Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!gatech!taco!ncsuvx!news From: jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (Ricky Beam) Newsgroups: comp.sys.m6809 Subject: Re: COCO upgrade Message-ID: <1991Feb15.201423.2872@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> Date: 15 Feb 91 20:14:23 GMT References: <1991Feb7.142856.10328@engin.umich.edu> <1991Feb7.164611.29356@cbnewse.att.com> Sender: jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu (Ricky Beam) Followup-To: sender Distribution: na Organization: NCSU Project Eos Lines: 62 >In article <1991Feb7.142856.10328@engin.umich.edu>, (John Lauro) writes: >> One other way of getting an old controller to work that I haven't >> seen mentioned yet... Get a multi-pak interface. This will supply >> the 12 volts to the controller. (If I remember correctly, they are >> hard to find lately.) Oh course, you may need an upgrade for that > >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? > Well, the MPI was "killed" along with all the coco stuff... The cocomax hi-res pack will not work as is on a COCO3 due to where it is maped. It is mapped at $FF9X--the GIME area. If you plug it in an upgraded MPI, the computer should not even "see" it out there. There is a fix for this but I don't have it. As for a multi-pak, I am working on developing an 8 port interface with 2-7seg LED's to show the selections to fit in a BABY-AT case. I expect this to be available to "real" people in a month or so. NOTE:plans only! I am not going to MAKE these things FOR you!!! AT ALL! >As for controllers, how do I "spot" an "old" controller? I saw various well, the FD-502 card is a short one. The FD-501 is long and (???) works without 12v. The FD-500 (urgh) is long, dusty(!) and needs 12v (unless "fixed") >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 That IS 1.0---the coco3 ROM changes it to say 2.0! >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. Well, that sounds like the controller chip is not powered!!! (12v you know... open it up and find the part number on the 40 pin chip) >It'd be simpler if I had a new controller to swap, but I don't. > >Lastly, why are COCO-IIIs so cheap? Cheaper to produce, on the way out, >or is COCO-IV coming out? Any guesses? > They are cheap because Tandy wants to get rid of them!! Costs money too much money to have them setting around. ------------------- jfbeam@eos.ncsu.edu -------------------- Ricky Beam Box 15240 118B Bragaw NCSU Raleigh, NC 27607 (919) 828-8554 --------------------