Re: [M100] Another slabtop? Or pc screen extension?

[John Ames]

> From: "John R. Hogerhuis" 
> Subject: Re: [M100] Another slabtop? Or pc screen extension?
>
> Hey I've been getting into woodworking lately, taking classes at a local
> community college. Your take on a wood slabtop would be interesting to me!
>
> -- John.
Heh, I'll definitely post some photos when I get around to finishing
it. It's nothing fancy; I just figured it'd be quicker and easier to
work with than trying to develop a whole alternative 3D-printed case,
plus I like the feel of hardwood :)

Re: [M100] Another slabtop? Or pc screen extension?

[John Ames]

> From: "John R. Hogerhuis" 
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 1:37 PM Ken Pettit  wrote:
>> Looks super cool, but I'm guessing it has no processor in it and has a
>> simple ASIC chip that converts USB to Video / keyscan.  This probably
>> removes any possibility of hacking to be a full-fledged computer.
> Yeah you're probably right it's purpose built... though I wonder if there's
> any space in there. I mean a raspberry pi as the computer would presumably
> work.
>
> A pi pico would be easier to fit, and people have generated video from it
> using the state machine feature.
>
> In any event it seems like there are plenty of these aspect ratio displays
> around now.
Yeah, they seem to be relatively easy to come by these days. Some
eccentric person has worked out a project using one in combination
with one of the low-profile rPi offerings to build a more proper
portable slabtop type affair:

https://github.com/drcode/lisperati-1000-diy/blob/main/README.md

The case design is hideous, but that's easily corrected. I need to
finish putting mine together - I'm routing out and finishing a more
M100-inspired case made from a couple birch boards (and putting a less
cut-down keyboard in while I'm at it.) Should be just the thing for
writing on the go :)

Re: [M100] Lisperati 1000 DIY Build Instructions

[John Ames]

> I saw interest in this earlier and see they have posted the files on
> Github now.
>
> https://github.com/drcode/lisperati-1000-diy
I like the *concept*, but the idea of trying to get anything done on a
keyboard where all the numbers and most of the punctuation have been
moved to shifted characters makes me shudder. Even the ZX Spectrum at
least gave you numerals...!

Nice to have a concise how-to on the electrical end of things, though.
Might have to look at doing my own project with a slightly nicer
design...

Re: [M100] M100 Digest, Vol 123, Issue 30

[John Ames]

> I don't expect everything to have bounds checking, but I'm using .S a lot
> to inspect the stack, so having to reset the machine all the time and start
> over kind of sucks. If I knew more about the system maybe I could rewrite
> .S to know if it's looking at the stack or what's underneath?
Yes, should be fairly trivial:

: .s depth 0= if ." BARF!" else .s then ;

Re: [M100] M100 Digest, Vol 113, Issue 21

[John Ames]

(Apologies, I forgot that GMail's in-message reply box does that invisibly...)

Re: [M100] M100 Digest, Vol 113, Issue 20

[John Ames]

*quietly snags the M100SIG archive from archive.org*

On 5/26/20, m100-requ...@lists.bitchin100.com
 wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
>1. Re: Undocumented hardware (John R. Hogerhuis)
>2. Re: Undocumented hardware (John R. Hogerhuis)
>3. Re: Undocumented hardware (Philip Avery)
>4. Re: Undocumented hardware (John R. Hogerhuis)
>5. Othello for model 100 (Alain Dextraze)
>6. Re: Othello for model 100 (John R. Hogerhuis)
>7. Re: Othello for model 100 (Mike Stein)
>8. Re: Undocumented hardware (B 9)
>9. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   10. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   11. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Dison)
>   12. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   13. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   14. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   15. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   16. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Dison)
>   17. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   18. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Wilson)
>   19. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Dison)
>   20. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   21. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Dison)
>   22. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   23. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   24. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Wilson)
>   25. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   26. Re: Undocumented hardware (Mike Stein)
>   27. Re: Undocumented hardware (Mike Stein)
>   28. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Dison)
>   29. Re: Undocumented hardware (Tom Wilson)
>   30. Re: Undocumented hardware (Stephen Adolph)
>   31. Re: Undocumented hardware (Mike Stein)
>   32. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   33. Re: "No-VAN" obligation (Brian K. White)
>   34. Re: Undocumented hardware (Mike Stein)
>   35. Re: "No-VAN" obligation (Stephen Adolph)
>   36. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   37. Re: "No-VAN" obligation (Brian K. White)
>   38. Re: Undocumented hardware (Mike Stein)
>   39. Re: Undocumented hardware (Brian K. White)
>   40. Reuse of laddie (John R. Hogerhuis)
>   41. Re: Reuse of laddie (Tom Dison)
>   42. The Dead Hand (John R. Hogerhuis)
>
>
> --
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 25 May 2020 15:32:28 -0700
> From: "John R. Hogerhuis" 
> To: m...@bitchin100.com
> Subject: Re: [M100] Undocumented hardware
> Message-ID:
>   
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> On Mon, May 25, 2020 at 1:05 AM B 9  wrote:
>
>> From: "John R. Hogerhuis" 
>>> To: m...@bitchin100.com
>>>
>>> Yes the Model T screen driver is slow. It's possible we could speed it
>>> up
>>> a little because there is some hardware scrolling capability built into
>>> the
>>> video chip drivers that the ROM does not make use of.
>>>
>>> But that would
>>> a) Require creating code in option rom or in RAM to do all character
>>> generation
>>>
>>
>> Are you sure that's required? The demos I found don't seem to be doing
>> that.
>>
>>
>
> It's complicated. There's a lot of ROM code you can leverage for sure.
>
>
>> b) It's not clear how much the speed-up would be.
>>>
>>
>> One demo, by Philip Avery, claims over 10x speed acceleration using
>> hardware scrolling. According to Hidden Powers of the Model 100
>> ,
>> the screen can only show 90 characters per second with a maximum download
>> speed to RAM of 240 cps. My own tests with scrolling speed in TELCOM is
>> that I can get about 1KB in 6 seconds (170 cps) if the screen has to
>> scroll
>> during download, but I save about a second per kilobyte (200 cps) if I
>> disable screen scrolling but still send characters to the screen. Of
>> course, this is with software flow control, so that may be an additional
>> bottleneck.
>>
>> It's strange and fascinating that the Model T had hardware scrolling
>> acceleration it never used. Do you have a link for more information about
>> it? I tried googling and all I came up with was:
>>
>>
>> http://www.club100.org/memfiles/index.php?action=view&filename=LCDTST.DO&directory=Steve%20Adolph
>> and
>>
>> http://www.club100.org/memfiles/index.php?&direction=1&order=nom&directory=Philip%20Avery/Hardware%20Scroll
>>
>>
> http://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=Model_100_LCD_Programming
> https://bitchin100.com/files/hardware/HD44102.PDF
> https://bitchin100.com/files/hardware/lcd.pdf
>
>
>
>> Neither one worked o

Re: [M100] Option ROM burning?

[John Ames]

On 8/15/18, Brian White  wrote:
> That's for the main rom not the option rom.
> The option rom socket has the non-standard pinout on all models, and no
> manufacturer makes an eprom with that pinout.
Thanks for the clarification.

> Really, as long as anyone happens to have any rex for sale at the moment,
> that is by far the most value for money and time.
Oh, I'm sure it is, but again, I'm less interested in maximizing
value-for-money here and more interested in achieving one thing at a
minimal cost. The Figtronix adapter looks a bit fiddly, but in all
other respects it's just what the doctor ordered.

Anyway, it's about time I learned how to deal with SMT projects...

Re: [M100] Option ROM burning?

[John Ames]

Maybe I'm a bit confused on this - the way I read it, it's only the
original-PCB Model 100 that requires an adapter, and the revised
version (and, I assumed, the M102) simply uses a 27C256 as-is? Or am I
wrong on that? I suppose a REX would be a simpe solution, but I don't
really want to drop almost $70 on something that I really don't need
the full functionality of, if I can get what I actually want for much
less.

[M100] Option ROM burning?

[John Ames]

Does anybody on the list have the means to burn an option ROM for me?
My chintzy nameless Willem clone programmer seems to not be working at
the moment and I'd like to get MFORTH on my M102 now that it's
properly up and running. I'd be happy to cover the cost of the chip as
well as shipping, or I can provide a 27C256 EPROM (though I don't have
an eraser.) I'm in the US, so it'd be simplest to work with someone
else in the country, I expect.

Re: [M100] M102 won't power on

[John Ames]

Well, fortunately the service manual includes a generic part number
for it (3-51FT) with which I was able to source a brand-new
replacement for cheap. And the better news is that after I tried
leaving it plugged in for a while, the system powered right up as you
said, so it appears the NiCad was the only issue with it. Still going
to replace it to head off any problems down the line, but I'm happy it
was that simple :)

On 7/28/16, Phil Wheeler  wrote:
> Let me know if you have trouble finding one; I
> have a couple of spares that should be OK. I have
> no idea how easy or hard they are to find.
>
> I'm in the L.A. area if you happen to be close by.
>
> Phil
>
> On 7/27/16 4:45 PM, John Ames wrote:
>>> Without a working NiCD backup battery, the unit will normally not boot
>>> up.
>> Really? At all? I guess that would explain it. I may as well get a new
>> battery ordered up, then - in the meantime, if the current one has a
>> bit of green fuzz around the ends of the barrel, would it be risky to
>> leave it plugged in in hopes of recharging a little?
>>
>
>

Re: [M100] M102 won't power on

[John Ames]

> Without a working NiCD backup battery, the unit will normally not boot up.
Really? At all? I guess that would explain it. I may as well get a new
battery ordered up, then - in the meantime, if the current one has a
bit of green fuzz around the ends of the barrel, would it be risky to
leave it plugged in in hopes of recharging a little?

[M100] M102 won't power on

[John Ames]

I picked up a Model 102 on the cheap recently as I've been wanting to
play around with the M100 again. It's in good condition overall
(barring a dirty keyboard,) but it doesn't seem to want to power on,
either from battery or AC power. I've opened it up and I don't see any
conspicuous damage or signs of broken/burned-out components (there's
some suspicious green fuzz around the ends of the backup-battery
barrel, but no actual leakage on the board, that I can spot.) I'm
going to go over it this evening with a multimeter and just poke
around a little, but are there any common points of failure that I
should look into? I'd kinda like to get it up and running for my trek
to VCF West if possible ;)