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The mega UberGROM thread (start here)


acadiel

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It occurred to me that we don't have all the UberGROM information in one place, after trying to help people on the Facebook TI Group.  So here we go:

 

0) Who made this originally?

It was a collaboration between Tursi, Ksarul, and myself over the span of 5+ years.

 

1) Where do you get them?  Arcadeshopper sells them here:  

http://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/UBERgrom-board-with-2-included-49F040-flash-chips/p/44354004/category=5051340

 

2) Where's the code/binary/image to burn to the 1284P?

http://harmlesslion.com/software/ubergrom

 

3) That's nice, but is there a manual that talks about what this thing is?

512K ROM-GROM Cartridge Board Manual V0.8.doc is the latest draft.

 

4) Um, ok.  So, how do I program it?

Follow this tutorial.  You have to use either the GROMCFG or GROMLOAD programs to load info on an UberGROM.   You have to set the banks accordingly.  Read htis article:

 

5) No, no no... I don't want to load files on the TI!  I want to "burn the roms" on my programmer!

  • Premade UberGROM images can come in one or two parts.  You always have a 1284P image (132K), and optionally a ROM image (512K).  The ROM portion doesn't always come with the GROM, so it may or may not be there.  If it IS there, it's required.
  • To burn the UberGROM image onto an AtMega 1248P on your favorite EPROM programmer, set the fuses like this on the 1284P (Extended: F8, High: D8, Low: C2).  YMMV based on your programmer.
  • pg4uw_options.thumb.png.b9d8d9c1d54ac3fba3a9001e94725c31.png
  • If the ROM exists, burn it to a 29F040 or a 49F040

 

6) Where can I get some prebuilt UberGROM images from?

Right here:

 

7) What else exists for this currently:

 

8]  But you still didn't answer my question?

Post it below.  Someone will likely answer it. 

 

-jg/hexbus/acadiel

 

 

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Current to-do's:

  • BASIC Support module adaptation - Rich Gilbertson is helping me get this working with the UberGROM
  • Labels!  Who wants to get some labels made for all the images that I made?  Need someone to design what they might have looked like if TI would have released them.
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1. For reference and as documented on Fred's site:

The UBERGrom's UART must be mapped at the (last) GROM base >983C and GROM slot >A000. This is the same address selection as for the Terminal Emulator program TIMXT for the UBERGrom from Insane Multitasker  [Note:  the UART can be mapped to other bases/slots, it is just that we settled on using the same one for compatibility]

 

2. Is there a list of existing images, e.g., XB27 suite.

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  • 2 weeks later...

One of the best applications for the UberGROM (in my humble opinion) is the auto-starting 4A/DOS!

 

Cart.thumb.gif.b0c2170f17556568f001d2ad19b0e9d8.gif

 

It's awesome, simply turn on the TI and you are in the DOS environment.  Exit a program and you're in the DOS environment.  Reset and you are in the DOS environment.  It saves a ton of time and unless you like the main menu and start screen, you'll never have to mess with them slowing you down again.

 

If you do not want to, or cannot "roll your own", they are available at ArcadeShopper  << HERE >>

 

Images for burning

GROMStart.zip

 

Cartridge Label

DOS Label.png

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  • 4 weeks later...
4 hours ago, Mehridian Sanders said:

This is impressive well done!

 

Yeah, I've used 4A/DOS for years, but lately find I've been migrating to Force Command more and more because of my extensive use of the TIPI.  My "Ultimate Dream" is to have Force Command somehow combined with Extended BASIC.  The thought of being able to load an E/A 5 or an Extended BASIC program directly from the DOS prompt or a batch file would be freaking awesome.  Will it ever happen?  Doubtful, but hey, a guy has to have dreams, right? ?

 

The fact is though that Force Command has more features, does more and is currently supported with improvements still arriving... but I don't want to mess up this thread with non UberGROM talk so further discussion on this topic should probably start in a new thread.

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23 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

UberGrom could run ForceCommand. 

I'm willing to test it.  IIRC it has to be named START for the startup code in the 1284P to find it.  It would only take me a couple of minutes to burn a 49F040.  Also the image should be 512K using multiples if necessary.

 

-- GRAPHIC REMOVED -- 

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4 hours ago, INVISIBLE said:

I'm willing to test it.  IIRC it has to be named START for the startup code in the 1284P to find it.  It would only take me a couple of minutes to burn a 49F040.  Also the image should be 512K using multiples if necessary.

 

ForceCommandLabel.png.e437eeff350fff1108acd0096c1c7642.png

 

 

No, it comes with it's own GROM. And you aren't allowed to call it 'Force Command-DOS'  The name is just 'Force Command

the subtitle can say 'a DOS by Jedimatt42' if you like. Let me go make sure those terms are in the license... I'm just kidding... but I really don't like hearing 'Force Command DOS'... to me that is like saying grapes fruit, which is confusing since there is a thing called grapes and a thing called grapefruit, and both are fruit. Please only refer to it as 'Force Command' or Jedimatt42's DOS, Force Command. And shouldn't there be Emperor Palpatine style Force Lightening on the label? I'm only partially punking you... in all seriousness, don't call it 'Force Command-DOS' the name is just 'Force Command

 

You would load the GROM FCMDG.bin into GROM with Tursi's GROMCFG, and you repeat the FCMDC.bin until it is 512K and load that into the 49F040 chip. 

 

I didn't use the 'START' grom from Tursi, but I reverse engineered it to come up with this: https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd/blob/master/gpl-boot.g99

 

The address of the ROM entry point is defined at GPL assembly time by scraping the symbol address out of the ROM: https://github.com/jedimatt42/fcmd/blob/b6d377d8dd36f9d8667b33b2980bb47136992425/Makefile#L85

 

 

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42 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

The colon on "BY:" is unnecessary, as well.

I imagine everything you say @OLD CS1 is said by your avatar image with a snarly old man Japanese anime military voice.. even though I've met you and you don't have an old Japanese voice.   And now I can't stop laughing.

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3 hours ago, jedimatt42 said:

I imagine everything you say @OLD CS1 is said by your avatar image with a snarly old man Japanese anime military voice.. even though I've met you and you don't have an old Japanese voice.   And now I can't stop laughing.

Oh, man, my sides.  Now I hear that voice.  But it sounds like Mr. Miyagi to me.  I can live with that in my head.

 

3 hours ago, INVISIBLE said:

Possibly, but I like it.  Feel free to edit it out on your copy.

::chuckle::  Please to be forgiving the pedant in me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 4/21/2020 at 12:48 AM, InsaneMultitasker said:

1. For reference and as documented on Fred's site:

The UBERGrom's UART must be mapped at the (last) GROM base >983C and GROM slot >A000. This is the same address selection as for the Terminal Emulator program TIMXT for the UBERGrom from Insane Multitasker  [Note:  the UART can be mapped to other bases/slots, it is just that we settled on using the same one for compatibility]

 

2. Is there a list of existing images, e.g., XB27 suite.

 

(write up is maybe not 100%, but it might help other people)

 

I finally managed to get it to work

(if I remember correctly 2 years ago, I wanted to do this, because my nanoPEB RS232 did not work somehow)

and now with UberGromHDX I can transfer from a PC files via Serial to the NanoPEB (without taking out the CF-card)

but then came the TIPI (sidecar) in my life, but now I am building a network with multiple TIs and had a standalone

TI that needed to be networked (with a standalone 32K  or nanoPEB)

 

burn the ATMEL CHIP  (the .bin file eaprom_V_UG.bin) 

(I only programmed the ATMEL chip, in the past I wrote a procedure for this, see the last part)

UberCart-Programming-v1-Aug-2017.pdf

 

 

@F.G. Kaal  Fred:

It would be good to add a procedure the "how to" map the GROM base of the UART TTL device.

http://www.ti99-geek.nl/Projects/ti99hdx/ti99hdx_ubergrom.html

 

(my cable is USB-DB9 -- normal connector (MALE), to a DB9 (FEMALE) to DB9 (MALE) to the DB9 FEMALE UART device

and the pins are mapped like on your photo.  VCC to +5V,  TXD to TXD,  RXD to RXD, GND to GND)

(thus no need for a gender-changer or cross-cable-adapter).

 

To do the UART mapping:

1. Download the .zip here

https://harmlesslion.com/cgi-bin/showprog.cgi?search=ubergrom

 

2. as I use this on a standalone TI (with NanoPEB attached first, but actually want to use it with 32K attached only)

    how to get the file to the TI:

    a. Used the CF-card on my PC and saved the gromcfg.dsk to a volume on the CF-card

        (using the TIDIR tool of Fred  ti99-geek.nl website)

    b. then using the nanopeb  in TI-BASIC:  CALL MOUNT(2,Volume)

    c. with E/A  option 5 (of the UberGromHDX module) DSK2.GROMCFG

 

3. in GROMCFG now press CTRL F

    and browse with > to the   >983C

    then press A  (for >A000)

    then press U  (to assign UART)

 

4. then SAVE  (DSK2.UARTSAVE) 

    it overwrites the Ubergrom

 

5. press FCTN 7

    then make sure the CTRL B  (Base is ON), rest is OFF

    (not sure if this is correct, but it works for me)

 

6. Start TI99HDX 9.1  (settings are for me on COM3 for the USB port mapping)

    38400, 8, E, 1

    and at communication status DTR and RTS are on   (rest are all off)

 

7. start module > Editor Assembler V

    option 7 Utilities

    option 5 UberHDX

    it will initialise quickly and on the PC you will see also that it is initialized

 

    then for source enter SRC:  HDX1.

 

 

image.thumb.png.48a6a54e15c2c7adae59d5aab1057f97.png

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
27 minutes ago, dhe said:

I just bought one of these from ArcadeShopper.

Found the 120 page manual, I might not qualify as smart enough to own this cart! ?

Those of us who have extensive experience with these can help you solve most issues, @dhe. We made sure the manual included as much information as possible about it, to help folks understand all of the functionality--some of which hasn't been actively exploited yet.

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