R4ngerM4n Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Anyone here using this 6809-upgrade? How does it perform? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloopy Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Anyone here using this 6809-upgrade? How does it perform? Altho boisy has said he has sold quite a few, no one has really come forward with any kind of app/demo beyond the one Slor made... I think part of it is you need time, This is something that the full 'power' of it cant be unlocked immediately as how many people are really familiar with the 6809 (no Atari computer used this CPU), or the Atari 8bit hardware (which is rather different from most machines that have a 6809 as the main CPU)... I am one of the 'official installers' and no one has asked me to do an install of one tho... Hopefully they will get to be more common, and some code/apps/games etc will show up... sloopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBuell Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I've been contemplating whether or not to sacrifice my grandfather's up-til-now-unmodified 800XL (if I can find it), or get another one from somewhere just for the purpose of adding this upgrade. Course, then I still have to BUY the daughtercard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenjennings Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Does this allow toggling between 6502 and the 6809?? It looks like a direct replacement. The original protos show both CPUs. Being able to switch back and forth would be much more desirable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I think the final design only has the 6809 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Not to be too negative, but I have to ask... To be sure, it is a cool hack, but what is the benefit to the user? What body of software is it going to "open up?" Sorry for trying to be practical! -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Not to be too negative, but I have to ask... To be sure, it is a cool hack, but what is the benefit to the user? What body of software is it going to "open up?" Sorry for trying to be practical! -Larry The entire NitrOS-9 library? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Has someone here explored the library? To what degree does stuff run properly on our Atari "hybrid" system (given the potential display and sound issues)? Are there any Atari beta testers in action at this point? If this turns out to be something "special" then no one will be happier than me, but I still remember the over-hyped promise of CP/M for the Atari. -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Not to be too negative, but I have to ask... To be sure, it is a cool hack, but what is the benefit to the user? What body of software is it going to "open up?" Sorry for trying to be practical! -Larry The entire NitrOS-9 library? The OS-9 library is impressive but who cares about that; a 6809 in an Atari offers the potential for awesome games! That page compared an Atari 800 to an Apple II but the independant sound and graphics processor chips made Atari 800 games lightyears ahead of anything Apple. This is an important concept because the 6809 in the Colour Computer had enough power to also handle graphics and sound processing in software quite well. Assisted by Atari hardware I think Genesis quality games could be developed; it's as if Boisey has created a CoCo3 with more powerful graphics, and sound 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogstar_robot Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Has someone here explored the library? To what degree does stuff run properly on our Atari "hybrid" system (given the potential display and sound issues)? Are there any Atari beta testers in action at this point? If this turns out to be something "special" then no one will be happier than me, but I still remember the over-hyped promise of CP/M for the Atari. -Larry Most of the point of this is that it opens the A8 chipset up to 6809 assembly. The 6809 has a few points over the 6502 and can probably wring a few more tricks out of Antic/GTIA/POKEY. Also, NitrOS-9 appears to be quite nice with some multiuser and multitasking possibilities. For the moment, the 6809 upgrade would mostly be of interest either 6809 coders who would like a new chipset to play with or old hand A8 coders who've ran into 6502 limitations that the 6809 addresses. Apart from NitrOS-9 text console programs, I suspect the number of sound/graphics demos exploiting this will be few and far between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 The OS-9 library is impressive but who cares about that; a 6809 in an Atari offers the potential for awesome games! That page compared an Atari 800 to an Apple II but the independant sound and graphics processor chips made Atari 800 games lightyears ahead of anything Apple. This is an important concept because the 6809 in the Colour Computer had enough power to also handle graphics and sound processing in software quite well. Assisted by Atari hardware I think Genesis quality games could be developed; it's as if Boisey has created a CoCo3 with more powerful graphics, and sound To be honest VBXE was supposed to bring forth gaming at a new level, but from what I see, that probably won't happen, at least not anytime soon. So why will a 6809 open the floodgates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 To be honest VBXE was supposed to bring forth gaming at a new level, but from what I see, that probably won't happen, at least not anytime soon. So why will a 6809 open the floodgates? Neither will, but I honestly feel it's more due to a prevalent attitude of "non-original Atari, so I am not interested". It's very strange, and I can't put my finger on it. But large RAM upgrades, stereo sound, video enhancements, etc. All these new things seem loved. Mention VBXE and the general consensus is "I'm not getting that piece of crap - it's not-original". Pretty much kills the incentive to code for a device people don't want. I guess that's why it's fun being a hacker. We can have our cool toys and play with them, and not give a damn if only 2 or 3 other people get to see the work. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I'd call it more a "chipset upgrade for OS-9" than a "CPU upgrade for Atari". The potential gain for Atari isn't that great and developing games for it would likely see a user base less than 1/4 that of VBXE. VBXE - essentially it creams an Amiga 1200 in many graphical regards and can deliver amazing games on Atari, but we're talking still under 200 owners with probably less than 10 people developing anything for it and only half those people doing games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 i'm scrapping all bits of my spare time to get hearlight project going on, thats about me developing for VBXE i really would love to see more people doing something for it some had nice starters, and then suddenly dropped whole thing - don't know their reasons though - never was able to communicate with them again Gary here is outstanding example of VBXE developer, as he has at least 3 games already for VBXE and this must count for something 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmetal88 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Colour Computer That's Color Computer. Since it was made by a Texas-based company, it has to be. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender II Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The 6809 upgrade is a very interesting hack, but there are so many other fun things to spend my collecting budget on that are already quite usefull. I'll have to keep an eye on this one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr SQL Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Colour Computer That's Color Computer. Since it was made by a Texas-based company, it has to be. LOL jmetal88! It was more like the early PC with many different companies manufacturing it with a somewhat incompatible BIOS but otherwise the same parts and Microsoft's Extended Colour Basic. Some mfr's like Dragon Data probably spelt it colour in all their advertisements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisy Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Has someone here explored the library? To what degree does stuff run properly on our Atari "hybrid" system (given the potential display and sound issues)? Are there any Atari beta testers in action at this point? If this turns out to be something "special" then no one will be happier than me, but I still remember the over-hyped promise of CP/M for the Atari. -Larry Hi, NitrOS-9 Level One runs quite well on a 6809-equipped Atari. I worked on the port myself, and am quite pleased with the results. So there is no hype here -- it actually works. I see a lot of speculation on what the Liber809 is or isn't, or what it's supposed to do for the Atari A8 platform. To be clear: I created the Liber809 because *I* wanted to see a 6809 and NitrOS-9 run on an Atari -- nothing more. The fact that it is a complete, salable product is lagniappe (read: bonus). I'm not trying to push the Atari community in any particular direction, nor am I trying to prove anything with this product besides the fact that it could be one. It was simply for my own satisfaction (and I'm quite satisfied). There's no reason to read anything more into it than that. If you want one, then by all means buy one. If you don't, then that's ok too. It was a fun project for me, I learned a lot, and I made friends in a new retro community. That's a win for me. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgle Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 ... my grandfather's up-til-now-unmodified 800XL... Sorry to veer aside from the topic, but reading that makes me feel like I just awoke from a cryogenic sleep and zillions of years have gone by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) I think it might be important to distinguish between something that is an "upgrade" to the system and something that makes it an entirely different system altogether. The question was asked, "Is it still an Atari 8-Bit?" If it will still run all of the software written for the unmodified system, then it IS still an Atari 8-Bit; just one with an "upgrade" that gives it new abilities. Fair. But if the system does NOT run all (reasonably) of the original software, then no, it is not an Atari 8-Bit. It is a new system based on the Atari 8-Bit. Maybe? Anyone? Edited September 7, 2012 by pixelmischief 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 OK, if you are an AA user and have purchased and installed and actually used this conversion kit, what do you think? Have some screen shots of NitrOS-9 software that caught your attention? And all you 6809 assembly coders here that want to write games for the "6809-Atari" please do speak up. (Both of you?) -Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtrooper of Death Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Screenshots of Nitro OS9 would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesD Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Adapting to coding on the 6809 is a lot easier than adapting to the Atari hardware. I'm not sure you'll get a lot of games out of 6809 coders. You might get a few hacked games from the CoCo or arcade machines though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I think my Vectrex I had when I was little had a 6809 in it. I heard it was a pretty cool CPU for it's day. I never actually got to play with a CoCo machine. NitrOS9 certainly looks pretty damn cool though. I heard at one point this board had dual sockets, one for 6502, one for 6809? Was this abandoned? I'd be interested in one with dual sockets. Otherwise it might be better to just buy a CoCo than sacrifice my Atari. If this turns out to be something "special" then no one will be happier than me, but I still remember the over-hyped promise of CP/M for the Atari. Ummm..... CP/M on my Atari would give me an excuse to sell my Osborne 1. The only hassle with CP/M on the Atari was disk formats. And that was a hassle with ALL CP/M machines. The C128 was no better off either. Most software ran just fine if you could get it onto a compatible disk. Not Atari's fault. Blame DR. I for one would LOVE to have an ATR8000 or Indus GT w/ RamCharger. Wasn't overhyped.... and they were delivered. People just realized it wasn't something they necessarily wanted because they couldn't just grab a floppy from someone's Cromemco and use it. Serial connection or modem is another option for transferring files between incompatible CP/M machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drac030 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) Ummm..... CP/M on my Atari would give me an excuse to sell my Osborne 1. Did you see this: http://trub.atari8.info/index.php?ref=cpm_en http://trub.atari8.info/index.php?ref=sramcharger_en http://trub.atari8.info/index.php?ref=indus_cpm_en ? Edited September 24, 2012 by drac030 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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