COMP.SYS.CBM FAQ
Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1
Version: 3.1
Last-modified: 1996/12/06
Table of Contents
-----------------
1. Introduction
1.1. What is a FAQ
1.2. What topics does this FAQ cover?
1.3. Who decides what goes in the FAQ?
1.4. How do I retrieve updates to the FAQ?
2. Overview
2.1. Do people still use Commodore 8-bit machines?
2.2. How many Commodore machines are there?
2.3. What do people do with Commodore 8-bit machines?
2.4. What Commodore 8-bit machines are most widely used?
2.5. What is the economic status of Commodore?
3. The BASICs
3.1. How do I format a Commodore disk?
3.2. How do I transform a BASIC program to a text file?
3.3. How do I transform a text file into a BASIC program?
3.4. How can I change my drive device number through software?
3.5. Can I get my 1581 drive to change its device number on startup?
4. Publications
4.1. What paper publications are available?
4.2. What paper publications have disappeared?
4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them?
4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them?
4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of?
4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to?
5. Connecting Up
5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world?
5.2. What services can I use to get online?
5.3. What hardware do I need?
5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist?
5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64?
5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128?
5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio?
5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers?
6. The Online Information Reservoir
6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol?
6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII?
6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs?
6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for?
6.5. What is electronic mail?
6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?
6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup?
6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?
6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?
6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?
6.6.5. How can I access comp.sys.cbm through email?
+ 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW?
6.7. What is a FidoNET echo?
6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.7.2. How do I post in an echo?
6.8. What is the World Wide Web?
6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information?
6.8.2. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers?
6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information?
6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site?
6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
6.11. What else is available online?
7. Exchanging Data
7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?
7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?
8. Operating Systems
8.1. What Operating Systems are available?
8.2. What is GEOS?
8.3. What is UNIX?
8.4. What is CP/M
9. Demonstrations
9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo?
9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean?
9.3. Where do I get demos?
9.4. What is a demo competition?
9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean?
10. Emulators
10.1. What is an emulator?
10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on?
10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on?
10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated?
11. Troubleshooting
11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive?
11.2. What do I do for my ill computer?
11.2.1. What do I do for my ill Commodore 64?
11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128?
11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard?
12. Modifications and Cabling
12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from?
12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply?
12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128?
12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable?
12.5. How do I build a 2400/9600 bps RS-232 interface cable?
12.6. How can I determine how much VDC video memory is in my C128?
12.7. How do I build a GEOCable interface?
+ 12.8. How do I connect my Commodore printer to an IBM PC?
13. Enhancements
13.1. How do I increase my disk drive's transfer speed?
13.1.1. What is a Fastloader?
13.1.2. What is a ROM replacement?
13.1.3. What are the disadvantages to using a drive enhancement?
13.1.4. What other things can I do to speed up the drive?
13.2. How do I expand my disk drive's capacity?
13.2.1. What is a Hard Drive? Who sells them?
13.2.2. What is 64NET?
+ 13.2.3. What is SERVER64?
13.3. How do I expand my computer's RAM capacity?
13.3.1. What is a Ram Expansion Unit?
13.3.2. What is a geoRAM Unit?
13.3.3. What is battery backed GeoRAM (BBGRam)?
13.3.4. What is a RAMLink?
13.3.5. What is a RAMDrive?
13.3.6. How do I expand my C128 Video RAM?
13.3.7. How do I expand my C64 internally?
13.3.8. How do I expand my C128 internally?
13.4. How do I increase my computer's speed?
13.4.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's speed?
13.4.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's speed?
13.4.3. Can I speed up other Commodore computers?
13.5. How do I increase my computer screen's resolution?
13.5.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's screen resolution?
13.5.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's screen resolution?
13.5.3. How do I increase other CBM computers' resolutions?
13.6. How do I increase my computer's serial transfer speed?
13.7. How do I increase my computer's sound quality?
13.8. What other ways can I expand my Commodore computer?
14. Programming
14.1. What Programming Languages are available?
14.2. What is a Cross Assembler? How do I use one?
14.3 What is an "undocumented opcode"?
15. User Groups
16. Sales and Service
16.1. Where do I purchase Commodore Equipment and Software?
16.2. Where do I get equipment serviced?
16.3. How do I know who to buy from or request service from?
17. Miscellaneous
17.1. How fast does a Commodore 64 run?
17.2. How can a turn my NTSC-M 64 into a PAL-B 64 or vice versa?
17.3. What does this IC number mean?
+ 17.4. What are the differences between C64 ROM Revisions?
18. Credits
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Introduction
Welcome to the comp.sys.cbm "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) file.
Many news groups maintain a FAQ file which is posted monthly, and
is a repository for general interest and common information that many
readers of the news group, or new readers of the news group, might be
interested in.
1.1. What is a FAQ
FAQ is an acronym that stands for "Frequently Asked Questions". Shortly
after the introduction of USENET, many people noticed that certain
questions were repeatedly asked in newsgroups. To minimize the posting of
answers to already answered questions, USENET developed the idea of FAQ
files. After a question has been asked a number of times in the USENET
newsgroup, it is added to the list of answered questions in the FAQ.
Then, readers are encouraged to read the FAQ to cut down on posts of
repeated questions.
A FAQ file is not solely for newcomers. Experienced users are encouraged
to glance over the FAQ every so often to check for errors and add items.
Also, it seems that everyone gets a question answered by reading the FAQ,
new user or not.
1.2. What topics does this FAQ cover?
This FAQ answers questions on just about any topic concerning Commodore
computers. Obviously, given the nature of the FAQ file, it is impossible
to answer every question here, and some topics are too broad for discussion
in the FAQ. However, when the FAQ cannot adequately answer a question, it
does provide pointers to relevant people or materials.
Even though a large number of people use their Commodore computer to
program, the topic is much too broad for adequate coverage in the FAQ. For
those interested in programming, however, please see Section 14,
"Programming".
1.3. Who decides what goes in the FAQ?
Typically, a FAQ file is editted by a single person or small group of
people. These editors decide what should go into the FAQ. Obviously,
for the FAQ to fulfill its intended purpose, any question that has been
asked repeatedly should be included, as should updates to any questions
already in the FAQ. The FAQ maintainer should try to provide as
up-to-date information as possible in the FAQ. Above that, the FAQ
maintainer can include any other information he or she deems or interest
or value to the readers.
For this FAQ, the FAQ maintainer is Jim Brain, brain@mail.msen.com,
j.brain@ieee.org, or brain@acm.org.
If you have information that you feel should be included, please mail
it to Jim. Please be aware that it does take time to include new
information.
1.4. How do I retrieve updates to the FAQ?
| The FAQ is posted on the 5th of the month to the USENET newsgroup
| comp.sys.cbm. It is automatically archived on the FTP site
| rtfm.mit.edu and automatically archived on Jim Brain's mailserver.
Most Bulletin Board Systems and User Groups have a recent copy of the
FAQ, and numerous magazines and other publications have included parts
or all of the FAQ on disk or in print in recent months. This FAQ is
called the "COMP.SYS.CBM General Frequently Asked Questions List".
The latest version of this file may be obtained from the following places:
ftp sites:
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm/cbm-main-faq.3.1
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/faq/cbm-main-faq.3.1.gz
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part*
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/commodore/main-faq/part*
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.answers/commodore/main-faq/part*
ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/comp.sys.cbm/faq.zip
ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/TEXT-ARCHIVE/comp.sys.cbm.faq.3.1.gz
World Wide Web sites:
http://www.msen.com/~brain/faqhome.html
Bulletin Board Systems:
| COMMODORE CEE BBS (916) 339-3403, FIDONET address: 1:203/999
| VGA Cologne BBS +49-221-9808007 (19.2 ZyXel/ISDN)
| -9808008 (28.8 V.FC/ISDN)
| FidoNET address 2:2450/140
Mailservers:
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. First nine lines of message:
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part1
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part2
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part3
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part4
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part5
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part6
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part7
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part8
send /usenet/comp.sys.cbm/main-faq/part9
brain@mail.msen.com (Jim Brain's Mailserver - always has latest copy)
Subject: MAILSERV
send faq.p*
Mailing List
To receive any major updates to the FAQ, mail:
To: brain@mail.msen.com
Subject: MAILSERV
Body:
subscribe cbm-main-faq Firstname Lastname
quit
See Section 6 for directions on how to use these services to retrieve the
FAQ.
2. Overview
Obviously, we must walk before we run, and this principle applies to
FAQ files as well. Here are some general questions we often receive
in the Commodore community.
2.1. Do people still use Commodore 8-bit machines?
Yes, people still do. Newer machines may have appeared and taken over the
corporate world, but the Commodore 8-bit machines live on.
2.2. How many Commodore machines are there?
If you are asking the quantity of Commodore machines sold, the simple truth
is that we do not know. Commodore never officially released any such
numbers for all models. It has been estimated that Commodore sold
over 10 million Commodore 64 machines, but that has not been proven, as far
as I know. So, if you ever determine exactly what quantity of each model
was produced, please pass the information along.
If you are asking the number of different models Commodore sold, we have
a slightly better idea. Jim Brain has compiled a list of all known CBM
products, marketed or not, into the "Canonical List of Commodore Products".
This include all of the Commodore line, including the PCs and the Amiga
systems. As it is much too large to fit in the FAQ, it can be requested
from Jim Brain's mailserver as file cbmmodel.txt (See Section 6.5.2 for
directions on how to access the mailserver). Alternately, the file is
posted to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm on a periodic basis.
2.3. What do people do with Commodore 8-bit machines?
People use their machines for very different purposes:
Game Console.
Home Computer.
Experimentor's machine.
Small Business Computer.
No matter what purpose they use them for, they use them because there is a
wealth of programs available for the Commodore computer systems. The
Commodore line of computers has a seemingly endless supply of quality
programs available for it, and more are being created daily.
2.4. What Commodore 8-bit machines are most widely used?
Well, it is a fact that all types of Commodore 8-bit computers are still
in use, but the following machines get the most use:
Commodore 64 (include SX64, DX64, and PET64)
Commodore 128 (includes 128D and Euro 128D)
The following systems manufactured by Commodore still have a devout
following:
Commodore VIC-20
Commodore PET series
Commodore B series
Commodore Plus 4 and 16
Commodore C65
+ The Commodore 65 (64DX)
The Commodore 65 is a recent addition and is the result of a liquidation of
some ALPHA stage test machines. A number of people have purchased these
test units, and they have a FAQ devoted just to this machine. Much
information on this machine is available at
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/c65
In spite of rumors, No company is considering manufacturing the C65.
| If you own a Commodore C65, the following people are compiling lists of
people who own them.
Robin Harbon
542 West Donald Street.
Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5Y6
Canada
+ Gary Pearson
+ gpearson@mistral.co.uk
+ The Commodore PET Series
If you currently use a PET series Commodore computer or just want to know
more about them, one person is trying to start a magazine devoted to these
machine. For more information or to submit articles for the magazine,
please get in touch with:
Mark J. Kingsbury
25 Latta
Battle Creek, MI 49017
Mark_J_Kingsbury@fc1.glfn.org
+ If you own a Commodore VIC-20, the following individual is planning to
+ create a list of owners:
+ Jeff's Ink Press & Deli
+ P.O. Box 477493
+ Chicago IL 60647
2.5. What is the economic status of Commodore?
On April 29, 1994, Commodore International announced that it had been unable
to renegotiate terms of outstanding loans and were closing down the
business. In the months that followed, the liquidation process dragged on,
owing to the large far-reaching size of the corporation. In addition, the
fact that the company was incorporated in the Bahamas while a large share
of the creditors were from the US made legal proceeding tense and drawn out.
On April 20th, 1995, almost a full year later, Commodore was sold to
a German company called ESCOM for approximately 10 to 12.5 million dollars.
+ In early 1996, ESCOM announced plans to sell the Amiga technology to a
+ U.S. company called VISCorp, while retaining the Commodore name. Then, in
+ July 1996, ESCOM announced that its was filing for bankruptcy protection
+ as it undergoes a reorganization process. The intellectual righs for the
+ CBM 8-bit technologare now owned by VISCorp.
Of course, since Commodore hasn't served the Commodore 8-bit community
for quite some time, most Commodore owners are only interested in what
will happen to Commodore Semiconductor Group (CSG), the fabricator for
many of the special ICs in the Commodore 8-bit line. Below is the current
status of CSG as of April 6, 1995:
Commodore Semiconductor Group liquidated in December, 1994. The vast
majority of the operational material and the real estate was purchased by
GMT Electronics, a company formed by CSG's management. GMT has paid the
$1 million lien that the EPA had levied against CSG, and is now operating
as a for-hire chip production plant.
CSG/GMT is holding approximately $5 million in Commodore parts.
3. The BASICs
These are some questions we receive about "BASIC", the built-in
programming language in all 8-bit Commodore computers, and the "basics"
of using the machine.
3.1. How do I format a Commodore disk?
To format a disk in drive 0 (older PET drives had drive 0 and 1) on disk
device #8, you issue the following command from BASIC:
open1,8,15,"n0:16char_name,12":close1
| The name can be 16 characters in length, and the disk id (12 in this
example) can be any two alphanumeric characters.
For more information on how to use the 1541 disk drive or compatibles,
a complete manual is available at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents.
(See Section 6.9 for direction on how to use ftp.)
3.2. How do I transform a BASIC program to a text file?
As you may know, Commodore BASIC stores programs in "tokenized" format,
so they are unreadable from a standard text editor. To fix that, load up
you BASIC program, and then type the following in direct mode:
open1,8,2,"listing,s,w":cmd1:list
The text listing will be placed on drive 8 in a file called listing. After
the listing is finished, your cursor should return. Type the following
in:
print#1:close1
You now have an un-"tokenized" copy of your program, which you can edit with
any text editor.
3.3. How do I transform a text file into a BASIC program?
Since Commodore BASIC stores its programs in "tokenized" format, one
cannot simply load text files containing BASIC statements and run the file
directly. However, there is a solution. In direct mode, type in the
following:
C64:
open1,8,2,"filename":poke781,1:poke812,73:sys 65478
C128:
open1,8,2,"filename":sys 65478,,1
This will read in each line of the text file and try to execute it (or
store it if the line is preceded by a number). The screen will go blank
(scroll upwards) while the file is retrieved and will likely end up
printing an error message, which is normal. When the last line of
the program is entered, hit RUN/STOP-RESTORE, and type in the following:
close1
The file will now be loaded into memory. Immediately save the file
to disk as a BASIC program.
If the above sounds too complicated for you, check out the seq-to-basic
program that is posted to comp.binaries.cbm every month. It will perform
the translation for you, after you answer a few simple prompts.
3.4. How can I change my drive device number through software?
To change the device number on Commodore drives, follow these steps:
In the following examples, 'olddn' is the drive's current device number,
and 'newdn' is the new number you wish to change it to.
1) Turn off all drives except one you wish to change device number of.
2) Type the following in, depending on drive type:
1540/41/42/4040/Most Compatibles:
open 15,olddn,15
print#15,"m-w"chr$(119)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn)
close 15
MSD SD-1 (Old ROM):
open 15,olddn,15
print#15,"m-w"chr$(117)chr$(0)chr$(2)chr$(32+newdn)chr$(64+newdn)
close 15
1551/70/71/81
open 15,olddn,15
print#15,"u0>"+chr$(newdn)
close 15
3) Turn back on other drives.
The change is only temporary. It will revert back if the drive is turned
off.
3.5. Can I get my 1581 drive to change its device number on startup?
When the 1581 is initialized, as well as checking the boot sector of the
disk, it also looks for a file "copyright cbm 86". This file, if found,
can specify a device number for the 1581 disk. Whenever the 1581 is booted
or initialized with this disk inserted, its device number will be changed
to the specified number. The utility 1581-auto-dev by David W. Tamkin
(can be found on ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the utilities directory) will create
this file. It can also do other stuff, so check it out.
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Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
4. Publications
4.1. What paper publications are available?
4.2. What paper publications have disappeared?
4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them?
4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them?
4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of?
4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Publications
Commodore users are always wanting more information about their
computer. They want to see articles about how to use it, program it,
care for it, and expand it. Some use publications to gain knowledge, while
others use them to find other people who have knowledge.
4.1. What paper publications are available?
| The Underground
+ (see LOADSTAR LETTER)
Commodore World
Creative Micro Designs, Inc.
P.O. Box 646
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
(800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders)
cmd.sales@the-spa.com (Information and Pricing)
cmd.cw@the-spa.com (Questions or Comments)
cmd.cac@the-spa.com (Charles Chistianson - Marketing)
doug.cotton@the-spa.com (Doug Cotton - Editor)
This is a new magazine that supersedes the RUN magazine. It is packed
with info about Commodore computers.
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription US Canada/ EC All Others
Mexico
one year subscription (8 issues) $29.96 $35.95 $45.95 $57.97
sample issue + shipping $6.95 $6.95 $8.95 $8.95
Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128/64)
Twin Cities 128/64 (TC128)
Parsec, Incorporated
P.O. Box 111
Salem, MA 01970-0111
(508) 745-5855
Twin Cities 128 is (as of issue #29) published by Parsec, Inc. It features
Commodore 128 iand 64 specific information, and attempts to cater to readers
at all levels of experience, not just novices. Additionally, starting with
Issue #31(February/March 1991), Twin Cities 128 comes with a companion disk.
Subscription rates: (All checks or money order in US funds)
Type of Subscription US Canada/ International
Mexico
one year subscription with disks $24.00 $24.00 $36.00
Commodore Network
Commodore Network Magazine
Warren Naismith
9 Wadeson
St Cobram Victoria
Australia 3150
In U.S.:
COMMODORE CEE
| 5443 College Oak Drive #26
| Sacramento, CA 95841
Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact)
ceejack@crl.com (Contact)
Jack Vanderwhite, editor.
Fidonet: 1:203/999
| (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System)
Starting 1/95 subscriptions will be available in the U.S. from Jack
Vander White at $40.00 per 12 issues. This is the same as the local
price in Australia. Back issues and Compendium volumes will be
advertised in the near future for U.S. subscribers.
Subscription rates: (From Jack Vander White)
Type of Subscription US
one year subscription (12 issues) $40.00
64'er (German)
64'er
Magna Media
Post Fatch 1304
D-85531 Haar bei Munich
Germany
+49 89 4613192 (Voice)
+49 89 46135001 (Fascimile)
mmatting@cube.net (E-mail Address)
+49 89 4613266 (Bulletin Board System)
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription Germany/ Others
Austria/
Switzerland
one year subscription DM105.00 DM129.00
(12 issues @ 64 p each, 12 disks)
Atta Bitar (8-Bit)
SUBSCRIPTIONS
]tta Bitar (]=Å)
c/o Anders Reutersw{rd ({ = ä)
Runsav{gen 44
S-161 53 BROMMA
Sweden
andersr@dmz.medstroms.se (Internet Contact)
EDITOR
]tta Bitar
c/o Erik Paulson (Editor and Contact)
\stantorp Fridhem (\ = Ö)
S-590 90 ANKARSRUM
Sweden
http://www.mds.mdh.se/~dat95pkn/8bitar/ (WWW URL)
This is a Swedish magazine that caters to Commodore 64 and 128 users.
Subscription rates:
(Subscriptions fees should be payed to postal giro account no. 82 66 75-1)
Type of Subscription Sweden Scandinavia
one year subscription (6 issues) 75.00sek 100.00sek
The Commodore GEOS Publication
The Commodore GEOS Publication
713 East Main Street
Independence, KS 67301-3726
+ The GEOS Publication is a monthly publication dedicated to promoting
+ GEOS and its many programs and uses.
+ Subscription rates:
+ Type of Subscription US
+ One Year Subscription $ 14.00
+ Two Year Subscription $ 25.00
The Commodore 128/64 Power User Newsletter
Power User
GosserGamesLtd. Incorporated
c/o Thomas Gosser
P.O. Box 1817
Shelton, WA 98584
(360) 426-0750 (Subscriptions and Information)
(360) 426-2406 (Bulletin Board System)
128POWERUSER@delphi.com (Email Contact)
http://www.msen.com/~brain/guest/GGL/cpu.html (WWW URL)
The Power User newlsetter is a small format (8.5" x 5.5") publication that
contains Commodore 128 and 64 pertinent information.
+ Subscription rates:
+ Type of Subscription US
+ one year subscription (6 issues) $15.00
+ bulk 1 year sub. (6 issues) $10.00
+ LOADSTAR Letter
+ SOFTDISK PUBLISHING
+ P.O. BOX 30008
+ SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008
+ Jeff Jones (Associate Editor)
+ EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact)
+ (800) 831-2694 (Phone)
+ (318) 221-8870 (Fascimile)
+ (318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System)
+ Formerly the printed 8 page insert bundled with every copy of LOADSTAR
+ and LOADSTAR 128, this small magazine is now offered as a separate product.
+ Editted by Scott Egglestone and Jeff Jones,the ads will be replaced
+ with Commodore information.
+ Subscription rates:
+ Type of Subscription US
+ LOADSTAR Letter $ 12.00
4.2. What paper publications have disappeared?
Although the following magazines are no longer in print, most of the
information is still timely. Some of these publications, such as
Transactor, are highly sought after for their technical content. Since
some programs and information is not republished in newer magazines, these
old magazines might have the only article about a given topic or problem.
Ahoy!
RUN
Creative Micro Designs, Inc.
P.O. Box 646
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
(800) 638-3263 (Credit Card Orders)
ISSN: 0741-4285
Jan 1984 - Nov/Dec 1992
Creative Micro Designs offers back issues of RUN magazine.
Commodore Microcomputing-Power/Play
GeoVISISON
The Transactor
Transactor Publications
ISSN: 0827-2530 (or 0838-0163?)
Apr 1978 - 1989
Sure, it's dead, and has been for a few years, but this one was a classic.
Calling itself the magazine for Commodore programmers, this magazine was
enough to make any C64/C128 programmer drool. Featuring in-depth technical
information and programming tutorials, as well as "out-of-the-way" topics
(things along the line of Richard Curcio's 256K and 512K articles that
appeared in TC128). If you are a programmer and can get your hands on
back issues of this magazine, do so.
+ An HTML index of Transactor issue is at:
+ http://vanbc.wimsey.com/~danf/cbm/transactor.idx
Micro-Bytes (Original)
+ Paul McAleer, editor
+ hijinx@xnet.com (Internet Contact)
+ This is the original Micro-Bytes, as published by Paul McAleer.
+ Copies of all issues are available from Paul for the cost of shipping.
+ CHeck out the following URL for more information:
+ http://www.xnet.com/~hijinx/news/mb.htm
COMPUTE'S Gazette
COMPUTE'S Gazette
P.O. BOX 3244
HARLAN, IA 51593-2424
(800) 727-6937 (Subscription Number)
tomnetsel@aol.com (Gazette Editor, Tom Netsel)
ISSN: 0737-3716
Jul 1983 - Feb 1995
Yes, the Gazette is finally shutting down. They are trying to clear out
old inventory, so give them a call for back issues.
GEOJOURNAL
COMMODORE CEE Publications
| 5443 College Oak Drive #26
| Sacramento, CA 95841
EMAIL Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact)
Jack Vanderwhite, editor.
Fidonet: 1:203/999
| (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System)
COMMODORE CEE has taken over publication of back issues of GEOJOURNAL.
dieHard
dieHard subscriptions
P.O. Box 392
Boise, ID 83701-0392
(208) 383-0300 (Information)
Magazine devoted to all 8-bit Commodore computers. After the October, 1994
issue was published, LynnCarthy Industries has not produced another issue.
The latest information, asz per a press release issued to many of the
competing magazine, indiciates that the decision to cease publication is
effective October 4, 1994. More information can be read in the actual
press release, commented by Jack Vanderwhite of Commodore CEE Magazine, on
Jim Brain's MAILSERV server. The file is named dieHard_Press_Release.txt.
COMPUTE!
COMPUTE! Publications
ISSN: 0194-357X
TPUG (Toronto PET User Group) Magazine
TPUG Publications
ISSN: 0825-0367
Info 64
The Northwest User's Guide
Commander
Optimizer 64
+ Illegal
+ In the June issue 1988 of Britain's largest Commodore magazine "Commodore
+ User", Mike Pattenden wrote about "Illegal": "Basically it revels in its
+ downright naughtiness, but at the same time it reaffirms the reasoning
+ behind hacking". "Illegal" was beyond reasonable doubt the most popular
+ underground European "cracker" fanzine of the 80's, and a cornerstone of
+ European outlaw hacking. Editor Jeff Smart was busted in 1989 and was told
+ never to publish a cracker fanzine again. Some may think this was just as
+ good, others may call it violation of the freedom of press. You can judge
+ for yourself by browsing the back issues at:
+ The Triad "Illegal" archives:
+ http://www.df.lth.se/~triad/Illegal_Archives.html
+ The Electronic Frontier Foundation Computer underground Digest:
+ http://www.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/
+ ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Publications/CuD/Illegal/
| Random (64/128 Magazine)
| Random
| 7161 North Maine
| Clovis, CA 93611-8200
| random-mag@genie.geis.com (Contact)
| random-mag@delphi.com (Contact)
| random-mag (GEnie Contact)
| (209) 323-7841 (VoiceMail/Fascimilie)
+ The Underground
+ The Underground
+ 4574 Via Santa Maria
+ Santa Maria, CA 93455
+ egglest1@cougarnet.byu.edu (Contact)
+ Scott Eggleston (Editor)
+ Effective August 11, 1996, The Underground will merge with the newly
+ announced LOADSTAR LETTER. All remaining subscriptions to The Underground
+ will be fulfilled with LL subscriptions. Scott will still offer back
+ issues for $2.50, and Tom Adams (tom.adams@neteast.com) will copy
+ back issues of the "Underware" disk.
+ The Underground was a publication which covered all sorts of Commodore
+ topics. Each issue usually had two feature articles and two reviews,
+ as well as regular columns on GEOS, telecommunications, programming, news,
+ commentary, and Public Domain and Shareware. One unique feature to
+ the Underground was "Underware", which was all the PD/SW software
+ mentioned in each issue The Underground was produced using geoPublish
+ and a TI Laser printer, and reproduced on a high-quality copy machine.
+ BBS Magazine
+ Caller's Digest, Inc.
+ 701 Stokes Road
+ Medford, NJ 08055
+ Discontinued 1996.
+ This magazine, while not wholly Commodore oriented, covered all issues of
+ BBSing and included the "Commodore Connections" column by Gaelyne Moranec.
4.3. What is a Disk Magazine? Where do I find them?
A disk magazine is a publication that comes out as a text file(s) on a
diskette. You load the reader program on a computer and view the magazine
on the computer screen.
COMMODORE CEE (was CEE-64 Alive!)
COMMODORE CEE
| 5443 College Oak Drive #26
| Sacramento, CA 95841
Jack Vanderwhite@cee-64.wmeonlin.sacbbx.com (Contact)
Jack Vanderwhite, editor.
Fidonet: 1:203/999
| (916) 339-3403 (Bulletin Board System)
The magazine covers all the Commodore computer systems Also, a distibutor
of both PD and original software in a catalog with magazines and demo issue.
Distributes the Australian Commodore Network magazine.
The magazine operates a Bulletin Board for subscribers. However, anyone
can log on or download on first access. Speeds range from 300-14400 bps.
the bulletin board maintains over 2000 files for the C64 and C128.
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription US Europe Australia
one year subscription (6 issues) $36.00 $48.00US Order from Commodore
(18 disks) Network
demo issue $ 3.00 $--.--
Back Issue Information:
Volume 1/1992 5 issues $20.00
Volume 2/1993 6 issues $25.00
Volume 3/1994 6 issues (15 disks) $30.00
LOADSTAR 64 Monthly and LOADSTAR 128 Quarterly
SOFTDISK PUBLISHING
P.O. BOX 30008
SHREVEPORT, LA 71130-00008
Jeff Jones (Associate Editor)
EMAIL: loadstar@softdisk.com (Internet Contact)
(800) 831-2694 (Phone)
(318) 221-8870 (Fascimile)
(318) 425-4382 (Bulletin Board System)
Two disk magazines that feature C64/C128 programs, articles, news, music,
and graphics. Available on 3.5" and 5.25" disks. The 64 magazine is
currently offering a risk-free issue. Just call and sign up. Cancel if
you are not satisfied.
LOADSTAR pays a premium price for programs and is looking for good C64
and 128 programmers. LOADSTAR also pays for articles. Call for a risk-free
issue. Each issue contains programmer's guidelines in a file called
LOADSTAR BRIEFS.
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription US Other
| LOADSTAR 64 (12 issues) $ 69.95 $ 89.95
| LOADSTAR 128 (4 issues) $ 39.95 $ 49.95
| LOADSTAR 64 and 128 $ 99.95 $129.95
Driven
Driven
Steve Akers, steve@uunet.uu.net (Editor)
Roger W. Lueck, coolhand@kaiwan.com (Editor)
Driven is a publication in a single disk file that can be downloaded
and run on a Commodore 64. The aim of each issue is to strengthen and unite
the North American (NTSC) demo scene through dissemination of information
about the scene, its participants, and the demos they make. The overall goal
is to add yet another means of keeping the C64 alive as a whole.
Each issue contains news about the demo scene (including what demos,
utilities, etc. get released), contact information for scene members,
interviews with demo authors, and demo reviews. In addition, the
magazine offers general interest articles describing C64 resources
available on Internet, commercial products, online services, and
software developers.
Driven is FREE. Distribution is unlimited and encouraged. It can be found
at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/ and on IRC channel #c-64 on one
of the many bots. In addition, the magazine can be retrieved from Corrosion
of Conformity at (905) 385-8014. The editors can also uuencode and email
each issue to you if wanted. As a last resort for people unable to find
Driven by one of these preferred free routes, you can "subscribe"
for $2 an issue (maximum of 3 issues at a time, please). Send subscription
requests to:
Threshold Productions
17730 15th Ave. NE Suite #229
Seattle, WA. 98155
(Each disk will include a few demos and Threshold Production new game
previews along with each issue on one disk)
Vision
Rick Mosdell, rick.mosdell@canrem.com (Editor)
Saul Bottcher (Editor)
Founded in the summer of 1993, Visions is an all-original and constantly
improving magazine including not only articles, but also graphics
of high, medium, and low resolution, as well as fonts and music of all
styles.
A wide variety of information comes on every issue, ranging from
high-level technical research to social commentary to poetry. The graphics
and music in each issue are high quality original work, with the occasional
classic picture or song. The musical varieties available in the magazine
range from classicla to contemporary, including the Vision theme song.
All these elements are packed into a compact, efficent, and fast reader
program. Each issue's articles, music, and graphics are tweaked to
provide as much effect as possible.
Vision accepts nearly any subject matter, making it an open forum for
writers and reporters of all styles and genres.
Vision is FREE and can be acquired locally in the Toronto Ontario Canada
area on Electric City at 905-793-9699 (C/G board at 1200 8/N/1) or
on the Internet at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/c64/magazines/Vision/
+ The Commodore Zone
+ Binary Zone PD
+ 34 portland Road
+ Droitwich
+ Worcestershire,
+ WR9 7QW
+ England
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription All
5.25" Disk Issue UK$3.00
Tape Issue UK$3.00
+ Commodore Online Information Network (COIN!)
+ Commodore Online Information Network (COIN!)
+ c/o Robert Akins (Editor)
+ CYNRCR@delphi.com (Internet Contact
+ Occasionally produced disk magazine that caters to those who don't have
+ online access.
4.4. What is an Online Magazine? Where do I find them?
An online magazine is one which exists in a text file format and can be
downloaded like a regular file off the network by the user for browsing
and/or printing.
| Commodore Hacking Electronic Magazine (E-Zine)
An on-line magazine written by denizens of comp.sys.cbm, this features
in-depth technical programming information on C64 and C128 computers.
The creator and editor of the first 10 issues was Craig Taylor
(duck@nando.net), and the new editor is Jim Brain
(brain@mail.msen.com). The issues of C= Hacking can be found on
ccnga.uwaterloo.ca in the directory /pub/cbm/hacking.mag. Back issues
can be retrieved from Jim Brain's mail server (See Section 6.5.2 for
directions on how to use the mail server). If you have World Wide
Web access, C=Hacking is at:
http://www.msen.com/~brain/chacking/
http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/hacking/
http://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/~csbruce/HACKING/Hacking.html
http://www.saturn.uaamath.alaska.edu/~adersoc/c-hacking/
4.5. Are there other publications I should be aware of?
No library of publications is complete without some reference materials,
like programmer reference guides, user's guides, machine language tutorials,
and BASIC tutorials.
Also, don't overlook the many fine Commodore User's Groups in the world.
These groups typically publish newsletters with timely information and
help for troubled machines or users. See Section 15 for a list of Commodore
User's Groups.
+ Although not a monthly magazine, Donald Ayers publishes GRASSROOTS #1, a
+ 2 sided 5.25" disk compendium of history, help, tips, and information. The disk
+ costs $3.00 and is available from:
+ GRASSROOTS #1
+ c/o Donald Ayers
+ 75 State Road 270W
+ Sturgis, KY 42459
The following publications are not "Commodore" publications, but do
contain Commodore information periodically.
Historically Brewed
Historical Computer Society
2962 Park Street #1
Jacksonville, FL 32205
"Historically Brewed" is the magazine put out by the Historical Computer
Society. From time to time, they have articles on Commodore equipment.
Subscription rates:
Type of Subscription US
one year subscription (6 issues) $18.00
demo issue $ 2.00
4.6. How do I know which magazines to subscribe to?
This list of magazines is included for informational purposes only.
No attempt by the FAQ maintainer has been made to validate the
information contained in this list. Also, the list is organized in
a first-come, first-served order. The ordering does not imply the
rating of the magazines by the FAQ maintainer, nor does it indicate
the past or present business status of each magazine. Due to the
somewhat dynamic nature of magazines, it is highly recommended that the
prospective subscriber verify this information before subscribing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
5. Connecting Up
5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world?
5.2. What services can I use to get online?
5.3. What hardware do I need?
5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist?
5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64?
5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128?
5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio?
5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Connecting Up
5.1. How do I connect my computer to the outside world?
First, we need to define what "outside world" means. In this sense, we are
referring to the process of connecting the Commodore computer up to another
computer or computers and exchanging textual, binary, or graphical
information. To connect to another computer, one must have a
Commodore computer system, a modem, a phone line, and a telecommunications
program (called a terminal emulator or terminal emulation program).
While you can use this to connect to other individuals, to access great
stores of online information you need to subscribe to an "online
service", which can take many forms. This type of service allows you
to correspond with many people with a single phone call, and may permit
you to contact people out of your area without a long distance phone call.
5.2. What services can I use to get online?
The following services can be accessed by a Commodore computer and
allow the user to access online information.
Bulletin Board System (BBS). - Small system usually with one phone
line operated by an individual. Fees are optional. For a list of
BBS systems in your area, contact Myles Skinner for a listing at
mskinner@julian.uwo.ca.
Compuserve Information Service. - CompuServe has two Forums designed
specifically for Commodore 8-bit computer users. CBM Applications
Forum (GO CBMAPP) deals with programming, geoProgramming,
applications software, telecommunications, CP/M, utilities and
| hardware. In addition, it also includes support for
GEOS in general, music (including SidPlayer and MIDI), games,
| graphics and graphics utilities. The Forum has full message
| boards and extensive data libraries, and it have weekly
| real-time conferences on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST.
The CompuServe network is available virtually world wide. The
Commodore Forums are attracting increasing membership from Europe
and Australia, and have begun to tap into the vast variety of
Commodore files available around the world (some of the best new
Commodore programs are coming in from Europe these days). CompuServe
has an extensive network of local numbers throughout the United
States and Canada and is also available through supplemental
networks such as SprintNet and DataPac. The number of direct
CompuServe connect numbers in Europe is beginning to expand.
While there is no standalone CompuServe navigator program available
for Commodore users, CBMAPP has the CIS.EXE script set that
automates Dialogue 128 on CompuServe, and also VIDAUT.BIN which will
virtually automate Vidtex (which is available again through Software
Support International). In addition there is OFFLIN.HLP, a text
file in CBMAPP, that provides a method for semi-automating access
with any standard comm program and word processor.
CompuServe's rates are as follows:
STANDARD PRICING PLAN
Membership Support Fee: $ 9.95/month
PLAN BENEFITS
For $9.95, your CompuServe membership entitles you to five free
hours on the service. This includes forums, mail, and Internet
access. After your first five hours, additional hours are billed
at the rate of $2.95/hour.
For an additional $15 a month, our Super Value Plan adds 15 free
hours (for a total of 20 hours each month) and each additional
hour is just $1.95.
Premium ($) services carry additional surcharges, however, during
your free hours, you are not charged for connect-time.
Any communications surcharges apply.
INTERNET ACCESS
Direct Internet Access (Dail PPP)
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Remote Login (Telnet)
USENET Newsreader ASCII
USENET Newsreader CIM
For additional information on the listed services, GO INTERNET.
CompuServe Mail is billed for connect time. This includes reading
mail and viewing classified ads. Surcharged areas, such as fax,
telex and CongressGrams carry additional charges. For a complete
list of mail services and rates, including hardcopy deliveries
through the postal service, GO MAILRATES.
CONNECT-TIME RATES
Connect-time is billed in one minute increments, with a minimum of
one minute per session. Partial minutes are rounded each log-in
session to the next full minute for our billing purposes.
Compuserve Information Systems
P.O. Box 20212
Columbus, OH 43220
(800) 848-8990 (Information)
| GEnie - GEnie is a general interest
+ online service that was previously run by General Electric. There
+ are four different subscription packages from which a member can
+ choose:
+ GenieLite
+ This is a subscription for the occasional user -- someone who
+ primarily uses e-mail but likes to take occasional journeys into
+ Genie's RoundTables.
+ Monthly subscription*: $7.95/month
+ Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour
+ Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour
+ *GenieLite monthly subscription includes 5 free hours of e-mail use.
+ Genie
+ This is our standard membership plan and is a tremendous value
+ for any of our members who use more than 6 or 7 hours a month.
+ Monthly subscription**: $23.95/month
+ Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour
+ Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour
+ **Genie monthly subscription includes 9 free hours of Genie
+ services. Monthly subscription is reduced to $18.95 for anyone who
+ had a Genie account prior to February 1, 1996.
+ GenieNet
+ Internet. There are two different plans under the GenieNet banner:
+ Option 1
+ The GenieNet Option 1 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet
+ but without a graphical interface. This is total, unrestricted,
+ 28.8Kbps access to the Internet, WWW, FTP, and Newsgroups.
+ Monthly subscription***: $15.00/month
+ Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour
+ Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour
+ *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage.
+ Option 2
+ The GenieNet Option 2 plan gives unlimited access to the Internet
+ but this time with a graphical interface. In addition to the
+ features offered under Option 1, you'll also get free Netscape
+ Navigator software and the ability to create a personal web page.
+ Monthly subscription***: $29.00/month
+ Per hour rate for all Genie services: $2.75/hour
+ Additional prime time surcharge: $1.00/hour
+ *** GenieNet Options 1 & 2 provide UNLIMITED Internet usage.
+ Note: Two separate e-mail addresses, one on Genie and one on
+ GenieNet, are issued when you select either GenieNet subscription
+ option.
The Commodore support area on GEnie is known as the Flagship
Roundtable. While there are a few premium services on GEnie that
charge an extra price, all of the Flagship is available at the basic
rate. The Flagship RT includes some "Real-Time Conferences" (RTCs)
featuring classes or discussion of issues associated with Commodore
computers. Additionally, there is a BB (Bulletin Board), which works
much like Usenets comp.sys.cbm (only the discussion is broken down
into categories and topics). Finally, the Flagship has an extensive
library of Commodore files.
The BB messages can be read economically by capturing all the new
messages in a terminal programs capture buffer, and reading the
messages off-line. Wizard, the C= GEnie fron end, supports this.
Because GEnie is a general interest service,it supports many different
computers, and you can use any ASCII terminal program to connect to
GEnie. Wizard is available, but not required. GEnie operates normally
| at 300 - 28,800 bps. There are local access numbers across the
country.
GEnie
401 North Washington Street
Rockville, MD 20850
(800) 638-9636 (Information)
Delphi Internet Services. - Delphi is a commercial system that,
while small in comparison to other systems, is growing rapidly. It
has a large forum dedicated to Commodore computers, as well as access
to the Usenet and the comp.sys.cbm newsgroup. Delphi has two plans.
One, called the Standard Plan, costs $10.00 a month and gives the
user 4 hours of non-prime time (6PM-7AM) free each month. Each
additional hour is $4.00. The other plan, called the Advantage Plan,
costs $20.00 a month and gives the user 20 hours of non-prime-time
free each month. Each hour over 20 is $1.80. Access to the Internet
via Delphi costs an additional $3.00 for both plans each month.
Delphi Internet Services
1030 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(800) 695-4005 (Information)
Internet - The largest online service. The
Internet is a collection of 4 million machines interconnected using
a common protocol called TCP/IP. This service is the result of a
U.S. defense experiment started in the late 1960's. Due to its
distributed nature, the Internet is unlike most other online services.
In some cases, as in universities, there is no cost to access the
"net", as it is called, and some other online services offer access
to the Internet. This is the home of all the FTP sites, the USENET
and the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm, Internet email, and the World
Wide Web. When you use these services you are utilizing the Internet.
QuantumLink - Q-Link was a Commodore specific
telecommunications service. This service, while booming in the late
1980's, has now been discontinued.
There was an effort to retrieve as many of the QuantumLink files
as could be retrieved. Email Brenda G4 at b.gann1@genie.geis.com
| for more information. Also, a list of ex-Qlink-ers is being
| maintained. If you want to be on the list, send email to
| steward@pobox.com or sirfitz@kaiwan.com.
5.3. What hardware do I need?
To access online services you will need a functional Commodore computer
that is physically able to have a modem of some kind attached to the
computer. The more common C64 and C128 are able to be used with a modem,
but computers like the Commodore C16, C116, some PETs and some older CBM
business machines may require significant investments in order to be
used.
With a functional computer, you will need a modulator/demodulator
(modem) unit of some kind. There are two basic kinds that can be used
on the Commodore computers:
A standard RS-232 (EIA-232) external modem.
These modems are very common in today's market, as they are usable on all
computer systems. They usually are constructed in a small rectangular
box, have lights across the front, and have either a standard 9 or 25
pin D-style connector on the back of the unit. Speeds range from 300bps
to 28,800 bps and above. This modem requires an interface cable of some
kind to connect to the Commodore computer.
A Commodore compatible external modem.
These modems are much less common in today's market. Originally
manufactured only by Commodore, some examples include the C1600 (300bps
manual dial), C1650 (300bps, pulse dial), C1660 (300bps, DTMF dial), and
C1670 (1200bps, AT commands, DTMF/Pulse dial). Although other
companies manufacture compatible modems, it seems that the maximum speed
is 2400bps for all models. This modem style plugs directly into the
Commodore user port.
Please note that all speeds marked are maximums. Most modems will
operate at any speed up to the maximum. Most users agree that buying
a Commodore compatible modem these days is an unwise move, except
for special circumstances. The suggestion is to purchase a standard
modem and an interface to use the modem with the CBM machine.
If you chhose to purchase a standard external modem, you must also
purchase or build a suitable interface. There are two major types
of interfaces:
Simple Cable Interface.
This type of interface merely converts the nonstandard RS-232 pinout
on the Commodore user port to the standard RS-232 pinout and performs
voltage level translation as required by RS-232 specifications. This
interface can be purchased for $20 to $40 new or built by the user.
There are a number of homemade interfaces available. The TRANSACTOR
published an interface in the Nov 87 issue (V8iss3) and Commodore Hacking
Online Magazine published plans for one in issue 4 (See MailServer section
for retrieval instructions. These are both supposed to emulate the
VIC1011A that C= put out many years ago, and you might find one at a
computer "flea market". Another version is designed by Stephen Coan.
| Send email to Fred Mueller (fred.mueller@lucent.com) for a copy of
| the schematic in ASCII format. The differences between the two is the
| Transactor one has switchable options for some of the leads and the
| Coan one is hard wired. (See Section 12.4 and 12.5 for interface designs)
UART interface.
To use a modem, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART)
is needed. When Commodore designed the CBM VIC-20, C64 and C128, they
emulated a UART in software to keep costs down. Although this works
for slower speeds, there is a limit to how fast the software UART can
function. For faster access, a real UART is needed. This type of
interface provides a complete UART in a cartridge that plugs into the
expansion port. To utilize it, all software must be written to take
advantage of the real UART. UART interfaces can be purchased from
CMD (Swiftlink), HART (HART Cartidge), or built from plans (DataPump).
(See Section 13.6 for addresses and further information on UART cartridges.)
The decision of which interface to buy depends on the speed of your modem
and the software you are using.
The software UART on the Commodore 64 can handle speeds at up to 2400 bps.
The software UART of the Commodore 128 can handle speeds at up to 4800 for
all software and 9600 bps for some very well-written software.
If you are under these maximum limits for your system, the simple interface
cable will suffice, and most terminal programs can be used.
For speeds between 2400 and 9600 bps (4800/9600 and 19200 bps on a C128), a
number of options are open. Some programs can use the simple interface
cable to allow this faster access. Newer terminal software may be written
to exploit Daniel Dallmann's 9600 bps access technique, which requires
some small modifications to the simple interface cable (see Section 12.5
for more information). Finally, some programs allow the use of a UART
cartridge.
For speeds above 9600 bps (19200 on a C128), a UART interface and an
appropriate terminal program is your only option.
5.4. What kinds of terminal programs exist?
There are many types and versions of telecomunications programs (referred
to as terminal emulation programs or terminal programs). Some are better
than others, but individual users will ultimately decide which they
like best. Most terminal programs available today are Shareware, but
some are still sold commercially, and some new commercial terminal
programs are being sold.
All of these programs include emulations of the popular terminals such as
DEC VT100, VT102, VT52, and ANSI. Also, each includes a number of
file transfer protocols (See Section 6.1 for more information on transfer
protocols).
5.4.1. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 64?
Novaterm
Novaterm 9.6
Nick Rossi
10002 Aurora Avenue North #1159
Seattle, WA 98133
This program, previously marketed as shareware, is now commercial,
| and can be ordered from Mr. Rossi for $29.95 US.
| voyager@eskimo.com (Contact)
+ http://wwweskimo.com/~voyager/novaterm.html
| The 9.5 version is available as shareware at
ftp://ftp.eskimo.com/voyager/Novaterm/nova9.5-?.sfx
Kermit
Kermit 2.2
Kent Sullivan
16611 NE 26th Street
Bellevue, WA 98008
$12.50 US for the program, now at version 2.2.
Note that Columbia University holds the copyright for the Kermit Terminal
Software. You can get a copy of the Commodore version by ftp:
ftp://ftp.cs.columbia.edu/archives/kermit/c64* (for speeds up to 1200 bps)
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/telecomm/KERMIT/kermit-Notes.txt
kermit-v2.2a.sda
kermit-v2.2b.sda
(for 1660 modem users) kermit-c1660.sda
(for Swiftlink/DataPump modem users) kermit-v2.2s.sda
5.4.2. What kinds of terminal programs exist for the 128?
Desterm
Desterm 2.0/2.1
Matt Desmond
| mdesmond@ionline.net
+ http://www.ionline.net/~mdesmond/desterm.html
For more information on DesTerm or to get a copy by mail, contact Matt.
Bob's Term Pro
Dialogue 128
Wave
Click Here Software
Maurice Randall
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/telecom/
A GEOS 128 high speed terminal program. Demo available at above address.
5.5. Can I use my Commodore computer on Amateur Radio?
Yes you can. If you want to use your CBM system as a terminal for a
standard RS-232 compatible packet radio Terminal Node Controller (TNC),
you can hook it up in the same way as a modem. See Section 5 for more
information on how to connect your Computer to a modem.
In addition, the ICHPUG User Group (see Section 15 for address) has
an extensive library of files for the C64/128 relating to Amateur Radio.
If you would like to use the Commodore 64 as a Amateur Radio repeater
controller, Engineering Cosulting manufacturers such an item:
Engineering Consulting
583 Candlewood Street
Brea, CA 92621
Robert Blumenkranz (Contact)
radiobob@earthlink.net (Contact)
http://www.earthlink.net/users/engcon/webdocs/
5.6. Is there TCP/IP software available for Commodore computers?
Unfortunately, there is none at this time. However, the following
information is available:
Jim Brain has performed tests that demonstrated the ICMP and IP
protocol layers. Daniel Dallmann has now verified these
tests and both of them, as well as Cameron Kaiser, are independently
working on a TCP/IP protocol stack for the Commodore 64.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
6. The Online Information Reservoir
6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol?
6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII?
6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs?
6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. The Online Information Reservoir
How true this is. There is information everywhere online, just
waiting to be accessed and used. Hoever, getting at the information
can be a time consuming process.
6.1. How do I download? What is a transfer protocol?
To transfer files for another computer (another 64 or 128, UNIX, OS/2,
DOS, MVS, VMS, Amiga, Atari, or other), you should use a transfer protocol.
Although it is possible to transfer files by turning on the terminal
program's capture buffer and receiving the file, this is not very
reliable and is prone to errors. When transferring any sizable amount of
data, one should use some sort of error-correcting file transfer protocol.
A file transfer protocol splits a file into many pieces, or "packets", and
send a number of them at a time. It then waits for an acknowledgement from
the receiver that the received received the packets correctly. At this
point, the sender send the next batch of packets. This process is
repeated until the entore file is transmitted. Each packet contains
computed checksums and other error detection bytes to ensure the
received data is not corrupt.
Below are descriptions for some of the more popular protocols:
C1 (commonly called Punter Protocol)
C1 is a Commodore specific transfer protocol that used to be the
standard for file transfer. However, with the increase in IBM-based
bulleting board, it has been replaced by other protocols. Most Commodore
BBS systems still offer C1 (usually called Punter in the list) as an option,
but almost no other BBS systems have support for it. There is, however, a
C1 protocol transfer program for MS-DOS called puntr104.zip.
KERMIT
KERMIT is the name of one of the oldest file transfer protocols. KERMIT
is unique in that it can encode the file being transmitted so that
it does not contain any bytes greater than 128 and does not contain any
special control bytes that terminals use to perform special actions. As
such, this protocol is the most robust, but it is also the slowest.
A common statement is, "if you can't KERMIT it, you can't get it"
XMODEM
XMODEM comes in several varieties. Standard XMODEM sends files in 128 byte
packets. There are two standard error-correction methods with XMODEM
checksum and CRC. CRC is the more modern of the two. There is also a
version of XMODEM which supports 1K-byte packets. This version is most
commonly known as XMODEM-1K, but is sometimes erroneously called YMODEM.
YMODEM
YMODEM is a "batch" XMODEM protocol, allowing you to transfer multiple
files in one operation.
ZMODEM
A new file transfer protocol is ZMODEM. ZMODEM is theoretically the
fastest transfer protocol, but only shows a speed gain over the others
on noise-free telephone lines. It achieves this speed increase by only
replying to the sender about the bad packets.
Most terminal programs support PUNTER, XMODEM, XMODEM-1K, YMODEM, and
KERMIT. The Kermit terminal program only supports KERMIT, and Novaterm,
as of version 9.5, supports ZMODEM receives, but not sends.
6.2. What is the difference between PETSCII and ASCII?
(Note that the Amiga line of computers uses the ISO 8859-1 character
set, so this does not apply to Amiga computers)
When Commodore designed the PET line of computers, they chose for the
character set encoding a special encoding called PETSCII. This set is
similar but not the same as the American Standard Code for Information
Intercahnge (ASCII). Now, this does not cause any
problem when transferring information between or among Commodore
computers (except the Amiga, which I believe uses ASCII), but causes
problems when exchanging information with othe computer types.
The obvious solution is for all Commodore users to translate incoming
information into PETSCII from ASCII when talking to another type of
computer. However, this effectively ruins binary files, which have
no concept of character codes. Therefore, the rules are:
Do not translate when exchanging binary files with any computer
Translate all textual information exchanged with non-Commodore computers.
Translate textual information exchanged with Commodore computers only
if they are translating it as well.
If a text file you retrieve looks like the uppercase letters should
be lowercase and vice versa, then the file is in ASCII and needs to
be converted to PETSCII.
6.3. Where can I find Commodore programs?
Commodore programs are available from a number of sources. For commercial
software, please see Section 15.1 for a list of software dealers. For
shareware and public domain, you can use FTP (Section 6.9), electronic
mail (Section 6.5.2), and bulletin board system in addition to the
software dealers to download or buy programs and other software.
6.4. What is a file extension, and what do they stand for?
A file extension is a 1 or more letter suffix appended to the end of a file
name to indicate the type of file it is. The extension usually indicates
the contents of a file. The list below describes some more common file
extensions, what they are used for, and how to use the file.
Please note that these file extensions are not Commodore-exclusive. Many
computers use file extensions. Also note that some file extensions
are cumulative. IF a file is named "filename.tar.gz", this indicates that
the file is of type "gz", and the file(s) inside the gz file are of type
"tar". To use this file, one would note that both extension are
archival extensions. One would undo the "gz" archival method to restore
the "filename.tar" archive, then undo the "tar" archival method to restore
the original file.
Extension: Meaning: Notes:
-----------------------------------------
.txt Text File This file is not compressed, so it needs
no decompression step. However, the file
may be in either ASCII or PETSCII format,
so a conversion step may be necessary.
Most terminal programs can do this
conversion, and there are stand-alone
programs that do the necessary conversion
also.
.sda Self-Dissolving Just load and run the .sda file to
Archive dissolve the archive. Will dissolve
itself into its constituent files.
C64 and C128 .sda files are not
compatible with each other.
.sfx Self-Extracting Load and run just like a .sda file.
Archive The same archive can be extracted on
either a C64 or a C128, memory permitting.
.arc ARChive Use the program arc250.4 or earlier
for the 64 or arc128 for the 128 to
dissolve the archive. arc128 is available
as part of the CS-DOS package. Other
de-archive programs may exist.
.lzh LHArchive Use the program lhx in CS-DOS on the
128 to dissolve this archive. These
are not very common. This archive
uses the same format as .sfx files,
but is not self-extracting. It is
a standard format also used by
Amiga (and MS-DOS) computers. This
format originated on the PC.
.lnx Lynx Archive The above formats all compress files when
storing them; Lynx just stores them.
There are many different versions of
Lynx out there, so good luck dissolving
these.
.lbr Library Archive A format similar to lynx. Library
dissolving programs exist for both the
64 and 128 to dissolve these.
.uue UUEncoded file UUencoding is a process whereby a binary
file can be converted to an all-text
file, transferable by E-mail. This
encoded file can later be UUDecoded back
to the original binary file. Unix
has uuencoding/decoding utilities.
A program "uuxfer" for the
C64 (by Fuzzy Fox) will both uuencode
and uudecode. Note that the contents of
uue file could be another archived file.
.uua UU archive An extension of uuencoding, a uuarchive
file is a concatenation of one or more
UUEncoded files. So far as I know, this
was introduced by Craig Bruce in his ACE
shell for the C=128, and the utilities
included with that shell create and
dissolve uuarchives.
.kar Kevin's Archive Another text archive format that seems
to have originated with Craig Bruce,
this is a proscription for concatenating
a series of text files (which can include
uuencoded files) into one file. More
information can be found in C. Bruce's
documentation for his ace shell.
x!<file> ZIPCoded file ZIPCode is a program that takes an entire
disk and "compacts" it into 4 files that
have a number followed by a '!' and then
a filename. Also, ZipCode can compress
files, in which case the x is a letter
(a,b,c,d) and there need not be 4 files.
If ZipCode has compressed individual
files, there will be an "i!" or
"x!"-prefixed file on the disk that holds
the directory of the file compressed. To
make things even more confusing, there
are two versions of ZipCode (v1 and v2).
The newer version will accept v1 archives,
but not vice-versa. Use ZipCode v2 to
unpack such archives.
+ <file>_x.z64 ZIPCoded file These are ZIPcode compatible files
+ created by a DOS program called Star Zip
x!!<file> ZIPCode 6-pack This is a ZIPCode archive that takes an
entire disk and puts it into 6 files,
| each file containing GCR codes and header
info for the tracks. This is basically
a nybble copier that stores the data it
receives from the disk into files.
.bco BCODEd file BCODing is very similar to UUencoding in
that a binary file is converted into an
all-text format that is 33% larger than
the original. The difference is that the
BCODE format provides additional
information for error detection and
automatic data segmentation and
reordering. C-code versions of "bcode"
and "unbcode" are available via FTP and
Commodore versions are provided with
ACE-128/64.
.zip ZIP archive Zip is a file format used on IBM
platforms and is created by the PKZip
program that is available for some
platforms. There are two forms of zip
files that have the same extension.
Both are created by different versions of
PKZip. The first, version 1.01, can be
dissolved on a 64 by using the program
UNZIP64. The second, newer format is
version 2.04, which cannot be dissolved by
UNZIP64. Your best solution when in doubt
is to dissolve the files on another
platform. For the 128, there is a version
of the UNZIP64 program, called UNZIP128
that has been modified to run in 128 mode.
It is in a file called NZP12817.SFX. This
archive also has a 64 version.
<file>]x Compression Kit x = 4,7,8, cmd, or c(xx) to denote type
Archive of media that was compressed. The files
can be extracted only with The Compression
Kit, from Mad Man Software.
.tar TAR Archive UNIX Tape ARchiver. This program can be
used to archive files as well. The file
must be decoded using tar.
.Z Compress archive Compress is a program on UNIX that will
shrink a single file. It is usually used
on .tar files in UNIX to reduce their
size. The file must be decoded by the
uncompress program, available on UNIX, PC,
Mac and other platforms.
Also, a very old version of GNU Zip used
this extension, although the file is not
fully compatible with the compress format.
.gz GZIP Archive GZIP is a free program developed by the
Free Software Foundation to freely shrink
their software. the resulting file must be
decoded by GUNZIP, available on many
platforms, before using.
.taz Compressed TAR This is a file that should have the
extension "tar.Z", but has been shortened
for MS-DOS. Run uncompress, then tar on
this file.
.tgz Gzipped Tar File This is a file that should have extension
tar.gz, but has been shortened for MS-DOS
Run gzip or similar on the file, then tar.
.gif Graphics This is a compressed graphics format
Interchange created by Compuserve. To view this file,
| Format one must find a GIF viewer program:
+ GEOGif.SFX - Converts GIF to GEOPaint.
+ VGIF.SFX - 64 mode viewer.
+ GDS.SFX - 128 mode viewer.
.jpeg Joint This graphics format can use one of two
Photographers compression algorithms. One, called DPCM
Expert (Differential Pulse COde Modulation)
Group retains all of the information in the
original file, which is usually a picture.
The more common algorithm, called DCT
(Discrete Cosine Transform), relies on the
inability of the human eye to distinguish
among some colors. DCT "throws away" some
information in the file (picture), while
still retaining the essence of the picture.
To view these pictures, one must either
obtain a JPEG veiwer or convert them to
GIF format.
.jpg JPEG This is an MS-DOS named .jpeg file.
.tiff Tagged This is a graphics format used on high
Image performance workstations. To view this
File graphics format, you will need to convert
Format something else.
.pcx IBM Picture This is graphics format used in DOS on
IBM machines. Convert this file to a
GIF file to view.
.pict Mac PICTure This is a graphics format used on Apple
Macintosh machines. Convert this file
to a GIF file to view.
.d64 1541 Disk Image This file stores an image of one entire
.x64 disk, for use with Commodore emulator
programs. Several programs exist to
extract the image onto a disk or place a
disk onto an image. The only difference
between the .x64 and .d64 file types is an
added 64 byte header on a .x64 file.
.t64 DataSette Image This file is analogous to the .d64 file
type, but for tapes.
.p00 PC64 (Emulator) This file encapsulates a Commodore program
Program File Image or data file. To extract the original
file, remove the first 26 characters. In
addition to .p00, there is .s00 (SEQ), and
.u00 (USR) files, but are very rare.
.bmp Windows Bitmap This is a format used for graphics in
Microsoft Windows and OS/2. Convert this
file to a GIF to view.
.pbm Portable Bitmap
.xbm X bitmap This is a format used for graphics on the
X windowsing system. Convert this file
to a GIF to view.
.html HyperText This is a WWW hypertext document. To
Markup view this file, you will need a WWW
Language browser of some kind. See Section 6.8
for more information on WWW.
.doc Document This file could be a word processing file
from a program like Word for Windows,
Wordperfect, or any other word processor.
Also, some text files that contain
documentation use this extension.
.cvt GEOS file GEOS files use a special file format. The
files are called USR files, but they have
special information in the file that
normal files don't, so you cannot just
upload a GEOS file like any SEQ or PRG
file. You can pack all the extra
information and the data into a regular
Commodore SEQ or PRG file with a program
Called Convert. It has a version 2.5 and
a 3.0. The files that result from this
conversion have the extension. The file
must be processed again by Convert before
it can be used with GEOS.
.N64 64NET file Since the 64NET system works by allowing
an MS-DOS machine to be used as a large
disk drive, a way was developed to map
CBM filenames into the MS-DOS limitations.
The .N64 filenames indicates such a file.
+ .D71 64NET GEOS File These are 64NET extensions used to
+ .D81 emulate a 1571 and 1581 disk drive,
+ respectively, under GEOS.
If the file type indicates an archive, there are many programs available
that will handle most archival methods. One of these is called Omega-Q II,
which includes one-stop compression and decompression of many of the above
archival types.
If you use a host system to download the files from, you may want to
decompress the files before downloading. Even though the files will be
larger to download, the time to decompress them offline will not be a
factor. However, those who pay by-the-minute for download time would
probably want the smallest possible file, which implies decompressing on
the local machine, except in the case of a UU encoded file. These files
are actually bigger in the 'UU' format.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
6.5. What is electronic mail?
6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?
6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup?
6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?
6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?
6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?
| 6.6.5. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through email?
+ 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW?
6.7. What is a FidoNET echo?
6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
6.7.2. How do I post in an echo?
6.8. What is the World Wide Web?
6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information?
6.8.2. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers?
6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information?
6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one?
6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site?
6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
6.11. What else is available online?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.5. What is electronic mail?
Electronic mail is the online equivalent of post office mail. Although
email is a general term, its use is usually meant to mean "Internet email".
To use email, you must have access to an internet email program. On UNIX,
these programs are called mail, elm, or pine. BBS systems usually have a
special message area for Internet email. You address a message to a user
by using his or her internet email address, which is usually of the form
name@machine_name.doamin_name.type_of_institution_or_country. An example
would be brain@mail.msen.com, which would be user "brain" at machine "mail"
in doamin "msen" and the type "com" which means company or commercial.
After addressing the message and choosing a sutiable subject, the body of
the message is written with information meaningful to the addressee.
Usually this information is textual in nature and reads much like a
personal letter.
It is possible to mail people binary files. To do this, you need access
to a program called uuencode. Most, if not all UNIX machines have this
command available, and there are versions available for IBM, Amiga, and
Macintosh. There is also a version of uuencode available for the
Commodore 64 and 128 as part of the ACE 128/64 OS replacement. (See section
8.3) The uuencode program takes a binary file and expands it so that
it only contains 7-bit ASCII characters. This resulting file can then be
mailed to a recipient, who then uses a similar program called uudecode
that will transform the uuencoded file into the resulting binary file.
This encoding technique is a standard one used across multiple platforms.
If you want to send a file to another Commodore owner, you can use bcode,
which is a Commodore-specific encoding available in ACE 128/64.
6.5.1. What are mailing lists and how do I join one?
A mailing list is similar to a USENET newsgroup like comp.sys.cbm, in that
it provides a place for people to talk among each other and ask questions.
The difference is that the mechanism used is mail. You mail a message off
to the list, the message then gets sent out to all members of that list,
they read and reply to the list, and the process repeats. It is used for
topics that are considered temporary or topics that have a limited scope and
may not sustain an entire newsgroup being devoted to them. It may also
be used when people want to privately discuss some issue.
There are a number of Commodore 8-bit mailing lists for you to join:
cbm-unix - This is a list devoted to the discussion of alternate operating
systems for the Commodore line that have the familiar UNIX
shell look-and-feel. You can join this one by sending mail to
mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:
subscribe cbm-unix Jim Brain <use your own name>
review cbm-unix <this will show you who is on the list>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi.
old-cbm - This is a list devoted to discussions of older Commodore
equipment. Typically, this list discusses issues concerning
PETs, the VIC-20, Plus 4 and C16, and other lesser used
machines. You can join this one by sending mail to
mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:
subscribe old-cbm Jim Brain <use your own name>
review old-cbm <this will show you who is on the list>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
old-cbm-unix@lists.funet.fi.
c64-hackers - I do not know much about this list other than it is used to
discuss issue realting to timing and special opcodes used in
Commodore programs. You can join this list by sending mail to
mailserv@lists.funet.fi with the message:
subscribe c64-hackers Jim Brain <use your own name>
review c64-hackers <this will show you who is on the list>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
c64-hackers@lists.funet.fi.
commodor - This is a list that is for all Commodore 8-bit computer
discussion. This list mirrors most of the discussion on
comp.sys.cbm, so I would post to both places. You subscribe
by sending a mail msg to:
listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu with the message:
subscribe commodor Jim Brain <use your own name>
review commodor <this will show you who is on the list>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
you can then send mail to the list by addressing it to:
commodor@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
c65 - This is a list that discusses the various aspects of the
Commodore C65 Prototype system. There are files and
information available through this list to C65 owners. Note
that this is NOT the list to ask where a C64 can be purchased
from, since the C65 is not a product, per se, as all available
units were in-house prototypes liquidated at a warehouse.
You can subscribe by sending a mail msg to:
c65list-request@dce.vic.gov.au with the subject:
subscribe
You can then send mail to the list by address it to:
c65@dce.vic.gov.au
c=hacking - This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy
of Commodore Hacking Online Magazine upon publication. It is run
through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending
a mail message to:
brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:
MAILSERV with a message of:
subscribe c=hacking Jim Brain <use your own name>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
trivia - This list is set up to automatically mail out the latest copy
of the Commodore Trivia as soon as it is published on USENET.
through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending
a mail message to:
brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:
MAILSERV with a message of:
subscribe trivia Jim Brain <use your own name>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
cbm-main-faq - This list is set up to automatically mail out any major
updates to this Frequently Asked Questions List. It is run
through Jim Brain's mailserver. You can subscribe by sending
a mail message to:
brain@mail.msen.com with a subject line of:
MAILSERV with a message of:
subscribe cbm-main-faq Jim Brain <use your own name>
help <this will explain how to use the list>
c64coders - This list is for Commodore 64 coders. Not much is known about
the list, but here is how to join. Send a mail message to:
c64coders-request@uclink2.berkeley.edu with a subject line of:
subscribe.
6502 C compiler - This list is set up to discuss writing a C compiler
for the 6502. To subscribe send a message to:
majordomo@solar.miya.cs.it-chiba.ac.jp
with subject of:
subscribe 6502cc
You can send messages to the list by addressing them to:
6502cc@solar.miya.cs.it-chiba.ac.jp
+ 64europe - This list is for Commodore 64 users who live in Europe or
+ would like to stay current on European developments. To join,
+ send a mail message to:
+
+ listserv@lentil.demon.co.uk
+
+ with a subject of:
+
+ MAILSERV
+
+ and a body of:
+
+ subscribe 64EUROPE
+ END
+
+ You can then send messages to the list by addressing them to:
+
+ 64europe@lentil.demon.co.uk
+
+ supercpu - This list is for Commodore 64 users who own or want to
+ stay current on the SuperCPU market. To join, send a mail
+ message to:
+
+ listserve@giga.or.at
+
+ with a subject of:
+
+ subscribe super-cpu
+
+ and a body of:
+
+ subscribe super-cpu
+
+ You can then send messages to the list by addressing them to:
+
+ super-cpu@giga.or.at
6.5.2. What is a Mail Server? How do I use one?
A couple of people are running servers that will respond to email requests.
Each have a limited amount of files available. To access them send the
following email:
To: brain@mail.msen.com
Subject: MAILSERV
Message Body:
help
quit
That will return a list of commands. Currently the following commands
are supported:
help retrieves a list of available commands.
catalog retrieves a list of files currently available.
send <filename> retrieves the file <filename>
subscribe list_name Firstname Lastname
subscribes the user to a mailing list.
6.5.3. How do I contact people on Compuserve, Genie, etc.?
These online services have gateways to the Internet. To send a message to
someone on the following services, make sure they can receive Internet mail
and address the message as follows:
Service Username Internet Address
Compuserve 12345,678 12345.678@compuserve.com
GEnie j.smith2 j.smith2@genie.geis.com
Delphi jsmith jsmith@delphi.com
FidoNet is special, since there are many fidonet nodes, so you need the
specific node information for the system that the recipient is on. Assume
that Jim Brain is on a fido BBS that is node 115 on network 233 in zone
1. (denoted in FIDO as 1:233/115) The address would be:
FidoNet Jim Brain Jim.Brain@f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org
If the fido address is a point on a FIDO network (denoted as 1:233/115.200),
then the address would be:
FidoNet Jim Brain Jim.Brain@p200.f115.n233.z1.fidonet.org
6.6. What is USENET or NetNews? What is a USENET newsgroup?
USENET is a service on the Internet that presents the user with a variety
of forums in which to place messages. It can be viewed as the online
equivalent of a set of bulleting "corkboards", like those in a hallway.
Each corkboard or "newsgroup" caters to a different topic. Users can
place or "post" messages to the newsgroup for others to read, or followup
to posts on the newsgroup.
6.6.1. What news groups cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
The first thing to discuss here is the dividing line between Commodore
models. All Commodore computers up to, but not including, the Commodore
Amiga or the Commodore line of IBM PC Compatible computers, are
discussed in comp.sys.cbm, which is what this FAQ covers. The Amiga line
of computers is covered in the separate newsgroups comp.sys.amiga.*,
where the '*' indicates that there are a number of groups that match that
name. The IBM PC Compatible computers are discussed in comp.sys.ibm-pc.*.
comp.sys.cbm -
This unmoderated newsgroup discusses all topics concerning Commodore
8-bit machines, including everything from the KIM-1 to the Commodore
65. This is the flagship USENET newsgroup.
comp.binaries.cbm -
This moderated groups permits the distribution of uuencoded binary files
for the Commodore 8-bit computers. The moderator is Mike Miller
(mmmiller3@gac.edu). If you have a favorite program you wish to put up for
distribution, please download and read the comp.binaries.cbm FAQ (posted in
its respective group).
comp.emulators.cbm -
This unmoderated newsgroup was created in 1994 for those who wish to
run one of the many emulation programs available on other machines that
emulate the C64. This forum seems to be more appropriate for questions
concerning operation on "foreign" hardware and file types.
zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.allgemein -
This is a German newsgroup that discusses much of the same topics as
comp.sys.cbm. "allgemein" = general.
zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.binaer -
This German newsgroup parallels the function of comp.binaries.cbm.
"binaer" = "binary".
zer.t-netz.c64 -
This is a general discussion group for the c64 computer. It has the
description 'Der am weitesten verbreitete Rechner', which means "The most
widely used/most popular computer."
zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.hardware
| This German newsgroup discusses hardware topics relating to the C64 and
C128.
+ zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.programmieren -
+ This german newsgroup discusses programming, mostly demo stuff.
+ zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.spiele -
+ This german newsgroup discusses games, high scores, tips, new releases,
+ old scores, etc.
+ zer.z-netz.rechner.c64+c128.virus -
+ This german newsgroup discusses the very few viruses that have been
+ created for the 64.
6.6.2. What types of discussions belong in comp.sys.cbm?
Any discussions about Commodore machines excluding the Commodore Amiga
line, the Commodore IBM PC Clone line are encouraged in comp.sys.cbm
These machines are commonly referred to as the Commodore 8-bit line,
whereas the Amiga and PC line is not 8-bit. Please make sure any question
you intend on posting is not already answered in this FAQ. Also, when
posting a troubleshooting question about inoperative equipment, please give
as much detail as possible. Be considerate of others in the group and keep
questions not pertaining to some aspect of Commodore 8-bit machines and
peripherals out of comp.sys.cbm. The group does realize, however, that a
large percentage of Commodore 8-bit owners also own another computer system
and might have questions about interfacing or emulations. Just use your
own good judgement.
6.6.3. Which issues does comp.sys.cbm discuss regularly?
Although comp.sys.cbm discusses all Commodore 8-bit machines at times,
the C64 and C128 get most of the attention.
An overview of the subjects discussed in comp.sys.cbm is available at
http://qiclab.scn.rain.com/pub1/overview/comp/sys/cbm/.overview
6.6.4. How do I post in comp.sys.cbm?
You first need to access the newsgroup comp.sys.cbm through the use of
newsreader. There are many available in UNIX with names like rn, nn, tin,
and trn. I can't begin to tell you what command each uses to construct
a posting, but your machine administrator should be able to tell you.
All posts should contains relevant Summary and Keyword info, as well as
a descriptive title. If you are posting a followup to an existing article,
and are quoting the article, please only quote the relevant portions of the
existing article.
If you find that you cannot post to a newsgroup via your newsreader, but do
have Internet electronic mail capabilities, you can post to the newsgroups
via e-mail. For example, to posts a message to COMP.SYS.CBM, simply mail the
message to either comp.sys.cbm@anon.penet.fi , comp.sys.cbm@news.demon.co.uk,
comp.sys.cbm-news@newsbase.cs.yale.edu. It is probably best to use the
latter two addresses, since the other is an anonymous posting service, so
people won't know who originated the post. Such disguises are
unnecessary in the CBM newsgroups.
| 6.6.5. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through email?
If you do not have access to the USENET newsgroup comp.sys.cbm and do have
access to Internet email, Allen Smith has graciously set up a list server
that will mail each day's postings to you. To use this service, email
listserv@compsmth.soonet.ca with NO subject and ONLY
SUBSCRIBE comp-sys-cbm
in the body (no leading spaces, no signature) to use this service.
+ Jim Brain has graciously set up a server for those without USENET access
+ to read the three main CBM newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm, comp.emulators.cbm,
+ and comp.binaries.cbm. Again, this service is ONLY for those without
+ other means to read USENET. To use this service, email brain@mail.msen.com
+ with the subject of MAILSERV and the following in the message:
+ subscribe comp.sys.cbm Firstname Lastname msglen*
+ msglen is the maximum number of lines you can receive in an email message.
+ All fields MUST be filled in.
+ To subscribe to one of the other 2 CBM newsgroups, substitute the
+ newsgroup's name for comp.sys.cbm in the above line.
| 6.6.6. How can I read comp.sys.cbm through WWW?
+ (See Section 6.8 for a definition of WWW)
+ You can view articles and articles titles through the DejaNews service:
+ http://dejanews.com/
6.7. What is a FidoNET echo?
FidoNET is a "grass roots" network that originated to link bulletin board
systems across the country together. Unlike the Internet, which uses
dedicated phone lines at high speeds to implement its network, FidoNET uses
regular phone lines at normal modem speeds that are not dedicated to
providing networking to link the machine on FidoNET together. FidoNET
allows the exchange of messages in message bases called "echoes" among
various boards. To use the FidoNET echoes, you must connect to a system
that has FidoNET access. It is not possible to describe all the features
of FidoNET in this FAQ, so you should consult your local User Group or BBS
sysop for more info.
The FidoNET echoes are similar to USENET newsgroups, although the echoes
have more strict rules about content and topics.
6.7.1. What echoes cater to Commodore 8-bit machines?
The relevant echoes for Commodore users are:
CBM Commodore 64 and 128 News and Discussions
| CBM-128 Commodore 128 specific News and Discussions
| CBM-GEOS GEOS News and Discussions
PCWRITE Cross Platform Computing, including C64 emulators
CBM.GER German Fido area for CBM discussion.
R20_8BITAR Sweden echo for all 8-bit CBMs.
6.7.2. How do I post in an echo?
Echoes are usually posted in the same way that you would mail a BBS
message in any other area, although the BBS may operate differently.
It is best to follow any online directions or consult the local BBS sysop
for more details.
6.8. What is the World Wide Web?
The World Wide Web (WWW or W3) is a Internet-wide Hypertext document
retrieval and display system. To use WWW, you must have access to a
WWW HyperText Markup Language (HTML) browser. Typical examples include
lynx, which is a ASCII browser available on UNIX, and Mosaic, a GUI
browser available for UNIX, Windows, Mac, and other platforms. There
are others, but these are a few. Once in a browser program, point it at
some of these WWW "pages".
If you do not have WWW access to the Web, you can request pages be mailed
to by sending mail to webmail@curia.ucc.ie with the subject help. The
return mail should tell you how to request a WWW page.
However, if you do have access to telnet on the Internet, you can access
the Web. Instructions on how to do this, in a file called wwwtelnet.txt,
can be retrieved from Jim Brain's MAILSERV server. See Section 5.X for
information on how to access the server.
+ All pages on the WWW are referenced by their Uniform Resource Locator,
+ also known as a URL. The URL normally looks like:
+ http://name.of.site.com/path/to/page.html
+ Some sites include a funny character that looks like a "squiggly snake"
+ as the first character of the path. The squiggle looks like this:
+ ~
+ The charcater is referred to as the "tilde" character.
+ This key does not appear on the Commodore 8-bit keyboards, and is
+ not part of the PETSCII character map, so the character above will look
+ funny if viewed on a CBM computer. When one is running a terminal
+ program, the program remaps a key to be the tilde key. Here are a few
+ mappings for different programs:
+ Novaterm: [SHIFT] up-arrow
+ If your terminal program does not remap a key to be the tilde, or if
+ you dislike trying to use the remapped key, the URL spec defines that the
+ hexadecimal equivalent of the character can be used, prefaced with the
+ percent sign. So, instead of "/~brain/", one can use %7E instead,
+ resulting in "/%7Ebrain/" as the URL.
6.8.1. What WWW sites have Commodore information?
There are a number of WWW sites that provide Commodore content. Most
of these sites are tailored to the Commodore 8-bit community as well.
| A complete listing of sites is available at CaBooM!, a Commodore meta-
+ index at:
| http://www.msen.com/~brain/cbmlinks/
6.8.1. What Sites have Telnet WWW Browsers?
If you do not have access to a WWW browser program, but do have access to
Internet telnet, you can access the WWW through the following sites:
fatty.law.cornell.edu
www.njit.edu
lynx.cc.akans.edu
login: www
6.9. What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP)?
to access some machines, the special user "anonymous" or "ftp" is used
to log into another machine for ftp. These machine, which hold public
domain (PD), shareware, and freeware files, are called "anonymous ftp"
sites. To get files from these sites, you use (on most systems) a program
called ftp. A typical ftp session (assuming you are running from a Unix
system) would be as follows:
SAMPLE SESSION:
%ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca <ccnga.uwaterloo.ca is site name>
Connected to ccnga.uwaterloo.ca.
220 punisher FTP server (SunOS 4.1) ready.
Name (cco.caltech.edu:rknop): anonymous <Use "anonymous" for user name>
331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
Password: <Type your E-mail address here>
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> cd /pub/cbm/utilities <"cd" changes directory>
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> dir z* <"dir" alone lists whole directory>
200 PORT command successful.
150 ASCII data connection for /bin/ls (131.215.48.57,2084) (0 bytes).
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15427 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.070
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14107 Apr 13 15:42 zed-128.doc
226 ASCII Transfer complete.
remote: z*
134 bytes received in 0.44 seconds (0.3 Kbytes/s)
ftp> binary <specifies binary files. IMPORTANT!!>
200 Type set to I.
ftp> get zed-128.070 <requests file zed-128.070>
200 PORT command successful.
150 Binary data connection for zed-128.070 (131.215.48.57,20) (15427 bytes)
226 Binary Transfer complete.
local: zed-128.070 remote: zed-128.070
15427 bytes received in 0.1 seconds (1.5e+02 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit <quit when you are finished>
221 Goodbye.
%
To submit files to an ftp site, you use the command "put". Again, make sure
to first specify "binary" for programs and other binary files. Typically,
ftp sites will only accept submissions in an "INCOMING" directory.
To download software (files) from an anonymous ftp sites, one has to
be aware that there are two connections to be concerned about. The
first connection is from your Commodore to you host computer and then
the connection from your host to the ftp site. In addition you need to be
be aware of the nature of the information in the desired file, particularly
if you are downloading programs. If the file is not known to be in
printable ASCII form, consider it a binary file. It may also be be in an
archived form, i.e. a form where it is packed with many files or in a
shortened format. Consider these to be binary unless it is of the "uu"
type which is an ASCII format.
6.9.1. What FTP sites have Commodore Information?
A number of sites on Internet have areas for Commodore files. The list
of current Internet FTP sites can be retrieved from the Jim Brain's
mail server as file cbm-ftp-sites.MM.YY where MM is the Month and YY is the
year that the list is for. (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to
use the mail server). The FTP List is maintained by Howard Herman and a
copy of the latest file can be obtained from him at
72560.3467@compuserve.com.
6.9.2. What is an FTP Mail Server? How do I use one?
If your service provider does not allow access to FTP directly, there
are some systems that will perform the FTP session on your behalf. These
systems are called "ftp mail servers". These allow the user to request
files to be retrieved by electronically mailing a message to the server.
To use the service, you must first learn how the service works. This is
done by mailing the server address with the word "help" in the body of
the message This will result in the directions being sent in a message to
you. Then, following the directions, you can request files from any
FTP sites through the server. The server will send both the retrieved
files and a message detailing the execution of your request.
Here is a sample request message:
To: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
Subject:
Body:
connect ccnga.uwaterloo.ca anonymous brain@msen.com
chdir /pub/cbm/comp.sys.cbm
ls -l
quit
Please note the following:
This service is only for retrieving files.
Binary files will usually be uuencoded. They must be decoded before use.
Large files may be split into smaller pieces. The resulting pieces must
be editted back into one piece, and decoded if necessary.
Potential ftpmail servers include:
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu
+ ftpmail@ftp.sunset.se
+ ftpmail@census.gov
Craig Bruce has set up a ftp mail server off his regular email address.
Here is how you would utilize it:
To: csbruce@little.uwaterloo.ca
Subject: ftpmail
Body:
help
bcode
ftp ccnga.uwaterloo.ca
cd /pub/cbm/os/ace
dir
get ace12.doc
quit
All of the regular FTP commands are supported, with the addition of
the following commands:
help - gives help information.
bcode - requests the data be sent as bcoded files.
hexcode - requests the data be sent as hexcoded files.
+ replyto - gives email address to reply to for broken email clients.
+ maxlines n - Returns files in messages of at most n lines.
6.9.3. How do I send files to an FTP site?
If you have the Commodore 128 .sfx creator, use it. It is part of the CS-DOS
public-domain software package, and it requires a Commodore-1700-compatible
RAM expansion unit. If you can't make .sfx archives, upload the files as
straight binaries. Text files which you include in .sfx archives should be
PETSCII. Separate text files should be ASCII or ISO 8859-1. If you are
uploading GEOS files, use William Coleman's Convert 2.5 program to transfer
the files to standard Commodore format before including them in the .sfx
archive.
You can make .sfx archives on a Unix machine by first compressing the
files into an .lzh or .lha archive, then using Marko Makela's LZHconvert
package on the LHarchive. This technique may work on some non-Unix
computers. LZHconvert is on ftp.funet.fi in directory /pub/cbm/archiving.
Upload a .readme file separately from your program or archive. In your
readme file, give a one-sentence description of each of your program(s).
List the lengths, starting addresses, and CRC32s of the files. Look on
ftp.funet.fi in /pub/cbm/archiving for CRC-32 software.
People should be able to make sure easily that they have all the parts of
your software package. Put a complete file list in the readme file. Make a
directory on the FTP site if you can, and put all your files in that.
E-mail the maintainers right before you post your data. Your message can
be just the .readme file with an introductory comment.
The following is a list of valid FTP sites as of 26 Sep 1995. In the
directory names below, replace "..." with the existing name closest to the
purpose of your files. "Dir" indicates whether the FTP site allows you to
create your own directories.
Destination: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/...
Uploads: ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/...
E-mail: csbruce@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca
Dir: Yes
Destination: ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/...
Uploads: ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/incoming/...
E-mail: cbm-adm@nic.funet.fi
Dir: No
Destination: ftp://pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl/pub/c64/...
Uploads: ftp://pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl/pub/c64/incoming
E-mail: cba@pitel_lnx.ibk.fnt.hvu.nl
Dir: No
Destination: ftp://dhp.com/pub/c64/...
Uploads: ftp://dhp.com/pub/c64/pub/c64/incoming
Email: rotox@dhp.com
Dir: No
Destination: ftp://ftp.giga.or.at/pub/c64/...
Uploads: ftp://ftp.giga.or.at/pub/c64/INCOMING (no read access here)
E-mail: spockie@giga.or.at
Dir: Yes (difficult to delete, though)
Destination: ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/...
Uploads: ftp://bbs.cc.uniud.it/pub/c64/incoming
E-mail: playboy@bbs.cc.uniud.it
Dir: No
6.10. What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
Internet Raley Chat (IRC) is an online version of citizen's band radio or
BBS chat rooms. The service is worldwide and is available on the Internet.
To use IRC, one would normally use a client program (typically called irc on
UNIX machines) to access the service.
Although the program used to access IRC varies, the commands are pretty
much standard. All commands are entered on the text line and begin
with a "/" character. Here are a few important ones:
/join #c-64 Join the #c-64 channel, which discusses topics
concerning Commodore hardware and software.
/msg Commbot help will get you info on Commbot which carries C64/128
software to download.
/msg Filebot help another C64 bot with software to download from.
/msg coolhand xdcc list if he is online, this user has many c64 files
which can be downloaded via this command.
/quit leave.
/names * List names of all people in current channel.
/dcc send (nickname) (filename)
Send a file to person (nickname).
/dcc receive (nickname) or
/dcc get (filename) REceive a file from someone.
If you need more info on how IRC works, there is a file available on
Jim Brain's email file server called irc-info.txt that explains IRC in
more depth. (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on how to use the mail server)
6.11. What else is available online?
If you are looking for other places on the Internet to talk Commodore,
there is the Commodore forum on CoSy, a system accessible from the
Internet. To access this service, you must have access to a telnet
program. Here is the relevant information:
telnet cosy.softwaords.bc.ca
login: cosy
CoSy: j commodore
This will bring up a list of topics pertaining to Commodore. The forum
moderator is Robert Todd and his email address is robert.todd@bbs.serve.org.
This forum is ideally suited to discussions about the Color64 BBS
system and other Commodore BBS systems. If you wish to post in the
forum, please send email to that effect to Robert Todd.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
7. Exchanging Data
7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?
7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?
8. Operating Systems
8.1. What Operating Systems are available?
8.2. What is GEOS?
8.3. What is UNIX?
8.4. What is CP/M
9. Demonstrations
9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo?
9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean?
9.3. Where do I get demos?
9.4. What is a demo competition?
9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Exchanging Data
At some point in time it becomes necessary to move data from one machine to
another. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is not. This section will
| help you decide which way of transferring files is best. For those who have
+ WWW access, additional information is at
+ http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/
+ and also at:
+ http://hem.passagen.se/bacchus/tools2.htm
7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
You can exchange data between Commodore machines in a number of ways, but
each way requires an exchange medium, whether it be tape, disk, modem, or
null modem.
To transfer files between any Commodore machines besides the Plus/4
series that have datasette ports, the file can be save to tape and
exchanged. The Plus/4 series tape drives read and write data in a format
not compantible with any other CBM system.
To transfer files between any Commodore computers with disk drives, you
need to find a drive that can be connected to either computer, or two
drives with compatible disk formats. Some examples of two drive setups:
2031 1541
4040 1541 (Read but not write compatible_
8050 8250 (can't use back side of 8250 disk)
8050 SFD1001 (can't use back side of SFD1001 disk)
1551 1541
1571 1541 (can't use back of 1571 disk)
Modems can be used to exchange the information, if both computers can
use modems. Just perform a dowload on one end, and an upload on the
other. Null modems can make this job simpler, by removing the data->
telephone line step performed in a modem.
With all of these methods, data files should transmit fine, but program
file written in ML will most likely not work, and BASIC programs will
usually fail is loaded on a machine with a differing version of BASIC.
7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
+ Commodore computers use a disk format that is not compatible with MS-DOS
+ style machines. However, there are two ways around this. One is to use
+ a 1571 or 1581 drive (which can read and write IBM-style disks) with a
+ special program to transfer files. The otehr is to connect a CBM drive to
+ the IBM. There are multiple options for each way you choose. Note that
+ the 1541 cannot read or write MS-DOS disks without some hardware
+ modifications. Most of the programs run in either 64 or 128 mode, although
+ there are a few CP/M MS-DOS utilities available that work in C128 CP/M
+ mode.
Big Blue Reader
+ Big Blue Reader
+ SOGWAP Software (Author)
+ CMD (Distributor).
+ Platform: 64/128
A commercial package, The Big Blue Reader, from SOGWAP software, runs on
either a 64 or a 128, will read and write MS-DOS format 3.5" (with a 1581)
and 5.25" (with a 1571) disks.
Crosslink
+ Crosslink
+ Platform: 64/128
+ ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pu/cbm/
| A free program to transfer MS-DOS files from. Limited to reading files
| 43K in size or smaller.
RUN Reader
+ RUN Reader
+ Platform: 64/128
+ RUN (Author)
+ CMD (Distributor)
RUN magazine (4/89 to 6/89) published a series of programs that would use
1571/1581 drives to transfer MS-DOS files to and from a C= drive. It is
also limited in file size handling ~43-44K.
Little Red Reader
+ Little Red Reader
+ Platform: 128
+ Craig Bruce (Author)
+ csbruce@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca (Internet Contact)
Issues 4 and 5 of C= Hacking magazine presented a program called Little
Red Reader for the 128 that will copy files to and from MS-DOS floppy
disks. The menu-driven program requires two disk drives to work, where the
one containing the MS-DOS disk must be a 1571 or 1581 (or compatible). The
program does not buffer data internally, so the only size restriction on
copying is the capacity of the target disk. The program provides PETSCII/
ASCII conversion but will work only with the root directories of MS-DOS
disks. The program is also available via FTP and is FREE.
1541-dos
+ 1541-dos
+ Platform: 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents/1541-dos (WWW URL)
To read and write to MS-DOS disks with 1541 disk drives you have to make a
small hardware modification. The 1541-dos package contains instructions on
how to modify Commodore 1541 and Oceanic OC-118/OC-118N disk drives, and
programs to read disks in MS-DOS format and to write to disks in a format
that can be read by MS-DOS computers.
x1541
+ x1541 (1.0)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Leopoldo Ghielmetti (Author)
+ Leopoldo.Ghielmetti@epfl.ch (Internet Contact)
+ ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/ (WWW URL)
+ This father of all transfer programs first made use of the cable now
+ referred to as the X1541 cable. This new version of X1541 is actually
+ two pieces. A I1541 driver that talks to the U1541 user program.
+ Although the U1541 program is lacking, anyone can write to the I1541
+ driver. To read CBM disks on an IBM, you can use this program
+ This program uses the PC parallel port to emulate a C= serial port.
+ You need to have a unique cable built to make the connection. The cable
+ is connected to a 1541 drive. The documentation has a schematic for the
+ cable.
+ If you would rather not build the X1541 cable, the following individual
+ offers them for a nominal cost:
+ Paul MacArthur
+ attn: X1541 Cable Offer
+ 24 Central Street
+ Braintree, MA 02184
22DSK
+ 22DSK (1.4.2)
+ Platform: IBM
+ ftp://oak.oakland.edu/Simtel/msdos/diskutil/22dsk142.zip. (WWW uRL)
If you own a Commodore 1581, there is a PC program which can read
| 1581 formatted disks. Note that this program will only handle CP/M
| formatted disks.
C64-Connect
+ C64-Connect (0.99)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Ville Muikkula (Author)
+ vmuikku@raahenet.ratol.fi (Internet Contact)
+ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/
A very fast way of transferring one file programs between the Commodore and PC
is C64-Connect. All you need is a simple cable between user port of C64
and PC's parallel printer port (LPT). Loading of a 50 KB program takes about
3.0 seconds and transferring the same program from C64 to PC takes 4.5
seconds. (Times were measured on a PAL-C64 and 486DX-40, NTSC units will see
slighly faster times) This program is a boon for every C64 user that has
only a cassette drive, as the loader program needed fori the C64 is shorter
than most cassette turbos and aboyt 45 times faster.
C64-Connect stores C64 programs on PC in the standard PRG format, so
you can easily convert them to various file formats used by emulators.
Email Ville Muikkula at vmuikku@raahenet.ratol.fi for more information.
PC2VIC
+ PC2VIC
+ Platform: VIC-20 and IBM
+ Adam Bergstrom (Author)
+ adam.bergstrom@um.erisoft.se (Internet Contact)
This package enables you to send programs (and other data) to your VIC20.
The data is sent from the PC:s printerport to the VIC20:s userport, which
makes the transfer rather fast.
adam.bergstrom@um.erisoft.se
Adam Bergstrom
Storgatan 92,2
903 33 Umea
SWEDEN
+ Anadisk
+ Anadisk
+ Platform: IBM
+ Anadisk will allow you to read, write, and edit sectors of 1581 disks in
+ an IBM PC floppy drive. The current version is 2.07 and has the filename
+ ANAD207.ZIP.
+ The Star Commander
+ The Star Commander
+ Platform: IBM
+ The Star Commander (0.73)
+ Joe Forster/STA (Author)
+ sta@ludens.elte.hu (Internet Contact)
+ http://ludens.elte.hu/~sta/sc.html (WWW URL)
+ - user interface, colors and hotkeys just like in The Norton Commander
+ - high speed routines handle disk images (35 or 40 tracks, with or
+ without error info), tape images (C64S) and file images (PC64)
+ - handles files and disks in a Commodore 1541/1571 drive connected via
+ the X1541 interface cable
+ - three modes for transferring disks from and to the Commodore drive:
+ normal (reads a disk in 7:50, writes in 9:55), turbo (2:25, 2:25) and
+ warp (1:15, 1:20) with retry on disk errors for all modes
+ - three modes for transferring files from and to the Commodore drive:
+ normal (reads a 210 block file in 2:20, writes in 2:25), turbo (1:00,
+ 1:00) and warp (0:25, write not yet implemented) with retry on disk
+ errors for warp read
+ - fast execution of CBM DOS commands and some extended CBM DOS commands
+ - powerful disk editor similar to Disk-Demon for disk images and disks
+ - optionally runs with the C64 character set on EGA/VGA video cards
+ - highly configurable for total comfort, context sensitive online help
+ - an external setup program for even more options and full color setup
+ - a viewer for DOS files and for Commodore files inside images
+ - user-defined menus and extension files for associating commands,
+ external viewers and editors with DOS file extensions
+ - external programs to handle Arkive, LHA, Lynx and ZipCode archives
+ to list disk and tape images and to collect multiple file images
+ into tape images
+ Email the author if you want to join the SC mailing list to get the
+ latest version by email the day it comes out.
+ Look into the URL "http://ludens.elte.hu/~sta/sc.html" for news about
+ the beta versions being developed.
+ Trans64
+ Trans64 (V1.24)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Bernhard Schwall (Author)
+ schwall@informatik.uni-bonn.de (Internet Contact)
+ ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/EMUL-UTIL/tr64*.zip (WWW URL)
+ Uses X1541/Disk64 cable. Transfers to and from CBM-Drives/Disk-images/
+ Tape-images/virtual disks/IBM-PC with normal/fast/turbo mode. Window
+ driven GUI. Supports reading of GEOS-VLIR files (icons, graphics, text)
+ and CBM files. DiskMonitor and Charsets for CBM-reading included.
+ Availiable at all common CBM-FTP-sites (/emulator)
+ prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: IBM and 64/128
+ ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
+ ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink095.zip (WWW URL to IBM EXE)
+ prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
+ to transfer data from the Commodore to the IBM
+ READ81
+ READ81
+ http://www.magnamedia.de/64er/aktuell/aktuell.html#News 2 (WWW URL)
+ Don't know much about this, as the blurb was sent ot me in German, but
+ it will read 1581 disks in a PC and is available for 30 DM. It can also
+ read GEOS disks and converts from multiple formats, ASCII to PETSCII, and
+ soem graphics formats.
+ Performance Peripherals Europe,
+ Silcherstr.16, 53332 Bornheim,
+ Tel. 02227/912097, Fax: 02227/3221
There are no programs that will read a 5.25" Commodore disk in a 5.25" PC
drive.
7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
TransNib
+ TransNib (1.00)
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/systems/amiga/aminet/misc/emu/TransNib100.lha
The TransNib 1.00 package for Amiga allows transferring files
C64<->Amiga at up to 60000 bps. It uses a parallel<->user port cable that
currently transfers 4bits at a time. Uses 2-way handshaking. 2 versions
of the 64software are in the archive. Requires a disk drive. 1541
fastloader compatible. The Amiga side software can be run from shell of
WB, multitasks fine and has nice simple GUI.
PData
+ PData (3.51)
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/amiga/mods/chip/NemeSIDs-Extra.lzh
The PData 3.51 package for the Amiga allows transfer of both binary and
text files between the C64/C128 and the Amiga. It's about 25 times faster
than a null modem cable, and it even leaves your Amiga serial port free for
other applications.
You can transfer up to 255 files in both directions in multitransfer mode.
The program works with an cable attached between the 64 user port and the
Amiga parallel port. The Amiga software can be run from any Amiga,
although Kickstart v37.175 (v2.04) is required to utilize all functions.
prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ Olaf Seibert and Marko Makela (Authors)
| ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
+ http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/Amiga/prlink-amiga-0.9.5b.zoo (Binary)
| prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
| to transfer data from the Commodore to the Amiga.
+ Over5
+ Over5
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ Daniel Kahlin (Author)
+ tlr@stacken.kth.se (Internet Contact)
+ http://www.stacken.kth.se/~tlr/computing/over5.html (WWW URL)
+ Over5 (successor to OverFour) is a program that uses a standard 3 wire null
+ modem cable to transfer files between the Amiga and the 64/128. No special
+ serial port cartridges are needed. Only a simple votga econverter for the
+ 64/128 user port to generate RS-232 level voltage is needed.
+ FEATURES:
+ * filecopy with wildcards !!IMPROVED!!
+ * builtin diskturbo
+ * Read/Write memory !!IMPROVED!!
+ * Read/Write file
+ * Read directory
+ * Send disk command
+ * Read disk status
+ * do RUN/SYS
+ * both PAL and NTSC versions
+ * the Amiga as harddisk server !!IMPROVED!!
+ * fastformat with verify
+ * Read/Write raw disk !!IMPROVED!!
+ * ZIPCODE archive depacking
+ * ZIPCODE archive packing
+ * timeout handling on the c64
+ * source code included !!NEW!!
+ * protocol documentation !!NEW!!
+ The author:
+ Daniel Kahlin <tlr@stacken.kth.se>
+ Vanadisvägen 6, 2tr
+ s-113 46 Stockholm
+ Sweden
+ 08-34 84 73 (+468348473) (Phone)
7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
+ I have one report of someone working on this.
7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?
Atari ST can read and write 3.5" DD disks formatted for PC. You need to use
TOS 1.4 or higher to format. Using Big Blue Reader to write 3.5" PC
format on CBM will permit transfer.
ST also has RS-232 port, so one can transfer data by using RS-232 adaptor
on the C64 and some terminal/handshaking programs to control the transfer.
7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
One way is to use PC and then ftp to UNIX, unless the UNIX runs on a PC.
Some Sparctations have drives with MSDOS filesystem emulation, but it has
problems even with Atari/DOS disks.
cbmfs
cbmfs is a read-only filesystem driver which allows transparent reading of
1581 disks under Linux. It is installed as a loadable kernel module and
allows mounting Commodore 1581 disks in a standard 3.5" floppy drive, and
1541 disk images (.D64 files) copied to any floppy disk. PETSCII to ASCII
conversion can be automatically performed. Partitions on 1581 disks are
accessed as subdirectories. The publically-released version will be
available at <ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/linux/incoming/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz>
and at <ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz>.
prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: UNIX and 64/128
+ Olaf Seibert and Marko Makela (Authors)
| ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
| prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
| to transfer data from the Commodore to Linux (or any UNIX).
7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?
If you are transferring data to another computer (e.g. a PC) in the same
room, or if you are lucky enough to have a terminal server line near your
64/128(more and more colleges are putting such beasts in dorm rooms), you
be able to connect your serial port directly to another computer. If you
have a terminal server port, all you need is a C= RS232 to standard RS232
adapter (see 9.8). If you are connecting to another, PC, you will also
need a null modem. A null modem is a simple device that you can buy for
less than $10. It typically is a small box with a 25-pin (or 9-pin) RS232
connector on either side. Put it somewhere in the line between your C= and
the other PC.
8. Operating Systems
Most Commodore users aren't aware that each machine has an operating
system. Since all Commodore systems come complete with a built in
operating system and BASIC programming language, the need for an
operating system is minimized. However, Commodore's internal OS is
not always the right tool for the job, so alternate OS systems are
available for the CBM.
8.1. What Operating Systems are available?
Well, Commodore computers come with a standard operating system
built in ROM. They also contain a built in BASIC interpreter which is
normally activated after switching on or resetting the computer.
If you want alternative options to replace the existing OS, there are a few
that may suit your needs. GEOS is the best known, but a number of people
have made UNIX-like operating system replacements for the Commodore 64 and
128. Also, on the 128, CP/M is available out-of-the-box. (see below for
details on different OS types.)
8.2. What is GEOS?
GEOS stands for Graphical Environment Operating System. It is a Graphical
User Interface (GUI) style of OS, and it brings to the Commodore 64 and 128
integrated applications. The graphical nature of GEOS allows applications
to use fonts of any size, bitmaps, and menus and mice. The system was
Designed by Berkeley Softworks, now GEOWorks, and is supported now by CMD.
There are a number of graphical style GEOS applications, like GEOWrite,
GEOPaint, GEOPublish, GEOTerm, etc. The system is very easy to use, and
is very fast, even when compared to other GUIs like Windows and OS/2.
GEOS can make very effective use of a Ram Expansion Unit, a RAMDrive or
RAMLink, or GEORam. GEOS allows you to configure your REU to appear just
like another (very fast) disk drive, although it does not keep its contents
when you turn your computer off. So, any GEOS software that works off of
a disk will work out of your REU. Since GEOS is very disk-intensive, this
greatly improves the performance of your system. Indeed, some firm GEOS
adherents have said that they would not use GEOS without a RAM device of
some sort.
GEOS will not work with a stock 1700. To have a RAM drive, in GEOS, you
must have at least 256K of expansion. Thanks to patches developed by Jim
Collette(configure2.1), GEOS also supports 1 Meg, 1.5 Meg, and 2 Meg REUs.
GEOS files are structured differently from standard Commodore files. They
cannot be uploaded or downloaded directly. Before you upload a GEOS file,
use the freeware GEOS application convert2.5 by W.C. Coleman to convert it
to Commodore format. When you download a GEOS file, you must use the same
program to convert it to GEOS format. By convention, GEOS format files
converted to standard Commodore format have a .cvt on the end; however,
many converted GEOS files just have the same name as the original GEOS file.
As a rule of thumb, any GEOS file you download, regardless of the extension,
must be converted to GEOS format with convert2.5.
If you download an archive of GEOS files (e.g. a .arc or .sda file
containing GEOS files), you must first dissolve the archive using your C64
or C128 in native mode. The constituents of the archive will be converted
GEOS files, whether or not they have the .cvt extension. Each of these
constituents (which are GEOS files) must be individually converted to GEOS
format with convert2.5.
If you need some help with GEOS or any aspect of it, I refer you to Myles
Skinner at mskinner@julian.uwo.ca. He is one of many people who use GEOS
every day and can be of help.
8.3. What is UNIX?
UNIX is an OS that was developed by Bell Laboratories in the 1960's and
is now used on many workstations. It is a multi-user, multi-process
OS that has extensive support from the educational and commercial
communities. Internet and Usenet are primarily a collection of UNIX
workstations networked together. The UNIX-like OS replacements for
Commodore computers mainly emulate the shell of UNIX, where programs are
run by merely typing in their name. Other aspects of UNIX, such as
multiple processes are supported by some of the offering, which are:
Asterix. - A UNIX-Look-and-feel Shell replacement for 64
UNIX128. - A small implementation of UNIX for the 128.
ACE 128/64.- A new offering which borrows the UNIX shell look for 64
| and 128. It is available at:
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/os/ace/
+ LUnix - A new offering which attempts an implementation of UNIX
+ for the 64. It is available at:
| ftp://rpool1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/~etk10217/proj.htm
+ CS/A65 - Andre Fachat's multitasking OS. At:
+ http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/csa/
+ CXII - http://www.cynapses.com/ry/cx2home.html
8.4. What is CP/M
CP/M stands for Control Program for Microcomputers and is available on
every Commodore 128. There is also a CP/M cartridge available for the
Commodore 64, but it cannot read CP/M disks, just 1541 formatted disks, and
there are questions concerning its ability to work with all revisions
of the Commodore 64. CP/M was very popular in the early eighties before
MS-DOS became popular. It requires a Z-80 microprocessor, which the 128
has, or an 8080 processor, and a disk drive capable of reading CP/M disks,
such as the 1571. If you don't need to read existing CP/M formatted disks,
then a 1541 could also be used. This operating system is the one that
MS-DOS was modeled after, so there are a lot of similarities. If you are
interested in using CP/M as your primary OS, then please check out the
newsgroup comp.os.cpm, as they have more info on the current events
concerning CP/M.
The version of CP/M used on the 128 is 3.0, commonly called CP/M Plus.
It is compatible with earlier versions of CP/M but adds some new features.
The copy of CP/M 3.0 that ships with the 128 was specially modified to allow
use of the features of the 128, such as the Ram Expansion Unit as a RAM
disk, the SID chip, and the extra RAM of the 128.
In the March 1994 issue of dieHard, Mike Gordillo gave an overview of the
CP/M operating system. It is one of many such articles that should be read
by anyone new to CP/M.
9. Demonstrations
Very few Commodore enthusiasts have never seen a demonstration, yet
many aren't really sure what one is. Well, since these programs are still
alive and strong in the 1990's, we need to answer some of their mysteries
(but not all of them, as their job is to amaze).
9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo?
A demonstration, or "demo" as they are known, is a piece of software that
is designed to provoke a visually and aurally pleasing effect from the
computer. This usually involves large amounts of multi-colored graphics,
complex synthesized or digitized sounds, and orchestrated movement of
shapes or color schemes on the screen. Demos originated as introductions
to "cracked" games, games in which the copy protection had been rendered
useless. As time wore on, the standard abilities of the computer were all
used in demos, and rival "cracker" teams raced to bring out the best demo.
In the search for the "best demo", demo authors, or "coders", tried to
maximize the use of the computer in a demo program. Also, they exploited
any undocumanted feature the computer could provide. Since most of the
circuits in the Commodore computers were multi-purpose, experienced coders
could use some of their features in non-standard ways. Some examples:
Removing the top and bottom border.
Removing the side borders.
Placing text (text mapped sprites) in the open borders.
More than 8 sprites on screen at once.
pseudo interlacing to create illusion of up to 640*400 resolution.
Since the commercial game market has shrunk significantly over the past
few years, and since demos are sometimes too involved to be classified
as a game into, many demos are packaged so they can "stand-on-their-own".
Users can download a demo, load it up, and run it like any other program.
As demos got more involved, some coders produced cutting-edge technology
demos intended to "one-up" their rival coders, while others made artistic,
but less technically challenging demos for arts sake. Either way, it is
important to note that demos are not usually interactive. They are meant to
be viewed and listened to. Demos are mostly passive entertainment, and
appreciation for the effects generated in a demo increases as one
realizes the normal limitations of the Commodore line of computers.
So, sit back, load up a demo, run it, and enjoy.
9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean?
These two acronyms refer to the type of TV broadcasting signals used
to create the video picture on your TV or monitor. American, Japanese, and
Canadians use NTSC, while a good part of Europe uses PAL. This usually
makes no difference to programs, as the C64 and C128 in C64 mode always
present 200 lines of pixels to the video display. However, since the PAL
standard allows more lines to be displayed on the screen and has a slower
screen refresh time, the PAL computer has more time before screen
refreshes to perform other operations, and also can put more information
on the screen in some cases, since there are more lines in a PAL dislpay.
Since demos use highly optimized timing and complex routines to perform
the effects, some demos can only be written for PAL machines. Sometimes,
a demo is written for a PAL machine, but it can be made to run on an
NTSC machine. Demos that can run on both machines without any code
modification are called regular demos, those that can only run on PAL
machines are PAL demos, PAL demos that have been modified to run on NTSC
machines are called NTSC-fixed demos, and NTSC demos that have been
modified to run on PAL machines (rare) are called PAL-fixed demos.
The mean difference between NTSC and PAL is that the mathematical
description of NTSC will fit on one page while PAL takes a phone-book
style book full of integral/Fourier/Laplace equations.
From a demo coder's point of view, the difference lies in how many cycles
you get per scan line and how many scanlines there are:
VIC type cycles per line lines per screen frame rate
old NTSC-M 64 262 60 Hz
new NTSC-M 65 263 60 Hz
all PAL-B 63 312 50 Hz
9.3. Where do I get demos?
There is a whole site full of demos. They are located in the
/pub/cbm/c64/demos directory of nic.funet.fi. See section 5.4 for
directions on how to transfer files from this site.
9.4. What is a demo competition?
This is a "convention" where people from the demo "scene" get together.
They are usually held in Europe, although other countries do have them.
Coders get together and exhibit previously unreleased demos in a competition
where the best ones are ranked according to a subjective scoring system.
At the end of the competition, the demos are released to the public. To
make things somewhat fair, demos are judged according to computer type, so
Amiga demos do not get judged alongside 64 demos. These competitions are
usually held in conjunction with music or art competitions.
Most demo competitions are held within Europe due to copyright laws and
stuff.
Previous pardies (demos parties, or competitions) held were:-
Event Location Date
----- -------- ----
Radwar Pardy Germany January 1994
Pardy III Denmark Decemeber 1993
Chormance & Faces Pardy Hungary December 1993
Elysium Pardy Poland Decemeber 1993
Entropy Pardy Holland June 1993
Assembley '93 Pardy Finland May 1993
The Computer Crossroads Sweden April 1993
Radwar Pardy Germany January 1993
Duration 1993-1994 (March 1994)
Most pardies are held when all the schools are on hoildays.
The point of a copy pardy is to go there with your computer, meet other
computer friends from other groups and swap different warez, meet other
members of your group and using the combined skills from the members
(graphics/coding/musix/spreading), write a demo before the closing time for
the pardy so it can get voted on. The winner comes away with about 300
Kronar or similar.
9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean?
Writing a successful demo often means tweaking routines and hardware
to reach beyond the normal capabilities of a computer system. Such is
partially why such programs are called "demos". To tweak the system and
hardware, programmers utilize undefined routines, use hardware in non-
standard ways, and create tming loops that force events to happen at
certain intervals. When these components are composed together, they
create an effect, either via video or sound. The effect is known by a
name or phrase. Some phrases are known by their acronyms, as the two in
| the heading are known. FLI is Flexible Line Interlace, while DYCP
| is Differential Y Character Position. It is beyond the scope of the FAQ to
discuss all the effect names, but a somewhat complete list can be found
at http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/demo-acronyms.txt on WWW or as file
demo-acronyms.txt on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section for more
information on mailservers.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
10. Emulators
10.1. What is an emulator?
10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on?
10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on?
10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated?
11. Troubleshooting
11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive?
11.2. What do I do for my ill computer?
11.2.1. What do I do for my ill Commodore 64?
11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128?
11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard?
12. Modifications and Cabling
12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from?
12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply?
12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128?
12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable?
12.5. How do I build a 2400/9600 bps RS-232 interface cable?
12.6. How can I determine how much VDC video memory is in my C128?
12.7. How do I build a GEOCable interface?
+ 12.8. How do I connect my Commodore printer to an IBM PC?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Emulators
As time moves on, people move to other computer systems, for business resons
or otherwise. However, many still long to play Commodore games, use
Commodore software, and enjoy Commodore demos. Thus, emulators were born
to bring the non-Commodore computer owner the enjoyment of owning a
Commodore.
10.1. What is an emulator?
An emulator is a piece of software that runs on a given platform and
emulates, or mimics, the operation of another machine. When the
emulator loads up a program, the programs runs as though it were running
on the emulated platform.
| For more information on emulators and their use, please see The Commodore
| emulator FAQ, maintained by Ken Gifford (tsrken@voicenet.com). It
| can also be found on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section 6.5.2 for more
| information).
For those with WWW browsers, the CBM Emulation FAQ is at:
| http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/faq/
10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on?
64 emulators exist on the following machines:
Amiga
IBM
Atari ST
Macintosh
UNIX
10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on?
There is a very basic Commodore 128 emulator bundled available for the
UNIX platform under X. It is bundled with X64.
10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated?
There is a commodore product called the PET emulator that remaps a
Commodore 64 to emulate a PET 40 column unit (i.e. PET 4032). You can
run this program on a C64 to emulate a PET, or you can run this program
| on a 64 emulator to emulate a PET on an IBM, for example.
+ As for VIC-20 emulators, one exists for the Amiga, and there is a program
+ similar to the PET Emulator that allows a C64 to emulate a VIC-20. For the
+ UNIX OS, one called VICE is available for machines with X Windows. Contact
+ Andre Fachat (a.fachat@physik.tu-chemnitz.de) for more information. The
+ emulator is at: http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/
+ For the MS-DOS platform, a program called V20 is available at:
+ http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~be/vic.htm
+ For more information on this emulator contact Bryce Ewing at
+ be@ihug.co.nz.
Although not necessarily a different Commodore computer, there is a
GEOS emulator in the works. It is called GEOS Warp v1.0 and information
is available at http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/geoswarp/index.html.
A version for the Apple PowerMac is in the alpha stage, and support for
a PC version. Plans for a UNIX/X11 version are still unclear. The author
is Andreas Varga, and can be contacted at e9426444@stud1.tuwien.ac.at.
+ VIC-20 Emulator for DOS
+ Paul Robson (Author)
+ autismuk@aol.com (Internet Contact)
+ http://users.aol.com/autismuk/vic20.zip (WWW URL)
11. Troubleshooting
11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive?
If the drive spins and the LEDs are off:
At the back of the 1541 circuit board are two bridge rectifiers - stout
epoxy packages with 4 leads each. The innermost one is defective
If both LEDs are dim:
The 5VDC regulator is bad.
If both LEDS are on:
Drive did not make it through the power-on reset sequence. Kernal ROM
(901229-05) is susepct, as is (in order of expectation): VIA (6522),
CPU (6502), RAM (6116 or equivalent), or a "glue" chip in the reset logic
If your drive won't even accept input from the computer, and the drive
light is making some blinking pattern, then the drive may be telling you
what is wrong.
No Blink Kernal (E000-FFFF) ROM or 6522 VIA Failure
One Blink 6116 RAM Failure
Two Blinks Possible Zero Page RAM Failure
Three Blinks DOS (C000-CFFF) ROM Failure
Four Blinks DOS (C000-CFFF) ROM Failure
Five Blinks 6116 RAM Failure
Six Blinks 6116 RAM Failure
| Six Blinks 2114 RAM Failure at c4 or c5 (8050)
Seven Blinks 6116 RAM Failure
Eight Blinks 6116 RAM Failure
1541
The most common problem facing the 1541 disk drive is alignment. If your
1541 has trouble reading commercial disks, or reading disks written some
time ago, but has less trouble reading recently written disks, chances are
that your 1541 is out of alignment. C= service centers will typically align
a 1541 for anywhere from $20 to $45. There are also 1541 alignment
programs, (e.g. Free Spirit's "1541/71 Alignment System") which allow you
to align a 1541 yourself. There are those who claim that this does not
produce good results, but there are others who claim to have had
satisfactory results with these programs. There were a couple of articles
in COMPUTE Gazette and I think RUN on how to do this. The real problem is
mechanical in nature and can be over come. Other products are PHYSICAL
EXAM 1541 and 1571 versions.
+ All but the very earliest 1541 units can accomodate either a 1541 ALPS
+ mechanism or a newer Newtronics mechanism. Keep that in mind when
+ swammping mechanisms.
1571
The C=1571 drive is normally a double sided drive. However, it can also
emulate a 1541 and read single sided disks. Some of the earlier 1571's had
older system chips (ROMs) which caused a couple of problems. One, these
older drives were typically very slow when writing to the back side of a
disk. Two, it would take these drives ~30 seconds to go into single sided
mode. To check your ROM version, read the error channel of the disk drive
right after startup. On the 128, just PRINT DS$. On the 64, use:
10 open15,8,15:input#15,a,a$,b,c:close15:printa,a$,b,c
| Run the program; if the message says v3.1, you have the newer ROM.
| If it has a version 3.0 or older, you have the older ROM.
One problem that might occur is not having the head close enough to the disk
as required because of the light tension of the spring that pulls the head
down. Somewhere I remember that there was supposed to be a replacement
part. However, one of the alignment programs suggesting using pennies to
weight it down and lo and behold it started working.
1581
The C=1581 drive is a 3.5" drive that uses DSDD 800K disks. It is
compatible with both the C64 and C128, although some programs will not work
correctly with the 1581.
A small number of 1581's were shipped with an early version of a controller
chip which has problems with some software.
11.2. What do I do for my ill computer?
At times, every computer must be serviced. As the parts supply of Commodore
equipment dwindles, servicing becomes harder. However, there are many
sources in Section 16.2 that can service your Commodore machine, and here
are some things you can do to service it yourself.
If the screen is garbled, but BASIC seems to be limping along, and any
command is met by an error, RAM could be bad. You can look at bit
patterns on the screen by determining screen codes for garbage characters.
only bit 4 (32) should be on. After you determine which bits, here is the
bit->IC mapping:
Bit 7 (128) : U12
Bit 6 (64) : U24
Bit 5 (32) : U11
Bit 4 (16) : U23
Bit 3 (8) : U10
Bit 2 (4) : U22
Bit 1 (2) : U9
Bit 0 (1) : U21
A common problem with the C-64 is it's power supply. The C64 power
supplies are not especially powerful, and have this disturbing tendency to
fail. If your computer stops working, first check the power supply.
Replacement power supplies can be obtained from a number of mail order
places (e.g. Tenex, Parsec, Inc.). Additionally, several places advertise
"heavy-duty" power supplies that come with warranties, and give the C64
enough power to run a REU.
If your power supply goes, it can sometimes take other parts of the
computer with it. If your power supply has died, but the C64 continues
to fail with a known working power supply, it is likely that a few of your
chips got fried.
Also, another common problem with the C64 is the fuse inside the computer.
If the system power on light comes on, but you get a blank screen, suspect
the fuse. It is usually blown by misinsertion of devices into the computer.
+ According to the official Commodore Diagnostician II Reference Chart
+ released September 1989:
+ " intermittent blank screen or graphics " are caused by:
+ Bad power supply
+ Failed 6510 Microprocessor Chip
+ Failed 6567 VIC NTSC (6569 PAL) Chip
+ Failed 82s100 Programmable Logic Array Chip (PLA)
+ Failed 901226 Basic ROM Chip
+ Failed 4164 Memory RAM
+ The PLA chip is 40% responsible for all full screen failures.
11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128?
Like the 1571, the C-128 has an older ROM and a newer ROM. The differences
between the two are less serious than is the case with a 1571. The easiest
way to tell the difference is to click down the CAPS LOCK key and hit Q
while in BASIC direct mode. If you see a lower case q, then you have an
older ROM. If you see an upper case Q, then you have a newer ROM. New ROMs
| can be ordered from (e.g. Paxtron Corporation) for about $25. The ROM
| chips in the 128 are all socketed, so replacing the chips is relatively
| easy.
11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard?
Clean it:
Materials you will need:
Denatured (rubbing) alcohol, a clean pencil eraser, cotton swabs, a small
Phillips head screwdriver, a jewellers size Phillips screwdriver, a
solder iron of some type, and a Commodore 64 computer keyboard.
Procedure:
1. FIRST AND FOREMOST. Make certain that you have discharged any static
electricity in your body by grounding yourself to something like a cold
water pipe. Otherwise, you could blow chips in your computer if you
were to touch the wrong things.
2. Turn off your computer and unplug any and all cords and connectors,
fast-loaders, modems, etc. (just have yourself a naked (if you will
excuse the expression) computer).
3. Thoroughly clean all external connectors and ports with the swabs and
alcohol. Also, clean all plugs that go into those ports. If the problem
you had persists, proceed with the following:
4. On a clean surface, turn your key-board upside-down. Remove the screws
in the bottom.
5. CAREFULLY, separate the two halves about an inch. Unplug the connector
to the "power" LED on the top of the C-64.
6. Place the two halves flat so that the keyboard is facing you. The two
halves will be connected by a wire harness. This harness may be held
down by tape that must be removed in order to place the unit flat.
7. Remove the 15 or so brass screws that hold the circuit board under
the keyboard.
7a.Unsolder the wires going to the shift-lock key.
8. Turn the circuit board over. You will see the bottom of the keyboard
with a rubber "U" under each key, which makes contact with the board.
You will also see on the circuit board, a pair of gold contacts for
each key on the C-64.
9. CAREFULLY wash ALL the rubber "U"'s and the gold contacts with the
swabs and rubbing alcohol. Allow the alcohol to DRY.
10.Gently, clean each gold contact with the eraser. BRUSH AWAY THE ERASER
CRUMBS (I use a small hand-held, battery-powered vacuum cleaner).
11.Re-clean the gold contacts with the swabs and alcohol to ensure that
you have removed ALL traces of the eraser.
12.Reassemble the C-64 in the reverse order of disassembly.
12. Modifications and Cabling
As time wears on, many Commodore owners are turning to themselves to
manufacture small interfaces, modify their systems, and perform other
enhancements. Here are some common things the user can construct
himself or herself.
12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from?
On a 128, you can force the 1571 to go into single sided mode with the drive
command "u0>m0". (Issue such a command with open15,8,15,"u0>m0":close15.)
On the 64, a 1571 defaults to single sided mode, but you can convert it to
double sided mode (and read full double sided disk in 64 mode) with the
drive command "u0>m1". While in single sided mode, you can actually format
both sides of the disk as separate file systems. The command "u0>h0"
selects the regular side of the disk, and "u0>h1" selects the flip side of
the disk. Note that the flip side, when formatted this way, cannot be read
by a 1541; neither side will be readable by a 1571 when the disk is
inserted upside-down.
12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply?
First, unplug both leads running from the power supply and turn it upside
down. Locate four (4) small circles in the bottom; two are in the corners
and two in the other end a bit nearer each other.
Find some sharp tool, e.g. pin or nail. In turn, poke it inside each of
the cirles, firmly, and pull the caps off gently. They'll come out easily.
Breaking the caps should not matter, but there is no need to destroy the
casing in process.
Unsrew the 4 Phillips headed srews with an appropriate tool.
Notes:
This does not apply to the C64 brick!
Some 128 power supplies do not have rubber feet; rather, they have "L"-
shaped extensions on the casing. The caps on these extensions are not
made of rubber, but can be removed.
12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128?
Here is the diagram used to make a replacement Chroma / Luminence 40
column cable, that the 1902A uses, to connect to the 64 or 128.
_______ ________
/ 3 \ 1. Not Used / 2 \ *1. Luminance
/ 2 4 \ *2. Audio / 4 5 \ *2. Ground
! ! *3. Ground ! ! *3. Audio out
! 6 ! *4. Chroma ! 1 6 3 ! 4. Video out
! ! 5. Not Used ! ! 5. Audio in
\ 1 5 / *6. Luminance \ 7 8 / *6. Chroma
\____n____/ \____n____/ 7. Not used
8. Not used
1902A 64/128
* Actually used
12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable?
Here are a couple of different interface ideas, and another can be found
at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/CBM/documents/rs232.txt
Using MAX-232 IC:
Userport C64 C64 RS232
_________
| |
PA2 M-----------11-| |-14------------------- TXD (2)
PB1 D-----------10-| |--7------------------- RTS (4)
PB6 K-----------12-| MAX 232 |-13------------------- CTS (5)
FLAG2 B---X--------9-| |--8------------------- RXD (3)
PB0 C---| | |--3--|+-|
VCC 2-----------16-| |--1-----| DB25-connector
GND N------X----15-| |
X--|+-2-| |--5--|+-|
X--+|-6-|_________|--4-----|
|
|---------------------------------------- GND (7)
-|+- capacitor 22uF/16V
- +
Using Transistors:
RS-232 interface
<Transistors are 2n2222>
<24 pin edge connector>
N <-----------------------+-----------+
/ !
22k !-!>+ !
M <----/\/\/--------! !
!---+ !
1k \ ! <male db25 connector>
2 <----/\/\/--------------+------------>-------------------> 2
!
+-----------------+
\
+<!-! 22k
!---------------/\/\/------------> 8
+---!
/
H <-----------------+
E <--------------------------------------------------------> 20
C <---+
!
B <---+-------------+
\
+---! 22k
!---------------/\/\/------------> 3
+<!-!
/
A <-----------------+--------------------------------+-----> 7
!
+-----> 4
!
+-----> 1
If you are having problems with this circuit as it stands, you may wish
to modify it in this way to reverse the clock signal:
Disconnect the emitter and collector on the middle transistor of the
diagram (the one that goes to the H line on the computer side)
Connect the collector to pin 2 on the 24 pin edge connector (the 5v Vcc
line), connect the emitter to pin H on the same connector, then connect a
1k ohm resistor to the same pin H and the other end of the resistor to pin N
or A.
12.5. How do I build a 2400/9600 bps RS-232 interface cable?
A new programming technique makes it possible to acheive 9600 bps on an
| unexpanded Commodore 64 without the use of a Swiftlink cartridge.
Daniel Dallmann of Germany is the originator of this technique and is
currently writing modem drivers for some of the popular C64 terminal
emulation programs to take advantage of this new technique.
The interface described below is a little more complex than the one
in Section 12.4, but has many advantages:
* The interface generates proper EIA232 (RS-232) voltage levels.
The one in Section 12.4 relies on the ability of most newer RS232
equipment to handle lower voltages.
* The following interface can be used as a direct replacement for the
| interface in Section 12.4, and will work will all most
telecommunications programs at up to 2400 bps, while providing the
necessary interfacing to allow suitably equipped applications to
| operate at up to 9600 bps. (Some programs needing DCD and DTR lines
| may have problems.)
* if you currently own a normal RS232 interface, that interface can be
modified to incorporate the new interfacing for 9600 bps operation.
(in some cases one line of the old interface has to be disconnected,
see note **1 )
9600 bps is the maximum limit this type of technique due to the timing
limitations of the C64. The delay between the activation of the NMI-handler
and the falling edge of rxd is too long. The handler must be called in
less than 100 cycles. That's no problem at 9600 bps, but for 19200 baud
(the next higher baud rate), you have only 50 cycles, and that's impossoble
(because of VIC-DMA ). On a C128 in fast mode 38400 baud may be possible,
but I don't have a C128, so someone else has to try it out.
Schematic of a very simple RS232-Interface:
userport MAX232 rs232 9pin 25pin
+----------+
! !
(C) pb0--+ ! !
! ! /! !
(B) flag2--*--------------------O< !--------- rxd 2 3
! 9! \! !8
*7* sp2--+ ! !
! !
*6* cnt2--+ ! !
! ! !
*L* pb7--+ <NOTE **1!> ! !
! !\ !
(M) pa2--*--------------------! >O--------- txd 3 2
! 11! !/ !14
*5* sp1--+ ! !
74ls00 ! !
+-----+ ! !
! ! ! !\ !
(D) pb1-*------>O-------------! >O--------- rts 7 4
! 1! !3 10! !/ !7
+----! ! ! !
2! ! ! /! !
(K) pb6--------O<-----*-------O< !--------- cts 8 5
6! !4 ! 12! \! !13
! !--+ ! !
(1) gnd------! !5 ! !--- gnd 5 7
7! ! ! !15
(2) +5V------! ! ! ! (dsr 6 6)
14+-----+ ! !
! ! (dcd 1 8)
! !
! ! (dtr 4 20)
c2 ! !+ ! !
| (2) +5v------------! !-----! ! (ri 9 22)
! ! 2! !
! !
c4 +! ! ! !
(1) gnd------------! !-----! !
! ! 6! !
! !
c1 ! !+ ! !
+-! !-----! !
! ! ! 1! !
! ! !
+---------! !
3! !
c3 ! !+ ! !
+-! !-----! !
! ! ! 4! !
! ! !
+---------! !
5! !
! !
(1) gnd--------------------! !
15! !
! !
(2) +5V--------------------! !
16+----------+
(x) - connections required for a normal RS232-Interface.
*x* - additional connections to go up to 9600 baud.
| remark: The MAX232 needs 4 capacitors to generate +/- 10 volts to
| drive the RS-232 unit. The values are as such: (in uF)
| IC C1 C2 C3 C4
| ------- --- --- --- ---
| MAX232 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
| MAX232A 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
| MAX232E 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
notes :
**1 Some other interfaces use this pin. In that case you have to cut
the connection and change it to new way. PB7 is normally used to
receive the DSR (Data Set Ready) signal from the modem, but this
signal isn't supported by all terminal programs. Because of the new
wiring DSR will seem to be active to all 'old' programs, so that
there won't be any troubles.
Top view of the used ICs:
74 LS 00 MAX232
+------+ +------+
inA -!1 \/14!- vcc +cap1 -!1 \/16!- Vcc
inA -! !- inC +cap2 -! !- GND
outA -! !- inC -cap1 -! !- RS232/txd
inB -! !- outC +cap3 -! !- RS232/cts
inB -! !- inD -cap3 -! !- TTL/^cts
outB -! !- inD -cap4 -! !- TTL/txd
gnd -!7 8!- outD RS232/rts -! !- TTL/^rts
+------+ RS232/rxd -!8 9!- TTL/rxd
+------+
4 X NAND
2 X RS232 transmitter
2 X RS232 receiver
user port (view on C64s backside)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (top)
------------------------------------
A B C D E F H J K L M N (bottom)
1 - GND A - GND
2 - +5V B - ^flag2
3 - ^reset C - pb0
4 - cnt1 D - pb1
5 - sp1 E - pb2
6 - cnt2 F - pb3
7 - sp2 H - pb4
8 - ^pc2 J - pb5
9 - atn in K - pb6
10- 9V AC L - pb7
11- 9V AC M - pa2
12- GND N - GND
12.6. How can I determine how much VDC video memory is in my C128?
Here are two ways to detect whether the C128 VDC chip has 16kB or 64kB
of RAM.
1 rem fred's nifty program to determine size of 8563 dram
5 w=dec("cdcc"):r=dec("cdda")
10 bank15: ad=dec("d600"): da=ad+1 :rem setup ml
20 pokead,28: s=peek(da): pokeda,63 :rem select 64k
30 i=16896: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysw,85,31 :rem write $55
40 i=16896: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysr,,31:rregc1 :rem read here
50 i=17152: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysr,,31:rregc2 :rem and here
60 i=16896: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysw,170,31 :rem write $aa
70 i=16896: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysr,,31:rregc3 :rem read here
80 i=17152: sysw,i/256,18:sysw,iand255,19:sysr,,31:rregc4 :rem and here
90 pokead,28: pokeda,s:sysdec("ff62") :rem restore 16/64k
95 print chr$(14)chr$(147)
100 if c1=c2 and c3=c4 then print "16K": else print"64K" :rem did it echo?
110 end
or:
POKE DEC("D600"),28:POKE DEC("D601"),63:SYS DEC("FF62"):SCNCLR
If you have 16k the screen will fill with zeros; 64k will give you a
ready prompt.
12.7. How can I convert my C64 to run on battery power?
The July, 1990 issue of 73 Amateur Radio has an article on converting
the C64 and 1541 to run on DC power. I'll summarize the C64 portion:
DC Power Conversion for the C64
1. Locate component CR4 on the circuit board. Mark the positive hole on
the board. Desolder and remove the component.
2. Rest :-)
3. Connect the marked hole to +12V.
4. Desolder and remove VR1. Looking down at the component side of the
board, connect a wire from the vacant right hand hole and run it to
+12V.
5. Locate L5. It will probably be in one of two locations. On the older
version, desolder the right hand leg and lift. On the newer version,
desolder the top leg and lift.
6. Connect +5V to the empty L5 hole.
7. Locate the R37 and R100 pads. Use a continuity meter to find the pads
that are connected. Desolder and lift these legs. You will insert a
60 Hz clock here.
8. You could generate this clock using a variety of methods. Here's one:
+12V
__________________________|
| |
| C1 R1 ______|_______
|-)|-+-/\/\/-+-----|6 8 |
| | \ | |
| XTAL1 / R2 | MM5369 |
| | \ | |
|-)|-+-------+-----|5 1|---> 60 Hz (to R37 pad)
C2 | 2 |
---------------
|
GND
C1 = 30 pF
C2 = 3-15 pF (variable)
XTAL1 = 3.57 MHz crystal
R1 = 1k
R2 = 10M
It is suggested that you use a short length of shielded coax cable to
connect the 60 Hz output to the R37/R100 pad.
Also, it is suggested that you use a frequency counter to tune the above
circuit to exactly 60 Hz.
This conversion would work well if you wanted to use the C64 in a car or powered
by a solar set-up.
12.7. How do I build a GEOCable interface?
The interface is simply a cable between the printer and the user port.
The pinout is as follows:
pin on 64 pin on printer
a Ground 33 Grond
b Flag 2 11 Busy
c PB0 2 Data 1
d PB1 3 Data 2
e PB2 4 Data 3
f PB3 5 Data 4
h PB4 6 Data 5
j PB5 7 Data 6
k PB6 8 Data 7
l PB7 9 Data 8
m PA2 1 Strobe
n Ground 16 Ground
Superscript uses the same cable, but has the following change:
b Flag 2 10 Acknowledge
Either wiring will work with either program, but the GEOCable wiring
is preferred.
+ 12.8. How do I connect my Commodore printer to an IBM PC?
+ Look for the plans for the interface at:
+ http://www.coast.net/simtel/msdos/info/c64topc.zip
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
13. Enhancements
13.1. How do I increase my disk drive's transfer speed?
13.1.1. What is a Fastloader?
13.1.2. What is a ROM replacement?
13.1.3. What are the disadvantages to using a drive enhancement?
13.1.4. What other things can I do to speed up the drive?
13.2. How do I expand my disk drive's capacity?
13.2.1. What is a Hard Drive? Who sells them?
13.2.2. What is 64NET?
+ 13.2.3. What is SERVER64?
13.3. How do I expand my computer's RAM capacity?
13.3.1. What is a Ram Expansion Unit?
13.3.2. What is a geoRAM Unit?
13.3.3. What is battery backed GeoRAM (BBGRam)?
13.3.4. What is a RAMLink?
13.3.5. What is a RAMDrive?
13.3.6. How do I expand my C128 Video RAM?
13.3.7. How do I expand my C64 internally?
13.3.8. How do I expand my C128 internally?
13.4. How do I increase my computer's speed?
13.4.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's speed?
13.4.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's speed?
13.4.3. Can I speed up other Commodore computers?
13.5. How do I increase my computer screen's resolution?
13.5.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's screen resolution?
13.5.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's screen resolution?
13.5.3. How do I increase other CBM computers' resolutions?
13.6. How do I increase my computer's serial transfer speed?
13.7. How do I increase my computer's sound quality?
13.8. What other ways can I expand my Commodore computer?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Enhancements
If you like to tinker with your Commodore to get the best possible
performance out of it, these suggestions and products may help you
in your quest.
13.1. How do I increase my disk drive's transfer speed?
Since the introduction of the Commodore VIC-20 and the slow serial bus,
Commodore owners have been plagued by slow disk access. There are two
ways to allevaiet this problem, fastloaders and ROM replacements.
13.1.1. What is a Fastloader?
The Commodore 1541 drive and any drive attached to a VIC-20, C64, Plus 4,
C116, or C16 suffer from very slow read and write times. This is caused
by Commodore's haste in "economizing" the IEEE-488 bus used in the PET
series of Commodore computers into the serial bus. The IEEE-488 bus
transferred 8 bits of data at a time, and performed some synchronization
steps, or handshaking, between bytes. Commodore reduced the path to 1 bit
but kept most of the original handshaking, most of which is redundant when
transferring 1 bit at a time. Early on, some developers noted that, since
the 1541 drive was intelligent enough to execute a program loaded into its
RAM, and the Commodore operating system calls to do disk I/O could be
bypassed, they could write software that sped up the loading process by
modifying or completely changing the protocol used on the serial bus. This
is the idea behind fastload cartridges like FastLoad, Mach 5, etc...
13.1.2. What is a ROM replacement?
As programs became more complex, some programs would not operate with
this approach. Thus, the developers then rewrote parts of the Commodore
operating system on both the computer and the disk drive, and replaced the
parts of them that did disk I/O with new pieces of code. This is the idea
behind JiffyDos and others.
The basic idea in speeding up the disk drive is to use more than 1 line
to transfer data, effectively doubling the transfer speed. Then, reduce
synchronization requirements in the protocol to a bare minimum, as
synchronizing time is time not being used to do transfers.
The fastload cartridges are handicapped somewhat by the need to transfer
the portion of the program that runs in the disk drive to the drive using
the slow speed evry time the drive is used. This can be alleviated
somewhat, but the replacement operating system replacement products like
JiffyDos win the race since they do not need to load code into the drive,
as it is already there.
13.1.3. What are the disadvantages to using a drive enhancement?
The products are not 100% compatible, as they sacrifice reliability for
speed somewhat. That means that a program that does not load due to an
error while using a fastload product will probably load without the
fastloading enabled. Also, some programs can not handle the change in
loading or reading speed, so these enhancements yield about 90%
compatibility.
13.1.4. What other things can I do to speed up the drive?
You can also increase the speed of disk drive operation by organizing
consecutive parts of a file on disk to fall a certain number of disk
sectors apart. This is called the interleave or interleaving factor.
Normally, a 1541 disk drive space consecutive parts of a file 10 sectors
apart, but you can change that a little to minimize the time needed to find
consecutive parts of a file.
Also, the C128 in 128 mode hooked up to a 1571 or 1581 has a built-in
fastloading scheme called burst loading. Therefore, if you are in 128 mode
and hooked up to a 1581 or a 1571, you already have this feature. However,
the 128 in 64 mode reverts back to the old slow serial routines, and the 128
in any mode using a 1541 cannot use the burst load routines.
13.2. How do I expand my disk drive's capacity?
Software Support International sells the 1541 RAMBoard, which will increase
you 1541's memory. SSI used to market a similar board for the 1571, but they
have depleted stock and no longer carry it.
You can also expand your disk drives on board RAM capacity, and use that extra
memory for better archiving performance.
+ 13.2.1. What is a Hard Drive? Who sells them?
+ A hard disk drive is a non-removable ramdom access medium similar that
+ allows one to store very large quantities of data. Hard disk drives
+ are mandatory on most newer computer systems, but are usually optional
+ for Commodore 8-bit computers. However, the faster load time, the
+ greater capacity, and the ease of use make them desirable.
CMD sells hard drives for the Commodore 64 and 128. They range in sizes
from 50 Megabytes on up. In comparison, a Commodore 1581 drive holds
.8 Megabytes.
+ 13.2.2. What is 64NET?
If you have access to an IBM of some kind (preferrably with a hard drive),
you can use a product called 64NET to hook the drive up to the Commodore.
64NET consists of a cable which connects the CBM User Port and the IBM
Parallel Port together, and a program that runs on both machines. The
program on the IBM is a standard application, but the CBM part is a wedge,
so it should integrate seamlessly with some programs. There is now just
one copy of the product. Registered users simply receive a 64NET.KEY
file that enables SAVING. There is a student discount of AUS$40.00.
The product is at version 1.82.62 and has full OPEN/CLOSE/READ/READST
support, can support 4 gigabyte IBM partitions, and have a built-in
off-board monitor which includes some dos wedge functions. The
IBM programs have link-based helpsystems and will run on any IBM
machine. The registered version allows saving of files, wheras the PD
version does not. The registered version also contains support for GEOS.
The registered BETA version is available (with upgrade to final version
free) for AUS$50.00, while the unregistered version is free. These
prices do not include the cable that is required for operation. The cable,
program, and more information can be received from Paul Gardner-Stephen at
gardners@ist.flinders.edu.au. Also, the system can be ordered from:
In Europe:
Performance Peripherals Europe
Germany
+49 2227 3221
Michael Renz
+49 2227 3221
And in Australia from:
Russell Alphey
+61 3 4278558 (A/H
r.alphey@dce.vic.gov.au
Paul Gardner-Stephen
+61 8 277 7479 (A/H)
Versions are available for the C64 and C128, and a C65 version is close to
completion.
+ Also available is an Software Development Kit (SDK) with a CBM
+ cross assembler.
+ 13.2.3. What is SERVER64?
SERVER64 is a product like 64NET, in that it allows you to use an IBM PC
as a large hard drive. However, unlike 64NET, SERVER64 does not require
a connection to the user port and a special boot program be run. Instead,
the system uses an X1541 cable to attach the Commodore 64 serial port to
an IBM parallel port.
The product is available at:
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/incoming/SERVER64.ZIP
Documentation is available at:
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/incoming/SERVER64.TXT
Both are expected to move to the /pub/cbm/emulation directory soon.
13.3. How do I expand my computer's RAM capacity?
13.3.1. What is a Ram Expansion Unit?
The original form of RAM expansion available to the C64 and C128 were the
Commodore REUs (Ram Expansion Units). These REUs plug into the cartridge
port, and provide 128K (the C=1700), 256K (the C=1764), or 512K (the C=1750)
of additional RAM.
This RAM is not true system RAM however; simply adding a 512K REU to your
system does NOT mean that your word processor will suddenly be able to edit
512K larger documents. A REU will only be used by a program that was
written to take advantage of an REU. As a caveat on this, you can use your
REU as additional RAM for a RAMLink .
An REU can be used as a Commodore Disk Drive by running the program
RAMDOS. This will allow users to save and load files from the REU.
If you are using CP/M, the REU can be configured to act like a disk drive
under CP/M.
Although the C=1764 was originally advertised for the C64, and the 1700 and
1750 for the C128, any of the three RAM expanders will work with either the
C64 or the C128. Note that if you want to use any of them on the C64, you
need a heavy duty power supply. The 1764 comes with such a power supply.
There are hardware hacks that will expand a 1700 or a 1764 to 512K;
additionally, a 512K REU can be expanded to 1 Meg or more. The plans are
at ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/hardware. While it appears completely
safe to upgrade your REU to 1 Meg, there have been some reports of problems
with REU's upgraded to 2 Megs. Sometimes the REU will work fine for a while,
then fail. If you are upgrading your REU, it would probably be wise to stop
at 1 Meg. If you are still memory hungry, consider a CMD RAMLink.
If you don't wish to do it yourself, there are people who will do it for
you, for a fee. The following individual will do RAM expansions on the
17xx series. He Has lots of experience doing these modifications. His
current quoted price for expanding a 1750 from 512k to 1 meg is $60. Call
for the latest prices. In addition he can do repairs on the RAM.
Raymond Day
9601 Morton Taylor Road
Belleville, MI 48111-1328
r.day@genie.geis.com (Contact)
(313) 699-6727
On a similar note, Software Support International sells a device called
the 1750 clone, which functions just like a 1750. It is not as expandable
as the real 1750, but can be used where a 1750 is recommended or required.
13.3.2. What is a geoRAM Unit?
When Commodore REUs became hard to find several years back, Berkeley
Softworks introduced geoRAM, which is a 512K RAM expander. This RAM
expander gives you all of the advantages of a 1750 with GEOS. However, it is
not 1750 compatible, so it will not work like a 1750 outside of GEOS; it is
transparent to other programs. (As a caveat on this, see the info on
RAMLink)). DesTerm128 2.0 will not work with a geoRAM plugged in. A
special version of GEOS 2.0 (which is bundled with geoRAM) is necessary to
use geoRAM. No additional power supply is necessary to use geoRAM. The
geoRAM can be upgraded to 2MB also. Contact Jens-Michael Gross at
grossibr@buran.fb10.tu-berlin.de for information on upgrading the geoRAM.
The geoRAM can be used without GEOS if it is installed in a RAMDrive or
RAMLink. See Section 13.3.4 for information.
13.3.3. What is battery backed GeoRAM (BBGRam)?
Battery Backed GeoRam is a products marketed by Performance Peripherals
Incorporated. The unit is actually a geoRAM clone, but has battery backup
included within the unit. The unit can be ordered in the following
configurations:
512kBytes $92.97US
1MBytes $123.97US
2MBytes $165.97US
13.3.4. What is a RAMLink?
RAMLink (RL) is a RAM expansion devices from CMD. The RAM in these devices
can be partitioned into native mode partitions (with dynamically allocated
subdirectories), or 1541, 1571, or 1581 emulating partitions. Thanks to the
15x1 emulating partitions, software does not have to be specifically written
to run with a RL. The RL devices should appear as a disk drive to most
programs. One notable exception is DesTerm v2.00, which does not work
with the RL. There are few other exceptions, and no major commercial
program has a problem running with an RL . The deciding factor seems to be
whether or not the program uses a drive's internal ram. The RL does not
'mimic' having this type of internal drive ram, and if a program relies
upon this it will not run. The heavily copy protected Digital Solutions'
programs use this drive ram for its burst loading routines. So, even
though a Maverick/RamBoard combination will write a copy of it to the RL,
it will fail to boot. However, these programs, once booted from a 1571,
will use and access all of RL's many functions for lightening fast loads
and saves.
RL has ts own power sources, separate from the computer. When you turn
off the computer, the power to the RL is left on, leaving its contents
intact. This power supply always remains on. (For safety from power
outages, battery backups are also available.)
RAMLink is a powerful, large device. It can be configured from 0 to
up to 16 Megs of RAM, using industry standard 1x8 (100ns) 1 Meg and 4 Meg
SIMMs.(1x9, and faster Simms can be used.) The RL is constructed so that
the user may easily add additional SIMMs at any time.
RAMLink has a port into which you can plug a Commodore REU or a geoRAM.
You can configure RAMLink to either leave this RAM device alone, or to use
the REU/geoRAM's RAM just as if it were part of the RAMLink's RAM. A
RAMLink also has a pass-through port, in which you can plug a normal
C64/C128 cartridge, and a parallel port for a CMD hard drive. The latter
greatly improves the transfer speed of data between your computer and the
hard drive.
If you have a geoRAM, the geoRAM can be plugged into the RL . the
geoRAM then acts as an extra piece of ram-based disk storage.
The RL comes with a very well documented, thorough, and easily
referenced User Manual. Contact CMD for more details.
13.3.5. What is a RAMDrive?
The RAMDrive is similar in function to the RAMLink sold by CMD (see
Section 13.3.4). The main differences are the smaller amount of memory
(1-4 MB) and the smaller size.
At one time, the RAMDrive was sold by CMD, but is no longer available
through them. However, Performance Peripherals, Inc. still sells the
RAMDrive unit.
13.3.6. How do I expand my C128 Video RAM?
The original, "flat" C128's came with an 80 column display that had it's own
display RAM that was separate from the system memory of the computer. This
"VDC RAM" was 16K in size. After Commodore introduced the C128D, they
changed the design and marketed some versions of the Commodore 128D with
64K of VDC RAM. Since them, some programs (e.g. I-Paint, Dialogue128)
have come out that either need or support 64K of VDC RAM. Owners of flat
128's can upgrade their video RAM to 64K either by ordering an upgrade
plug-in board(e.g. from Software Support International), or by replacing the
RAM chips themselves. All that needs to be done is, the two 4416 RAM chips
next to the VDC chip need to be replaced with 4464 RAM chips. Note,
however, that since this involves soldering in tight quarters on your 128's
motherboard, it is very easy to damage the motherboard or the nearby VDC
chip. Whenever you wish to use the extra RAM, be sure to set bit 4 in the
VDC register 28 (0 = 16kB, 1 = 64kB).
13.3.7. How do I expand my C64 internally?
THE TRANSACTOR magazine published two articles written by Paul Bosacki on
expanding the Commodore 64. The first article (in Transactor 9.2) described
how to expand the 64 to 256kB by swapping RAM chips and contained switches
to perform some special options. The second (in Transactor 9.6) describes
how to expand the Commodore 64 to 1MB, using a 512kB REU and 512kB on the
| motherboard. In addition, this expansion needs no switches to enable
options, which is an enhancement to the first article.
The Nordic/Finnish MicroBITTI magazine published a two part article by Pekka
Pessi on expanding the Commodore 64. Pessi's design (in MicroBITTI Issues
1 and 2 for 1987) split the C64 memory map into 4 16kB pages, which could be
each mapped to any 16kB page in 256kB of memory. It uses the same approach
of swapping the 64kB DRAMs for 256kB ones, but does the addressing somewhat
differently.
In 1993, Marko Makela, with help from Pekka Pessi, translated Pessi's
article into English and made it available via the Internet. It is now
available at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents/ or
ftp://x2ftp.oulo.fi:/pub/cbm/docs/
13.3.8. How do I expand my C128 internally?
Marko Makela has written an article on how to expand the C128 and C128D's
memory up to 1024kB. It is compatible with his earlier article on expanding
the C64 to 256kB, so programs written for the expanded 64 should run on the
expanded 128 in 64 mode. The plan and schematic is available via ftp
from nic.funet.fi in directory /pub/cbm/documents/1028.
The C-256 and C-512
Twin Cities 128 issues #30 and #31 have a hardware scheme for expanding
your 128 to 256K or 512K. To people who understand banking on the 128, the
256K modification adds RAM blocks 2 and 3 to your system. The 512K
modification adds four more RAM blocks that can be accessed as alternate RAM
blocks 2 and 3, or as a completely separate set of RAM blocks 0-3.
As with Commodore REUs, software must specifically support the expanded RAM.
Since these modifications are relatively new, there is not much software out
yet that supports the additional RAM. However, ACE 128 does support this
expansion without any special drivers.
The hardware modification, while simple from software's point of view, is
rather difficult to perform in hardware. Richard Curcio, the designer of
the memory modifications, can modify your 128 for you. See Twin Cities 128
issue #31 for more information.
13.4. How do I increase my computer's speed?
There are a number of products that can increase the operating speed of
the Commodore 64. These products work by turning off the on-board 6510
and turning on a compatible microprocessor, usually a 65C02 or a 65C816
in 6502 emulation mode. These products will work with any software that
does not mind running up to 4 times faster and does not use any of the
undocumented opcodes of the 6502 IC.
Also, for a quick way to gain a small speed increase, please see Section
17.2.
13.4.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's speed?
Please note that some of these products are no longer offered for sale
by the original companies, but can be purchased from individuals as used
equipment.
Turbo Master Accelerator for C64.
The Turbo Master Accelerator is for a C64 (or C64 mode of C128) only, uses
a Rockwell R65C02P4 microprocessor clocked at 4.09 MHz, has its own 64K of
fast static RAM and a 32K EPROM, has hardware/software switchable speed
between 4.09 and normal, and has an enhanced ROM with faster disk routines
that can also be disabled. A JiffyDOS compatibility option was available.
Turbo Process Accelerator for the C64.
This accelerator, made by Rossm"oller, uses a 65C816P-4 microprocessor
to operate the 64 at three speeds: 1MHz, 4 MHz, or anything between 50kHz
and 4 MHz. The 65C816 is a 16 bit version of the 6502/6510, so it is
possible to write software for the new IC that takes advantage of the 16
bit opcodes.
Flash 8
This accelerator, the only one being currently produced, is also the
fastest such accelerator for the Commodore 64 to date. The module,
which plugs into the expansion port of the Commodore 64, increases
the CPU processing speed from 1MHz to 8MHz. It uses a 65816 CPU
(The 65816 is a descendant of the 65XX series) running at 8MHz to enable
the increased speed. Also, it can be optional expanded to 4 or 8 MB RAM
onboad. This product is the successor to the Rossmoeller TurboAccess 4MHz
accelerator card. The unit has the capability to provide 10x speed disk
access via a parallel cable and has a CP/M option.
GEOS compatible requires the special patches that are available from the
manufacturer, and games or demos which do very intensive timing or raster
effects might not fucntion correctly. At present, the accelerator only
works on PAL 64s of certain revisions and will not function on a C128 in
64 mode. Currenlty, the REU is not supported.
From the advertisement:
"FLASH 8 is a GEOS-compatible module for the expansion port with a 65816
CPU that speeds the C64 to 8Mhz by highest compatibility with existing
software. Additionally to the original Commodore Kernal a JiffyDos
kernal is available. You can choose between two different kernals via
DIP-switch. Flash 8 comes either with 256 Kbyte or 1 Mbyte RAM onboard.
A CP/M-emulator for running Z80-CP/M-Software, a macro-library and
assembler for the 65816 in native-mode are included."
The prices are:
349 DM (~$245.00 US) for the unit with 256kB RAM.
449 DM (~$315.00 US) for the unit with 1MB RAM.
It is being manufactured and sold by Discount 2000 and Performance
Peripherals, Inc.
The Turbo Master Accelerator is for a C64 (or C64 mode of C128) only, uses
a Rockwell R65C02P4 microprocessor clocked at 4.09 MHz, has its own 64K of
fast static RAM and a 32K EPROM, has hardware/software switchable speed
between 4.09 and normal, and has an enhanced ROM with faster disk routines
that can also be disabled. A JiffyDOS compatibility option was available.
| CMD SuperCPU 64
| The CMD Super 64 CPU accelerator cartridge, currently shipping from
Creative Micro Designs, will allow a Commodore 64 or Commodore 128 (in 64
| mode) to reach CPU speeds of 20 MHz.
| A Western Design Center 65C816S 16bit CPU core (with 6502 emulation)
| forms the heart of the unit. The accelerator is compatible will all
| standard peripherals for the Commodore 64, including the 1500 series
| disk drives and the 1700 series Ram Expansion Units. In addition, the
| unit is compatible with GEORam and the various peripherals offered by
| CMD, such as the HD and FD series disk drives and the RAMLink.
| Internally, the unit contains a WDC 65C816S CPU and 64kB of fast static
| RAM for no-wait program processing. Both a stock and JiffyDOS enhanced
| kernel are available, and the user can completely disable the unit if
| desired without unplugging. Also, the speed of the unit (1MHz or maximum
| speed) can be selected via switch or software. A pass through port
| allows the user to use existing cartridges, and an expansion port
| dubbbed the "Rocket Socket" allows RAM or functionality enhancements to
be added to the accelerator.
Production units began on July 25, 1996, and a developer's package
will be made available to software authors shortly. The price is as
follows:
Super 64/20 US$199.00
Creative Micro Designs, Incorporated. (CMD)
15 Benton Drive
P.O. Box 646
East Longmeadow, MA 01028-0646
(800) 638-3263 (Orders only)
(413) 525-0023 (Information)
(413) 525-0147 (Fascimile)
cmd.sales@the-spa.com (Information and Pricing)
cmd.support@the-spa.com (Technical Support)
cmd.cac@the-spa.com (Charles Chistianson - Marketing)
doug.cotton@the-spa.com (Doug Cotton - Technical Writer)
13.4.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's speed?
The ZIP card for your C128.
This accelerator was not produced. Its development has been stopped due
to miscellaneous problems.
+ The SuperCPU 128
+ In addition to the SuperCPU 64 (see Section 13.4.1), Creative Micro
+ Designs is planning to introduce a 128 version of this 20 MHz accelerator.
+ Production dates are sceduled for around Christmas, 1996. The price for
+ the 128 version has not yet been finalized., Contact CMD for more
+ information.
13.4.3. Can I speed up other Commodore computers?
Although it is possoble to accelerate just about any Commodore machine,
no commercial products exist to speed up other Commodore computers.
13.5. How do I increase my computer screen's resolution?
Although the Commodore computers once reigned in terms or screen
rsolution and number of colors available, newer machines have surpassed
it in both areas. Depending on whether you want more characters on the
screen or more colors at one time, these products might help.
13.5.1. How do I increase my Commodore 64's screen resolution?
Since the Commodore 64's VIC-II cannot be expanded, the only way to increase
the resolution of the Commodore 64 is to turn off the on-board video and
replace its output with one from another IC. The simplist approach
involves attaching an 80 column video chip (6545, 6845, etc.) to the C64
via the expansion port. This will provide 80 columns of monochrome text.
However, this is only useful for text applications, as most of these video
devices are not capable of doing high resolution graphics. Also, none of
the following are currently produced, but many are sold as used equipment
by users.
Batteries Included BI-80
This unit combined an 80 column monochrome text video display (using the
6545 IC) and BASIC 4.0. Either options could be turned on or off via
software control.
DATA 20 80 column unit
This unit preceded the BI80 unit, and was produced from 1982-1984.
Protecto Enterprizes Protecto-80
This was basically a repackaged DATA-20 unit. Some circuitry was changed
to permit price reduction, but the same functionality is there.
13.5.2. How do I increase my Commodore 128's screen resolution?
The Commodore 128 comes equipped with an second video display controller
in addition to the 40 column VIC chip. This chip can be used while in
64 mode through clever programming, and the controller's standard 640*200
pixel size can be expanded to 640*400. However, there is no way to
completely overcome the color limitation of 16 colors
+ In Germany at one time, there was a small hardware device which
+ plugged right into the C128 and expanded the resolution to 720*700
+ in C128 Mode. Other modes made available were: 640*720, and 640*650.
+ Basic 7.0 had full access to screen modes of 640*720/360, 720*700/350
+ and for monochrome displays: 640*400 and 720*400. Any vertical
+ resolution above 400 was interlaced, but flickered far below anything
+ the Amiga offered. There was reportedly no interference with other
+ hardware and full compatibility was maintained. The device was the
+ 'Graphic-Booster 128' and was marketed by:
+ Combo AG
+ Tugginerweg 3
+ 4500 Solothurn
+ Schweiz (Switzerland)
13.6. How do I increase my computer's serial transfer speed?
If you wish to operate serial devices at speeds faster than what the
internal software emulated UART can handle, you will need to purchase
a UART interface. There are a couple of different kinds, and each has
its advantages.
To use these hardware UARTs, the application must be written to take
advantage of the device.
SwiftLink
the SwiftLink cartridge is manufactured by CMD and allows speeds up to
38.4 Kbps. This device contains a 6551 UART and plugs into your cartridge
port and supplies you with a standard 9-pin serial port. You then connect
the desired modem. Dialogue128, Novaterm64, and Kermit(v2.2s) support
the SwiftLink.
Creative Micro Designs, Incorporated. (CMD)
15 Benton Drive
P.O. Box 646
East Longmeadow, MA 01028-0646
(800) 638-3263 (Orders only)
(413) 525-0023 (Information)
(413) 525-0147 (Fascimile)
cmd.sales@the-spa.com (Information and Pricing)
cmd.support@the-spa.com (Technical Support)
cmd.cac@the-spa.com (Charles Chistianson - Marketing)
doug.cotton@the-spa.com (Doug Cotton - Technical Writer)
HART Cartridge
The HART cartridge is a device similar to the Swiftlink in size. However,
the HART unit conatins an 8255 UART IC and can handle speeds up to 57.6Kbps.
The unit is manufactured by Hatronics.
Hatronics
145 Lincoln Street
| Montclair, NJ 07042
(201) 783-7264
Mark Hatten (Contact)
DataPump
DataPump is a set of plans used to build a device that functions just like
a Swiftlink. The plans are available at many FTP sites.
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/CBM/documents/datapump.sfx (GEOS format)
ftp://hamsterix.funet.fi/pub/CBM/documents/datapump.sfx (GEOS format)
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/INCOMING/hardware/
13.7. How do I increase my computer's sound quality?
SID Symphony
The C64 and C128 come equipped with 1 Sound Interface Device (SID) IC.
This provides 3 channels of output. For more channels, one can purchase the
SID Symphony cartridge from CMD to provide 3 extra channels. Most newer
sound playing and editing software is able to use the extra channels.
There are also a number of units one can purchase or build that will
provide MIDI capabilities for Commodore 64 and 128 users.
13.8. What other ways can I expand my Commodore computer?
There are many hardware items that you can use. Below is a list of a few of
them. Note that some of these items may no longer be in production, and
thus are only available as used equipment.
80-Line Simplified Digital I/O Board
This unit has 40 TTL input lines and 40 separate buffered digital output
lines plus an expansion socket that could support a standard ROM or clock/
calendar cartridge. It works on the C64 and all modes of the C128
(including CP/M mode). Its model number is the SS100 Plus.
"Original Ultimate Interface"
This is a universally applicable dual 6522 Versatile Interface Adapter board
with four 8-bit fully bidirectional I/O ports, eight handshake lines, and four
16-bit timer/counters. It has IRQ interrupt capability and is expandable
to four boards. It works on the C64 and all modes of the C128 (including
CP/M mode). Its model number is the 641F22.
A/D Conversion Module
This unit is 16 channel, 8-bit, 100 microsecond conversion time.
Piggy-backs on the 641F22 and thus requires it to operate. Works on the
C64 and all modes of the C128 (including CP/M mode). Its model number is
641F/ADC0816.
The Spartan Apple ][+ emulator for the C64, by Mimic Systems, Inc.
In addition to allowing the use of Apple ][+ hardware/software, this
device boasted four software selectable C64 cartridge slots, a non-
dedicated 8-bit parallel port, and standard audio cassette deck
capabilities for the C64.
ROM upgrades are available for the C-128 and the 1571.
C64 Games Port Expander (Model #8401) 40/80 column converter.
Switchable, it has 4 independent cartridge sockets plus a 5th switch
position accessing an 80 col. character set ROM - (limited usability
because it *apparently* accesses a C64 Ram location which interferes
with a lot of stuff, I forget where or how) - and a 6th switch position
independent of the cartridge port for general use stuff.
It was built into a neat steel housing designed to sit flat on the desktop
and slide into the cartridge port at exactly the right height.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents (for this file)
---------------------------------
14. Programming
14.1. What Programming Languages are available?
14.2. What is a Cross Assembler? How do I use one?
+ 14.3 What is an "undocumented opcode"?
15. User Groups
16. Sales and Service
16.1. Where do I purchase Commodore Equipment and Software?
16.2. Where do I get equipment serviced?
16.3. How do I know who to buy from or request service from?
17. Miscellaneous
17.1. How fast does a Commodore 64 run?
17.2. How can a turn my NTSC-M 64 into a PAL-B 64 or vice versa?
17.3. What does this IC number mean?
+ 17.4. What are the differences between C64 ROM Revisions?
18. Credits
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Programming
14.1. What Programming Languages are available?
The following programming languages are known to exist for the CBM
computers:
Ada
APL
Assembly Language
BASIC (interpreted and compiled)
BASIC extenders
C
COBOL
COMAL
FORTH
FORTRAN
LISP
LOGO
MUMPS
Pascal
PILOT
You name it, and it is probably available for the Commodore computer
system. The list of supported languages availeble for the Commodore
8 bit computer systems is much too large to fir in the FAQ, but they are
available at http://www.wimsey.com/~danf/cbm/languages.html.
14.2. What is a Cross Assembler? How do I use one?
A cross assembler is a program that runs on one computer and generates
code for another computer. Usually, a non 8-bit CBM machine generates
the code using this program, but it can be another 64 hooked in some way
to a "target" 64. Whatever the case, here are some packages that can be
used:
as6502 linking 6502 cross assembler
masm6502 6502 macro cross-assembler
ps65a12 Unix format 6502 cross assembler
svasm02 6502 cross assembler
xasm220 many-targeted cross assemblers
smal6502 linking macro assembler written in portable PASCAL
A more detailed list can be found at:
http://www.wimsey.com/~danf/cbm/cross-development.html
For all cross assemblers, the user will most likely benefit from a way to
transfer the program from the source platform to the target platform.
See Section 7 for information on products that will help transfer the
files.
14.3 What is an "undocumented opcode"?
In the 65XX CPU line, each machine language instruction is a single byte,
which allows for 256 instruction types, or opcodes. However, there are
fewer than 256 defined. When designing the 65XX line, the designers,
needing to keep complexity down, decided to treat the extra opcode
positions as "don't care" opcodes, where no effort would be made to make
those opcodes do anything special. Since the opcodes are arranged in a
16X16 matrix, with a row or column cotaining opcodes that perform similar
operations, an undefined opcode in the matrix can have the behavior of
other opcodes in its row or column or both. These opcodes are called
"illegal" or "undocumented" opcodes, and are occasionally used by
demo coders to accomplish special timing effects, or by software
programmers for copy protection code. To learn more about these opcodes
and what each does, the get the 64doc file at
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents/64doc or visit a cbm emulator forum.
15. User Groups
User's Groups fulfill a major function for Commodore owners. They provide
a place to meet other users, discuss problems and solutions for computing,
teach and learn information about their machines. Software can be shared
and friendships are made. The Commodore community is made up largely by
real or virtual user's groups.
A complete list of Commodore user groups can be found at
| http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/cbm-ug-list.1.0.txt
This file is also available from Jim Brain's MAILSERV server as file
| cbm-ug-list.1.0.txt. (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on using the
| MAILSERV server.)
Commodore owners are encouraged to join a CBM user group to help keep these
vital organizations around. In addition, most user groups publish
newsletters
16. Sales and Service
Sooner or later, every Commodore owner will need to get his or her
computer serviced, add another peripheral, or simply purchase some
enhancement hardware or software. Contrary to popular belief, there
is a large base of hardware and software suppliers and service centers.
16.1. Where do I purchase Commodore Equipment and Software?
ESCOM (holder of the Commodore patents and copyrights), does not currently
manufacture Commodore 8-bit computer systems. Many online services,
including GEnie, the Internet, and user group newsletters contain
classified ads from individuals wanting to sell used CBM equipment, however.
In Germany, there are a number of shops which still sell factory new
Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 computers.
ESCOM also does not manufacture software for the Commodore 8-bit line.
However, many companies still sell software for the Commodore line.
A complete list of Commodore hardware, peripheral, and software suppliers
| is available at http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/cbm-supply-list.1.0.txt,
| as on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server as file cbm-supply-list.1.0.txt
| (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on using MAILSERV).
16.2. Where do I get equipment serviced?
There are a number of repair facilities around that will bring your trusty
Commodore computer up to speed again. Please look in the list below for one
that might be able to help you. If that doesn't turn up anything, check
with your local User's Group.
A complete list of Commodore software and hardware repair facilities can
| be found at http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/cbm-repair-list.1.0.txt or
| at Jim Brain's MAILSERV server as file cbm-repair-list.1.0.txt.
| (See Section 6.5.2 for directions on using MAILSERV)
16.3. How do I know who to buy from or request service from?
The information provided in this file does not imply that a company is
reputable or even still in business. It is best to use the above information
as a starting point, and contact others who can discuss the various
manufacturers and repair facilities listed above.
17. Miscellaneous
Well, this is where the chaff falls. The following questions are either
too new to categorize or do not fit into a category.
17.1. How fast does a Commodore 64 run?
If you are using a stock Commodore 64, the CPU clock frequency is a function
of the video timing frequency, which is slightly different for differing
countries. If you have a stock PAL-B C64 (Common in Europe), the computer
is running at 985248.444Hz. If you are using an NTSC-M C64 (Common in the
USA), the computer is running slightly faster, at 1022727.143Hz.
17.2. How can a turn my NTSC-M 64 into a PAL-B 64 or vice versa?
Changing a C64 from stock PAL-B to stock NTSC-M or vice versa
requires swapping in the approproate VIC-II chip and the appropriate
crystal, as well as changing a jumper on the motherboard (The jumper
has printing near it that indicates whether to cut or connect the jumper).
Also, if you have a version 1 KERNAL ROM and want to use the built-in
RS-232 routines, you need to either swap KERNAL ROMs with the other
computer (not recommended), or obtain a revision 3 KERNAL (recommended).
Now, if maintaining stock operation is not a complete must, or if you
just want to tinker, the crystal and jumper modifications can be made
optional.
The VIC-II chip has a relaxed tolerance for timing, so it is possible to
run an NTSC-M VIC-II with a PAL-B crystal and jumper settings.
The converse is possible as well. Since the crystal frequency is used to
generate the frequencies for the TV and monitor output, your TV or
monitor may not like the resuling hybrid signal very well, but it won't
break anything.
In addtion, the jumper indicated above determines the divisor used to scale
down the crystal frequency for the CPU. For PAL-B units, the divisor is
18, and for NTSC-M units the divisor is 14. The Commodore 64 will operate
regardless of the crystal frequency and state of this jumper. Therefore,
to speed up a 64, one can install a PAL-B crystal (17734472Hz) and change
the jumper to use the NTSC divisor (14) to increase the operating
speed of the machine to 1266748Hz. However, note that any operations (disk,
rs-232, special VIC tricks) that require synchronized timing may fail in
this "non-stock" scenario.
17.3. What does this IC number mean?
Here are a few Commodore IC numbers and their functions. Note that this
| is an incomplete list. A more comprehensive list is called csg.chips.info
and is at ftp.funet.fi.
For the VIC-20:
Mnemonic PN# Alt. PN#
CPU 6502
VIC-I (NTSC-M) 6560
VIC-I (PAL-B) 6561
CPU 6502
For the C-64 and C-64C:
Mnemonic PN# Alt. PN#
CPU 6510
VIC-II (NTSC-M) 6567 8562?
VIC-II (PAL-B) 6569 8565
VIC-II (PAL-N) 6572
VIC-II (PAL-M) 6573
SID 6581 6582 8580
For the C-128(D):
Mnemonic PN# Alt. PN# Notes:
CPU 8502
VIC-IIe (NTSC-M) 8564
VIC-IIe (PAL-B) 8566
VIC-IIe (PAL-N) 8569
| DVDC 8563 8568 (get r9a or r9b if possible)
SID 6581 6582 8580
Differences between 64 boards:
The older boards had discrete LSI logic and a PLA chip. The newer
boards put all the PLA and LSI logic into one ASIC chip. On the
older boards, the KERNAL and BASIC ROMs were separate, while they are
combined in the newer design.
There are two different models of the narrow board. One has Color RAM,
while the other does not. The ASIC chip includes the PLA and 7 TTL chips,
and the Color RAM on some machines machines.
The new models use 9 volt versions 8580 SID, while older models use the
6581 12 volt SID. The VIC chip (6567 NTSC-M, 6569 PAL-B) has been replaced
with the 8562 (NTSC-M) and 8565 (PAL-B) on newer models.
Both BASIC 2.0 and the KERNAL ROM have been combined into one ROM for
the C64C/G/GS. This ROM is the same as is used on the C128 in C64 mode.
The ROM is indentical except for nationality differences.
+ 17.4. What are the differences between C64 ROM Revisions?
+ Well, they have a number of them, and each difference is documented and
+ explained in "The Commodore 64 Whole Memory Guide" by Tim Arnot.
+ (ftp://x2ftp.oulu.fi/pub/cbm/docs/c64-kernel.diffs)
+ 17.5. What Cardco products are still supported?
+ I didn't know where else to put this, so here goes. This is a list
+ of products what were sold at one time by Cardco, Inc (makers of the
+ Card? printer interfaces. They were bought out by Supra Corp. who makes
+ modems and other peripherals. This is a list of what they currently
+ support.
+ DEADPROD.TXT rev. 1.2 (phm9/15/94) from Supra BBS (503-967-2444)
+
+ Supra Discontinued Product List
+
+ Codes: NSR - No Support or Repair
+ NS - No Support (may be able to repair?)
+ DSR - Discontinued Production, but still Support & Repair
+ C64 Big Blue - printer interface (OEMed to CardCo) -NSR since '92
+ B - printer interface, -NS '92
+ CB-5 - Cartridge port expander -NSR since '87
+ +G - printer interface, -DSR '92
+ MPP 1064 - 300 baud modem -NSR since '88
+ Super G - printer interface, -DSR '92
+ CalcNow - Spreadsheet, picked up from CardCo (only sold for a few
+ months) -NSR since '87
+ SpellNow - Spell checker for WriteNow, picked up from CardCo
+ (only sold for a few months) -NSR since '87
+ WriteNow - Word procesor, picked up from CardCo
+ (only sold for a few months) -NSR since '87
+ CardCo Printer - LQ1 and LQ3, CardCo OEMed them from Silver
+ Reed, never supported
+ CardCo floppy - never supported, Emerald Computer(Eugene, OR)
+ also OEMed the floppy mech has repaired them in the past, but
+ appears to be out of business.
+ G-Wiz - printer interface w/64k buffer -DSR '94
+ CardPrint PS - printer interface and 300/1200bps serial
+ interface. -DSR '94
+ Peak Modem Interface - 300/1200bps serial interface. -DSR '94
18. Credits
I want to extend my thanks to the following people for their help in
providing correct, up-to-date information in this FAQ:
Fred Mueller, who maintained this FAQ before I.
Everyone who helped add to the 1.4 FAQ material to make the 2.0-2.2 FAQ.
Everyone who helped add to the 2.2 FAQ to make the 3.0 FAQ.
+ Adam Vardy, with corrections to Section 3.3.
+ Roger Long, for information on Random Magazine.
+ Jouko Valta, for information on C65 archives and kernal diffs.
+ Tom Cwikla, for info on ANADISK.
+ Alan Jones, for info on a new newsgroup mail gateway.
+ Antony Gibbs, for info on Commodore Zone.
+ Gaelyne Moranec, for info on GIF viewers.
+ John Keyerleber, for info on plans for CBM printer to PC interface.
+ David Gahris, for numerous WWW addresses.
+ Marc Frank, for error in cbm-supply-list.txt filename.
+ Jack Vander White, for address updates.
+ Jeff Daniels, for info on his company.
+ Paul MacArthur, for info on X1541 cable source.
+ Craig Bruce, for info on his FTP Mail Server.
+ Dirk Moell, for info on blinks on 8050.
+ Bob Masse, for info on C128 VDC IC revisions.
+ Alan Jones, for corrections to Daniel Dallmann's RS-232 interface.
+ Donald Ayers, for information on his GRASSROOTS #1 Disk.
+ Daniel Kahlin, for info on Over5.
+ Dallas Legan, for info on Transactor Index.
+ Andre Fachat, for info on VICE.
+ Allen Smith, for info on COMPUTERSMITH Internet updates.
+ Jack vanderwhite, for updates on COMMODORE CEE BBS phone.
+ Jeff Jones, for updates on LOADSTAR prices.
+ Frank Ellert, for info on more UNIX-like OSes.
+ Paul McAleer, for informaiton on Micro-Bytes.
+ J. E. Sears, for info on PPI.
+ Jeff Jones, for information on LOADSTAR Letter going commercial.
+ Chris MCEE, for corrections on Demo terms.
+ R.T. Cunningham, for updates on SuperCPU dates and info.
+ Beth Gladen, for uncovering a bug in user group list filename.
+ Nhat-Viet Phi, for info on his RAMLink User's List.
+ Holger Heimes, for info on extra BBS numbers to get FAQ at.
+ Scott Eggleston, with new email info and merger of Underground info.
+ Jarno Lamberg, for corrections to 17.4 URL.
+ Eric Hoetzel, for info on 6502CC mailing list.
+ Jeff Daniels, for updates on the VIC newsletter.
+ Nick Rossi, for information on Novaterm 9.6.
+ Walt Roth, for corrections on posting frequency.
+ Malcolm O'Brien, for updates on CIS.
+ Gaelyne Gasson, for info on DejaNews and BBS mag.
+ Greg Noggle, for info on Micro-Bytes.
+ Pontus Berg, for Cross Platform Tools URL.
+ Jan Neuvians, for info on Graphics Booster 128.
+ Robert Akins, for info on COIN! magazine.
+ Jayme Rice, for info on PLA failures.
+ Joe Forster, for info on The Star Commander.
+ Russell Reed, for updates on prlink.
+ Brian McCarthy, for updates on X1541 location.
+ Paul Robson, for info on the VIC emulator for DOS.
+ Leopldo Ghielmetti, for ino on X1541.
+ Asger Alstrup, for info on READ81.
+ Phil Hebrerer, for info on Supra Supoprt List.
+ Andrew Fisher, for info on 64ERUOPE mailing list.
+ Bryce Ewing, for info on V20 emulator.
+ Brett Tabke, for info on super-cpu mailing lsit.
+ Steve K., for correction on 9600 bps cable.
+ Charles Fitzhugh, for updates on QLink address list address.
+ James Hefner, for info on GEOS Magazine.
--
Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII)