Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!acc.flint.umich.edu!jal From: jal@acc.flint.umich.edu (John Lauro) Newsgroups: comp.sys.m6809 Subject: Re: COCO upgrade Message-ID: <1991Feb7.223656.22190@engin.umich.edu> Date: 7 Feb 91 22:36:56 GMT References: <1991Feb7.142856.10328@engin.umich.edu> <1991Feb7.164611.29356@cbnewse.att.com> Sender: news@engin.umich.edu (CAEN Netnews) Distribution: na Organization: University of Michigan - Flint Lines: 38 In article <1991Feb7.164611.29356@cbnewse.att.com> gmark@cbnewse.att.com (gilbert.m.stewart) writes: >In article <1991Feb7.142856.10328@engin.umich.edu>, jal@acc.flint.umich.edu (John Lauro) writes: >> In article ww0n+@andrew.cmu.edu (Walter Lloyd Wimer III) writes: >> > >There's a question. Why? It seems to be a pretty useful unit for a >COCO, so why are they hard to find? BTW, am I going to need a MP >to use the hi-res box? How does it interface? Can I use the old "Y" >connector I used on my COCOMAX I hi-res pack? No, the hi-res box will not need either a "Y" cable or a MP. >As for controllers, how do I "spot" an "old" controller? I saw various >differences along the way, from the pack getting shorter, to the change >in color from black to white, etc.. The ROMs in the first "old" one >were 1.0, mine's 2.0. Does that make mine "new"? Or is the shorter >case the result of the 12V components being eliminated? Again, I don't >have "new" pack available to swap, and I'm not sure I want to spend >a couple hundred putzing around. And also-again-in-addition-ad-nauseum, >the disk basic prompt comes up, the drive is activated, but no files >are found. Maybe that's a clue to something, but I'm not sure what. >It'd be simpler if I had a new controller to swap, but I don't. If you have an old controller, it will come up normally. It's just when you access the drive that you will have trouble. Try formatting a fresh disk. Also if you still have your old computer, make sure the disk you are trying still works. If so, and you can't get the CoCo 3 to work, it's probabbly an old controller. I'm not sure at the exact point where the switch was, but I think it was after the 1.1 roms were first released. Note: If you purchased the controller from someone else, they could have changed the roms, and so you can't really go by that... > >Lastly, why are COCO-IIIs so cheap? Cheaper to produce, on the way out, >or is COCO-IV coming out? Any guesses? Cheaper to produce, but mainly that only accounts for why they came down to about $200. On they way out is the real reason. I don't think Tandy is planning a CoCo-IV, and haven't made a CoCo 3 for over a year.