Can you identify this fastload HW?
Jim Brain
My main setup runs JiffyDos, but I had a set of HW for RapiDos Pro that I took
out of my main setup when I went to JiffyDos.
My question:
RapiDos was a parellel drive enhancement. I only got one drive board, and
I would like to know if the boards still exist, and if the version ever went
up. I bought it from Chip Level Designs.
It says the Computer boards were made in USA, but the parallel drive board
was designed in Germany by mts Data ?
It requires you take out the drive kernal, since it has its kernal on the drive
board.
It has 8 kB of SRAM on board in drive, for full track buffering
It had options that allowed you to format and use all 40 tracks.
The drive board plugged in to where the 6502 went, and the 6502 plugs in to
the board.
A read of the error channel upon boot give: 00,PROFESSIONAL 41L2, 00, 00
The screen says I am running RapiDos 2.0
Now, can anyone tell me whether the system is really just PROFESSIONAL DOS
in American clothing?
If it is, or if someone can identify it, do they make it still? Did a new
version come out? Do they have speedups for other drives?
On another note, leafing through magazines last night yielded an ad for
StarDos. Anyone have a copy or know anything about it?
Also, I noticed people keep saying things about Demon Dos and others. Can
people fill in any info on that item?
I know of the following:
Fastload Got two
Mach 5 Family owns one
Warp Speed ???
Kwik Load
Turbo Disk from Compute!
JiffyDos
StarDos
DemonDos
RapiDos
Can anyone fill in more or flesh these out?
--
Jim Brain, Embedded Systems Designer, Brain Innovations.
br...@msen.com
Dabbling in VR, Old Commodore Computers, and Good Times!
"The above views DO reflect my employer, since I am my employer" - Jim Brain
Peter Weighill
>>I know of the following:
>>
>>Fastload Got two
>>Mach 5 Family owns one
>>Warp Speed ???
>>Kwik Load
>>Turbo Disk from Compute!
>>
>>
>>JiffyDos
>>StarDos
>>DemonDos
>>RapiDos
I think that there was alot a hardware thing called dolphin-dos which
used a parallel cable to load 202 block files in 5-6 seconds. Which is
about the same speed as the Action Replay cartridge loads it special format
wrap*25 files.
Bye,
Peter.
------------------===================***====================-------------------
Peter Weighill st...@csv.warwick.ac.uk
Get your copy of the cbm-emulation-faq from: ftp.warwick.ac.uk:/tmp/c64
OR view the c64 web site: file://ftp.warwick.ac.uk/tmp/html.64/c64.html
------------------===================***====================-------------------
Chris M. McBride
expensive. I think the only difference was Pro had 8k of ram.
Hmmm according to my manual these are the difference:
Toggle sratch protection bit. L for RapidDos D for Pro
Pro had the command '@-' which is the same as load"x",8,3
Load"x",8,0,xxxx and load"x",8,0,xxxx,yyyy
Where x is the start address and yyy is the end address was only
available in the PRO
The fast format was faster on the pro.
Motor-on disk seating when disk is instered was not available for the
PRO.
The PRO could access tracks after track 35 (I don't think the regular
Rapidos has able to do this)
I'm pretty sure the only real difference between the two was the fact
that the Pro cost more and had the extra 8K. I think it also came with
a copy program that would only work with it.
Dolphin Dos was pretty much the same set up.
And if your looking for carts, don;t forget Action Replay, Final Cart,
and Super Snapshot.
One of the greatest thing about RapidDos was that I could use its
monitor to view the code in the Super snapshot.
Rapidos was great, I'ld probably still use mine, but somewhere it got
fried.
I don't think Lawrence(Chip Level Designs) is doing anything with
C64's anymore. Last I heard they were selling stuff for the SNES.
Chris
--
Daniel Lowe
Jim Brain <br...@garnet.msen.com> wrote:
>I know of the following:
>
>Fastload Got two
>Mach 5 Family owns one
>Warp Speed ???
>
>Can anyone fill in more or flesh these out?
I have a Warpspeed cart. It was created by the Alien Technology Group and
distributed by Cinemaware. It works on the 128 and 64 (there is a little
switch) and it supports the 1541/71/81. It has a wedge similar to
Fastload and a Menu of several utilities. I believe version 2.0 was the
last one before it was discontinued. It is copyright 1988/89. Let me
know if you need more info.
--
/\ /\ Dan Lowe University of Waterloo
\ _____\ del...@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca School of Optometry
(_)-(_) "Women. You can't live with them, pass the beer nuts." - Norm
Pontus Berg
JB> Now, can anyone tell me whether the system is really just PROFESSIONAL
JB> DOS in American clothing?
JB> If it is, or if someone can identify it, do they make it still? Did a
JB> new version come out? Do they have speedups for other drives?
ProfessionalDOS is the American original!! I have DiskDemon, which is the
English version by Datel (Don't know if it needed any modification to run on a
PAL machine). I get the same response from the drive upon a reset, but I guess
the ROM in the computer is the only thing modded. I never heard of this one
before, but I guess you have nothing different than the one I have. Do list
your F-kays and I'll tell you more specifically!
JB> Also, I noticed people keep saying things about Demon Dos and others.
JB> Can people fill in any info on that item?
JB> I know of the following:
JB> Fastload Got two
JB> Mach 5 Family owns one
JB> Warp Speed ???
JB> Kwik Load
JB> Turbo Disk from Compute!
JB> JiffyDos
JB> StarDos
JB> DemonDos
JB> RapiDos
JB> Can anyone fill in more or flesh these out?
Are these pure software based ones or are they placed in different versions of
the ROM? I guess DemonDOS is the DiskDemon. There will be no possibility to
list the software ones. You have things like Vorpal from Epyx. One of the
turbos messing with the diskstorage and not only to pass the data fast to the
computer. It is also known as Warp when ripped and place in the ActionReplay.
Count both???
From: Pontus Berg Snail: Pontus Berg
Alias: Bacchus/FairLight 64 Sveav{gen 88,5tr
E-Mail: Bac...@p71.anet.bbs.bad.se 113 59 Stockholm
Phone: +46-(0)8-6125464 SWEDEN
--- Spot 1.2d Unregistered
BOB SUTTON, ISD, TPA, (813) 532-2626
> Also, I noticed people keep saying things about Demon Dos and others. Can
> people fill in any info on that item?
>
> I know of the following:
>
> Fastload Got two
> Mach 5 Family owns one
> Warp Speed ???
> Kwik Load
> Turbo Disk from Compute!
>
I have a device that plugs into the cart port called Jetload. I believe it is
a rip-off of fastload. The DOS wedge is identical and works the same way, same
speed etc. It consists of a curcuit board (NO CASE) an EPROM and a reset
switch on the back that would reboot if you bumped it into anything. It was a
great deal for $12.50 (in 1985 or 6) cause it cut load time by 25-75%.
Bob
Jim Brain
Ok, so now I am even further confused (ohh, bad sentence structure there).
I have a 1541 with RapiDos that comes up saying PROFESSIOANL 41L2,00,00
in the drive status on powerup. It aslo have this mts Data whatver stuff
on the circuit board I put in the drive. I was told, via the user manual that
the drive unit was from Germany, but the 64 part was from America or UK
(can't remember). here is what I know.
The rive board has copyrights of 86 and 87, which coincides with what the
last poster said.
The unit has a flat ribbon cable that comes out of the drive and plugs
into the USER PORT, not the exp port.
The board on the user port and the board that replaces the kernal ROM are
copyright CLD (Chip Level Designs).
When I turn on the Computer, i get RAPIDOS V2 ...
@ and > do drive status and commands
LOAD will load from disk as default Same as LOAD ,8,1
the load says searching for
loading from ... to ...
andf the addressses are in hex.
It has a memory peeker utility in ROM accessible by hitting ,CTRL. <RESTORE>
I haven't a user manual handy, so I don't know about all the commands, but I
do remember:
You cannot use modem while RAPIDOS kernal is active OPEN to device 2 gioves
NOT PRESENT ERROR.
System is fast, fatsre than JiffyDos, by about 30 percent.
Drive caches whole track in RAM on Pro model.
The unit can access tracks up to 40, format them, and use them without special
provisions.
It can lock files and unlock via commands.
Now, please help me clear the air here, and alos find out if the unit was
ever enhanced, etc. Does it now do 1581's, etc...
Chris M. McBride
create the Rapidos line of fastloaders. I'm not very familiar with
what happened in Germany, but over here (If I remember correctly) CLD
did most of the programming/ NTSC work on the chips.
There were two fastloaders. Rapidos and Rapidos Professional.
Basically the difference between the two (I think) is the professional
has the extra 8K ram. I'll dig an old mag out later and find the old
ads.
Chris
--
Jim Brain
: Chip Level Designs worked in conjuction with a company in Germany to
: Chris
: --
Well, I have some more info. I do have RapiDos, and I do have Pro.
I have Profeesional DOS Level 2, which is the second cut. I upgraded once
from Level 1, and the only thing that changed is the drive stuff, so initially:
@ read 00,PROFESSIONAL 1541,00,00, now it reads
00,PROFESSIONAL 41L2,00,00
Evidently CLD took the drive board= and made a user port hookup into
the computer for it. Mine has the parallel port interface and code for it in
the ROM, and mine has provisions for two drives to be hooked up.
(BTW, I am still loking for someone who has a bad or used RapiDos)
I tried 2dh:jim to change my disk name to jim, and I did 2de to extend the
disk to 40 tracks. A validate on this unit is SOoooo fast.
So, I do have it, but I would like a second drive board.
Kirk Cowen
Re: Chip Level Designs- RapiDos/ProDos: (Les Lawrence)
The guy you want to contact is: Les Lawrence, of Chip Level Designs. He
can be reached at/through Software Support International, 2700 NE Andresen
Road, Suite A-10, Vancouver, Wa 98661. While you're at it, you can
ask for a catalogue at 1-800-356-1179 (order line). The tech support
line is 206-695-1393... They're loaded with surplus commie software.
Les was/is CLD. His latest product for the commie is the "1750 clone",
which is NOT the same as a "Georam cartridge". The clone has a DMA chip!
IMHO, they blew it when they designed the clone at only 512k. This thing
doesn't need the HD pwr supply that the original 1750 does (for 64 use)
because
it uses the modern low power ram chips. It couldn't have been a big deal
to
offer a 1, 1.5, or 2meg version, but then again, the board IS a little
packed!
TTUL8r, Kirk Cowen... Dialogue 2.2d
-- Via DLG Pro v1.0
Andreas Boose
>You cannot use modem while RAPIDOS kernal is active OPEN to device 2
>gioves NOT PRESENT ERROR.
The original ProfessionalDOS Kernal allows this, cause the RS232
routines are untouched.
>Now, please help me clear the air here, and alos find out if the unit
>was ever enhanced, etc. Does it now do 1581's, etc...
ProfessionalDOS was availible for 1541, 1541C, 1570, 1571 and 1581 on
C64, C128, C128D and SX64.
Andreas
## CrossPoint v3.0 R ##
Pontus Berg
AB> No! ProfessionalDOS was produced in the UK and Germany as well and (at
AB> least) in Germany it was sold under the name 'ProfessionalDOS' too.
AB> I have an original one, quoting from the package:
AB> "Microtronic
AB> ProfessionalDOS
AB> Professional DOS is the fastet TOOLKIT and DRIVE-SPEEDER SYSTEM in
AB> the WORLD. Decoding the original GCR-code by hardware and using 2MHz
AB> clock frequency makes the system EXTREMELY COMPATIBLE
AB> [Above they lied twice, Andreas Boose]
It is the fastest system around, and it uses the hardware for CGR decoding.
Where's the lie in that???
AB> Copyright 1986, 1987 mts data GbR, Kerpen, W. Germany
AB> - All rights reserved. -
AB> Copyright 1987 mts data, Inc. and MIKROTRONIC MICHIGAN, Inc.
AB> Production and distribution: Dipl.-Ing. K. Roreger, Liebigstrasse 28,
AB> D-4780 Lippstadt.
AB> Assembly for Great Britain: Datel Electronics, Stoke-on-Trent.
AB> mikrotronic system is a trademark of mts data GbR, Kerpen."
AB> Look at the copyright dates...
I see them! On the reverse side of one of the ones I have I read: (C) 1986, 87
MTS Data plus ad addy partially covered by a sticker., but I see it's in
Michigan, USA! I have both a german and an english manual but thy are both
messy on the years. I guess there is no doubt that my hardware is produced in
the states, but I cannot tell about the software for it!
>> I have DiskDemon, which is the English version by Datel
AB> Why they changed the name?!?
Beats me! They also did some SERIOUS mods, like new F-keys (WOW :)!
AB> I have a very good disk monitor called DiskDemon as well ;-)
Yuck! Ever heard of DiskMaintenance??? Now THAT'S a diskmonitor, worthy of the
name!
From: Pontus Berg Snail: Pontus Berg
Alias: Bacchus/FairLight 64 Sveav{gen 88,5tr
E-Mail: Bac...@p71.anet.bbs.bad.se 113 59 Stockholm
Phone: +46-(0)8-6125464 SWEDEN
... So there I am
On an 8-bit miracle
Doing what I do best
[Newscopy/G*P]
--- Spot 1.2d #676
Andreas Boose
AB>> Professional DOS is the fastet TOOLKIT and DRIVE-SPEEDER SYSTEM
in
AB>> the WORLD. Decoding the original GCR-code by hardware and using 2MHz
AB>> clock frequency makes the system EXTREMELY COMPATIBLE
AB>> [Above they lied twice, Andreas Boose]
>It is the fastest system around, and it uses the hardware for CGR decoding.
>Where's the lie in that???
Professional DOS is not 'the fastest toolkit and drive-speeder system
in the world'. Do you know Rossm"oller's Turbo Trans (TT)? At least
this system is faster, it uses 512KB DRAM+8KB SRAM drive cache, 2MHz
in the floppy and a parallel cable as well. And it is possible to
combine it with Turbo Process (TP) the 4MHz cardridge for the C64.
Of course it's a typical Rossm"oller product which blows up the power
supply :-)
Professional DOS is not 'decoding the original GCR-code by hardware'.
It uses some big tables in the firmware ($7000-$7C00) to decode the
GCR nybbles very fast, but it is still the old fashioned way. Even
DOS2.6 uses tables in the firmware to decode GCR (routine $F7E6-$F8A0
and table $F8A0-$F8E0), P.DOS uses bigger ones - but no reason to call
it 'by hardware'.
E.g. in a 1540 floppy drive a sync is detected by a 74LS133 - this can
you call 'by hardware'. Or the 1581 decodes MFM by hardware.
Reading some tables with the processor is not 'by hardware'!
AB>> Why they changed the name?!?
>Beats me! They also did some SERIOUS mods, like new F-keys (WOW :)!
Which new F-keys?
Mine is using SpeedDOS compatible F1/F3/F5/F7 (LIST/RUN/LOAD/DIR) keys
and on F2/F4/F6/F8 SYS$C000/TOGGLE/SAVE/CHANNEL.
So what they changed?
AB>> I have a very good disk monitor called DiskDemon as well ;-)
>Yuck! Ever heard of DiskMaintenance??? Now THAT'S a diskmonitor, worthy of
>the name!
OK, that is a word. Mail me the DiskMaintenance or tell me a FTP site
where it is availible and I proove this.