[Coco] Raspberry Pi and RS-232 ports

Sun Apr 2 13:15:56 EDT 2017

Hi Tim,

The SD card I'm using is 32GB.  I don't have that filled, but need to make
sure get the distribution size down to something manageable.  I'll post
something soon and thanks for your interest!

-Ron

On Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 12:03 PM, Tim Fadden <t.fadden at cox.net> wrote:

> Ron,
>
> I am looking forward to seeing this available! What size is the image
> now?  Most I have seen are 1.5G or less compressed, and less than 5g
> expanded.  The file system can be expanded after making the sd  image. Hope
> you get it figured out.
>
> Tim
>
>  On 4/1/2017 9:30 AM, Ron Klein wrote:
>
>> Hi Andrew,
>>
>> I've been working on getting an initial Raspberry Pi 3 Coco emulator
>> distribution set up for those who might be interested to try for
>> themselves.  It's being set up the why I like it, but could certainly be
>> taken in any direction from the community as I plan to share an SD image
>> soon.
>>
>> This is what I have so far:
>>
>> Raspberry Pi 3
>>
>> Latest Raspbian distribution
>>
>> Some RPi3 performance tweaks to allocate memory for programs and video.
>>
>> Restrict video mode to 640 x 480 (rather than the 1920 x 1080).
>>
>> A very slight CPU over clock and force all cores to be active all the
>> time.
>>
>> Latest MAME (0.184) compiled with SDL2 (and video hardware acceleration).
>> It runs from the console, no X involved.  I'm working on just compiling a
>> version to support only the Coco / Dragon targets, but not a priority just
>> yet.  For those interested, ChoccyHobNob provides precompiled, current
>> versions of MAME for the RPi3:
>>
>> http://choccyhobnob.com/mame-0-184-for-raspberry-pi-macos/
>>
>> ... great site and information.
>>
>> Latest XRoar for those who prefer that emulator for Coco 2 / Dragon
>> emulation.  It can be run from console or X, though the X version is very
>> nice with the added benefit of menus, etc..
>>
>> Drivewire 4 configured to host/serve DSK images to the local instance of
>> MAME (or XRoar) running on the RPi3.  If you use a USB to serial adapter
>> or
>> one of the serial interfaces to connect to the GPIO header, you can host
>> files for a real Coco as well.
>>
>> Some scripts to start a Coco 2, Coco 3, MC-10 from MAME.  For the Coco 3,
>> I
>> have it configured with 2MB of RAM.  Great for NitrOS9 and Fuzix.  Any of
>> these could be added to the /etc/rc.local file to boot directly into.
>>
>> I've also added am EMCEE server to host files for a real MC-10.
>>
>> Samba server and client packages.  You can transfer and DSK images, roms,
>> etc., to the RPi3 from another workstation on your network or you can
>> connect to other file server on your network from the RPi3.  Either way
>> works and is available.
>>
>> Added a bunch of Coco development tools the distribution including
>> everything needed to compile MAME and XRoar, lwtools, Toolshed, etc..
>>
>> Added William Astle's excellent lwwire application (with modifications
>> from
>> Brett) to allow Fuzix (running on a Coco 3) access to the Internet.  This
>> can include an emulator running on the RPi3 or a real Coco 3 connected to
>> the RPi3 through the USB or GPIO serial port.
>>
>> I connect my RPi3 to a LCD monitor that happens to have both a HDMI and
>> VGA
>> connections.  I have not tested the RPi3's composite video output on the
>> GPIO header, but will get to that at some point.
>>
>> I use a basic USB mouse and keyboard.  I came across a great deal on a
>> Nintendo Wii U Pro Controller which works perfectly with the RPi3 as it
>> already has built-in Bluetooth support.  Raspbian recognized the device
>> with no issues.  I was playing Pop Star Pilot just yesterday using it.
>> Very nice.  Nice thing is that controller has analog and digital control
>> support.  Perfect the Coco!
>>
>> I know there's been much talk about booting into a Coco instantly at
>> power-up.  I have not attempted to do that, but the boot process is very
>> quick now (under 15 seconds).  I'm OK with that, but I'm sure there may be
>> other things to do to improve it more.  Unless you create an emulator that
>> doesn't require the Linux OS and talks directly to the hardware, not sure
>> if there will ever be a way to achieve instant-on access to a Coco.
>>
>> The last part of my RPi3 testing is connecting a real Coco 3 keyboard to
>> the RPi3.  I'm using information provided by Chris Hawks who really
>> pioneered the early Coco emulation for the RPi.  I have the extra keyboard
>> and Coco 3 case, so I may be able to build my own CocoPi, just like Chris
>> did a while back.  With things like the USB to Coco joystick adapters, it
>> might even be possible to use real Coco joysticks with the RPi while it's
>> in a Coco case (using the factory holes on the case).  The RPi3 composite
>> video and analog audio port could be run to the factory location on the
>> case, too.  These types of things would require some sort of basic
>> backplane to mount the 6 pin joystick DIN connectors and the composite
>> video and audio connectors.
>>
>> Anyway, getting a bit closer each day.  I would like to share something
>> soon, but need to find a way to limit the size the SD card image and find
>> a
>> place to host it.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> -Ron
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 2:08 AM, Andrew <keeper63 at cox.net> wrote:
>>
>> In theory it could be done; the quickest way would be to (somehow) get a
>>> CoCo emulator written in standard C/C++ and cross-compile to the ARM core
>>> used in the Pi. At least - that's the high-level view. There's a lot of
>>> low-level stuff that -would- make this a herculean effort (video being
>>> the
>>> main one).
>>>
>>> It's been a while since I last looked at CoCo 3 emulators - I seem to
>>> recall that David Keil released the source to his CoCo 3 emulator, but I
>>> can't seem to find it (I know I have a copy myself - but I can't seem to
>>> find it on the web). But I did find the VCC source (for Windows) - and
>>> it's
>>> in C. So maybe that could be futzed with to get it into something more
>>> portable and standard? Probably the first step would be to get it to run
>>> under Linux using the framebuffer. Then port that?
>>>
>>> Another possibility would be to take the whole MESS version, and strip it
>>> down to the bare-bones to get it to run the CoCo 3 - then port that code
>>> (I'm pretty sure MESS is written in C or C++). Again, you'd want to
>>> target
>>> the framebuffer, of course.
>>>
>>> Lastly - and this is something that could be tried with MESS, because
>>> I've
>>> seen some tutorial on the technique - you could try to boot a
>>> bare-minimum
>>> X window system, that immediately starts MESS. Strip the linux kernel
>>> down
>>> to the bones, kick off X, then MESS (with CoCo 3 roms). While it won't be
>>> "instant on", it will probably be a lot better than "standard" linux
>>> bootup
>>> on the Pi. Something like this:
>>>
>>> https://blogs.wcode.org/2013/09/howto-boot-your-raspberry-pi
>>> -into-a-fullscreen-browser-kiosk/
>>>
>>> Keywords to grep are "browser kiosk fullscreen" - the takeaway is that
>>> you
>>> don't need a full-on desktop to run an X window aware piece of software.
>>>
>>> Ooh - another interesting possibility:
>>>
>>> https://devtidbits.com/2013/04/23/run-dos-on-the-raspberry-
>>> pi-use-rpix86-to-turn-your-pi-into-a-1980s-super-computer/
>>>
>>> http://rpix86.patrickaalto.com/
>>>
>>> ...then run one the DOS CoCo 3 emulators on top of that, perhaps?
>>>
>>> -- Andrew L. Ayers, Glendale, Arizona
>>>
>>> Message: 3
>>>
>>>> Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2017 13:15:36 -0500
>>>> From: Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com>
>>>> To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Coco] Raspberry Pi and RS-232 ports
>>>> Message-ID: <7fa405aa-019f-85e8-def1-d1824713c955 at davebiz.com>
>>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>>>>
>>>> I think, actually, that someone has already emulated a CoCo on a
>>>> Raspberry Pi.  I've seen it mentioned here and there.  But someone
>>>> pointed out some days ago that a Raspberry Pi takes a finite amount of
>>>> time to boot and there's nothing like a good ol' CoCo that starts up
>>>> pretty much immediately.  I brought up the idea that if a Rasperry Pi
>>>> was only going to emulate a CoCo and nothing else it could surely be
>>>> made to boot up instantly just like a CoCo.  After all, it has a CPU
>>>> that runs at a clock speed of several hundred megahertz!  But I was
>>>> speaking only theoretically.  I imagine it would be a herculean software
>>>> effort to get in to the internals of the Pi and figure out how to get it
>>>> to boot up and run as a CoCo without the aid of the Linux (or other)
>>>> operating system.  It's certainly possible but it doesn't seem like it
>>>> would be worth the effort just to save the 15 seconds or so required to
>>>> boot into Linux and then run a CoCo emulator.
>>>>
>>>> Dave
>>>>
>>>> --
>>> Coco mailing list
>>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>>>
>>>
>
> --
> Tim Fadden
> "Hey Schmidt, don't forget about the six P's.
> Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance!"
>
>
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