 The pain continues.. Sound Chip and cleaning up th

Hi to those people still following the course... Now it's time to pop a sound chip on the board.. namely the AY-3891X This could be the original 40 pin monster AY-3-8910 or a smaller version 24 pin or so AY-3-8913 ( I think !). Use the original schematics to give a guide on how this should be wired to address and data lines CS ( Chip select ) should go to the CPLD. If it's a chip with PORTS then they can be configured to Joystick or some other use as needed. The output of the sound chip will need to be combined into one sound signal and fed to the SCART connector. This is show on the Einstein256 SChematics. I beleive it uses general purpose transistors BC547 ?? Once this is done you can start to tidy up the board and make it look more pleasing to the eye and check for any obviouse mistakes. ...Next week I'll look at pricing a 'One off' prototype board from someones design.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 565	From: lez_anderson	Date: 14/09/2012
Subject: Z80 download site:

Hi. google Sites has the downloadable Version of Z80 board Design : https://sites.google.com/site/designyourownuniversalz80board/ There's also a MC68008 Design : https://sites.google.com/site/designyourown68000system/ Best Regards Lez

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 566	From: lez_anderson	Date: 16/09/2012
Subject: Getting a prototype board made ??

If anyone that stuck with the Z80 course thinks they might have a PCB design/layout that might have even a remote chance of working then I'll get a prototype 'One - off' Board made. This then can be tested and evaluated. Then the CPLDs can be programmed and a modified using an Einstein256 OS installed on EEPROM. A one-off board made in the UK can be done in about 8 days. If this can be made to work then I'll get a batch of 10 or so made (probably, in China) to dish out !! Any design can then be popped on a open-source website to share with the world !! So if you have a design ...then let me know !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 567	From: lez_anderson	Date: 26/09/2012
Subject: Eagle V9958 library parts..

V9958 VDP Eagle Library Part : http://www.filedropper.com/yamahav9958eaglelib25-9-12ash

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 568	From: lez_anderson	Date: 02/10/2012
Subject: Cheap ICs and components...where to buy !

Hi. If you're looking for cheap ICs.. things like Z80, DRAMs, etc then try, G&C gc_supermarket CHINA or polida2008 China. Both are on ebay and will give you quotes for ICs at discount prices. I buy kits from them and get the chips quite a bit cheaper than just going direct. So if you;re wanting to do an electronics project, it might be worth getting a quote for the parts from them.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 569	From: lez_anderson	Date: 08/11/2012
Subject: Low Cost legacy ICs and Z80 Kits...

For anyone interested in buying old legacy ICs then I source my stuff from China at pretty competitive rates. Example : the kit below cost $16.50 about £11 !! that's with free postage from China ! Kit 1 Z84C0020VEC PLCC44 28HC256-70 or W27C512PLCC CY62256-70 skinny DIP GAL20V8 EPM7128LC84 PLCC84 V9958 DIP64 D41464 x 4pcs DIP18 MAX232CPE DIP16 7805 Voltage Reg. just email : gc_supermarket@hotmail.com Buying DIRECT (from CHINA) at G&C saves ebay fees (10%) !! Others Kits available are : Kit 2 Z84C0020VEC PLCC44 W27C512-45 PLCC HM628128-55 DIP EPM7192SLC160 PGA160 V9958 DIP64 D41464 x 4pcs DIP18 MAX232CPE DIP16 7805 Voltage Reg. Kit 3 MC68008FN16 PLCC52 W27C010-45 PLCC/DIP HM628128-55 DIP32 GAL22V10 EPM7128LC84 PLCC84 V9958 DIP64 D41464 x 4pcs DIP18 MAX232CPE DIP16 7805 Voltage Reg. Kit 4 MC68008FN16 PLCC52 W27C020-45 PLCC/DIP K6T4008-55 DIP32 EPM7192SLC160 PGA160 V9958 DIP64 D41464 x 4pcs DIP18 MAX232CPE DIP16 7805 Voltage Reg. I've seen D41464 DRAMs on ebay for several pound each !!! and Z80s for a fiver or more !!!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 570	From: lez_anderson	Date: 30/11/2012
Subject: Sending Z80 kits to Charlie

I've sent a free Z80 kit to Charlie Robson, In the next week or so I'll be sending some more full kits. Anybody wanting one please ask Charlie. Z80 KIT Z84C0020VEC PLCC44 128K SRAM 64k EEPROM GAL22V10 or similar PLD EPM7128 or MACH CPLD PLCC84 V9958 VDP D41464 DRAMs 7805 5V reg. Switches , buttons, DIP PLCC sockets etc

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 571	From: astharot	Date: 30/11/2012
Subject: Re: Sending Z80 kits to Charlie

Il 30/11/2012 14.34, lez_anderson ha scritto:   I've sent a free Z80 kit to Charlie Robson, In the next week or so I'll be sending some more full kits. Anybody wanting one please ask Charlie. Z80 KIT Z84C0020VEC PLCC44 128K SRAM 64k EEPROM GAL22V10 or similar PLD EPM7128 or MACH CPLD PLCC84 V9958 VDP D41464 DRAMs 7805 5V reg. Switches , buttons, DIP PLCC sockets etc Hello Mr. Anderson.. sorry but i no understand well this kit.. at example this Z80 Kit is the old Sinclair Kit for build computer ZX80? Or you sell spares IC ? Sorry but i am not a good reader in english language. Regards Ermanno

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 572	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: New Member in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire

Hi all, I have very recently acquired a TC01 with TK02 80 column mono card and Einstein Silican Disc. This machine came with a Nascom 2 that I particularly wanted but just had to take both! As a consequence I have spent a good deal of time searching the web for information and have certainly been very spoilt with what is available but inevitably I am short of some things that I wonder if Group members may be able to help with; I shall post these separately Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 573	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: Hardware Manual

Hardware Manual - I have located on on-line copy but the main circuit diagram has not been copied very well so I wonder if a better copy is available as perhaps a multi over-lapping page scan? Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 574	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: TK02 Manual

2. Is there a manual for the TK02 as I am intrigued as to what the links are for? I see they are shown on the circuit in the files section here) as M001 (soldered) and M002, 3 & 4 (jumpers) but not their purpose. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 575	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: Reference Manual

3. I have purchased original copies of the Introduction and BASIC Reference manuals (and will be pleased to scan and provide high quality PDFs. ButI am wondering if there is another Reference Manual as, on page 45 of the Introduction book there is mention of a Reference Manual giving all of the CTRL functions and they are not in the BASIC manual. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 576	From: Mike	Date: 29/03/2013
Subject: TV Output Operation With the TK02 Connected

4. If I have the TK02 connected but am running games that self boot then the output appears perfectly on the TV RF output but when booting normally the boot screen is not visible and there appears to be a blue backdrop obscuring the text. If I boot with the TK02 disconnected then the backfrop disappears and the screen appears normally. Is this a fixed feature of having the TK02 connected or is there a Control sequence to override it? Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 577	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > 2. Is there a manual for the TK02 as I am intrigued as to what the links are for? I see they are shown on the circuit in the files section here) as M001 (soldered) and M002, 3 & 4 (jumpers) but not their purpose. > > Mike I may as well answer my own posting as nobody else is popping their heads over the parapet! To start off I have uploaded a folder of photographs showing the Model TK02 80 Column Monchrome Card in all its glory. I have just been fortunate to obtain a stack of old magazines and spend the last couple of days wading through them. I established some details about the card from "Einstein Magazine and All Micro News" Issue No 73, Jan-Feb 1995. Because the print quality is poor I will type out the article verbatim in another psoting. Meanwhile: M002 TV Standard - Up 525 lines; Down 625 lines M003 Display Status on boot - Up Normal 40 col; Down 80 col screen M004 Character Set select - Up Mod. Cp/M set; Down Einstein set There is no mention of the M01 (the soldered link) so must be a factory setting ; possibly production test). For those possibly interested in trying to build one here is some device data: The EPROM I004 is a 2764 marked version 1. As it is plug-in I will dump the contents and provide a hex file with check-sum. The other plug-in device is I002, UM 2128-1, 2Kx8 200ns CMOS Static RAM; an unusual obsolete part and only two on eBay as of today but I suspect that the HM6116P-3 part (150ns) will be a suitable aleternative. The only other hard-to-get part will be the CRT Controller, I003, UM6845. There are several on eBay at varying prices and it is possible that suitable alternatives are SY6845, MC6845P, EF6845P, HD6845P and Bulgarian clone part CM607. I would offer to check these out by substitution but unfortunately it is not in a socket. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 578	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

On 1 Apr 2013 , Mike said: (BIG SNIP> > The EPROM I004 is a 2764 marked version 1.  As it is plug-in I will dump the > contents and provide a hex file with check-sum. Of course I do not need to as Geoff (id_fugu_is_unavailable) already did that in 2010! Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 580	From: charlie	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

Hi Mike, nice to hear a new friendly voice! It's been quiet for a while. I suddenly have an urge to build one of these - a redrawn schematic (traced from a real board?) is available in the files area, courtesy of Phill :D

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 581	From: jltursan	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

Hi Mike, Sorry for the late response!, seems that you've found a lot of info by yourself :) I've the TK02 manual and indeed there's no info about M001 (it must be a reserved setting); but the other links are: M002: UP - 525 lines / DOWN - 625 lines M003: UP - 80 column output / DOWN - normal output M004: UP - Einstein charset / DOWN - Modified charset Seems that your info regarding M003 & M004 is reversed. Isn't there any scanned TK02 manual?. I can scan and upload mine... Btw, welcome aboard Mike! Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@> wrote: > > > > 2. Is there a manual for the TK02 as I am intrigued as to what the links are for? I see they are shown on the circuit in the files section here) as M001 (soldered) and M002, 3 & 4 (jumpers) but not their purpose. > > > > Mike > > I may as well answer my own posting as nobody else is popping their heads over the parapet! > > To start off I have uploaded a folder of photographs showing the Model TK02 80 Column Monchrome Card in all its glory. > > I have just been fortunate to obtain a stack of old magazines and spend the last couple of days wading through them. I established some details about the card from "Einstein Magazine and All Micro News" Issue No 73, Jan-Feb 1995. Because the print quality is poor I will type out the article verbatim in another psoting. Meanwhile: > M002 TV Standard - Up 525 lines; Down 625 lines > M003 Display Status on boot - Up Normal 40 col; Down 80 col screen > M004 Character Set select - Up Mod. Cp/M set; Down Einstein set > > There is no mention of the M01 (the soldered link) so must be a factory setting ; possibly production test). > > For those possibly interested in trying to build one here is some device data: > > The EPROM I004 is a 2764 marked version 1. As it is plug-in I will dump the contents and provide a hex file with check-sum. > > The other plug-in device is I002, UM 2128-1, 2Kx8 200ns CMOS Static RAM; an unusual obsolete part and only two on eBay as of today but I suspect that the HM6116P-3 part (150ns) will be a suitable aleternative. > > The only other hard-to-get part will be the CRT Controller, I003, UM6845. There are several on eBay at varying prices and it is possible that suitable alternatives are SY6845, MC6845P, EF6845P, HD6845P and Bulgarian clone part CM607. I would offer to check these out by substitution but unfortunately it is not in a socket. > > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 582	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

On 01/04/2013 11:18, jltursan wrote: > Hi Mike, > > Sorry for the late response!, seems that you've found a lot of info by > yourself :) > > I've the TK02 manual and indeed there's no info about M001 (it must be a > reserved setting); but the other links are: From my tracing of the schematic M001 is read as D3 when reading the dip jumpers, M002 as D2 and M003 as D1. Dunno if that helps, I guess armed with that it's time to start disassembling code..... Cheers. Phill. -- Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric ! "You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 583	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /TC01 Circuit Diagram link.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Link to TC01 Circuit Diagram (.gif file) You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/TC01%20Circuit%20Diagram%20link.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 584	From: teeeby	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: Hardware Manual

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > Hardware Manual - I have located on on-line copy but the main circuit diagram has not been copied very well so I wonder if a better copy is available as perhaps a multi over-lapping page scan? Welcome to the group, Mike. I've uploaded a scan of the TC01 Circuit Diagram to http://250kb.de/u/130401/g/YjM26ECjQjDb.gif Image size = 4045 x 2740 File size = 7.34 MB (more than Yahoo! Group limit, hence third party image host) [Link info also in newly-added TC01 Circuit Diagram link.txt file in Files section.] Does your Silicon Disc still work? I designed the hardware, wrote the software and did all the assembly including the soldering! Tony Brewer

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 585	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

Thanks for replies on this topic; here is my combined reply: On 1 Apr 2013 , charlie said: > It's been very quiet in here for a while - it's nice to hear a friendly new voice! Thanks for the welcome from yourself, Jose, Tony and Phil; good to be here. > Do you think there would be enough information available to be able to > construct a home-made board? Absolutely , I would probably be inclined to hand wire a board rather than try to make a PCB - something like 300 soldered connections so light compared to a lot of development boards I have made.  If anyone wants to have a go I have an EPROM eraser and programmer so you could send me a blank with something to cover the cost of return post and it will be done for you. > I suppose the schematic would be a good place to start - and a photo/scan of > a real board would help with connector placement. The schematic, as you say, is on the Group in the files section and you have all the photographs you might need. I tried to scan the two sides of the board but the IDC connector stopped the component side copy from being any use. I did try with the track side but it didn't come out very well; I could have another go. The PCB measures 300mm x 53mm but frankly I would be inclined to build it using a standard development board and box it. ----------------------------------------------- On 01/04/2013 11:18, jltursan (Phil) wrote: > From my tracing of the schematic M001 is read as D3 when reading the dip > jumpers, M002 as D2 and M003 as D1. Dunno if that helps, I guess armed with > that it's time to start disassembling code..... Good luck with the reverse engineering; what dis-assembler do you use; is that run on the Einstein or another host? ----------------------------------------------- On 1 Apr 2013 , jltursan (Jose) said: > M002: UP - 525 lines / DOWN - 625 lines > M003: UP - 80 column output / DOWN - normal output > M004: UP - Einstein charset / DOWN - Modified charset > Seems that your info regarding M003 & M004 is reversed. Interesting that they should get it wrong in the 1995 magazine. Last night I would have said that there is nobody to put the correction into but this morning I was amazed to find that the Einstein User Group is still apparently active with Tony Adams at the helm: http://community.fortunecity.ws/rainbow/springfield/192/join.html (A shame most of the links on the site are dead) I can agree with M003 as mine is set as above and I get 80 column output; I haven't done enough work to be able to confirm the charset; mine is set down so set for the modified set. > Isn't there any scanned TK02 manual?. I can scan and upload mine... I cannot find one anywhere so your upload would be most helpful; thanks Jose. Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 586	From: Mike Strange	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: Hardware Manual

Hi Tony, That's an excellent scan of the TC01 circuit; thank you very much I haven't checked out the Silicon Disk yet; only just discovered what it is supposed to do! But I have had a peer inside and it looks beautifully made. Over what period did you make it? Regards, Mike On 1 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > Hardware Manual - I have located on on-line copy but the main circuit diagram has not been copied very well so I wonder if a better copy is available as perhaps a multi over-lapping page scan? Welcome to the group, Mike. I've uploaded a scan of the TC01 Circuit Diagram to http://250kb.de/u/130401/g/YjM26ECjQjDb.gif Image size = 4045 x 2740 File size = 7.34 MB (more than Yahoo! Group limit, hence third party image host) [Link info also in newly-added TC01 Circuit Diagram link.txt file in Files section.] Does your Silicon Disc still work? I designed the hardware, wrote the software and did all the assembly including the soldering! Tony Brewer ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/ <*> Your email settings:     Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/join     (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email:     tatung_einstein-digest@yahoogroups.co.uk     tatung_einstein-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:     tatung_einstein-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:     http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 587	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Re: TK02 Manual

I have succeeded in producing scans of both sides of the TK02 PEC but focus is not too good due to the varied distance from the scan glass and the maximum length that the scanner covers. If you think I might be able to provide more information then plese do ask and I will see what I can do. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 588	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Nascom

A quick advert .... I may have mentioned that I also acquired a Nascom 2 at the same times is this 'Albert'. I soon discovered that, despite the informative web sites, there was no Nascom discussion forum - well there is now - I have established a Yahoo Group that may interest like minded people from here so I hope to see some of you knocking on the door of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nascom/ Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 589	From: Mike	Date: 01/04/2013
Subject: Newsletters and Magazines - Einstein and Others

I have most copies of 'All Micro News' from Vol 1 Issue 7 (Feb-March 1992) to Issue 66 which came out in Sep-Oct 1993 (how did the numbers jump on so far? This might be explained as the masthead for Issue 65 said "Incorporating UKEUG Newsletter, EAEA Newsletter, Einstein Monthly and Alternative Micro News". It was at this time that the heading also said "published fro the Einstein User Group by the Steam Computer Society at Ivy Cottage, Church Road, New Romney, Kent, England, TN28 8TY which was Tony adams address. I am guessing that the numbering came from one of the other incorporated magazines. With Issue 66 it simply said "Incorporating Einstein Monthly and Alternative Micro News" With Issue 67 it changed name to 'All Micro Magazine' dropping all references to being incorporated with anything; simply saying "For users of Einstein and other golden oldies micros". Issue 70 called it 'All Micro Magazine - Einstein Section'. Issue 71 saw another change to 'Einstein news and All Micro Magazine but, with Issue 73, the title swapped to become 'Einstein Magazine and All Micro News'wich it kept for all the copies I have; that is up to Issue 84. I will scan as many of these as possible as I have not found any copies on the internet; perhaps you guys know all about this already! Anyway, to set the ball rolling by jumping straight in with the copy detailing the TK02. I have scanned just as JPGs and put into a photo album 'EM & AMN No 73, Jan-Feb 1995'. I know they would be much better as PDFs in the Files section but I am conscious of the fact that there is only 100MB available there compared to 100GB in the photos section! (Daft or what Yahoo?) So, for starters here is the content of: Einstein Magazine and All Micro News Issue No 73, Jan-Feb 1995 Contents (articles): An Introduction to Spreadsheets Fit a 5.25" External or 3" Internal Drive The 80 Comn Card (it did scan alright!) Cheap and Cheerful 'C' Part 1 Simple BASIC Text Reader. (Moderator - your advice as to what you would like me to do as I have 27 magazines/newsletters that ought to be shared and many have a lot more pages than this one. Discuss off-Group if you wish) Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 590	From: Mike Strange	Date: 03/04/2013
Subject: Silicon Disk

Hi Tony, Yes indeed the Silicon Disk works perfectly. Did you ever have the urge to convert it to be a non-volatile device? Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 591	From: teeeby	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hello Mike, The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were made, including 50 exports to Portugal! Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two machines is very similar. No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a reset, but obviously not loss of power. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike Strange" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > Hi Tony, > > Yes indeed the Silicon Disk works perfectly. > > Did you ever have the urge to convert it to be a non-volatile device? > > Regards, > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 592	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > Hello Mike, > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > machines is very similar. > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > reset, but obviously not loss of power. Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and programmable logic etc. Cheers. Phill. -- Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric ! "You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 593	From: Mike Strange	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

On 4 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: Hello Mike, The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were made, including 50 exports to Portugal! Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two machines is very similar. No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a reset, but obviously not loss of power. Tony ------------------------------- Hi Tony, I guess it must the lunch box style; I'll put a photograph or two up on the Group tomorrow. Regarding non-volatile RAM, I was thinking of it being a possible upgrade today. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 594	From: Mike Strange	Date: 04/04/2013
Subject: Group Owner

Is there a group owner or moderator still around only nobody replied to me about putting documents up as images instead of as PDFs?  I suppose I could simply scan and upload the old newsletters I have as PDFs until it the 100M Files Section is full and give members a chance to download then take them off again. I am pretty sure they do not exist elsewhere. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 595	From: Chris	Date: 05/04/2013
Subject: Re: Group Owner

Hi Mike, Yes I'm still around and still passively observing posts to the group. I am at the moment having to take a back seat regarding Einstein activity. There is a health problem but the real problem is now an on going progressive disease called getting older. There is also another distracting issue that has to be considered. The building I live in at the moment is scheduled to be demolished and within a year or two I will have to move. So not a lot of time to give the Einstein priority. > about putting documents up as images instead of as PDFs? PDFs would be better for the yahoo group on a permanent basis but as you have suggested >I suppose I could simply scan and upload the old newsletters I have as PDFs until it the 100M Files Section is full and give members a chance to download then take them off again. I am pretty sure they do not exist elsewhere. This would be OK for a temporary measure. Upload them to a folder you create including a word like "temp" or *provisional". Depending on the considered value there is some thing that I or some one else can do. There are free web sites available that offer large amount of space but these need to be kept open by being visited regularly. I have one for my own personal use and I stop it being closed down by using it as my home site. Large files could be transferred from the Yahoo group to a web site with link from the group but some one will need to assure it is kept open by making regular visits. Regarding the future management of the group. If anyone would like to be a co moderator of this group please contact me. This really is a needed precaution should events prevent me from managing the group. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike Strange" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > Is there a group owner or moderator still around only nobody replied to me about putting > documents up as images instead of as PDFs? > > I suppose I could simply scan and upload the old newsletters I have as PDFs until it the > 100M Files Section is full and give members a chance to download then take them off again. > I am pretty sure they do not exist elsewhere. > > Mike >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 596	From: Mike Strange	Date: 05/04/2013
Subject: Re: Group Owner

Hi Chris, Great to meet you; of course sorry to hear of the issues you have to deal with too. I'll sort out the PDF and other scanning shortly. If you think the material can go elsewhere too then please do make use of it as you see fit. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 597	From: Mike	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

As promised I have created photo folder "Einstein Silicon Disc" and uploaded two external and two internal photographs (sorry about the ring flash glare on the internal ones; too lazy to get the tent out!) The deveices running left to right from the top row are: TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL 74LS245 TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL 74LS37 74LS244 74LS04 74LS273 PAL14L42CN PAL14L42CN The CORRECT Programmable Array Logic devices might present a challenge to get at a sensible price today but a few TMS4256 RAM chips (256kx1) are on eBAY at a reasonable price (also some at a stupid figure!). Tony, what was the cut-out on the side for - other than to get a purchase on the side to open the box? I notice that the RAM chips are date-stamped July 87 so production went on well into 1987. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 598	From: Roger	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: zx spectrum 128k emulator

is there a full zx spectrum 128k emulator for this machine a few machines had cartridge based emulators i understand the video chip would need bypassing? 6,912 bytes of video ram 256x192 = 6144byrtes of monochrome pixels 32x24= 768 bytes of attribute two colour ink paper bright flash not too tricky 128k has second video ram page sam coupe has 32 and timex hi colour support

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 599	From: Roger	Date: 06/04/2013
Subject: zx spectrum 128k emulator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsjTpFR0oYQ is there a full zx spectrum 128k emulator for this machine a few machines had cartridge based emulators i understand the video chip would need bypassing? 6,912 bytes of video ram 256x192 = 6144byrtes of monochrome pixels 32x24= 768 bytes of attribute two colour ink paper bright flash not too tricky 128k has second video ram page sam coupe has 32 and timex hi colour support

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 600	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/sdsch1.jpg Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc Schematic 1 of 2 You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/sdsch1.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 601	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/sdsch2.jpg Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc Schematic 2 of 2 You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/sdsch2.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 602	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...> wrote: > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > machines is very similar. > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > programmable logic etc. > > Cheers. > > Phill. Phill, Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 603	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > As promised I have created photo folder "Einstein Silicon Disc" and uploaded two external and two internal photographs (sorry about the ring flash glare on the internal ones; too lazy to get the tent out!) > > The deveices running left to right from the top row are: > TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL > TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL > 74LS245 TMS4256-15NL TMS4256-15NL > 74LS37 74LS244 74LS04 > 74LS273 PAL14L42CN PAL14L42CN > The CORRECT Programmable Array Logic devices might present a challenge to get at a sensible price today but a few TMS4256 RAM chips (256kx1) are on eBAY at a reasonable price (also some at a stupid figure!). > > Tony, what was the cut-out on the side for - other than to get a purchase on the side to open the box? > > I notice that the RAM chips are date-stamped July 87 so production went on well into 1987. > > Mike Mike, Thanks for the photos. The box was first used for the Speculator which needed cassette EAR and MIC sockets, hence the cut-out. The brown and white sticker should be covering this hole! Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 604	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Reference Manual

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > 3. I have purchased original copies of the Introduction and BASIC Reference manuals (and will be pleased to scan and provide high quality PDFs. ButI am wondering if there is another Reference Manual as, on page 45 of the Introduction book there is mention of a Reference Manual giving all of the CTRL functions and they are not in the BASIC manual. > > Mike Mike, The control codes are listed on pages 3-6 of the DOS/MOS Introduction booklet. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 605	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /MOS 1.2 Source Code/Mos12.mac Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : MOS 1.2 source file (in M80 format) You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/MOS%201.2%20Source%20Code/Mos12.mac To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 606	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /MOS 1.2 Source Code/Mos12.prn Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : MOS 1.2 listing file You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/MOS%201.2%20Source%20Code/Mos12.prn To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 607	From: Mike Strange	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

On 7 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: <SNIP> Mike, Thanks for the photos. The box was first used for the Speculator which needed cassette EAR and MIC sockets, hence the cut-out. The brown and white sticker should be covering this hole! Tony ----------------- Many thanks for the information about the Silicon Disk Tony, very much appreciated. The sticker was covering the hole and is now back where it should be. Also thanks for the pointer to the Control Codes; I have printed a copy of the DOS/MOS book. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 608	From: teeeby	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: MOS 1.2 Source Code

Dear all, I have uploaded MOS 1.2 source code to the Files section, which I recreated about 2½ years ago using a printout of the original. Better late than never! Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 609	From: Mike Strange	Date: 07/04/2013
Subject: Re: MOS 1.2 Source Code

On 7 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: Dear all, I have uploaded MOS 1.2 source code to the Files section, which I recreated about 2½ years ago using a printout of the original. Better late than never! Tony -------- Nice one Tony; great to have the opportunity to do some tweaks. I have not investigated the Einstein system architecture yet but I remember the fun several of us had with changes to the Nascom 2 system back in the early 80s. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 610	From: jltursan	Date: 08/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hi, Yep, the PAL ICs can be replaced with GALs; but, are the equations available?. The rest is easy to obtain and assemble :) Also, the ROM with the MOS extension is a must. Hasn't been dumped yet?. The assembly listing of the ROM is in the files section (sdrom11.asm); but I don't know if it's the last release available or even if it works out-of-the-box after compiling it and burning an EPROM. At least once compiled its length is 1422 bytes; so a 2716 seems enough to fit the ROM, am I right or a bigger EPROM is needed? Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@> wrote: > > > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > > machines is very similar. > > > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > > be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > > programmable logic etc. > > > > Cheers. > > > > Phill. > > Phill, > > Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. > > I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. > > The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). > > However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 611	From: charlie	Date: 09/04/2013
Subject: SD card interface

Hi all, I know there has been some work interfacing an SD card with the user port, but I don't know how well integrated with the MOS this is. Is it anything more than a curiosity at the moment or has work been done to hook routines into the MOS to allow the SD card to function as a disk? Cheers Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 612	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sd11.rom Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc ROM version 1.1 image You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sd11.rom To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 613	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sd.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc Technical Information You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sd.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 614	From: teeeby	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hello Jose, I don't have the PAL equations now. The security fuses were not blown so they could be reverse engineered by reading the fuse maps, but I don't have the equipment to program or verify PALs or GALs. I could recreate the equations if absolutely necessary. SDROM 1.1 is the latest version (from 1986!) and I uploaded the ROM image today to the Files section. I think I disassembled this image to recreate the source code which I'd lost. The ROM sockets in the Einstein are designed for 2764s or 27128s and so 2716s would not work, probably, as the PGM pin would be at 0V. I've also uploaded Sd.txt, which contains detailed technical info about the silicon disc. This is a plain text version of a Wordstar document that I converted using an excellent free converter. Tony P.S. I still have nearly 100 blank PCBs and over 180 60-way right-angle PCB headers (into which the ribbon cable connects), plus hundreds of stickers! --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > Yep, the PAL ICs can be replaced with GALs; but, are the equations available?. The rest is easy to obtain and assemble :) > > Also, the ROM with the MOS extension is a must. Hasn't been dumped yet?. > The assembly listing of the ROM is in the files section (sdrom11.asm); but I don't know if it's the last release available or even if it works out-of-the-box after compiling it and burning an EPROM. At least once compiled its length is 1422 bytes; so a 2716 seems enough to fit the ROM, am I right or a bigger EPROM is needed? > > Regards, > > Jose > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@> wrote: > > > > > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > > > machines is very similar. > > > > > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > > > > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > > > be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > > > programmable logic etc. > > > > > > Cheers. > > > > > > Phill. > > > > Phill, > > > > Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. > > > > I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. > > > > The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). > > > > However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! > > > > Tony > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 615	From: Mike Strange	Date: 10/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Tony, If I pull the two PALs from my SD I might find that with 14 inputs and four outputs there are rather too many terms to record on a manual jig!  Given more time than I have available I could design something to read the terms off and record them in a suitable format. But can anyone offer me a solution to also that and be able to convert the results into a form that could be used to program new devices?  Mike On 10 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: Hello Jose, I don't have the PAL equations now. The security fuses were not blown so they could be reverse engineered by reading the fuse maps, but I don't have the equipment to program or verify PALs or GALs. I could recreate the equations if absolutely necessary. SDROM 1.1 is the latest version (from 1986!) and I uploaded the ROM image today to the Files section. I think I disassembled this image to recreate the source code which I'd lost. The ROM sockets in the Einstein are designed for 2764s or 27128s and so 2716s would not work, probably, as the PGM pin would be at 0V. I've also uploaded Sd.txt, which contains detailed technical info about the silicon disc. This is a plain text version of a Wordstar document that I converted using an excellent free converter. Tony P.S. I still have nearly 100 blank PCBs and over 180 60-way right-angle PCB headers (into which the ribbon cable connects), plus hundreds of stickers! --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > Yep, the PAL ICs can be replaced with GALs; but, are the equations available?. The rest is easy to obtain and assemble :) > > Also, the ROM with the MOS extension is a must. Hasn't been dumped yet?. > The assembly listing of the ROM is in the files section (sdrom11.asm); but I don't know if it's the last release available or even if it works out-of-the-box after compiling it and burning an EPROM. At least once compiled its length is 1422 bytes; so a 2716 seems enough to fit the ROM, am I right or a bigger EPROM is needed? > > Regards, > > Jose > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@> wrote: > > > > > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > > > machines is very similar. > > > > > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > > > > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > > > be  much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > > > programmable logic etc. > > > > > > Cheers. > > > > > > Phill. > > > > Phill, > > > > Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. > > > > I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. > > > > The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). > > > > However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! > > > > Tony > > > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/ <*> Your email settings:     Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to:     http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/join     (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email:     tatung_einstein-digest@yahoogroups.co.uk     tatung_einstein-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:     tatung_einstein-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:     http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 616	From: Mike	Date: 13/04/2013
Subject: CF2 Discs

I have acquired a number of CF2 discs, some genuine Maxell and others marked 'Amsoft'; all are very clean externally and display the 'essential' logo. Only about 50% will verify after format and am wondering if there is known write deterioration in the drives themselves or whether the probability is that the discs are defunct. All the discs I have that contain Einstein programs read without fault in both drives. I have not yet experimented with swapping the drives over to try formatting using the one in Drive 0 position. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 617	From: trevatxtal	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > I have acquired a number of CF2 discs, some genuine Maxell and others marked 'Amsoft'; all are very clean externally and display the 'essential' logo. > > Only about 50% will verify after format and am wondering if there is known write deterioration in the drives themselves or whether the probability is that the discs are defunct. > > All the discs I have that contain Einstein programs read without fault in both drives. > > I have not yet experimented with swapping the drives over to try formatting using the one in Drive 0 position. > > Mike > Hello Mike When the disks were made they were slightly lubricated. This has probably oxidized and got sticky then accumulated on the head. A head clean with industrial Alcohol/cotton buds is worth a try. A disk cleaner cartridge will not work! Regards Trev from Crystal Electronics. Yes still going But got a grey beard now.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 618	From: Mike Strange	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs

On 14 Apr 2013 , trevatxtal said: Hello Mike When the disks were made they were slightly lubricated. This has probably oxidized and got sticky then accumulated  on the head. A head clean with industrial Alcohol/cotton buds is worth a try. A disk cleaner cartridge will not work! Regards Trev from Crystal Electronics. Yes still going But got a grey beard now. ---------- Hello Trev, Many thanks I will give your suggestion a try. Great to meet you, it looks as if maybe the drive you used to extract the files that you have on your web site might be in need of the same ;)  I found your site last week and wondered if anyone could reconstruct the files. Best regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 619	From: teeeby	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hello Mike, I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike Strange" <mjstrange@...> wrote: > > Tony, > > If I pull the two PALs from my SD I might find that with 14 inputs and four outputs there are > rather too many terms to record on a manual jig! Given more time than I have available I > could design something to read the terms off and record them in a suitable format. But can > anyone offer me a solution to also that and be able to convert the results into a form that > could be used to program new devices? > > Mike > > On 10 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: > > > > Hello Jose, > > I don't have the PAL equations now. The security fuses were not blown so they could be > reverse engineered by reading the fuse maps, but I don't have the equipment to program or > verify PALs or GALs. I could recreate the equations if absolutely necessary. > > SDROM 1.1 is the latest version (from 1986!) and I uploaded the ROM image today to the > Files section. I think I disassembled this image to recreate the source code which I'd lost. > The ROM sockets in the Einstein are designed for 2764s or 27128s and so 2716s would not > work, probably, as the PGM pin would be at 0V. > > I've also uploaded Sd.txt, which contains detailed technical info about the silicon disc. This > is a plain text version of a Wordstar document that I converted using an excellent free > converter. > > Tony > > P.S. I still have nearly 100 blank PCBs and over 180 60-way right-angle PCB headers (into > which the ribbon cable connects), plus hundreds of stickers! > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > Yep, the PAL ICs can be replaced with GALs; but, are the equations available?. The rest is easy to obtain and assemble :) > > > > Also, the ROM with the MOS extension is a must. Hasn't been dumped yet?. > > The assembly listing of the ROM is in the files section (sdrom11.asm); but I don't know if it's the last release available or even if it works out-of-the-box after compiling it and burning an EPROM. At least once compiled its length is 1422 bytes; so a 2716 seems enough to fit the ROM, am I right or a bigger EPROM is needed? > > > > Regards, > > > > Jose > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@> wrote: > > > > > > > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > > > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > > > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > > > > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > > > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > > > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > > > > machines is very similar. > > > > > > > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > > > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > > > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > > > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > > > > > > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > > > > be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > > > > programmable logic etc. > > > > > > > > Cheers. > > > > > > > > Phill. > > > > > > Phill, > > > > > > Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. > > > > > > I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. > > > > > > The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). > > > > > > However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 620	From: Andy Taylor	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

On 14 Apr 2013, at 21:46, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:   Hello Mike, I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? Tony Hi,  I would like to give it a go. I can program EPROMS, PALs and GALs. Happy to program chips for people if they post me their blank chips and return postage. Andy http://www.retrocomputers.eu

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 621	From: teeeby	Date: 14/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Hello Charlie, Sorry for the slow reply. I have the prototype micro SD Card interface in front of me. It functions correctly and I can read data from a card. If reading works, I am sure writing would as well. It is not integrated with the MOS, yet. The best way to do that would be as a "Super SDROM" (Silicon Disc + SD card) to fit in the second ROM socket. It is interesting the way the interface works. There are no chips, only a few resistors, capacitors, a voltage regulator and connectors. This simple hardware means the Z80 has to read or write a serial bitstream without any help and the overall speed is not fast. The best that can be achieved is about 11 kilobytes per second. Is that quick enough to appeal to people? Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Hi all, > > I know there has been some work interfacing an SD card with the user port, but I don't know how well integrated with the MOS this is. Is it anything more than a curiosity at the moment or has work been done to hook routines into the MOS to allow the SD card to function as a disk? > > Cheers > > Charlie >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 622	From: trevatxtal	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs

> Great to meet you, it looks as if maybe the drive you used to extract the files that you have > on your web site might be in need of the same ;) I found your site last week and wondered > if anyone could reconstruct the files. > > Best regards, > Mike > Sadly a different problem Mike the Disks with Data on suffer from magnetic fade, nothing can be done with that. Unless reformatted and rewritten every few years. Cds have a fade problem too, not magnetic but molecule migration causes loss of data over 10s of years. Tablets of Stone are the best but if weathered only a few hundred years. Regards Trev

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 623	From: Mike Strange	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: CF2 Discs

On 15 Apr 2013 , trevatxtal said: Sadly a different problem Mike the Disks with Data on suffer from magnetic fade, nothing can be done with that. Unless reformatted and rewritten every few years. Cds have a fade problem too, not magnetic but molecule migration causes loss of data over 10s of years. Tablets of Stone are the best but if weathered only a few hundred years. Regards Trev ----- I have seen that kind of degradation on CDs; it came as rather a nasty surprise! In theory EPROM's can degrade over time too but I have never actually experienced it; the data on some very early 2708s I have is still good but I do retain back-up data as a matter of course. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 624	From: teeeby	Date: 15/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

25 kilobytes per second might be possible with extra circuitry. I need to give it some more thought. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > Hello Charlie, > > Sorry for the slow reply. I have the prototype micro SD Card interface in front of me. It functions correctly and I can read data from a card. If reading works, I am sure writing would as well. > > It is not integrated with the MOS, yet. The best way to do that would be as a "Super SDROM" (Silicon Disc + SD card) to fit in the second ROM socket. > > It is interesting the way the interface works. There are no chips, only a few resistors, capacitors, a voltage regulator and connectors. This simple hardware means the Z80 has to read or write a serial bitstream without any help and the overall speed is not fast. > > The best that can be achieved is about 11 kilobytes per second. Is that quick enough to appeal to people? > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@> wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > > > I know there has been some work interfacing an SD card with the user port, but I don't know how well integrated with the MOS this is. Is it anything more than a curiosity at the moment or has work been done to hook routines into the MOS to allow the SD card to function as a disk? > > > > Cheers > > > > Charlie > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 625	From: fatbob_gb	Date: 16/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hi Tony, I would be intereseted in knocking one of these up - am also interested in details for the Micro SD interface as well. Cheers, Graham --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > Hello Mike, > > I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. > > The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). > > How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Mike Strange" <mjstrange@> wrote: > > > > Tony, > > > > If I pull the two PALs from my SD I might find that with 14 inputs and four outputs there are > > rather too many terms to record on a manual jig! Given more time than I have available I > > could design something to read the terms off and record them in a suitable format. But can > > anyone offer me a solution to also that and be able to convert the results into a form that > > could be used to program new devices? > > > > Mike > > > > On 10 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: > > > > > > > > Hello Jose, > > > > I don't have the PAL equations now. The security fuses were not blown so they could be > > reverse engineered by reading the fuse maps, but I don't have the equipment to program or > > verify PALs or GALs. I could recreate the equations if absolutely necessary. > > > > SDROM 1.1 is the latest version (from 1986!) and I uploaded the ROM image today to the > > Files section. I think I disassembled this image to recreate the source code which I'd lost. > > The ROM sockets in the Einstein are designed for 2764s or 27128s and so 2716s would not > > work, probably, as the PGM pin would be at 0V. > > > > I've also uploaded Sd.txt, which contains detailed technical info about the silicon disc. This > > is a plain text version of a Wordstar document that I converted using an excellent free > > converter. > > > > Tony > > > > P.S. I still have nearly 100 blank PCBs and over 180 60-way right-angle PCB headers (into > > which the ribbon cable connects), plus hundreds of stickers! > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > Yep, the PAL ICs can be replaced with GALs; but, are the equations available?. The rest is easy to obtain and assemble :) > > > > > > Also, the ROM with the MOS extension is a must. Hasn't been dumped yet?. > > > The assembly listing of the ROM is in the files section (sdrom11.asm); but I don't know if it's the last release available or even if it works out-of-the-box after compiling it and burning an EPROM. At least once compiled its length is 1422 bytes; so a 2716 seems enough to fit the ROM, am I right or a bigger EPROM is needed? > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Jose > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > On 04/04/2013 21:01, teeeby wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > > > > > The Einstein Silicon Disc was created in 1986 and only available for a > > > > > > short time, perhaps into 1987, I forget. I think fewer than 200 were > > > > > > made, including 50 exports to Portugal! > > > > > > > > > > > > Is your SD in its plastic "lunch box"? This is the same case as my > > > > > > earlier Speculator (ZX Spectrum Emulator), which I first did for the > > > > > > Memotech MTX and ported to the Einstein later. The hardware of the two > > > > > > machines is very similar. > > > > > > > > > > > > No, as a non-volatile device would have cost a lot more, I never had > > > > > > that urge! On power-up the SD ROM checks whether the RAM already > > > > > > contains formatted sectors and therefore existing files should survive a > > > > > > reset, but obviously not loss of power. > > > > > > > > > > Are the schematics to any of these available anywhere ? They'd probably > > > > > be much easier to implement these days with high density static RAM and > > > > > programmable logic etc. > > > > > > > > > > Cheers. > > > > > > > > > > Phill. > > > > > > > > Phill, > > > > > > > > Original hand-drawn schematic just uploaded to Silicon Disc folder in Files section. > > > > > > > > I have nearly 100 blank PCBs and lots of right-angle 60-way PCB connectors in the attic, if anyone fancies making his own Silicon Disc. > > > > > > > > The two PAL14L4s could be implemented with GAL16V8s. The eight DRAM chips needed are NEC uPD41256 / Fujitsu MB81256 / Hitachi HM50256 / Mitsubishi M5M4256 / Toshiba TMM41256 /TI TMS4256 (150 ns). > > > > > > > > However, rather like the Irishman when asked for directions, if I was going there (now) I wouldn't be starting from here! > > > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 626	From: teeeby	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Thanks for the offer, Andy. So far I think there are three people interested in making a Silicon Disc, which means six GALs are needed. Do you have any spare GAL16V8s (25ns ideally or 15ns)? Can you program any other devices, e.g. PICs? Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Andy Taylor <andytuk@...> wrote: > > > On 14 Apr 2013, at 21:46, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > Hi, > > I would like to give it a go. I can program EPROMS, PALs and GALs. > > Happy to program chips for people if they post me their blank chips and return postage. > > Andy > http://www.retrocomputers.eu > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. > > > > The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). > > > > How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? > > > > Tony > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 627	From: teeeby	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

I've had a think. With the current simple design the maximum data transfer rate is 12 kilobytes per second when reading and 13 kilobytes when writing. I could increase this to 67 kilobytes per second for reading or writing by adding a microcontroller, for example a cheap PIC. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > 25 kilobytes per second might be possible with extra circuitry. > I need to give it some more thought. > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Hello Charlie, > > > > Sorry for the slow reply. I have the prototype micro SD Card interface in front of me. It functions correctly and I can read data from a card. If reading works, I am sure writing would as well. > > > > It is not integrated with the MOS, yet. The best way to do that would be as a "Super SDROM" (Silicon Disc + SD card) to fit in the second ROM socket. > > > > It is interesting the way the interface works. There are no chips, only a few resistors, capacitors, a voltage regulator and connectors. This simple hardware means the Z80 has to read or write a serial bitstream without any help and the overall speed is not fast. > > > > The best that can be achieved is about 11 kilobytes per second. Is that quick enough to appeal to people? > > > > Tony > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@> wrote: > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > > > I know there has been some work interfacing an SD card with the user port, but I don't know how well integrated with the MOS this is. Is it anything more than a curiosity at the moment or has work been done to hook routines into the MOS to allow the SD card to function as a disk? > > > > > > Cheers > > > > > > Charlie > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 628	From: Mike Strange	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Sounding good to me Tony. Something like this would be very useful for a Nascom 2 to replace the cassette tape recorder!! Mike ---------------- On 18 Apr 2013 , teeeby said: I've had a think. With the current simple design the maximum data transfer rate is 12 kilobytes per second when reading and 13 kilobytes when writing. I could increase this to 67 kilobytes per second for reading or writing by adding a microcontroller, for example a cheap PIC. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 629	From: charlie	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: New interface in town - soon

Hi all, I've designed an interface for the pipe which should offer some robust file access from SD card. The board is ready for etching and work on the firmware can start soon enough. The PIC microcontroller firmware is pretty mature now, having been used in 3 commercial products - AtoMMC for the Acorn Atom, ZXpand for ZX81 & its clones, and most recently DragonMMC. The Einstein communicates via IO requests and drives the on-board controller which performs all the SD card and FAT file-system grunt work. The protocol is fairly high level and operates on files - but it will be easy to back port part of the Atom implementation which offers sector-by-sector access. The controller interfacing is performed by a Xilinx CPLD, which should offer plenty of hacking potential. I'll be happy to build or supply a few prototype boards and there's another group member who is in possession of the design files and may well be making a board soon to help prove the design. I can handle the interface side of things but I would like some help with the Einstein OS work. The project would progress a lot faster if someone with operating system knowledge could help with that aspect. Check out the early preview at my blog - http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/ Regards Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 630	From: charlie	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Hi all, This is probably a good time to announce EinSDein. http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/ I've built a few SD card interfaces for various systems, and now my attention has been drawn einstein-wards. I can handle the interface side of things but if anyone has experience hooking this kind of thing into the OS then some help would make this project go much quicker .. ;) hint, hint ;) More later, Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 631	From: Mike Strange	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: New interface in town - soon

Hi Charlie, My, you are having fun - old and new do seem to blend rather well! Your twin ROM switcher boards look rather good - are you able to share the source of your PCB material?  Hope the drilling works well. Mike ------------------ On 17 Apr 2013 , charlie said: Hi all, I've designed an interface for the pipe which should offer some robust file access from SD card. The board is ready for etching and work on the firmware can start soon enough. The PIC microcontroller firmware is pretty mature now, having been used in 3 commercial products - AtoMMC for the Acorn Atom, ZXpand for ZX81 & its clones, and most recently DragonMMC. The Einstein communicates via IO requests and drives the on-board  controller which performs all the SD card and FAT file-system grunt work. The protocol is fairly high level and operates on files - but it will be easy to back port part of the Atom implementation which offers sector-by-sector access. The controller interfacing is performed by a Xilinx CPLD, which should offer plenty of hacking potential. I'll be happy to build or supply a few prototype boards and there's another group member who is in possession of the design files and may well be making a board soon to help prove the design. I can handle the interface side of things but I would like some help with the Einstein OS work. The project would progress a lot faster if someone with operating system knowledge could help with that aspect. Check out the early preview at my blog - http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/ Regards Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 632	From: jltursan	Date: 18/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Hi, If there're still spare PCBs, I would be also interested in a Silicon Disk. I've 4 GAL16V8B-15; so if Andy is really able to program them, I can offer two of them for anyone interested. I've a Genius G540 and I think I can program them by myself; but I'm not really sure of how to do it. Btw, thanks for the SD ROM!, I just now need to find enough time to burn it using a 2716 and test my old SD. The EinSDein pcb tastes yummy :). When it'll be available? Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > Thanks for the offer, Andy. > > So far I think there are three people interested in making a Silicon Disc, which means six GALs are needed. Do you have any spare GAL16V8s (25ns ideally or 15ns)? Can you program any other devices, e.g. PICs? > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Andy Taylor <andytuk@> wrote: > > > > > > On 14 Apr 2013, at 21:46, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > I would like to give it a go. I can program EPROMS, PALs and GALs. > > > > Happy to program chips for people if they post me their blank chips and return postage. > > > > Andy > > http://www.retrocomputers.eu > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. > > > > > > The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). > > > > > > How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 633	From: Charlie Robson	Date: 19/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Sorry for the double post - I thought my previous message was lost but it appears I was just too impatient! ________________________________ > To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > From: charlie_robson@hotmail.com > Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 06:52:58 +0000 > Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: SD card interface > > > > Hi all, > > This is probably a good time to announce EinSDein. > > http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/ > > I've built a few SD card interfaces for various systems, and now my > attention has been drawn einstein-wards. > > I can handle the interface side of things but if anyone has experience > hooking this kind of thing into the OS then some help would make this > project go much quicker .. ;) hint, hint ;) > > More later, > > Charlie > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 634	From: teeeby	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Key not working

The P key on my Einstein is not working. How easy is it to fix a defective key? I run programs with a P in the name by loading then saving under a new name with no P. Tony

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 635	From: teeeby	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working

Er, how do I load them if the P key doesn't work? Anyway, I can rename or copy files with P in the name. Not a long-term solution ... Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > The P key on my Einstein is not working. How easy is it to fix a defective key? I run programs with a P in the name by loading then saving under a new name with no P. > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 636	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Hi, I havn't posted to the group for awhile but in reference to programming the SD card inteface I have some plans for that in the future. In past posts I mentioned that I have been working on Xtal DOS 3 - which will be the last vanilla version of Xtal DOS that internally supports the CP/M file system and current Einstein hardware. Because Xtal DOS 3 is modular a lot of it will be incorporated into DOS 4 which is the version I have road mapped to depart radically internally using a Unix based file system. It is my intention that DOS 4 will be able to support big hardware like HDDs' SD interfaces etc. while retaining at least 90% downward compatibility with XTAL/CP/M The trouble you will find supporting big drives at the moment is that there is very little space to map the allocation tables within XTAL DOS. Even a modest 8Mb per logical drive which is all the file system supports anyway - you would be hard put to find space for 1 drive of this size. So at the moment you can experiment with direct writing and reading of sectors via the interface but in my opinion it is curently impractical to integrate into Xtal dos as it stands. In the website files , utilities section there is a rudementary FAT test bed program I wrote called EFL which you could use to develop an experimental file system As for my progress with XTAL 3 I can report that I have acheived modularisation in this last week - shortly I should be able to move on to rewriting enhanced functionality into the modules and introduce a named directory system. As soon as it is ready I will release a Beta for testing. PS I can do software but I havnt a clue about electronics - if anyone would be good enough to build me a silicon disk interface and an sd card inteface I will gladly pay for their trouble. Charlie Robson <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> wrote: >Sorry for the double post - I thought my previous message was lost but it appears I was just too impatient! > > > >________________________________ >> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk >> From: charlie_robson@hotmail.com >> Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 06:52:58 +0000 >> Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: SD card interface >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> This is probably a good time to announce EinSDein. >> >> http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/ >> >> I've built a few SD card interfaces for various systems, and now my >> attention has been drawn einstein-wards. >> >> I can handle the interface side of things but if anyone has experience >> hooking this kind of thing into the OS then some help would make this >> project go much quicker .. ;) hint, hint ;) >> >> More later, >> >> Charlie >> >> >> > >------------------------------------ > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 637	From: jltursan	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working

I've never disassembled a TC01 key or saw how it works; but I think that it'll use standard keyswitch with the common conductive rubber pad (take this as an example: http://www.oaktreevintage.com/web_photos/Keyboard_Parts/Keyboard_key_Contacts_Recoated-repaired_Collage.jpg). It usually worns out and needs restoration. First of all, it can be a simple dirty contact problem, try to firmly press the key repeatedly with different angles. If you get a 'P', try repeating that pressing A LOT of times. If you see that it slowly starts to work, it's done. If it doesn't work, maybe it's a problem with the key switch itself, it'll be probably soldered to a PCB; so you'll need to desolder it to retire from the plate. Next, you only need to open carefully the switch and clean all the metal contacts. The rubber pad must be painted with silver conductive paint. Check the switch working. Once finished assemble it again and you're done for a couple of years :-) Last, although rare, it can be a cold solder joint; so before the above you must check the PCB continuity, examine carefully the traces or simply resolder the 'P' key pads. All in all, these keyboards are always serviceable, sometimes with a lot of work; but ALWAYS sucessfully. Good luck! Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > The P key on my Einstein is not working. How easy is it to fix a defective key? I run programs with a P in the name by loading then saving under a new name with no P. > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 638	From: Phil Simmons	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Re: Key not working

Hi, I find that the TC01 keyboard plays up from time to time and that talking it apart, removing the key covers and giving it a good clean with surgical spirit often helps. Also individual keys just get sticky and catch on their neighbours. You have to reposition the keyboard carefully when reassembling. 9 times out of 10 I find that this does the trick. The other problem is that the keyboard is not truly interrupt driven but via the rom and sometimes it just gets out of synch and a reset helps. Finally John at B&H Cmputers sells individual key switches and keys and supplies instructions. :-) phil jltursan <jltursan> wrote:   I've never disassembled a TC01 key or saw how it works; but I think that it'll use standard keyswitch with the common conductive rubber pad (take this as an example: http://www.oaktreevintage.com/web_photos/Keyboard_Parts/Keyboard_key_Contacts_Recoated-repaired_Collage.jpg). It usually worns out and needs restoration. First of all, it can be a simple dirty contact problem, try to firmly press the key repeatedly with different angles. If you get a 'P', try repeating that pressing A LOT of times. If you see that it slowly starts to work, it's done. If it doesn't work, maybe it's a problem with the key switch itself, it'll be probably soldered to a PCB; so you'll need to desolder it to retire from the plate. Next, you only need to open carefully the switch and clean all the metal contacts. The rubber pad must be painted with silver conductive paint. Check the switch working. Once finished assemble it again and you're done for a couple of years :-) Last, although rare, it can be a cold solder joint; so before the above you must check the PCB continuity, examine carefully the traces or simply resolder the 'P' key pads. All in all, these keyboards are always serviceable, sometimes with a lot of work; but ALWAYS sucessfully. Good luck! Regards, Jose --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > The P key on my Einstein is not working. How easy is it to fix a defective key? I run programs with a P in the name by loading then saving under a new name with no P. > > Tony >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 639	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 20/04/2013
Subject: Einstein USB interface

Hi sorry for not getting round to posting the details ages ago. I built a USB interface for the Einstein using a VDIP1 with the jumpers set J3 1-2, J2 2-3, and running in parallel FIFO mode for speed and ease of programming (you don't need to turn the Einstein's data read and writes into serial form) http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/19043003/or/831124436/name/Einstein-USB-1.jpg I didn't get round to listing the connection or explaining how it works. The VDIP1 does all the heave lifting for accessing mass storage devices connected via USB (hard drives, compact flash adapters, SD card adapters, thumb drives, etc.) it handles all of the FAT file system for you so requests to read a file from a USB thumb drive can easily be made without having to implement things on the Einstein side. Directory listings, changing directories, creating and deleting files can all be done by sending commands to the VDIP1 The problem with interfacing to the Einstein is a simple one of overcoming the lack of a chip select line on the Einstein's pipe. This is easy to resolve by ensuring that the VDIP1 only sends or receives data when the port number that it is listening to is active, using some simple glue logic to bridge the gap. The interface is fast enough to handle all the data that the Einstein can throw at it, and will wait while the Einstein reads data at it's own pace. It should be relatively simple to hook into the existing DOS and divert commands meant to handle files to the port that the interface is assigned to. All the ICs shown are LN74LS00n (quad NANDs) as that is what I had laying around. The location notches are all towards the top of the picture. The IC in the top left is not used at all. The Orange wire on the right was used to ground the RS (Reset) pin on the VDIP1 when testing. I'll trace all the connections and put together a wiring list should anyone wish to make one up themselves. However there is enough information in the picture if I don't get it done quick enough for anyone. The VDIP1 is also capable of handling USB keyboards and Mice should anyone wish to connect those to an Einstein. Regards, Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 640	From: teeeby	Date: 23/04/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

There are plenty of spare PCBs, Jose. I intend to make a simple PAL Reader to attach to the User I/O port, which will supply all the possible combinations of inputs to the PALs, then read the outputs. From this I will be able to recreate the PAL programs. I hope to have this ready by the weekend if I have all the bits "in stock" and then new GALs could be programmed. A couple of points about the Silicon Disc: 1. It will fit inside the Einstein case, if you use a ribbon cable with three sockets. The middle of the three connects to the Pipe, one end is outside and the other inside the case. Before connecting the middle socket you need to unscrew the PCB, pull it forward, attach the cable, push back and screw it down again - an easy procedure. I used this setup to have a Silicon Disc and a Speculator attached at tne same time. 2. It is possible to have a 512K Silicon Disc by using two PCBs with a modified PAL on the second board. In fact, in theory you could have up to 16 x 256K Silicon Disc PCBs, giving a total of 4MB! However, the power supply wouldn't cope with this many. The ROM assumes one PCB and 256K total, but modifying the ROM would not be difficult, especially if it needs doing anyway to support a Micro SD Card interface. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > If there're still spare PCBs, I would be also interested in a Silicon Disk. > I've 4 GAL16V8B-15; so if Andy is really able to program them, I can offer two of them for anyone interested. > I've a Genius G540 and I think I can program them by myself; but I'm not really sure of how to do it. > > Btw, thanks for the SD ROM!, I just now need to find enough time to burn it using a 2716 and test my old SD. > > The EinSDein pcb tastes yummy :). When it'll be available? > > Regards, > > Jose > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Thanks for the offer, Andy. > > > > So far I think there are three people interested in making a Silicon Disc, which means six GALs are needed. Do you have any spare GAL16V8s (25ns ideally or 15ns)? Can you program any other devices, e.g. PICs? > > > > Tony > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Andy Taylor <andytuk@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > On 14 Apr 2013, at 21:46, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > Hi, > > > > > > I would like to give it a go. I can program EPROMS, PALs and GALs. > > > > > > Happy to program chips for people if they post me their blank chips and return postage. > > > > > > Andy > > > http://www.retrocomputers.eu > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. > > > > > > > > The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). > > > > > > > > How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? > > > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 641	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sdgal1.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc GAL 1 source code You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sdgal1.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 642	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sdgal2.txt Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc GAL 1 source code You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sdgal2.txt To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 643	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sdpcb1.jpg Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc PCB - Top - Component side You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sdpcb1.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 644	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Silicon Disc/Sdpcb2.jpg Uploaded by : teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk> Description : Silicon Disc PCB - Bottom - Solder side You can access this file at the URL: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/Silicon%20Disc/Sdpcb2.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: http://help.yahoo.com/help/uk/groups/files Regards, teeeby <yahoogroups@accuser.fsnet.co.uk>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 645	From: teeeby	Date: 06/05/2013
Subject: Re: Silicon Disc

Apologies for the delay. I have built the PAL Reader, read the two PALs and uploaded the source code for two replacement GALs to the Files section. I have no programmer nor any GALs at the moment, so it is up to others to supply programmed GAL 16V8s (and EEPROMs). I have also uploaded images of the top and bottom of the Silicon Disc PCB. The top view shows what components go where. The DRAMs are standard 256kb x 1, 150ns, as listed in an earlier message. The DRAM decoupling capacitors could be either 47 nF or 100 nF. The 74x series logic should be either 74LS or 74HCT. Note that pin 1 of the 74x273 is tied directly to +5V. This is not a good idea for 74LS logic and I should have connected it to /RST instead. If you have a spare 74LS273 that you want to use, I recommend cutting the track on the topside at the red line and soldering a wire on the underside as shown in yellow. No changes are needed if using a 74HCT273. Once GALs and ROM are available, I'd be happy to supply the following items: * Blank PCB + original instruction sheet + sticker @ £1.50 * Right-angle 60-way PCB connector @ £1.00 * Additional blank PCB @ £1.00 (if you think you might mess up the first one!) Plus postage at cost. Apart from the GALs and ROM, kit builders would need to get hold of all ICs, IC sockets, resistors, capacitors and a 60-way ribbon cable with IDC sockets. I recommend (a) socketing all the ICs, (b) testing for a short between +5V and 0V after soldering the sockets, (c) connecting PCB with empty sockets to the Einstein to make sure it powers up, (d) then try with populated sockets. Tony --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > There are plenty of spare PCBs, Jose. > > I intend to make a simple PAL Reader to attach to the User I/O port, which will supply all the possible combinations of inputs to the PALs, then read the outputs. From this I will be able to recreate the PAL programs. I hope to have this ready by the weekend if I have all the bits "in stock" and then new GALs could be programmed. > > A couple of points about the Silicon Disc: > > 1. It will fit inside the Einstein case, if you use a ribbon cable with three sockets. The middle of the three connects to the Pipe, one end is outside and the other inside the case. Before connecting the middle socket you need to unscrew the PCB, pull it forward, attach the cable, push back and screw it down again - an easy procedure. I used this setup to have a Silicon Disc and a Speculator attached at tne same time. > > 2. It is possible to have a 512K Silicon Disc by using two PCBs with a modified PAL on the second board. In fact, in theory you could have up to 16 x 256K Silicon Disc PCBs, giving a total of 4MB! However, the power supply wouldn't cope with this many. The ROM assumes one PCB and 256K total, but modifying the ROM would not be difficult, especially if it needs doing anyway to support a Micro SD Card interface. > > Tony > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > If there're still spare PCBs, I would be also interested in a Silicon Disk. > > I've 4 GAL16V8B-15; so if Andy is really able to program them, I can offer two of them for anyone interested. > > I've a Genius G540 and I think I can program them by myself; but I'm not really sure of how to do it. > > > > Btw, thanks for the SD ROM!, I just now need to find enough time to burn it using a 2716 and test my old SD. > > > > The EinSDein pcb tastes yummy :). When it'll be available? > > > > Regards, > > > > Jose > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks for the offer, Andy. > > > > > > So far I think there are three people interested in making a Silicon Disc, which means six GALs are needed. Do you have any spare GAL16V8s (25ns ideally or 15ns)? Can you program any other devices, e.g. PICs? > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, Andy Taylor <andytuk@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > On 14 Apr 2013, at 21:46, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > > > > > I would like to give it a go. I can program EPROMS, PALs and GALs. > > > > > > > > Happy to program chips for people if they post me their blank chips and return postage. > > > > > > > > Andy > > > > http://www.retrocomputers.eu > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hello Mike, > > > > > > > > > > I think your PALs could stay in their sockets. I have two versions of each PAL and I think I know which is the latest one. > > > > > > > > > > The big problem is that, like the PALs they superseded, GALs are no longer manufactured. Buying and re-programming second-hand GALs seems the best option, although I do not have a programmer (PAL, GAL or EPROM). > > > > > > > > > > How many people are seriously interested in constructing an Einstein 256K Silicon Disc, if they get a blank PCB from me? > > > > > > > > > > Tony > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 646	From: charlie	Date: 10/05/2013
Subject: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?

There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the low level operating system in any of the manuals that I've seen. What I'd really like is some explanation of how DOS hangs together to see if I can hook it for einSDein. Can anyone please point me at a manual, magazine article, or any other source of information about how the system operates at the DOS/MOS level? I've examined the source for the silicon disk (thanks Tony!!) but without accompanying manuals it's not going to get me as far as I'd like. Cheers C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 647	From: ermanno	Date: 11/05/2013
Subject: Purchase an Tatung Einstein.. mission Impossible??

Hello Friend, i had more time ago a TC01 but in my more transfers from one city to another is gone missing.. :-( happen.. After more years i wont try at purchase again one, but i have one big problem. Now i live in Italy and 99% of UK seller no send to Italy. Maybe one of your friends knows someone who sells a tatung and would ship in Italy? Bye Ermanno

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 648	From: Phil	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?

Hi, If you look in the files/manuals section of this site you will see a document I put together some time ago that documents MOS calls. How DOS (CP/M) works - a quick and dirty guide Dos is divided into 3 parts 1. Console Command Processor or CCP - this grabs input from the the keyboard or other device, determines whether it is a command eg. DIR of if not it tries to load a file with the name given at address 100H and execute it as a .COM program. It echoes the results back to the screen or other device. CCP is reloaded every time a program finishes and it can be overwritten by programs.It sits above the program area below the rest of the operating system. 2.BDOS - Disk I/O service This handles all of the disk and file access, reading and writing, opening and closing etc. It also process the 40 or so CP/M system calls which are detailed in the back of the XTAL DOS/MOS manual (which you can also find in the files section if you don't have a printed copy.)This provides a standard hardware independent interface which is common to all CP/M programs and which makes them portable between different machines. A portion of BDOS is reloaded on warm boot and all of it on cold boot. It sits in higher memory above CCP and it cannot be overwritten by programs. 3.CBIOS - This is the interface between BDOS and the machine specific hardware. It is accessed from BDOS by standard table of vectors and does stuff like reading and writing disk sectors, describes the drives installed and talks to the serial port and printer.It sits right at the top of memory, cannot be overwritten and is only reloaded on startup or cold boot. The CBIOS is not the same as the BIOS ROM of the Eintein - The BIOS ROM holds access routines to memory and hardware and uses standard MOS calls to access these. Thus the CBIOS actually talks to the Einstein BIOS ROM using MCALs - however a completely different system would probably be used by CBIOS on another make of machine. On the Einstein you can get much of the same results as using BDOS calls by using direct MOS calls however there are pitfalls - firstly the programs only run on the Einstein whereas a well written BDOS call program will run on any CP/M machine. Secondly the first 8k of memory is paged in and out by ROM when it is called thus if you use MOS calls in the first 8k of memory you risk disappearing up your own fundus so to speak - as you can actually overwrite your own program. You need to remember that CP/M and the Einstein ROM were written for floppy disks only. To program for another device you would have to write the driver routines into the CBIOS (where space is very limited and you probably couldn't fit them in) or program them into a second ROM (there is an 8k space available) and create new MOS calls to access the storage device. Furthermore the XTAL/CP/M file system can currently only deal with files/disks up to 8mb in size although you could use multiple partitions of 8Mb each. For all of these reasons I am (slowly) rewriting XTAL DOS to drag it into the modern era and I would be very happy to collaborate with you or anyone else to develop this since I can't do electronics but I can the system programing and I have an intimate knowledge of CP/M and XTAL and other OSs :-) I hope this is of some help and if you want to know more about XTAL DOS/CP/M I can provide you with a book list. :-) Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the low level operating system in any of the manuals that I've seen. What I'd really like is some explanation of how DOS hangs together to see if I can hook it for einSDein. > > Can anyone please point me at a manual, magazine article, or any other source of information about how the system operates at the DOS/MOS level? > > I've examined the source for the silicon disk (thanks Tony!!) but without accompanying manuals it's not going to get me as far as I'd like. > > Cheers > > C >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 649	From: charlie	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: Where are TC01 MCAL calls documented?

Thanks Phil, that's just what I'm looking for! As you probably know I'm developing an SD card interface - there's a link to my blog in a previous message which will get an update today - but I'll need some help with the os side of things. That's the bit which takes longest. My hope was to develop a ROM but if there's something which would work without then that would be cool too. While the zxpand boards are a project that requires a little profit to ensure its continuation (the boards take time to build, require significant up-front cash, etc) I think einsdein may be a lot smaller in scale and therefore will probably be made available close to cost. Email me if you want to talk more! C --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > If you look in the files/manuals section of this site you will see a document I put together some time ago that documents MOS calls. > > How DOS (CP/M) works - a quick and dirty guide > > Dos is divided into 3 parts > > 1. Console Command Processor or CCP - this grabs input from the the keyboard or other device, determines whether it is a command eg. DIR of if not it tries to load a file with the name given at address 100H and execute it as a .COM program. It echoes the results back to the screen or other device. CCP is reloaded every time a program finishes and it can be overwritten by programs.It sits above the program area below the rest of the operating system. > > 2.BDOS - Disk I/O service > This handles all of the disk and file access, reading and writing, opening and closing etc. It also process the 40 or so CP/M system calls which are detailed in the back of the XTAL DOS/MOS manual (which you can also find in the files section if you don't have a printed copy.)This provides a standard hardware independent interface which is common to all CP/M programs and which makes them portable between different machines. > A portion of BDOS is reloaded on warm boot and all of it on cold boot. It sits in higher memory above CCP and it cannot be overwritten by programs. > > 3.CBIOS - This is the interface between BDOS and the machine specific hardware. It is accessed from BDOS by standard table of vectors and does stuff like reading and writing disk sectors, describes the drives installed and talks to the serial port and printer.It sits right at the top of memory, cannot be overwritten and is only reloaded on startup or cold boot. > > The CBIOS is not the same as the BIOS ROM of the Eintein - The BIOS ROM holds access routines to memory and hardware and uses standard MOS calls to access these. Thus the CBIOS actually talks to the Einstein BIOS ROM using MCALs - however a completely different system would probably be used by CBIOS on another make of machine. > On the Einstein you can get much of the same results as using BDOS calls by using direct MOS calls however there are pitfalls - firstly the programs only run on the Einstein whereas a well written BDOS call program will run on any CP/M machine. Secondly the first 8k of memory is paged in and out by ROM when it is called thus if you use MOS calls in the first 8k of memory you risk disappearing up your own fundus so to speak - as you can actually overwrite your own program. > > You need to remember that CP/M and the Einstein ROM were written for floppy disks only. To program for another device you would have to write the driver routines into the CBIOS (where space is very limited and you probably couldn't fit them in) or program them into a second ROM (there is an 8k space available) and create new MOS calls to access the storage device. Furthermore the XTAL/CP/M file system can currently only deal with files/disks up to 8mb in size although you could use multiple partitions of 8Mb each. > > For all of these reasons I am (slowly) rewriting XTAL DOS to drag it into the modern era and I would be very happy to collaborate with you or anyone else to develop this since I can't do electronics but I can the system programing and I have an intimate knowledge of CP/M and XTAL and other OSs :-) > > I hope this is of some help and if you want to know more about XTAL DOS/CP/M I can provide you with a book list. > > :-) Phil > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@> wrote: > > > > There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the low level operating system in any of the manuals that I've seen. What I'd really like is some explanation of how DOS hangs together to see if I can hook it for einSDein. > > > > Can anyone please point me at a manual, magazine article, or any other source of information about how the system operates at the DOS/MOS level? > > > > I've examined the source for the silicon disk (thanks Tony!!) but without accompanying manuals it's not going to get me as far as I'd like. > > > > Cheers > > > > C > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 650	From: Phil	Date: 12/05/2013
Subject: Re: SD card interface

Hi Guys, I totally agree that any new interface should be put in a 2nd ROM, new MCALS created and then these can be available both for direct use and integrated into an expanded OS. The serial port is quite slow at 9,600 baud but did you know that the chip used actually supports 19,200 baud? The problem is that the way the CTC clock is divided in the ROM 19.2k can't be done but it should be possible if the ROM were altered to use a different divider. Has anyone looked at Geoffs SD card interface?- his uses the pipe and uses the IDE API - it would be relatively easy to ROM this API and would give future OS's a lot of scope. Isn't this the fastest interface out of all of three possibilities? Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "teeeby" <yahoogroups@...> wrote: > > > > Hello Charlie, > > Sorry for the slow reply. I have the prototype micro SD Card interface in front of me. It functions correctly and I can read data from a card. If reading works, I am sure writing would as well. > > It is not integrated with the MOS, yet. The best way to do that would be as a "Super SDROM" (Silicon Disc + SD card) to fit in the second ROM socket. > > It is interesting the way the interface works. There are no chips, only a few resistors, capacitors, a voltage regulator and connectors. This simple hardware means the Z80 has to read or write a serial bitstream without any help and the overall speed is not fast. > > The best that can be achieved is about 11 kilobytes per second. Is that quick enough to appeal to people? > > Tony > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@> wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > > > I know there has been some work interfacing an SD card with the user port, but I don't know how well integrated with the MOS this is. Is it anything more than a curiosity at the moment or has work been done to hook routines into the MOS to allow the SD card to function as a disk? > > > > Cheers > > > > Charlie > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 651	From: Geoff Latham	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Re: Purchase an Tatung Einstein.. mission Impossible??

Attachments : IMAG1052.jpg Hi, Sorry for the questions, if you tell me what you want to do with an Einstein I could send you one for free if you want to help progress the Einstein User Group. If you have specific skills I will send you all the available documents and working discs. If you just want a basic Einey for your collection I can sell you one too. Regards, Geoff On 11 May 2013 18:04, "ermanno" <astharot_66@yahoo.it> wrote:   Hello Friend, i had more time ago a TC01 but in my more transfers from one city to another is gone missing.. :-( happen.. After more years i wont try at purchase again one, but i have one big problem. Now i live in Italy and 99% of UK seller no send to Italy. Maybe one of your friends knows someone who sells a tatung and would ship in Italy? Bye Ermanno

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 652	From: weirdocollector	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Connecting an HxC or a 3.5" drive to an Einstein 256

Hi everybody, this is my first post here. I'm the lucky owner of a Tatung Einstein 256, and I'd like to connect to it an HxC floppy emulator, or as a second choice, to a regular 3.5" floppy drive. I've never opened the case of the computer, but I've noticed on the schematics that the drive connector is a 26-pin one (and not a regular 34-pin Shugart), similar to the one used by the Amastrad CPC6128. Has anybody tried to do the same with a 256 ? What kind of 26-pin to 32-pin adaptor can be used ? The same described for the CPC, or something different ? Thanks a lot in advance for any help. Fabio.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 653	From: Phil	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein

Hi Everyone, I have created a new Einstein Community Forum and I would like to invite you all to join and participate. It is not intended to replace the Einstein User Group site on Yahoo or any other sites but to complement them. The new site has simple clean lines, fast posting and a host of modern features like topic categories and threading, the ability to link You Tube videos, embed images and files and links to social networking. I plan to integrate a chat room where we can hold regular interactive meetings as soon as I get up to speed with the admin. At the moment the new forum is add supported and there is only 2Gb file storage but if the site proves popular I will pay for add free hosting and more space in due course. Please support the site. View the site, read the "Welcome" posts and join at http://einstein.lefora.com Please spread the word and I hope you enjoy the site! All suggestions gladly received. Cheers Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 654	From: charlie	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: TC01 video problem

Well it would happen, wouldn't it. It was working when I last put it away. My TC01 is not producing a good display. The screen is bright white and I can just about make out the characters on the boot screen. Sync is fine, everything is just blurry and burned out. The monitor is fine, it works perfectly with a BBC micro. I've bought one of the rgb to VGA converters and this also fails to lock on to the signal. I've also tried 3 TVs via SCART, again all of these work 100% with the Beeb. None of the components in the video circuit area appear to be overly hot, and tapping around the board doesn't produce any change. Apart from the video the computer is booting fine and responds to the keyboard. Does anyone have a clue as to what this could be? Or where to start looking? I can scope around but I don't have a clue about analogue electronics :( Miserably yours, Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 655	From: charlie	Date: 16/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem

Minor update: RF still works. That's some consolation at least I guess. I'd forgotten what a pain it is to tune a TV :¬/ While I can get a picture I'm still not happy about having an Einy with dodgy RGB so I'd like this fixed. Can anyone here recommend a service person? Would B&H do the job d'you think? I guess I'll call tomorrow and see. C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 656	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 17/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem

On 16/05/2013 21:05, charlie wrote: > Minor update: RF still works. That's some consolation at least I guess. > > I'd forgotten what a pain it is to tune a TV :¬/ > > While I can get a picture I'm still not happy about having an Einy with > dodgy RGB so I'd like this fixed. Can anyone here recommend a service > person? Would B&H do the job d'you think? I guess I'll call tomorrow and > see. Couple of things come to mind..... The Einstein con be configured to produce RGB or YUV, as detailed in Appendix A of the hardware manual, whilst I suspect that having it jumpered the wrong way would produce no signal if a jumper had become dislodged it could cause problems. Is the SCART lead you tried one with resistors in it ? Remember the Atom one has no resistors whilst the BBC one has resistors. Also from what I remember SCART needs a voltage on a particular pin to select TTL RGB format input, the BBC and Atom both have a +5v output on pin 6 the Einstein does not, it's marked as not connected on the schematic, though I think when I bleeped it out it's actually connected to GND :( Cheers. Phill. -- Phill Harvey-Smith, Programmer, Hardware hacker, and general eccentric ! "You can twist perceptions, but reality won't budge" -- Rush.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 657	From: Chris	Date: 17/05/2013
Subject: Re: TC01 video problem

Hi Charlie and All, >My TC01 is not producing a good display. >The screen is bright white and I can > just about make out the characters >on the boot screen. I had a similar problem. My Einey would not show a blue screen in 40 column mode. The fault one of three transistors I can't remember which one now. It was one of Q001 Q002 Q003 all BC547 transistors. They can be found top right hand corner of the Einstein's mother board diagrams. Should be available for download from http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/download/download.html#TECHNICALfiles To test it I used crocodile clip leads to wire around each one of the three transistors and booted up. When I got the Blue Screen I then had to remove the mother board and solder in a new transiter. Regards Chris Coxall --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Well it would happen, wouldn't it. It was working when I last put it away. My TC01 is not producing a good display. The screen is bright white and I can just about make out the characters on the boot screen. Sync is fine, everything is just blurry and burned out. > > The monitor is fine, it works perfectly with a BBC micro. I've bought one of the rgb to VGA converters and this also fails to lock on to the signal. I've also tried 3 TVs via SCART, again all of these work 100% with the Beeb. > > None of the components in the video circuit area appear to be overly hot, and tapping around the board doesn't produce any change. > > Apart from the video the computer is booting fine and responds to the keyboard. > > Does anyone have a clue as to what this could be? Or where to start looking? I can scope around but I don't have a clue about analogue electronics :( > > Miserably yours, > Charlie >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 658	From: jltursan	Date: 18/05/2013
Subject: Re: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein

Cool, thanks Phil!. I've just joined the forum. Let's see how it works... :-) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi Everyone, > > I have created a new Einstein Community Forum and I would like to invite you all to join and participate. It is not intended to replace the Einstein User Group site on Yahoo or any other sites but to complement them. > > The new site has simple clean lines, fast posting and a host of modern features like topic categories and threading, the ability to link You Tube videos, embed images and files and links to social networking. I plan to integrate a chat room where we can hold regular interactive meetings as soon as I get up to speed with the admin. > > At the moment the new forum is add supported and there is only 2Gb file storage but if the site proves popular I will pay for add free hosting and more space in due course. > Please support the site. View the site, read the "Welcome" posts and join at http://einstein.lefora.com > > Please spread the word and I hope you enjoy the site! > All suggestions gladly received. > > Cheers Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 659	From: Phil	Date: 18/05/2013
Subject: Re: New Community Forum for The Tatung Einstein

Hi, So far four members have joined the community forum - and should have had their membership approved - Come on every one please join up and join in! :-) --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jltursan" <jltursan@...> wrote: > > Cool, thanks Phil!. I've just joined the forum. Let's see how it works... :-) > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@> wrote: > > > > Hi Everyone, > > > > I have created a new Einstein Community Forum and I would like to invite you all to join and participate. It is not intended to replace the Einstein User Group site on Yahoo or any other sites but to complement them. > > > > The new site has simple clean lines, fast posting and a host of modern features like topic categories and threading, the ability to link You Tube videos, embed images and files and links to social networking. I plan to integrate a chat room where we can hold regular interactive meetings as soon as I get up to speed with the admin. > > > > At the moment the new forum is add supported and there is only 2Gb file storage but if the site proves popular I will pay for add free hosting and more space in due course. > > Please support the site. View the site, read the "Welcome" posts and join at http://einstein.lefora.com > > > > Please spread the word and I hope you enjoy the site! > > All suggestions gladly received. > > > > Cheers Phil > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 660	From: Phil	Date: 27/05/2013
Subject: Einstein Community Forum Update

Hi All, Just a quick update on progress with the Community Forum. 1.We have some new members - Welcome! 2. I have linked back to this site, Chris's website and Mario's site on the forum sidebar. 3. We now have a calendar and working chat room. If you click on the "chat now" button. It will take you to a chat room. I had hoped to embed it in the sidebar but most of these use java script and this is not supported for security reasons but I'm working on a work- around. The calendar is meant to be an event calendar so that I can mark in chat times for online community meetings - however all the free ones are java script but I have found a really nice  php one that works beautifully but first I have to find the $28  needed to purchase the script so the existing Calendar is just a place holder at the moment. 4. At the moment I'm trying to make one change / improvement or posting to the site per day but all you members please post this is not a monologue! and if you're not already a member  please join - The Community Forum is intended  to be an umbrella for all the Einstein interest groups - a central meet, greet and interlink. Nag over. Kind regards, Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 661	From: ermanno alekin	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: Use Tatung again in emulate mode

Hello friend, i looked that the real machine have too high price for purchase it, then i asked an help on where found the correct emulator for tatung that work well, and where found a little guide for use it. I started at build a site where i wont write in italian language  many article for tatung einstein for support the Italian User. I hope that my site is an little help for yours groups. I need write how first article the use of tatung.. then i need know this things:

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 662	From: ermanno	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: tatung emulator help ..

Hello friend, i looked that the real machine have too high price for purchase it, then i asked an help on where found the correct emulator for tatung that work well, and where found a little guide for use it. I started at build a site where i wont write in italian language many article for tatung einstein for support the Italian User. I hope that my site is an little help for yours groups. I need write how first article the use of tatung.. then i need know this things: Emulator name, use ecc.. Dump Disk - Rom Bios ecc. that one people need for use emulator Documentation - type manual instruction, program guide ecc.. How i do example for teach the correct use of emulator. (first need that i must learn at use it) The original link of site for tatung where i re-direct people that know foreing language (sorry but my english is bad i know) Thanks again for all help that can give.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 663	From: ermanno	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: sorry for duplicate post .. yahoo had problem??

tatung emulator

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 664	From: charlie	Date: 04/06/2013
Subject: WinEinTrans not detecting serial port

Hi all, I've used WinEinTrans before with some success but all my attempts recently have failed. The program just won't detect the einstein no matter what settings I use. This is odd because, armed with the program listing for the einstein-side client program, I can communicate with the einy just fine using a terminal package, typing the commands manually. I checked the required communication protocol in the listing then fired up teraterm at 9600,8,n,1 and sent the necessary stream of bytes by hand. EINTRANS.COM receives and processes the commands and even sends data back so I know the cable is good. I suspect the last time I tried this was with a hardware serial port on my old PC. Today I've been using a laptop with a usb-to-serial cable. This shouldn't make any difference but apparently it does :( The command-line version of the PC code also fails with an error 'Couldn't open serial port'. I've tried 2 PCs now, and a couple of different cables, but still no luck. Is the source code for eintrans available? I expect it's something simple - i'd love to be able to fix it. C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 665	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 05/06/2013
Subject: hello.

http://www.tracmory.com/zwn.php/public_html/zwn.php

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 666	From: charlie	Date: 05/06/2013
Subject: Re: WinEinTrans not detecting serial port

So I went sideways about the problem and wrote a python script to drive the transaction. I now have a shiny copy of the program I needed on a floppy :D I'll upload the script to the files area as soon as I've tidied it up a little (how often do you read that ;) If you need an argument for open source, there it is right there. C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 667	From: charlie	Date: 06/06/2013
Subject: Announcing: Python EinTrans client

Hi all, I can't get EinTrans to work on any of my PCs but I can talk to it through a serilk terminal. So rather than start debugging windows EXEs I wrote some client code in Python to do the things I needed - no more, no less.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 668	From: charlie	Date: 06/06/2013
Subject: Announcing: Python EinTrans client

Hi all, I can't get EinTrans to work on any of my PCs but I can talk to it through a serilk terminal. So rather than start debugging windows EXEs I wrote some client code in Python to do the things I needed - no more, no less. I might bolster the line-up in V1.5, but for now I've uploaded 1.0 to the files section - PyNTrans. Enjoy.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 669	From: Phil	Date: 10/06/2013
Subject: Einstein Community Forum First Chat Meeting!

Hi Everyone, The first chat meeting of the community forum will take place at 9pm on Sunday 16th June and everyone is invited! There is no topic for the first meeting just whatever arises. I hope that we can follow up with monthly meetings and that people will suggest topics for discussion. You do not need to be a community forum member to take part. Simply go to the community forum website and click on the chat now button to be directed to the chat room. I hope to see you there!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 670	From: charlie	Date: 13/06/2013
Subject: einSDein lives!

... at least the first bit :D http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/today-i-wrote-data-from-my-einstein-to.html

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 671	From: Phil	Date: 16/06/2013
Subject: Chat tonight!

Hi, Just a reminder that the first Community forum chat will be at 9pm tonight. Click on the "Chat Now" button on the community forum or use this direct link. Hope to see you there! http://einsteincomputer.chatango.com/ :-) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 672	From: Phil	Date: 16/06/2013
Subject: Re: einSDein lives!

--- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > ... at least the first bit :D > > http://arduinonut.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/today-i-wrote-data-from-my-einstein-to.html > Hi Charlle, That's great news about the interface! I think this is slightly more efficient as there are less conditional tests - not that it matters here :-) - what assembler are you using? .module fnMessageToHostW fnMessageToHostW: ld hl,message _test ld a, (hl) or a ret z ;// fall through for output call waitByteTaken jp c,reportTimeout out (WRITE),a ld e,a push hl DOSCALL(CPM_FUNC_CONSOLE_OUT) pop hl inc hl jr _test .endmodule

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 673	From: charlie	Date: 18/06/2013
Subject: stand-alone machine code game wanted

I want a game or demo which is single load, preferable as a transient from DOS. No BASIC, please. If anyone knows of such a thing please let me know as I'd like to use it to test loading speed on einSDein. Thanks!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 674	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 18/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted

Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy are single .COM files From: charlie <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, 18 June 2013, 16:23 Subject: [tatung_einstein] stand-alone machine code game wanted   I want a game or demo which is single load, preferable as a transient from DOS. No BASIC, please. If anyone knows of such a thing please let me know as I'd like to use it to test loading speed on einSDein. Thanks!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 675	From: charlie	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted

Thanks Simon - Game ON! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA3agKxpm8k

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 676	From: charlie	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: einSDein now loads files.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA3agKxpm8k

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 677	From: Simon Hardy	Date: 20/06/2013
Subject: Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted

great work - want one :-) From: charlie <charlie_robson@hotmail.com> To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Sent: Thursday, 20 June 2013, 18:27 Subject: [tatung_einstein] Re: stand-alone machine code game wanted   Thanks Simon - Game ON! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA3agKxpm8k

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 678	From: Allan C. Lloyds	Date: 26/06/2013
Subject: TC01 for sale

Apologies if this isn't appropriate for the group - I did a search and didn't see any rules/faq. I have an Einstein TC 01 sitting in the attic and was just wondering if there's any collectors or enthusiasts who'd like to make an offer. The monitor seems to have gone AWOL but I think there's some games and a joystick somewhere. I'll throw in whatever I can find. Drop me an email at acl [at] acl [dot] im if you're interested. Cheers

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 679	From: charlie	Date: 10/07/2013
Subject: einSDein progress update

The hardware is working nicely. I've got it going as fast as it's possible to go - INIR and OUTIR can be used to transfer blocks of data. The next steps involve modifying Tony's Silicon Disk ROM to work with the einSDein board. I will try to leave the existing code working, and have the einSDein as drive 2. Ultimately I would like to have a system which doesn't need a floppy, which can boot from power-up to a modified DOS supplied by the einSDein EEPROM. The modified DOS will have an extra built-in command used for selecting disk images. I'd like eventually to be able to have einSDein supplying 2 or even 3 virtual drives - this should all be possible, right?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 680	From: Phill Harvey-Smith	Date: 10/07/2013
Subject: Re: einSDein progress update

On 10/07/2013 10:21, charlie wrote: > The hardware is working nicely. I've got it going as fast as it's > possible to go - INIR and OUTIR can be used to transfer blocks of data. Cool! > The next steps involve modifying Tony's Silicon Disk ROM to work with > the einSDein board. I will try to leave the existing code working, and > have the einSDein as drive 2. That makes sense. > Ultimately I would like to have a system which doesn't need a floppy, > which can boot from power-up to a modified DOS supplied by the einSDein > EEPROM. Though the option to select to boot from floppy may be desirable, maybe this could be a config option, I'm asuming this could be saved in the PIC32's EEPROM, like the options are for AtoMMC etc. > The modified DOS will have an extra built-in command used for selecting > disk images. I'd like eventually to be able to have einSDein supplying 2 > or even 3 virtual drives - this should all be possible, right? I'm assuming that once mounted these would be saved across reboots / power cycles ? Cheers. Phill.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 681	From: charlie	Date: 25/07/2013
Subject: Re: New interface in town - soon

> My, you are having fun - old and new do seem to blend rather well! Indeed they do! > Your twin ROM switcher boards look rather good - are you able to share the source of your > PCB material? Hope the drilling works well. I don't have any secret sauce regarding materials - Maplin do a reasonably priced FR4 board, and if I have the time then Farnell supply me with many a thing..! C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 682	From: charlie	Date: 25/07/2013
Subject: New Life for Silicon Disk!

I can happily announce that thanks to some clever reverse engineering of the Silicon Disk PALs it is now possible to build brand-new fresh-out-of-the-box boards! I've built one and it works nicely. C

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 683	From: charlie	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: New Life for Silicon Disk!

I've just noticed that my poor wording makes it look like it was me that did the clever stuff when it certainly wasn't - this was done by Tony Brewer, the originator of the design.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 684	From: Phil	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Composite output to VGA

Hi, I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not fit for text work. I'm sending it back. Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. Any help appreciated. :-) Phil

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 685	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA

Check out the pictures in the photo section that I posted last year. Eintesin to VGA. You may need to build a sync-splitter depending on which outputs you use on the Einstein. I think I posted some information at the time. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I > can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. > It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not > fit for text work. I'm sending it back. > Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without > spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well > over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? > I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen > but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them > in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. > Any help appreciated. > > :-) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 686	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA

Fairly comprehensive instructions in this post http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/message/489 Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I > can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. > It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not > fit for text work. I'm sending it back. > Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without > spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well > over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? > I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen > but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them > in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. > Any help appreciated. > > :-) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 689	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 07/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA

Oops, will have to check about 80 column. Should have read your post properly. Haven't thought about 80col for ages. --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I > can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. > It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not > fit for text work. I'm sending it back. > Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without > spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well > over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? > I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen > but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them > in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. > Any help appreciated. > > :-) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 690	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 08/08/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA

It should work with the composite video from the 80col going to the Y input of YUV on the GBS-2800(or 8220) and using a sync-splitter (LM1881 based) to seperate out the sync signal. I'll try to test it later if I can get to all the bits. Geoff --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" <p.simmons@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I > can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. > It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not > fit for text work. I'm sending it back. > Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without > spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well > over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? > I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen > but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them > in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. > Any help appreciated. > > :-) Phil >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 691	From: Phil	Date: 06/09/2013
Subject: Re: Composite output to VGA

Hi Geoff, Thanks for that - unfortunately I don't understand much of it - I found the GBS-8200 thingy and that looks doable but  I'm not sure about anything else than sticking a wire in one end and power in the other  Cheers, Phil --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "id_fugu_is_unavailable" wrote: > > It should work with the composite video from the 80col going to the Y input of YUV on the GBS-2800(or 8220) and using a sync-splitter (LM1881 based) to seperate out the sync signal. > > I'll try to test it later if I can get to all the bits. > > Geoff > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Phil" p.simmons@ wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I bought a 15 quid RCA to VGA converter box on EBay so that I > > can hook up the Einey to a modern screen. > > It works, sort of but the picture is horrible and crawly and not > > fit for text work. I'm sending it back. > > Is there anyway I can show my 80col text on an LCD without > > spending a fortune? A professional converter box is well > > over a hundred quid. Is it that hard to do? > > I still have the trusty old green screen and Tatung colour screen > > but space is at a premium these days and I would like to mothball them > > in the storage place. Also I no longer fancy roasting the back of my retinas with hours of close up work on the old greeny. > > Any help appreciated. > > > > :-) Phil > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 692	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Einstein recovered from the attic

Hi All, I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not easy after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of hours fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with the 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV via a scart adapters RCA video input. It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port breakout boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. I used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in the late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly the digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still being used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a few programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of such programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, ZSID, and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the Einey. After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a nostalgic urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get around to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting it, so if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. Ta, Jon leonard.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 693	From: Pencoys	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next saturday, very early, or later toward xmas. cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > Hi All, > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not easy > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of hours > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with the > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV via a > scart adapters RCA video input. > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port breakout > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. I > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in the > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly the > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still being > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a few > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of such > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, ZSID, > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > Einey. > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a nostalgic > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get around > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting it, so > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > Ta, > Jon leonard. > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo Groups Links > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 694	From: charlie	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Hi Jon! I would be thrilled to give your machine a loving home. The TC01 I'm currently using to develop an SD card interface is having video problems so it's fast becoming unusable. I still have work to do so another machine would be a real help. I live in Oxford but I have friends in Bristol who may be willing to collect the machine for me, but if not it's only an hour away and I can always tempt my wife into a trip by dangling Ikea in front of her ;) Thanks Charlie --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "jon" <jonleonard77@...> wrote: > > Hi All, > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not easy after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of hours fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with the 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV via a scart adapters RCA video input. > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port breakout boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. I used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in the late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly the digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still being used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a few programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of such programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, ZSID, and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the Einey. > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a nostalgic urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get around to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting it, so if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > Ta, > Jon leonard. >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 695	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Hi Mike, You beat Charlie to it by a minute or so, but as you said "if no-one else wants it" , and Charlie's old machine sounds to be on it's last legs, would you mind if I offered it to him. I don't wish to cause any friction here, just trying to weigh up 'need', and it sounds as if Charlie's may be greater than yours.... ? Jon --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@...> wrote: > > Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next saturday, > very early, or later toward xmas. > cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > > > Hi All, > > > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not easy > > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of hours > > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with the > > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV via a > > scart adapters RCA video input. > > > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port breakout > > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. I > > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in the > > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly the > > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still being > > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a few > > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of such > > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, ZSID, > > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > > Einey. > > > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a nostalgic > > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get around > > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting it, so > > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > > > Ta, > > Jon leonard. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 696	From: Pencoys	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

He's welcome to it. Truth be told, I probably don't have time to re-learn CP/M. Thanks for asking. Mike, p.s. Do you know Gaunts Earthcott, a little hamlet near Thornbury ? I used to live there, but no-one from Brissle knows it. John O' Gaunt had his Manor house there, just up the road from me. Not while I was there I hasten to add :-) On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:58, jon wrote: > Hi Mike, > > You beat Charlie to it by a minute or so, but as you said "if no-one else > wants it" , and Charlie's old machine sounds to be on it's last legs, would > you mind if I offered it to him. > I don't wish to cause any friction here, just trying to weigh up 'need', and > it sounds as if Charlie's may be greater than yours.... ? > > Jon > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@...> wrote: > > > > Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next > saturday, > > very early, or later toward xmas. > > cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not > easy > > > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of > hours > > > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with > the > > > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV > via a > > > scart adapters RCA video input. > > > > > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port > breakout > > > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. > I > > > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in > the > > > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly > the > > > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still > being > > > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > > > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a > few > > > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of > such > > > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, > ZSID, > > > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > > > Einey. > > > > > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a > nostalgic > > > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get > around > > > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > > > > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > > > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting > it, so > > > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > > > > > Ta, > > > Jon leonard. > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo Groups Links > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 697	From: charlie	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Thank you Mike and thank you Jon. It will be a treat to be able to debug with a picture rather than serial output :D The Ikea ploy worked so I shall be able to come that way most likely on Saturday afternoon, though naturally I'll be happy to fit in with your plans. At this point we should probably retreat to the safety of email to discuss further details. Regards Charlie --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@...> wrote: > > He's welcome to it. > Truth be told, I probably don't have time to re-learn CP/M. > Thanks for asking. > Mike, > p.s. > Do you know Gaunts Earthcott, a little hamlet near Thornbury ? > I used to live there, but no-one from Brissle knows it. John O' Gaunt had his > Manor house there, just up the road from me. Not while I was there I hasten > to add :-) > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:58, jon wrote: > > > Hi Mike, > > > > You beat Charlie to it by a minute or so, but as you said "if no-one else > > wants it" , and Charlie's old machine sounds to be on it's last legs, would > > you mind if I offered it to him. > > I don't wish to cause any friction here, just trying to weigh up 'need', and > > it sounds as if Charlie's may be greater than yours.... ? > > > > Jon > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@> wrote: > > > > > > Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next > > saturday, > > > very early, or later toward xmas. > > > cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. > > > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not > > easy > > > > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of > > hours > > > > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with > > the > > > > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV > > via a > > > > scart adapters RCA video input. > > > > > > > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port > > breakout > > > > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. > > I > > > > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in > > the > > > > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly > > the > > > > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still > > being > > > > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > > > > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a > > few > > > > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of > > such > > > > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, > > ZSID, > > > > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > > > > Einey. > > > > > > > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a > > nostalgic > > > > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get > > around > > > > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > > > > > > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > > > > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting > > it, so > > > > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > > > > > > > Ta, > > > > Jon leonard. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 698	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Cheers mike, no I don't know of Gaunt's Earthcott, but ole Gaunt used to get around a bit, well his name anyway. My school used to be sodbury grammar, but renamed chipping sodbury gaunt's school. gaunt's field was out the back as was Gaunt's road. Always wondered who Gaunt was... Jon --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@...> wrote: > > He's welcome to it. > Truth be told, I probably don't have time to re-learn CP/M. > Thanks for asking. > Mike, > p.s. > Do you know Gaunts Earthcott, a little hamlet near Thornbury ? > I used to live there, but no-one from Brissle knows it. John O' Gaunt had his > Manor house there, just up the road from me. Not while I was there I hasten > to add :-) > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:58, jon wrote: > > > Hi Mike, > > > > You beat Charlie to it by a minute or so, but as you said "if no-one else > > wants it" , and Charlie's old machine sounds to be on it's last legs, would > > you mind if I offered it to him. > > I don't wish to cause any friction here, just trying to weigh up 'need', and > > it sounds as if Charlie's may be greater than yours.... ? > > > > Jon > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@> wrote: > > > > > > Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next > > saturday, > > > very early, or later toward xmas. > > > cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. > > > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not > > easy > > > > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of > > hours > > > > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with > > the > > > > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV > > via a > > > > scart adapters RCA video input. > > > > > > > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port > > breakout > > > > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. > > I > > > > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in > > the > > > > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly > > the > > > > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still > > being > > > > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > > > > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a > > few > > > > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of > > such > > > > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, > > ZSID, > > > > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > > > > Einey. > > > > > > > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a > > nostalgic > > > > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get > > around > > > > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > > > > > > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > > > > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting > > it, so > > > > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > > > > > > > Ta, > > > > Jon leonard. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 699	From: jon	Date: 12/11/2013
Subject: Re: Einstein recovered from the attic

Ok Charlie, It's yours. Now over to email... Jon --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "charlie" <charlie_robson@...> wrote: > > Thank you Mike and thank you Jon. It will be a treat to be able to debug with a picture rather than serial output :D > > The Ikea ploy worked so I shall be able to come that way most likely on Saturday afternoon, though naturally I'll be happy to fit in with your plans. > > At this point we should probably retreat to the safety of email to discuss further details. > > Regards > Charlie > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@> wrote: > > > > He's welcome to it. > > Truth be told, I probably don't have time to re-learn CP/M. > > Thanks for asking. > > Mike, > > p.s. > > Do you know Gaunts Earthcott, a little hamlet near Thornbury ? > > I used to live there, but no-one from Brissle knows it. John O' Gaunt had his > > Manor house there, just up the road from me. Not while I was there I hasten > > to add :-) > > > > > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:58, jon wrote: > > > > > Hi Mike, > > > > > > You beat Charlie to it by a minute or so, but as you said "if no-one else > > > wants it" , and Charlie's old machine sounds to be on it's last legs, would > > > you mind if I offered it to him. > > > I don't wish to cause any friction here, just trying to weigh up 'need', and > > > it sounds as if Charlie's may be greater than yours.... ? > > > > > > Jon > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, "Pencoys" <pencoys@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Jon, if no-one else wants it I can arrange collection, possibly next > > > saturday, > > > > very early, or later toward xmas. > > > > cheers, Mike, G8NXD in Cornwall. > > > > > > > > On 12 Nov 2013 at 14:25, jon wrote: > > > > > > > > > Hi All, > > > > > > > > > > I will be on the move soon, and during our house clearing attempts (not > > > easy > > > > > after 27 years) I came across my old einstein TC01. Had a couple of > > > hours > > > > > fiddling with it and reliving the past. No monitor, so by fiddling with > > > the > > > > > 80-col card (changed a jumper) got it to output correctly to an lcd TV > > > via a > > > > > scart adapters RCA video input. > > > > > > > > > > It has two 3" drives, and an 80 column card, and a couple of port > > > breakout > > > > > boxes. Mostly it was used to learn programming, and hardware interfacing. > > > I > > > > > used to work at Bristol poly (now UWE Bristol) as an electronics tech in > > > the > > > > > late 1980s, and they used einstein computers on various courses, mostly > > > the > > > > > digital servicing HNC and HND courses. At the time CP/M-80 was still > > > being > > > > > used quite heavily on various Z80 based machines for programming and > > > > > interfacing courses, as a consequence I managed to acquire/port quite a > > > few > > > > > programming languages to the Einstein. So I have numerous disks full of > > > such > > > > > programs, such as TURBO pascal, hisoft C, MASM-80, fortran, ZASM-80, > > > ZSID, > > > > > and goodness knows what else. Also quite a few original manuals for the > > > > > Einey. > > > > > > > > > > After much deliberation I have decided not to keep it, I have a > > > nostalgic > > > > > urge to do so, but in reality I think it unlikely that I'll ever get > > > around > > > > > to using it, and it will probably continue to gather dust. > > > > > > > > > > So is there anyone here willing to give it a good home? > > > > > I live in Bristol, and don't really want to have the hassle of posting > > > it, so > > > > > if there's anyone who would like to pick it up, please drop me a line. > > > > > > > > > > Ta, > > > > > Jon leonard. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > Yahoo Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > >

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 700	From: laios99	Date: 22/02/2014
Subject: Hello from new member

Hi , greetings from Greece new to your forum , I finaly manage to get an Einstein tc01  from an ebay auction (UK) I used a package forwarding service as  very few sellers send abroad.That was a very nice complete bundle boxed with 21 discs , the books ,,and the hyperion paddle a small paddle for the arkanoid like Hyperball (game icluded),until now had only  emulation experience.I'm very interested in any hardware improvement.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 701	From:	Date: 25/02/2014
Subject: Speculator Info

Hi there,   Is ‘teeeby’ still available on this group?   The reason I ask is, I have had a TC01 for a little while now and was wondering if He had any info on the Spectrum Emulator as I would like to try and re-create one.   I do have internal photo’s and would be able to get the PALs to read but would love To hear from the original creator and get any info that he would like to share.   Thanks   Russ Pitman     This email and any files attached are intended for the addressee and may contain information of a confidential nature. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that this email was sent to you in error and you should not disclose, distribute, print, copy or make other use of this email or its attachments. Such actions, in fact, may be unlawful. In compliance with the various Regulations and Acts, General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited reserves the right to monitor (and examine for viruses) all emails and email attachments, both inbound and outbound. Email communications and their attachments may not be secure or error- or virus-free and the company does not accept liability or responsibility for such matters or the consequences thereof. General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited, Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY. Registered in England and Wales No: 1911653.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 702	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/02/2014
Subject: Re: Hello from new member

Hi :D There is an SD card interface which is just entering testing phase right now. I will announce here when testing is complete.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 703	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/02/2014
Subject: MOS 1.21

I have just encountered MOS 1,21 for the first time. Does anyone know anything about this? Could it be a custom build?  Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. Cheers Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 704	From: Philip Simmons	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info

I saw a Speculator go for the ridiculous sum of £120 on Ebay a couple of months ago - so someone has one :-) Is it anyone from this group? We are fortunate these days to have some real electronics wizards as members who can recreate almost anything. So if anyone has any original technology please consider lending it out for  replication.- things like thr speculator, ram drive,10mb hard disk interface etc. These things have been unavailable for 30  years or so and it would be nice if  they  could be resurrected for everyone to enjoy and of course there is always the opportunity for improvement. On Tue, 25 Feb 2014 10:50:15 -0000, <Russell.Pittman> wrote:   Hi there,   Is ‘teeeby’ still available on this group?   The reason I ask is, I have had a TC01 for a little while now and was wondering if He had any info on the Spectrum Emulator as I would like to try and re-create one.   I do have internal photo’s and would be able to get the PALs to read but would love To hear from the original creator and get any info that he would like to share.   Thanks   Russ Pitman     This email and any files attached are intended for the addressee and may contain information of a confidential nature. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that this email was sent to you in error and you should not disclose, distribute, print, copy or make other use of this email or its attachments. Such actions, in fact, may be unlawful. In compliance with the various Regulations and Acts, General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited reserves the right to monitor (and examine for viruses) all emails and email attachments, both inbound and outbound. Email communications and their attachments may not be secure or error- or virus-free and the company does not accept liability or responsibility for such matters or the consequences thereof. General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited, Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY. Registered in England and Wales No: 1911653. -- Using Opera's mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 705	From: bagpusscat22	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info

Would be good to get some of these built

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 706	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info

You could try to send him a direct message via the "members" list accessable from the forum header above. I have three Speculators, Some manuals and disks with converted software. I'll happily scan the documentation that I have. Don't hold your breath though.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 707	From: honda_four400	Date: 04/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info

Hi, I sold the speculator on ebay, a guy from portugal bought it. Too expensive you may say, but it takes two people to push the price up and who else is selling one. I think to reverse engineer one would be nigh impossible, it has a ROM which contains a large part of the spectrum code and could be copyed, but also a PAL (programable logic array) which you can't copy. Best bet would be to contact the original manufacturer / designer and speak nicely to them. Regards Alan

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 708	From: teeeby	Date: 09/03/2014
Subject: Re: Speculator Info

Hello Russ, Sorry for the slow reply. Due to recent dizzy attacks I am wary of using the computer for more than a very short time. I invented the Speculator for the Memotech first, then Einstein. The latter hardware is basically the same as the former with addition of cassette interface and buzzer (neither of which is essential these days). Details of Memotech Speculator are here: http://primrosebank.net/computers/mtx/techlib/mtx/mtxspeculator.htm and http://primrosebank.net/computers/mtx/documents/Speculator_Schematic.pdf Andy Key who wrote several games for the Memotech has created an emulator for that machine called Memu and recently he added Speculator support. Memu gives a very good impression of how Spectrum games looked on a real Speculator and it can be downloaded here: http://www.nyangau.org/memu/memu.htm The critical element of the Speculator is CPU-controlled /NMI, derived from /INT. There should be a delay after /INT goes low before /NMI goes low, to give maskable interrupts a chance to occur (so-called "delayed NMI"). This delay should be at least 23 T-states (length of longest Z80 instruction). Other important features are IN/OUT 7EH to read border and write key values, respectively (complementary ports to OUT/IN FEH), and IN/OUT IFH to emulate Kempston joystick. A new Speculator could be created using single programmable device, ideally a 5V-tolerant CPLD if they are still available. An FPGA would be overkill and more sensitive to noise. Tony Brewer

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 709	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 11/03/2014
Subject: irda and bluetooth

Hi All, Just to note a couple of items on ebay that might be helpful for wire free connection and transfer for the Einstein. This one for irda looks pretty much straight forward. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150991148424?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 This one involves Bluetooth with a serial to Bluetooth adapter of some sort. Not sure what is involved here. Is just the bit advertised for sale needed? Or! Does it need also the other piece of equipment mentioned. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201044913051?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 My Einstein is packed up and put aside ready for the move I'm having to make. I might though be able to test make use of them with an Android Tablet. Hope it is of interest. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 710	From: charlieprevx	Date: 11/03/2014
Subject: Re: irda and bluetooth

Hi Chris. I use the HC-05 modules all the time. They are super easy to use and so cheap that you can embed them in whatever project requires one. I use a terminal program on my phone to communicate with them. Excellent for debugging. The naked modules require some fine soldering skills to get power and signals off the board - they're only an inch and a half long so those connections are about 0.05" pitch. You can buy them broken out to 0.1" headers though:  http://goo.gl/JWS9lh I've made an adapter board that I would be happy to publish.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 711	From: laios99	Date: 26/03/2014
Subject: TC01 joystick

Hi has anyone any succes recreating a joystick for TC01 or already has one to reverse engineer  that is for sure a analog one with one fire button (pin 4) ,and I supose must have 2 pots (x,y) but to what pins ?, any help highly apreciated .I have a paddle for the game hyperball only,it  is a 47K pot and a button but doesn't work as joystick in any other game neither as x axis only.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 712	From: charlieprevx	Date: 27/03/2014
Subject: Re: TC01 joystick

The hardware reference manual is available in the files area. This has the information you seek. Charlie

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 713	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2014
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /1st contact Uploaded by : pi.tatung <pi.tatung> Description : You can access this file at the URL: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/1st%20contact To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_GRPS&locale=en_GB&id=SLN15398 Regards, pi.tatung <pi.tatung>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 714	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 10/04/2014
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /tat1.rtf Uploaded by : pi.tatung <pi.tatung> Description : !st contact You can access this file at the URL: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tatung_einstein/files/tat1.rtf To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_GRPS&locale=en_GB&id=SLN15398 Regards, pi.tatung <pi.tatung>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 715	From: laios99	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: : Re: Fitting 3 inch drives

>It's not the speed of the processor that is the problem but the type >of floppy disk controller on the motherboard. CPDread/write were >written to work on the older chipsets and were not updated for newer >ones. Some newer motherboards have compatible chipsets and some don't.  do we have any info about a controller card that work , even in a old dos machine ? I made up a machine 386 with a 3" drive from tco1 but no succes ,  it has a controller card with a Goldstar Prime 2C 9426  chip

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 716	From: Pencoys	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: Re: : Re: Fitting 3 inch drives

iirc there was a modification to the 3" drives for them to operate on DOS and Windows machines, sadly my notes are unavailable and my memory failing. Was it a DOS autoexec command to tell the OS that the drive was 40 track single sided ?. I know the Einstein DOS and XTAL DOS needed to be told the drive's geometry if it was NOT a 3" drive. On 2 Nov 2014 at 2:33, laiosx@cytamail.com [tatung_einstein] wrote: > >It's not the speed of the processor that is the problem but the type > >of floppy disk controller on the motherboard. CPDread/write were > >written to work on the older chipsets and were not updated for newer > >ones. Some newer motherboards have compatible chipsets and some don't. > > > do we have any info about a controller card that work , even in a old dos > machine ? > I made up a machine 386 with a 3" drive from tco1 but no succes , > it has a controller card with a Goldstar Prime 2C 9426 > chip

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 717	From: smacardghail@	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Re:: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives

Remember the  pinouts from the PC controller areslightly  different than from the Einstein. On the einstein drive set the jumpers DS1 and USI then connect with a PC cable. On the PC, it will appear as drive B. You need to set the PC BIOS to see drive B as a 5.25 inch 560KB. This allows CPDRead to read the disk into a disk image on the PC. It will not write to the 3 inch disk. CPDRead.cfg needs to be set as tracks = 40 drive = B Sides = 1 Step = 2 Type = 2 Are you trying to write to the Einstein drive from a PC?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 718	From: Laios Palingas	Date: 02/11/2014
Subject: Re: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Re:: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives

Yes indeed the purpose of all this is mainly the transfer from disk images to 3" disks,  but since now also CPDRead was failed I followed all the instrructions from Chris Coxall but no succes --- original message --- From: "smacardghail@ [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> To: <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Subject: Re:: Re: [tatung_einstein] Re:: Re: Fitting 3 inch drives   Remember the  pinouts from the PC controller areslightly  different than from the Einstein. On the einstein drive set the jumpers DS1 and USI then connect with a PC cable. On the PC, it will appear as drive B. You need to set the PC BIOS to see drive B as a 5.25 inch 560KB. This allows CPDRead to read the disk into a disk image on the PC. It will not write to the 3 inch disk. CPDRead.cfg needs to be set as tracks = 40 drive = B Sides = 1 Step = 2 Type = 2 Are you trying to write to the Einstein drive from a PC?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 719	From: honda_four400	Date: 10/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important

Hello!   Important message, visit http://newsbinaryoptions.com/fellow.php?pexc   alan@happybikes.co.uk

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 720	From: honda_four400	Date: 10/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important

Hello!   Important message, visit http://medcare911.com/captain.php?8c0a   alan@happybikes.co.uk

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 721	From: honda_four400	Date: 19/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 722	From: honda_four400	Date: 21/09/2015
Subject: Fw: important

Hey!   Important message, please visit http://spasoleilmassage.com/left.php   alan@happybikes.co.uk

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 723	From: m_r_day	Date: 22/09/2015
Subject: Installing 2nd 3" drive

Hello! I've owned an Einstein since about 1989. It has a single floppy drive, and I've recently acquired a 2nd drive which I'd like to install in the empty bay. The installation looks like it will be straightforward, but I don't know where I can get hold of the necessary power connector. The one from the first drive has a standard Molex plug on the drive end, but an unfamiliar-looking plug at the board end. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 724	From: Chris Coxall	Date: 23/09/2015
Subject: Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive

Hi, You can use a power splitter and share the power supply going to the existing  drive with the new drive. Not quite sure if  I'm remembering correctly but I think the standard power spliter cable that can be bought can fit on the Einstein's mother board floppy drive pins but watch out for polarity. I used  the Einstein's internal floppy drive power connectors to also power external drives (4 drives in all) so there is enough power for one motherboard connector to power two drives. Regards Chris Coxall       Hello! I've owned an Einstein since about 1989. It has a single floppy drive, and I've recently acquired a 2nd drive which I'd like to install in the empty bay. The installation looks like it will be straightforward, but I don't know where I can get hold of the necessary power connector. The one from the first drive has a standard Molex plug on the drive end, but an unfamiliar-looking plug at the board end. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 725	From: honda_four400	Date: 03/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message

Hello!   New message, please read http://readerschoicesgv.com/rich.php   alan@happybikes.co.uk

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 726	From: honda_four400	Date: 03/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 727	From: honda_four400	Date: 18/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message

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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 728	From: honda_four400	Date: 18/10/2015
Subject: Fw: new message

Hello!   New message, please read http://vapgroup.net/pleasant.php   alan@happybikes.co.uk

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 729	From: lez_anderson	Date: 10/11/2015
Subject: Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

Hi. I'm looking for some Technical information , namely the Tatung Einstein's Memory MAP and I/O port Mapping.  I was thinking of making a Very Crude Z80 system based on the Tatung Einstein based on the below spec Z80 CPU (Z84C0008PEC) switchable between 4MHz & 8MHZ Z80 CTC (Z84C3008PEC) 8251 USART (Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) Z80 SIO Z80 PIO 64K SRAM EPROM (32k ?) Glue Logic to do memory Mapping and I/O Mapping V9958 VDP AY-3-8910 PSG  SN76489 (second sound Chip) 8255 for IDE/CF card  RTC Real Time Clock Possibly FDC for floppies ?? 5V power supply I'm Still in Early stages !

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 730	From: m_r_day	Date: 12/11/2015
Subject: : Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive

Chris, many thanks for the advice. I had a further question about the jumper settings. The new (yet-to-be-installed) drive has come with different jumper settings from the old (installed) drive, as follows:       Old      New DS0   x--x     x  x DS1   x  x     x--x DS2   x  x     x  x DS3   x  x     x  x ML    x  x     x  x MI    x--x     x  x USI   x  x     x--x It makes sense that the old one would be set to DS0 and the new one to DS1, assuming a straight ribbon cable is to be used. I actually have the twisted variety, so - first question - presumably I'll need to set them both to DS1? Either that, or cut and reconnect the twisted part of the cable to emulate a straight cable? However I have no idea what the other jumper settings do - ML, MI, USI. Do you know what these are for? Thanks, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 731	From: bbcchris2000	Date: 17/11/2015
Subject: : Re: Installing 2nd 3" drive

Hi Mike, Sorry to get to take so long to get back to you. To answer your question On the Einstein 3 inch drives with jumper settings do not need a twisted cable. If your twisted cable has a twist of 7 wires it was made for the IBM computers using a different floppy controller and it will not work 2 three inch drives on the Einstein. A twisted cable for the Einstein is only necessary when using jumper less 3.5 floppy disk drives and then the twist is only for 3 wires. This web page might help: http://www.einstein.talktalk.net/abba.html. These cables can't be bought ready made and have to be made up by the user. I'm afraid you will have to remove the last edge board connector and straighten the cable. A new edge board connector will probably have to be bought. You may with a lot of luck and nimble finguers prize apart the existing connector for replacement. They are not designed for this to be done. I have myself recyled some this way and I've wrecked a lot more trying but that was in days when floppy disk edge board cable connectors were becoming obsolete and 5.25 inch drives were being replaced by 3.5 drives on PCs. There were a lot of the old cables being scrapped and easily found for free then. The other jumper setting besides drive select jumpers I used were USI. As far I can remember doing anything with the other jumpers made no difference. Regards Chris Coxall

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 732	From: smacardghail@	Date: 17/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

Did you get a response to this? Just in case, here is the IO map This is decoded by the IOREQ : A7 and A6 must be zero to enable the internal IO space (all active low). 38 - 3F     ADC0844 Analogue to Digital converter 30 - 37     Z80 PIO 28 - 2F     Z80 CTC 20 - 27     enables second decoder IO space 18 - 1F     FD1770 controller 10 - 17     8251 PCI 08 - 0F     TMS9129 VDP 00 - 07     AY-3-8910 Keyboard Controller Second decoder IO Space (all active low) 27             JR   ? not sure what this does 26             MB  ? not sure what this does 25            FIRE interrupt mask 24            ROM (clocks ROM chip enables after reset) 23            DRSEL (enables floppy disk select for 4 drives) 22            ALPH (Keyboard Caps lock) 21            ADC Interrupt mask 20            Keyboard interrupt mask Stephen

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 733	From: lez_anderson	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

Hi. Thanks for the I/O map information... do you know how the Memory is paged in/out  ?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 734	From: lez_anderson	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: Reverse Engineering a Tatung Einstein256

I was considering (doing a feasibility study) on reverse Engineering a Tatung Einstein256.  As the Einstein256 is just a slightly upgraded version of the original unit it shouldn't be too difficult (Says Me!!). Rough Specs. Z80 CPU (Z84C0008PEC) Switchable between 4 & 8MHz CTC PIO SIO 8257 etc AY-3-8910 Sound Chip (also reads keyboard) SN76489 (second sound chip) V99x8 Video Chip Possibly a D72020 VDP (Graphics display chip) as second VDP with the V99x8 superimposed on top giving PC quality Graphics ?? Though the analogue switching circuitry might be tricky !! 8255 PIO for CF card Read (instead of disk Drives) All the GLUE LOGIC would be put onto a CPLD as the Einstein256 condensed most of it's glue logic onto an ASIC I would like to push it faster than 8MHz, but I've been told going beyond 10MHz is difficult as the VDP and other chips just can't cope with those sort of speeds !! There's also people on the MSX forum doing a similar thing ! though it all seems rather hush hush !!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 735	From: m_r_day	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Installing 2nd 3" drive

Attachments : Hi Chris, I have it all working now; many thanks for your help. You were quite right about the ribbon cable - I managed to untwist it and this proved to be a crucial part of the correct setup. I was unable to save the 3.5" connectors, but fortunately only the 5.25" ones are needed, and on my particular cable these ones are designed to be opened and re-closed... also good in view of the fact that one of them had to be moved further along the cable since the drives sit so far apart in the machine. The power solution I opted for was to take a standard female-female Molex cable, pop the pins out of one end, slot them over the male pins on the board and crimp them in place. The jumper settings in my case turned out to be DS0+MI, and DS1+MI for drives 0 and 1 respectively. I still don't know what MI means, but that's the way the 1st drive was jumpered so I just copied it on the 2nd drive and this was the only setting that seemed to work. I also had to do some head cleaning and some jiggling of the stepper motor to get it to read disks but now it's good as new. Not bad considering it's a 32-year-old drive. Attached is a picture of the working setup. I'll let you know how I get on. Again, thank you! Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 736	From: smacardghail@	Date: 18/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

There is a 74LS74 flip flop configured as a divide by two (D pin connected to QBAR). The system cold reset is wired to the reset (CLR pin) of this 74LS74 so on RESET, the Q output is low. This Q output is tied to all the ROM Chips Chip Enable pins. So immediately after a Reset, both ROM CE 's are active low. MEMREQ, RD, A15, A14 and this Q output are OR'd so that all must be low to drive the first ROM OE pin low. 0x0000 through 0x3FFF A14 high and all the rest low drive the OE pin of the second ROM low -  0x4000 through 0x7FFF. While A15 and the Q output are low, this prevents the RAM CAS signal being driven low for a read operation (RD low). But the DRAM can be enables for a write operation. So immediately after reset, you can write to RAM from 0x0000 through 0xFFFF but can only read from 0x8000 through 0xFFFF. This allows a routine in ROM to read each location from 0x0000 through 0x7FFF  (read only from ROM chip) and write to the same location (write only to the RAM) thus copying its self to RAM. To switch the ROMs out of the memory map (e.g. when the above self copy is completed) write or read anything  to IO address 0x44 (this drives the Clock pin of the 74LS74 low). When this IOREQ cycle is completed, the Clock piun of the 74LS74 is then driven low to high which clocks the Q output high and disables the ROMs allowing full map read access to the DRAMS. If you need to access any routine in a ROM, when executing in the upper half of the RAM memory space you can switch the ROM back in by again executing a write or read anything  to IO address 0x44. Then switch the ROMs back out by doing so again Stephen

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 737	From: lez_anderson	Date: 19/11/2015
Subject: Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..

Does anyone know of a website (or have pics) of the Internals for : Details pictures For : Original Tatung Einstein , especial motherboard ? Einstein256 motherboard Speculator internals,  An other hardware they've seen ?? Thanks

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 738	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: Does Anyone know the true Story behind the Tatung Einstein..who desi

It would be interesting to find out the Story behind the Tatung Einstein.. why it was commissioned , who (the people) designed it where it was built/tested, R&D section, then made, who wrote software for it, when did the last ones come out of the factory... Just interesting so see the whole story..possibly even put it on the Tatung Einstein Wiki Page ?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 739	From: teeeby	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

The Einstein does not use any programmable logic and all the hardware functionality can be deduced from the circuit diagram at http://250kb.de/u/130401/g/YjM26ECjQjDb.gif Files section has text link to above image and other info. Tony Brewer

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 740	From: lez_anderson	Date: 20/11/2015
Subject: : Tatung Einstein Memory MAP & I/O Port addresses

I believe the Einstein256 did put some (if-not most) of it's Glue Logic onto a dedicated IC (ASIC?) to reduce Chip count ?

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 741	From: id_fugu_is_unavailable	Date: 22/11/2015
Subject: : Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..

Do you want internal pictures to reverse engineer the 256? I've got functional flow diagrams and a full schematic (As shown in the "Einstein 256 User Manual". The problem, as you are aware, is I006 (Tatung part number 19-8198-6/PG01), the chip containing the glue logic. With the information in the schematic and knowing how the 256 operates it should be possible to produce a functionally identical replacement. I'll try to get to my 256 and find out which chip was actually used. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 742	From: Lez Anderson	Date: 23/11/2015
Subject: Re: : Pictures of internals of Tatung Hardware..

Great the more technical info the better...The idea was/is to pop all the Glue logic onto a EPM7128SLC84. using boolean equations and EPM7128SLC84s are dirt cheap ($2.0 each). On Sunday, 22 November 2015, 15:53, "geoff [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Do you want internal pictures to reverse engineer the 256? I've got functional flow diagrams and a full schematic (As shown in the "Einstein 256 User Manual". The problem, as you are aware, is I006 (Tatung part number 19-8198-6/PG01), the chip containing the glue logic. With the information in the schematic and knowing how the 256 operates it should be possible to produce a functionally identical replacement. I'll try to get to my 256 and find out which chip was actually used. Geoff

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 743	From: thomasliddle88	Date: 23/11/2015
Subject: F18A VDP ??

I was wondering is it worth getting the F18A VDP board to pop into my Einstein TC01, I'm not that proficient with old RETRO computers.. but is it worth doing.?. Can the F18A run Einstein256 V9938 software ??

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 744	From: jltursan	Date: 24/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??

If the TC01 is your main rig I say get it now!, it's a really cool item, full of features; but if I'm not wrong, right now it's not 9938 compatible (is it already implemented the 80 columns extra feature?). That's why you can't use it as a drop-in E256's V9938 replacement, the V9938 it's still a cool and powerful VDP :-)...sadly not too much E256 software make use of it. If you want to upgrade your E256 you can always swap it with a V9958 with, probably, some minor mods. Regards Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 745	From: teeeby	Date: 24/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??

I have never used the F18A but looking at it there are some issues: (1) Does it fit in the TC01? The loudspeaker connector might be in the way. (2) The only socketed chips are the ROMs so VDP must be unsoldered and a new socket fitted. (3) 60 Hz only operation for F18A? Less of a issue than others probably, as the /INT pin is not connected, inexplicably. When I ported the Speculator to the Einstein I had to use a CTC channel to generate an interrupt after 19.5 ms or so then inside the interrupt routine keep reading the status register until the interrupt flag was set, whereas on Memotech MTX500/512 /VDPINT is connected to CTC and 20 ms interrupts generated automatically at end of active display. Tony Brewer

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 746	From: jltursan	Date: 25/11/2015
Subject: : F18A VDP ??

Indeed the lack of 50Hz operation seems to be a little annoyance, I wonder if there're any software so tighly tied to 50Hz frecuency that it could not run at 60Hz... The only case that comes to my mind is games full of graphic activity and heavily synchronized with the screen refresh. Btw, as for your comment I also remember that the VDP in the TC01 was not generating an interrupt to signal the vblank, the only way I found to overcome this was doing an active loop polling the VDP status register and waiting for the end of frame. Pretty bad solution, the MSX machines also generate automatic interrupts every 20ms, extremely handy when paired with a HALT instruction :-)  Anyway, about the F18A again, seems that there's not in stock right now (or at least I haven't been able to find it) Jose

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 747	From: labalius	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: TM01 monitor recovery

After about 20 years in my dad's loft, my Einstein TC01 and TM01 monitor were powered up recently. The TC01 seems to be OK but the monitor is in a bad way. I am hoping somebody can help me out. When I turned the power on, the monitor made a cracking sound which was accompanied by a burning smell. With the Einstein on, I could see the default MOS display screen in colour (white text on blue background) but the display was rapidly scrolling vertically (or possibly varying position randomly vertically). It struck me that the frequency of vertical oscillation could be 50Hz but I had no means of verifying this. Horizontally the display was stable. Although I can make out what is displayed, it is not fit for normal use. I am no electrician but I know my way around a soldering iron. Does anybody recognise the symptoms? Is there likely to be a part that I could replace? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks, Ben.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 748	From: Pencoys	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: Re: TM01 monitor recovery

vertical scrolling, the vertical hold pot ( at the back of the monitor ) probably needs adjusting. However, the crackling you describe sounds like EHT breaking down and arcing possibly due to damp storage conditions, and could also be burning deposited dust on the CRT .. The EHT transformer in the TM01 is at best classified as fragile and doubtful if a spare can be sourced now. Be sure the monitor is dry with no condensation before powering it up. Leave the monitor in the airing cupboard for a few days so that it can dry out. its a standard composite output from the TC01 - most LCD TV's can accept the Composite signal - its now called AV input ( usually phono socket ), you could also go in through scart socket with a bit of solderig. cheers, Pencoys On 25 Nov 2015 at 16:19, labalius [tatung_einstein] wrote: > After about 20 years in my dad's loft, my Einstein TC01 and TM01 monitor were > powered up recently. The TC01 seems to be OK but the monitor is in a bad way. > I am hoping somebody can help me out. > > > When I turned the power on, the monitor made a cracking sound which was > accompanied by a burning smell. With the Einstein on, I could see the default > MOS display screen in colour (white text on blue background) but the display > was rapidly scrolling vertically (or possibly varying position randomly > vertically). It struck me that the frequency of vertical oscillation could be > 50Hz but I had no means of verifying this. Horizontally the display was > stable. Although I can make out what is displayed, it is not fit for normal > use. > > > I am no electrician but I know my way around a soldering iron. Does anybody > recognise the symptoms? Is there likely to be a part that I could replace? > Any advice would be gratefully received. > > > Thanks, > Ben.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 749	From: Robert Deeley	Date: 26/11/2015
Subject: Re: TM01 monitor recovery

Hi Ben I have a spare colour monitor you can have. I live south Bedfordshire. All best, Bob On Thu, Nov 26, 2015 at 12:19 AM, labalius [tatung_einstein] <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   After about 20 years in my dad's loft, my Einstein TC01 and TM01 monitor were powered up recently. The TC01 seems to be OK but the monitor is in a bad way. I am hoping somebody can help me out. When I turned the power on, the monitor made a cracking sound which was accompanied by a burning smell. With the Einstein on, I could see the default MOS display screen in colour (white text on blue background) but the display was rapidly scrolling vertically (or possibly varying position randomly vertically). It struck me that the frequency of vertical oscillation could be 50Hz but I had no means of verifying this. Horizontally the display was stable. Although I can make out what is displayed, it is not fit for normal use. I am no electrician but I know my way around a soldering iron. Does anybody recognise the symptoms? Is there likely to be a part that I could replace? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks, Ben.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 750	From: labalius	Date: 30/11/2015
Subject: : TM01 monitor recovery

Thanks Bob, but I do not have the means to transport it! The Einstein is in Cumbria. Cheers, Ben

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 751	From: labalius	Date: 30/11/2015
Subject: : TM01 monitor recovery

Thank you for your detailed answer. I have contacted my dad and he is going to try adjusting the vertical hold, once the Einstein and monitor have been thoroughly aired (they had to go back in the loft due to a threat of flooding during heavy rain). Otherwise I will try the scart option. Cheers, Ben.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 752	From: grubbadrian	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Willy games

Hi. I was wondering if anybody here knows how I could get my hands on any original, not copied, Willy games, Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Manic Miner/Jet Set Willy II or Jet Set Willy/Harvey Smith Show Jumper? I've been offered copies of all but a collection such as mine requires originals as they're for show, not play.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 753	From: Pencoys	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Re: Willy games

I think I may have them somewhere. remind me in the new year if you hav'nt heard from me before. On 26 Dec 2015 at 17:46, grubbadrian [tatung_einstein] wrote: > Hi. I was wondering if anybody here knows how I could get my hands on any > original, not copied, Willy games, Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Manic > Miner/Jet Set Willy II or Jet Set Willy/Harvey Smith Show Jumper? I've been > offered copies of all but a collection such as mine requires originals as > they're for show, not play.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 754	From: grubbadrian	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: : Willy games

Thank you for that, I will certainly do so.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 755	From: Adrian Grubb	Date: 27/12/2015
Subject: Re: Willy games

Thank you for that, I will certainly do so.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 756	From: SandyMuir2001	Date: 10/01/2016
Subject: Power Supply part replacement

Attachments : ze01.jpg circuit diagram.jpg Hi everybody, I just got myself a Tatung Einstein, to add to my ever growing retro machine collection. As part of my initial tear-down for inspection, dusting, drive belt replacement and servicing etc, I always check the condition of the power supply. The caps all look fine, but ZE01 (a tallish black plastic case marked EDT 2x12mH/1A-02) appears to be leaking. Picture attached. From what I can gather from the circuit diagram, it's a power smoother positioned before the main wave bridge rectifier. The computer does fire up (I had it on for maybe 5 seconds, and the power lights and drive come on), but I'm not keen to have it on for longer, given that ZE01 is exposed to the full 240volts of the mains (I'm in the UK). Does anyone know where I can get another one of these components? Thank's in advance.

@@attachment@@

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 757	From: grubbadrian	Date: 13/01/2016
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Willy games

Reminding you about the games featuring Willy in the New Year, as requested.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 758	From: grubbadrian	Date: 15/01/2016
Subject: : Re: [tatung_einstein] Willy games

Reminding you about the games featuring Willy in the New Year, as requested, Pencoys

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 759	From: labalius	Date: 26/09/2016
Subject: Giveaway: Olivetti DM 105 printer and broken TM 01 Monitor

I have two items which are free for anybody who wants them. The first is a dot matrix printer which has been in my dad's loft since the 1990s. It worked then and it may be possible to get it working again, although I have not tried. Cable is included, as well as the manual and it comes in its original packaging. The monitor was the subject of a request for help earlier this year. When I turned the power on for the first time after bringing it down from the loft, the monitor made a cracking sound which was accompanied by a burning smell. With the Einstein on, I could see the default MOS display screen in colour (white text on blue background) but the display was rapidly scrolling vertically (or possibly varying position randomly vertically). Although I can make out what is displayed, it is not fit for normal use. It may be possible to repair it or scavenge parts from it, but it is beyond me. The items are available to collect from near Kendal, Cumbria. Courier delivery is possible also, with Hermes quoting £7.95 for the printer and £9.95 for the monitor. It would make sense for you to purchase the postage and email the documentation to my dad, so that he can attach it to the parcel. The alternative would be for you to pay me by PayPal, which requires more trust on your part! My dad is retired, so collection times are very flexible. Best wishes, Ben

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 760	From: labalius	Date: 23/10/2016
Subject: Hyperball access codes

Among my old notes I have found the access codes for all levels of the game Hyperball, up to Level 62. If anybody wants them, let me know.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 761	From: ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47	Date: 07/06/2017
Subject: Spare Parts?

Hi, Does anyone have a broken (spares/repairs) TC01 that they are willing to part with (for cash or free) that I can use for parts? Specifically the keyboard. Thanks, Dan

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 762	From: Pencoys	Date: 07/06/2017
Subject: Re: Spare Parts?

where are you Dan? On 7 Jun 2017 at 16:13, ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47@y[tatung_einstein] Spare Parts? wrote: > Hi, > > > Does anyone have a broken (spares/repairs) TC01 that they are willing to > part with (for cash or free) that I can use for parts? Specifically the > keyboard. > > > Thanks, > > > Dan

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 763	From: ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47	Date: 08/06/2017
Subject: : Spare Parts?

Sorry, that would help! I'm in Manchester, UK

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 764	From: Andrew McRobbie	Date: 04/10/2017
Subject: Re: Spare Parts?

Unless you have physically damaged the keyboard, WD40 for the sticking keys or re-soldering the dry joints are the usual suspects with a faulty keyboard. regards Andrew -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 7/6/17, 'Pencoys' pencoys [tatung_einstein] <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote: Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Spare Parts? To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Date: Wednesday, 7 June, 2017, 17:34   where are you Dan? On 7 Jun 2017 at 16:13, ao3n6g4bhrnmatbyrnwnqhall44bzyeybdbr7b47@y[tatung_einstein] Spare Parts? wrote: > Hi, > > > Does anyone have a broken (spares/repairs) TC01 that they are willing to > part with (for cash or free) that I can use for parts? 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Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 765	From: andrewdunipace	Date: 06/10/2017
Subject: : Spare Parts?

I'd second re-soldering to solve the problem of dry joints.  Hi Andy. Glad to see you still take an interest in the einstein!

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 766	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Are people still using the Einstein?

Hi,  I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to use properly. I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc. Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :) Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly? I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world. I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and would be appreciative of any information that can be provided. Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein Reborn, but no one is replying. This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available. Ta Ta Mike (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 767	From: Pencoys	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?

Mike, glad you are still using the Einstein. I have two TC02 machines with 80 col cards, oodles of disks ( 3" and 3.5" anf 5.25" ) , software ( dos, Xtal dos, and P.D. OS etc), books, magazines etc. I'm looking to 'loose' them If you are interested, give me a shout. I'm not sure about their functionality now, they were working when boxed and put away, but you know the problems that plagued the keyboards. anyway, if you are interested... I'm not going to give them away, but nor am I asking the earth. atb, Mike in Redruth Cornwall UK On 30 Aug 2019 at 9:56, mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstei wrote: > Hi, I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to > use properly. > > > I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the > speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc. > > > Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :) > > > Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly? > > > I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are > still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide > your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this > log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world. > > > I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, > detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and > would be appreciative of any information that can be provided. > > > Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can > supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein > Reborn, but no one is replying. > > > This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available. > > > Ta Ta > > > Mike > > > (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 768	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?

oh wow. that sounds good.  If we are talking sensible money, then I am interested! :) - Ssshhh Don't tell the wife! :O I am in Manchester, UK, So postage should not be a huge problem. - Let me know how much you are looking at for the whole lot. I am very interested, but beings as they are untested I would be looking to pay as little as possible! (Cheeky I know, but I may end up blowing the office room up trying to get them working! ha ha) Thanks  Mike.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 769	From: smcardle	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?

Attachments : Still use a TC01 (80 col card) orig 3” drive with SD card to drive an acoustic test system in a small anechoic tunnel. It drives the stepper motors etc. while a High end PC gathers the acoustic data. Also does EEPROM programming, and stimulus for some Logic Analyser stuff. Just cannot let go …. Its my age! Also have a BBC-B micro driving an XY stage on a microscope and a Sinclair QL doing, …., em, absolutely nothing.   Stephen   From: mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein] Sent: 30 August 2019 10:57 To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Are people still using the Einstein?     Hi,  I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to use properly.   I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc.   Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :)   Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly?   I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world.   I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and would be apprec iative of any information that can be provided.   Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein Reborn, but no one is replying.   This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available.   Ta Ta   Mike   (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 770	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?

That's great.. thanks for the details. Any chance of the serial number of the Einstein? Thanks Mike.  On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 19:53 smcardle smacardghail@ [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Still use a TC01 (80 col card) orig 3” drive with SD card to drive an acoustic test system in a small anechoic tunnel. It drives the stepper motors etc. while a High end PC gathers the acoustic data. Also does EEPROM programming, and stimulus for some Logic Analyser stuff. Just cannot let go …. Its my age! Also have a BBC-B micro driving an XY stage on a microscope and a Sinclair QL doing, …., em, absolutely nothing.   Stephen   From: mike..d.halliday [tatung_einstein] Sent: 30 August 2019 10:57 To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: [tatung_einstein] Are people still using the Einstein?     Hi,  I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to use properly.   I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc.   Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :)   Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly?   I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world.   I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and would be apprec iative of any information that can be provided.   Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein Reborn, but no one is replying.   This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available.   Ta Ta   Mike   (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 771	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Einstein Serial Numbers

Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 772	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number 😜 it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?   Cheers Mike H On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 773	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

Attachments : Ok Mike Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are? Mike To:                            tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?   Cheers Mike H On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > wrote:   Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 774	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.  How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy? My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing? Mike. On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Ok Mike Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are? Mike To:                            tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?   Cheers Mike H On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk > wrote:   Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 775	From: Mike Strange	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

Attachments : Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590 It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through. Mike To:                            tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.  How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy? My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing? Mike. On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Ok Mike Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are? Mike To:                             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?   Cheers Mike H On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk >wrote:   Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 776	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 30/08/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

Ok, thanks. I will have a look when I get time.  On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 21:23 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590 It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through. Mike To:                            tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.  How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy? My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing? Mike. On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Ok Mike Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are? Mike To:                             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?   Cheers Mike H On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk >wrote:   Mike (Halliday), If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in. Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 777	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?

Hi Stephen, I should have also asked if you have disk images of the software you use on the Einstein? Were they ever uploaded to 'Einstein Reborn' - Maybe a good idea to archive the Einstein software somewhere? It does sound like the Einstein was put to good use back in the day. Pictures of it in the working environment would be good if you can manage that? - Life in the old dog yet! :D Thanks Mike. ---In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, <smacardghail@...> wrote : Still use a TC01 (80 col card) orig 3” drive with SD card to drive an acoustic test system in a small anechoic tunnel. It drives the stepper motors etc. while a High end PC gathers the acoustic data. Also does EEPROM programming, and stimulus for some Logic Analyser stuff. Just cannot let go …. Its my age! Also have a BBC-B micro driving an XY stage on a microscope and a Sinclair QL doing, …., em, absolutely nothing.   Stephen   From: mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein] Sent: 30 August 2019 10:57 To: tatung_einstein@... Subject: [tatung_einstein] Are people still using the Einstein?     Hi,  I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to use properly.   I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc.   Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :)   Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly?   I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world.   I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and would be apprec iative of any information that can be provided.   Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein Reborn, but no one is replying.   This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available.   Ta Ta   Mike   (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 778	From: Pencoys	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Re: : Are people still using the Einstein?

Sorry for the delay Mike, I'm not sure what a 'sensible' price would be. I would think somewhere in the low hundreds perhaps. L8R Mike W On 30 Aug 2019 at 3:26, mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstei wrote: > oh wow. that sounds good. If we are talking sensible money, then I am > interested! :) - Ssshhh Don't tell the wife! :O > > I am in Manchester, UK, So postage should not be a huge problem. - Let me > know how much you are looking at for the whole lot. I am very interested, but > beings as they are untested I would be looking to pay as little as possible! > (Cheeky I know, but I may end up blowing the office room up trying to get > them working! ha ha) > > > Thanks > > > Mike.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 779	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Einstein Hardware, Serial Numbers and Einey D.I.Y projects you own

As Mike Strange mentioned in his reply to my previous post, it may be a good idea to have a separate thread  where people can add their serial numbers and hardware configurations. So I will start this off with the following. This is my current Einstein setup, on my desk in the home office, next to my video editing PC and my Atari STe Hardware: Einstein TC01 - SN 6006381 (Bought faulty and fixed up - https://www.mikesretrotech.co.uk/tc-01-resurrection-for-easter/) Drive 0: Gotek floppy drive emulator with rotary encoder and OLED screen Drive 1: 3" floppy Home made RGB to VGA cable [I have also made a cable to connect up the ADC sockets (As featured in Einstein Monthly)] DIY external 3.5 mm audio jack, feeding the mono audio to a pair of desktop stereo speakers  (For recording audio) - I hope to get a switch installed soon so I can have internal, external or both speakers running at the same time. Connected to Dell 23" P2314H LCD monitor (Wide screen 15khz capable monitor). GBS800 VGA to HDMI arcade video convertor board and Roxio Game Cap HD recording device Software: All my software is on the Gotek, and I only own 2 blank 3" discs Books: Hardware Reference Manual Basic Reference Manual An Introduction to BBC Basic (Z80) reference Manual DOS/MOS Introduction Einstein Primer Einstein Compendium Dr Logo Introduction File handling in basic Most of this stuff is featured on my YouTube channel under the Einstein play list www.mikesretrotech.co.uk https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbvbYmgBC5nZWFplUI2c39Q Probably no where near as much stuff as the rest of you, but I only started again with the Einstein in Jan 2019 so I have a fair way to go yet! :D Mike. (Mikes Retro Tech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 780	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: : Re: scroller & PT2

I know this is an old thread, but ... Did anything get fixed, speed wise? I have just run both files on my real hardware and they do stutter.  Since the post was originally made, PC hardware is much faster and MESS runs them both very smoothly. Did jltursan ever make the source does available for these 2 programs? I would love to see how they are put together. Were they written in assembler or something else? Mike.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 781	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 31/08/2019
Subject: Re: : Are people still using the Einstein?

Sounds fair. I think we can come to some sort of deal, but it may have to be split over a few months if thats ok? Maybe one machine at a time? - I have to sell some of my other retro machines to make the space and release funds! :-O We can come to some sort of sensible arrangement that benefits us both! Thanks Mike. On 31/08/2019 09:56, 'Pencoys' pencoys [tatung_einstein] wrote:   Sorry for the delay Mike, I'm not sure what a 'sensible' price would be. I would think somewhere in the low hundreds perhaps. L8R Mike W On 30 Aug 2019 at 3:26, mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstei wrote: > oh wow. that sounds good. If we are talking sensible money, then I am > interested! :) - Ssshhh Don't tell the wife! :O > > I am in Manchester, UK, So postage should not be a huge problem. - Let me > know how much you are looking at for the whole lot. I am very interested, but > beings as they are untested I would be looking to pay as little as possible! > (Cheeky I know, but I may end up blowing the office room up trying to get > them working! ha ha) > > > Thanks > > > Mike.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 782	From: Mike Day	Date: 01/09/2019
Subject: Re: Einstein Serial Numbers

Hi Mike,   Here’s a TC01 serial number for your speadsheet… 6001062. Quite a low one by the looks of things.   Coincidentally, I acquired this machine in Manchester. This happened in 1989 when my employer, the videogame company Binary Design, sold off some of their hardware to employees. I picked up the Einstein for the princely sum of 30 pounds, but I can’t remember whether that price included the TM01 monitor that came with it. Both the computer and monitor are fully functional today and I don’t think I have needed to do anything to keep them in working order. The only modification I have made was to install a second 3”disk drive I picked up recently.   Regards, Mike [Day]   From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2019 1:40 PM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Ok, thanks. I will have a look when I get time.      On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 21:23 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590   It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through.   Mike     To:                            tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk         No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.    How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy?   My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing?   Mike.     On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Ok Mike   Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are?   Mike     To:                             tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk         Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?     Cheers   Mike H   On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@ [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk >wrote:   Mike (Halliday),   If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc   I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in.   Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 783	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 02/09/2019
Subject: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers

Hi Mike, Thanks for that. Indeed a low numbered beast! Interesting history of your machine. Were they used for Speccy and Amstrad game development? Did you manage to get any other hardware with it, or just the machine? Regards Mike ---In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, <m-day@...> wrote : Hi Mike,   Here’s a TC01 serial number for your speadsheet… 6001062. Quite a low one by the looks of things.   Coincidentally, I acquired this machine in Manchester. This happened in 1989 when my employer, the videogame company Binary Design, sold off some of their hardware to employees. I picked up the Einstein for the princely sum of 30 pounds, but I can’t remember whether that price included the TM01 monitor that came with it. Both the computer and monitor are fully functional today and I don’t think I have needed to do anything to keep them in working order. The only modification I have made was to install a second 3”disk drive I picked up recently.   Regards, Mike [Day]   From: tatung_einstein@... <tatung_einstein@...> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2019 1:40 PM To: tatung_einstein@... Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Ok, thanks. I will have a look when I get time.      On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 21:23 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590   It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through.   Mike     To:                            tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@...         No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.    How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy?   My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing?   Mike.     On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Ok Mike   Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are?   Mike     To:                             tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@...         Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?     Cheers   Mike H   On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@... >wrote:   Mike (Halliday),   If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc   I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in.   Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 784	From: Mike Day	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers

Hi Mike,   Yes, we used them for developing Speccy software. It was one of 2 such machines sold off; sadly the other one probably ended up in a landfill – according to the guy who bought it. What a terrible waste!   I didn’t pick up any other hardware, just the Einstein and monitor, and the RS232 cable needed to transfer data to the Spectrum Interface 1 peripheral. I still have my Speccy from 1982, and about 5 years ago I was able to resuscitate it with a bit of work and actually got the 2 machines talking to each other.   I also have all of the 3” disks I acquired with the Einstein, and most of them are still readable today. They contain a mixture of utilities and my own source code from that era. There’s a Z80 editor/assembler called ED, created by programmer Mike Webb, which I used earlier this year to code up a little 3D rendering demo. Nice to get back to one’s roots!   Mike   From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Monday, September 2, 2019 12:03 AM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: Re:: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Hi Mike,   Thanks for that. Indeed a low numbered beast!   Interesting history of your machine. Were they used for Speccy and Amstrad game development?   Did you manage to get any other hardware with it, or just the machine?   Regards   Mike ---In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, <m-day@...> wrote : Hi Mike,   Here’s a TC01 serial number for your speadsheet… 6001062. Quite a low one by the looks of things.   Coincidentally, I acquired this machine in Manchester. This happened in 1989 when my employer, the videogame company Binary Design, sold off some of their hardware to employees. I picked up the Einstein for the princely sum of 30 pounds, but I can’t remember whether that price included the TM01 monitor that came with it. Both the computer and monitor are fully functional today and I don’t think I have needed to do anything to keep them in working order. The only modification I have made was to install a second 3”disk drive I picked up recently.   Regards, Mike [Day]   From: tatung_einstein@... <tatung_einstein@...> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2019 1:40 PM To: tatung_einstein@... Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Ok, thanks. I will have a look when I get time.      On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 21:23 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590   It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through.   Mike     To:                            tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@...         No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.    How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy?   My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing?   Mike.     On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Ok Mike   Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are?   Mike     To:                             tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@...         Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?     Cheers   Mike H   On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@... >wrote:   Mike (Halliday),   If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc   I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in.   Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 785	From: Mike Halliday	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: : RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers

Nice. - I have seen magazine articles about using Einsteins for dev work, but never spoken to someone who actually used one. - My Einstein got me through a software engineering diploma at college, then I got a PC. Shame I didnt keep it, would have been good to loo through my old TASWord documents. I don't suppose you have ED and the 3D demo/Source available in DSK format (Or as the seperate files)? Would love to have a look them on real hardware :-)  (You really need to get all your discs imaged before they die!) As many source/apps/discs need to be archived online as possible for all to share or just for preservation! - Looking through my disk image archive, I do not appear to have ED, so more software surfaces! :D Zen assembler is ok, but not very easy to use. Have been on the look out for a decent Z80 assembler for a few weeks now! ED sounds like it might be better?  :) Regards Mike. On Tue, 3 Sep 2019 at 04:39, 'Mike Day' m-day@socal.rr.com [tatung_einstein] <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Hi Mike,   Yes, we used them for developing Speccy software. It was one of 2 such machines sold off; sadly the other one probably ended up in a landfill – according to the guy who bought it. What a terrible waste!   I didn’t pick up any other hardware, just the Einstein and monitor, and the RS232 cable needed to transfer data to the Spectrum Interface 1 peripheral. I still have my Speccy from 1982, and about 5 years ago I was able to resuscitate it with a bit of work and actually got the 2 machines talking to each other.   I also have all of the 3” disks I acquired with the Einstein, and most of them are still readable today. They contain a mixture of utilities and my own source code from that era. There’s a Z80 editor/assembler called ED, created by programmer Mike Webb, which I used earlier this year to code up a little 3D rendering demo. Nice to get back to one’s roots!   Mike   From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> Sent: Monday, September 2, 2019 12:03 AM To: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk Subject: Re:: RE: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Hi Mike,   Thanks for that. Indeed a low numbered beast!   Interesting history of your machine. Were they used for Speccy and Amstrad game development?   Did you manage to get any other hardware with it, or just the machine?   Regards   Mike ---In tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk, <m-day@...> wrote : Hi Mike,   Here’s a TC01 serial number for your speadsheet… 6001062. Quite a low one by the looks of things..   Coincidentally, I acquired this machine in Manchester. This happened in 1989 when my employer, the videogame company Binary Design, sold off some of their hardware to employees. I picked up the Einstein for the princely sum of 30 pounds, but I can’t remember whether that price included the TM01 monitor that came with it. Both the computer and monitor are fully functional today and I don’t think I have needed to do anything to keep them in working order. The only modification I have made was to install a second 3”disk drive I picked up recently.   Regards, Mike [Day]   From: tatung_einstein@... <tatung_einstein@...> Sent: Friday, August 30, 2019 1:40 PM To: tatung_einstein@... Subject: Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers     Ok, thanks. I will have a look when I get time.      On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 21:23 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Mike, You will find photographs I posted Apr 5, 2013 in the 3rd photo album. There was a subsequent discussion from  that started on message #590   It is 'formatted' like a floppy but it is volatile memory really. Yes there is a PAL in it, you will find a component list if you follow the discussion thread through.   Mike     To:                            tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" <tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 21:02:05 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:             tatung_einstein@...         No idea, rare I guess. I have heard of 3 so far, the newer einSDein SD card module appears to be more plentiful.    How does it work? Like a hard drive of just a bigger capacity floppy?   My Einstein has a gotek for drive 0: and a proper floppy as 1: which works fantastically so don't really need to use one, but it would be good to see one. Do you have any pictures of it either on its own or running? Does it need a new ROM chip blowing?   Mike.     On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:46 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@...> wrote:   Ok Mike   Out of interest do you have any idea how plentiful the Silicon Disc modules are?   Mike     To:                             tatung_einstein@... From:                         "Mike Halliday mike.d.halliday@... [tatung_einstein]" < tatung_einstein@...> Date sent:                  Fri, 30 Aug 2019 20:25:22 +0100 Subject:                     Re: [tatung_einstein] Einstein Serial Numbers Send reply to:              tatung_einstein@...         Hi Mike, thanks for that. Another high serial number it's looking like maybe only 35000 or so machines exist or were made?     Cheers   Mike H   On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 20:17 'Mike Strange' mjstrange@... [tatung_einstein], < tatung_einstein@... >wrote:   Mike (Halliday),   If you would like the serial of my Einstein it is 6031042 with 80 column card and Silicon Disc   I thought a separate thread might be useful to gather the numbers in.   Regards Mike (Strange)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 786	From: weirdocollector	Date: 03/09/2019
Subject: Re: Are people still using the Einstein?

Hi! I'd be interested in an 80 columns card. How much for it? Thanks in advance :) Fabio. (Milan - Italy) On Fri, 30 Aug 2019, 12:13 'Pencoys' pencoys [tatung_einstein], <tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk> wrote:   Mike, glad you are still using the Einstein. I have two TC02 machines with 80 col cards, oodles of disks ( 3" and 3.5" anf 5.25" ) , software ( dos, Xtal dos, and P.D. OS etc), books, magazines etc. I'm looking to 'loose' them If you are interested, give me a shout. I'm not sure about their functionality now, they were working when boxed and put away, but you know the problems that plagued the keyboards. anyway, if you are interested... I'm not going to give them away, but nor am I asking the earth. atb, Mike in Redruth Cornwall UK On 30 Aug 2019 at 9:56, mike.d.halliday [tatung_einstei wrote: > Hi, I bought a faulty Einstein in January, and have now fixed it up ready to > use properly. > > > I had an Einstein back in 1986, but foolishly gave it away. I had the > speculator, joysticks, every Einstein User magazine, games, apps etc etc. > > > Slowly trying to get back what I lost. :) > > > Do any of you still use the Einstein regularly? > > > I have an excel spreadsheet containing serial numbers of machines I know are > still in existence, but its very think on the ground. Can any of you provide > your own serial numbers as I can add them, to the list? I am compiling this > log to see how many physical machines are still left in the world. > > > I want to try and do a 'history of' type video for my YouTube Channel, > detailing the rise and fall of the Einstein, its software and hardware and > would be appreciative of any information that can be provided. > > > Also, I really want the schematics for the Mouse Art adaptor if anyone can > supply? - I have contacted B&H Electronics and Mario Castro over at Einstein > Reborn, but no one is replying. > > > This is such a great machine, but there is so little resource available. > > > Ta Ta > > > Mike > > > (MikesRetroTech)

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 787	From: mikesretrotech	Date: 06/09/2019
Subject: : Are people still using the Einstein?

Hi Mike, So ... have you had a thought about what sensible price you want for all your Einstein stuff? - I have some pennies available now and made some storage space free :)  I want everything you are willing to part with Einstein wise! :) If you contact me directly at the eMail address registered on this group we can get the deal done and some money your way. :-) Thanks  Mike H.

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 788	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 17/09/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /Mouse Art/MouseArt_CableSchematic.jpg Uploaded by : mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday> Description : Wiring Diagram for Mouse Art 16 pin to 9 pin cable You can access this file at the URL: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tatung_einstein/files/Mouse%20Art/MouseArt_CableSchematic.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_GRPS&locale=en_GB&id=SLN15398 Regards, mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 789	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/10/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /RGB to VGA Cable Schematic/IMG_20190908_080605.jpg Uploaded by : mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday> Description : You can access this file at the URL: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tatung_einstein/files/RGB%20to%20VGA%20Cable%20Schematic/IMG_20190908_080605.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_GRPS&locale=en_GB&id=SLN15398 Regards, mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 790	From: tatung_einstein@yahoogroups.co.uk	Date: 01/10/2019
Subject: New file uploaded to tatung_einstein

Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the tatung_einstein group. File : /RGB to VGA Cable Schematic/IMG_20190908_080643.jpg Uploaded by : mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday> Description : You can access this file at the URL: https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/tatung_einstein/files/RGB%20to%20VGA%20Cable%20Schematic/IMG_20190908_080643.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit: https://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_GRPS&locale=en_GB&id=SLN15398 Regards, mikesretrotech <mike.d.halliday>

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 791	From: strange2uk	Date: 18/10/2019
Subject: Yahoo Groups Closure

With the impending closure of Yahoo Groups I wondered if Admin is doing anything to preserve files, photos and messages here? For groups I administer I have started new ones on Groups.io where facilities are very similar on the free version. There are some slight oddities but they are manageable. Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 792	From: strange2uk	Date: 21/10/2019
Subject: : Yahoo Groups Closure

In case nobody else takes on the task of migrating this group I have downloaded all files, photographs and messages in readiness for preserving the archive. I have also created a new Group: tatung-einstein@groups.io At present it is closed until I upload the archive in full so keep a note of the name. If the current admin, or another member, wishes to take it over I will be more than happy to pass the group on. Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 793	From: strange2uk	Date: 23/10/2019
Subject: NEW GROUP ACTIVE

Hi all, All photographs and files have been transferred from this Yahoo Group that has served well for quite a while. Regarding the messages, I did start to transfer each message and topic but it was going to take many hours. However, I have been able to find a way of generating digests. I have done this in both HTML form (in which the message links work) and combined those to one PDF file that enables download and searching across the entire message archive. Both are available at the very top of the Files section. You will find the new group here: https://groups.io/g/tatung-einstein If you have photographs or files that you had posted on this group the folders are open for editing. It would help me greatly if you would add the descriptions and change ownership if I haven't yet done them. This transfer would not be possible in the time Yahoo allowed us without "PG Offline" http://www.personalgroupware.com/ The free version will do everything you need for a transfer if there are less than 1000 messages; of course I had to purchase it but worth every penny. If anyone else would like to take over ownership, preferably the Yahoo Group owner or Group member Please do make contact. Regards, Mike

Group: tatung_einstein	Message: 794	From: strange2uk	Date: 24/10/2019
Subject: IO GROUP - FILE OWNERSHIP CORRECTION

IO GROUP - FILE OWNERSHIP CORRECTION Unfortunately, from the io group managers forum I have now established that although the facility for owners of the image folders and their contents is working perfectly the same is not true (yet) for files and their folders. So, for present at least, you will need to download your files material from either of the groups and upload it to io then I will remove the content that I put on. For images folk need to alert me as to which folders belong to them after joining then I will reassign ownership. Obviously I cannot assign to someone not yet on the group.   Best regards, Mike