Sinphaltimus Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 FlashRom99.Yes I know what ROM means. I'm sure this was settled ions ago but I have to ask anyway. What about a FlashRam99?I was watching a video on youtube last night in regards to configuring a software on the TI when writing to a cartridge. In the demo I think I heard the person say that there were real world grom write limitations to the hardware, it would simply break down. I was pretty amazed to find out you could write to cartridges using a TI and am wondering why such a process could not be used to somehow emulate a storage device. Not actually on a real cartridge but possibly a flash card read/write that emulates a cartridge like the flashrom99 seems able to do.I guess it took me all that text to ask this, why is the flashrom99 read only when connected to the ti? PS - My flashrom99 kit hasn't arrived yet but I'll have one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 superspace is this, i sell the board on arcadeshopper.com under hardware, cartridge boards 32k of battery backed ram that is programmable from the 99/4a. manual bank select..so you can set up 4 8k banks separately with 8k this has been around a long time.. by hacking a tiinvaders cart board, this board is a new design by kazuul who made it simple to build and easy to aquire. only tricky part is the editor assembler grom chip which you would have to pull from an ea cart. Greg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Yeah, I understand some of what you're telling me but it's above my head.I can follow instructions and solder things but I'm not at all familiar with assembly or hardware at that level.owever, sounds like your board is ready to go?But I can't find anything that fits the description or name at that site.https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/Cartridge-Boards/c/16275020/offset=0&sort=nameAsc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 it is.. sorry its called "supercart" on the site.. PCB Fetzner Supercart Cartridge (bare) may be out of stock but I'll check if i have one around and put it back in stock when i get home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 Yeah, my apologies, I'm no good at hunting down parts. Especially a GRom from an assembler cart - I've already lost several ebay bids on assembler carts just because I want to learn assembly language. I do much better with complete "kits" sold as a package. That's to say I know nothing of the products I would have to buy and would end up purchasing half the wrong things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kl99 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Hi Sinphaltimus! There really have been multiple devices giving you the ability to load data into Ram chips on some board which then acts to the TI like a Rom cartridge or a Grom cartridge, or even a Rom System Bios or Grom System Bios. The pity is that those devices are no longer produced and a whole group of people that has not been in the scene sind the 80s is left out without devices like the HSGPL PEB Card, the Gram-Kracker or Gramulator, SuperModul,... Some even used batteries, so you could turn the device off and still have the same data into your Device for the next TI session. We are using Ram chips on boards that can be used to simulate a Disk Controller and Drives to allow you to save/load programs without any wait states. Those cards are called Ramdisk and go inside the PEB. Again the same situation, no productions since the early 90s. The FlashRom99 in fact uses a Ram chip that gets loaded with the selected program from the screen in the moment you select the program. So on the next reboot the cartridge memory contains that exact program, nothing else. Until you hit the reset button on the FlashRom99, then the menu is loaded into the Ram chip to show up. The Cartridge Memory is meant to run a cartridge program. You can not per se use that memory area as storage drive like "SAVE CRD1", even if you have a Ram chip connected. That would require a complete virtual device created and made transparent towards the TI Operating System. You can store a program (machine code) in the cartridge memory, or data. But reusing that data requires some sort of loader that knows that it shall search for that data at the cartridge memory and not in the Expansion memory. The goal of FlashRom99 was never to have a SD-Card as Storage Device for the TI, but to be able to simulate (load/run) any cartridge that exists. For me it does an awesome job on this goal already by simulating all Rom cartridge that fit within the 32K limit. There are only a few homebrew cartridges that use 64k. The next level shall be getting Grom cartridges running, which requires a new approach and a new board and a new menu software. If you want to use a Flash Card as Storage Device for the TI, go with the CF7+ or the NanoPeb, or if you want it in the PEB, go ahead with solutions that replace a single Disk Drive by a FlashCard. Somehow you are right, the name is misleading a bit. More correct would be Flash-EEPROM-99. Since it tries to simulate a Rom Device the name fits is less misleading than FlashRam99, but FlashCartridge99 would be fitting the product goals best.BR Klaus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 2, 2016 Author Share Posted August 2, 2016 BR Klaus. Thank you very much for that response. I will certainly search fir any projects and parts I can get as a kit if they exist. I saw CF7 in several posts just haven't taken a closer look as I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Coming late to the party hurts. I can't even find any sort of 32k upgrade kit packaged and ready to sell. Since guy was selling one in e bay the other day for a hundred bucks. I offered 30 and got shut down. It's ok, I may not be having as much fun as I could be but in I'm still having fun. I also have a kit if links I have yet to investigate fully, all ti hardware mod related. I just have to keep costs low, I already got the stink eye for buying a ti recently. So complete kits are what in hunting. Like the flashrom I ordered. I'm going to use that to store (via pc) all the programs I plan to write this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 BR Klaus. Thank you very much for that response. I will certainly search fir any projects and parts I can get as a kit if they exist. I saw CF7 in several posts just haven't taken a closer look as I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Coming late to the party hurts. I can't even find any sort of 32k upgrade kit packaged and ready to sell. Since guy was selling one in e bay the other day for a hundred bucks. I offered 30 and got shut down. It's ok, I may not be having as much fun as I could be but in I'm still having fun. I also have a kit if links I have yet to investigate fully, all ti hardware mod related. I just have to keep costs low, I already got the stink eye for buying a ti recently. So complete kits are what in hunting. Like the flashrom I ordered. I'm going to use that to store (via pc) all the programs I plan to write this year. There is a member of this board marc.hull who does internal 32k upgrades for reasonable prices and he even has boards ready(I think) to swap with for a fee. There is also a new sidecar 32k project and on Ebay sometimes you can come across a old 32k sidecar solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXB Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 There is a member of this board marc.hull who does internal 32k upgrades for reasonable prices and he even has boards ready(I think) to swap with for a fee. There is also a new sidecar 32k project and on Ebay sometimes you can come across a old 32k sidecar solution. A new SAMS (1Meg to 4Meg) is being produced and makes 32K look like junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 A new SAMS (1Meg to 4Meg) is being produced and makes 32K look like junk. Yea, but I think he is wanting a non-PEB install. If the SAMS is going to make it into that format, it would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 I'm just looking for what ever works and is within budget for me. In either a kit (with all parts included and programmed) or finished product ready to install.Just need more ram.And a better storage medium than tape but that's lower priority since I'm getting a flashrom99, I can just develop and test in emulation then use the FR99 to load on to actual HW. The tape drive is currently my only way of getting files from PC to TI and that limits me to 12k files regardless of how much ram I have. With the flash rom, i gain slightly over a full k of additional free space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Yea, but I think he is wanting a non-PEB install. If the SAMS is going to make it into that format, it would be nice. a PEB, is that the big expansion bays box I keep seeing for $300 on eBay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 a PEB, is that the big expansion bays box I keep seeing for $300 on eBay? Various prices and configurations, anywhere from about 75.00 up. The minimum you should be interested in is the PEB with a flex interface card, 32k card, and a disk drive card. Anything else is dessert . You, if this is a route that you may want to pursue, should expect to pay about 200.00 more or less for such a box. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 ... And a better storage medium than tape but that's lower priority since I'm getting a flashrom99, I can just develop and test in emulation then use the FR99 to load on to actual HW. The tape drive is currently my only way of getting files from PC to TI and that limits me to 12k files regardless of how much ram I have. With the flash rom, i gain slightly over a full k of additional free space. The FlashROM-99 is not a storage device comparable to tape or disk. It is a device for storage of loadable ROM images of 32KiB or less. What is more, it cannot be used with Extended Basic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Extended Basic and FlashROM-99 are both cartridges that cannot be in the cartridge slot at the same time. ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Various prices and configurations, anywhere from about 75.00 up. The minimum you should be interested in is the PEB with a flex interface card, 32k card, and a disk drive card. Anything else is dessert . You, if this is a route that you may want to pursue, should expect to pay about 200.00 more or less for such a box. *sigh* - I'm going to enjoy what I have and work the best I can within the confines of my limitations. I am saving up for a new video card for my PC. Maybe someday a CF& or other 32k expansion (internal maybe) will pop up on the ebays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 *sigh* - I'm going to enjoy what I have and work the best I can within the confines of my limitations. I am saving up for a new video card for my PC. Maybe someday a CF& or other 32k expansion (internal maybe) will pop up on the ebays. Remember to view post 8 here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Remember to view post 8 here. I contacted Marc. it sounds like he does the work but doesn't have the parts. Like if I sent him everything and paid him to do it. I guess if he had the 32k kits he'd have sold them by now. It won't be the first party I've arrived late to. I'm still enjoying every bit of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 I contacted Marc. it sounds like he does the work but doesn't have the parts. Like if I sent him everything and paid him to do it. I guess if he had the 32k kits he'd have sold them by now. It won't be the first party I've arrived late to. I'm still enjoying every bit of it. Okay, there are other options, DIY, have another do it, or wait for the sidecar version to be finished, or wait for an existing sidecar to be offered somewhere. It will happen eventually. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 Okay, there are other options, DIY, have another do it, or wait for the sidecar version to be finished, or wait for an existing sidecar to be offered somewhere. It will happen eventually. The title of this thread is aptly named. The neat thing about the TI section here at Atari Age it that it's a place where dreams come true! The side-car 32K project of Matt's is going to be 'the ticket' for people who've held back on getting back into the TI. Some people don't have the room or money for a huge P-Box, this device of Matt's will probably sell for less than the shipping price of a P-Box! That translates into a great deal. Now it's my understanding that Matt, is going to make it with a pass-thru. Awesome! That opens things right up for the next obvious step, something that's already been floated about... a two port HDX compliant RS-232. Who would have thought in 2016 we would be going back to a limited daisy chain method! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 I may have arrived just in time! I swear, I know you're all just creatures on a mudball in space just like me but I feel like I'm amongst gods. The threads and brilliance and knowledge packed away in these forums. I'm happy to be here. Thank you all for not being like a lot of other creatures I've run in to as a noob in other forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 Yeah, my apologies, I'm no good at hunting down parts. Especially a GRom from an assembler cart - I've already lost several ebay bids on assembler carts just because I want to learn assembly language. I do much better with complete "kits" sold as a package. That's to say I know nothing of the products I would have to buy and would end up purchasing half the wrong things. EA carts are available if you ask here I bet someone has one for sale. I also sell ea alternatives such as RXB 2015 and XB27 suite that include the EA cart with extended basic on one cart. This of course wouldn't work with superspace as they can't coexist in the cartport.. one at a time Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyDean Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 (edited) I can see from your Oh Joy thread, that you are somewhat comfortable with soldering. Check out this page for info on how to add your own 32k http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/32K16/32k16.html There are several other options around for DIY- direct wiring and soldering onto existing chips and the Zeno board(a rare beast to find), https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/dXyzUBwA a project by Towmater a member of this board and others. Google is your friend Greg 'arcadeshopper' may have a kit. I have done a couple in the past 'long past' that I used successfully for several years, before all these fancy PCB's came out. Also look at this http://www.harmlesslion.com/text/TI%2032k%20Mod.pdf And there is alot right here at atariage here is some: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/206520-internal-16-bit-32k-upgrade/ and here is something: http://www.stuartconner.me.uk/ti/ti.htm#32k_memory_expansion Edited August 3, 2016 by RickyDean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted August 10, 2016 Author Share Posted August 10, 2016 I can see from your Oh Joy thread, that you are somewhat comfortable with soldering. Check out this page for info on how to add your own 32k http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/32K16/32k16.html Richard can be contacted by email: swim4home@aol.com Email is dead. I just ordered the chips for the internal 32k mod. That seems pretty straight forward. I'm so psyched for this. Thanks for this . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Can someone explain to me why we don't have Extended BASIC on FR99? Is it because "GROM" only as in ...need an ubergrom?I hope to get one of those cartridge expanders someday so I can just leave my FR99 and EB carts connected at all times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 It is very simple. XB is too big and it must run from GROM/Cartridge space. The cartridge has 12K of ROM and 30K of GROM. Using the FlashROM load/launch method, it would try to load that entire mess into a space too small to contain it, toss it into the 32K space to loaunch it, and have neither enough space for the XB cartridge nor any remaining space for the actual XB programs it is intended to run. Trying to load the majority of the utility/language cartridges into the FlashROM is just not possible. A few of them fit--but running them may also compromise available memory the utilities need in the 32K space. it all depends on which memory space the utility or language was intended to run from when originally programmed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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