FutureOS hardware

[nocash]

Hi, I've noticed that FutureOS, http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/FutureOS
supports a lot of hardware, including such that has no tech description on cpcwiki.

Does somebody know where to get specs on that hardware? If there are no specs, one could eventually extract some info from the futureos source code, as far as I understand it is open source - though it doesn't seem to be too easy to download the source files - did somebody ever see them?

The FutureOS supported hardware that would be interesting:

> 8 bit printer port patch (PIO)
What is that? Is that the same as the "Happy Computer" mod, using CAS_WRITE as bit7?

> Dobbertin X-drive 80 tracks, DS
Did Dobbertin make floppy drives / disc interfaces? On cpcwiki, it's only mentioned that they made X-DDOS ROMs (ie. AMSDOS-replacements).

> FuturePlayer
Any specs/schematics on that? Seems to be a MP3 audio player.

> CPC-IDE
Probably not so important since only 10 units exist. Anyways, just curious, which I/O ports did it use? Same as SYMBiFACE II?

> Dobbertin HD20 (72 KB/s data transfer rate)
cpcwiki gives only a summary of the I/O ports, but no details how to use them.

> IDE8255 IDE support
same as above. Maybe one can get that info from Yareks webpage (one seems to need to log-in before being allowed to download anything though)

> RAM7's RAM expansion (up to 2 MB)
This one is said to be dk'tronics compatible. The problem is that dk'tronics can address only 512K, so there must be some undocumented to trick to access 2MB...?

> dk'tronics RTC
How does that work?
And, is it really supported by FutureOS? (I managed to download a "Applicatons" source file from the FutureOS homepage, I couldn't find RTC related source code in it, but I found some ASCII strings in there - they referred to a "Happy Computer RTclock", not to a "dk'tronics one).

> Dobbertin Smart Watch (at ROM select 15)
How does that work?
And, is "Smart Watch" the official name? (In the Promo for the dobbertin harddisk, they referred to RTC hardware, too, but there they called it "TIMEROM+" instead of "Smart Watch").

> CPC-Mousepack (Reisware)
> GEOS mouse (C64)
> Marconi trackball
Any info how that stuff works? Is it same/similar to AMX mouse?

> Dk'tronics lightpen
> Happy-Computer light pen
> Lindy light pen
That are just standard lightpens, connected to LPEN on expansion port? All being compatible with each other? Or are some non-standard, like the Amstrad LP1 one? Does somebody have a schematic for the Happy Computer (german magazine) light pen?

Cu, Martin

PS. Not FutureOS related, but for SYMBiOS II, http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/SYMBiFACE_II - Where is that info "Real time clock, which is fully PC compatible and provides additional 128 byte persistent RAM" from?

A RTC chip with 128 byte RAM does not exist at all. Only chips with 114 bytes and with 50 bytes RAM do exist. The photo of the SYMBiOS II board shows a 50-byte chip. So 128-byte seems to be bogus, NB. the same (mis-)information is also found on http://www.symbos.de/sf2.htm

[Bryce]

The DKTronics Lightpen is pretty well documented in the Wiki including the entire scanned manual that came with it. I have one here if there's anything on the hardware side you'd like to know, then let me know and I'll tear it open and check.

If you find anything on the RTCs let me know, I've been considering building one (my own modern version) and want to try to keep it DKTronics compatible.

Bryce.

[Octoate]

> FuturePlayer
Any specs/schematics on that? Seems to be a MP3 audio player.

The FuturePlayer was a hardware device connected to the printer port. There is only one prototype which was build by Dr.Zed. The MP3 data was directly send via the printer port, which means that you had to store the complete MP3 file on a floppy disc.
I found two photos of the prototype and will upload them to the Wiki.

> CPC-IDE
Probably not so important since only 10 units exist. Anyways, just curious, which I/O ports did it use? Same as SYMBiFACE II?

The CPC-IDE interface uses port &FD00-&FDFF by default, but you can select the upper 8 bits with the jumpers on the board.

[Ygdrazil]

About Vortex controllers http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Vortex_Disc_Drives!

Yes the Vortex drives came with their own controlers.

However the same FDC was used by Vortex as the one used by Amstrad For some reason Vortex choose other I/O addresses.
Should be fairly simple to emulate!

It would be interesting to test Vortex drives on Amstrad controllers, do they work?

Also can a Vortex controller work simultaneous with an Amstrad controler, and thereby increase the maximum number of drives to 8?

About the http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/CPC-Mousepack_2.0

I don't own a CPC-Mousepack, but I did test the mousepack software(To check out the GUI) in Winape which emulates the AMX Mouse.. The mouse pointer moves strangely.. So somehow the control is similar, but not quite so the answer is no, its not  AMX compatible.

I have no clue about the http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Marconi device!! Would be nice to know more... Same goes for the GEOS stuff!!

About the http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/RAM7_2Mb_memory_expansion

I have read somewhere that only the first 512Kb is compatible with the dk'Tronics memory expansion (accessed on port &7F)

The RAM7 device also decodes the addresses &7C, &7D, &7E like normally done only on port &7F.. this way making a total capacity of 2048Mb possible...



Well so much stuff still needs to be documented :-)

/Ygdrazil

[nocash]

> The FuturePlayer was a hardware device connected to the printer port.
> There is only one prototype which was build by Dr.Zed.
Good to know. Added that info to the page, too.

> The CPC-IDE interface uses port &FD00-&FDFF by default
Okay... hmmm... SYMBiFACE II uses FD06-FD0F for IDE... now does that mean that it is compatible... or rather not?

> Yes the Vortex drives came with their own controlers.
Uh, yeah. But the FutureOS said "Dobbertin X-drive" not "Vortex X-drive".

> For some reason Vortex choose other I/O addresses.
That's a mysterious point, too. As far as known, only the OLD vortex hardware for 464 did contain controllers (and used the same I/O address as amstrad). The NEW hardware from vortex for 664/6128 doesn't contain controllers at all (and so, uses the normal I/O addresses, too).

However, Vortex does mention that in some cases other I/O addresses are used, but I have no clue which cases that'd be. Anybody here knowing something about that?

> I don't own a CPC-Mousepack, but I did test the
> mousepack software... control is similar, but not
> quite so the answer is no, its not  AMX compatible.
Good to know. Where did you get the software from? Any chance you could upload it on cpcwiki?

> The RAM7 device also decodes the addresses
> &7C, &7D, &7E like normally done only on port &7F..
Okay, then it's simply compatible with CPC4MB, isn't it?

[Ygdrazil]

Ups.. Dobbertin X-Drive my mistake! 

No clue about the Dobbertin X-Drive!!! Only have the eprom burner and the memory expansion from Dobbertin.

I will upload the mousepack software to the WIKI, asap!!

I guess the CPC4MB and RAM7 expansions uses the same technique to break the 512Kb boundary!!

I think the CPC-IDE was the prototype for the IDE part of the Symbiface II interface. If they are compatible or not I don't know. Prodatron made the IDE for symbos width a CPC-IDE interface.

About the "strange" names for FutureOS hardware.. I remember slightly that this has been debated here some while ago.. I to would like to know what hardware actually is meant.

/Ygdrazil

> The FuturePlayer was a hardware device connected to the printer port.
> There is only one prototype which was build by Dr.Zed.
Good to know. Added that info to the page, too.

> The CPC-IDE interface uses port &FD00-&FDFF by default
Okay... hmmm... SYMBiFACE II uses FD06-FD0F for IDE... now does that mean that it is compatible... or rather not?

> Yes the Vortex drives came with their own controlers.
Uh, yeah. But the FutureOS said "Dobbertin X-drive" not "Vortex X-drive".

> For some reason Vortex choose other I/O addresses.
That's a mysterious point, too. As far as known, only the OLD vortex hardware for 464 did contain controllers (and used the same I/O address as amstrad). The NEW hardware from vortex for 664/6128 doesn't contain controllers at all (and so, uses the normal I/O addresses, too).

However, Vortex does mention that in some cases other I/O addresses are used, but I have no clue which cases that'd be. Anybody here knowing something about that?

> I don't own a CPC-Mousepack, but I did test the
> mousepack software... control is similar, but not
> quite so the answer is no, its not  AMX compatible.
Good to know. Where did you get the software from? Any chance you could upload it on cpcwiki?

> The RAM7 device also decodes the addresses
> &7C, &7D, &7E like normally done only on port &7F..
Okay, then it's simply compatible with CPC4MB, isn't it?

[Octoate]

> The CPC-IDE interface uses port &FD00-&FDFF by default
Okay... hmmm... SYMBiFACE II uses FD06-FD0F for IDE... now does that mean that it is compatible... or rather not?

It's fully compatible with the Symbiface II and works fine with SymbOS.

[nocash]

> I will upload the mousepack software to the WIKI
Would be great!

> About the "strange" names for FutureOS hardware..
> I too would like to know what hardware actually is meant.
Would be not bad :-) I'll add some question marks on unclear things on the futureos page.

>> SYMBiFACE II uses FD06-FD0F for IDE... does that mean that it is compatible...
> It's fully compatible with the Symbiface II and works fine with SymbOS.
Okay, I'd have expected them to be a FD00 and up in CPC-IDE, and Symbiface "inserted" some new stuff at FD00-FD05.

But, now I noticed doesn't use FD00-FD05 either. Guess that region is containing reserved configuration ports or so?

Btw. is there somebody here to contact about bugs in the Symbiface II documentation? The RTC is a nice feature, but the docs are so bad that one can't even think about using it :-) the 128-byte RAM is nonsense (see above), and the RAM location containing "BCD or Binary Millenium" is very strange... looking at the source code, it actually seems to be "Binary Century" but the source supports only 19 and 20, and refuses to work after year 2099. Well, there's still some time till that day, but it's no good coding doing it that way.

[arnoldemu]

> Dobbertin HD20 (72 KB/s data transfer rate)
cpcwiki gives only a summary of the I/O ports, but no details how to use them.

I started to dissassemble XDDOS v2.0, and so I may be able to make progress on these. The I/O ports map to MFM harddisc interface, and I've got some details on another one (used by Dragon 32) so these may be similar.
I will try and get this info put up.

[nocash]

> I started to dissassemble XDDOS v2.0
Good thing, go ahead. Wait, wasn't the hdd support not added until v2.10? Also found valuable info in the internet: "ST11M/ST11R Controller Installation Caution: Do not handle a drive or controller without observing static-discharge precautions." Be careful ;-)

[TFM]

Hi, I've noticed that FutureOS, http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/FutureOS
supports a lot of hardware, including such that has no tech description on cpcwiki.

- FutureOS is not open source.

- 8 bit printer port patch (PIO): Look Happy Computer, or even better at Schneider Magazin.

- Dobbertin X-drive 80 tracks: That's a standard drive produced by Dobbertin, using XD-DOS or D-DOS, very famous.

- FuturePlayer: See Wiki article.

- CPC-IDE: See Wiki article. It uses the same I/O ports as the SF-II. I/O ports originally proposed by TFM.

- Dobbertin HD20 (72 KB/s data transfer rate): See article in FutureView.

- IDE8255 IDE support: See Jareks homepage (link in Wiki).

- RAM7's RAM expansion (up to 2 MB): You must learn the wonderful French language ;-)
This expansion is like the 4 MB expansion, same principle.

- dk'tronics RTC
How does that work?
And, is it really supported by FutureOS?

Yes, at least it did it when I tested it the last time. Guess the RTC hasn't changed, so everything should be fine.

- Dobbertin Smart Watch (at ROM select 15)
How does that work?

The Dobbertin Smart watch is used like a EPROM, and you read time from this clock not data. Writing is done by reading special addresses.
Code can be found in FutureOS #D or #T file.

> CPC-Mousepack (Reisware)
> GEOS mouse (C64)
> Marconi trackball
Any info how that stuff works? Is it same/similar to AMX mouse?

Yes it works. And not it's different. They are all different, but the trackball is really cool do use ;-)

> Dk'tronics lightpen
> Happy-Computer light pen
> Lindy light pen
That are just standard lightpens, connected to LPEN on expansion port? All being compatible with each other? Or are some non-standard, like the Amstrad LP1 one? Does somebody have a schematic for the Happy Computer (german magazine) light pen?

It's all connected like defined by Amstrad, using the LPEN pin at the expansion port, Lindy has the best hardware. The DIY from Happy Computer works only with some CRTCs.

Hope this helps, sorry for my short answer, run ouf of time today.
TFM

[TFM]

About Vortex controllers http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Vortex_Disc_Drives!

However the same FDC was used by Vortex as the one used by Amstrad For some reason Vortex choose other I/O addresses.

If they would use THE SAME I/O address, both controllers couldn't be used in parallel, like FutureOS does it ;-)

[TFM]

> For some reason Vortex choose other I/O addresses.
That's a mysterious point, too. As far as known, only the OLD vortex hardware for 464 did contain controllers (and used the same I/O address as amstrad). The NEW hardware from vortex for 664/6128 doesn't contain controllers at all (and so, uses the normal I/O addresses, too).

Wrong, my F1-D from Vortex has two 5.25" drives with OWN controller and OWN I/O addresses. All propely supported by FutureOS. Look in old CPC Amstrad International to see advertisments of that drive. There was the M1-D from Vortex too. Also with own controller. And I'm talking about 664/6128!

[TFM]

I guess the CPC4MB and RAM7 expansions uses the same technique to break the 512Kb boundary!!

Yes, they are used similar. The CPC4MB is pretty well documented, the 2 MB uses the upper half of it.

I think the CPC-IDE was the prototype for the IDE part of the Symbiface II interface. If they are compatible or not I don't know. Prodatron made the IDE for symbos width a CPC-IDE interface.

The CPC-IDE was developped by Dr.Zed, Octoate, Tolkin and me TFM. After that, Prodatron joined the project ... the rest is history.

The CPC-IDE is nothing else than the IDE part of the later SF-II.

About the "strange" names for FutureOS hardware.. I remember slightly that this has been debated here some while ago.. I to would like to know what hardware actually is meant.

Yes. We all had it before. All again and again. If people here don't know about the basic history of CPC like Dobbertin, Vortex, Lindy or other german companies... god damn it! I don't want to life in this modern time!!!

[TFM]

I started to dissassemble XDDOS v2.0, and so I may be able to make progress on these. The I/O ports map to MFM harddisc interface, and I've got some details on another one (used by Dragon 32) so these may be similar.
I will try and get this info put up.

There is more info in one of the FutureViews. Further if someone wants to emulate it I can look up the source code. It's pretty simple, you just tell the device which cylnder, track, sector, head and then just get your 512 bytes or write it. No polling no interrupt just a loop - that does it.

[nocash]

> 8 bit printer port patch (PIO): Look Happy Computer
Great.

> or even better at Schneider Magazin.
That had 8bit, too? Only knew about "CPC Schneider International 12/1985" containing something about 8th bit - though no idea how it works and if it is same as in Happy Computer.
Does somebody here have that magazines?

> dk'tronics RTC
Some source code would be great. At the moment only the chipset is known on cpcwiki (the photos on cpcwiki are from a second hand device that was sold without the original cassette/diskette drivers).

> The Dobbertin Smart watch is used like a EPROM
That info fragment helped! I think I've figured out what it is: The DS1216 from Dallas Semiconductor, right? Or a Xecom XE1216, which seems to be the same.

That might explain why there's so little info about the "Dobbertin Smart Watch", as far as I understand, Dobbertin only bundled the "Dallas Smart Watch" with some CPC driver software.

> Code can be found in FutureOS #D or #T file.
Uh.
Where?
Hmmm, yeah, maybe I should upgrade my emu to work with futureos :-)
at the moment it can't load external ROMs, nor double-sided disks.

>> CPC-Mousepack (Reisware)
>> GEOS mouse (C64)
>> Marconi trackball
> They are all different
Good to know.

Ygdrazil, did you find the Mousepack drivers? Would be great to have for rev-engineering how it works.

>> Dk'tronics lightpen
>> Happy-Computer light pen
>> Lindy light pen
> the LPEN pin at the expansion port,
Okay. Then they are all software compatible... or did you need to adjust the software, in case some light sensors trigger a bit earlier than others?

> Lindy has the best hardware.
> The DIY from Happy Computer works only with some CRTCs.
Good to know.
Does somebody have the DIY article?

> my F1-D from Vortex has two 5.25" drives with OWN controller
> and OWN I/O addresses...  I'm talking about 664/6128!
Great. That was the missing info.
If your F1-D works on 664/6128... maybe what you have is actually a "F1-D-Rev2" or so.
(According to the vortex manual on cpcwiki, the original -D / -S drives worked only CPC 464 only.)

> If people here don't know about the basic history of CPC
Well, look at it from this point of view: Everybody here wants to know about it, and wants to help that info on old hardware doesn't get lost in time.

> if someone wants to emulate it I can look up the source code.
> It's pretty simple, you just tell the device which cylnder, track,
> sector, head and then just get your 512 bytes or write it.
Would be great!

Cu, Martin

[Bryce]

I have a DKTronics Lightpen, the bundled software (graphics package on ROM) had a callibration section, where a cross would appear on the screen approximately under the pen, then using the arrow keys (I think), you could make the fine adjustments required to get the cross exactly under the pen. So even using the same hardware, the triggering had some variance, which needed to be offset in the software. I assume other Lightpen software offered similar adjustments.
As well as this, the screen brightness had to be turned up to level where the image was possibly being permanently burnt onto the surface of my eyes and I had a light tan afterwards

Bryce.

[TFM]

Hy,

One of the developpment targets of FutureOS was - and is up to now - to support all hardware expansions available for the CPC. Why? Because every producer offers his own software solution and often they are not compatible. So for example you have to decide if you want to use a Vortex Winchester or a Dobbertin RTC. it's not possible to use all hardware expansions in parallel due to the software imcompatibility.
FutureOS overcomes this problems and offers an environment in which nearly all hardware is supported. In case you miss something, just tell me, it will be included.

But now to the details...

> or even better at Schneider Magazin.
That had 8bit, too? Only knew about "CPC Schneider International 12/1985" containing something about 8th bit - though no idea how it works and if it is same as in Happy Computer.
Does somebody here have that magazines?

Have the paper copy in munich, can't access it before may. The 8 bit solution is always the same. Connect an OUT bit of the PIO (cas write) to the 8. bit of the printer port. This is supported to enable FutureOS to print proper graphics and 256 byte charsets.

> The Dobbertin Smart watch is used like a EPROM
That info fragment helped! I think I've figured out what it is: The DS1216 from Dallas Semiconductor, right? Or a Xecom XE1216, which seems to be the same.

Well, I remember Dobbertin used a Dallas chip, have to take a look in may... don't remember the exact type.

That might explain why there's so little info about the "Dobbertin Smart Watch", as far as I understand, Dobbertin only bundled the "Dallas Smart Watch" with some CPC driver software.
> Code can be found in FutureOS #D or #T file.
Uh.
Where?
Hmmm, yeah, maybe I should upgrade my emu to work with futureos :-)
at the moment it can't load external ROMs, nor double-sided disks.

Well no, the Dobbertin Smart Watch was sold with it's corresponding software on EPROM and with a disc (software for CP/M). When asking it was also possible to buy the RTC alone for 60 Mark (like I did it).

>> Dk'tronics lightpen
>> Happy-Computer light pen
>> Lindy light pen
> the LPEN pin at the expansion port,
Okay. Then they are all software compatible... or did you need to adjust the software, in case some light sensors trigger a bit earlier than others?

A level of adjustment is always needed, but in case you move an arrow on the screen you will see where you are. The used colors are critical. Despite the fact that light-pens can be used, it's use is restricted due to the construction of the CRTC.
Bye the way I like the Lindy light pen, it's good, reliable and precise. However, they scratched off the names of the used ICs.

> my F1-D from Vortex has two 5.25" drives with OWN controller
> and OWN I/O addresses...  I'm talking about 664/6128!
Great. That was the missing info.
If your F1-D works on 664/6128... maybe what you have is actually a "F1-D-Rev2" or so.
(According to the vortex manual on cpcwiki, the original -D / -S drives worked only CPC 464 only.)

Don't make one old manual to a law of nature. This manual is old and from a time only 464 exists or was supported.
No need for fantasies like a Rev.2 or such stuff. Vortex produced for 464/664 and 6128. The differences are located in the EPROM software and the connectors. I had that all in the article, but PDT erased it in his rage agains my OS :-P So I try to explain again:

F1-D: External drive, own FDC, two 5.25" drives included
F1-D: External drive, own FDC, one 5.25" drive included, space for a second drive
M1-D: External drive, own FDC, two 3.5" drives included
M1-D: External drive, own FDC, one 3.5" drive included, space for a second drive

F1-X: B-drive, Vortex V-DOS in external card, 5.25"
M1-X: B-drive, Vortex V-DOS in external card, 5.25"

They all have been able to be upgraded with a Amstrad-compatible serial interface RS232.

F1-D, F1-S, M1-D, M1-S have a own FDC765, it can directly use up to four drives, under FutureOS they are named E, F, G and H.

> If people here don't know about the basic history of CPC
Well, look at it from this point of view: Everybody here wants to know about it, and wants to help that info on old hardware doesn't get lost in time.

You are right! It's quite shocking for me that we reached the level where this information seems to be partially lost.

> if someone wants to emulate it I can look up the source code.
> It's pretty simple, you just tell the device which cylnder, track,
> sector, head and then just get your 512 bytes or write it.
Would be great!

I may I'll try to find the source code of the Dobbertin CP/M Plus. This supports a 444 KB RAM disc and the hard disc. Hope only I have enough time.

Bye,
TFM

[nocash]

> Well, I remember Dobbertin used a Dallas chip
Great. I've added the datasheets on the Smart Watch page, I hope they are correct, and dobbertin actually used that ones. The 16bit RTC chip inside of the adapter is called "Phantom Time Chip" - how cool is that? :-)

>>> Code can be found in FutureOS #D or #T file.
>> Where?
> Well no, the Dobbertin Smart Watch was sold with it's
> corresponding software on EPROM and with a disc
Uh, no, I meant, where I could find the #D or #T file.
But, yes, I was wondering if software was on eprom and/or disc. Now I didn't even need to ask about it.

> Don't make one old manual to a law of nature.
> No need for fantasies like a Rev.2 or such stuff.
No fantasies. The new manual for the Vortex -X drives (without FDC) gives some info on the older drives (with FDC) - page 138:
  drives with FDC use ports FB7E/FB7F on 464
  drives with FDC use ports FBFE/FBFF on 664/6128
so there must be different versions - they may differ only by jumper setting that selects the I/O address.
And the old manual for F1-S and F1-D doesn't mention anything about 664/6128 support, only 464 support.
So, I'd assume that ports FBFE/FBFF were invented in a later revision.

[ukmarkh]

Who do I have to thank for this wonderful OS... properly used it for the first time yesterday, booting from my Symbi card and it is a breath of fresh air. It's bloody simply to use and even my daughter got to grips with it in mins. I used to think this OS was a complete joke in the past, but now I've given it a chance I like it. Fantastic stuff.

[arnoldemu]

> Don't make one old manual to a law of nature.
> No need for fantasies like a Rev.2 or such stuff.
No fantasies. The new manual for the Vortex -X drives (without FDC) gives some info on the older drives (with FDC) - page 138:
  drives with FDC use ports FB7E/FB7F on 464
  drives with FDC use ports FBFE/FBFF on 664/6128
so there must be different versions - they may differ only by jumper setting that selects the I/O address.
And the old manual for F1-S and F1-D doesn't mention anything about 664/6128 support, only 464 support.
So, I'd assume that ports FBFE/FBFF were invented in a later revision.

Is it possible that the Vortex FDC detects the /exp and modifies it's decoding?
This could be used to automatically detect vanilla 464, 464+DDI-1 and 664/6128.
?

[nocash]

> Is it possible that the Vortex FDC detects the /exp
Hmmm, possible. In the 6128, /EXP seems to be GNDed via LK7. So Vortex could mis-use it to "detect" the presence of the FDC. Though the normal purpose if LK7 should be to enable CP/M auto-booting, which wouldn't work anymore if Vortex really mis-used it.

I've compiled a list of (un-)known DIY projects from Happy Computer magazine,
http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Happy_Computer_(Schneider_Sonderheft)#DIY_Hardware_Projects
does somebody know where to get scanned copies of that DIY articles?
In fact the whole magazines would be interesting, I guess they contain lots of adverts for CPC hardware.

Hmmmmmm, the "Happy Computer Multifunction card with clock and interfaces"... is that a RTC?

Possibly that one called Happy Computer RTclock in the FurtureOS Applications?

I can't make sense of the FutureOS rtc support anyways. The Applications package seems to support this Happy Computer RTclock thing - but the OS itself doesn't support it, instead the OS is said to support the dk'tronics RTC - which is in turn, not supported by the Applications.

It's confusing, and sorts of provoking these questions about "what hardware TFM is referring to" :-)

Maybe the Happy Computer clock could be the same as the dk'tronics RTC...? At least the description "clock with interface" would fit for the dk'tronics one, too.

[TFM]

Ok, guys you won!
I will make a lot of pictures of all that CPC stuff when I visit munich (where my CPC bunker is located ;-) in may.
Pictures of the expansions itself, the boards and what ever could be of interrest, including ICs. Then any kind of talk may be easier. A picture always tells a lot.

Have a great week,
TFM

And by the way thanks for taking a serious look at it :-)

[TFM]

About Vortex!

They have a specific ROM for 464 OR for 664/6128, so there is probably no detection mechanism.

In case of the 464 Vortex sets itself as the "internal" FDC. Since the 664/6128 all already contain a FDC (internal), the Vortex drives MUST use other I/O addresses for the FDC. But you can use the same routines to control it.

[TFM]

I can't make sense of the FutureOS rtc support anyways. The Applications package seems to support this Happy Computer RTclock thing - but the OS itself doesn't support it, instead the OS is said to support the dk'tronics RTC - which is in turn, not supported by the Applications.

Most of the OS functions dealing with time are located in ROM D (if I remember right). Have to check if everything is properly documented, hope this helps?



EDIT: The SF2 RTC is supported too, but you can not choose it with the Configurator application, because the OS detects a lot of hardware by itself, so the user don't has to bother.


In contrast, the user can choose if using the Dobbertin RTC or not, and at which number it is located. Now you could say why not autodetecting it? That would need a RAM program. And system stability is very important to me, so I omit to have trouble with a bad RAM IC.