Well, that would be possible as there are 60-column and 80-column
utilities for the M100, but they are difficult to read. I think the
uptake on this would be small as the alternative of external 80 x 24
(36) VGA wins hands down.
We do have loads of RAM, so a virtual 40 x 66 (or say 256) lines for the
M100 LCD would be doable & beneficial. This would allow 'scrolling
back', making the 40x8 display more useful. I've had this in mind for a
future addition.
Philip
On 20/02/2020 7:03 am, Abraham Moller wrote:
Also, is there any chance of resizing the font or making a virtual
80x24 window? I think I saw a NEC PC-8300 with an Option ROM giving
60x8 or 60x10 on the display.
Jon
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020, 1:01 PM Abraham Moller <molle...@gmail.com
<mailto:molle...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Oh wow! This already sounds so much better than klutzy (well,
slow, individual) xmodem transfers in ZCN on the NC100.
As far as full screen CP/M, this would be over the serial port? Is
there a parallel port alternative? It would be nice to keep the
serial port for dumb terminal usage.
Jon
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020, 12:58 PM Stephen Adolph
<twospru...@gmail.com <mailto:twospru...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Yes there will be a process to push out and reload the ram
disk to an external device, like LaddieAlpha or mComm.
There are also utilities with CP/M to allow loading individual
files from/to TPDD to/from the CP/M disk.
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 12:43 PM Abraham Moller
<molle...@gmail.com <mailto:molle...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi Steve,
Thanks for sharing the info! Since the REXCPM has SRAM,
will I be able to back everything up with VirtualT or mComm?
Thanks again,
Jon
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020, 11:03 AM Stephen Adolph
<twospru...@gmail.com <mailto:twospru...@gmail.com>> wrote:
REXCPM itself plugs into the option rom socket.
In M100 and T102, you need an additional board
1) in M100, the adapter plugs into the system bus and
connects via a 3 wire cable to REXCPM. No soldering,
plug and play.
2) in T102, the adapter plugs into the adjacent 8kRAM
socket, and connects via a 3 wire cable to REXCPM. An
additional wire needs to run to M37 Pin 11. I'm
currently evaluating if a clip can be used or if it
needs to be soldered.
So, plug and play in M100. Still evaluating if it
can be "solder free" in T102 using a clip. Both
solutions need the adapter board.
..Steve
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 10:45 AM Dan Higdon
<therealh...@gmail.com <mailto:therealh...@gmail.com>>
wrote:
For REXCPM, how much hardware modification is
required? Does it need any wires soldered to the
motherboard?
I have a Model102, if there is a difference
between 100 and 102 in this regard.
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 9:35 AM Stephen Adolph
<twospru...@gmail.com
<mailto:twospru...@gmail.com>> wrote:
I can comment on the hardware side of things.
Standard REX does not support CP/M as it is
FLASH only.
REXCPM is different hardware. It uses Static
RAM (either 2MB or 4MB) as opposed to FLASH.
In order to run CPM you need 64k of
addressable RAM. REXCPM does a few things to
make that happen
1) it takes over the OPTROM memory space
(0000-7FFF)
2) it takes over the internal RAM memory space
(8000-FFFF)
3) it provides bank switching for up to 4MB of
SRAM into those spaces.
It relies on the internal nicad battery to
keep the Static RAM alive.
REXCPM reserves a large portion of the 2MB or
4MB SRAM as a ram disk for use by CPM. Some
additional 32k blocks are usable as OPTROM
images for traditional REX applications.
WRT the display, the LCD is always 40x8.
However it is relatively easy to use an
external monitor with this solution,
enabling the full CP/M screen dimensions.
Philip Avery owns the CP/M operating system
port for M100, and can comment on the rest.
cheers
Steve
On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 10:27 AM Abraham
Moller <molle...@gmail.com
<mailto:molle...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi all,
Just curious about the state of this new
REXCPM! It sounds incredible! Does it
offer CP/M plus 4MB Flash RAM for storage?
Does it change the number of lines/columns
on the display by using a smaller font
(like NC100 ZCN)? Could the regular REX
also be configured to run CP/M?
Also, I assume standard CP/M software
(qterm, DX-Forth, vde, zork, rogue, and so
on) works with it?
Thanks!!
Jon
