A new software release (v1.5.0) and its kinda big again!

[TheHighNibble]

October 2019 Release - rel-2 

(v1.5.0) is now available on GitHub.

This release is more focused on internal resource and performance related improvements.

What the release notes don't highlight is that the change to how the LEDs are driven, now by a seperate process, makes a notable change to how the LEDs appear. I hope that this is closer to and original IMSA 8080 but I will be keen to hear from anyone that has first hand experience with an original to provide feedback.

There are a few new features, especially in the desktop UI. Check the release notes. As with v1.4.0, the update is done in 2 steps:

1. Drag-and-drop the firmware update (same as perviously)
2. Drag-and-drop the desktop GUI update (new update.bin file) the same way as for the firmware update.

You will also want to make sure you are using the latest CP/M 2.2 BIOS (B01) system disk (cpm22b01.dsk) to have a bios that enables all the latest features.

Also you can try CP/M 3.0 (Plus) with the experimental features: an MMU with banked RAM and an RTC. The CP/M 3.0 disks are available from Udo's Z80PACK GitHub repo. at https://github.com/udo-munk/z80pack/tree/dev/imsaisim/disks/library

You will want both disks, cpm3-1.dsk and cpm3-2.dsk mounted in drives A: and B: respectively.

For information on the telnet protocol features of the AT-modem, refer to the notes towards the end of https://github.com/udo-munk/z80pack/issues/66

or read the source code for the generic-at-modem at https://github.com/udo-munk/z80pack/tree/dev/iodevices (identical for the ESP32 port, except that the default listener port is 23 and not 8023)

[Tom Lake]

Yay! The upgrade went smoothly. I really like the new icons. The whole system is getting more polished with every revision.

Thanks!

Tom L

[Colin Little]

Nice one! 

Easy update and the hard disk visibility a good enhancement. CPM3 boots successfully but need to experiment further.

 

[Udo Munk]

I've just committed version 1.4 of the CP/M 3 disks on GitHub. You want to upgrade to this one, the BIOS now supports all character devices and I/O redirection. The disks don't contain anything with Z80 instructions, so that it also runs on an Intel 8080 CPU.

The Wordmaster editor on this disk can adjust to the terminal size, if vt100dyn is working with the ANSI terminal you use.

[John Kennedy]

Oh wow, there's always something new to play with!

With regard to the changed appearance of the LEDs, what is it that's changed? Do they more accurately reflect the state of the busses as on older machines?

Maybe I need to bid on those eBay ones and run a program side-by-side to be sure? :)

[Tom Lake]

While you're at it, pick up an Altair 8800 as well since you can never tell when you might want to compare it with either the Altair Clone or AltairDuino.

Tom L

[AB]

Thank you Udo for all the hard work, and of course - all the willing early adopters!

I did have a dumb question so forgive me.  Is there a simple way to use (say) KERMIT to connect directly via the second serial port to my PidP8 or PidP11?

cheers!

Andy

[Udo Munk]

On Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 2:46:48 AM UTC+1, AB wrote:

I did have a dumb question so forgive me.  Is there a simple way to use (say) KERMIT to connect directly via the second serial port to my PidP8 or PidP11?

There are no dumb questions. Yep, it is simple to use Kermit to connect to other machines. Use CP/M 2, the Kermit program

on the communication disks is for version 2 and won't work with CP/M 3, because of the different handling of character

devices.

Of course you need to make sure that the RS-232 connection is working and the baud rates are set properly on both machines.

On the IMSAI the baud rate cannot be set by software, the SIO cards are jumpered for baud rate selection, so on the emulated

IMSAI 8080 it's done in the configuration files.

By default Kermit on the IMSAI will talk to the modem, not to the second serial port, because I assumed that this is what

people want to do first and mostly with the system. So before yo run Kermit you need to reconfigure CP/M for the second

serial port. For this a submit script 'porta.sub' is provided, so just type 'submit porta'. Then run Kermit and use the command

'connect uc1'. Now you are talking over RS-232 to whatever device is on the other end.

[Udo Munk]

On Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 6:25:01 AM UTC+1, Udo Munk wrote:

 

For this a submit script 'porta.sub' is provided, so just type 'submit porta'. Then run Kermit and use the command

'connect uc1'. Now you are talking over RS-232 to whatever device is on the other end.

I wrote nonsense, sorry, the correct commands are:

submit porta

kermit

set port uc1

connect

I also have build a generic Kermit for CP/M 3, you'll find everything you need here:

http://www.z80.eu/kermit.html

Then on CP/M 3 you do this:

device auxin:=modem

device auxout:=modem

or

device auxin:=tty2

device auxout:=tty2

kermit

connect

The CP/M 3 version does not support the 'set port' command, always uses the auxiliary port,

and you setup your devices with CP/M as shown above.

[AB]

Thanks Udo - will report back! 

cheers

Andy

[Ted Kekatos]

The upgrade process was easy and trouble-free.  Just drag-n-drop the files onto SYS:.. and reset the ESP32.    Liking the new icons in the GUI..    I noticed the difference for the LED lights.   I read that the LED lights are now managed by it's own separate process--thus, allowing for better emulator performance.   So, it now appears that the duty-cycle of the LED lights is different..    Can't explain it, but less blinking activity than before..   .  

[Udo Munk]

On Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 2:38:26 PM UTC+1, AB wrote:

Thanks Udo - will report back! 

I've created a video that shows how I connect with Kermit from the IMSAI 8080 to one of my

old COHERENT development boxes. Works the same as in the late 80s and early 90s, when

the CP/M systems became obsolete. I still used my Z80 ECB bus systems and the Apple ][ with

Z80 card as terminals for the UNIX boxes, and used Kermit for file transfers.

https://youtu.be/kXQa5RBa8fs

 

[Ted Kekatos]

Minor bit of history - I interviewed at Mark Williams Company (Northbrook IL) at about 1992.     Didnt get the job.  Oh well.  

[Udo Munk]

On Sunday, November 3, 2019 at 6:39:36 PM UTC+1, Ted Kekatos wrote:

Minor bit of history - I interviewed at Mark Williams Company (Northbrook IL) at about 1992.     Didnt get the job.  Oh well. 

Sorry to hear this, Mark Williams Company was a very cool place to work at. 

[Ted Kekatos]

that was a very long time ago in a galaxy far far away