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ekeefe

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  1. Hello, I own an original COSMAC 180. Here are a couple of pictures of it: I also own an original Microtutor and Microtutor II: ED
  2. Hello, @FliP... I did not see your previous post about the test cart running in the multicart. Thank you for pointing it out. I haven't looked through the test cart code yet, but I think it would be possible to suppress the "errors" while running tester1 in the multicart. While tester1 is checking the Studio II ROMs I believe it does something like this: Read 0000H (System ROM memory location 1) Read 4000H (Test cart ROM memory location 1) Compare, if good continue If bad, set a flag and continue Then do the same for 0001H/4001H, and so on, right through the system and internal Game ROMs. When the tests are over, display 1,2,3 and/or 4 depending on which ROMs failed. If I can identify the flag byte, and where it's tested, I could force a "pass" so the "OK" is displayed. Of course your other modifications would still be required. Just a thought. @Marcel... Great work! The coin-op games run fine. ED
  3. Hello, I was fortunate enough to have temporary access to the rare RCA Studio II Tester 1 cartridge. While I had it, I created a schematic and dumped all six ROMs inside. The bad news is that it won't work in the multicart the way the code and hardware interact. It may be possible to modify the code so that the Tester 1 code appears to run in the multicart. It could go through the steps the way it does in the Emma 02 emulator, but it would not actually check your Studio II hardware. I have created a web page outlining what I did with the cartridge while I had it. You can find it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/RCA_Tester1/RCA_Tester1.html On that page you can download the schematic I created, the service manual for the Studio II and a zip file with the contents of the six ROMs. I am not the owner of this rare cartridge. Thank you to the actual owner for allowing me to document this awesome piece of RCA 1802 history. I hope you found this useful. ED
  4. Hello, I haven't been able to run the tester 1 code on real hardware either. It just crashes the Studio II. I've made a request to the tester 1 cartridge owner asking about the possibility to open the cartridge and take pictures. It's a "big ask" I know, but I'm hopeful. @flip and extmato: Nice work guys! If I can do anything to help, just ask. ED
  5. Hello, About a month ago, the eBay auction for the RCA Studio II Tester No.1 and Demo cartridges ended. I've been in contact with the purchaser of them and have assisted in dumping both of them. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, and I'm going to honor that wish. Both cartridges dumped successfully. The demo cartridge dump was the same as the existing dump. The Tester 1 dump file was tested in the Emma 02 emulator. The test cartridge identified a couple issues in the emulator, so some changes were needed to run this file correctly. Marcel has made the necessary changes to Emma 02 and plans to make a new version available soon. I have uploaded the "Tester1" st2 file here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/RCA_TEST_CARTRIDGE_TESTER1.st2 I made a post a while back with a link to the RCA Studio II service manual: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/209519-rca-studio-ii-gold-mine-an-interview-with-the-studio-2-production-manager/?p=2733743 The Tester 1 cartridge dump works exactly like the instructions indicate, beginning on page 4. I am going to reflash my multicart to include these two files. I will post when I have it tested. ED
  6. Hello, The test cartridge, as far as I know, did not have a power adapter connected to it. Instead it used a regular wall wart, just like the one shipped with the Studio II, but with higher current capacity. Here is a screen clip from the Studio II service manual: ED
  7. Hello Guys, RCA did develop a home computer, the VIP II. Here is a picture of the brochure: I'm not sure if this was the Studio IV or Studio V, but it did use an 1802. It also ran floating point BASIC, had a full keyboard, a hex keypad and had color and sound. It was never released. An old VIPER magazine ran an ad for the VIP II. You can see it here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/Volume2Issue03.pdf The ad appears on pages 26-27. Using the information in this ad, and the brochure I had, I built the VIP II. You can see pictures and my design/build process here: http://www.cosmacvip.com/VIP2/VIP2.php I don't know exactly when the RCA VIS chips (CDP1869, CDP1870 and CDP1876) were released, but they were used in the RCA Interactive Data Terminal and the COMX-35. Here are some pictures related to the terminal: Here is a picture of a COMX-35: You can read more about it here: http://www.comx35.com/comx35.html I built my own COMX-35. Here are a few pictures (My system, graphics and text): If the release dates of the VIS chips is really important to you guys, I can look it up. I have a bunch of old RCA data books from that era. I hope you found this useful. ED
  8. Hello, After further analysis, there are definitely three different "files" in the "AUD_2464_09_B41_ID01_01.mp3" file and two in "AUD_2464_09_B41_ID01_02.mp3". I am gong to try and hand decode the first few bytes, using the shape of the waveforms, to see if they make sense for a Studio II. ED
  9. Hello, I just took a look at the files provided. They were created as mp3 files, which are lossy. Maybe he can make them again as wave files using the following: 22050 Hz Mono 8-bit uncompressed The sound files look like this: The data seems to be repeated 3 times. Here is a single portion: The important sections of the signal: This gap may be a problem because the input circuit on RCA systems usually expects these equalization pulse right up to the data. I converted the mp3 data into a wave file, and loaded it into one of my systems, but the data looks wrong. Here is what I see: I have a file in my collection that is from an RCA VIP system. It was written by Joseph Weisbecker. He designed the 1802 processor and worked with the Studio II. My file is corrupt, but it is a sword fighting style game. Maybe this file was adapted for the VIP from the Studio II, or the other way around. I have the source code for this file but haven't had a chance to look into it. I hope this is helpful. ED
  10. Hello Tarzilla, That looks real nice! Are you going to share the gcode/stl files? I would love to print one. I can test it with my multicart. ED
  11. Hello, I didn't make the multicart, I'm just offering to reprogram the ones already in people's hands. I'm not sure if any are left, but you can PM flip to check. You can read about the multicart here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/256935-rca-studio-ii-multicart/ Good luck. ED
  12. Hello, That's great news! When this gets dumped, I can help with reflashing the multicarts if people are interested. I am located in the US, so shipping would be inexpensive both ways. Let me know if I can help. Sorry about not getting this dumped before the auction was over. I tried (as some of you know). ED
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