#: 17427 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:55:47 Sb: Just the FAQ'a Ma'am... Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . The Commodore 8-bit Usenet Newsgroup, comp.sys.cbm, once again has a Keeper of the FAQ. While parts if it have been updated, others have not. I am posting it in its entirety here so that anyone interested can see what this is all about. Most newsgroups have a FAQ (a Frequently Asked Questions listing) to which new users are referred, instead of rehashing the same answer, over and over. The reason it is getting a showing here is because the section about 8-bit support on CompuServe is empty. I had been meaning to get around to contributing a few paragraphs, but then again there are a lot of things I have been meaning to do, and don't seem to get around to. So I am hoping that perhaps a Sysop might take it upon him/herself to send some descriptive info to the Keeper for insertion into the FAQ. Since the Newgroup has a lot of European and Australian users, it might be a good idea to mention how easilly CIS is accessible from these locals, along with a description of what is here. I would also suggest "dropping" a few names. Some of our more famous notable personalities here. Anyway, by reading its content, you should get a good idea of how this thing works, so without further ado, I quote: Article #17140 (17176 is last): From: brain@garnet.msen.com (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM FAQ Part 1 Date: Mon Dec 6 21:24:42 1993 Well, Fred has graciously turned the FAQ maintenance to me, but this one is of his doing. I was going to update it, but in the interest of trying to get it on the net early every month, I submit it as is. (not that it is bad; I just haven't had time to do everything yet) Jim Brain COMP.SYS.CBM Frequently Asked Questions Part One version 1.5 93/09/01 This file is now being maintained by Jim Brain (brain@msen.com). Many thanks to Frederick J. Mueller, who has spent many months putting pertinent information in this file. I can only hope to fill the shoes as best I can. Maintained by Frederick J. Mueller (fredm@nwsca.att.com). The latest version of this FAQ file may be found in /pub/rknop/comp.sys.cbm on cco.caltech.edu and in /pub/cbm/faq on ftp.funet.fi. INTRODUCTION Welcome to the comp.sys.cbm "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) file. Many news groups maintain a FAQ file which is posted monthly, and is a repository for general interest and common information that many readers of the news group, or new readers of the news group, might be interested in. I would like to keep programming information in this FAQ file to a minimum; otherwise, it could balloon out of control. For those interested in programming, see the entry on the Usenet C= Hacking Magazine. Additional files of useful information may also be found in the Anyone with comments, _corrections_(!), additions, or suggestions should contact me at fredm@nwsca.att.com. This FAQ file is always a Work In Progress. This FAQ is organized into 2 parts with the following major sections: Part I: I. Connecting a C64/128 with the outside world II. Net resources III. On-Line services Part II. I. Beyond the Basics II. Common Hardware Problems III. Tricks and Tips IV. RAM expansion issues VII. Publications VIII. Accelerators ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I. CONNECTING A C64/128 WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD A. Terminal Programs The most straightforward way to connect your computer to the outside world is using a terminal program and a modem. With these, you can use your computer just as a terminal to log on to any systems you may have access to at school or at work. Popular shareware and freely distributable terminal programs available on the net include DesTerm128 for the 128, Novaterm for the 64, and Kermit for both the 64 and 128. Each of these programs include emulations of popular terminal types (e.g. VT100, ANSI), as well as one or more download protocols. Popular commercial terminal programs include Bob's Term Pro and Dialogue 128. B. File Transfer Protocols To transfer files from your mainframe (usually Unix or VMS) system to your 64/128, you typically need to use some sort of error-correcting file transfer protocol. The most popular protocols for the 64/128 are X/YMODEM and KERMIT. These two protocols are very common, and are available on many computer systems. Note that the term kermit is used as a terminal emulator product as well as a file transfer protocol. Indeed, the Kermit terminal program supports the KERMIT file transfer protocol. Novaterm supports KERMIT and X/YMODEM. XMODEM/YMODEM XMODEM comes in several varieties. Standard XMODEM sends files in 128 byte packets. There are two standard error-correction methods with XMODEM checksum and CRC. CRC is the more modern of the two. There is also a version of XMODEM which supports 1K-byte packets. This version is most commonly known as XMODEM-1K, but is sometimes erroneously called YMODEM. YMODEM is a "batch" XMODEM protocol, allowing you to transfer multiple files in one operation. ZMODEM A new file transfer protocol is ZMODEM. There are currently no terminal programs for the 64/128 that support ZMODEM. KERMIT Another file transfer protocol used is Kermit. It is on the Columbia machine (watsun.cc.columbia.edu) and available by anonymous ftp. The same package only supports 1200 baud; there used to be some 2400 baud patches on Milton by whom I don't know. If someone has them, could they be put on cco. C. Modems C= standard modems The easiest modems to use are C= standard modems. These modems plug directly into the user port of your 64/128. The most popular modem from Commodore is the C= 1670. The 1670 sports a (large and useful) subset of the Hayes command set, the standard command set expected by most terminal programs. Most other C= standard modems are 1670 compatible, Hayes compatible, or both. Standard C= modems can be found as fast as 2400 baud. Non C= modems You can connect a standard Hayes modem to your 64/128 if you acquire a RS232 adapter. Such an adapter plugs into your User port, and provides you with a standard RS232 serial port, into which a standard modem can be plugged. Peak Peripherals, Omnitronix, and a few others sell such adapters. They typically cost from $20 to $40. There are a number of homemade interfaces available. The TRANSACTOR published an interface in the Nov 87 issue (V8iss3) and Commodore Hacking Online Magazine published plans for one in issue 4 (See MailServer section for retreival instructions. These are both supposed to emulate the VIC1011A that C= put out many years ago, and you might find one at a computer "flea market". Another version is designed by Stephen Coan. Send email to fredm@nwsca.att.com for a copy of the schematic in ASCII format. The differences between the two is the Transactor one has switchable options for some of the leads and the Coan one is hard wired. SwiftLink Normally, the C64/128 can easily support up to 2400 baud without special hardware. (DesTerm will take the C128 up to 9600 baud, however; Dialogue128 will do 4800 baud.) If you wish to use a faster modem, you can do so via the SwiftLink cartridge put out by CMD which allows speeds up to 38.4 Kbaud. This device plugs into your cartridge port and supplies you with a standard 9-pin serial port. You then connect the desired modem. Telecommunications software must be specifically written to support a SwiftLink; fortunately, this is not rare. For instance, Dialogue128, Novaterm64, and Kermit(v2.2s) support the SwiftLink. NULL Modems If you are transferring data to another computer (e.g. a PC) in the same room, or if you are lucky enough to have a terminal server line near your 64/128 (more and more colleges are putting such beasts in dorm rooms), you be able to connect your serial port directly to another computer. If you have a terminal server port, all you need is a C= RS232 to standard RS232 adapter (see above). If you are connecting to another, PC, you will also need a null modem. A null modem is a simple device that you can buy for less than $10. It typically is a small box with a 25-pin (or 9-pin) RS232 connector on either side. Put it somewhere in the line between your C= and the other PC. D. Downloading Files via Anonymous FTP Freely distributable (PD, freeware, shareware) files are available for you to download at a number of "anonymous ftp" sites on the net. To get files from these sites, you use (on most systems) a program called ftp. A typical ftp session (assuming you are running from a Unix system) would be as follows: To download software (files) from an anonymous ftp sites, one has to be cognizant that there are two connections to be concerned about. The first connection is from your Commodore to you host computer and then the connection from your host to the ftp site. In addition you need to be be aware of the nature of the information in the desired file, particularly if you are downloading programs. If the file is not known to be in printable ASCII form, consider it a binary file. It may also be be in an archived form, i.e. a form where it is packed with many files or in a shortened format. Consider these to be binary unless it is of the "uu" type which is an ASCII format. ASCII format will download faster as it does not have to worry about the high bit being set. --- more --- #: 17428 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:56:31 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 2) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- SAMPLE SESSION: %ftp cco.caltech.edu Connected to cco.caltech.edu. 220 punisher FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready. Name (cco.caltech.edu:rknop): anonymous 331 Guest login ok, send ident as password. Password: 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> cd /pub/rknop/utilities <"cd" changes directory> 250 CWD command successful. ftp> dir z* <"dir" alone lists whole directory> 200 PORT command successful. 150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.215.48.57,2084) (0 bytes). -rw-r--r-- 1 rknop grads 15427 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.070 -rw-r--r-- 1 rknop grads 14107 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.doc 226 ASCII Transfer complete. remote: z* 134 bytes received in 0.44 seconds (0.3 Kbytes/s) ftp> binary 200 Type set to I. ftp> get zed-128.070 200 PORT command successful. 150 Binary data connection for zed-128.070 (131.215.48.57,2082) (15427 bytes). 226 Binary Transfer complete. local: zed-128.070 remote: zed-128.070 15427 bytes received in 0.1 seconds (1.5e+02 Kbytes/s) ftp> quit 221 Goodbye. % To submit files to an ftp site, you use the command "put". Again, make sure to first specify "binary" for programs and other binary files. Typically, ftp sites will only accept submissions in an "INCOMING" directory. E. Mail Servers If you do not have access to ftp, there are also some "mail servers" that allow ftp access for only GETTING files from anonymous FTP sites. Basically, you send mail to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com, and in the first message you ever send, the only thing you should say in the body is "help" on the first line and on another line "quit". They will send you a help file. >From then on out, the mail you send to the mail server will be requests that you send for information from sites. Ftpmail will send you a message telling you it got your request, then later on you get your file/directory in mail, and also a result message of what went on. All I do then is transfer the files to my work directory, edit out the headers from the mail, and d/l the file, uudecode it, and there I have the file I asked for. Included is a sample mail file I use to get the job done. As a matter of fact, the output of the actual FTP session is like the material in the section on anonymous FTP. This process will take some time as it depends on the amount of requests in the queue. I usually get one day turnaround, but I have also had bombs since the systems may be down etc. when the ftpmail server gets around to serving your request. I guess thats part of life. There are some limitations that apply and you will be told about them each time you send a request. The mail file is really a "here" document that I have in a shell script. If you don't understand what I mean by a shell script/"here" document all you have to do is type the the lines as shown below without the information in [] on the command line. -------------------------------------------------- mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com[<. - send issue of C=Hacking magazine subscribe - Subscribe to mailing list catalog - show list of files available psend name - send uuencoded binary F. Archived Files When you have downloaded a file to your system, often it is in archived format. These files typically need to be de-archived with an archive program before they can be used by your system. You can usually ascertain the nature of these files from the extension (the letters after the last period in the filename). This is a brief summary of the most common of these archived-file extensions: Extension: Meaning: Notes: ----------------------------------------- .sda Self-Dissolving Just load and run the .sda file to Archive dissolve the archive. Will dissolve itself into its constituent files. C64 and C128 .sda files are not compatible with each other. .sfx Self-Extracting Load and run just like a .sda file. Archive The same archive can be extracted on either a C64 or a C128, memory permitting. .arc ARChive Use the program arc250.4 or earlier for the 64 or arc128 for the 128 to dissolve the archive. arc128 is available as part of the CS-DOS package. Other de-archive programs may exist. .lzh LHArchive Use the program lhx in CS-DOS on the 128 to dissolve this archive. These are not very common. This archive uses the same format as .sfx files, but is not self-extracting. It is a standard format also used by Amiga (and MS-DOS?) computers. .lnx Lynx Archive The above formats all compress files when storing them; Lynx just stores them. There are many different versions of Lynx out there, so good luck dissolving these. .lbr Library Archive A format similar to lynx. Library dissolving programs exist for both the 64 and 128 to dissolve these. .uue UUEncoded file UUencoding is a process whereby a binary file can be converted to an all-text file, transferable by E-mail. This encoded file can later be UUDecoded back to the original binary file. Unix has uuencoding/decoding utilities. A program "uuxfer" for the C64 (by Fuzzy Fox) will both uuencode and uudecode. Note that the contents of uue file could be another archived file. .uua UU archive An extension of uuencoding, a uuarchive file is a concatenation of one or more UUEncoded files. So far as I know, this was introduced by Craig Bruce in his ACE shell for the C=128, and the utilities included with that shell create and dissolve uuarchives. .kar Kevin's Archive Another text archive format that seems to have originated with Craig Bruce, this is a proscription for concatenating a series of text files (which can include uuencoded files) into one file. More information can be found in C. Bruce's documentation for his ace shell. x! ZIPped file ZIP takes an entire 1541 disk and "zips" it up into four files (1!, etc.). .other What did I forget? --- more --- #: 17430 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:57:12 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 3) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- G. Handling ASCII Files There are two known issues in dealing with ASCII files and the Commodore computers. The first is dealing with Commodores version of ASCII, sometimes called PETSCII, and the other issue is movement between machines that use different End Of Line EOL) marking schemes, i.e. UNIX/tm vs MSDOS vs etc.. When moving files between machines set the terminal emulators to the correct version of ASCII translation (PETSCII TO ASCII and Vice versa), as well as set up the correct EOL method if available. Some systems take care of this for you automatically. Usual signs of trouble are garbaged end of lines or too many blank lines in a file. Also be aware that some programs, such as Power C, uses special line symbols that will cause problems if not handled correctly. Kermit handles these as part of the package. H. FTP Site list Howard Herman volunteered to maintain a list of FTP sites with Commodore files. He can be reached at 72560.3467@CompuServe.COM. He has been posting to the comp.sys.cbm news group monthly. (See next section.) II. NET RESOURCES. A. Comp.sys.cbm Comp.sys.cbm is the Usenet discussion group related to commodore 8-bit computers. Message volume typically falls in the range 10-30 messages per day. Anyone is welcome to join the group and ask questions, or make any comments that they feel are appropriate. Do not be afraid to ask what you think are stupid questions; people out there are willing to help, and the lot on comp.sys.cbm tends to be a rather nice and helpful lot. B. Comp.sys.cbm.binaries At the time of this writing, a Request for Discussion (RFD) has been issued for a binaries group to be added. The second call for votes has been issued. See comp.sys.cbm for details. If the group passes, I will add information. III. ON-LINE SERVICES In addition to InterNet, there exist on-line services to which you can subscribe and connect to with your commodore computer and a modem. A. Q-Link Q-Link is a Commodore specific telecommunications service. >>I HAVE NOT BEEN ON Q-LINK, SO COULD SOMEBODY ELSE WRITE A QUICK SUMMARY?<< B. GEnie GEnie is a general interest telecommunications service run by General Electric. For a monthhly price of $9.00, you are given 4 Hours of Access time and then charged $3/ hour for any service. The Commodore support area on GEnie is known as the FlagShip RoundTable. Most of the FlagShip is not a Basic service, although some introductory and informational information can be read at a Basic rate, and the C64/C128 specific GEnie front end (Wizard) is available at Basic rates. The FlagShip RT includes some "Real-Time Conferences" (RTCs) featuring classes or discussion of issues associated with Commodore computers. Additionally, there is a BB (Bulletin Board), which works much like Usenet's comp.sys.cbm (only the discussion is broken down into categories and topics). Finally, the FlagShip has an extensive library of Commodore files. Although not a Basic service, the BB messages can be read economically by capturing all new messages in a terminal programs buffer and reading the messages off-line. Wizard, the C= GEnie front end supports this. Because GEnie is a general interest service, it supports many different computers, and you can use any ASCII terminal program to connect to GEnie. Wizard is available, but not required. GEnie operates normally at 300, 1200, and 2400 baud, although for additional cost you can connect at 9600 baud. There are local access numbers across the country. C. Other? I am noticing a trend of the online services to allow access to the Internet via their services. Does anybody have some information to share? If anyone wants to say something about C= support on CompuServe, the Portal System, or whatever, feel free to submit something to me. -- Jim Brain, Imbedded Systems Designer, Brain Innovations "Dabbling in VR!" #include brain@msen.com "If you build it, they will come." brain@cyberspace.org Field of Dreams Enter Command: n Article #17141 (17176 is last): From: brain@garnet.msen.com (Jim Brain) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM FAQ Part 2 Date: Mon Dec 6 21:26:13 1993 COMP.SYS.CBM Frequently Asked Questions Part Two Part II. I. Beyond the basics. II. Common Hardware Problems III. Tricks and Tips. IV. RAM / Expansion Issues. V. Publications. VI. Accelerators. I. BEYOND THE BASICS A. Reading Foreign Disk Formats Commodore computers use a disk format which is not compatible with the disk formats of other computers. However, some programs exist which allow you to read foreign, specifically MS-DOS, disks. Note that in general to do this, you must have either a 1571 or 1581 disk drive. The 1541 cannot read MS-DOS disks without some hardware modifications. A commercial package, The Big Blue Reader, from SOGWAP software, runs on either a 64 or a 128, will read and write MS-DOS format 3.5" (with a 1581) and 5.25" (with a 1571) disks. Other freely distributable programs exist to read and write 5.25" MS-DOS disks. One such program is Crosslink, (available of cco.caltech.edu although it is limited to reading files 43K in size or smaller. Finally, there are a few CP/M MS-DOS reading utilities that work in the C128's CP/M mode. RUN magazine (4/89 to 6/89) published a series of programs that would use 1571/1581 drives to transfer MS-DOS files to and from a C= drive. It is also limited in file size handling ~43-44K. The C= Hacking magazine (Issues 4&5) has an article called the Little Red Reader that will copy MS-DOS disks to C= disks. It does not have a size limitation other than the destination disk size. Also will print ASCII text files to a C= printer. Another method is to use the program x1541 available on cco.caltech.edu. This program uses the PC parallel port to emulate a C= serial port. You need to have a unique cable built to make the connection. The cable is connected to a 1541 drive. The documentation has a schematic for the cable. A recent post to the net indicates that a conversion of the 1541 to read MS-DOS disks has been documented. The files are available via ftp on cco.caltech.edu in directory /pub/rknop/INCOMING/Util64 (will probably be moved to another directory) and on nic.funet.fi in directory /pub/cbm/ documents. The four files begin with 1541-dos. . I do not know of any program that will read a Commodore GCR encoded disk directly on a PC. --- more --- #: 17431 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:58:04 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 4) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- B. GEOS GEOS files are structured differently from standard Commodore files. They cannot be uploaded or downloaded directly. Before you upload a GEOS file, use the freeware GEOS application convert2.5 by W.C. Coleman to convert it to Commodore format. When you download a GEOS file, you must use the same program to convert it to GEOS format. By convention, GEOS format files converted to standard Commodore format have a .cvt on the end; however, many converted GEOS files just have the same name as the original GEOS file. As a rule of thumb, any GEOS file you download, regardless of the extension, must be converted to GEOS format with convert2.5. If you download an archive of GEOS files (e.g. a .arc or .sda file containing GEOS files), you must first dissolve the archive using your C64 or C128 in native mode. The constituents of the archive will be converted GEOS files, whether or not they have the .cvt extension. Each of these constituents (which are GEOS files) must be individually converted to GEOS format with convert2.5. II. COMMON HARDWARE PROBLEMS A. Disk Drives 1541 The most common problem facing the 1541 disk drive is alignment. If your 1541 has trouble reading commercial disks, or reading disks written some time ago, but has less trouble reading recently written disks, chances are your 1541 is out of alignment. C= service centers will typically align a 1541 for anywhere from $20 to $45. There are also 1541 alignment programs, (e.g. Free Spirit's "1541/71 Alignment System") which allow you to align a 1541 yourself. There are those who claim that this does not produce good results, but there are others who claim to have had satisfactory results with these programs. There were a couple of articles in COMPUTE Gazette and I think RUN on how to do this. The real problem is mechanical in nature and can be over come. Other products are PHYSICAL EXAM 1541 and 1571 versions. 1571 The C=1571 drive is normally a double sided drive. However, it can also emulate a 1541 and read single sided disks. Some of the earlier 1571's had older system chips (ROMs) which caused a couple of problems. One, these older drives were typically very slow when writing to the back side of a disk. Two, it would take these drives ~30 seconds to go into single sided mode. To check your ROM version, read the error channel of the disk drive right after startup. On the 128, just PRINT DS$. On the 64, use: 10 open15,8,15:input#15,a,a$,b,c:close15:printa,a$,b,c Run the program; if the message says v3.0 or v3.1, you have the newer ROM. If it has a version <3.0, you probably have the older ROM. [Could somebody check my accuracy on this?] One problem I (fredm) had was the head was not as close to the disk as required because of the light tension of the spring that pulls the head down. Somewhere I remember that there was supposed to be a replacement part. However, one of the alignment programs suggesting using pennies to weight it down and lo and behold it started working. 1581 The C=1581 drive is a 3.5" drive that uses DSDD 800K disks. It is compatible with both the C64 and C128, although some programs will not work correctly with the 1581. A small number of 1581's were shipped with an early version of a controller chip which has problems with some software. <> B. POWER SUPPLIES The most common problem with the C-64 is it's power supply. The C64 power supplies are not especially powerful, and have this disturbing tendency to fail. If your computer stops working, first check the power supply. Replacement power supplies can be obtained from a number of mail order places (e.g. Tenex, Parsec, Inc.). Additionally, several places advertise "heavy-duty" power supplies that come with warranties, and give the C64 enough power to run a REU. If your power supply goes, it can sometimes take other parts of the computer with it. If your power supply has died, but the C64 continues to fail with a known working power supply, it is likely that a few of your chips got fried. C. C=128 Like the 1571, the C-128 has an older ROM and a newer ROM. The differences between the two are less serious than is the case with a 1571. The easiest way to tell the difference is to click down the CAPS LOCK key and hit Q while in BASIC direct mode. If you see a lower case q, then you have an older ROM. If you see an upper case Q, then you have a newer ROM. New ROMs can be ordered from (e.g. the Grapevine Group) for about $25. The ROM chips in the 128 are all socketed, so replacing the chips is relatively easy. III. TRICKS AND TIPS A. Disk Drive 1. Fastloaders The 1541 drive sends data between the computer and the drive 1 bit at a time. This makes the 1541 a very slow device. Fastloaders use some of the other serial lines to transfer data instead of other signals. This, in effect, makes the C64/128 serial bus a 3 to 5 bit parallel bus. The fastloaders are available either in software (like TurboDisk from Compute!) or as a hardware addition, either as new ROM's for the 64/128 and 1541 (JiffyDOS), or a cartridge FAST LOAD, MACH5, MACH128, SUPERSNAP SHOT etc.). Some software programs include their own fastloader such as GEOS, MASTER TRACKS MIDI sequencer. No matter which form is chosen (hardware or software) there is a commonality between them. There must be some code residing within the 64/128 to shift all the bits together from the other lines that are used on the serial bus, instead of just the data line. There is also more code within the 1541 which sends data out on the other lines instead of just the data line. There is a price to pay for this speed increase, however. Most software fastloaders will not work with commercial software. They are also affected by any program which occupies the same memory area as itself. The hardware fastloaders work with about 90% of commercial software. Some protection schemes may not work with the fastloader, thus rendering the software unusable with the fastloader. Error toleration is also decreased when using a fastloader. If a program will not load with a fastloader due to a disk error, it will probably load without the fastloader if the disk error isn't a hard-error. 2. 1571 side swapping On a 128, you can force the 1571 to go into single sided mode with the drive command "u0>m0". (Issue such a command with open15,8,15,"u0>m0":close15.) On the 64, a 1571 defaults to single sided mode, but you can convert it to double sided mode (and read full double sided disk in 64 mode) with the drive command "u0>m1". While in single sided mode, you can actually format both sides of the disk as separate file systems. The command "u0>h0" selects the regular side of the disk, and "u0>h1" selects the flip side of the disk. Note that the flip side, when formatted this way, cannot be read by a 1541; neither side will be readable by a 1571 when the disk is inserted upside-down. 3. 1581 initial drive number When the 1581 is initialized, as well as checking the boot sector of the disk, it also looks for a file "copyright cbm 86". This file, if found, can specify a device number for the 1581 disk. Whenever the 1581 is booted or initialized with this disk inserted, its device number will be changed to the specified number. The utility 1581-auto-dev by David W. Tamkin (can be found on cco in the utilities directory) will create this file. IV. RAM / EXPANSION ISSUES A. C1700/1764/1750 The original form of RAM expansion available to the C64 and C128 were the Commodore REUs (Ram Expansion Units). These REUs plug into the cartridge port, and provide 128K (the C=1700), 256K (the C=1764), or 512K (the C=1750) of additional RAM. This RAM is not true system RAM however; simply adding a 512K REU to your system does NOT mean that your word processor will suddenly be able to edit 512K larger documents. A REU will only be used by a program that was written to take advantage of an REU. As a caveat on this, you can use your REU as additional RAM for a RAMLink . Although the C=1764 was originally advertised for the C64, and the 1700 and 1750 for the C128, any of the three RAM expanders will work with either the C64 or the C128. Note that if you want to use any of them on the C64, you need a heavy duty power supply. The 1764 comes with such a power supply. --- more --- #: 17433 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:58:49 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 5) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- There are hardware hacks that will expand a 1700 or a 1764 to 512K; additionally, a 512K REU can be expanded to 1 Meg or more. See /pub/rknop/ hardware on cco.caltech.edu. If you don't wish to do it yourself, there are people who will do it for you, for a fee. While it appears completely safe to upgrade your REU to 1 Meg, there have been some reports of problems with REU's upgraded to 2 Megs. Sometimes the REU will work fine for a while, then fail. If you are upgrading your REU, it would probably be wise to stop at 1 Meg. If you are still memory hungry, consider a CMD RAMLink or RAMDrive. RAM expansion with GEOS One software package that makes very effective use of a RAM expansion unit is GEOS. GEOS allows you to configure your REU to appear just like another disk drive- only a very fast one, although it does not keep its contents when you turn your computer off. So, any GEOS software that works off of a disk will work out of your REU. Since GEOS is very disk-intensive, this greatly improves the performance of your system. Indeed, some firm GEOS adherents have said that they would not use GEOS without a RAM device of some sort. GEOS will not work with a stock 1700. To have a RAM drive, in GEOS, you must have at least 256K of expansion. Thanks to patches developed by Jim Collette (configure2.1), GEOS also supports 1 Meg, 1.5 Meg, and 2 Meg REUs. B. geoRAM When Commodore REUs became hard to find several years back, Berkeley Softworks introduced geoRAM, which is a 512K RAM expander. This RAM expander gives you all of the advantages of a 1750 with GEOS. However, it is not 1750 compatible, so it will not work like a 1750 outside of GEOS; it is transparent to other programs. (As a caveat on this, see the info on RAMLink)). DesTerm128 2.0 will not work with a geoRAM plugged in. A special version of GEOS 2.0 (which is bundled with geoRAM) is necessary to use geoRAM. No additional power supply is necessary to use geoRAM. To the best of my knowledge, the RAM in a geoRAM cannot be upgraded. C. RAMDrive, RAMLink RAMDrive (RD) and RAMLink (RL) are RAM devices from CMD. The RAM in these devices can be partitioned into native mode partitions (with dynamically allocated subdirectories), or competely 1541, 1571, or 1581 emulating partitions. Thanks to the 15x1 emulating partitions, software does not have to be specifically written to run with a RD or a RL. These RAM devices should appear as a disk drive to most programs. One notable exception is DesTerm v2.00, which does not work with RD or RL. There are few other exceptions, and no major commercial program has a problem running with RL or RD. The deciding factor seems to be whether or not the program uses a drive's internal ram. RL and RD do not `mimic' having this type of internal drive ram, and if a program relies upon this it will not run. The heavily copy protected Digital Solutions' programs use this drive ram for its burst loading routines. So, even though a Maverick/RamBoard combination will write a copy to it to RL, it will fail to boot. However, these programs, once booted from a 1571, will use and access all of RL's many functions for lightening fast loads and saves. RD and RL both have their own power sources, separate from the computer. When you turn off the computer, the power to the RAM device is left on, leaving its contents intact. This power supply always remains on. (For safety from power outages, battery backups are also available.) RAMDrive is available in a number of sizes. It is a relatively small box that plugs into your cartridge port. RAMLink is a more powerful, larger device. It can be configured from 0 to up to 16 Megs of RAM, using industry standard 1x8 (100ns) 1 Meg and 4 Meg SIMMs. (1x9, and faster Simms can be used.) The RL is constructed so that the user may easily add additional Simms at any time. Additionally, RAMLink has a port into which you can plug a Commodore REU or a geoRAM. You can configure RAMLink to either leave this RAM device alone, or to use the REU/geoRAM's RAM just as if it were part of the RAMLink's RAM. A RAMLink also has a pass-through port, in which you can plug a normal C64/C128 cartridge, and a parallel port for a CMD hard drive. The latter greatly improves the transfer speed of data between your computer and the hard drive. Both RD and RL come with a very well documented, thorough, and easilly referenced User Manual. Contact CMD for more details. D. C128 Video RAM The original, "flat" C128's came with an 80 column display that had it's own display RAM that was separate from the system memory of the computer. This "VDC RAM" was 16K in size. When Commodore introduced the C128D, it came with 64K of VDC RAM. Since them, some programs (e.g. I-Paint, Dialogue128) have come out that either need or support 64K of VDC RAM. Owners of flat 128's can upgrade their video RAM to 64K either by ordering an upgrade plug-in board (e.g. from Software Support International), or by replacing the RAM chips themselves. All that needs to be done is, the two 4416 RAM chips next to the VDC chip need to be replaced with 4464 RAM chips. Note, however, that since this involves soldering in tight quarters on your 128's motherboard, it is very easy to damage the motherboard or the nearby VDC chip. E. The C-256 and C-512 Twin Cities 128 issues #30 and #31 have a hardware scheme for expanding your 128 to 256K or 512K. To people who understand banking on the 128, the 256K modification adds RAM blocks 2 and 3 to your system. The 512K modification adds four more RAM blocks that can be accessed as alternate RAM blocks 2 and 3, or as a completely separate set of RAM blocks 0-3. As with Commodore REUs, software must specifically support the expanded RAM. Since these modifications are relatively new, there is not much software out yet that supports the additional RAM. However, with the promise of additional RAM available on the ZIP board , it is reasonable to expect that software will start to appear that takes advantage of the additional RAM. The hardware modification, while simple from software's point of view, is rather difficult to perform in hardware. Richard Curcio, the designer of the memory modifications, can modify your 128 for you. See Twin Cities 128 issue #31 for more information. F. Expanded C=64's THE TRANSACTOR had articles on expanding the C=64 up to 1 Meg using a combination of Bank switched RAM and an REU expanded to 512K. There were two versions of this mod. The first took it to 256K RAM with manual bank switching (a mechanical switch) and the next version took it to 512K RAM with software bank switching through a latch modified I/O address space. Another version of C64 memory expansion is available on nic.funet.fi in file /pub/cbm/documents/256kB. It divides the memory into 16kb banks. V. PUBLICATIONS There are a number of publications which are specifically geared to information associated with the C64 and C128. A. THE DEAD LIST The following magazines have died: AHOY,RUN,COMMODORE,TRANSACTOR. Back issues that can be found are a treasure trove of good information. B. Twin Cities 128 (TC128) Twin Cities 128 is (as of issue #29) published by Parsec, Inc. It features Commodore 128 specific information, and attempts to cater to readers at all levels of experience, not just novices. Additionally, starting with Issue #31 (February/March 1991), Twin Cities 128 comes with a companion disk. A subscription to TC128 in the US is $20 ($36.50 with disk), outside the US is $26 ($46.50 with disk). Mail a check payable in US funds to Parsec, Inc, PO BOX 111, Salem MA 09170-0111, USA. Coming Soon: Twin Cities 64, the 64 specific magazine, from Parsec, Inc. C. Micro-Bytes Micro-Bytes is a newsletter published by 8-bit CBM owners for 8-bit CBM owners. It is published five times a year, and covers a wide range of topics associated with the C64 and the C128. Subscriptions are $11/1 year, $20/2 years. As of 25-May-1992, Parsec, Inc. has taken over the distribution of MB products, back issues, and subscriptions. More information about MB can be found in the /pub/rknop/micro-bytes directory on cco.caltech.edu. --- more --- #: 17434 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:59:21 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 6) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- D. GEOS PUBLICATIONS: geoVISION International, 816 Southeast Polk Street, Camas, Wa 98607. E. User Group Newsletters Your local user group newsletter is another source of commodore information. Often, newsletters will reprint articles of other user groups, allowing information to spread further. Many user group newsletters can be subscribed to in the mail. (Is anyone interested in compiling a list of user group newsletters to which one can subscribe; send me mail at fredm@nwsca.att.com.) F. The Transactor Sure, it's dead, and has been for a few years, but this one was a classic. Calling itself the magazine for Commodore programmers, this magazine was enough to make any C64/C128 programmer drool. Featuring in-depth technical information and programming tutorials, as well as "out-of-the-way" topics (things along the line of Richard Curcio's 256K and 512K articles that appeared in TC128). If you are a programmer, and can get your hands on back issues of this magazine, do so. G. Usenet C= Hacking Magazine An on-line magazine written by denizens of comp.sys.cbm, this features in-depth technical programming information on C64 and C128 computers. The editor of C= Hacking is Craig Taylor (duck@pembvax1.pembroke.edu). The issues of C= Hacking can be found on cco.caltech.edu in the directory mail server. See Part 1 for details. He also posts a summary notice each month with what is currently there. H. LodeStar A disk magazine that features C64/C128 programs. Details: Published by: SOFTDISK PUBLISHING P.O. BOX 30008 SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 1-800-831-2694 FAX: 1-318-221-8870 I. COMPUTES GAZETTE It still exists! It can be ordered alone or in combination with PC and Amiga sections. A disk is also available with the subscription The disk will contain more than what is in the magazine. COMPUTE P.O. BOX 3244 HARLAN, IA 51593-2424 1-800-727-6937 Subscription Number VI. ACCELERATORS Believe it or not, there are a few products out there which can improve the operating speed of your C64/C128. A. Turbo Master Accelerator for C64. Accelerates your C64 to 4 MHz, over the 1 MHz standard. B. The ZIP card for your C128. This does not yet exist, but is currently under development by Parsec, Inc., the company that publishes Twin Cities 128. The ZIP chip promises to be a CPU replacement board for the C128 and C128D that boasts 8 MHz (or maybe even more) performance, as well as additional system RAM on board as an option (supported in software in the same manner as Richard Curcio's TC128 256K and 512K hardware modifications). If have sent in a commitment to put down a $50 deposit on this board, it will be available to you for under $200. For more information, look in the /pub/rknop/parsec directory on cco.caltech.edu. Subject: WHAT ELSE? What else needs to be covered? Do you have additional questions that you think should be in the FAQ? Can you fill in some of the gaps? Please post or mail questions, and mail me submissions. Please use the below address and not the address from which this comes. Jim Brain, Imbedded Systems Designer, Brain Innovations "Dabbling in VR!" #include brain@msen.com "If you build it, they will come." brain@cyberspace.org Field of Dreams -- #: 17435 S1/Forum Help & News 02-Jan-94 05:59:35 Sb: Just the FAQ's (part 6) Fm: Howard Herman 72560,3467 To: [F] ALL . --- more here --- D. GEOS PUBLICATIONS: geoVISION International, 816 Southeast Polk Street, Camas, Wa 98607. E. User Group Newsletters Your local user group newsletter is another source of commodore information. Often, newsletters will reprint articles of other user groups, allowing information to spread further. Many user group newsletters can be subscribed to in the mail. (Is anyone interested in compiling a list of user group newsletters to which one can subscribe; send me mail at fredm@nwsca.att.com.) F. The Transactor Sure, it's dead, and has been for a few years, but this one was a classic. Calling itself the magazine for Commodore programmers, this magazine was enough to make any C64/C128 programmer drool. Featuring in-depth technical information and programming tutorials, as well as "out-of-the-way" topics (things along the line of Richard Curcio's 256K and 512K articles that appeared in TC128). If you are a programmer, and can get your hands on back issues of this magazine, do so. G. Usenet C= Hacking Magazine An on-line magazine written by denizens of comp.sys.cbm, this features in-depth technical programming information on C64 and C128 computers. The editor of C= Hacking is Craig Taylor (duck@pembvax1.pembroke.edu). The issues of C= Hacking can be found on cco.caltech.edu in the directory mail server. See Part 1 for details. He also posts a summary notice each month with what is currently there. H. LodeStar A disk magazine that features C64/C128 programs. Details: Published by: SOFTDISK PUBLISHING P.O. BOX 30008 SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008 1-800-831-2694 FAX: 1-318-221-8870 I. COMPUTES GAZETTE It still exists! It can be ordered alone or in combination with PC and Amiga sections. A disk is also available with the subscription The disk will contain more than what is in the magazine. COMPUTE P.O. BOX 3244 HARLAN, IA 51593-2424 1-800-727-6937 Subscription Number VI. ACCELERATORS Believe it or not, there are a few products out there which can improve the operating speed of your C64/C128. A. Turbo Master Accelerator for C64. Accelerates your C64 to 4 MHz, over the 1 MHz standard. B. The ZIP card for your C128. This does not yet exist, but is currently under development by Parsec, Inc., the company that publishes Twin Cities 128. The ZIP chip promises to be a CPU replacement board for the C128 and C128D that boasts 8 MHz (or maybe even more) performance, as well as additional system RAM on board as an option (supported in software in the same manner as Richard Curcio's TC128 256K and 512K hardware modifications). If have sent in a commitment to put down a $50 deposit on this board, it will be available to you for under $200. For more information, look in the /pub/rknop/parsec directory on cco.caltech.edu. Subject: WHAT ELSE? What else needs to be covered? Do you have additional questions that you think should be in the FAQ? Can you fill in some of the gaps? Please post or mail questions, and mail me submissions. Please use the below address and not the address from which this comes. Jim Brain, Imbedded Systems Designer, Brain Innovations "Dabbling in VR!" #include brain@msen.com "If you build it, they will come." brain@cyberspace.org Field of Dreams -- 2~wነzB(8k!6r-D+e q\J ɫ^36l(Q#