[Coco] Any news on the so called CoCo4 or Next CoCo

[Frank Swygert]

I got it, and it looks like an adapter for a CoCo cartridge could be 
made. But this seems to be a read-only port. I question the usefulness 
for the same reason you do! A true I/O expansion port is a different 
story though, and why the CoCo expansion connector makes sense for a 
custom board (FPGA) model. Come to think of it, I don't see the need to 
have it backwards compatible. So much that was added to the CoCo can be 
built into a "CoCo4" either using an Intel MB or some other integrated 
processor board or an FPGA. It just needs an easily programmable I/O 
port for experimenters. There aren't many people with I/O cards other 
than disk controllers, RS-232 paks, and maybe CoNect or DriveWire in 
ROM. No reason one of those (or something similar) couldn't be 
incorporated into the ROM on an FPGA model. I just suggested the LPT 
port because it's there and easily programmed for most I/O needs, and is 
built into the commonly used integrated I/O chips -- little (if any) 
additioanl hardware needed, and it can be programmed for I/O. Emulating 
a PIA would be trivial and easy to program with DECB. Of course "DECB4" 
could have added commands to make it even easier. ------------- Date: 
Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:51:09 +1000 From: Mark McDougall 
<msmcdoug at iinet.net.au> Have you guys seen this?<http://www.retrode.org/ 
Either the relevance was lost on people or it truly isn't interesting to 
anyone???

IMHO for the purpose of running_program_  cartridges on a PC-based emulator,
it is far superior to any parallel port hack, even if only because there's a
much greater chance that current&  future 'portable' platforms (eg. Pandora)
will have USB as opposed to a parallel port.

Having said that, I would personally question the usefulness of a device
that is limited to running ROM-based cartridges. Sure it's cool, but
ultimately unnecessary (unless you believe you don't have a right to use a
ROM dump for cartridges you actually own?!?)

For some reason - and I can't explain why - having a real Coco cartridge
port on an FPGA Coco 4 is a completely different kettle-of-fish.:)

-- 
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars"
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://www.amc-mag.com
(free download available!)