Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-09-13
08:08:01
 |  Missing Hardware
Back in the 1980s COMPUTE MIT (and maybe RUN or COMMODORE WELT as well) published 128kb Memory extensions. Has anyone ever seen one of these? I know that some ppl built them because there were angry letters to the editors about the missing software support 
Another thing that I've never seen is somekind of network via the datasette port. I read about that in a catalog many years ago. The price tag said something nowhere near my budget so I didn't get it and unfortunately, I didn't keep that catalog. Anyone remembers that one? It was made by a tiny company, maybe one man (and his droid ), they offered some userport stuff, too.
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Posted By
Crown
on 2006-09-13
10:22:59
| Re: Missing Hardware
I believe I might have a C16 or C116 extended with that 128Kb extension, at least that what the seller claimed, but I haven't verified it yet, as I'm missing the software for it, and haven't fully typed in the one they published in Compute Mit.
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-09-13
10:34:10
| Re: Missing Hardware
Find someone who has the disk/tape for that issue 
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Posted By
Sidius
on 2006-09-13
14:27:26
 | Re: Missing Hardware
I also own a C16 with a 128KB memory extension....but I also don't have the software for it!
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Posted By
Bionic
on 2006-09-13
14:47:36
| Re: Missing Hardware
Wasn't that memory expansion totally useless because it lacked support for bank switching? I think all you could do is to have two basic programs in memory and switch them during resets.
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-09-13
15:02:46
| Re: Missing Hardware
I don't know I never read that issue of COMPUTE MIT. That would be sad, though. I'm pretty sure COMMODORE WELT published an extension, too. What about that one? No bank switching either?
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Posted By
Crown
on 2006-09-13
16:34:07
| Re: Missing Hardware
The software they published for it in Compute Mit, was a memory disk application, so I wouldn't be sure that there was no bank switching at all...
Its published in SA 3/87.
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Posted By
C16 Chris
on 2006-09-13
18:58:55
 | Re: Missing Hardware
Please look hiere:
http://www.c16chris.goracer.de/z%20Komplett/Zeitschriften/Compute%20mit%20SA%201987%203/Compute%20mit%201987%203%20Seite%204%20-%207.jpg
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Posted By
Sidius
on 2006-09-14
00:32:22
| Re: Missing Hardware
Well who types now the program?
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-09-14
02:25:28
| Re: Missing Hardware
Typing in listings...
One of my very first experiences with computers included my brothers C16. I found a photocopy of a listing for a game and tried to type it in. Back then COMPUTE MIT didn't have checksums and not what they later on called "KLARTEXT" (meaning any cursor control etc inside quotes got a name for easier recognition). I had no idea how to get those "reversed chars". So I asked my bro and he said "Try Reverse On".
After three hours I had entered lots of REM lines (nobody told me that those are not needed ) and produced lots of weird errors. Even though there were still 5 pages missing, I thought about giving it a test run (I knew RUN :D ). I guess I thought that would show me at least the first level or something Well, all it did was causing garbage (due to charset changes in the very first lines). I was totally disappointed I guess that experience made me check out the manual and learn BASIC, so it had some "reason" after all
Crown: The essence of those instructions is...
There should be an external switch to switch between different setups/memory configurations.
In the "128 MODE"
POKE 64768,5 and POKE 64768,10
are switching between the two banks. Each bank has an own zero page and own video ram.
You are adviced to switch AFTER you have loaded a BASIC program. Otherwise you might have some problems with the OS.
Furthermore, it says that you can switch in MC, too. Then those programs have to be at a certain address range.
Unfortunately, it doesn't say where those programs have to be. Neither does it say which address range is shared by both programs/"banks" 
Should be enough info to check it out, though
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Posted By
Sidius
on 2006-10-07
09:17:58
| Re: Missing Hardware
@Chicken:
You were right!!!
In the german magazine COMMODORE WELT SPECIAL 5/88 (Page 138 - 140) an 256 KByte-Extension was introduced - with construction manual and a type-in program ("Speicher-Transferprogramm").
Maybe you meant this....?!
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-10-23
15:00:04
| Re: Missing Hardware
Thanks I wasn't exactly sure about this and I only knew that Compute Mit published a 128kb extension. Though, I had some memories of a 256kb extension. Nice find! Could you upload scans somewhere?
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Posted By
Sidius
on 2006-10-24
00:25:22
| Re: Missing Hardware
Of course!
I wanted to warm up anyhow once again my scanner for some cover-scans...then with those I will flood Csabos mailbox!
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Posted By
C16 Chris
on 2006-10-24
07:03:44
| Re: Missing Hardware
Chek it:
http://www.c16chris.danbike.de/z%20Komplett/Zeitschriften/Commotore%20Welt%20Special%201988%205.htm
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Posted By
Sidius
on 2006-10-25
01:18:23
| Re: Missing Hardware
Oh well, then this has taken care!
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-10-25
08:23:44
| Re: Missing Hardware
Thanks
Interesting read... I wonder if anybody built this one (except the author) because it depends on the MSM (Memory Switch Modul) by the author and that is not explained anywhere.
Bionic,
this one has four 64k banks (including zeropage) and uses the I/O range for switching and data transfer. So maybe you meant another one?
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Posted By
Solder
on 2006-10-25
14:57:04
| Re: Missing Hardware
Hi Chicken,
I think, the Memory Switch Modul (MSM) is just the multiplexer like LS257 for the adresses A16/A17 from userport (6529B) or the VIA-chip and a little logic for the BCD-switch.
The problem from all these expansions (I have instructions from RUN 3/87 - it uses a patched Kernel with banking routines) that they switch always the complete RAM that causes a crash because missing stack and other important variables stored in area below $1000. You need to reset every bank and load the program in each manually. IMHO, this is unusable. This problem is solved with expansions from Hannes or CSORY.
Solder/Synergy
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Posted By
Chicken
on 2006-10-25
16:21:44
| Re: Missing Hardware
Welcome (back), Christian. Good to see you
Maybe that is what BIONIC meant. Yes... not very userfriendly. Still interesting to see that there's been some hardware development going on back then.
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