This is incredibly helpful, so thanks! I was trying to work out how to load TEENY rather than TS-DOS and was wondering if I was just missing it from the BackPack manual. I probably was! But that explanation gives me a good base to work from, not least because I really only need very basic functions for saving onto the BackPack, and TEENY can do that.
The extra RAM means that in fact I should be able to break most of what I am using the 200 for down into two pieces of work instead of three or more - which makes it all rather easier to work with! And that is a fascinating way of working with data between RAM banks. That’s not a method I would have thought of at all. I had been considering a rather more basic form of RAM usage for document storage, I know, for example, that I could simply use the RAM banks to store parts of my work and copy each over to (say) bank 1 just to save. I could live with that as long as bank 1 has enough space! Thanks again! Andy --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > A few things: > > -- > > I believe backpack allows you to put any loader you want on the sd card. > > I don't know the exact mechanism, but for example a similar project I > have https://github.com/bkw777/PDDuino > lets you bootstrap anything you want by just saving it to a special file > name on the sd card. > > You get any of the loader files from here > https://github.com/bkw777/dlplus/tree/master/clients > in your case, anything named *.200, specifically: > https://github.com/bkw777/dlplus/raw/master/clients/teeny/TEENY.200 > And just save it to the sd card as LOADER.DO > and then PDDuino will use that file for bootstrap. > > I think backpack has a fancier bootstrap process with an initial stage > that autodetects if the attached client is a 100 or 200 the same way a > real TPDD2 utility disk does, but otherwise a similar idea where the > device comes pre-loaded with a ts-dos loader, but it's just the default > not permanent and you can replace it. > > -- > > Simply using TEENY in place of TS-DOS will get you from 6k down to 1.5k, > but you can go further by getting tricky with how you install and invoke > TEENY. The TEENY docs go into some detail about it but the gist is you > get the TEENY code installed into high memory, and then delete the .CO > file and replace it with a smaller trigger file. If you get this right, > then TEENY only consumes about 750 bytes. It's more delicate. If you run > any other .CO program that overwites the high memory area, that wipes > out TEENY, and then you no longer have the .CO file to reinstall from, > so you have to load from serial again. Which, with a backpack is not > much of a chore, especially if you customize the loader.do a little to > make it do a high-ram-trigger-file install instead of saving a .CO file. > > I find the original teeny doc hard to follow but one thing it does is > cover all points, except, maybe not, I think there is model 100-specific > basic code in there in the trigger file section. > https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=TEENY.CO_MANUAL#Trigger_File_Creation > > -- > > This claims to copy files from bank to bank on 200: > > https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tandy_200_RAM > > > -- > bkw > > On 8/10/23 17:21, CopyP wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> I have just received a Tandy 200 to go with my 100 and 102. It seems >> functional, but leaves me with an odd question: >> >> I have one of Birt?s Backpack drives, which works perfectly with my 100 and >> 102, using the TS-DOS loader included on the SD card, and referenced in the >> Backpack manual. Unfortunately, I don?t have an option ROM with TS-DOS, so I >> loose 6K or RAM. On the 100/102 that isn?t too bad, but on the 200, it >> leaves insufficient RAM for the documents I am producing. >> >> So, I thought, why not load TS-DOS into one RAM bank, and the documents in >> another? Except that I don?t see where TS-DOS can load a file, while it?s >> running from (say) Bank #2 on the 200, and save the file in Bank #1. Or, >> save a file from Bank #1 to the Backpack, while it?s running from Bank #2. >> >> Is this even possible, or do I need a TS-DOS option ROM? I do have a REX#, >> but it doesn?t seem to be functional in the 200. I was hoping to get one of >> Birt?s Dial-A-ROMS, but they don?t seem to be available at present. >> >> Any ideas? >> >> Thanks, >> Andy >
