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Current: Atari 576 NUC Quick Reference Guide


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5 minutes ago, massiverobot said:

Ok, that brings up a question I have- I have read that the XEGS shadow-maps the ROM into RAM- does the 576 do that?

Well it's identical to an XEGS, XE, or XL in this regard, after all this is a 'real' Atari. So the answer would be yes.

 

5 minutes ago, massiverobot said:

Can someone @DrVenkman or @mytek explain what the MMU does compared to what the EMMU does? Why are both needed? I get that a Memory Management Unit is swapping the blocks of 64k addresses (for ram and rom) in and out for the CPU to address, but what function do they play for the 576 (and XEGS)?

 

[and I think I just realized that 576 refers to the RAM of the system?]

The MMU handles the basic 64K memory configuration of the machine, and in this case is identical to the XEGS version of the MMU.

 

The EMMU is mapping in the 512K of extended memory, which should not be confused with the EMMU on a 130XE which is an entirely different beast. And yes the '576' part of the 576NUC+ name is referring to the total amount of memory of this machine (512K+64K=576K). This follows inline with how Atari named a lot of their 8-bit computers.

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1 hour ago, DrVenkman said:

SpartaDOS X is a no-go until/unless the external cart board option materializes. 

Ok, got it, no PBI. That makes sense. I've seen some of the mockups for the external cart slot looking up info on the NUC+, hopefully that will materialize once the kinks are worked out. If it does, I'll just slap a Side2/3 or Ultimate cart in there and call it good. Seems like where to mount the board and how to encase it seems to be the current main issue. 

 

Until then, I'll stick with .atrs and disk-based dev tools. It'll be a good excuse to fiddle with Fastbasic anyway. 

 

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OK, just in time for the US holiday weekend, I have a new version with lots of new bits.

 

Version 1.c Changes

  • New History of NUC - thanks to input from various members of the community I have written a little tiny history of the NUC and how it came to be. It's the little Atari that COVID gave us.
  • New evolution of the NUC section
  • Added Programming section
  • Added TNFS section
  • Added VGATE section

 

 

I also posted the History story of the NUC as a blog for easier reading outside of the Guide:

https://www.atariorbit.org/2021/07/02/576-nuc-history/

 

 

As always comments, suggestions and corrections are appreciated to make this a better resource for everyone.

 

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7 minutes ago, massiverobot said:

OK, just in time for the US holiday weekend, I have a new version with lots of new bits.

I'm getting a 'this file has been deleted' error from the dropbox link now.

 

Great writeup on the NUC+!

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7 minutes ago, massiverobot said:

Does anyone know how you can edit older posts?

A regular forum member can edit posts for up to (I think?) 30 minutes after the post. If you buy a paid forum subscription to help support the AtariAge site, you can edit posts for up to 30 days.

 

Otherwise, you can ask a forum moderator such as @Tempest, @jaybird3rd or @CPUWIZ to grant you edit rights to a post. For instance, you might ask them to let you edit the first post in the thread indefinitely; then you can always update that post with download links to the latest version, or simply upload the latest document here on the forum as a ZIP file attachment to that post. 

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^ Certainly.  If anyone wants to update a previous post, just report the post in question to the moderators with a request to open it for editing.  (If you want to edit multiple posts, include links to each post in your report; you don't have to file a separate report for each.)

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22 minutes ago, jaybird3rd said:

^ Certainly.  If anyone wants to update a previous post, just report the post in question to the moderators with a request to open it for editing.  (If you want to edit multiple posts, include links to each post in your report; you don't have to file a separate report for each.)

Request sent to you via message. thanks.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, version 1.0d is up and has lots of changes.

 

Version 1.0d changes:

  • Added RAM expansion section
  • Added FN flashing section (and verified a flash from my windows10 machine)
  • Added info on video modes
  • Edited Story for better readability
  • Added more MB photos for hardware evolution

 

Enjoy...

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48 minutes ago, massiverobot said:

Yes, sorry, I'll post here and in the First Post....

 

I also found a link shortener that is free and lets me update the _source_ link. Bit.ly is very sneaky about this!


https://1c8t.short.gy/576NUC
https://1c8t.short.gy/1088xel
https://1c8t.short.gy/aar

Yep that works :)

 

When I tried the previous link it continued to show me Version 1.0e instead of the most recent 1.0f.

 

I did find a small discrepancy on the last page, where it showed the NUC being available in 2020 instead of 2021. You also showed it first being announced in April 2020, but the topic and first post specifically about it was started on June 18th, 2020. Prior to that, it was kept under wraps and only talked about in the BETA test PM.

 

 

You probably have the 576NUC+ and the iTari Game Console console confused. And although the iTari concept was put out there in April 2020, it's not the same as the 576NUC+, nor was the NUC actually built from that concept, although a few pieces taken from the iTari schematic did get integrated into the 576NUC+ design. However very soon after development began, the idea of a Cart Port on the NUC was dropped in favor of possibly integrating the SDrive-Max or simply the SDrive (no LCD display). Later this morphed into using the FujiNet system instead, which was the new more attractive kid on the block. This idea was really more Mr Robot's idea then mine, although I later embraced it.

 

As for the iTari, it started out life with the idea of having an integrated 5" display (minimum) and a top loading Cart Port. There was also discussion of having a built-in Lithium Ion battery and a combination charging/PSU fed by a wall wart, and even built-in MIDI. However the logistics on getting a reliable source for a tiny multi-protocol LCD display (PAL/NTSC) was not in the cards, and the concept faded away primarily because of that.

 

When the idea of the 576NUC+ arrived, it really began as an entirely new project, and was centered around a much smaller desktop system then my previous creations (1088XEL, 1088XLD). At no time was I envisioning this to be used for the iTari project. Although to be honest after the fact I have toyed around with the idea now that I do have a fully working tiny Atari motherboard.

 

 

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19 hours ago, mytek said:

Yep that works :)

 

When I tried the previous link it continued to show me Version 1.0e instead of the most recent 1.0f.

 

I did find a small discrepancy on the last page, where it showed the NUC being available in 2020 instead of 2021. You also showed it first being announced in April 2020, but the topic and first post specifically about it was started on June 18th, 2020. Prior to that, it was kept under wraps and only talked about in the BETA test PM.

 

 

You probably have the 576NUC+ and the iTari Game Console console confused. ....

 

 

OK thanks for this detailed update. Let me digest it and incorporate it into the history. Clearly going off just the AA threads dosen't give the whole story, and so I thank you again for clarifying keypoints!

 

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On 7/20/2021 at 8:43 AM, massiverobot said:

Yes, sorry, I'll post here and in the First Post....

 

I also found a link shortener that is free and lets me update the _source_ link. Bit.ly is very sneaky about this!

 


https://1c8t.short.gy/576NUC
https://1c8t.short.gy/1088xel
https://1c8t.short.gy/aar

 

 

The middle link for the 1088XEL only gives the cover of the manual as a single page .jpg (rather than a .pdf of several pages, like the other two links).  Please have a look at that.  Thank You!!

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35 minutes ago, RetroCoder said:

Does the Nuc+ have a cartridge port or can it be added?

Yes, @Mr Robot is working with mytek and The Brewing Academy to release a new FujiNet version that has CART pass-thru. Mr. Robot is also designing the cases for this. I'd imagine that when they are ready there will be an option on the TBA webpage for the NUC+ showing "CART Version" or something like that as an option.

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To be 100% clear: The NUC+ does NOT currently have a cartridge port; although Mr Robot has a working prototype and case design for one, these are not yet in production or available to purchase. The base unit has an integrated FujiNet plus an SIO interface - those are the primary I/O for the base system. 

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10 hours ago, irich2 said:

The middle link for the 1088XEL only gives the cover of the manual as a single page .jpg (rather than a .pdf of several pages, like the other two links).  Please have a look at that.  Thank You!!

OK yes, that is very weird. I will fix that link...

Edited by massiverobot
spel ing
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I would just like to point out that this Quick Reference Manual is something that @massiverobot has initiated on his own, similar to when he wrote the missing Manual for the 1088XEL/XLD.

 

 

Typically by the end of the development process, it's easy to get burned out and just want to take a long deserved break. So the thought and/or the act of also producing documentation tends to get pushed down the road (maybe indefinitely). However when someone comes along like massiverobot that is so jazzed by using one of our creations, that they dive in head first and take on the documentation aspect in order to help out others, it is greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you :)

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