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Keyword: ‘commodore’

Commodore CBM 8296

January 17th, 2013 No comments
Commodore CBM 8296

Autopsy:

from Wikipedia:

The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) was a home/personal computer produced from 1977 by Commodore International. A top-seller in the Canadian and United States educational markets, it was Commodore’s first full-featured computer, and formed the basis for their entire 8-bit product line.

The PET 2001 was announced at the Winter CES in January 1977 and the first 100 units were shipped later that year in October. However, the PET was back-ordered for months and to ease deliveries, early in 1978 Commodore decided to cancel the 4 kB version.

Although the machine was fairly successful, there were frequent complaints about the tiny calculator-like keyboard, often referred to as a “chiclet keyboard” because the keys resembled the gum candy. This was addressed in upgraded “dash N” and “dash B” versions of the 2001, which put the cassette tape recorder outside the case, and included a much larger keyboard with a full stroke motion. Internally a newer motherboard was used, along with an upgrade from static RAM to dynamic RAM and 8, 16, or 32 KB, known as the 2001-N-8, 2001-N-16 or 2001-N-32, respectively.

Sales of the newer machines were strong, and Commodore then introduced the models to Europe. The result was the CBM 3000 series (‘CBM’ standing for Commodore Business Machines), which included the 3008, 3016 and 3032 models. Like the 2001-N-8, the 3008 was quickly dropped.

The final version of what could be thought of as the “classic” PET was the PET 4000 series. This was essentially the later model 2000 series, but with a larger black-and-green monitor and a newer version of Commodore’s BASIC programming language.

Commodore tried to update the PET line with a new redesign called the CBM-II series (also known as the B series). These were not as successful and were ultimately abandoned. However, due to demand, the original PET machines were revived and the CBM-II case style was retained. These were known as the SK’s (due to the separated keyboard). They also had a swivel monitor. Originally, standard 8032 boards were retrofitted into these cases. Later the SK models got a new mainboard that already included the 64 kB extension directly on the board and were sold as 8296 or, with a built-in 8250 dual disk drive, as 8296-D.

source: wikipedia

HermIRES v1.25 C64 hires-bitmap editor

January 16th, 2013 No comments

HermIRES it’s a cross-platform hires bitmap (Art Studio 1 format) editor for the Commodore 64.

The format has some restrictions, here are the rules:

  • The maximal resolution of the picture is 320×200
  • Only 16 fix C64 colours can be used (no gradient either)
  • In a 8×8 pixel-block only 2 colours can used to be displayable by C64 (this is detected in HermIRES, but .hbm files can be saved with clashes too.)
  • On a real C64 the PAL will blur the screen-content a bit, should check on CRT, or at least VICE emulator’s CRT simulation.

Changelog:

Added:

  • Color swapping fast-button – Tilde “`” button (BitBreaker’s idea)
  • Show pen-diameter preview circle if diameter is bigger than the default
  • *dense (pixel-scale) grid toggleable (in bigger magnifications too).
  • *added ‘Deny painting’,'Reuse existing colour’ and ‘Set block colour’ mode to ClashTest – different settings on/off in case clash would happen…
  • *showing zoomed area in the preview, allow going to area in zoomed mode when left-clicking on preview
  • Showing ongoing progresses by text/graphics (loading/converting/drawing…)
  • Selectable CRT emulation for Preview/Grid only… (for faster operation on slow machines)
  • Undo step number displayed (should undo history also be saved?)

Fixed:

  • Control/shift/alt stucked in Win7 with allegro devpak 4.2… -> using allegro devpak 4.4.2 version instead!
  • Reduced overall CPU usage – refined timed and pixelling/detection events
  • iI Windows it was slow (especially in CRT emulation) -> wrote optimized software CRT-emul.pixelling for GridDrawer, not relying on hw-acceleration
  • *pressing F1..F4 fucked up (enlightens) toolbar sometimes – solution: timing stabilizer / thread safety check solved it
  • Preview-zoom title-text was overwritten by Grid-Zoom-text in the smallest resolution mode with 2-digit magnifications
  • *there was ‘allegro error #11′ and ‘segmentation fault’ at lower than required resolution – it was logical mistake in resolution-decider loop
  • Made dithered and big-pendiameter filled rectangle/circle drawing faster (set the steps according to pen-diameter)
  • *allegro filename-extension detection was wrong – if ‘.’ used in filename and no extension given, only the name before was saved to disk! -> used ustrcmp & strcat instead
  • *C64-executable format name-tag (caption) now editable (deleting it disables it)

Download:

source: hermit.netne.net

C64 Game: S-Blox v1.0 / Octron / Super Mario Bros Preview …

January 13th, 2013 No comments

NAV: A File Browser with mouse support for the Commodore 64

January 13th, 2013 No comments

NAV, is a new file browser for the C64. NAV can use a mouse in Port 1, joystick in Port 2, or the keyboard. NAV can work with up to five drives and has been tested with the following drive types:

1541, 1571, 1581, uIEC, IDE64

Browsing through directories and disks is just point and click! Drives like the uIEC that can store gigabytes of software can be tedious and frustrating to navigate. NAV lets you easily work with D64/D71/D81/DNP/M2I disk images as well as “real” Commodore disks and the IDE64. Up to five drives at a time!

Just click a drive to browse it!Pressing the “@” key brings up a command line that acts just like the good ol’ DOS Wedge. In addition, there are a few additional commands that can be entered on the command line. Just type “@HELP” to get the complete list.

Download: NAV (D64) (934)

source: commodoreserver.com

C64 Game: Tone-Loco + 100% / SRogue v1.0 &D / Gorf …

January 8th, 2013 No comments

HermIRES v1.2 C64 hires-bitmap editor

January 7th, 2013 No comments

HermIRES it’s a cross-platform hires bitmap (Art Studio 1 format) editor for the Commodore 64.

The format has some restrictions, here are the rules:

  • The maximal resolution of the picture is 320×200
  • Only 16 fix C64 colours can be used (no gradient either)
  • In a 8×8 pixel-block only 2 colours can used to be displayable by C64 (this is detected in HermIRES, but .hbm files can be saved with clashes too.)
  • On a real C64 the PAL will blur the screen-content a bit, should check on CRT, or at least VICE emulator’s CRT simulation.

Download:

source: hermit.netne.net

Commodore Free Magazine Issue #66

January 6th, 2013 No comments

Commodore Free Magazine Issue #66

Free to download Commodore magazine dedicated to Commodore Computers.

In this issue you can find:
Editorial
NEWS
New Products at amigakit.com
C16 Mega Games Collection
Paku Paku
C64 Introductory Audio Tape
MEM64 Released
Hollywood 5.2 Released
Amiga Puzzle Game: G.E.M.Z
iGame Front End for Windows
Nerd Book
SID Wizard Creation Guides
AROS Vision 1.5.5 Uploaded
Could Elite Make A Comeback?
New Version of SysInfo Available
SteamDraw 2.1 Released
JiffyDOS & uIEC Cheat Sheet
ìThe Amiga Worksî Kickstarter
New Articles on Obligement
Revival Studios News

 

AmigaOS 4 News: A Frog Game
V.A.M.P. Player 0.86 Available
FastATA 4000 MK-VI CF/SATA
RGCD News
Sketchblock Version 1.7 Relased
GadToolsBox 3 Open Sourced
Home Taping Is Killing Gaming
Computers For The Masses Not Just The Classes
Review: Mayhem
Review: Dream (Unexpanded VIC20)
Retro Derby (G & G)
Review: Alien Bash 2
Review: Space Lords

Download:

source: commodorefree.com

Categories: Magazine, News & Rumors, Today

Hoxs64 Commodore 64 Emulator Updated v1.0.8.3

January 6th, 2013 No comments

Hoxs64 written by David Horrocks is a Commodore 64 emulator for Microsoft Windows 2K/XP/Vista/Seven (DirectX 9+)

The emulator substantially reproduces this legacy machine in minute detail.

Changelog:

  • Bug fix to VIC. Removed faulty VIC ClockNextWakeUpClock runtime (not debugger) mode optimiser code that had caused the Technological Snow demo by Agony Design to fail since v1.0.6.3.
  • EasyFlash v2 title screen glitch now fixed by correcting the “hard reset” code to set the sprite Y expansion flip-flops.

Download:

source: hoxs64.net

Commodore 64 DiskMagazine – Scene World #20

January 5th, 2013 No comments

Scene World is a C64 magazine on disk dedicated to various activities of both C64 scenes.

“Both” means, that we are supplying information and texts of both scenes; NTSC and PAL.

Download: Scene World #20 (D64/D81 + Disk Cover) (832)

source: sceneworld.c64files.com

Hoxs64 Commodore 64 Emulator Updated v1.0.8.1

January 3rd, 2013 No comments

Hoxs64 written by David Horrocks is a Commodore 64 emulator for Microsoft Windows 2K/XP/Vista/Seven (DirectX 9+)

The emulator substantially reproduces this legacy machine in minute detail.

Changelog:

  • Added the EasyFlash 1MB cartridge. A simplified emulation of the AMD Am29F040 EPROM permits writing and passes EasyProg v1.6.3 tests.
  • Fixed freeze and soft reset to spread randomly through the frame to improve the chance of a successful freeze.
  • New cartridge emulation with freeze function. Peter Schepers CRT format is supported. The following cartridge emulations are supported: Action Replay v[6 - 2], Final Cartridge III (v3 only), Retro Replay 64K RAM, Magic Desk, Ocean 1, Fun Play, Super Games, System 3, Dinamic, Zaxxon, Simons Basic, Normal Cartridge. The CRT reader uses the in file reported chip bank numbers and not the order they appear in the file.
  • Fixed misreported raster position in the debugger when starting a new frame.

Download:

source: hoxs64.net

CBM prg Studio v2.5.3 released

January 3rd, 2013 No comments

CBM prg Studio Version 2.5.3 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.

CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 / VIC20 or PET if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.

CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.

It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:

  • Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
  • Tabbed MDI.
  • Syntax highlighting.

What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.

New features:

  • New source conversion tool to convert Develop64 files to asm format.
  • New tutorial explaining how to use projects to manage assembly source files.

Bugs fixed:

  • Relative addressing with offset, e.g. BMI *+4.
  • Some invalid relative offsets not detected.
  • Excluding source files from a project.
  • Removing source files from a project.
  • Assigning a variable to another variable.
  • Warnings if invalid BASIC jump (goto, gosub etc.) destinations are detected.
  • Unknown labels not detected.
  • Screen designer not retaining ‘reverse off’ after new line.
  • Forward-referenced cheap labels not working.
  • Duplicate cheap labels not detected.
  • Some UI issues.

Download: CBM prg Studio v2.5.3 (819)

source: ajordison.co.uk

C64 Game: Retron Phase One +2H / Blok Copy – PETSCII Edition …

January 2nd, 2013 No comments

(Italian) Jurassic News numero #45

January 1st, 2013 No comments

Sorry, this entry is only available in Italian.

Categories: Magazine, News & Rumors, Today

Commodore Single Drive Floppy Disk VIC-1541

January 1st, 2013 No comments
Commodore Single Drive Floppy Disk VIC-1541

Autopsy:

The motherboard is the same of Commodore VIC-1540 (Rev A/B PCB 1540007 (C) 1981 made in Japan) with a old HIGH Rom MOS “901229-03″ instead of “325303-01″.

The Commodore 1541 (aka CBM 1541, and originally called VIC-1541), made by Commodore International, was the best-known floppy disk drive for the Commodore 64 home computer. The 1541 was a single-sided 170 kilobyte drive for 5¼” disks. The 1541 followed the previous Commodore 1540 (meant for the VIC-20).

Here you can find the US version of the Commodore Single Drive Floppy Disk VIC-1541.

Testing the Floppy Drive:

Commodore Printer 4023 (IEEE 488)

December 31st, 2012 No comments
Commodore Printer 4023 (close-up)

Autopsy:

The Commodore Printer 4023 is a printer with a IEEE-488 Bus and may be daisy-chained with other IEEE-488 devices. This printer is fully compatibile with all computers Commodore PET/CBM.

Model 4023 Printer Specifications:

  • Printing Method: Serisal Impact Dot Matrix.
  • Print Rate: 45 LMP with 80 columns printed. 78 LPM with 40 columns printed. 124 LMP with 20 columns printed.
  • Print direction: Bi-directional.
  • Column Capacity: 80
  • Character Font: 8 x 8
  • Line Spacing: Programmable.
  • Character Size: 0.094″ high, 0.08″ wide
  • Copies: 3, including original.
  • Ribbon Type: Cartridge.
  • Ribbon Life: 1.2 x 10(6) characters.
  • Ribbon Cartridge: Commodore P/N 613160550
  • Paper Width: 10″ computer folded paper.
  • Forms: 7.5 + (0.5 x 2 sprocket margins) Pin-to-pin distance .5″ longitudinally, 9.5″ laterally, 5/32″ diameter.

Commodore Printer 4023 self test: