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https://github.com/wwarthen/RomWBW.git
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127 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
127 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
************************************************************
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*** R o m W B W ***
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*** ***
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*** System Software for N8VEM Z80 Projects ***
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************************************************************
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Builders: Wayne Warthen (wwarthen@gmail.com)
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Douglas Goodall (douglas_goodall@mac.com)
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David Giles (vk5dg@internode.on.net)
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Updated: 2012-08-28
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Version: 2.1.1
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This is an adaptation of CP/M-80 2.2 and ZSDOS/ZCPR
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targeting ROMs for all N8VEM Z80 hardware variations
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including SBC, Zeta, and N8.
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NOTE: This is very much a work-in-progress. It is
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severely lacking appropriate documentation. I am
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happy to answer questions and provide support though.
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Acknowledgements
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----------------
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While I have heavily modified much of the code, I want
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to acknowledge that much of this is derived or
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copied from the work of others in the N8VEM
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project including Andrew Lynch, Dan Werner, Max Scane,
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David Giles, John Coffman, and probably many others
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I am not clearly aware of.
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I especially want to credit Douglas Goodall for
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contributing code, time, testing, and advice.
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He has created an entire suite of application
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programs that substantially enhance this ROM. Everything
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in the Apps folder of the distribution came directly
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from Douglas and the list includes cpmname, writesys,
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assign, slices, termtype, drives, and others.
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David Giles has contributed support for building the
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ROM under Linux and the CSIO support in the SD Card driver.
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Usage Instructions
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------------------
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The distribution includes many pre-built ROM
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images in the Output directory. The simplest way of
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using this ROM is to simply pick the pre-built ROM
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that most closely matches your preferences, burn it,
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and use it.
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Refer to the file called RomList.txt for a complete
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list of the ROMs that are included and the required
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hardware configuration that they support.
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CPU Speed & Baud Rate
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---------------------
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The startup serial port baud rate in all pre-built
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RomWBW variants is 38.4Kbps. While this speed is
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nice in that it provides great display and file
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transfer performance, it does push the limits of
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slower hardware. Specifically, XModem v12.5 (the
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default XM.COM) on the distribution is unable to
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service the serial port fast enough if the CPU is
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running at 4MHz. Your options are to 1) use the
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old version of XModem (XM5.COM), put a faster CPU
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oscillator in your system (6MHz or above), or
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3) decrease the baud rate by building a custom
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ROM.
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CP/M vs. ZSystem
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----------------
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There are two OS variants included in this distribution
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and you may choose which one you prefer to use.
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The traditional Digital Research (DRI) CP/M code is the first
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choice. The ROM images that DO NOT end in "_z" are built
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with the traditional CP/M components from DRI. The Doc
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directory contains a manual for CP/M usage (cpm22-m.pdf).
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If you are new to the N8VEM systems, I would currently
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recommend using the CP/M ROMs to start with simply
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because they have gone through more testing and you
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are less likely to encounter problems.
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The other choice is to use the most popular non-DRI
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CP/M "clone" which is generally referred to as
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ZSystem. The ROM images with a "_z" suffix are built
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using the ZSystem components (specifically ZSDOS 1.2
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and ZCPR 1.0). These are intended to be
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functionally equivalent to CP/M and should run all
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CP/M 2.2 code. They are optimized for the Z80 CPU
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(as opposed to 8080 for CP/M) and have some potentially
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useful improvements. Please refer to the Doc directory
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and look at the files for zsdos and zcpr (zsdos.pdf &
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zcpr.doc as well as ZSystem.txt).
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ZSystem builds contain ZSDOS specific files in the
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ROM Disk.
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Building a Custom ROM
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---------------------
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I strongly suggest you start with burning one of the
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pre-built ROMs and making sure that works first. Once
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you have gotten past that hurdle, you should consider
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building a custom ROM. It is very easy and the
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distribution comes with everything that is needed to
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run a build on a Windows 32 bit or 64 bit system --
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basically Windows XP or above. There is also a
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Linux build now available.
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Creating a custom ROM allows you to customize a lot
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of useful stuff like adding support for a DSKY if
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you have one.
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Please refer to the Build.txt file in the Doc directory
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for detailed instructions for building a custom ROM. If
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you are using Linux, also read the LinuxBuild.txt file.
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Notes
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-----
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I realize these instructions are very minimal. I am happy to answer
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questions. You will find the Google Group 'N8VEM' to be a great
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source of information as well. |