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FUJINET for the CPC

Started by overange, 13:11, 17 February 24

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overange

For those who are not acquainted, the Fujinet emerges as an impressive hardware innovation initially tailored for Atari 8Bit systems. It later was redesigned for the ADAM and APPLE2 platforms. 

Presently, significant strides are being made to adapt it for the Commodore 64, alongside ongoing development for a ZX Spectrum version. 

You can find more information about it at https://fujinet.online/

A youtube video showing how the Atari version works.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZx1aCD1G4Y

Considering this ongoing evolution, one might ponder the potential to expand the Fujinet Project to encompass the Amstrad CPC systems. Such an expansion could usher in a myriad of opportunities. 

Personally, I personally own the Atari 8 Bit version, I found it to be an amazing piece of kit. The ability to connect to the Wi-Fi then to the internet opens doors to a wealth of possibilities—browsing, downloading, and engaging in a diverse range of gaming experiences, spanning from vintage classics to newly released gems. Furthermore, its functionalities extend beyond solo gaming, offering multiplayer options, high-score tracking, and much more.

Given that the Atari version retails for around 60 Euros for a basic version, I believe this could serve as an ideal starting price point for a CPC version.

What are your thoughts on what could potentially become a community collaborated project for the CPC systems?



Current Usable Collection = 800XL / XE Remake / 1100 Drive / Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k ( Rubber Key ) / Sinclair ZX Spectrum Harliquin 128k ( Rubber Key ) / Amstrad CPC6128 Plus / Amstrad GX4000 / Sega Master System / Sega Mega Drive / Nintendo DMG-01 Gameboy / Amiga CD32 / AMSTRAD MEGAPC 386SX and possibly the UKs largest Collection of Competition Pro Joysticks, so far 40 different variations and always looking for more

robcfg

It's not a bad piece of hardware, but we already have the wonderful M4 by Duke which is beautifully integrated with the CPC's operating system and has a great web interface for transferring files to the CPC.

I'd get one for my Atari, specially for development. But then again, if you have an AtariMax flash cartridge and SIO2SD, spending from 80 to 100 euros on it may not be justifiable.

overange

Okay, so how about this: since the M4 already has the Wi-Fi hardware developed, why not collaborate with the FUJINET team to create the necessary FUJINET software interface for the CPC system to become FUJINET compatible? 

Also, where can we purchase the M4 from?
Current Usable Collection = 800XL / XE Remake / 1100 Drive / Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k ( Rubber Key ) / Sinclair ZX Spectrum Harliquin 128k ( Rubber Key ) / Amstrad CPC6128 Plus / Amstrad GX4000 / Sega Master System / Sega Mega Drive / Nintendo DMG-01 Gameboy / Amiga CD32 / AMSTRAD MEGAPC 386SX and possibly the UKs largest Collection of Competition Pro Joysticks, so far 40 different variations and always looking for more


zhulien

#4
Looks good

Like an alternative to

gr8net (hardware and remote mounted drives)
unidos+m4 ftp (remote mounted drives)
8bitology.net (lobby and massaging)

Another option is always good, I think a fujinet unidos node would be a good option, or perhaps if it fits into the m4 unidos node.

The hardware looks pretty decent too.

Gryzor

Quote from: zhulien on 18:31, 17 February 248bitology.net (lobby and massaging)
So that's a politicians thing only? 😁

poulette73

Quote from: overange on 16:06, 17 February 24Okay, so how about this: since the M4 already has the Wi-Fi hardware developed.
And with the Duke M4, + the "RulezCharge" frontend:
  • you can browse and launch local DSK games stored on micro SD card.
  • you can download all games from the CPC directly via Wifi to the micro SD card, using a powerful search engine, in just 3 seconds.

St-BeidE(DE/GB)

I also own a Fujinet for my Atari XL.

There are already many solutions for parts of the
abilities for the CPC, witch the Fujinet is able to do.
Mass storage, Wifi etc. However, the two parts I miss
the most is the Fujinets ability to "speech" out of the box and even more, the ability to PRINT into a PDF.
"Rendering" of the PDF is done by the Fujinet itselve. 
Not transferred to a PC or Raspi to build the PDF.
It is able to emulate all the printers and plotters ever made for the Atari. ( You may know it wasnt 'many' types witch where produced, but they where all different
, and so the appearence of the printout was)

Stefan 

Prodatron

Yes, the Fujinet is connected to the SIO port of the Atari8, which is something like a USB bus from the late 70ies. Therefore it can both emulate floppy drives and printers, and this is exactly, what the Fujinet is doing (+ stuff like the speech module which was connected to the SIO as well).

I really like this "print to PDF" feature. I wonder if you could fully emulate the printer port (#EFxx and PIO-B bit 6 at #F5xx) with hardware connected to the expansion bus, but why not?

GRAPHICAL Z80 MULTITASKING OPERATING SYSTEM

robcfg

Quote from: overange on 16:06, 17 February 24Okay, so how about this: since the M4 already has the Wi-Fi hardware developed, why not collaborate with the FUJINET team to create the necessary FUJINET software interface for the CPC system to become FUJINET compatible?

Also, where can we purchase the M4 from?

I like the M4 the way it is, because it's very tailored to the CPC.

However, you're free to develop or port the Fujinet functionality to the M4. 

Regarding the printer support, it may be interesting, but that's a question for @Duke . I think the M4 is powerful enough for that.

lister_of_smeg

One problem is TNFS (the file transfer protocol used by FujiNet) is currently UDP only, and the M4 only implements TCP. A while back I wrote some code which implemented just enough of the TNFS protocol to load a file into the CPC's memory by running Socat as a TCP to UDP 'gateway' on my TNFS server, and while it did work I felt it was too kludgey to pursue further.

So one of two things would need to happen. Either an implementation of a TNFS server which works over TCP, or an implementation of UDP in the M4 firmware.

ajcasado

Quote from: Prodatron on 12:13, 18 February 24Yes, the Fujinet is connected to the SIO port of the Atari8, which is something like a USB bus from the late 70ies. Therefore it can both emulate floppy drives and printers, and this is exactly, what the Fujinet is doing (+ stuff like the speech module which was connected to the SIO as well).

I really like this "print to PDF" feature. I wonder if you could fully emulate the printer port (#EFxx and PIO-B bit 6 at #F5xx) with hardware connected to the expansion bus, but why not?
If you need that feature check this thing: https://github.com/dasta400/ACPCPE

I guess that the python script can be easily modified to output also  in PDF format.

If you add a sd card to the arduino you can save directly plain text, md  or  html files to the sd with some modification of the arduino sketch, and maybe with a better MCU also generate PDF files.

By the way, does anybody knows a good source of edge connectors for the cpc printer port?
CPC 664

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