[Coco] NitrOS9 LEVEL 2 running on Multicomp

[Neal Crook]

Dave,

thanks for an excellent summary.

News update: I now have the L2 port running on real hardware (I tried to
post a photo but, of course, it bounced: too big)

Neal.

On 5 April 2017 at 19:23, Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com> wrote:

> 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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