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UKRetrogamer

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Posts posted by UKRetrogamer

  2. Posted

    While I don't know much about TI-99/4A games, your ZX Spectrum screenshot reminds me a lot about Harvester for the VIC-20.

     

    It doesn't seem a game by this name is available on the TI, but either Pixel Productions copied the TI game too, or they all have another, common denominator.

     

    Thanks for this. It plays almost identically to my ZX Spectrum version; though mine has graphical improvements granted by the higher screen-resolution.

     

    I THOUGHT I'd played it on a Ti-99/4a back on the day, but it WAS over 30 years ago!

     

    Maybe it WAS the Vic-20 game I'd played (though someone on the Ti-99/4a section seems to remember a similar game on the Ti). I'm not sure if it was a type-in or not on the Ti; though again, my memory isn't what it used to be!

  4. Posted · Edited by UKRetrogamer

    To be honest, I've only ever "SAVE"d to tape. I have few tape programs for it (being 4K). Most of the cassettes I have, contain more areas without Ferric Oxide than with.

     

    At the time I bought it (about 5 years ago), mine was only one of two known to exist and the only one known to be in working order by the users "in the know" within the TRS-80 Google newsgroup.

     

    I was asked to create a dump of the ROMs in order to verify them against a set of ROMs dumped from the other machine. As mine still works and still has its original warranty seal intact, I was set against opening the machine and pulling the ROMs but was told that if I switched on from cold and then immediately typed "SAVE", the micro would dump its entire memory to tape. I recorded the dump as a WAV file; direct to a digital recorder and ran the resulting file through a program I'd been sent which extracted then CRC-checked the ROM from within the WAV file. This was then compared with the NTSC version of the ROM and verified as byte-for-byte identical. Apparently, there are no differences in the ROM code between NTSC and PAL machines.

     

    As you mentioned, Operating at 50Hz may make a difference to its operation, but I've been unable to verify this.

  5. Posted · Edited by UKRetrogamer

    I want to say Model IIIs were available with Level I BASIC, but I could be mistaken. I seem to remember seeing it listed as an option in some of the old Radio Shack computer catalogs.

     

    They were.

     

    I own a UK Model III, Level I with 4K. Tape-only for me.

    post-25357-0-45194900-1438207633_thumb.jpg

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

     

    I'm thinking of putting a TI disk controller card in one of these with Stuart's sideport-to-card cable to connect it with.

    There should be room in the top of the case to mount the card. I've never seen one or had one apart, so I'm just guessing.

    Can anyone who's seen the inside of one of these provide a little insight?

     

    Gazoo

     

    commodore1541_sm.jpg

    Depending on what you plan to place in there? There's not a lot of room. Bear in mind the 1541 had its own 6502 CPU on a circuit-board which stretches the entire length of the drive. All the circuitry is above the floppy-drive.

     

    I have a couple of these if you need internal photos but don't expect to be able to squeeze much in there. Honest!

  9. Posted

    Hey, Atarileaf, has our friend Mark run out of NOS/Refurbished Coco3s yet?

     

    I was lucky enough to grab one about 3 years ago, pre-fitted with 512K and a SuperIDE. The price wasn't bad for (what was effectively) a new micro but postage and duty on its arrival in the UK sullied the experience somewhat.

     

    I figured I'd go with an NTSC model due to the PAL ones suffering from loss of colour (UK spelling) when playing games which rely on the popular use of artefacting to boost the number of available colours.

     

    UK/PAL Cocos often played these same, colour-enhanced games with monochrome, blocky graphics due to their inability to replicate NTSC artefacts.

  11. Posted

     

    Thanks! I believe I found some that will work even though they are 2mm longer, but should work:

     

    HERE

    With these types of spring, I've found that if you use snips to cut-off the ring at one end, then insert a hobby-knife a couple of loops in, you can bend up the coils to 90 degrees to make a new loop.

     

    The trick is finding one of similar tension to the original.

     

    I've fixed a TRS-80 Deluxe joystick using this method. The joystick is a little stiffer than it used to be but works better than it has in ages!

    • Like 1

  13. Posted

    That is not a C64G. That is either an original breadbox with first generation C64C keyboard installed, or possibly an Aldi. You can see the difference that later C64C and C64G keyboards have the graphics printed on top of the keys, while the brown breadbox and first generation white C64C keyboards still had the graphics on front of the keys. Apparently the Aldi belongs to this category as well, which I thought it didn't until I looked up some pics.

    I think you may have mis-read my post. I never said the OP's picture showed a C64G.

     

    I've highlighted the part of my post you may have misunderstood.

     

    They were fairly common in Europe (not in the UK, oddly). IIRC, they were manufactured along with a similar model, the C64G *after* the release of the C64C.

    Please read my posts PROPERLY before "correcting" me in future. Thank you.

  14. Posted · Edited by UKRetrogamer

    The images definitely work.

     

    As Imperious says, the cart images require 32K to run. Either a PEB or nanoPEB is needed.

     

    Assuming you have 32K, try "inverting" the image before burning it to EPROM. User RasmusM released a Java-based ROM bank-inverter. If I find a Ti ROM image which doesn't work I find inverting it usually gets it going.

     

    Ramsus' Bank-inverter tool can be found in this very thread here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/193163-512k-cartridge-status/page-16?do=findComment&comment=3025762

  15. Posted · Edited by UKRetrogamer

    They were fairly common in Europe (not in the UK, oddly). IIRC, they were manufactured along with a similar model, the C64G *after* the release of the C64C.

     

    I'm not sure how big the German company Aldi was back then, but these days, it's a Europe-wide "stack-em-high, sell-em-cheap" supermarket which sells just about everything from pallets on the shop floor. By everything, I mean tinned-peas to PCs and leaf-blowers!

     

    The C64C didn't sell in the same numbers as the breadbox C64 on its release in Germany, so Commodore re-launched the breadbox style case with a White keyboard and 3v 8580 SID chip.

     

    I own a C64G but I don't know if there are differences between it and the Aldi model and I have to admit, I love the look and styling of these German White/Grey/Cream Breadboxes.

  16. Posted

     

    Xroar lets you change the machine with point and click -- I just did it.

    On a Mac, I've been starting XRoar via different shell scripts, depending on the machine config I require; otherwise it doesn't see the ROM files required to operate correctly.

     

    I can also switch machine-types from a drop-down menu but Batch-file or Shell-script is how the documentation recommends the program be initialised.

     

    I'd prefer it to take a default config, boot to "a" micro emulator (pick one, any one) and allow me to save an .ini file for each configuration.

     

    As it stands, I have one shell-script to start with a Dragon32 sans DOS, Dragon32 with DOS, then the same for Dragon64, Coco and NTSC Coco.

     

    At least with VCC, once it's configured, it stays that way until the next time it is changed.

  17. Posted

    XRoar seems like a solid, cross-platform emulator for the Coco and Dragon micros. I prefer this to MESS but having to configure the machine/config in either via the command-line (or batch/shell-script), I find archaic. It's for this reason, I prefer using VCC. I don't use Coco/Dragon emulation extensively though, so any crashes I've experienced have been few and far between.

     

    Xroar is still being updated on a fairly regular basis. The latest update was only weeks ago.

     

    It's worth trying all 3 to see which you feel most comfortable using.

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    C64 doesn't use file extensions, they're just part of the name. Fairly sure you can even have multiple full-stops so a filename like "ABCD.EXE.OLD" would be valid.

     

    Nice trick is using Shift + Space, that creates a delimiter where the remainder of the filename is ignored for purpose of accessing the file but still displayed in the directory.

    Forgetting the fact Gordon inserted a disk into the drive, the program still loaded (though you never actually see the 1541 drive activity LEDs illuminate). No tape deck involved and no ,8,1 (or ,9,1 as there are stacked 1541s on his desk) following the filename, either.

     

    We must be their target audience. Surely they'd know we'd be watching for stuff like this and hire researchers who know where to locate a bona-fide retro-enthusiast for guidance.

     

    No face-projecting CRTs yet. (Only a matter of time?)

  19. Posted

    I don't know... shows like that really irritate me usually. My brain starts to hurt from screaming BS! at the top of my lungs for most of an hour. But I've only seen two episodes so I'll refrain from being too judgmental.

     

     

    ... at least until I catch up on all the other episodes.

    Wait until you get to Episode 3. What's wrong with THIS picture?

    post-25357-0-42543900-1434427132_thumb.jpg

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    No. I've checked the jumpers and it makes no difference how I set the write-protect ones. The program still doesn't change anything in the EEPROMs.

     

    I give up. I have more important things to do than lose sleep over this.

     

    Gazoo? If you ever find time to pull the chips from a working RXB2015, could you please upload them/PM me with a ZIP file. I don't have the Ti knowledge to construct one from the posted GROM images, so downloading Minipro files is the only way I'll see an upgrade to RXB2015.

     

    Sorry guys. I'll just have to admit defeat on this one, and move on.

  22. Posted

    Thanks, but nothing on the cart changes to reflect the update to RXB2015. Is the upgrade purely software driven? Do I need to change the position of any on-board jumpers to allow writing to the cart from the console?

     

    I'm confused by the fact the cartridge seems to change only the presence of REA and doesn't reflect any "upgrade" to the later revision of RXB.

  23. Posted

    Clearly I'm being stupid.

     

    Booting with my 632K cart, programmed up in my MiniPro as RXB2012/REA2011, with your RXB2015.DSK image from post #550 mounted as DSK1 in my nanoPEB, I boot into RXB2012. It automatically loads your updater. When prompted, I enter DSK1.RXB2015 and press return.

     

    Your program then goes off and READS the GROMs and EPROMs in that order. It NEVER says anything about WRITING data. After reading the GROMs and EPROMs, it returns a "Successful , Press Space" message.

     

    At this point, it becomes a complete crap-shoot as to whether I get RXB2012 with REA2011 or RXB2012 and LOSE REA2011 entirely.

     

    It doesn't matter how many times I run this, I NEVER get my cart upgraded to RXB2015. Sometimes I get an RXB2012 cart with REA2101, other times I lose REA2011 but I NEVER see menu items relating to RXB2015.

     

    I must be missing SOMETHING (other than a brain?!). Have I overlooked a vital step? Is there a jumper I need to move on the card, or do I need to stick my tongue out the corner of my mouth throughout the upgrade process for it to work?

  24. Posted

    Could be worse. Could be like the forum/comments section of coco3.com.

     

    I know we're dealing with 30 year old tech but does the community have to use similarly archaic methods of communication to reach out to each other?

     

    What's the next technological leap in the Coco-related communication likely to be? CB Radio?

    • Like 2
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