4 ms·

Can’t wait to check this out on my IBM PC (5150) with CGA which is my first computer that I still have. (Some of the RAM is bad though so if it needs the full 6

Can’t wait to check this out on my IBM PC (5150) with CGA which is my first computer that I still have. (Some of the RAM is bad though so if it needs the full 640k like 8088MHz did I might need to repair it.) Then again 8088MHz worked well for me because I lost the RGBI monitor for it at some point and that demo is designed for composite. Getting files to the PC is an interesting challenge. Have to copy from Windows 10 or 7 to a USB drive and movie that to a PC I have with a serial port and Windows XP and then transfer the demo with Hyperterm in Windows and Telix in MS-DOS on the PC side via null modem.

rkagerer 4y ago
How big are they? I still have a 3.5" floppy drive in my daily driver PC if that helps.
- ajenner 4y ago
  The demo is about 500kB at the moment. We're hoping to fit the final version onto a single 360kB floppy but didn't quite get that working in time for the party. A 3.5" floppy should work fine.
- snvzz 4y ago
  That made me curious. How is the floppy drive attached to the PC? I haven't seen a FDD controller in a new motherboard in a very long time. I use GreaseWeazle[0] for my floppy needs. 0. https://github.com/keirf/greaseweazle/wiki https://github.com/keirf/greaseweazle/wiki
  - rkagerer 4y ago
    It's a USB floppy drive, slim model YD-8U10-2, that replaced the stock drive in a 5.25" Rosewill RCR-FD400 media reader unit. https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rcr-fd400-74-in-1/p/N82E16820223111 https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rcr-fd400-74-in-1/p/N82E1682... https://web.archive.org/web/20100130173743/http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=YD-8U10-2&cat=RDM https://web.archive.org/web/20100130173743/http://www.geeks....
zozbot234 4y ago
USB-to-serial adapters are widely available, AIUI.
- schoen 4y ago
  I bought a random one online recently in order to configure an embedded device that requires a serial port, and it worked perfectly out of the box immediately. I used it with minicom and felt nostalgic!
- II2II 4y ago
  I don't know about the 5150 in particular, but most of these USB to serial adapters will not work with older computers since they are expecting different voltage levels.
  - Scali 4y ago
    I wouldn't know if 'most of them' don't work, but I know for a fact that I have one (made by Vivanco, using a Prolific chip) that works fine in combination with my IBM 5160. I use it in combination with FastLynx, which still works even under Windows 11. It's the only one I've tried, so I've not encountered any that didn't work.
  - systems_glitch 4y ago
    All of the genuine name-brand ones work fine, stick to older Prolific (the ones Tripp-Lite included with UPSes are great!) or genuine FTDIs.
    - snvzz 4y ago
      cp2102 is my standard recommendation, as they are cheap, do what they're meant to do and cause no trouble. FTDI were good, but they went apeshit with the drivers bricking non-genuine devices, and I don't wish to support them if at all possible. Prolific have always been troublesome, and their proprietary drivers refuse clones these days (which broke my chinese usb-rs232 dongle). ch340 is very popular these days, but I've found they have little tolerance for slightly-off or jittery clocks.
fps_doug 4y ago
> Getting files to the PC is an interesting challenge. I just put a NIC in mine and use the mTCP utilities. Easy as pie :-)) https://www.brutman.com/mTCP/ https://www.brutman.com/mTCP/
- londons_explore 4y ago
  Interesting that this isn't based on lwIP. lwIP can operate happily in just 1 kilobyte of RAM, although lower RAM limits hurt performance quite heavily (can't reorder TCP packets, so you have to wait for the far end to retransmit them if they arrive out of order).
  - systems_glitch 4y ago
    Mike wanted to write a TCP/IP stack.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
hyperdimension 4y ago
Adding to the other comments, there are also SD card/flash drive-based 'floppy disk' hardware emulators available on eBay. They even have buttons on the front so you can cycle through, e.g. all thirteen floppies of Windows 3.1. :) There's one piece of hardware (3.5" hardware emulator) whose clones are popular enough to even have third-party customizable firmware on github! I own one, but unfortunately, I can't remember the name of this hardware nor the alternate firmware off the top of my head. When I get to a computer I will check my ebay history. Even though it's physically a 3.5" 'drive,' with the IDC-style connector, the alternate firmware lets you emulate various disk geometries, and I believe the 3.5" and 5.25" signals are electrically compatible. It's an extremely useful piece of hardware, especially if you're already getting software in the form of floppy disk images from a place like winworldpc.
- krallja 4y ago
  Gotek?
  - hyperdimension 4y ago
    That's the one. Thank you.
    - snvzz 4y ago
      FlashFloppy. The hardware is a commodity. Software (firmware) is what matters. https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy
illys 4y ago
If you can put USD 50-100 in your antics, you may add an XT-IDE ISA card with a Compact Flash adapter. The one I have has a slot in the backside metal bracket: I can load a Compact Flash (1 GiB, FAT-32 formatted) in a modern PC with a USB adapter, then I insert the Compact Flash in the back of my IBM PC and switch it on with new fresh data and software. Note that the Compact Flash is seen by DOS (6.2 in my case) as a hard disk drive, you may boot on it. It may also co-exist with an MFM harddrive: in my case, the MFM drive is C: and boots, the Compact Flash is D:. It is a very convenient setup to make the IBM PC a smooth place in our modern IT world.

rkagerer 4y ago

How big are they? I still have a 3.5" floppy drive in my daily driver PC if that helps.

ajenner 4y ago
The demo is about 500kB at the moment. We're hoping to fit the final version onto a single 360kB floppy but didn't quite get that working in time for the party. A 3.5" floppy should work fine.
snvzz 4y ago
That made me curious. How is the floppy drive attached to the PC? I haven't seen a FDD controller in a new motherboard in a very long time. I use GreaseWeazle[0] for my floppy needs. 0. https://github.com/keirf/greaseweazle/wiki https://github.com/keirf/greaseweazle/wiki
- rkagerer 4y ago
  It's a USB floppy drive, slim model YD-8U10-2, that replaced the stock drive in a 5.25" Rosewill RCR-FD400 media reader unit. https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rcr-fd400-74-in-1/p/N82E16820223111 https://www.newegg.com/rosewill-rcr-fd400-74-in-1/p/N82E1682... https://web.archive.org/web/20100130173743/http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=YD-8U10-2&cat=RDM https://web.archive.org/web/20100130173743/http://www.geeks....

zozbot234 4y ago

USB-to-serial adapters are widely available, AIUI.

schoen 4y ago
I bought a random one online recently in order to configure an embedded device that requires a serial port, and it worked perfectly out of the box immediately. I used it with minicom and felt nostalgic!
II2II 4y ago
I don't know about the 5150 in particular, but most of these USB to serial adapters will not work with older computers since they are expecting different voltage levels.
- Scali 4y ago
  I wouldn't know if 'most of them' don't work, but I know for a fact that I have one (made by Vivanco, using a Prolific chip) that works fine in combination with my IBM 5160. I use it in combination with FastLynx, which still works even under Windows 11. It's the only one I've tried, so I've not encountered any that didn't work.
- systems_glitch 4y ago
  All of the genuine name-brand ones work fine, stick to older Prolific (the ones Tripp-Lite included with UPSes are great!) or genuine FTDIs.
  - snvzz 4y ago
    cp2102 is my standard recommendation, as they are cheap, do what they're meant to do and cause no trouble. FTDI were good, but they went apeshit with the drivers bricking non-genuine devices, and I don't wish to support them if at all possible. Prolific have always been troublesome, and their proprietary drivers refuse clones these days (which broke my chinese usb-rs232 dongle). ch340 is very popular these days, but I've found they have little tolerance for slightly-off or jittery clocks.

fps_doug 4y ago

> Getting files to the PC is an interesting challenge. I just put a NIC in mine and use the mTCP utilities. Easy as pie :-)) https://www.brutman.com/mTCP/ https://www.brutman.com/mTCP/

londons_explore 4y ago
Interesting that this isn't based on lwIP. lwIP can operate happily in just 1 kilobyte of RAM, although lower RAM limits hurt performance quite heavily (can't reorder TCP packets, so you have to wait for the far end to retransmit them if they arrive out of order).
- systems_glitch 4y ago
  Mike wanted to write a TCP/IP stack.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

hyperdimension 4y ago

Adding to the other comments, there are also SD card/flash drive-based 'floppy disk' hardware emulators available on eBay. They even have buttons on the front so you can cycle through, e.g. all thirteen floppies of Windows 3.1. :) There's one piece of hardware (3.5" hardware emulator) whose clones are popular enough to even have third-party customizable firmware on github! I own one, but unfortunately, I can't remember the name of this hardware nor the alternate firmware off the top of my head. When I get to a computer I will check my ebay history. Even though it's physically a 3.5" 'drive,' with the IDC-style connector, the alternate firmware lets you emulate various disk geometries, and I believe the 3.5" and 5.25" signals are electrically compatible. It's an extremely useful piece of hardware, especially if you're already getting software in the form of floppy disk images from a place like winworldpc.

krallja 4y ago
Gotek?
- hyperdimension 4y ago
  That's the one. Thank you.
  - snvzz 4y ago
    FlashFloppy. The hardware is a commodity. Software (firmware) is what matters. https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy https://github.com/keirf/FlashFloppy

illys 4y ago

If you can put USD 50-100 in your antics, you may add an XT-IDE ISA card with a Compact Flash adapter. The one I have has a slot in the backside metal bracket: I can load a Compact Flash (1 GiB, FAT-32 formatted) in a modern PC with a USB adapter, then I insert the Compact Flash in the back of my IBM PC and switch it on with new fresh data and software. Note that the Compact Flash is seen by DOS (6.2 in my case) as a hard disk drive, you may boot on it. It may also co-exist with an MFM harddrive: in my case, the MFM drive is C: and boots, the Compact Flash is D:. It is a very convenient setup to make the IBM PC a smooth place in our modern IT world.