RJScott: Hello Dave, you have a good 44 guests with 76 questions pending.
Hazy Dave: I guess I'll get started right away!
QuestionAre upgrade ROMS going to be available for the 1571 & 128?
Hazy Dave: Yes. These ARE in fact on the way to production, or actually in. The C128 ROm is being made right now; the 1571 ROM was released to MOS for manufacturing, but was held up due to a few late breaking bugs in the code. I'd EXPECT the C128 ROMs to be available within a month or so, but this is the first time CBM's ever offered ROM upgrades, so it may take awahile before all runs smoothly. ga
QuestionWhat is the current status on the 1571 and 128 roms, and when can we expect to see them? (realistically) When will the CBM128 Assembler by Fred Bowen be released?
Hazy Dave: They're currently proofing the Galley Drafts for the documentation package. As far as I know, the software has been ready for awhile. Fred used it to assemble the entire C128 ROM set, so its certainly a very good system. I'm not exactly sure what's going on after we're finished with it, but hopefully it'll be out in the stores in a month or so. ga
QuestionWhen can we expect to 'see' the C128 Ram disk software, and how will present own- ers of 17xx get it?
Hazy Dave: Well, the first release of this will be for the C64, packaged with the 1764. There will be a version for the 128 to follow, though I really don't know how soon it'll be available. ga
QuestionHow does one do modem to modem xfers using a C128 and an Amiga without going over the phone lines?
Hazy Dave: Unless you're hacking the hardware yourself, you'll need an RS-232 adaptor for the C128, and a "NULL MODEM" cable that connects between both machines. And you'll be limited to 1200 baud with most C128 terminal programs. ga
QuestionThe 'new' support chips for the Amiga 1000, when will they be out?
Hazy Dave: I haven't heard of ANY "support chips", and I don't really know what you mean by a "support chip" If you mean the custom chips, Agnes, Paula, and Denise, there aren't any new ones. ga
Questionhow do you stop the 1670 from ans.the ph
Hazy Dave: In software, you can send an ATS0=0 to the modem, which will stay there till you reset the computer. In hardware, we use those in-line phone switches, available at Radio Shack. ga
RJScott: The next question is a long one folks…you'll have to scroll up to REread it.
QuestionWould it be possiable for CBM to create a C256 computer by adding 2 more banks of 64K ram chips on a daugther board connected to the main board by a ribbon cable (by moving one of the 4164's to the daughter board) to supply ras, data lines, address lines, and moveing the U9 chip also on DB and add MUX to select the new banks 2 & 3? If you add new Basic and Kernal commands you could create a 128K ram disk for Basic and using a patch for CP/M, a 128K ram disk there also. The commands could be written so that if 1700/1750 was added the computer would use them auto-
Hazy Dave: Well, you COULD extend the C128 to 256K that way, but CBM wouldn't do it that way. It wouldn't work well with the software, it would be a KLUDGE. The proper way would be to build a 256K MMU, which would cooperate properly with the current software, and bank as you'd expect it to. They have no plans to do this to date. ga
QuestionWhy are all the chain stores dropping the C128? Is the c128 due to be cancelled by Commodore in early '87 ?
Hazy Dave: Some chain stores are, like Target. They bought lots of Huyndai PCs, but only sold a few. Poor Target. As I hear it, CBM actually dropped K-Mart, not the other way around, due to them expecting all kinds of special treatment the other national accounts didn't expect. But the C128 is still selling strong (around a million in the first year), so why would CBM drop it? I know of absolutely no plans to drop it, and in fact they do seem to be planning to introduce the C128D in the US as well. ga
QuestionIs there a more definitive manual on the 1571 then the one it comes with
Hazy Dave: Not from Commodore. Though there are probably several books on it by 3rd party folks, check with Abacus, or any large book store. These books go into greater detail, but invariably contain errors as well. ga
QuestionI understand that the US Version of the C 128D is housed in the same case as the PC-10 and that there should be enough room for a second drive to be installed. Is this true? Also is there anything about the 128D that is different than the standard 128 in operation?
Hazy Dave: The C128D is a C128 and 1571 in one. While the new one is housed in a metal frame, it is NOT the same as the case used for the PC-10. There is some extra space inside, though I don't know if a 2nd drive would fit. It would require some machining of the case if it would, and might cause heat problems. ga
Questioncan the 1700's ram be upgraded to make a 256k or 512k ram module
Hazy Dave: It can be done. But you'd better be good with a soldering iron. The 1700 and 1750 use the same PC board, the 1700 is stuffed with 64K chips, the 1750 with 512K chips. You'd have to de-solder the 64Ks, and change the polarity on one pin of the DMA chip to let it know 256Ks are installed. ga
RJScott: We are up to 53 guests with loads of questions pending, so please limit your questions to CBM Products…thanks!
Questionwhy was 16k used with the 8563 chip if it can effectively support 48k
Hazy Dave: Actually, the 8563 supports either 16K or 64K. The decision was basically a cost factor decision though at the time no one had used the chip enough to do any graphics on it, which are of course the only thing that really would need 64K of RAM. ga
QuestionConcerning the C256, upgrade the VDC ram to 64K by using 4464 chips and add Lou Wallace's BASIC V8.0 in extra 32K rom socket and WOW – what a great expansion of the already great C128!! Please guys, consider this fairly easy upgrade and you'll sell a whole lot of them!! We users know what a great job you guys did on the C128 and how it really has a 256K organization of its resources it the extra goodies are there!! Thanxs 🙂
Hazy Dave: Fred Bowen has been playing around alot with BASIC 8.0, and talking to Lou alot. He's trying to get support from within CBM for it, but as of CES time, there's at least one other major C128 software vendor interested in it, so if CBM doesn't sell it themselves, there's a very good chance that 8.0 will come out and be an upgrade at least endorsed by CBM. ga
QuestionIf I load vt100-128…and get hooked up to a main frame…how come the curser movement shows the escape code.. and doesn't move…unless I enter!
Hazy Dave: I don't know. Sounds like a bug in the program. First off, check to make sure you've got the latest release. Second, if its a bug, you can complain to the folks at MicroTechnic solutions. Though I'm not sure if they exist, but Rick Sterling, who worked on this, now works for CBM. ga
QuestionIs it true that Commodore is making a new 1571 diskette drive because of some bugs? If so, will it cost any more?
Hazy Dave: CBM's releasing a ROM that fixes some of the bugs found in the first 1571 ROM. It won't raise the 1571 price, though an upgrade may cost you $10.00 for an old drive. Its a ROM, not a floppy. ga
QuestionAre disk drives fragile?
Hazy Dave: They can take a little abuse, but they're far more fragile than computers alone, due to the mechanicals in them. They come packed with a cardboard card in them, which should be in place when you're transporting them by car or whatever. ga
RJScott: Another lengthy question, folks…please cursor up to REread it.
Questionanyother uses for the cassette port othe r than Datasette?
Hazy Dave: The main uses I've seen for it are (1) A way get get to the power supply of the 128, for things like printer converters, and (2) dongles for copy protection. There are a few 8502 port lines going to it, but not enough for many applications. ga
Questionshould you buy the 1350 or 1351 mouse?
Hazy Dave: Buy the 1351. It is a replacement for the 1350, should (eventually, its new) cost the same, and it does everything the 1350 does, plus more. ga
QuestionWill the 1750 RAM expansion work in the 64 mode, with the 1764 software?
Hazy Dave: Yes and no. There's a very slight hardware difference between the two, you've normally have to cut away one pullup resistor from the DOT clock line to be sure of the 1700 working. The C64 software, however, will probably start looking for 256K, and might choke if you've only got 128K out there; really depends on who writes it. A 1750 without the pullup would work fine. ga
QuestionThe 1571 has a bug which gives a device not present error, is there any way to get around it short of waiting for the updates?
Hazy Dave: I'm not familiar enough with the bug (I HAVE heard of it), so I don't know. You can solve the problem with the new 1571 software, but that probably won't be out for another month. ga
QuestionWhy are you still using 64K bit chips in the C64/128 line? It looks to me as if you could add a lot of power to those computers by using 256K chips, and with- out adding too much to the cost. So why not a 256K or 512K version of the C128, with maybe 64K by 4 instead of 16K by 4 chips in the video memory? From what little I know it looks like the extra video memory would add less than $10 re- tail to the cost, and it would sure help
RJScott: Long one folks, please cursor up. We now have 50 guests and LOADS of questions folks. Please be patient.
Hazy Dave: The video memory, at today's prices, could be upgraded cheaply, as you mention. The 128K boundary, though, is fixed by the MMU chip, regardless of the type of RAM you use. ga
QuestionHow do you check the 1350 right button?
Hazy Dave: As far as I know, that button doesn't work properly at all on production 1350s. Twin Cities 128 magazine had a good article on that awhile back, though, including a very simple fix to enable the button. If you really want it, that's a good place to look. ga
QuestionIs it true that the c128 is to be replaced by another low-end Amiga ??? And if it is so, what will happen to all us 128 users ???
Hazy Dave: As far as I know, CBM plans to make the C128 well into the future. Ultimately, it depends on sales; if folks stop buying it, it could go away, or it could get cheaper. That's your only choice. But CBM's supporting the C128 as best as possible right now, and they ARE selling. What more can I say. ga
Questionhow come my 128 answers the phone when its on, even though Im not using the modem???
Hazy Dave: The 1670 modem defaults on power-up to auto-answer. Either send it an ATS0=0, switch out the phone line, or turn off your C128 when not in use. By the way, I mentioned TC 128, address is PO Box 4625, Saint Paul, MN 55104. C128-only magazine, produced completely on a C128. ga
QuestionI am having a problem with Paperclip II and my 128 in 80 column mode. The screen has random @ appearing just about anywhere. The symbols don't print out they are just on the screen. The screen has scrambled on me once in 80 col mode too! When this happened the 128 was not locked up it still saved a file, I just couldn't see it. Do you have any ideas?????
Hazy Dave: It sounds like your 8563 Video chip may be marginally bad, possibly a very old one. I'm certain if you get it replace, these problems will go away. Similar problems could occur with video RAM that's too slow. ga
Questionrj is mr porter going to appear
RJScott: I'm afraid not, Thomas.
QuestionThere is a mod to expand the RAM on the 80 col Video section, using 4464s. Alos some one is developing Basic 8.0. Is Commodore going to use this in future 128s, if not why not?
Hazy Dave: Well, currently we don't own Basic 8.0, that's being done outside my Lou Wallace. It will probably be sold as an upgrade package, to fit in your empty ROM socket. Extra video RAM could appear on a future C128 model, it is a very simple change. ga
Questionwhere does the c128 jump to at start?
Hazy Dave: Hey, why are you asking a hardware guy software questions. As a hardware guy, I'd have to say the vector at $FFFC and $FFFD, in system ROM. The start of BASIC depends on whether or not you have a graphics screen allocated, I don't recall the addresses off hand. ga
QuestionI recieved a 1571 disk drive for xmas but cannot get it or the one which I rep laced it with to boot the 1571 demo disk the old 1541 disk drive worked fine with my same set up. the demo disk seems to b oot but the screen fills up with graphic symbols. any ideas of the cause? Since xmas my wife and I have tried to get thr u to commdre but I don't think their pho ne is connected…
Hazy Dave: My wife says the same thing about CBM's phone. I've never really used the demo disk, so I'm not going to be much help on this one. Have you tried loading the programs manually, or tying BOOT instead of using the auto-boot feature. Just a possibility something on the disk is bad, or hard for the 1571 to read for some reason. ga
QuestionWhy isn't the 1670 totaly Hays Com- patible?
Hazy Dave: The HAYES command set includes some hundred or so commands and registers, and in hardware a whole bank of switches and LEDs. This is the same reason that a Hayes costs several times the price of a 1670. ga
QuestionIs there a way to tell if a 1571 has the new rom in it before you buy it??
Hazy Dave: Well, since the new ROM hasn't been released yet, you can tell real easily now. As for the future, I don't know any obvious way, unless CBM decides to tell you with a package sticker or something. ga
Questioni am curious about the 80 col ultrahires capability of the 128 with rgb monitor. where can i get some info on this??
Hazy Dave: You can get the basic details of programming the 80 column chip in the C128 Programmer's Reference Guide. This chip is addresses unlike any other in the system, so a book on it won't hurt. I'd also check around for any Public Domain programs that do any kind of 80 column graphic stuff, hacking on an example is probably the fastest way to learn this thing. ga
QuestionSeveral years ago, there were rumors floating around that Commodore was going to make a 16-bit version of the 6502. I seem to recall even reading some state- ments by Commodore officials indicating that they were going to do this. A friend of mine who knew some Commodore engineers of that era said that the thing was working and just waiting for software. I think he called it the 65000 What is the story on that? Any possibil- ity we will see something like that from Commodore?
Hazy Dave: There's no one working on that now, but company legend does talk of this mythical 65000 chip. It was apparently at the very least a concept, though I don't know if any real work every went on about it. I've been trying to get a spec sheet on it, supposedly it completely blows away the 65816 chip in power. Of course, I can go out and buy an '816 chip. ga
QuestionI have a 1670 & a BBS. I can detect 1200 baud. How do I adjust the baud rate? I tried POKE 2576,8 but no sucess
Hazy Dave: This came up before, in past months, and I think Jeff, aka Mr. Modem, knew the answer. But alas, I do not. Sorry. ga
QuestionI enjoy these engineer's forums, but I think Commodore needs this kind of direc t contact with its customers in the marketing department also. Any chance of that happening?
Hazy Dave: That's an excellent idea, it would take lots of the Marketing type questions off of us engineers, who probably know about as much about marketing as you do. Maybe a write-in campaign to Marketing, I dunno. Address these to Ed Parks, CBM Marketing, 1200 Wilson Drive…. ga
QuestionHow's the progress of the 3.5 inch drive coming?? When will it appear on the market?? Also, you guys gave me good info on my troubles with the 1750 RAM not working.. Commodore replaced my motherboard FREE!! Thanks again…….
Hazy Dave: We just got the production plastic in, and they're doing an initial production run of a thousand or so soon. The main delay is the software, which is still not completely ready. You don't want buggy software, now, do you :-). ga
QuestionWould it do me any good to start a petition calling for the 1572 to be reinstated?
Hazy Dave: Well, I think that's been tried before, but go ahead if you like. I think with the advant of the 1581, though, which gives you more storage than both 1572 drives, and costs the same or less than a 1571. ga
QuestionIs it true that the 1571 is not completely compatible with the 1541 because of copy protection ?
Hazy Dave: There are a few very strange copy protection schemes that fool the 1571. At least one of these works on a 1541 purely by luck; the programmer ended up having the processor run in an area with no RAM or ROM, it just so happens that it will always fall though to the ROM. The 1571 has new ROM in that area, so it can't fall though like in the 1541. It is what I would call VERY comatible, but its not perfect. ga
QuestionHow do you scratch a certain thing on a disk,without scratching everything else?
Hazy Dave: You mean, like a file. I use the SCRATCH "0:KILL-ME" command usually. Though things can get a bit tricky if you have weird things like Random files out there, in that case its better to leave things alone. ga
QuestionJust how good is BASIC 8.0? LRW said that everyone at CBM raved over it, but marketing is dragging their feet – is this the case?
Hazy Dave: As far as I know, there's no deal at all yet between Lou Wallace and CBM. Fred Bowen, father of the C128 Kernal, etc. has been pushing for it, though of course he's not a marketing type. I don't know what's officially happening with it, only that there's a good chance if CBM doesn't put it out, someone else will. ga
QuestionI have a 1520 printer plotter with split apart plastic gears on both the platten motor shaft and on the printer head shaft motor. No one seems to have a lead on replacement and I was wondering what you may know about getting hold of some?
Hazy Dave: That's an old one. MAYBE Commodore service department would have some idea. I don't know who we OEMed it from (before my time), or I'd point you toward the source. ga
QuestionDave, when will the Amiga Sidecar IBM add-on be avaliable and for how much?
Hazy Dave: They're currently selling in Canada and Germany. I don't know what the plan is for the US, but last I heard it hadn't passed FCC. In its current form its rather pricy, I don't think they'd go to the US now for less than $799-$899 list. It is a real thing, though. Cut and paste between Amiga and PC-DOS, etc. ga
QuestionI saw a nice-looking Unix-based system called the Commodore C900 at CES a coupl e of years ago. What ever happened to it
Hazy Dave: Yea, the C900. Nice machine, they ran a UNIX clone called Coherent. The project was nixed, though the machine was nearly done. Part of the cancellation was due to the purchase of Amiga, and part was due to CBM never having sold anything in the $2500-$3000 base price range before. And a little uncertainly about the future of Zilog and the Z8000 chips it needed. A shame, too, a really nice machine. ga
Questioni have software which is supposed to run in 64 and 128 mode. 64 mode is ok but when i run it in 128 mode i get machine language. can you tell me what to do to get it to run in 128 mode?
Hazy Dave: No. I have no idea who's software this is. Without details, its impossible to give an intelligent answer. Your best bet would be to contact the manufacturer or author and ask. ga
QuestionLogged-on late…Maybe this ? has been asked earlier,but is the 128D's motherboard laid-out the same as the 128's?..Expanded 80 column color capa- bility?
Hazy Dave: The original C128D used the exact same motherboard and a slightly different 1571 board. That's the plastic case, with handle. The new C128D, in the metal case, has a new motherboard with both circuits on it. No RAM enhancements on the units in Germany, but this could change for the US version. ga
QuestionWhat is the C128D?
Hazy Dave: A C128 with built-in 1571 disk drive, and detachable keyboard. I'm typing on one now. They sold around as many C128Ds as C128s in Germany. It may be introduced in the US this spring. ga
Questioni have software that does not run on the enhancer 2000. could you list for me th the disk drives that are complete commod ore clones
Hazy Dave: As far as I know, there aren't any drives completely compatible with the 1541. The electronics of the Chinon drive, I think that's the one marketed by Blue Chip, are identical, but of course they don't have the same ROM, so that they can't be a perfect copy. ga
QuestionWhat is a C128D and why not design and build a 256K version of the C128 with Lou Wallace's BASIC V8 and builtin 128K ram disk while maintaning full C128 and C64 compatablity!!
Hazy Dave: I've thought of that, or something similar. A 256K version would be a new machine, needs a new MMU, etc. That's a complete project, and a new product. There's no desire from Marketing to build a C128 followup just yet. Of course, it took 5 million C64s before they thought that the C128 was a good idea; we've only sold 1 million C128s so far. Buy another 4 million and you may have yourself a deal. ga
Questionif the c128 is not to be discontinued th en why are the software houses reluctant to produce c128 programs
Hazy Dave: Which software houses? If you mean Batteries Included, Digital Solutions, Abacus, Berkeley = Softworks, KFS Software, Infocom, Microtechnic Solutions, etc. (get the picture), They aren't. If all you want are games, there aren't many games that could take much advantage of the C128 mode. So you see more business and productivity packages in C128 mode. ga
QuestionI came in late and this question may already have been asked, what is the status of the 1571 ROM upgrade? Also the 128 ROM. Thanks..
Hazy Dave: 128 ROMs should be entering mass production if they haven't already. 1571 ROMs were released, but since that called back because another bug was found. Last I heard, they were going back in less than a week. I'd expect you to be able to get the C128 ROMs in a month or less, but that's still a guess, this has never been done before at CBM. ga
QuestionWhy is their a reset button on the new 128, but not on the NEW 64C..Its doesnt make sense…?
Hazy Dave: Very little hardware changed on the 64C, while the C128 was a ground-up new design. ga
QuestionDose the 1660 have a carrier detect?
Hazy Dave: As I recall it doesn't, for PLUS/4 compatibility (aargh). Though I could be wrong. ga
QuestionHow's come there's no female cart. port on the 1750 RAM Expander??? Will a Apro Spand type device present any problems?
Hazy Dave: The main reasons are cost and FCC certification (anything with an output connector must be certified in more detail). I don't know anything about an Apro Spand. In general, a cartridge expander could work, but you're going to have lots of things that want the same I/O line as the 1750, so expanding that way may not do much good. Also, you may tax the power supply with too many expansion things hooked up. ga
QuestionThere seems to be a problem with the 1571 where a spring or clamp inside does not work and the drive gives a file not found error. If you just press in on the disk you can hear a click and then all's OK. Have you heard of this problem??
Hazy Dave: No I haven't, but it sounds like the disk wasn't properly seated. Never have experienced it myself. Check that the disk itself isn't somehow weird. ga
QuestionIs the 1581 available? If not, when will it be? How much disk space will it hold? How compatible with the 1571 will it be? >
Hazy Dave: The 1581 will have about 800K of storage, though you can partition several sections on the disk each of which will of course have less storage. The 1581 is not much like the 1571 at all, but of course they're different media so there's little call for that. Part of the reason for the hardware differences is that the 1581 reads/writes MFM only, and can read IBM or Atari ST disks (though its native format stores about 80K more than either of these machines). ga
QuestionCould the Datasette be adapted to connect a second modem for a multi-user BBS?
Hazy Dave: No, not easily. There aren't really enough port lines for a proper modem, plus the overhead of running two software UARTs would be prohibitive if not althogether impossible. ga
QuestionWill there be a hard drive for the 128 and the 64?
Hazy Dave: Not from Commodore. I'd suggest the Xetec drive. Its 10 or 20 megs, prices starting at around it includes a DOS that's kind of CP/M like, but of course running in C128 or C64 mode. They also have nice things like a preferences file that's automatically booted on powerup to set colors, mode, etc. They can also install many protected programs on the disk. Really worth looking in to. ga
CommentJust a comment here but I think that a new model of the C128 called the C128D with a builtin disk drive is a VERY good idea, both for users and for CBM . It is more cost effective for the both of us! I also STRONGLY think that the next logical move by CBM is to create a C256 with BASIC V8 and 128K ram disk!! You guys would sell millions of them if
QuestionDo you anticipate any problem with using an "Aprospand" type of expansion board with the 1750 RAM Expansion device???
Hazy Dave: No that alone, though what ever you plug into the expansion board, other than the 1750, may cause interference with the 1750 and could easily overload the C128s power supply. I'd try it out first if at all possible. ga
QuestionIs the 1580 disk drive reality or more vaporware from CBM?
Hazy Dave: The 1581 is real. What you call "vaporware" is really just prototypes that were shown. Though most folks don't realize it, shows like CES are trade shows, where buyers and sellers get together to make contracts. Just because something is shown does not mean its real, or in fact was ever even near being complete. The idea is to attact stores to items. Some things are definately real products even before CES, but others are essentially just show units put together just for the show. The 1572 was one of these show units. ga
QuestionDave, how many versions of the C128's mother board are there and which one is most recent? Also, what hardware changes have been made to the C64C that is different from the older C64 (like power supplies, internal chips,etc)?
Hazy Dave: There were two versions of the C128 motherboard, REV 6 and REV 7. A total of 5000 REV 6 boards were made, though less than 4000 actually made it to retail outlets, the rest going to developers and other similar places. As far as I've been able to tell, there's really nothing different about the C64C, at least yet, other than the face lift. The new tooling may, however, allow future, more highly integrated PCBs to fit without problems. ga
QuestionIs CBM really working on any new products or are they content to just give the C-64 and the C-128 cosmetic repackaging?… Apple and Atari seem to be forging ahead while CBM is standing on R&D square one.
Hazy Dave: Of course we're working on new projects; they certainly pay me to do something other than blab on Q-Link once a month. But you can't expect me to tell you all the secret stuff I'm working on, can you. As for Apple and Atari, other than the GS, what's new. Atari seems to be taking the Commodore lead and repackaging their ST series in yet more new configurations. And of course, there are rumors about new Apple machines, but nothing real yet (unless you count the GS, which is really a throwback). ga
QuestionI wrote a text adventure in the C64 mode ..it will run fine in the 128 mode but it will still be in 40 columns. Any easy way of re-formatting or converting the text into 80 columns?
Hazy Dave: That depends completely on your program, which I haven't seen. If the printing is a series of PRINT "…" statements, add a ; at the end of every-other line. Other than that, you're on your own. ga
QuestionWhat is the diffrence from LOAD"FILENAME",8 and DLOAD"FILENAME",8 ?
Hazy Dave: The second one generates a syntax error. LOAD"" defaults to the cassette, you add the ,8 to choose your drive, which is normally 8. DLOAD "" defaults to the disk, number 8. If you want to load from drive 9, for instance, you can type DLOAD "..",U9 if you like. There are other differences, but that's the basics. ga
Questionhello I know I'm early but I'm also new to Qlink I'm a member of SCCA and am investigatin using C64 or C128 asthe basis for a timi ng system. Is it possible to time to 1/1000s in basic or is a ML subroutine necessary? How about a clock generator feeding the user port and giving input to a sorting routine Question 3 Is a dc-dc convertor a suita ble approach for powering the computer from an automobile battery and would you have to modify the power circuit to make that work(understanding the subsequent
Hazy Dave: (1) For timing that tight, you'll really need machine language. You could write the main part in BASIC, then the timing critical section in machine, to save work. (2) Most of the system will run fine from any regulated +5V supply that gives you at least 2.5 amps out. The 6526 timers TOD clock won't work, and you won't have any 9VAC for modems, but other than that I can't think of any problems with running from a car based supply. ga
QuestionHow many people in CBM's marketing division have a computer background?.. I get the impression that most of them came to CBM after selling used Edsels for twenty years.
Hazy Dave: I'm not sure of how many, there is at least 1. Mr. Ed Parks, who has degrees in business and I believe electrical engineering. He did essentially what Jeff Porter does, engineering manager (though Jeff does real engineering too, and in truth rarely leaves the place). Now he's in marketing. ga
QuestionDave, how big is the C128D and how much does it cost, either the US version or the German version in US dollars?
Hazy Dave: The C128D is about as wide as a normal C128, a bit deeper, and of course taller. Just about the size of an Amiga. Sorry, I don't know the German price, and the US price has yet to be announced though I'd put it definately below the combined cost of 1571 and C128 (then again, I'm sensible). ga
QuestionDave, why not update the MMU chip by using all four states of the cas0, and cas1 lines to select 4 ram banks instead of just 2. The registers would still be the same and you could then have a full 256K machine. If this isn't possible then why not? The C128 system design will support the new banks but I guess that some changes and new additions to the kernal and basic would be needed (its just software!) so why not upgrade the C128?
Hazy Dave: Well, the way CAS0 and CAS1 work, that scheme won't work. The CAS0 and CAS1 signals are bank enables; you really only have 2 bank selects. The reason behind this is that the state with both bank selects high is required to completely disable RAM. Now you'll probably say, but wait a minute, doesn't the PLA disable RAM. Well, almost. The PLA blocks RAM for reads of ROM and I/O when banked in. What the PLA can't do is block RAM for access of the MMU registers, like those at $FF00-$FF04; the MMU's got to do that itself. I have worked out a scheme for a 48 pin MMU that, with a bit of external circuitry, will in fact handle 256K. But of course, its not up to me whether we go ahead with a 256K machine or not. By the way, the Kernal will work just fine with 256K, and so will BASIC, though BASIC won't do anything on it own with the second 128K. ga
QuestionSay Dave, have you heard the rummor that Atari is planning to drop all of its 8-bit line of computers – namly the 64XL, 130XL, etc.?
Hazy Dave: I haven't heard that, but their ST prices are coming close to their XE prices. And anyone who wants an 8 bit machine buys and Apple or a Commodore anyway. Though if you saw their booth at CES, you might wonder; at least 1/2 of the booth was devoted to things like 2600 and 9600 video game machines and the "latest video hits". ga
QuestionDave,you just blew my mind out… Would you elaborate on the 1581's ability to read an Atari ST disk?
Hazy Dave: I did say READ, not RUN. But its no problem. The 1581 has an MFM controller in it very similar to that of the 1571. You can read IBM compatible disks with the 1571, since IBM uses a standard MFM controller. You do need a program to do this, like "Big Blue Reader", and you of course can't run the programs, but read/write to the disk is trivial. Same principal with the 1581 and IBM or ST 3 1/2" disks. With the proper software, a 1581 can read, write, or format IBM or ST format disk (IBM and ST use almost the same format, anyway). ga
QuestionJust want to compliment you on the great technological achievement that you guys made in the C=128, and 1571. With three modes, two output screens, multi- disk formats, et al, this is one incredibly flexible machine. it has ALL the gadgets that we usually have to buy later from some vendor already. And getting it from C= means that the stuff won't be messing up compatability. I love CP/M, and just want you folks to know that I appreciate what you've done. The C-128 was a beginning and I hope that CBM continues it: the multiple personality computer(128,64,CP/M,40/80 columns,etc). Just a comment Dave, but we CBM computer users REALLY appreciate your meeting us here on Q-Link and all your help!! Many thanks to you and CBM engineering for your help and support!!
Hazy Dave: Thanks!
RJScott: Well, that seems to end the Forum on a nice note! And we're out of questions, Dave.
Hazy Dave: Yea, I've gotta get to sleep early tonight. Things are REAL BUSY at work right about now (I expect that's what happened to Jeff tonight). Thank's for the help, RJ!
RJScott: Thanks Dave, we appreciate your taking the time to keep us informed. Good night Dale, and WScott!
QuestionAnother marketing/engineering comment here but if CBM would include the Transformer with the Amiga and 512K of ram it would sell better!!!
RJScott: Ooops! Walter wanted the last word! Good night gentlemen.
Hazy Dave: OK. I agree, actually, especially about the 512K of RAM. Though I think most machines are sold with the 256K expansion, I imagine this is the last Amiga model to have only 256K base memory. Nite All!