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Angel of Death
Registered: Apr 2008
Posts: 211 |
c128 dcr
Does anyone know if there were any/a few/a lot of PAL c128 dcr's made. Been looking for one for some time now but can only find NTSC ones.
If none can be found I'll just have to mod my c128 d with a quieter vent and the extra video RAM... |
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Thunder.Bird
Registered: Nov 2003
Posts: 110 |
Do so!
As a matter of fact, the C128dcr isn't 100% compatible and it's heavy and has no handle to move it. It's diskdrive is roaring with track-changes. All in all You should love your C128d(iesel) ;)
my2Ct. |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
I'm a fan. I have 3 :)
funnily I got the first for FREE, because a mate wanted to get rid of it. first I didnt want it but he told me then he will dump it, and I did not want that to happen to a commodore product. that was 20 years ago before the retro fever:) back then it was just not so old junk.
yes the drive is noisy, but its a reassuring noise, it feels like its working ->correctly<-. secondly its all nice sturdy. who cares about handles and weight, its not like you have to carry it around right? :) furthermore one served me for 10 years as demo maker machine, and I loved every bit of it.
with 64k VDC the turnaround time of compile - test cycle was about the same as today with cross assembling. only that 40x25 and tass is not so user friendly with todays eyes.. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11386 |
the the akward position of the cartridge port is reason enough for me not to use C128D... yuck :) |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
reset button on the side helped a lot, only had to reach to the back for freeze. |
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AlexC
Registered: Jan 2008
Posts: 299 |
Quote: reset button on the side helped a lot, only had to reach to the back for freeze.
Exactly, add to it a lot better keyboard than in C64 and built-in monitor and you hardly need access to cartridge port, especially considering the "huge" amount of c128 cartridges available. You could also reprogram the mmu and together with built-in monitor you almost had the freezer cartridge. Considering faster access times for 1571 and 1581 fastloads aren't so badly needed as in case of c64 so again no need to access the cartridge port. Additional memory and 2mhz mode were cool features. The one thing I dislike about C128D is the problems with disabling internal driver. You can do it problematically but the pain starts when you access low level hardware. I always dislike the idea of hacking hardware in order to overcome this issue.
RR made me to insert cartridge into my C128D. I've been using datalux expander which makes carts buttons more accessible. When Turbo Chameleon arrived I had to switch to C64 since it is not working (and could be in fact damaged according to manual) on c128. If you like better cartridge access and skip the issue of internal drive just go for c128 ;)
To keep it on topic: I have two of those :) |
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Thunder.Bird
Registered: Nov 2003
Posts: 110 |
Quote: the the akward position of the cartridge port is reason enough for me not to use C128D... yuck :)
Yeah, the heavier load cartridges need high-heels there :D |
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Angel of Death
Registered: Apr 2008
Posts: 211 |
ROTFL
You guys are awesome and your stories are funny and you convinced me that doing some slight mods to my c128d is the way to go.
Now we're on the subject, where can I find a (good) mem expansion for the VDC (and that super fast assembly thing that Oswald talked about) and who has some info on how to use the internal ROM/BASIC expansion?
Okay, I admit those are a lot of questions but that's what the Forum group "questions" is for. :) |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
this is what you need:
VDCAsm-128 V1.0 (the note in there has info on the VDC expansion)
what it does: assemble into VDC memory, then you have to swap VDC RAM with 'normal' RAM and test what yo did using almost full 64k.
I have optimised the given swap routine and it took about 2-3 sec. I have defined a function key in tass so it assembled and jumped to the swap routine by one key stroke.
why swap when we have 128k ram? because in c64 mode mmu is not visible but VDC is. and my target was c64.
anyway today cross assembling and EMU testing is more recommended. |
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AlexC
Registered: Jan 2008
Posts: 299 |
Here is probably one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-128-Plug-In-64k-VDC-Upgrade-D..
Also running with REU is a good option. There are number of TASM based assemblers supporting additional REU. Turbo Macro Pro http://turbo.style64.org is the one I've been using mostly.
Don't go after C128 TASM on chip as it is not a dedicated version for C128. |
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tokra
Registered: Jun 2011
Posts: 9 |
While there are some 128DCR users here, let me borrow this thread for a quick request:
Some very new 128DCRs seems to contain a newer Drive-ROM for the 1571CR. The usual ROM all around the net is 318047-01, but this still has a few unfixed bugs according to
http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/archives/040207ar.htm
I found mention of a 318047-02 revision on two places, once in Forum64/Lemon64 by the same user, who sadly has not replied to me in half a year and in an Excel-sheet of an old Commodore parts shop:
http://www.elektronik-technik.biz/liste/3%20Ersatzteile/30%20Co..
If anyone has the newer ROM can they please provide a dump? Would be nice to have this added to the historical archive. The newer version ROM-chip is probably just an EPROM in most devices. Maybe Commodore only fitted these when users sent in their device for repair |
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T.M.R
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 749 |
Was i the only person who extended the switches on his AR6 to a project box that sat next to the machine then...? |
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-trb-
Registered: May 2008
Posts: 9 |
Quoting tokraSome very new 128DCRs seems to contain a newer Drive-ROM for the 1571CR. The usual ROM all around the net is 318047-01, [...]
I just uploaded a dumped 318047-02 to zimmers.net, so it should be available there soon (in /pub/cbm/firmware/drives/new/1571/ I guess).
If you don't wanna wait just PM me your mail address. |
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Raf
Registered: Nov 2003
Posts: 343 |
ftp://www.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/firmware/drives/new/1571/index.ht.. - still no file ;P |
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-trb-
Registered: May 2008
Posts: 9 |
Hello Raf. (:
Quoting Rafftp://www.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/firmware/drives/new/1571/index.ht.. - still no file ;P
As long as it's not there, feel free to download here:
http://www.imagenetz.de/f3845b4e4/318047-02.zip.html |
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Raf
Registered: Nov 2003
Posts: 343 |
thanks |
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TheRyk
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 2246 |
I once won a 128D (of course PAL) at a Bunker Party. Took me some time to figure out it was equipped with wrong SID 8580 but needed 6581. What groepaz sez about position of slots is true, but I've got long arms. I don't do much with it apart from "GO64"->"Y" every now and then. It's a very nice rack to put a monitor on it :)
Quoting Thunderhas no handle to move it
True, an SX64 is far easier to throw away (unless the handle is broken which happens quite frequently) |
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-trb-
Registered: May 2008
Posts: 9 |
Quote: ftp://www.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/firmware/drives/new/1571/index.ht.. - still no file ;P
It's also available on zimmers.net now. (: |
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Oswald
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 5094 |
Quote: I once won a 128D (of course PAL) at a Bunker Party. Took me some time to figure out it was equipped with wrong SID 8580 but needed 6581. What groepaz sez about position of slots is true, but I've got long arms. I don't do much with it apart from "GO64"->"Y" every now and then. It's a very nice rack to put a monitor on it :)
Quoting Thunderhas no handle to move it
True, an SX64 is far easier to throw away (unless the handle is broken which happens quite frequently)
you dont need go64 with an AR plugged in :) |
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iopop
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 317 |
Quote: Was i the only person who extended the switches on his AR6 to a project box that sat next to the machine then...?
Nope, Same here!
Back then (early 90ies) I had a computer furniture with a sliding tray for the keyboard. Perfect for the c128d not so perfect for the c64 later on. |
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Tao
Registered: Aug 2002
Posts: 115 |
Quoting Oswaldyou dont need go64 with an AR plugged in :)
You don't need it anyway, just hold C= when starting the machine/resetting :) |
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-trb-
Registered: May 2008
Posts: 9 |
Quoting -trb-Quoting tokraSome very new 128DCRs seems to contain a newer Drive-ROM for the 1571CR. The usual ROM all around the net is 318047-01, [...]
I just uploaded a dumped 318047-02 to zimmers.net, [...]. As tokra found out but did not post it himself yet I wanna mention it here. The 318047-02 I dumped is binary identical to 318047-01. |
