[Coco] Unknown error

[Bill Gordon]

Well, now my question is how to fix it. I'm not a programmer, so I cannot
rewrite code.

I'm using the nos96809l2v030209coco3_dw.dsk image.

-----Original Message-----
From: coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com [mailto:coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com] On
Behalf Of Gene Heskett
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2013 11:56 AM
To: coco at maltedmedia.com
Subject: Re: [Coco] Unknown error
 
I suspect thats tied to the actual clock2 module in use, as its an error I
have not see in a decade of using the clock in a TC^3.  Haven't used it all
that many times though, usually at the spring/fall time switch.  Had to use
it twice this fall though, I'd forgotten the date so I came back to this
machine which is updated by ntp & stays within 10 milliseconds of Boulder
and reset it correctly.  The TC^3 keeps good time.  The original disto clock
did not until I re-wrote the gettime call, Tony used a call that froze the
clock while it was being read, so it lost time when running but not when
shut down.  Probably close to 20 years ago that I fixed that, and no clue if
that fix ever made it into the nitros9 repo.

Hard to tell now.  I called it clock ed 11 at the time.  Eddies blob
stopping clocks were clock edition 9, but those are all about 20 years back
up the log.  Now its all broken out into a main module and a submodule to
handle the hardware.  The disto clock, while it could keep good time, all to
often got knocked plumb out of kilter by bus noises on powerdowns and
powerups.  Good quick access, but no protection from bus noises at all.  

The B&B-XT-RTC OTOH needed a serially written 32 bit password to gain access
to it, which had to be written non-stop, with the IRQ's locked out of
course, so it was absolutely and totally worthless the instant you dialed up
and went online because that lockout time meant you missed at least 2
characters even at 300 baud.  It originally updated the coco's time packet
at 1 minute intervals which was a major PIMA at the time, so I kept
re-writing it, got it to do it only at noon and midnight, and eventually
said screw it and only updated the coco's time from it at boot time or
anytime you did a "date t".  That way I could choose to do it when I was
offline.

Fixing poorly written (IMNSHO of course) clocks has had a "colorful" 
history, with liberal sprinklings of profanity laced genealogy mutterings
that are best forgotten, here at the WV places my hat has hung since 1984.