H89LDR

[Glenn Roberts]

Dwight:

 

Some of us have noticed that we can’t run the H89LDR code on our H8 systems with the PAM-37 ROM.  The problem I’ve seen is on the disk write operation (when transferring from the PC to the H8).  If you look at the portion of the code that writes an image you find a snippet that looks like this (code commenting is mine):

 

*

*    Read and store BC bytes

*

WRIMG2 CALL     CHRIN      get data

       MOV      M,A        store it

       INX      H          point to next

       DCX      B          decrement counter

       MOV      A,B

       ORA      C          check for counter=0

       JNZ      WRIMG2     if not, keep looping

 

I suspected that this code was getting “hung” in this loop so I ran H89LDR (connecting the H8 to a PC running your PC transmission software).  Using the H8 front panel monitor I watched the BC code register pair during a write operation.  BC is the count down register in this code, when it counts down to 0 the buffer is full and the track is written to the disk.  What I found is that the count never gets to zero, it gets to a small number that varies from run to run (typically 5 to 8 in my observations).

 

I concluded that characters are being dropped since the code uses a simple polling technique on the com port (not interrupt driven).  If the computer is ever “busy” (e.g. servicing the front panel LED refresh) for too long it could miss a character.  I also noticed that the front panel monitor runs during the download and that consumes CPU cycles during every clock interrupt.  Two possible solutions present themselves:

 

                Slow down the baud rate

                Turn off the FP refresh

 

Of course this isn’t an issue on the H89…

 

I might be able to patch the existing code with the appropriate instructions (only a few bytes) since there are some NOP instructions in there, or I could reassemble the code.  I tried the latter, making certain to adjust the entry points and sizes between the loader and boot programs, but I ran into a stumbling block:  the Forth program itself seems to have the H89LDR code size embedded in it:

 

$265B $2329 - constant LdrSize  \ set to exact size of loader

 

Suggestions?  If I wanted to recompile the Forth code what compiler did you use?  Or do you think I could just patch in the NOP space?

 

-          Glenn

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of dwight elvey
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2013 11:01 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

 

The H8-5s were flakey at 9600 baud. My program had the
ability to run at 4800 that seemed to work well with most
H8-5s I've tried.
The problem it the design using the optical coupler was really
not well designed.
There is a way, I forget which, that can be used to tell
windows that the com port is not available to windows.
Then the original program can be run from a dos window.
At least that is what I was told.
I believe there were two different programs for the bootstrap
that one had the setup for the slower baud.
I don't know if Les' program supports the lower baud rate.
You might see if you can borrow one of the serial boards.
As for wiring, find a RS232 light box. That will help debug
most RS232 wiring differences.
Dwight
 

 

---

To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] second drive for the H8
From: hl...@aol.com
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:56:36 -0400

Hi Ken and everyone following this,

 

My first computer project was the H8 back in 1980. I've had many computers since then and even  had a computer collection that included the Altair, IMSAI, and a Mark 8.

 

Over the last couple of years I have sold off my collection, but I couldn't give up my H8. So I decided to upgrade my H8 and that is why I joined in on SEBHC.

 

My H8 system consists of:

85-1938-1 8080 CPU  board

H8-64 Rev 2.1 board from Les (upgraded from 32k  Heathkit memory boards)

H8-5 cassette and Serial I/O board

H17 Controller board with 2 drives

HA8-8 Extended configuration board

H19 Terminal operating at 4800 baud

I have HDOS 1.6 and CP/M 2.2.02 bootable on 5.25" hard sector. However, now the HDOS 1.6 doesn't boot because of the 64k.

 

At this point everything seems to be working as designed. My understanding is that to get the HSFE working I will need to upgrade the operating system to at least CP/M 2.2.03. 

 

I have downloaded the H8D utility from the website but have not been able yet to communicate with the H8 through the H8-5. The communication is setup as receive/transmit on pins 2 and 3 and ground on pin 7. Les's utility seems to work and I have loaded H8D files for CP/M 2.2.03 but I don't think that the setup for the RS232 on com1: is right. The computer I am using is running Windows XP.

 

I am considering setting up an old PC with MSDOS 6.2 and run Dwight's H89trans program directly, but that could take some time.

 

Anyway any suggestions and help would be appreciated.

 

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth L. Owen <tx83...@bellsouth.net>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 11:32 pm
Subject: RE: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

Hi Harold,

 

I have seen your previous posts, but haven’t been following very closely due to other issues taking most of my time and attention.

 

I know that you are working with an H8.  What I don’t know is which CPU you are running, your CPU clock speed and whether you can use Les’ H8D utility to write floppy disks by sending them from your PC.

 

Do you have a modem program on your Heath?  If so, then you can send single files from your PC to the Heath using the serial port and X-modem protocol.  With a 2 MHz clock MAPLE.ABS will reliably transfer files at 4800 baud with INT5 jumper set on your serial port card for the port you are using.

 

Let me know a bit about what you have and what you can already do, then, I will be able to help you get the rest.

 

-- ken

 

---

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of hl...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 8:34 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

 

Hi Ken,

 

Well you got me on the issue of HUG H17.DVD. Unfortunately I have no idea what you are talking about. However, I would appreciate any assistance/help since I still haven't been able to get the HSFE to work.

 

Thanks,

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth L. Owen <tx83...@bellsouth.net>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 8:17 pm
Subject: RE: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

Hi Harold,

 

Hmmmm, if you are not running the HUG H17.DVD from the HS-Support Pkg, then that is why your HSFE drives are working as well!

 

-- ken

 

---

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of hl...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 6:33 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

 

Les,

 

I was able to use the IBM PC 5.25" drive as my second floppy for the H8. I actually have two IBM drives both Tandon - one is TM100 and the other is TM100-2A. The TM100 worked fine but for some reason the TM100-2A did not work. Could the drive be bad?

 

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Les Bird <les...@bellsouth.net>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Apr 16, 2013 9:00 pm
Subject: Re: [sebhc] second drive for the H8

Harold,

 

Many IBM PC drives work just fine. I've not found any that do not work so far.

- Les

 

On Apr 16, 2013, at 8:19 PM, "hl...@aol.com" <hl...@aol.com> wrote:

Hi everyone,

 

I am looking to add a second 5.25" drive to my H8. Anyone know of drives that will work? I have a full height drive from an old IBM PC. Will that work?

 

Thanks,

Harold

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[Kenneth L. Owen]

Hi Glenn,

 

I’m almost as dumb as the proverbial rock when It comes to the H8.  But drawing on my work with the H89, I am wondering:

 

Does the H8 shadow the H37 routines in memory?  If so, can you patch that memory location from the front panel to see if it fixes the observed issue with the BC count?

 

-- ken

 

---

[Glenn Roberts]

Sure, I should be able to test my theory easily enough, but to make the fix permanent and update all the pieces I think we will need to update the Forth program too

Sent from my iPad

[dwight elvey]

The code is written in FPC forth but the compiled code is
created with the sister tool called TCOM. Both are available
online someplace. Both were originally written by Tom Zimmer.
The size of the boot loader needs to be known by the boot loader
because of the way the loader transfers from the boot loader
to the main client code. It would have been more robust
if I'd done a 3 level loader but you have to realize, I had no
idea it would be used for more than a few transfers that I was
doing.
Has anyone tries using the 4800 baud loader? If that is not
fast enough, one could use a slower baud.
The H8 that I'd tested it on had no H37.
TCOM take Forth as source and creates .COM file.
There are slight differences the way it handles I/O and
things but as I recall, I put switches in the code so that it could
work in either in the Forth interpreter or the compiled .COM
file.
The code that runs on the H89/8 is all assembly code.
Dwight

 

---

From: tx83...@bellsouth.net
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:51:03 -0400

[Glenn Roberts]

Great.

 

Tcom is here:

 

http://www.forth.org/compilers.html

 

if I get a new version working I’ll post a follow up here…

 

It is odd that the code works fine on my 8080-based H8 with the PAM-GO ROM.  All I can think is that the PAM-37 code added some more interrupt processing software – just enough to make it miss a character now and then…  I didn’t try it at higher speeds (haven’t built my speedup card yet) but am curious if that would help.

[Norberto Collado]

On Les’s Z80 board, I think, but not sure that if we replace the XCON-8 EPROM with the original H17 EPROM then it should work. This is something that I was planning to test but never got to it. I will try to do it tonight if I have the time. That might explain why it works with the PAM-GO ROM.

[George Farris]

On Sat, 2013-04-20 at 09:00 -0700, Norberto Collado wrote:
> On Les’s Z80 board, I think, but not sure that if we replace the
> XCON-8 EPROM with the original H17 EPROM then it should work. This is
> something that I was planning to test but never got to it. I will try
> to do it tonight if I have the time. That might explain why it works
> with the PAM-GO ROM.
>

This does work I used to have to do that until I wrote the CP/M transfer
utilities.

So yes if you put the H17 ROM in it works.

George

[Norberto Collado]

I was planning to copy the original H17 ROM into a 2732A and then replace
the XCON-8 EPROM. It should also work by just inserting the original ROM
like you did.

Thanks for the information and the fix to this issue.

Norberto

-----Original Message-----
From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
George Farris
Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2013 9:54 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com

[hl...@aol.com]

Dwight,

 

I am running the H8 with the extended configuration board and 64k RAM. I  added the extended configuration board many years ago and at that time the ROM was changed.

 

I followed your instructions for bootstrapping from scratch for the H8, assuming that the ROM is the same as the XCON8. After turning on the H8 and resetting I entered 030 000 in the PC register. When I hit "GO" the front panel stays active for a few seconds and then goes dark. At that point I reset as indicated in your instructions.

Then I enter the octal code for systems having the H8-5, which is what I am using. I set the PC to 043 000. Now when I hit the "GO" button on the H8 the computer basically locks up after about 5 seconds  and the ion and mon lights on the front panel go out and the computer makes a continuous buzzing noise.  I am not able to execute the "L" command from H89TRANS running on the PC. This is my first problem

 

I am now running H89TRANS from my PC running with MSDOS 6.2 and using com1: set to 4800 baud to match my H8-5. (Initially I tried using Les's utility but couldn't get it to work.)  I am using only receive/transmit pins 2 and 3 and ground. This matches the serial port on my H8-5. I checked the wiring with a "light box". I first connected the serial wiring to a test connector, which I think basically connects pins 2 and 3. In any event I was able to run H89TRANS and "simulate" loading and sending H8D files. However, when I connect the PC serial port to the serial port from the H8-5 the H8-5 serial port is inactive. I am not sure what is going on but is it possible that the H8 has to be programmed to initialize the port? Normally this port is connected to the H19 terminal. This is my second problem. 

 

So I don't know if this adds any information that might be useful regarding using your program with the H8.

 

Harold

[Les Bird]

Harold,

I have an extra H8-4 I can send your way. I still have your address so I'll go ahead and stick it in the mail. That should hopefully get you up and running.

- Les

[Norberto Collado]

If you are using XCON8, that might be the issue. Same EPROM on Les's Z80 CPU is causing issues as well with the H89LDR and George acknowledge that it works after replacing the XCON8 with the H17 PROM.

You only option is to get the SVD (check with Les) or get the H8-USB board when available with Dan utilities to download H8D images (http://www.koyado.com/Heathkit/H-8_USB.html).

Norberto

[dwight elvey]

Hi Harold
 The boot code for the H8-5 initializes the serial port. In fact
that is what most of the code you type in does.
I'm not sure if XCON8 works the same as the original ROM.
The first part is to get variables setup for the disk drive.
It expects the H17 eprom to be there.
Once you enter the code, it should transfer the main code
to the H8. It overwrites the last code of the boot code,
that is a PCHL instruction and that stops the execution
of the boot and transfers execution to the code that
is loaded.
The first part of the code makes sure that the loaded code
is aligned correctly by moving it to the proper loaction.
Once that is done it should be ready to receive commands.
It does sound like you are not getting all the characters loaded.
Dwight

 

---

To: se...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:29:44 -0400

[hl...@aol.com]

Les,

 

I received the board. Thank you!!!  I will install it and see how everything works. I'll be in touch.

 

I know it was an extra board but I feel that I should pay you for the board or return it to you after I have used it to connect to the PC. The board is really in good shape.

 

Let me know. I really appreciate your help.

[Les Bird]

Harold,

Go ahead and keep the board. I have a spare H8-4 PCB here that I can assemble if I need to. Hopefully it'll help get you up and running.

- Les

[hl...@aol.com]

Les, Dwight,

 

I have installed the H8-4 and "wired" up channel 0 for the H19. Works fine at 9600 baud. (Thanks Les)  For the cabling I used only the receive/transmit lines  and ground. However, the interrupt line is set to 3.

 

Question. When I wire up channel 1of the H8-4  to interface with com1: on my PC I will again use the receive/transmit lines and ground. Do I set the interrupt line for channel 1 to a value?

 

Thanks for your help,

[Les Bird]

Harold,

The board should work fine as configured, with no interrupt selected for 340Q. The reason you need an interrupt on the terminal port, 350Q, is because HDOS and CPM need it for keyboard input.

- Les

[Norberto Collado]

Also check the documentation for the correct handshaking signals besides RX/TX/GND wires.  

 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

[dwight elvey]

I always forget which pins it is but one of the
hardware pins should be looped back. I always
forget which it is.
This may not always cause problems but can
cause the port to lock up.
Dwight

 

---

From: norberto...@koyado.com

To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:17:44 -0700

[Kenneth L. Owen]

Hi Harold,

 

The simple wiring will work OK with the H8D utility, but if you want to use MAPLE  or ZMP, you will need to set Interrupt 5 on the serial ports that you will use and also need the full handshaking lines.

[hl...@aol.com]

Les, Dwight,

 

I now have H89TRANS operating correctly from my PC to the H8!!!

 

Thanks for the help.

[Kenneth L. Owen]

Hi Glenn,

 

Just was wondering if you had made any further discoveries on why we can’t run H89Loader on the H8 with PAM-37 ROM.

 

Since most of my machines are H-89, I transfer images to the H89 and then read the disk in my H8, if needed.  But I would like to be able to go directly to the H8 as well.

 

-- ken

 

---

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Glenn Roberts

Sent: Friday, April 19, 2013 8:00 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [sebhc] H89LDR

 

Dwight:

[Norberto Collado]

The issue seems to be the XCON-8 EPROM. Replacing such EPROM with the original H17 PROM should do the trick based on feedback. The PAM-30 ROM does not have the H17 support and that is why it relies on the second ROM to provide such support; the XCON-8.  I have not validated such statement, but I think this is the issue.

Norberto

[Glenn Roberts]

Hi Ken.

 

With what time I’ve been able to devote to this hobby I’ve been working on utilities to support the USB flash drive on Norberto’s new USB board.

 

I’ve got initial versions of VDIR (directory program), VGET (program to retrieve files from the USB flash drive), and VPUT (to copy files from the H8 to the flash drive).  I also have a simple VTALK utility which lets you connect directly to the device and issue commands to change directory and do other useful functions.

 

My goal is to have these ready and tested in time for the first batch of boards that all the SEBHC’ers are now ordering and getting ready to build!  These utilities are for HDOS - next I need to make them work in CP/M!

 

That said I haven’t looked further into the H89LDR issue but I think it’s straightforward.  I had concluded that just disabling the front panel refresh is the logical next step.  This can be done using the front panel itself by setting the appropriate bit in MFLAG for testing purposes and if that works then we could reassemble the code.  For now this project is on the back burner. If you have the older ROM (not XCON8) the H89LDR works but I’d like to get it to work on all configurations.

 

By the way, back on the USB topic: once you’ve got this working you might have little or no need for 1) diskette drives and 2) serial transfer programs.  I’ve been doing all the editing on the PC with Notepad++, then I pop the code onto a USB Flash drive and read & compile it on the H8!  No more fooling with MAPLE and XMODEM J

[Glenn Roberts]

Surprising because I thought you needed XCON-8 ROM to support Zero Org.  I guess that’s built into the PAM-37 side? I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never taken the time to understand what’s in what ROM….

[Norberto Collado]

Glenn,

 

Thanks for all your support on this H8-USB project. This is a more viable solution than the other ones we have in place (XMODEM, SVD, H89LDR, etc...).

 

Also I use Dan's USB solution to transfer files to and from the PC. So we all have better choices going forward.

 

Norberto 

 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

From: "Glenn Roberts" <glenn.f...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, April 30, 2013 5:09 pm
To: <se...@googlegroups.com>

Hi Ken.

 

With what time I’ve been able to devote to this hobby I’ve been working on utilities to support the USB flash drive on Norberto’s new USB board.

 

I’ve got initial versions of VDIR (directory program), VGET (program to retrieve files from the USB flash drive), and VPUT (to copy files from the H8 to the flash drive).  I also have a simple VTALK utility which lets you connect directly to the device and issue commands to change directory and do other useful functions.

 

My goal is to have these ready and tested in time for the first batch of boards that all the SEBHC’ers are now ordering and getting ready to build!  These utilities are for HDOS - next I need to make them work in CP/M!

 

That said I haven’t looked further into the H89LDR issue but I think it’s straightforward.  I had concluded that just disabling the front panel refresh is the logical next step.  This can be done using the front panel itself by setting the appropriate bit in MFLAG for testing purposes and if that works then we could reassemble the code.  For now this project is on the back burner. If you have the older ROM (not XCON8) the H89LDR works but I’d like to get it to work on all configurations.

 

By the way, back on the USB topic: once you’ve got this working you might have little or no need for 1) diskette drives and 2) serial transfer programs.  I’ve been doing all the editing on the PC with Notepad++, then I pop the code onto a USB Flash drive and read & compile it on the H8!  No more fooling with MAPLE and XMODEM J

 

[hl...@aol.com]

Norberto,

 

I am anxiously waiting the H8-USB since I am struggling with H89LDR. However, I am curious what is the H8 requirement for the H8-USB to work.

 

My system has the 8080 CPU board with Les's 64k board and his H8-4 I/O board and an H19 terminal.  I have two drives with the H17 using HS floppies.  I believe that I have the XCON8 ROM. 

 

What do you think?

 

Harold 

[hl...@aol.com]

Hi Ken,

 

I am still fussing with the H89TRANS. I have been able to save the loader program and I can transfer H8D files from my DOS PC to the H8. Unfortunately, I am not able to get "clean" file transfers.  However, I am having media problems, particularly in the form of  'bdos errors". All of my hard sector floppies are over 30 years olds old and many of them are no good!  I think that you mentioned that you actually made hard sector floppies by punching in the holes. I would like to try that. Can you describe what you did? I would appreciate that.

 

Thanks,

Harold

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth L. Owen <tx83...@bellsouth.net>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Fri, Apr 26, 2013 9:27 pm
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

[Kenneth L. Owen]

Hi Harold,

 

Several years ago (two, maybe three) the group contracted to have a designed punch manufactured.  Those interested committed to pay up to the estimated cost and the order was placed.  The punches work pretty well, but mine has contracted a Floridian virus (hanging chads) and doesn’t punch cleanly any longer.

 

The fellow that made them is not inclined to do any more.  There is a design and, if a good machinist can be talked into doing them for a reasonable price, there are probably others who would be interested as well.  I don’t remember for certain who in the group worked out the previous run.

 

If another run is done, the punch base needs to be a bit more robust – hardness and thickness.

[Norberto Collado]

Hello Harold,

 

The hardware will work with the 8080A and with XCON8.  On the software side it should work as long we are using the 8080 instruction set.

 

Dan, Glenn, the utilities are not using the Z80 instruction set; correct?

 

Norberto 

 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

Date: Wed, May 01, 2013 4:34 pm
To: se...@googlegroups.com

Norberto,

 

I am anxiously waiting the H8-USB since I am struggling with H89LDR. However, I am curious what is the H8 requirement for the H8-USB to work.

 

My system has the 8080 CPU board with Les's 64k board and his H8-4 I/O board and an H19 terminal.  I have two drives with the H17 using HS floppies.  I believe that I have the XCON8 ROM. 

 

What do you think?

 

Harold 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Norberto Collado <norberto...@koyado.com>

To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Apr 30, 2013 10:21 pm
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

Glenn,

 

Thanks for all your support on this H8-USB project. This is a more viable solution than the other ones we have in place (XMODEM, SVD, H89LDR, etc...).

 

Also I use Dan's USB solution to transfer files to and from the PC. So we all have better choices going forward.

 

Norberto 

 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: "Glenn Roberts" <glenn.f...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, April 30, 2013 5:09 pm
To: <se...@googlegroups.com>

Hi Ken.

 

With what time I’ve been able to devote to this hobby I’ve been working on utilities to support the USB flash drive on Norberto’s new USB board.

 

I’ve got initial versions of VDIR (directory program), VGET (program to retrieve files from the USB flash drive), and VPUT (to copy files from the H8 to the flash drive).  I also have a simple VTALK utility which lets you connect directly to the device and issue commands to change directory and do other useful functions.

 

My goal is to have these ready and tested in time for the first batch of boards that all the SEBHC’ers are now ordering and getting ready to build!  These utilities are for HDOS - next I need to make them work in CP/M!

 

That said I haven’t looked further into the H89LDR issue but I think it’s straightforward.  I had concluded that just disabling the front panel refresh is the logical next step.  This can be done using the front panel itself by setting the appropriate bit in MFLAG for testing purposes and if that works then we could reassemble the code.  For now this project is on the back burner. If you have the older ROM (not XCON8) the H89LDR works but I’d like to get it to work on all configurations.

 

By the way, back on the USB topic: once you’ve got this working you might have little or no need for 1) diskette drives and 2) serial transfer programs.  I’ve been doing all the editing on the PC with Notepad++, then I pop the code onto a USB Flash drive and read & compile it on the H8!  No more fooling with MAPLE and XMODEM J

 

-          Glenn

 

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kenneth L. Owen
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 5:52 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

 

Hi Glenn,

 

Just was wondering if you had made any further discoveries on why we can’t run H89Loader on the H8 with PAM-37 ROM.

 

Since most of my machines are H-89, I transfer images to the H89 and then read the disk in my H8, if needed.  But I would like to be able to go directly to the H8 as well.

 

[Glenn Roberts]

Yes

Sent from my iPad

[Dan Emrick]

The PC.DVD does not use any Z80 instructions.  The XFERUSBx utility uses a  Z80 instruction to calculate file size (i.e., byte count) for transfer.  I'll work out a substitute algorithm and provide an updated 8080 code only utility.

Dan

[Norberto Collado]

Hello Harold,

 

I will put tomorrow in the mail the H8-USB controller so that you can start the assembly process. I only have soft sectored diskettes and I might have a hard sectored diskette someplace around if you need help in getting the USB utilities. Eventually we will get you going to be able to download everything from Les’s website into your H8 system; initially with HDOS and then eventually with CP/M.

 

Thanks,

 

Norberto

[hl...@aol.com]

Hi Norberto,

 

I have a few hard sector disks and I have been able to transfer using H89LDR. If you have the USB utilities on hard sector that would be great. If not, when the utility is available as an H8D file then I can probably transfer it.

 

Thanks,

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Norberto Collado <norberto...@koyado.com>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Mon, May 6, 2013 12:47 am
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

[Norberto Collado]

The H8 USB board is in transit and I will practice again in getting the holes to be as expected. I need to add a light source on one side of the puncher to see if the hole was done properly or not. That will help me in getting the process under control.  

 

Norberto

 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

[Norberto Collado]

Hello Harold,

 

Did you get your H8-USB board? Was there any damages to the GAL IC, due to the packaging that I used?

 

Norberto

 

From: Norberto Collado [mailto:norberto...@koyado.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2013 9:47 PM
To: 'se...@googlegroups.com'
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

 

Hello Harold,

 

I will put tomorrow in the mail the H8-USB controller so that you can start the assembly process. I only have soft sectored diskettes and I might have a hard sectored diskette someplace around if you need help in getting the USB utilities. Eventually we will get you going to be able to download everything from Les’s website into your H8 system; initially with HDOS and then eventually with CP/M.

 

Thanks,

 

Norberto

 

[hl...@aol.com]

Norberto,

 

Yes I received the board. Everything looks good to me. The GAL IC seems ok.

I've order a few parts that I'll need for the assembly so I won't be working on the board for a few days. I will keep you posted on my progress.

 

Thanks,

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Norberto Collado <norberto...@koyado.com>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>

[hl...@aol.com]

Hi Norberto,

 

I just finished assembly of the H8-USB board. So far no issues. I have a few questions.

 

1. I powered up the board from the 8volt supply and the board draws about 0.3 amps. Does that sound about right? I plan to power the board from my H8 supply.

 

2. I followed your instructions and also compared my board to the picture of the completed board that is included in your instructions. On the VDIP1 board pins 1 and 2 are shorted for both J3 and J4. However, in the picture it looks like pins 1 and 2 are shorted for J3, but pins 2 and 3 are shorted for J4. Which should I use.

 

Thanks,

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Norberto Collado <norberto...@koyado.com>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Thu, May 9, 2013 12:17 am

Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

[Norberto Collado]

Set the jumper's as shown on the picture, because it is a picture of a working board. I will add such info to the documentation; sorry about that. The default jumpers on the VDIP is for Serial communications and we need to change it to FIFO communications. There is a document at the website that describes such setup.

 

Norberto

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

[Les Bird]

Norberto,

I've not received my USB boards yet, have they been mailed?

- Les

[Norberto Collado]

Not yet because I ran out of GALS. I shipped about 6 boards so far with the GALS and received the new GALS this weekend, but haven't had the time to program them yet. I hope to send the next boards during the weekend if possible.

 

Sorry for the delays!

[Norberto Collado]

Hello Harold,

 

Do you have the means to download a single HDOS file from a PC to the H8 system “VTALK.ABS”? I think you are using HDOS correct?

 

Norberto

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of hl...@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 8:58 AM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR

 

Hi Norberto,

[Glenn Roberts]

I tried sending an email with instructions on my utilities but the send apparently failed due to flaky Internet.  I'll try again later...

Sent from my iPad

--

[hl...@aol.com]

Hi Norberto,

 

I cannot transfer VTALK.ABS from my PC to the H8. However, I can transfer disk image files (.H8D) using H89TRANS.

I am running HDOS2.0 with hard sector disks.

 

Just for fun I have attached pictures of my finished H8-USB and with the board installed.

 

Harold

-----Original Message-----
From: Norberto Collado <norberto...@koyado.com>
To: sebhc <se...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, May 16, 2013 12:53 am
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

[Norberto Collado]

Hello Harold,

Tonight I will try to create the H8D disk image using Dan utility so that you can get your H8 running with the VDIP. If that works then I will send you Dan's utility to enable the second USB device.

Norberto 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [sebhc] H89LDR
From: hl...@aol.com

[Norberto Collado]

Remainder of the H8-USB boards will ship tomorrow! I just have 2-pcs H8-USB boards left if anyone is interested.

 

Thanks,

 

Norberto

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Norberto Collado
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 5:53 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [sebhc] H89LDR

 

Not yet because I ran out of GALS. I shipped about 6 boards so far with the GALS and received the new GALS this weekend, but haven't had the time to program them yet. I hope to send the next boards during the weekend if possible.