SO, WHY ARE RADIO SHACK COLOR COMPUTERS SUDDENLY COOL?
BECAUSE I FOUND ONE AT A SECOND-HAND STORE FOR $1, THAT'S WHY.
(GEEZ, I PAID HUNDREDS OF BUCKS FOR ONE OF THESE THINGS ONCE!)
OK
Contents
New Cool Stuff!
5-Oct-2002
Boy, it's been a long time since I did any CoCo'ing!
I've got a Linux box now, but couldn't find a 6809 assembler for it.
So I've written one in Java! It's still pretty primitive, but works.
Check it out at sourceforge.
Jan-2001
An old CoCo FAQ from gopherspace
My own CoCo 1&2 stuff
The programs available here reflect my own needs; I use a cross-assembler
on a PC, and download the results to a CoCo 2 in Motorola S format. My
CoCo has no special hardware (ie: no RS-232 pak), so my programs do it
all in software. But it does have 64K of RAM, Extended Color BASIC, and
a disk drive, so most of my programs currently depend on that.
CoCo 1,2 Notes
- Color BASIC,
Extended Color BASIC,
Color Disk BASIC
Summaries of the commands and functions available in the differenct
levels of Color Basic.
- Serial port
- Printer cable
- Disk Controller
- Disk Format
- Cassette port
- Tape Format
- switching clock rate
Some info on the different speed settings and how to get them.
- Text display
A discussion of the video display, emphasizing text/block-graphic modes.
- Semi-graphics
The chips in the CoCo can do block-graphics with six subblocks per
character, but the CoCo isn't wired to make full use of it. Other
modes can work, but have their own drawbacks.
- How to read joystick values
A technical description of how to read the joystick position values in
machine language programs.
- How to download programs to a CoCo
A description of how to use some of my programs to download others.
Note that this currently requires disk drives, Extended Color BASIC,
and 64K of RAM.
- A first machine-code program
Want to get started playing with machine code on a CoCo?
This is a tiny little first program for you, that should work on any
CoCo 1 or 2.
- A list of the CoCo cartridges
in Radio Shack's "Unlimited" catalog, still available for sale (as of
August 1998, anyway).
Programs
The big two here are COMM4 and MON80.
I use those two more than all the others combined.
Of course, my CoCo usage is probably not quite normal. :-)
These programs come with no warranty, and by downloading and running
them, you implicitly agree to the following draconian restrictions:
- I will send Bill some e-mail telling him how the program worked.
- If I had troubles with them, I'll tell him that too.
Pretty harsh, eh?
BTW, I'm afraid "Coming Soon" doesn't really mean that. If
you want anything marked with that label, let me know, and I'll try
to get it done. Otherwise, you may have to wait a long time.
We're talking years.
- COMM4 -
A program to read the serial port at 9600 baud. Very few features, but
small enough to be keyed in by hand. Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Binary,
BINENTRY (see below),
and
Motorola S-record
formats, and a preliminary
man page
are available.
Requires more than 16K of RAM.
- SEND4.BAS -
If your PC's terminal emulator can't send binaries without gumming
them up (like converting end-of-line characters), this little BASIC
program might help.
It runs on a PC, reads a file, and sends it out the COM1 port in
just the right format for COMM4 - just a plain old sequence of bytes.
BASIC source code
and a preliminary man page
are available.
- COMM5S19 -
A program to read the serial port at 9600 baud, and optionally convert
the recieved data from Motorola S format to binary.
If you have no way to send 8-bit-clean binaries to your CoCo, this is
good for getting binaries through, encoded in ASCII.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Motorola S-record,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available;
man page coming soon.
Requires more than 16K of RAM.
- S19 -
Converts data from Motorola-S format to binary in-place. Small enough
to be keyed in by hand. Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available, as is a preliminary
preliminary man page.
Requires more than 16K of RAM.
- COMM6 -
A program to read the serial port at 38400 baud.
Very similar to COMM4.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Motorola S-record,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available, as is a preliminary
man page.
Requires more than 16K of RAM.
- MON80.BAS -
A monitor program; it lets you look at and change the contents of memory,
load and save files, read and write disk sectors, jump to any address, etc.
ASCII format source file
and preliminary man page available;
Requires Extended Color BASIC and 64K of RAM. Can work with disks or
cassettes.
- SAVEBA2.BAS -
Calls COMM4 to download data, which it then saves into a disk file,
and alters the disk directory entry for that file to make it look
like a BASIC program saved in ASCII format. This is useful for
downloading BASIC programs to the CoCo.
ASCII format source file available.
Note that this requires disk drives, Extended Color BASIC, and 64K of RAM.
- BINENTRY.BAS -
Allows entry of machine code with a checksum on each line, to
catch errors before they become a headache.
ASCII format source file available.
Requires Extended Color BASIC.
Note that this is really only useful for getting COMM4 (above) into your
computer. No other programs are available in BINENTRY format.
The first version of BINENTRY had a big fat bug, which has now been fixed.
If you downloaded that and have not yet deleted it, you may prefer to
fix it rather than downloading
the new version.
- CSAVEM -
So, you've downloaded a big pile of bits into your CoCo's memory,
but you don't have disk drives or Extended BASIC, so SAVEBA won't
work for you.
Look no further.
CSAVEM will save it to cassette tape as a machine code
program that you can later load with CLOADM.
Handles machine-code programs up to 16K in size.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Motorola S-record,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available, as is a preliminary
man page.
Uses the coco.asm
file of definitions.
- CSAVEB -
Oh, it wasn't machine code?
It was a BASIC program?
No problem.
CSAVEB does for BASIC programs what CSAVEM
did for machine code.
Handles BASIC programs in ASCII, up to 47K in size.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Motorola S-record,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available, as is a preliminary
man page.
Uses the coco.asm
file of definitions.
- TAPEBITS -
If you want to hack on low-level cassette stuff, it is very helpful
to see a tape the way your CoCo sees it.
TAPEBITS watches the input signal coming from the tape
drive, and saves a list of how much time went by between successive
zero-crossings.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code,
Assembler output listing,
Motorola S-record,
Binary, and
BINENTRY
formats are available, as is a preliminary
man page.
- TM -
A memory test program. Writes patterns to memory, 4K at a time, and
checks the result as it goes. Reports errors on a graphical screen map
showing which bits failed in which 4K pages; as well as on a list of the
most recent errors, showing the exact address, data written, and data
read back.
Written in 6809 assembly code.
Source code and
preliminary man page available;
binary and Motorola-S formats
coming soon.
Requires at least 16K of RAM.
- SAMDISP.BAS -
Lets you browse around the CoCo's RAM, by altering the video
base address.
ASCII format source file and
man page available.
- CHGTYP.BAS -
Allows you to alter the type of a file in a disk directory.
Just enter the filename, and choose the file type and encoding
from a menu.
ASCII format source file available.
Links
Since I'm mostly interested in CoCo 1's and 2's, and since most CoCo 3
people use OS-9, some CoCo 3 links are filed in the "CoCo 3 & OS-9" section
instead of right here.
Bulletin Boards and random pointers
(I haven't personally checked these out,
but have heard that they carry CoCo files)
Golden Coco BBS,The 713-941-1542 02.4k Fido 1:106/941 EchoMail, OS/9
Coco Loco 713-923-6809 02.4k
WNY Tandy Color Computer Club <coco@FREENET.BUFFALO.EDU>
The CoCo Exchange BBS 619-272-3643
ACS BBS 770-939-1246
ClubHouse BBS 908-276-2581
PCBBS 516-795-5874
Glenside's Cup of Coco 847-428-0436 TR/COCO *8- Jan-92
CoCo Support Periodicals
From Tim Jones <Tim.Jones@107.IMA.INFOMAIL.COM>:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAGAZINES PUBLISHER COST ADDRESS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The World of 68' Frank Swygert $25.00 USA Farna Systems PB Macros
Micros e-mail $30.00 Canada P.O Box 321
(6 issues) Warner Robins, GA 31099-
(one year) 0321
(912)328-7859 (voice)
Hardcopy Rick Cooper $30.00 USA Rick's Computer Enterprise
$36.00 Canada P. O. Box 276
(12 issues) Liberty, KY 42539
(one year) (606)787-5783 (voice)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISK MAGAZINES PUBLISHER COST ADDRESS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
CoCo Friends Rick's Computer $6.00 each Rick's Computer Entrprise
Disk Magazine Enterprise $30.00 for 6 P. O. Box 276
(monthly) Liberty, KY 42539
(606)787-5783 (voice)
MicroDisk Farna Systems $40.00 USA Farna Systems PB
$44.00 Canada Warner Robins, GA 31099-
0321
(912)828-7859 (voice)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWSLETTERS PUBLISHER COST ADDRESS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOTD OS-9 Users Forum $25.00 USA OS-9 Users Forum, Inc.
(Message of Inc. and Canada. * 6158 West 63rd Street
the Day) $30.00 others Suite #109
* Price includes membership fee (6 issues/yr) Chicago, IL 60638
CoCo 1-2-3 Glenside CoCo $15.00 USA Glenside CoCo Club
Club (membership) RR #2, Box 67
(6 issues) Forrest, IL 61741-9629
(one year) (847)428-3576 (voice)
(847)428-0436 (BBS)
CoCo Trader James Sternett $6.00 USA James Sternett
(6 issues) 2861 Easy Street
(one year) Sevierville, TN 37862
(615)428-1220 (voice)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONLINE NEWS PUBLISHER COST ADDRESS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS9 Underground Alan Sheltra, Free http://val.net/~zog/
Ezine* FatCat Pub.
*NOTE: HTML docs for current issue can be downloaded for the web site.
Where to get BASIC ROM images
If you have a CoCo emulator for a PC, you'll need the ROM images to
make it go. Here are some
of your options.
Back to
my classic computer web page
5-Oct-2002
yakowenk@csx.unxc.edu
(remove all "x"s to get a valid address)
keywords for the search engines:
classic computer, classiccmp dwp,
tandy, trs-80, radio shack color computer, coco