[Coco] CoCo4! 50% done!

[Frank Swygert]

Nick wrote:

Ok then. Where can I buy one and how much?

Strange that if it is already available and low cost that few people have
bought one. There should be no more discussions of a CoCo3/4 since it
already exists.
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You can buy a DE1 board right here for $150 (+shipping):
http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?No=83

So why hasn't everyone went out and bought one? Well, it's not everyone's idea of a CoCo4. It's faster, but has no extra features -- no better graphics or anything like that. You can't use old peripherals like disc drives with it. Storage is strictly on SD card, with software emulation of the disc controller (I might be mistaken here...). No, I don't have one. Personally I don't see a problem with a new compatible machine not having disc drives or being able to connect to the old peripherals. They are all old and antiquated now. It's hard to find a 360K 5.25" drive, and when you do it may not work. I understand the guys wanting one for nostalgia, and some have a legitimate need to transfer old floppies to the newer media. The former should probably stick to the old hardware, the later can find most software on the internet already in .dsk files. If they have old floppies with files they really need then use drivewire on a real CoCo and transfer them, or find someone who will do it for you. I don't think the DE1 has been set up to accept any kind of joystick, but I think it can be done. I wouldn't try making an interface for the old CoCo sticks, but something currently available that will work in a similar fashion. The original stuff should be relegated to those retro users who want/need it, it's getting old and worn now.

That said, the DE1 is just a super fast CoCo3. that could be considered a CoCo4 for all practical purposes. But is it enough? Not enough for a lot of people to get one, apparently. I'd like to see some upgrades as far as graphics and such, but Tandy hobbled the CoCo3 with the design of the GIME. I don't think losing CoCo1/2 software compatibility (say losing the semi-graphics modes altogether -- I know the CC3 lost some of them anyway) would be an issue, but it needs to keep CoCo3 specific compatibility. Keeping that and having higher resolution graphics in the same machine is a challenge to say the least. I'd like to boot the machine then run either CC3 or "CC4" programs without rebooting, but that may not be possible. I suppose it would be okay to reboot when switching between the two. Most OS-9 games required rebooting anyway, so it wold just be like going from DECB to OS-9. But a standard for the new graphics and any other capabilities would have to be set. That is the biggest issue right now. No one has come up with anything! If someone took a DE1 with the CoCo3 core and came up with a working higher res graphics solution that could be loaded into the FPGA and would work in CC3 and CC4 modes without reprogramming the FPGA it would quickly become the standard.

Others have different ideas -- I'm just trying to be practical. Too many different ideas, and no one actually doing anything -- that is until the CC3 FPGA came out. That was mainly one person's doing -- now someone needs to take the next step and make some enhancements and keep CC3 compatibility... This may require a bigger FPGA, which would mean substantially more cost... until now. Terasic now makes a DE1-SoC board with a bigger FPGA and more processing power. It would probably require re-writing the CC3 core, but it isn't much more than the original DE1 board ($199 vs. $150). I don't know much about it, but the layout is very similar to the DE1.
http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=167&No=836

These are meant to be evaluation boards, but the CoCo community is small enough that they would be a great relatively low cost base to use.

Some, myself included, have encouraged using something like a Raspberry Pi or Mini ITX board and "build" the "CoCo4" mainly in software. The hardware has the power to run a "ghost" emulator and for all practical purposes look and feel like a modern CoCo. Some say they like the "look and feel" of the original. Well, the "next" version of anything usually uses available technology and loses some of the old look and feel, and many upgraded their CoCos with PC keyboards anyway, so why not use one on an advanced CoCo? I say "ghost" emulator because I think it (and the host OS) should strictly be in the background. If the host OS is totally inaccessible that would be fine by me, but it would probably be best to have a hot key that would allow at least limited access for maintenance and some tasks the emulator may not be capable of.

I wonder what this will end up selling for?
http://www.fpgaarcade.com/?q=node/6
It has all the needed connectors, and there are cores for several 8 and 16 bit machines (Amiga, Atari ST, VIC20, etc.). A CoCo3 (4) should be doable... The "expansion ports for external controllers" look like floppy drive ports, but probably aren't...