UKRetrogamer

Hehe. Getting This far in The Banyan Tree was a feat of muscle and timing memory. Do you have access to a ZX Spectrum emulator? There are free ones available for most platforms. The original JSW is available as a .tap/.tzx in many places online. Jumping through stairs is usually achieved by jumping UP the stairway while moving in the same direction as the upward incline. Jumping at the same time as climbing a stairway and continuing to push in the same direction allows the player character to pass through the stairs as if they no longer existed in the Spectrum version. In the ZX version, I can do this first time, every time. In its current Ti development stage, I find myself going back upstairs rather than passing through them except on odd occasions, where I can pass through them. Frustrating but by no means game-breaking.

Do you EVER sleep? For an early Beta, this is fantastic! Everything seems spot-on so far, but jumping THROUGH stairways seems a bit more hit and miss than on the original. I can get through in one jump every time on the Spectrum but in your version, I end up climbing back up the stairs, more often than not. I *used* to be able to successfully navigate my way across "The Banyan Tree" without losing a life and when I master it on your port, I'll let you know. I just need to remember the timing. The character arc when jumping seems just right. My timing didn't need adjusting like it has done on previous ports for other micros. Thanks for doing this. You're an absolute STAR and you're quickly making your way through a list of my all-time favourite ZX Spectrum games. Jetpac next, please? I'll keep playing and let you know if I spot any other issues but for now, you pretty much seem to have nailed it from day one!

Typical Gazoo. A perfectionist to the last. *passes Gazoo a shoe-horn*

You could save extra bytes by making the Pass/Fail messages less verbose. Maybe a simple Green screen with PASS or a Red screen with FAIL would suffice (maybe just a blank Green or Red screen after completing the test, even?). It's a test which will hopefully only be run a limited number of times and unless the user has difficulty in discerning between Red and Green, the screen colour (British spelling, sorry) will probably be enough to indicate if the cartridge passes or fails. I'm sure you'll find another use later for the extra bytes you save.

This is a little like comparing a Raspberry Pi to a BeagleBone (which, incidentally, also uses a Ti chipset). What really matters is the user-base and support network. I went along the Pi/Arduino route; even going as far as buying Arduino shields (or hats?) for my Pi so I could compile Arduino sketches on the Pi and then upload them directly to an Arduino sat directly on top. Before the advent of the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, the BeagleBone (among others) had an edge on performance but this all fell by the wayside if I had a problem - the Pi community is so large with users putting their Pis into so many diverse projects, there is a high chance someone had stumbled across the same issues or problems before. While I've tried a number of these types of boards (I have Arduino Uno, Leonardo, Mega, MegaSDK, An Udoo, Intel Galileo, BeagleBone and Espruino), I always fall back to using Pi and Arduino. Granted, I've not yet researched the Launchpad so I need to look more closely before I can give an informed opinion but I'm sticking with Pi/Arduino.

Not that I've used either extensively, but I found the SuperIDE to be noticeably quicker for random-access than the DrivePak. Also, one of the (four, IIRC?) programmable ROM slots in the SuperIDE can be used (and switched in) to make it compatible with the Dragon 32/64 range of micros. (While I own Dragons, I've not tested the SuperIDE on them). I don't believe the SuperIDE is being made any longer so if you find one for sale, chances are, it'll be pre-owned.

No more late night Grilled Cheese sandwiches for you, Mr.!

As per the subject line, I already have a Cloud-9 SuperIDE and one of Roger Taylor's MicroSD DrivePaks. Does the CocoSDC bring anything new to the table? Does it have any interesting features, lacking from the other interfaces? Other than it being newer and more readily available, is there a compelling reason for a Coco owner to need one if they already own a SuperIDE or DrivePak?

Mine was Order Number: 2010XXX Date Ordered: Thursday 17 November, 2011 Price $99.99 + Shipping Also very glad I archive my emails.

For those without NetFlix, there's always YouTube: Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MT_msVoRAg Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW6OP4ccsNk

The heart of the Arduino is based around Atmel's ATMega328 IC. If you really want to delve into breadboard projects, you could make up your own Arduino clone using nothing more than breadboard, An ATMega328 (preferably pre-loaded with a boot-loader), a crystal and a handful of capacitors and resistors. These "Shrimp Kits" (as they are known) are available online but the components are listed in a number of places if you'd like to source your own components. In order to program a Shrimp Arduino, you will need a USB-TTL adaptor to plug into the breadboard but these can be sourced for a couple of dollars. A UK-based company based 40 miles from me, sell these kits and hold regular beginner electronics meetings where they put together small electronic projects as an introduction to "Making". Kits containing the basic components to build your own Arduino clone will be available via eBay, etc., sold from the US and probably could be found even cheaper from China/Hong Kong. The UK-based company is here: http://shrimping.it/blog/shrimp-kit/

I'm in the UK, so I don't know how many Radio Shack stores are still trading over there but if you can find one of these, you might be able to pick it up for an absolute bargain and it'll teach your son pretty much everything he'd need to know about Electronics. The books provided with the Electronics Learning Lab kit are worth the price of admission alone. http://www.radioshack.com/electronics-learning-lab-kit/2800055.html#.VTOKz5Tfyqk Not as cheap as a breadboard block and a handful of passive components but kits like this offer so much learning potential. Maybe a future Birthday present?

The eBay item looks to be an Elite, Kickstarter-backed keyboard. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/952953995/bluetooth-zx-spectrum-recreating-the-sinclair-zx-s The fact it's a pre-order suggests that's when they're expecting release though given the damage caused to Mr. Wilcox's reputation during the Kickstarter funding phase, I'll believe this thing is fully working and in production once the units start arriving in the hands of backers. Originally designed to work with his own IOS app (an app he later removed from the app store once it was revealed he'd paid no royalties to the developers of the games he'd been selling to go with it). I'm one of its original backers but pulled my pledge before the funding stage ended, after veteran coder Steve Crowther revealed in the backers forum that he (among others) was still awaiting payment for his games despite numerous promises from the Kickstart project's owner. IIRC, the keyboard will now also work as a generic Bluetooth keyboard for use on non-IOS hardware too, so it *should* be possible to use it with a ZX Spectrum emulator on PC/Mac/Linux for an authentic retro-experience. I wouldn't pay £99 for one though and I've paid little attention to the product since I backed away from the Kickstarter project. Regarding the ZX Vega, I'm still on the fence as I'm puzzled by its lack of keys. I need to see one in use before I can reach a decision.

Since the 80s, I've collected most of the more common UK-released 8-bit micros and I won't pay the current asking price for a Jupiter Ace. Take a ZX81, replace the case with one made from Yoghurt Pots, add a ZX Spectrum-like rubber keypad and a FORTH ROM. Very little software was released for it. Even if I was a completeist, I wouldn't pay the prices asked on eBay. They're scandalous! The only person I meet regularly who owns one is SteveBenway from YouTube and he identifies the Ace as the rarest micro in his collection. Wherever possible, I like to bring my micros out occasionally for a "Sunday Drive". If I had an Ace, I wouldn't have a reason to fire it up!

Big foam block, middle adaptor. It's a PLCC32 adaptor. My Mini Pro came with similar adaptors to yours but also included an extractor, which works fine. Just don't be too rough with it or you'll risk breaking the PLCC socket. Ksarul's adaptor is a flip-top one. No need for tools to retrieve the programmed chip but it's more expensive. If you intend to handle as many chips as Ksarul does, a locking adaptor might be worthwhile but for occasional programming/re-programming, you'll probably get along fine with what you have. Edit: Posted seconds after Ksarul. Apologies for any duplication.

Oh, I applaud the BBC for doing this and I agree that despite *every* child getting one of these, only a (comparative) handful will actively continue using them beyond day one. Those who *do* stick with it, will potentially have a bright outlook in the field of electronics and programming. Just look at the original 1982 push. Despite IT becoming a permanent addition to the school curriculum because of the BBC's fantastic efforts, I still meet people my age and younger who are baffled (or even afraid of) anything more complicated than a basic calculator. I've seen 20 year old Electrical (not electronic) Engineers complain their wireless mouse wouldn't work, only to walk up and remove the transceiver from underneath the mouse and plug it into a USB port FOR them. You'd think a 20 year old would've had enough exposure to PCs and peripherals in school or at home to instinctively KNOW a wireless mouse usually comes with an accompanying dongle but no, the educational system had failed him. The guy was attending courses to gain honours in Electrical Engineering but didn't even realise there needed to be some way of passing data to and from his PC. Instead, he flailed the mouse around on his desk for 5 minutes before turning to me for help. I [sort of] expect elders to be mystified by these "modern" computers but there's no excuse for 20-somethings to be afraid of tech. As I said earlier, I always anticipated the UK job-market being swamped with IT engineers and to the best of my knowledge, this never happened. I think you must need the correct gene to want to be interested in this stuff. Creative types certainly show interest. Curious types too. There must be something which made all of us here on AtariAge interested in computers initially and got us completely hooked for the last 30 years. If the BBC can figure what this something is, they could use this data to ensure they only give these devices to those who will take them and run, rather than throw tens of thousands of them against a wall just to see which stick!

Based on Atmel AVRs, their subset of C++ is really the only way to go, other than writing direct to the firmware. That said, the FIGnition is based on Atmel hardware (ATMega328) and has a pretty good implementation of FIGForth. Unfortunately it lacks a proper keyboard and relies on 8 microswitches and an obscure Nokia-like text-entry system. Only recently, there has been a PS/2 keyboard adaptor made for it. Too little, too late IMO. Instant power-on and instant access to the programming environment would be ideal. There exist a few pared-down images which work with the Raspberry Pi which attempt this. I've seen a C64 emulator which is coded "bare metal" and boots in much less time than the vanilla Raspbian image. Also, the guys behind RISCOS have released a bare-metal version of BBC BASIC which also boots in no time. In both cases, not quite instant on but certainly better than waiting for a complete linux-based OS to boot. RISC OS Pico is available here: https://www.riscosopen.org/content/sales/risc-os-pico

I'm guessing with its inherent lack of structure, BASIC would be thought of as archaic in any modern sense. I've not even looked into the "touch" option. Being based on an Atmel AVR, the C++ option will likely be barebones Arduino programming, uploaded via AVRdude like every other Arduino compatible. This may be a little advanced for the average year 7 student. Python has its place though, being the language which contributed to the Raspberry Pi's name and (at very least) being relevant in the modern programmer's tool-chest but due to the limited RAM available to the device, I can either imagine it'll be a "sub-set" of Python, or there'll be some type of Python to AVR assembler/cross-compiler made available to download. I can understand why they're doing this with an AVR-based board. They're cheap enough to be given away/discarded. Not *every* child will receive one and actually go on to do something constructive with their MicroBit though. I imagine most will either be programmed just *once* (maybe in a brief tutorial/introduction in school or online) and then taken home by the student to gather dust until discarded. Giving away a Raspberry Pi would be too expensive for the BBC to contemplate. With the current price of AVRs, this would seem a cost-effective/throwaway method of giving each child a creative toy which - with a little investment of time - could lead them into the world of electronics and wearables. Becky Stern of Adafruit is a wearables ambassador and she's made wearables "Cool". Adafruit sell similar tiny, Atmel AVR-based devices for those interested in making wearable electronics. The MicroBit looks to be a miniature Arduino with a LOL Shield attached. (LOL = Lots Of LEDs). Blinky things seem to attract kids so all this makes sense, I suppose. I was sitting at home one afternoon a few years ago, typing some BASIC graphic demos from an Oric Atmos user's manual and my [then 14 year old] daughter became intrigued I could instruct this "old" computer and make it draw coloured circles on-screen while making beeping noises. She asked if she could try. Her "interest" lasted all of 10 minutes before she received a FaceBook notification and this distraction alone, was enough for her to lose concentration and go back to her iPhone. Oh, well. Back in the box, then. Kids need to WANT to learn this stuff. That's why the device has to be cheap enough to mass-produce for pennies. I don't think the average child would want to invest time in learning AVR C but Python stands a chance. It's a pity it won't run Scratch. Credit where it's due though, flashing LEDS on a board might be enough to get a few hundred creatively-minded kids interested in electronics and programming. If it does this, all the better but as I said, I imagine most of these devices will go on to become less of a gateway to electronics and more like landfill. It only takes a spark to light a flame. Let's hope this device - which probably costs as much to produce as a box of lighter-flints - can create enough sparks to kickstart a new generation of potential future coders.

It wasn't always like this. Yes, the BBC and the government made a good start with their efforts in 1982 but as soon as PCs became the norm in school IT labs, things fell into a long-term lull. "Computing" and "Information Technology" education quickly degraded into teaching youngsters how to use Microsoft Word and Publisher. Our primary/secondary school teaching staff lost their ability to keep up and our promising lead in the Information Technology field was lost quickly. I remember when I first started working in IT in the late 80's, being worried about the potential of competition from "educated professionals". I needn't have worried. Once PCs took over in schools, it had the effect of "dumbing down" the UK's formerly-groundbreaking IT-centric educational role. Students were no longer taught programming. instead they were introduced to "Office Skills" (Word processing, an intro to databases and desktop publishing) and things stagnated quickly. With the [comparatively recent] rising interest in the Maker:Community and the Introduction of boards like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino, our government and [by proxy] educators have been forced by a fashionable trend to wake up to what we'd lost and the BBC has been reminded of its previous role in IT education and awareness. It's only really in the last 12-18 months there has been an effort to push this agenda again. Let's hope this continues.

That looks like the one I bought to upgrade the firmware in a custom BBC Master 128 internal co-processor I once bought from RetroClinic. I've never used it though, as the firmware was updated but only available on request and I can't remember which Master 128 I hid the co-pro in! I bought a Chinese AVR ISP MKII and used that until I realised it would only work with Atmel's AVR Studio up to version 4. I bit the bullet and bought a genuine Atmel one just so I could gain access to the current version of Studio along with firmware upgrades to the ISP itself. Rather than use the ISP to program boot-loaders, I now use the TL866CS and write out a saved project to each ATMega328 in turn. Much quicker than previous/ISP methods. Programming the 328s is still done in an Arduino Uno as I've never strayed from the Arduino IDE. Maybe someday, I'll try programming in C and uploading with AVRdude directly just like the elite hardware hackers do. Then again?..

Ooh. Colour me interested. Any idea how I go about obtaining an adapter like this? How would the programmer see it?

The TL866CS does AVRs directly by dropping them into the ZIF socket. It certainly does the ATMega AVRs I've been using in the 632K carts and Arduinos. I already have a genuine Atmel AVR MkII ISP for ISP stuff but I guess $5 isn't too much for the additional feature. Ksarul's cart boards also (apparently) have the ability to be programmed via ISP. My carts are fitted with ZIF sockets though, so it's just easier for me to transfer an EPROM than it is to start wiring things up and making sure there's power to the board I'm programming. I don't think I could be bothered doing this, even if I'd had the forethought to buy the A model.

I bought a Mini Pro TL866CS from eBay on Gazoo's recommendation and it's worked well for everything I've used it for so far. This includes Ti 512K carts, the 632K carts (which also requires a PLCC32 adaptor, included in the "kit" I bought). I've also used it with other micro/EPROM projects and for copying Arduino (Atmel ATMega328) boot-loaders, saving me the hassle of having to use one Arduino to program another. What it WON'T program, are the EPROMs required by Ksarul's new 2048K carts as the Mini Pro doesn't have a long enough ZIF socket to accept the longer IC of the 2048K EPROM Ksarul chose.

Yeah, the XB 2.7 cart is a work of genius. If you have access to an EPROM programmer, you might also wish to get hold of some of the 512K cartridge boards and compatible EPROMs. There are 5 (soon to be 6) ROM images elsewhere in the forums containing the best of the Ti game library in menu format. Rasmus has released his excellent home-brew games in ROM format too, so an EPROM programmer is a good investment if you would like access to a growing catalog of software.

Well done. The Ti is a nice machine with a thriving community, here on AtariAge. And a nice restoration. How did you manage to change the language to English?