> between a pi and an android phone.. I pick android.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say
it."
(E.B.Hall on Voltaire) ;-)
> the Pi has some issues
> 1) it has no safe on/off switch. you can't simply power it down!
True, but not a real problem. A simple script and a connection between 2 pins
will take care of that. I'm going to build that.
> 2) it is not portable. You will forever be tethered to a power source
Yes, so what? I don't take my PDD with me either, and my headless DOS-station
wasn't particularly portable either.
> 3) linux. You have to be linux savvy to use it. period.
Not at all. Windows is the most-used OS of our time. All those people are
Windows-savvy? If you can make it work, and it does what you want, the OS is
irrelevant (speaking with 6 years of 1st-line PC-support in the fingers) The
RasPi as a TPDD emulator has to do ONE thing. Once you get it working, you
leave it be.
On top of that: Android = Linux.
> 4) needs a "non trivial' cable solution.
USB to 9-pins-serial, 9-to-25 pin converter, null-modem cable (the last 2 could
be one piece) Yeah, kinda.
> An android phone however... now that is convenient.
> * fundamentally portable
True. But I would definitely not want to use my daily phone as a TPDD
replacement. For that, I want a dedicated peripheral.
> * slick packaging, robust, durable, flexible etc.
... and boring. Nothing is so uninteresting as an Android phone if you want to
show it off. People will think your Model T is a keyboard to your phone.
> * built in connectivity options
Have you seen the specs on the RasPi3? BT, WiFi, 10/100 ethernet...
> * needs a wireless cable (IE BT)
> Kurt found a great BT serial module for ~25$
Ah, I missed that. Could you please re-post?
> A cheap android phone can be easily obtained...we've only built about a
> billion of those in this world.
yes, but they only live about 18 months. (average) So watch out what you buy.
> Anyhow both are neat options.
U R Right. They are.
But a RasPi will scream 'geek' more than a slick Android solution. Some people
just like the attention. ;-D
Anyway, there are definitively enough alternatives for a TPDD.
|\ _,,,--,,_
/ ,`.-'`' ._ \-;;,_
|,4- ) )_ .;.( `'-'
<---''(_/._)--'(_\_)
Jan Vanden Bossche @ work
From: M100 [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephen
Adolph
Sent: donderdag 31 maart 2016 13:42
To: Model 100 Discussion
Subject: Re: [M100] Could you use a USB portable flash drive as an alternative
device to stores files on a Model 100 ?
between a pi and an android phone.. I pick android.
the Pi has some issues
1) it has no safe on/off switch. you can't simply power it down!
2) it is not portable. You will forever be tethered to a power source
3) linux. You have to be linux savvy to use it. period.
4) needs a "non trivial' cable solution.
An android phone however... now that is convenient.
* fundamentally portable
* slick packaging, robust, durable, flexible etc.
* built in connectivity options
* needs a wireless cable (IE BT)
Kurt found a great BT serial module for ~25$
A cheap android phone can be easily obtained...we've only built about a billion
of those in this world.
Anyhow both are neat options. Both work. Both leverage (1) large scale
hardware manufacturing (2) large scale software development projects. Both
require talented people to do the custom work to bring it together as a storage
solution for M100.
On Thu, Mar 31, 2016 at 4:39 AM, VANDEN BOSSCHE JAN
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
As far as I know, the answer is NO. It's not as simple as you hope it would be.
Because you have to realise that the Model T's are, by today's standards,
really primitive computers. There is not even a Disk Operatin System build in.
The only thing that even resembles a DOS, is the communication with a TPDD. But
even if it's dressed up as a disk system, it basically is a communications
protocol over a serial port with another serial device. Actually, not like a
common DOS at all.
Integrating a disk - and of variable size - into that means that you have to
translate the commands from the rudimentary communication protocol of the Model
T towards file commands that apply to this disk/ram device. No simple task if
you have to do it all by yourself, i.e., if there is no underlying OS to wich
you can pass commands to.
I have the impression that a lot of people didn't understand what an
engineering masterpiece NADSbox is/was. It translates the TPDD protocol and
creates its own disk-access protocol towards an SD-card, so that this can even
be read by other computers. Basically, he wrote a mini-DOS into a purpose-build
computer. There are not many people in the world who could have done thàt, I
think.
On top of the software, there's the hardware. You need to get the signals from
a serial port, through the translating process, towards an SD-card or a
flashdrive. Again, that is not too simple, though there, luckily, you can use
industry standard components. But you still need a skilled engineer - like Ken
- to put it all together with the controller, the interpreting and translating
software, to make a working unit.
The NADSbox did all this, custom made. The price was steep, understandably, but
it was still only the cost of the hardware, I don't think Ken made any profit
from it.
Basically, to be able to use any modern storage via a Model T, you need a
computer in between to make it work.
To avoid building the computing element from scratch, why not use one
off-the-shelf ? And that's where the Raspberry Pi comes in. This computer is as
powerfull as an iPhone. You have an operating system to handle disk operations,
and you have USB and SD-card ports. The only thing you need now - and that's
still easier said than done - is a link to the serial port of the Model T, and
the translating software. But because you are working in a real computer, the
translating software can be an adaptation of software that already exists. Like
LaddieAlpha.
You see that, by using a Pi, you reduce software and hardware effort
considerably.
I am working on using an old Pi as a TPDD. Just like with my DOS station, I
intend to write an article and post it to the Wiki.
Everyone, feel free to correct any gibberish I might have mentioned above.
|\ _,,,--,,_
/ ,`.-'`' ._ \-;;,_
|,4- ) )_ .;.( `'-'
<---''(_/._)--'(_\_)
Jan Vanden Bossche @ work
From: M100
[mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>]
On Behalf Of Duane Adrian
Sent: woensdag 30 maart 2016 14:45
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: [M100] Could you use a USB portable flash drive as an alternative
device to stores files on a Model 100 ?
I was wondering if you could use any USB Flash drive to save files. Maybe have
some software written for it so the Model 100 would understand it.
I heard of the NADSBox and Raspberry Pi. But the NADSBox is expensive and I am
not sure if it is available anymore.
As for Raspberri Pi. It is $35 dollars. I have even seen one for $15. Even a
CHEAP one for $5. But I am not a very technical person or software programmer
or hardware engineer. I am just a basic user and owner of a TRS 80 Model 100.
Any suggestions or opinions that I can get.
Duane A.
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