Search found 877 matches

by tom_seddon
Tue May 21, 2024 1:33 am
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Minor Bug in *Copy in DFS 2.24 and possibly other versions
Replies: 28
Views: 800

Re: Minor Bug in *Copy in DFS 2.24 and possibly other versions

P.S. It looks like some of the constants are Master-specific, but how easy would it be to turn this into a B/B+ friendly version? A multi-target 1770 Acorn DFS with bug fixes and worthwhile OSGBPB would be a nice thing to have, especially when it's buildable from readable source code on modern syst...
by tom_seddon
Thu May 16, 2024 11:03 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Minor Bug in *Copy in DFS 2.24 and possibly other versions
Replies: 28
Views: 800

Re: Minor Bug in *Copy in DFS 2.24 and possibly other versions

Is there anything in DFS 2.45 that isn't included in DFS 2.24a? I was thinking that this could be a useful addition to one of my updated MOS 3.50 builds. The SRAM utilities would need stripping out (I can look at adding a build option for this), and the ADFS code would need adding in (which should b...
by tom_seddon
Thu May 16, 2024 10:50 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: DFS 2.45 ROM layout
Replies: 25
Views: 801

Re: DFS 2.45 ROM layout

Thanks for posting the DFS 2.45 rev 1191 link! I found a bit of time to get the repo building the rev 1191 ROM too.

--Tom
by tom_seddon
Thu May 16, 2024 9:56 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Shorter ADC and SBC
Replies: 11
Views: 348

Re: Shorter ADC and SBC

2nd, can something similar be done with DEC replacing SBC? The zero flag doesn't seem helpful here as reaching zero doesn't mean the hi byte needs decrementing. And the negative flag also doesn't seem helpful as any result over 127 will set it, but again that doesn't affect the hi byte. Is there a ...
by tom_seddon
Tue May 14, 2024 1:20 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Storing data without using RAM
Replies: 14
Views: 477

Re: Storing data without using RAM

I don't know what hardware the BBC B has but on some computer systems you could store data in the serial port FIFO. They sometimes had a 16-entry FIFO and with a simple loop-back cable you could store data when RAM wasn't available. The BBC B has a 6850, and the block diagram suggests there are sep...
by tom_seddon
Sun May 12, 2024 10:32 pm
Forum: general
Topic: unexpected encounter with 8bitguy
Replies: 20
Views: 755

Re: unexpected encounter with 8bitguy

I think you've missed out a decimal point. It's widely regarded that about 1.5m were made (from A to Master), based on serial numbers it's estimated about 1m were made https://bbcmicro.computer/how-many-made For some actual vague numbers from Acorn, see https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p...
by tom_seddon
Fri May 10, 2024 10:14 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Storing data without using RAM
Replies: 14
Views: 477

Re: Storing data without using RAM

An additional oddity: the ADC has a spare, unused bit in its status register! Bit 2 can be set (or cleared) as you see fit. D2 flag input during write mode can freely be set or reset without any influence to the A/D converter itself. D2 flag output during status read will have the contents as progra...
by tom_seddon
Fri May 10, 2024 10:08 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Storing data without using RAM
Replies: 14
Views: 477

Re: Storing data without using RAM

I can't think of anything that good, but on a Master (but not a B/B+), could you use &FE30 to store data? I don't know how wide it is, but I suppose it must be at least 4 bits. It's 4 bits, plus bit 7 as well, and read/write on the Master! If your test code is in the $e000-$ffff region, the bot...
by tom_seddon
Fri May 10, 2024 9:50 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Storing data without using RAM
Replies: 14
Views: 477

Re: Storing data without using RAM

I wrote an Atom RAM test with similar goals: https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24634 It makes heavy use of macros, indexed addressing and doesn't need any stack/RAM to run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohPfL5uom7g For additional state, it uses: - the VIA ACR to track the three test c...
by tom_seddon
Fri May 10, 2024 12:11 am
Forum: programming
Topic: Storing data without using RAM
Replies: 14
Views: 477

Storing data without using RAM

I've got a dead B+. It doesn't work with my usual diagnostic tool (https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14849), but I got some useful leads thanks to Tricky's test ROM (https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10268#p139467). While waiting for bits to arrive, I also wan...
by tom_seddon
Mon May 06, 2024 12:06 am
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Dead B+128
Replies: 3
Views: 189

Re: Dead B+128

I wasn't sure that random noise was a usual failure mode for DRAMs, but if you've seen it too, then that's promising! Thanks for the note. I've got a bunch of bits on order now, so I'll get desoldering when they arrive. I'm not looking forward to working around that stupid riser board :lol: - but at...
by tom_seddon
Sun May 05, 2024 10:34 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Dead B+128
Replies: 3
Views: 189

Dead B+128

(A dear diary kind of thing. Any suggestions welcome, but even if nobody has any ideas I'll be poking at this as I get the chance, and updating the thread with any additional info.) I've got a B+128 that suddenly died. It was working fine, and I was testing some ROMs in sideways RAM that I was plann...
by tom_seddon
Sat May 04, 2024 9:24 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: UPURSFS on Elk with AP5
Replies: 18
Views: 536

Re: UPURSFS on Elk with AP5

For whatever it's worth, the Master reference manual part 1 divides page D up as follows. (I've always treated this as fairly authoritative, since it's comprehensive official documentation produced relatively late in the Beeb's life.) This suggests that for widest compatibility across the whole 8-bi...
by tom_seddon
Fri May 03, 2024 2:47 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: games - high scores
Topic: High Score Challenge - S22 - Round 9 - Uncle Claude
Replies: 80
Views: 1634

Re: High Score Challenge - S22 - Round 9 - Uncle Claude

That sounds very careless and amateurish of Alligata to obliterate those two bytes! They probably did a *BASIC, or a NEW, or pressed BREAK, or similar, before doing the *SAVE! Superior's Ghouls rerelease suffers from a similar thing. There's an 0D FF making a mess of the level goal sprite. --Tom
by tom_seddon
Fri May 03, 2024 2:44 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support
Replies: 15
Views: 452

Re: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support

I'm having the same problem with a github link but the advice to switch to a URL with raw.githubusercontent.com does not seem to be working for me. The raw.githubusercontent.com thing only seems to work for files in the repo. I never figured out how to get jsbeeb to use a GItHub release asset. For ...
by tom_seddon
Tue Apr 30, 2024 5:47 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Thoughts on a suitable EPROM Eraser
Replies: 29
Views: 812

Re: Thoughts on a suitable EPROM Eraser

Success for me too, and mostly with only 1 x 10 minute sanitize/erase cycle needed. (I had one attempt at doing 4 at once, but only 1 came out fully blank, and the rest needed another go. 1 EPROM per lamp seemed to work fine.) Is there a recommended distance? I leant the chips right up against the l...
by tom_seddon
Sat Apr 27, 2024 12:02 am
Forum: development tools
Topic: BeebAsm
Replies: 247
Views: 61604

Re: BeebAsm

tass64 looks like an interesting alternative. I've not used it myself, but it looks like it has a lot of options judging by the manual: https://tass64.sourceforge.net I've been using this for a few years now, and it's the best! Full of great features. I rambled on about this in another thread the o...
by tom_seddon
Wed Apr 24, 2024 12:22 am
Forum: new projects in development: games
Topic: Hexapelago (working title)
Replies: 74
Views: 1889

Re: Hex Islands (working title)

Thanks a lot Tom. I'm trying out Beebasm for now but I will bear this in mind if that doesn't suit my needs. I assume you're a C64 head first and foremost. I've never programmed one of those babies. I've never even owned one. But that needs to change (the programming part at least). And if/when I'm...
by tom_seddon
Sun Apr 21, 2024 7:09 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Thoughts on a suitable EPROM Eraser
Replies: 29
Views: 812

Re: Thoughts on a suitable EPROM Eraser

It seems to be using very tiny tubes and I confirm it works perfectly. Auto timer for 10 mins - the EPROMs need to be on their side angled towards the tubes which are at either end - I’ll need to make up a holder for them - at present it clears 4 at once in 10 minutes - it’s well made, runs from us...
by tom_seddon
Sat Apr 20, 2024 2:31 am
Forum: new projects in development: games
Topic: Hexapelago (working title)
Replies: 74
Views: 1889

Re: Hex Islands (working title)

I actually downloaded that the other day but I haven't tried it yet. I do have a couple of concerns though. BBC syntax and all that is great in a way but I'm not so sure about portability. It would be quite nice to get this game going on a C64 at some point so I'm thinking ahead. Thanks for the inp...
by tom_seddon
Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:33 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Updated BASIC Editor
Replies: 102
Views: 20542

Re: Updated BASIC Editor

I had a look at the new BASIC Editor and was interested in the Electron version which was a single ROM rather than the original dual ROM for the Electron. I could not find any reference to the function key controls and they were not the same as the original Electron ones. So I have made a function ...
by tom_seddon
Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:05 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support
Replies: 15
Views: 452

Re: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support

https://github.com/archie456/BBCMicro/raw/06c46534f2548364659185e80a20e3e0252b27c1/CaveGen.ssd For the link to work with jsbeeb, you'll need to use raw.githubusercontent.com. So the link for the disk above would be https://raw.githubusercontent.com/archie456/BBCMicro/06c46534f2548364659185e80a20e3e...
by tom_seddon
Mon Apr 15, 2024 9:00 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: classic games
Topic: Chuckie Egg 2023
Replies: 43
Views: 19445

Re: Chuckie Egg 2023

The player moves slightly faster in Chuckie Egg than in Chuckie Egg 2023! Is this expected? Video here: https://youtu.be/dGnjVaX4dXQ

Left is a Master 128 running original (as far as I'm aware) Chuckie Egg. Right is a Master Turbo running Chuckie Egg 2023.

--Tom
by tom_seddon
Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:57 pm
Forum: programming
Topic: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support
Replies: 15
Views: 452

Re: Online Beeb emulator with SSD support

Along similar lines: if you have your ssd in a github repo, you can ask jsbeeb to load it directly via its URL. The URL takes the form https://raw.githubusercontent.com/USER-NAME/REPO-NAME/COMMIT-HASH/PATH; pass this in as the &disc URL parameter for the emulator. Here's an example for one of my...
by tom_seddon
Sat Apr 06, 2024 10:36 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Restoring ROM character data after VDU 23
Replies: 10
Views: 448

Re: Restoring ROM character data after VDU 23

It's more complicated on the Master. The font data is at a documented location ($b900 in ROM 15 - see Master Reference Manual part 1, page E.4-5), but this is not very convenient to access from BASIC. But it's easy enough to use OSBYTE 25: https://beebwiki.mdfs.net/OSBYTE_%2619 (Note that the BeebWi...
by tom_seddon
Mon Apr 01, 2024 1:46 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Master MOS disassembly
Replies: 67
Views: 6523

Re: Master MOS disassembly

I made a separate thread for the new versions: https://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28879

--Tom
by tom_seddon
Mon Apr 01, 2024 1:45 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Updated Master MOS versions
Replies: 0
Views: 120

Updated Master MOS versions

I've put together some updated versions of the Master MOS, with bug fixes, and code rearrangement to simplify MegaROM setup. For more info about the changes, and download links, see here: https://github.com/tom-seddon/acorn_mos_disassembly/blob/master/docs/refresh.md Getting this working will involv...
by tom_seddon
Fri Mar 29, 2024 11:01 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Large haul of Acorn ROMs/EPROMs
Replies: 26
Views: 1069

Re: Large haul of Acorn ROMs/EPROMs

There's an EBBS Data ROM in rom8.zip here: https://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11795 - contents look like they're the same kind of thing, but that one kind of peters out after +$750 whereas this one here looks like it fills up most of the 8 KB. SpellcheckII looks like somebody's binary...
by tom_seddon
Fri Mar 29, 2024 10:39 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn hardware
Topic: Large haul of Acorn ROMs/EPROMs
Replies: 26
Views: 1069

Re: Large haul of Acorn ROMs/EPROMs

Slogger don't seem to have been very organised about their versioning, but you can get a ROM identifier kind of thing out of later versions of DDOS by doing *ROMID. Slogger202.rom doesn't respond to *ROMID, so maybe it's too early, but Slogger345.rom reports "3.45 01-02-86 35000". Greg Coo...
by tom_seddon
Fri Mar 29, 2024 6:44 pm
Forum: 8-bit acorn software: other
Topic: Master MOS disassembly
Replies: 67
Views: 6523

Re: Master MOS disassembly

I've added some notes about doing a DIY version of MOS 3.50: https://github.com/tom-seddon/acorn_mos_disassembly/blob/wip/master/docs/MOS3.50.DIY.md - this is basically me going through the process of sorting out the setup shown in the screenshot above. I figured maybe having a somewhat worked examp...

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