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General Category => Other retro => Topic started by: Ynot.zer0 on 10:25, 12 August 13

Title: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Ynot.zer0 on 10:25, 12 August 13
Tiny WiFi modules, again (http://hackaday.com/2013/08/09/tiny-wifi-modules-again/)

"Realistically, you can get an ATtiny, an exceedingly sparse microcontroller, or even a Commodore 64 or Apple II on the Internet with this. It's very, very cool."

anything they can do with a C64 or Apple, I'm sure a CPC can do better  :laugh:


Adafruit CC3000 Breakout with Onboard Ceramic Antenna ID: 1469 - .95 : (http://www.adafruit.com/products/1469#Description)
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TotO on 11:09, 12 August 13
Sure... Can do better by not using Wifi, as it's not appropriated for 8bit computers.  :laugh:
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: fano on 12:27, 12 August 13
Why not  ? I've been interested to try theses types of modules in uart version with the CPCbooster but i found this a bit expensive, i prefer to use CPCbooster and PC as Gateway.That would be cheaper and nearly everyone owns a PC.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: arnoldemu on 13:03, 12 August 13
Quote from: fano on 12:27, 12 August 13
Why not  ? I've been interested to try theses types of modules in uart version with the CPCbooster but i found this a bit expensive, i prefer to use CPCbooster and PC as Gateway.That would be cheaper and nearly everyone owns a PC.
modern pcs don't have serial or parallel ports so you'll need an older one?
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TotO on 13:24, 12 August 13
Quote from: fano on 12:27, 12 August 13
Why not  ? I've been interested to try theses types of modules in uart version with the CPCbooster but i found this a bit expensive, i prefer to use CPCbooster and PC as Gateway.That would be cheaper and nearly everyone owns a PC.
The answers are in your post.  ;D
- expensive
- better to use a PC as gateway

Quote from: arnoldemu on 13:03, 12 August 13
modern pcs don't have serial or parallel ports so you'll need an older one?
Modern PCs have USB and Bluetooth serial connexions. The last is my favorite.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 13:47, 12 August 13
This board connects using SPI.


So the problem moves from attaching a WiFi chip to the CPC, to creating an SPI bus on a CPC.


Admittedly that does have some benefits - there are lots of different SPI-attached peripherals that could then attach to the CPC.


And as this chip does the TCP/IP stack internally, it should be easy to interact with from the CPC side of things, without requiring a bulky TCP/IP library on the CPC itself.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TotO on 14:08, 12 August 13
We already can see that on ST/Amiga... They are knelt. So, imagine with a 8bit computer.
But, I agree that SPI bus will be helpful for some CPC stuffs.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 15:12, 12 August 13
Could a small FPGA be the answer?


Projects :: OpenCores (http://opencores.org/project),spi_master_slave


+ some logic to interface it to the CPC as a standard I/O port driven device, maybe even with the ability to DMA the CPC's memory.


Although the next step there is someone adding a blitter to the FPGA :p
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Bryce on 15:20, 12 August 13
You don't have to go as far as using an FPGA, even the smaller PIC and AVR µPs offer SPI interfacing and enough pins for 8bit data and a few other pins you'd need.

Bryce.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TFM on 16:52, 12 August 13
Quote from: fano on 12:27, 12 August 13
.... and nearly everyone owns a PC.
Well, I always said ... and nearly everyone owns a 6128. But now it turned out that some only have 464's.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TFM on 16:54, 12 August 13
Quote from: TotO on 13:24, 12 August 13
Modern PCs have USB and Bluetooth serial connexions. The last is my favorite.
Yes. Right. And with Bluetooth, that new Wi-Fi module and the Cell phone the cancer is guaranteed.  :o

Such a Wi-Fi thing is an interesting idea. However I would prefer cable.  :)
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: ralferoo on 18:55, 12 August 13
SPI would be a doddle to implement on the CPC anyway. You should be able to use the printer port or even abuse the tape port on a 6128 for it (MOT as CLK, RD as MISO and WR as MOSI) although you run the risk of killing someone's 464 tape deck if it gets run on there by mistake!
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: fano on 19:57, 12 August 13
Quote from: TFM on 16:54, 12 August 13
Such a Wi-Fi thing is an interesting idea. However I would prefer cable.  :)
There are some ethernet modules for SPI too ;)  (btw and for uart too)


Quote from: ralferoo on 18:55, 12 August 13SPI would be a doddle to implement on the CPC anyway. You should be able to use the printer port or even abuse the tape port on a 6128 for it (MOT as CLK, RD as MISO and WR as MOSI) although you run the risk of killing someone's 464 tape deck if it gets run on there by mistake!
I'd say , why making it complicated and dirty when you can do simple an cheap with an µc like ATmega (for example) as Bryce said.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Bryce on 21:10, 12 August 13
Quote from: ralferoo on 18:55, 12 August 13
SPI would be a doddle to implement on the CPC anyway. You should be able to use the printer port or even abuse the tape port on a 6128 for it (MOT as CLK, RD as MISO and WR as MOSI) although you run the risk of killing someone's 464 tape deck if it gets run on there by mistake!

The SPI code would be wasting precious RAM used to buffer the download. Move as much of the code to the µP and you can free up RAM for a frontend and the buffer.

Bryce.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TFM on 22:30, 12 August 13
Quote from: ralferoo on 18:55, 12 August 13
SPI would be a doddle to implement on the CPC anyway. You should be able to use the printer port or even abuse the tape port on a 6128 for it (MOT as CLK, RD as MISO and WR as MOSI) although you run the risk of killing someone's 464 tape deck if it gets run on there by mistake!


Printer port and tape port use 1 bit input. Do you really want to go through such a bottleneck??


No thanks, use the CPC Booster or the expansion port.

Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Bryce on 12:13, 13 August 13
Quote from: TFM on 22:30, 12 August 13

Printer port and tape port use 1 bit input. Do you really want to go through such a bottleneck??


No thanks, use the CPC Booster or the expansion port.

SPI is a serial connection, so it only uses 1 Bit (for data) anyway. However a µP can read the serial data faster than the CPC so the data would be faster if the SPI protocol is being handled externally.

Bryce.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: TotO on 12:54, 13 August 13
The Amcharge kit use the Joystick port to transfer serial data from the "Minitel" to the CPC. (faster than the tape port, all CPC compatible and don't make noise)

In France, it was the main (and only?) After Sale Service repairs problem on CPC...
The joystick port was not intented to plug/unplug so frequently a cable from it and caused the connector ripped.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: ralferoo on 14:37, 13 August 13
This looks like another option too. In fact, I'm astounded by how awesome the hacking opportuinties for these cards might be... :)
Hax it!: Hacking Transcend WiFi SD Cards (http://haxit.blogspot.ch/2013/08/hacking-transcend-wifi-sd-cards.html)
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 09:20, 14 August 13
Amazing, a 200 MHz ARM9 Linux system with 16GB storage, 32MB RAM, and WiFi - all in the space of an SD card.
Title: Re: add WiFi to CPC?
Post by: redbox on 11:58, 14 August 13
Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 09:20, 14 August 13
Amazing, a 200 MHz ARM9 Linux system with 16GB storage, 32MB RAM, and WiFi - all in the space of an SD card.

And if people learnt to code properly[nb]Yes, and by that I mean Linux too[/nb], that could actually be used as a normal 'computer'.
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