PM sent... and reply received! great stuff

also, the embedded video files can be downloaded.. just right click and save as

Perhaps some discussion about the device while we wait. If Gideon has the time of course. I'm curious about its operation, so some questions. Perhaps someone else already knows these answers:

-Can we disable the utility cart (FC3/AR) easily with a toggle?
-Does the device tristate on the expansion bus when not in use (aside from REU)?
-From what I can tell, the 6502 core also manages the cart system in frozen state. Does the cart bank RAM to deal with the frozen disk manager state?
-Can the 6502 core control DMA?

Hi!

To answer your questions:

- The cart functionality can be easily enabled/disabled from the menu. The choice between FC3/AR is rather static and (as of now) cannot switch on the fly; a power cycle is necessary.

- The device is completely tristated on the bus when not in use.

- Honestly I am not sure what you mean by your third question. The disk manager has its own ram space; does this answer your question?

- The 6502 core makes excessive use of DMA already; the whole disk manager user interface is based on it. In addition to it, the disk manager as you call it (the menu) is capable of loading programs into system memory by means of DMA. This is not limited to single files on the SD-card, but can also be applied to files from within a D64 or T64 file.

For more questions, don't hesitate to ask; preferably on the forum, so I only need to answer them once.

Gideon

Thanks Gideon, I wasn't sure if you'd already been asked these questions 100 times.

I was guessing that the same CPU services both the drive and the menu system. Do you use RAM above the 1541's 2KB for this with one address space (and stack) or do you use logic to separate the two functions?

Oh not at all; just preventing it from happening.



Oh, actually those are two independent CPUs.

Gideon

want one

Any news on where, when and how? Please....cant wait..lol

You should PM Gideon

Ok, so with proper custom "cart" software mmc-card on this thing can be used like mass memory, like another drive?

like load "$",12 would list contents of the mmc-card and with load "software",12 would load it?

With such support it would be possible to load those ide64 fixed games FAST straight from mmc-card .

I'm not expecting that it would support such functionality straight from the box but I'm interested if it would be possible with suitable software?



Heh, I suggest that you write FAQ when you have little extra time, I also would like to see more detailed specs how this thing works internally and whats possible with it and what not I guess you dont have user manual for it yet?

Yes, this is already the case. You could load and save *directly* to the SD card by using a second virtual drive on the IEC bus, without modification to the rom and without specific software support for it on the C64. However, it is IEC, so it won't be that fast. At the moment, speedloaders are not supported on the direct interface to the SD-card (,12 as you call it [selectable]). In the future, enthousiasts could create a second 'channel' in software through the cartridge port to speedup this transfer. Without additional software support on the C64 side, I can't just fake the IEC transfer and DMA-load the actual program, because I don't have a way of knowing whether the whole file will be read by the C64, nor at which address it should load (load"",12 vs load"",12,1).


See above. Out of the box only standard IEC support is included. So to prevent confusion: this IEC support is aside from the 1541 drive that is in the cartridge. So when you install the cart, you'll get TWO additional drives on the bus. [But you can turn them off!]



Extra time... you're funny! I am currently stressing to get the production going... I am already having a hard time keeping up with the pre-order list and the payments coming in. But yes, a FAQ is still a good idea.

HI Gideon(and all others),

are there any chances in the future for a "virtual parallel cable"
support?
Burstnibbler with a 1541 ultimate
A patched Dolphin Dos or Speeddos professional running with the ultimate... O.K. I´m dreaming!

Wow, this device seems to be without limit! A drive on the expansion would be nice, but I like the idea of this device being transparent to the system. Perhaps it would be feasible to use Jiffydos protocol on the IEC, decent speedup.

I don't have the JiffyDos roms right now, but I am going to get them soon, as somone promised me to send them to me. Then I'll see if implementing the JiffyDos protocol to the software IEC is feasible.

Of course, JiffyDos will be supported by the 1541 inside the Ultimate cart. Just create a file named "1541.rom" on the SD-card, and your drive will be JiffyDOS enabled.

There's a nicely commented disassembly here:

http://hem.passagen.se/harlekin/jiffy1.doc

Awesome project! For those in doubt, remember that this is €100 easily spent on unreliable, clicking, hot and noisy disk drives that eventually will break down on you.