I need system80 disks

[RonTurner]

I am looking at feasibility ATM, I have written code that can generate WAV files that play on my old laptop to my VZ200 and its reliable you just hookup an audio cable and enter CLOAD on the VZ200, I can modify the source code for the system 80.

Now I understand how the Disk operating system works, I can still work with that.

[tezza]

ok,

Just to let others know who might be following this thread, I'll be sending Gavin (ronturner) some NEWDOS 80/V2 disks in the next day or so.

[tezza]

BTW Gavin,

That emulator I gave you a link to can output virtual cassette files as WAVS. I have some emulator *.cas files on my site. You should be able to take the *cas files, load them into the emulator, then write them out as WAVs. You should then be able to load them into the System 80 through the soundport using the second cassette port at the back (Check the user manual for the exact syntax needed). Only with BASIC files though. For machine language ones you need a patched EPROM or hardware modification as there is no way in BASIC to select cassette 2 with the SYSTEM command. The SYSTEM command is used to load in machine language files.

Here is the cassette archive:
http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/sys ... rchive.htm

Try Taipan or Star Trek or some of the shorter Dick Smith ones. Only the BASIC ones will work.

Be prepared to try a number of different volume levels. The machine is fussy about that.

[Gibsaw]

<snip> Only with BASIC files though. For machine language ones you need a patched EPROM or hardware modification as there is no way in BASIC to select cassette 2 with the SYSTEM command. The SYSTEM command is used to load in machine language files.</snip>

... but it does bear mentioning of course, that you can write a BASIC program that pokes in a machine language one, and work from there.

Limits your available RAM somewhat, but you can load something else if you need to... EMULATOR (BASIC) -> WAV -> Real machine

[tezza]

... but it does bear mentioning of course, that you can write a BASIC program that pokes in a machine language one, and work from there.

Limits your available RAM somewhat, but you can load something else if you need to... EMULATOR (BASIC) -> WAV -> Real machine

Indeed, that is an alternative.

[RonTurner]

I have cleaned down the work bench and started setting up the system80 again, this time im cleaning everything again and rechecking from the ground up, im especially checking for bad connections at the edge connectors.

I have previously replaced all the components in the System80's PSU just in case....

I powered up the system80, all looking good, the keyboard is great and it boots to prompt every time, absolutely stable clear video output via rear din output, I found the UHF to be very touchy.

I did enter 'PRINT FRE(0)' and got back 15572

I dont need tape port two if I bootstrap the machine code from a BASIC program, I am going for a simple solution that only requires a wire soldered to a din plug and an audio plug for the modern PC.

A nice app would have check boxes for which DOS commands you want and you can set the ORG to any address and allow you to make bootable disks with a bog standard system80 and only requires a din plug and cut an audio cable and solder two wires to the din.

My DSVZ200 emulator is Z80 based so I can build off that, it can already go straight from source code to wave file that loads on my real VZ200.(this emulator already has the System80 vdp written into it, there just isnt an option on the public version to select it.)

My intention would be to have progmatically generated assembler source code of NewDOS routines that you would click one button and get audio that loads on the system80.

@Tezza ; I havent made the cable up yet to try loading the WAV files but as soon as I do I will upload some photos of the results.

[RonTurner]

I connected the first interface, print fre(0) still returns 15,572 ?

Second interface print fre(0) returns 48,340

[tezza]

So...first interface has no RAM installed or RAM is faulty?

[RonTurner]

So...first interface has no RAM installed or RAM is faulty?

Just cracked it open, its the one I sent you photos of, there is a printer interface and a wire has come off that,

It has 32K worth of 4116 but not showing.

The double density ? card has a piggy backing IC, thats not factory surely ?

All the circuit boards are very clean and the RAM is in sockets so just might need to lift them and push them back down for starters.

And of course I need to check the jumpers on the floppy drives.

Seems like one interface is single density and the other has a double density interface.

[TRS80]

My intention would be to have progmatically generated assembler source code of NewDOS routines that you would click one button and get audio that loads on the system80.

What are you actually trying to do? If you just want to know how to access the TRS-80 Disk Hardware to read/write sectors then the TRS-80 Disk and Other Mysteries book and the WD1771 Floppy Disk controller datasheet are good starting points.

The Other Mysteries book also explains a lot about the overlay schemes that are used in the operating system. This was written for TRS-DOS 2.3 but the same approach is followed for the later operating systems.

[RonTurner]

I have commented source code for NewDOS80, the program will generate a binary from that, then turn that binary into a .WAV

The routines for disk access are short and simple code.

Providing that I can get the system80 to actually load the .WAV it took weeks of agony to get the VZ200 to load from wav file, I started by disassembling the Cload and Csave routines.

the piggy backing IC (on the DD card) is a quad bilateral switch : MC14066B

[tezza]

The factory default for a System 80 expansion unit is single density. If it has a daughterboard over the FDD controller it's sure to be a double density upgrade.

I'll write some NewDos 80/version 2 boot disks tonight and send them off tomorrow so at least you can boot your machine. One question though...I'm assuming your drive(s) is 40 track (not 80 track)? The disks I'm sending through will be 40 track, single density, single sided and will only boot in a 40 track drive.

[RonTurner]

The floppies I already have are 40 track, the disks will be very useful for testing.

I tested the power consumption of my system80 and got these results...

My entire rig (sys80,mon,fdd,int) draws 85 watts.

The fdd draws an extra 8 watts when spindle is active.

The system80 by itself draws 24.7 watts and if you press down the F1 button it draws 25.8 watts per hour.

Pretty cheap to run I would say.

[RonTurner]

Thanks for the floppies Tezza , one of them shows the first boot screen, this must be the boot loader, the track steps then failure. Just to make it a real nuisance the r/w heads have all kinds of stuff in the way of cleaning them, I have run cleaner disks through them in the meantime.

Does anyone know what these jumper settings are ? MX HM HS HD INU HL TD ?

[tezza]

Thanks for the floppies Tezza , one of them shows the first boot screen, this must be the boot loader, the track steps then failure. Just to make it a real nuisance the r/w heads have all kinds of stuff in the way of cleaning them, I have run cleaner disks through them in the meantime.

Oh well, at least you've got boot disks now. Good luck.