[Coco] NitrOS9 LEVEL 2 running on Multicomp

[Dave Philipsen]

So multicomp is actually a multi-computer design in vhdl of a 6502, 6809, and Z80 CPU with PS/2 keyboard, VGA output, and memory. It was designed so that even a novice could piece together a system by picking and choosing the parts that he wants to include. Neal's link showed a Cyclone II and a few other boards. Shortly after I discovered the Multicomp a couple of years ago I ported it to the DE1 and even another Cyclone IV board not mentioned on the retrobrew site.

For us as CoCo enthusiasts the attraction is primarily to run a 6809-based computer which is not necessarily CoCo-based. However, the 6809 version of Multicomp has the ability to run a modified version of the Microsoft BASIC that was used in the CoCo albeit without the graphics modes and some other features.  If you have a penchant for the 6809 this is a fun project and could even be used as the basis for serious embedded projects.

The multicomp design is really just a starting point since the SD card was left incomplete, or at least Grant did not provide any software to support it and there was no easy way to load/save programs from the BASIC interpreter.  There were also some little 'bugs' here and there that have been fixed.  Neal's design takes the multicomp a step further and makes it possible to run NitrOS9 Level 2.  So essentially what you have is  a fast, compact, expandable 6809 computer that is not necessarily CoCo 3 compatible but shares some design elements with it.

The cool thing about the project (and actually the CoCo3FPGA project too) is that with the hardware and software source codes and a little hardware hacking you can actually morph this into your own personal project.  So let's say Neal gets this all finished and posts the final design.  You could take it and port it to whatever FPGA platform you wanted (an Altera DE1 for example) and then add things to it or modify it.  Maybe you want an OS9 computer with 16 serial ports or maybe you want an 800x600 VGA display so you can have a 100x37 text mode.  Or maybe you want a few midi ports or you want to add a temperature sensor or an LCD display.  All within the realm of possibility.  A custom made 6809 computer with a little more horsepower under the hood than a CoCo.


Dave Philipsen



Dave Philipsen
> On Apr 5, 2017, at 12:30 PM, Neal Crook <foofoobedoo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> See:
> 
> https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/doku.php?id=boards:sbc:multicomp:cycloneii-c:start
> 
>> On 5 Apr 2017 18:22, "rcrislip" <rcrislip at neo.rr.com> wrote:
>> 
>> On Tue, 4 Apr 2017 20:44:41 +0100
>> Neal Crook <foofoobedoo at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> "Official release" (ie in the sourceforge vault) is probably a couple
>>> of months away. I will release an SD-card image snapshot once we have
>>> it up and running successfully on real hardware - maybe a couple of
>>> weeks, spare time permitting
>>> 
>>> Neal.
>>> 
>>> On 2 April 2017 at 01:15, Kip Koon <computerdoc at sc.rr.com> wrote:
>> <huge snip 8-)>
>> 
>> /Ignorance on/
>> 
>> what is Multicomp? TIA
>> 
>> /Ignorance off/
>> 
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