Dobbertin Smartwatch Help needed !

[dxs]

Hi there!


Tonight I tried something...









I just got a Dallast Smartwatch DS1216 (D) . For those who don't know about it you can find information here: Dobbertin Smart Watch - CPCWiki


Hey presto I flashed an eprom with the TIME ROM+ which can be found on the wiki. That's the ROM which was provided on the original Dobbertin smartwatch and is supposed to provide support via rsx for basic programs.
Btw if you don't own a real romboard, like me, just take a DDI-1, and replace the socketed Amsdos ROM with watever you like. Don't forget to power the whole stuff with a FD-1. Obviously the ROM will take position number 7, hence the reason for using a CPC464 for this trick.


Trouble is I don't have the manual for the original Smartwatch, and I managed to set the time which is displayed on startup but that's about it, I didn't figure out how to retrieve it, or figure what the other RSX do (apart from the "bigwatch" or something rsx which puts the time fullscreen  ).
As you maybe noticed the day of the week was right in 1915, not 2015, another Y2K victim we have here!


So do anyone have info about the TIMEROM+, the use of the rsx??
Was the TIMEROM+ supposed to be put in a specific ROM position?


Thank you!!
Thierry

[IanS]

Putting the rom image in winape shows the following RSX's. Which have you tried?[attach=2]

[dxs]

Yeah the list I got from ùHELP. ùTIME should be te to retrieve time I guess, but it needs arguments, like ùDATE. I got ùTIME.SET and ùDATE.SET working as figuring the expected arguments was easy. ùBIGWATCH too :-)


From what I found today it seems ùTIME pokes bytes in the screen memory, and substracting 48 (decimal) from those bytes gives actual time. Not so "user-friendly", that's why I'm wondering what's in the manual or if someone has a clue about expected arguments...

[IanS]

It will probably be expecting a parameter:-
[attachimg=1]
(Doesn't look like it does a lot of error checking, so you need to allow enough space for the possible return string.

Without the parameter (which it doesn't seem to be checking for) the location writes the return value to is probably a bit random.

[Gryzor]

Damn, I read "smartwatch" and thought we got a CPC watch or something

[TFM]

Hi DSX,
Cool that you got such a watch. Isn't it amazing that it still runs. 


IIRC: You can change the day of the week.

[dxs]

Thanks IanS, I was working on the 464 using "@" to pass parameters and I certainly made a few mistakes.
@TFM I can change the date but I wrongly assumed the day was calculated by the ROM. If you remember how to change the day  let me know!


I'll look into making a MotherX4 format Smart Watch, do you know what the original ROM position was supposed to be?

[IanS]

I have no more information about the Smatwatch than I've read on this thread or the wiki page. I just guessed that the RSX command was expecting a string.

A whole card for a smartwatch seems a bit much, expecially if you want to use it as a rom, most people will already have a flash based rom board, so there won't be any free slots to use, unless you put it in a rom number above 32 (you'd then need to patch the software to support it).

As the smartwatch was just a rom it should work in any rom number. Unless it did anything clever with file system patching (I had a RTC setup that timestamped files).

As the smartwatch software seems to be a bit rubbish, I'd be tempted to build something new and just provide a rom for the support software.

[TFM]

I'll look into making a MotherX4 format Smart Watch, do you know what the original ROM position was supposed to be?

This would be a dream!!!!!!!!!!!! 


The original position of the watch and the ROM can be freely choosen. But I suggest to use ROM number 15 for the watch, that got somehow 'standard'. But there is no really enforcing reason for that.


So, did you actually get the Dobbertin clock or did you make the RTC by yourself?


It was always a dream of my that some day somebody can reproduce the watch. I have some sentimental connection to it, it was the first one I supported with FutureOS.


About the day: Sunday is counted as '0' and Monday is '1' and so on. I hope I don't mix that up with the SF2 clock, but let me look at home again. I don't think it's the TIME-ROM, else it would not be a problem to patch it. I got it's sources somewhere IIRC. But I'm not allowed to spread them.

[dxs]

Nope it's not the original Dobbertin, I made it myself.


I originally just wanted to make a repro of the original as I never saw it for sale anywhere. Even if it was now on ebay I guess I would need a 15 years loan to buy it    considering how things are going now!
If I want it to be usable as a standalone on a 464 it needs to be below 7, maybe I'll make it at position 5 as it allows parados to be put in 6 on another board and frees consecutive rom numbers below (1-4).
Putting it in pos 15 prevents 464 people from using it, and also prevents the booster rom to be used. F-OS from what I understand has to ability to change the smartwatch position.


However I thing I read somewhere that paralleling romboard might cause trouble, I'll try anyway with the megaflash and X-MEM.


(Started looking into dis-assembling that ROM.)

[TFM]

That's extraordinary! Maybe you can share the plan how you did make the reproduction. So maybe it would be possible to make a small series of that watch for all CPC users.

The RTC (watch itself) and the TimeROM (software on ROM) are separate as I understand. So the TimeROM on a 464 must be at ROM position 1-7 to be working of course. But the watch itself can probably be on any number from 1-15 (but I never tried).

I can update the TimeROM to search for the watch in ROMs 1-31 if needed and also get it updated to year 2015 if needed.


EDIT: Yes, under FutureOS you can change the ROM number for the watch itself. It does not require the TimeROM, because it got it's own code for the RTC (read and write). The default number is 15. To change it one needs to poke a new ROM number. If you decide to make a small series of RTCs that people can buy I will add functionality to the installation program.
Does your watch run with FutureOS?

[dxs]

Well actually everything is in the first post, there's really no big deal into it!


Yes the ROM and the watch itself are separate, however due to the way the smartwatch disables the "over the top" ROM chip (TIMEROM in this case), I'm not sure they can be used on separate positions. However that's true that using proper soft like FutureOS the onboard ROM is not needed for clock operation, the ROM only provides access to the clock from Basic.


What I'll do next is build a prototype, I'll go for a standalone module that can be used on a bare 464, with "custom" TIMEROM at position 5. However I'll also add a switch to make it possible to disable this onboard ROM and use only the RTC itself for F-OS users.
Nope I couldn't try it with F-OS but it don't see why it wouldn't work.


Stay tuned for the next episode 


Btw if Bryce you happen to read this, could you explain why on the wiki pages about the MegaFlash / ROM you mention the fact that paralleling ROM boards can cause crashes?

[TFM]

What I'll do next is build a prototype, I'll go for a standalone module that can be used on a bare 464, with "custom" TIMEROM at position 5. However I'll also add a switch to make it possible to disable this onboard ROM and use only the RTC itself for F-OS users.
Nope I couldn't try it with F-OS but it don't see why it wouldn't work.

Oh, you don't have to disable it for FutureOS, but a disable switch may server well for some games which don't get along with background ROMs, but nevertheless initialize all of them.
If could also be a good idea to have a jumper to select one of two ROM select positions for the actual clock (RTC) itself.


Now let me ask here: Is there any interest out there for a batch of the great Dobbertin Smart watch?

[TFM]

Now let me ask here: Is there any interest out there for a batch of the great Dobbertin Smart watch?

Sudden silence? 

[remax]

Sudden silence? 

If you can "sell" the advantages of having one... Why not!

[TFM]

If you can "sell" the advantages of having one... Why not!

I'm not selling it!

It's about having real time for AmsDOS, CP/M and what ever.

For the X-MASS you can actually use time stamps for your files.

[TFM]

Well, IMHO it would be great to have either an RTC on a small expansion card (stand alone or MX4). And of course it would be nice to add more features if case on the PCB is space left. I think for example about an adapter for a proportional mouse. If this would be SF2 compatibe it would be great, because SymbOS and FutureOS are already supporting it.

TotO suggested to add an RTC to the Mini-Booster. Of course also a valid idea, but the disadvantage is that there is (as far as I know) no software supporting it. Further on it requires to own the Mini-Booster. And I honestly don't have it connected all the time.

To be able to reproduce the Dobbertin Smartwatch is just great and I'm very glad that dxs is able to do so. 

[mahlemiut]

For those interested, I've added support for the Smartwatch to MESS.

amstrad: added support for the Dobbertin Smart Watch · c1b6c93 · mamedev/mame

It's currently limited in that you cannot actually set the time, due to limitations in MESS' DS1315 core, which looks like it hasn't had much done to it since it was originally added about 14 years ago.
Reading the date and time works, it just uses the current date/time instead.

MESS 0.159 should be released in the next couple of days, so not long to wait.

[TotO]

TotO suggested to add an RTC to the Mini-Booster. Of course also a valid idea, but the disadvantage is that there is (as far as I know) no software supporting it.

Compatible RTC are low stock and no more available for a descent price. A Minibooster "add-on" will cost around 10€ and allow more features on the serial side. (mouse, analog controllers, ...) Sadly, the hardware can't be always compatible with the existing... Adding the support into BASIC, FutureOS and SymbOS is not a hard coding task and should allow around hundred peoples to use it.

Further on it requires to own the Mini-Booster. And I honestly don't have it connected all the time.

Adding a new MX4 board will be more problematic so... 

[dxs]

Bonjour Richard,


Well as you can see from the other topic hundreds of people are not gonna buy a RTC, we're talking about maybe 10 people here, nothing like how many bought a X-MEM for example.


This is more about having a repro of the old harware from back in the days, other than "just" having time and date available. This project I do for fun for myself, and the batch side of it is just some more work I provide for the community and people who, like me, would like to have one.
I'm not preventing anyone from making a minibooster serial RTC which would be very very easier to make.


You did (do) wondefull stuff for the CPC, and watching new boards being built in MX4 format is great I think (just like the MF2 Talrek is about to make, which I'll buy even if I already own the real stuff).
Be it something useful, be it something useless.

[TotO]

I have not take care that you have oppened two topics about RTC!
I just comment the TFM post... You are free do you what you want. 

[TFM]

Better two RTC than none! 

[dxs]

I have not take care that you have oppened two topics about RTC!
I just comment the TFM post... You are free do you what you want. 

Meaning that you can get me the MX4 standard Eagle template ?    And tell me what is the maximum thickness a MX4 board can be? (I don't have mine yet, I'm waiting for it to be delivered with my X-Mass!)
The other thread came later and is about the batch so that people don't get confused, this one thread was just about me not understanding how to use TIMEROM.

[TotO]

Sure. See the linked file.
A day... I will create a dedicated MX4 page on the wiki... 

[TFM]

That would be a good idea, but I guess you're busy with more important stuff now (like soldering  ). Maybe some other people like to help?