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Milli Vee

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Posts posted by Milli Vee

  1. Posted

    Great video. The more I see you working with CP/M / T-DOS in your videos, the more I'm getting the itch to delve into those alternative OSes for the ADAM.

     

    BTW. I notice that your MicroFox VDD is back in it's original external case. Any reason after installing it internally in the Data Drive bay?

     

    I didnt like the look of it and the VDD kept crasghing on my so I would have to mount, unmount etc. It didnt crash because of the movign it, it crashes because it is the VDD (you learn to live with the crashes)

  2. Posted

    Thanks Milli, and well done on the information and video production!

     

    Perhaps if the video were abbreviated into a 15 minute segment, it would catch more interest. As informative as it is, it is difficult to sit through a one hour video unless you have dedicated time on the weekend. I think it would be great to have some bullet points highlighting how we could do this ourselves.

     

    The questions I come away with:

     

    - Where do I get a fully patched copy of T-DOS or CP/M?

    - Can I easily run one of these OSs from DDP or from my CF card rig?

    - Can I make my Adam boot into T-DOS easily, or is there another setup piece for that?

     

    Thanks for all you do! I have an F18a modded Adam with Rey’s Adam power supply, the MicroFox CF card hard drive rig, and 1 DDP drive. So far, the only thing that’s come easily is playing Adam Bomb 2, but I haven’t set it up in a while.

     

     

    You have TDOS on the CF system - press WildCard at the boot menu on the CF and you are in TDOS with 4 drives total of 32mb.

  5. Posted

    BTW, T-DOS and CP/M 2.2 do not have these kind of limitations... to the best of my knowledge of these alternate ADAM operating systems.

     

    Well CPM and TDOS do suffer from the maximum disk size being 8mb, though you can have multiple drives and since each can have 16 user areas you do have more leeway in the directory

     

    Milli

  6. Posted

    Thank you NIAD for answering these for me.

     

    As stated the 64mb Smart Basic image was a test case, the actual goal of this is a new OS for the Adam named Wedge. I named it Wedge because that is actually what it is doing. Besides providing a new platform to develop on for the Adam it will also contain a number of utilities more inline with modern operating systems in methodology and usage. Wedge will also do what its name implies, it will wedge itself into EOS and by doing so it will allow you to import hundreds of disk images into the larger Wedge image and have them available with just a few key strokes. Since for the time being Wedge will run on the VDD this eliminates having to mount and unmount images and it eliminates the 100 image limit of the VDD. In actuality it would allow you to have 100 64mb wedge images on the VDD which could contain 40,000 (!) individual disk images on a single microSD card.

     

    Wedge on the VDD is just the start, once the hardware hurdle I have encountered is overcome Wedge will be a perfect interface into CAPE (Coleco Adam Peripheral Emulator). With CAPE you would be able to plug a PC into a barebones Adam, no printer, no data or disk drives, just a keyboard, and have a full system with printer, 2 data drives and 2 disk drives. These would be emulated by the PC. Wedge would then access CAPE and let you load and save files natively into folders on windows.

     

    But for now I am designing Wedge to make the maximum use out of the VDD, so a 64mb Smart Basic image is a great start.

     

    Milli

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I have 9 confirmed emails so far saying they would order the power supply and there about 1/2 dozen more that said they would on the blog that I would like to get a "confirmed" email from to bring it up to 15 (see the blog for the form to fill out) http://smartbasic.net/2018/08/02/coleco-adam-replacement-power-supply-project/ - I am hoping to get 30 "confirmed" emails by the end of this month so I can order the parts.

     

    Milli

  12. Posted

    I would be interested because that custom case looks awesome. Also besides being able to plug in the ADAM Printer to the power supply for ADAMNET data pass through, to my knowledge this well be the first ADAM power supply that has the standard 6 pin in/out ADAMNET connection cables.

     

    Well this be a power supply you are custom making from scatch for the ADAM computer? Or well you use some type of PC power supply that is placed inside a ADAM case?

     

    How many watts well this power supply be? Also even though all ADAM systems were sold in America on a power system that is 120 volts 60Hz, in the ideal world the power supply should be able to handle around 100-240 volts at 50-60Hz so that anyone in the world can use the ADAM if they want too.

     

    The power supply is an off the shelf one - it has 45.5 watts and can handle 100 - 240V input. I have been using this one for over 2 years and a few others have also made their own using the same supply. On the website is more pictures and details.

  13. Posted

    Most and perhaps all 3rd party power supplies for the ADAM computer did not actually power the ADAM printer. Instead after testing what actually occurs is that the DB9 connector on the side of some third party ADAM Printer power supplies is for connecting of the ADAM printer for data communications only, and the printer remains off as long as the power switch on the back of the printer is off. However, as soon as one turns the printer power switch on (located on the back of the actual printer), what actually happens is the printer well not work unless the power cord is also plugged into the electrical outlet. Therefore, the ADAM printer still uses its own internal power supply when connected to a third party ADAM memory console power supply. Therefore, when one wants to use the ADAM printer they have to still turn it on and use the power supply built into the printer. However, the printer does run cooler when connected to a third party ADAM memory console power supply, because the internal printer power supply is only powering the printer and not powering the entire ADAM computer system.

     

    There is a bug or unwanted feature in the SmartWriter program and/or all ADAM Printer firmware (This bug or unwanted feature occurs with all Coleco ADAM printers released). Every time the Coleco ADAM memory console is reset the printer advances the paper feed one space. Therefore, after one does several resets of the memory console the paper needs to be reloaded in the Coleco ADAM printer. I did notice one nice improvement about the ADAM printer when connected to a third party power supply. The DB9 connector on the power supply is wired in such a way that the bug or unwanted feature where the ADAM printer advances one space after each memory console reset no longer occurs anymore. This is a very nice improvement not to have to reload the paper after several memory console resets. I hope this new power supply for the ADAM computer you are developing well also stop the unwanted ADAM printer line space advance issue everytime the memory console is reset.

    Thanks for pointing this out, I can leave the reset line unhooked.

  16. Posted

    I recently found myself needing to create a few CP/M data packs for customers. This is normally no problem, but I needed to load them with programs. Since I normally use the VDD all of my files are in disk images, and a CP/M disk image is limited to 160kb, where as a CP/M data pack image is 256kb. The total amount of the programs was around 200kb so I would...

     

    http://smartbasic.net/2018/07/31/data-pack-image-to-disk-image/

     

    Milli

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    If it is the power supply I am thinking of, I might be interested in just a case for it. Will you be selling the cases by themselves or the power supplies and cases together?

     

    The same one - has never failed me yet :) I will probably be doing just the case too - am trying to make it as off the shelf as possible, only issue I have is the cable - wishs I could find a supply of original adam power cables or a pile of old printers that can not be salvaged.

     

    Milli

  21. Posted

    okay, so quick question. does the magnetic burst affect just tapes or will it ruin CD's as well? i ask this because i am afraid it might harm my PS3 or Xbox One.

    If the magnetic pulse was strong enough to modify the molecules on the CD that have been modified to hold data then that pulse is enough to fry you too.

     

    As for frying a data pack if you leave it on when turning on I have never had it happen but I have had data drives ruin tapes because the head is not in alignment. Someday I hope to figure out how to align the heads.

     

    But a serious question about the "EMP" that the coleco adam makes, is it printer only, ie if I have a different power supply and no printer do I have to worry about any of that? I would think not, the power supply is 2 years old and designed to sit inside a PC next to a HD and floppy drives with no thought of it causing issues.

     

     

    Milli

  23. Posted

    This probably helps avoid that fine line between softening and melting the plastic. Although, with boiling = 212 degF, I wonder if you could just stick the can in the oven and set to 200 degF. Of course, your next casserole may taste like colecovision controller from out-gassing.

     

    The boiling water will never really heat it up to high as it cools fast and heat rises - not outwards as much - in an oven I think it will stick to itself

  24. Posted · Edited by Milli Vee

    I just did this - here is how:

     

    1. Get a metal can, vegetable, soup etc - the bigger (wider) the better.

    2. Remove the label and one end and the contents

    3. Clean it

    4. Wrap the wire tightly around the outside of the can, bending and twisting to remove the twist

    5. Use tape to hold both ends

    6. Fill can with boiling water and allow it to sit for an hour

    7. Empty and repeat 6

    8. Empty and remove wire - if it still has some twist rewrap and repeat #6

     

    Milli

    • Like 1
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