Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
schmidtd
Computer arrived. It is just the computer and software cartridges; no
power supply or mouse. Of note - the cartridges live where the LCD
screen would be if it really were a laptop - which is what it looks
like, but really isn't.
I hooked up a random 9v/350mA wall wart power supply, and up it came.
What I really want to do is to get the serial port talking so I can
move some information back and forth. From my reading online, the
serial port should be the male DE9 on the back, and is wired to need a
null modem in order to talk to another DTE (like a typical computer on
the other end of a USB/RS-232 dongle). So far, no luck - PR/IN#2
isn't doing anything like I expect. The cursor changes a bit, but it
doesn't take Ctrl-A commands, and I don't see anything coming or going
via HyperTerminal (yes yes, a poor indicator of eventual success).
Anyone ever get one of these things talking? The online resources
talk about a "Com" app, but as far as I can tell... all it does is set
baud/stop bits/parity.
bill.m...@gmail.com
The only other one I have seen is the one Ed Eastman brought to KFest
2003. Maybe he has a bit more of a clue on how the beast works and
can help you out.
sfahey
Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
By: bill.m...@gmail.com to comp.sys.apple2 on Tue Aug 31 2010 03:47 am
> The only other one I have seen is the one Ed Eastman brought to KFest
> 2003. Maybe he has a bit more of a clue on how the beast works and
> can help you out.
Jay Edwards, not Ed Eastman.
http://www.gamebits.net/gallery/kfest/2003/source/29.html
Sean Fahey
www.a2central.com
bbs.a2central.com
bill.m...@gmail.com
wrote:
> To: bill.mart...@gmail.com
> Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
>
> > The only other one I have seen is the one Ed Eastman brought to KFest
> > 2003. Maybe he has a bit more of a clue on how the beast works and
> > can help you out.
>
> Jay Edwards, not Ed Eastman.
>
> http://www.gamebits.net/gallery/kfest/2003/source/29.html
>
> Sean Faheywww.a2central.com
> bbs.a2central.com
Thanks for correcting me Sean. My memory is getting a bit hazy these
days.
BLuRry
wrote:
Can you get to the monitor? If so, might want to have a look from
c200 to c2ff -- also see if accessing that memory range does any
bankswitching of c800-cfff -- could be some buried treasure in the
rom.
If not, I can send you a short routine to key-in just to blast out a
test message.
-B
schmidtd
@Sean - I got in touch with Jay, thanks.
@B - Yep, you get full access to the machine. Firmware in c200-c2ff
is identical to AppleWin's in the same slot. No telling what the
hardware is doing behind the scenes, though. I forgot to check if
c8xx changes on c2xx access... will have to do that another time.
I keyed in a modified Apple /// grub bootstrapper, just to see if it
would recognize incoming serial characters - it did not, based on my
assumptions:
0) Port is set to 9600,n,8,1 by default and embedded COM program
1) Standard SSC ACIA hardware addresses in slot 2
2) The serial port is the male DE-9 connector
3) You need a null modem between the TLC and the Real World
BLuRry
I recommend having it blast out the same series of characters over and
over -- then on the real world side keep adjusting the serial port
parameters until you get the correct data over the wire. You could
probably write a small assembler loop like the following:
loop1 ldy #'A'
loop2 lda ACIA_STATUS
bit #CLEAR TO SEND MASK (forgot that one off the top of my
head)
beq loop2
(note: you could replace the polling above with some other function
that takes 55 cycles to finish, in the case of 115200 baud. For
slower speeds, double/triple that, etc)
sty ACIA_DATA
cpy #'Z'
beq loop1
bne loop2
Something like that anyway
BLuRry
heh... forgot to put "iny" in there just before the last line that
branches back to loop2. Not that "A"s make a bad test pattern either
-- just not the intended purpose of that example. :-}
-B
schmidtd
Yep, perfect - I can muck about with that to see if it's trying to
send anything. And I'll check with a voltmeter first to see if
anything ends up on the wire in the first place... ;-)
BLuRry
Volt meter? :-) You can see the voltage reading bounce around on the
RX pin when there's data coming over. If anything, it's the best
thing to check that you're not going to blow a serial port elsewhere.
-B
schmidtd
> Volt meter? :-) You can see the voltage reading bounce around on the
> RX pin when there's data coming over. If anything, it's the best
> thing to check that you're not going to blow a serial port elsewhere.
One time, I had a guy tell me he just stuck his tongue against the
pins to feel for it... I figure I'll use a slightly more sanitary
method.
D Finnigan
> One time, I had a guy tell me he just stuck his tongue against the
> pins to feel for it... I figure I'll use a slightly more sanitary
> method.
>
Or just brush your teeth beforehand. :-P
Actually, that reminds me of the story of why Capn Cruch was missing teeth--
because he was using his teeth to strip phone wire when the phone rang.
BLuRry
> On Sep 2, 1:48 pm, BLuRry <brendan.rob...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Volt meter? :-) You can see the voltage reading bounce around on the
> > RX pin when there's data coming over. If anything, it's the best
> > thing to check that you're not going to blow a serial port elsewhere.
>
> pins to feel for it... I figure I'll use a slightly more sanitary
> method.
Ah yes.. < 12 volts -- but how many amps? ;-)
-B
James Littlejohn
When the phone rings it sends 70A AC through the line.
James Littlejohn
That should of been 70Volts AC.
schmidtd
I'm not convinced the serial port is viable on my machine. I get the
normal status out of the status register when nothing's attached, but
when I hook up the other side via a null modem, the status doesn't
change (at all) the way other SSC machines do. So, lots of tweaks to
the configuration registers later, I still don't have anything coming
out the wire.
I pulled the top off the machine - lots of custom logic (and trace
wires...), but no big juicy 6551 to replace. :-(
BLuRry
Anything that resembles traces to a tape or joystick port?
Michael J. Mahon
This year at KFest I used my tongue on a Nadanet cable (~4v peak,
pulsed) to verify that data was being sent. ;-)
-michael - NadaNet 3.1: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon
Mike Spurgeon
I've played around with a phone company 1.5 volt wet cell. Really nice
clear case, about 8x16x24, but it melted/burned most anything connected.
Michael J. Mahon
Lots of current available. ;-)
-michael
NadaNet 3.1 for Apple II parallel computing!
Home page: http://home.comcast.net/~mjmahon/
"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."
schmidtd
Tiger is very unlike Apple - their boards are not labeled with human
friendly markings. But there is a joystick port - I was thinking this
was IIc-based, but maybe it's IIe - and I can use NadaNet!
Eric Rucker
> I'm not convinced the serial port is viable on my machine. I get the
> normal status out of the status register when nothing's attached, but
> when I hook up the other side via a null modem, the status doesn't
> change (at all) the way other SSC machines do. So, lots of tweaks to
> the configuration registers later, I still don't have anything coming
> out the wire.
Could it possibly be TTL levels, rather than RS-232 levels?
schmidtd
On a Commodore 64, sure - but this machine was made in 1996. The
advertisements suggested that there was an upcoming communications
package that would connect to the 'net, which would (at the time) have
required a typical external modem at the other end of the serial port.
Eric Rucker
Unless the external modem was going to be a proprietary model?
schmidtd
Yep, good point. The mouse port is listed as being PS/2 compatible,
but I can't get my PS/2 mice to work on the initial GUI screen. So
either that mouse (port) is proprietary, or it doesn't work either. :-)
Scott Alfter
...and that's on top of the -48VDC present when the phone's on-hook. Plus,
ring voltage is usually closer to 90VAC.
_/_
/ v \ Scott Alfter (remove the obvious to send mail)
(IIGS( http://alfter.us/ Top-posting!
\_^_/ rm -rf /bin/laden >What's the most annoying thing on Usenet?
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
sfahey
Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
> This year at KFest I used my tongue on a Nadanet cable (~4v peak,
> pulsed) to verify that data was being sent. ;-)
It's true... one eye blinked every time there was a collision detected, while
the other eye was wide open, indicating a good link, and Michael was even able
to diagnose the campus network using the layer 3 receptors on his tongue.
Sean Fahey
www.a2central.com
bbs.a2central.com
Michael J. Mahon
...and I really hate it when I taste a bunch of ACKs. ;-)
Michael J. Mahon
That would be very cool--but it will also need at least one annunciator
output...(only on the 16-pin game port).
BLuRry
Michael J. Mahon
But perhaps they intended to add a level shifter in a special "cable".
It would be very helpful to look at the TX pin with a 'scope.
BLuRry
If you find the values are 3.3v then you can get a Nokia CA-42 cable
for cheap ($4 or less, free shipping) on ePay and get USB-to-TTL
serial for cheap. I've had to un-brick a segate dockstar recently so
I can vouch for it. :-D 115200 baud runs stable, too.
-Brendan
sfahey
Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
> ...and I really hate it when I taste a bunch of ACKs. ;-)
snACKs?
Sean Fahey
www.a2central.com
bbs.a2central.com
Michael J. Mahon
> To: Michael J. Mahon
> Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
> By: Michael J. Mahon to comp.sys.apple2 on Sat Sep 04 2010 03:36 pm
>
> > ...and I really hate it when I taste a bunch of ACKs. ;-)
>
> snACKs?
sNAKs? ;-)
mdj
> On 9/6/2010 8:14 AM, sfahey wrote:
>
> > To: Michael J. Mahon
> > Re: Re: Got myself a Tiger Learning Computer today
> > By: Michael J. Mahon to comp.sys.apple2 on Sat Sep 04 2010 03:36 pm
>
> > > ...and I really hate it when I taste a bunch of ACKs. ;-)
>
> > snACKs?
>
> sNAKs? ;-)
Oh, that's just SYNful ...