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F18A question for ADAM


Captain Cozmos

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I don't have one, would like to get one, when will they be released again.

And...
Has CPM 2.2 ever been patched to use the 80 column capabilities for this device?

 

This all feeds into bringing an ADAM core to the Phoenix but it also feeds into another project on the real ADAM equipment.

I will take all the comments I can get.

 

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7 hours ago, Captain Cozmos said:

I don't have one, would like to get one, when will they be released again.

And...
Has CPM 2.2 ever been patched to use the 80 column capabilities for this device?

 

This all feeds into bringing an ADAM core to the Phoenix but it also feeds into another project on the real ADAM equipment.

I will take all the comments I can get.

 

CC

Hans is still making the f18a . He will ask "what do you offer for it?"  The mutually acceptable answer , from you, should be " $80 USD plus shipping ? please"

 

Shipping from Germany will be around $20 USD 

 

$100 USD should  get you the f18a with VGA dongle to your door 

 

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31 minutes ago, rietveld said:

The f18a provides a crisp and easy to read display on the Adam

 

 

IMG_20221208_221127.jpg

IMG_20221208_221136.jpg

I'm in, pm me details so I can get the ball rolling regardless of the CP/M patch or not but the other question that you did not address, maybe you are not privy too, is if CP/M can utilize the 80's columns.

If the chip is capable and the Phoenix made this native then all of ADAM should be 80 columns across the board as far as things such as Smart Basic, CPM, Logo and anything else that uses text as an input.

Obviously games, no but textual based editors and the like should be native 80's columns or a built in command to go from 32 to 80.
 

If I could create a patched command in Smartbasic like GO 80 or something I would.
My personal SB back in the day was 40 columns unless I used GR or HGR same with SB2.  Really the only difference was the command line buffer and a few lines of code for the graphics setting.  They share the same ASCII table.

Edited by Captain Cozmos
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18 hours ago, Captain Cozmos said:

Has CPM 2.2 ever been patched to use the 80 column capabilities for this device?

Unfortunately the answer is no and there has been no software development at all for the ADAM to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the F18a.

 

There have been a couple ColecoVision cartridge games released over the years that do take advantage of the advanced graphics capabilities of the F18a…. by Opcode Games and Leo Brophy.

 

So as it stands, the F18a (for the ADAM) offers a higher quality video output (VGA) and no sprite flicker since it can display 32 sprites per row… unless the game has it’s own sprite flicker routines programmed in like Antarctic Adventure. In the case of AA and a couple other games a mod using a switch has to be added to the F18a in order to revert back to the 4 sprites per row limit.

Edited by NIAD
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9 hours ago, Captain Cozmos said:

I'm in, pm me details so I can get the ball rolling regardless of the CP/M patch or not but the other question that you did not address, maybe you are not privy too, is if CP/M can utilize the 80's columns.

If the chip is capable and the Phoenix made this native then all of ADAM should be 80 columns across the board as far as things such as Smart Basic, CPM, Logo and anything else that uses text as an input.

Obviously games, no but textual based editors and the like should be native 80's columns or a built in command to go from 32 to 80.
 

If I could create a patched command in Smartbasic like GO 80 or something I would.
My personal SB back in the day was 40 columns unless I used GR or HGR same with SB2.  Really the only difference was the command line buffer and a few lines of code for the graphics setting.  They share the same ASCII table.

To answer in order…

 

CP/M or T-DOS would need to be patched to access the advanced capabilities of the F18a just like they had to be patched to access the EVE or OBS 80 Column Units that were sold in the 80s OR to output thru a Serial Interface to a Terminal or PC using a Terminal Emulation program. 8-Bit Milli has made available disassemblies of the CP/M BiOS and other info re CP/M, so that would be a good starting point. T-DOS would be more difficult since source code is not available.

 

The Phoenix does support the F18a, see the game Dead Tomb by CollectorVision as well as a couple other games by Opcode Games and Leo Brophy. So is an ADAM core was made for the Phoenix, it would be nice to see F18a support implemented.

 

Any Legacy software program like SmartWriter, SmartLogo, etc. would have to be patched to use the F18a and any that use a graphics mode like SmartWriter would be a lot more involved to patch. Text mode in SmartBasic would be easier and there is already an enhanced version by Rich Drushel called SmartBasic v1.x Rev. 20y that supports 80 column output via an 80 column card or Serial Interface/Terminal. IIRC this version of SmartBasic has built-in commands to access hardware ports so it would be the one to target.

 

IIRC SuoerBasic+ 3.0 by TCR Software also has additional commands to access hardware ports.

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2 hours ago, rietveld said:

I have that disk image on my ADE but I can't seem to get any screenoutput using the MIB serial port. Does it need to be 'called ' or does it automatically output in 80 col?

It has to be Revision 20Y that Eric Pearson assembled from the source code file that Rich Drushel made available. It is configured for 80 column output using any of the Micro Innovations compatible Serial Interfaces… serial port #2 that is configured for Terminal output (DTE).

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32 minutes ago, NIAD said:

It has to be Revision 20Y that Eric Pearson assembled from the source code file that Rich Drushel made available. It is configured for 80 column output using any of the Micro Innovations compatible Serial Interfaces… serial port #2 that is configured for Terminal output (DTE).

I am using Eric's MIB patched version but it does not display in 80 col by default. Not sure if I need to set the screen width with a certain command.  ?

I have tried his as well as Rich's revision

Edited by rietveld
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All I have to do is add a command to the list of any smartbasic version such as Text 80 and recompile.  I can change smartbasic or create a new one.


I have de-compiled pretty much all ADAM and Coleco legacy titles.

 

I've already torn apart Smart Writer which I would like to replace with either CP/M 3 or my own version of Z80 DOS which I am working on.

I found that upon boot it checks for the Language Card/expansion rom and tries to execute whatever is at $8002 if it finds it.

Remember a game cartridge starts off with $8000-AA55 well the expansion rom starts off with $8000-6699.

I have a Language Card which I plan on dumping, probably this weekend.

 

I can do pretty much anything and everything at this point.  The only two things that slow my progress are time and incentive.  Of which I don't have much of either.

 

Again, and I can not stress this is that no one is updating their emulators for ADAM.  CoolCV is limited to running the basics.
I made an expansion rom test program that will work in the MIB but refuses to work in CoolCV yet will work in COLEM.
But COLEM is not fully ADAM emulated so it crashes to the debugger.


The real issue is when I try to work on the SW replacement because COLEM refuses to boot instead of locking up on error.

It then tosses you out of ADAM which defaults to Colecovision.  So I end up having to juggle back and forth between emulators and physical equipment.

Edited by Captain Cozmos
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17 minutes ago, rietveld said:

Maybe you can dig into rev 20 and see if there are already established codes for display in 80 

If you're using Eric's version, have you tried "TEXT80" like the manual states? It's been a while since I've used it, but it does work.

http://adamarchive.org/archive/Manuals/ADAM Software/SmartBASIC v1.x (3rd Edition) - Manual.pdf
 

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4 hours ago, rietveld said:

I am using Eric's MIB patched version but it does not display in 80 col by default. Not sure if I need to set the screen width with a certain command.  ?

I have tried his as well as Rich's revision

This is the one you need. It boots directly into 80 columns and displays on your Terminal/Terminal Emulator program... nothing but the boot title screen is displayed on the normal composite video out.

 

SmartBASIC 1.x Rev-20Y - M.I. 80 Column Terminal (1991) (Rich Drushel Software).dsk

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3 hours ago, Captain Cozmos said:

So I end up having to juggle back and forth between emulators and physical equipment.

I hear you!

 

Have you looked at MAME of late? I haven't since MESS was merged into MAME, but back then ADAM emulation was pretty good, but again with issues.

 

Currently I use ADAMem v2.0a beta for most of my needs even though there were a couple further beta releases by Geoff Oltmans.

 

Very high hopes for the ADAM+ by DvDH besides of course using actual hardware.

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10 minutes ago, NIAD said:

This is the one you need. It boots directly into 80 columns and displays on your Terminal/Terminal Emulator program... nothing but the boot title screen is displayed on the normal composite video out.

 

SmartBASIC 1.x Rev-20Y - M.I. 80 Column Terminal (1991) (Rich Drushel Software).dsk 160 kB · 0 downloads

Awesome.  Thanks. 

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