DSTB1 exxos first tests & experimental firmware.

[Badwolf]

should be verifiable with byte-level peeks and pokes in STOS, BTW, but I'd be surprised if it were that.

Will try it.

Ta. Although you got to a desktop below so I don't think it's that simple.

No. I just tried from AUTO and the desktop gets more mashed. "TEMP" isn't a file on the floppy even.

Yep, that's no cop!

The fact the desktop loads at all means it's *almost* working, but clearly not suffiently reliably.

Do you, just out of interest, have an altram-free 16MHz booster? I wonder if it's the timing from the 8MHz processor that's kicking it out of whack. :/

Anyone know of any long-pinned socket strip? I could do with building one of these boosters in a straight-through piggyback mode to test this configuration.

BW

[exxos]

Do you, just out of interest, have an altram-free 16MHz booster? I wonder if it's the timing from the 8MHz processor that's kicking it out of whack. :/

I only just started doing alt-ram stuff. So none of my boards have alt-ram other than my SEC prototypes. I can add the decoding into a 16MHz booster.. just gotta find a working one in my stash here.. All my tested ones are in stock which are 40 miles away :(

[Badwolf]

I can add the decoding into a 16MHz booster.. just gotta find a working one in my stash here.. All my tested ones are in stock which are 40 miles away :(

Well, we've got the 206 decoding sorted out with this version of the firmware already.

I just wondered if the tighter timings made any difference?

BW

[exxos]

Well, we've got the 206 decoding sorted out with this version of the firmware already.

Yes, But I was trying to rule out by using your original firmware and a external decoder to rule out that ROM decoding was not creating a problem..But there is still something odd going on anyway it seems.

I will just focus on this firmware for now as it is getting a bit confusing with all the multiple combinations of things.

I just wondered if the tighter timings made any difference?

Not sure exactly what you're referring to.. I'm just testing your latest files you sent me..

I basically cannot load anything into alt-ram, it just crashes every time.

[Badwolf]

Well, we've got the 206 decoding sorted out with this version of the firmware already.

Yes, But I was trying to rule out by using your original firmware and a external decoder to rule out that ROM decoding was not creating a problem..But there is still something odd going on anyway it seems.

I will just focus on this firmware for now as it is getting a bit confusing with all the multiple combinations of things.

OK, yes, I'm confused too then. I thought this was the external altram 'slave mode' testing.

Let's shelve that for now since the main use case was planned to be the SEC booster originally, but that been superseded.

I just wondered if the tighter timings made any difference?

Not sure exactly what you're referring to.. I'm just testing your latest files you sent me..

I basically cannot load anything into alt-ram, it just crashes every time.

What I was referring to was that slave mode wasn't working at 8MHz, I wondered if i would at 16 (since all the AltRAM dev has been at 16). But, like you say, too confusing -- also hard to do remote dev. Don't worry about it.

BW

[exxos]

What I was referring to was that slave mode wasn't working at 8MHz, I wondered if i would at 16 (since all the AltRAM dev has been at 16). But, like you say, too confusing -- also hard to do remote dev. Don't worry about it.

Yep . I just hooked that back up again. As soon as I run altram.prg from auto it goes nuts.

IMG_0544.JPG

IMG_0545.JPG

But like you say, maybe concentrate on the official build of the firmware for now..

[Badwolf]

But like you say, maybe concentrate on the official build of the firmware for now..

OK, thanks.

Yep -- will need to sort myself out a 'slave mode' configuration to actually dev with. Thanks, though.

BW

[exxos]

@Badwolf Cannot work out how to highlight tracks in Kicad.. But anyway.. Quicker to ask, what is DTACK and DTACK_INT.. I assume one is system and one is CPU.. not sure which is which..

[Badwolf]

@Badwolf Cannot work out how to highlight tracks in Kicad.. But anyway.. Quicker to ask, what is DTACK and DTACK_INT.. I assume one is system and one is CPU.. not sure which is which..

Errr, god you've got me know -- muscle memory only! I think it's 'i' to highlight a track.

Anyway, yes, DTACK is motherboard DTACK, DTACK_INT is the 'internal' DTACK (ie to the CPU).

BW

[exxos]

Just a sanity check here that TOS206 does actually run from alt-ram without any crazy-ass patching ? as I was sure that PP's program which loads TOS into alt-ram did a lot of crazy patching to get it to work ?

But in this particular case I don't think there is any point in ROM running in alt-ram. The physical ROM can be accessed at 16Mhz anyway.