[Coco] Raspberry Pi and RS-232 ports

[Ron Klein]

Ugh, make that in 2 weeks.

Might be kind of lonely if I go next week.  :)



On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 3:38 PM, Ron Klein <ron at kdomain.org> wrote:

> Hello all.
>
> How many folks here have Raspberry Pi 3's? I plan to bring a handful of
> 16GB SD cards to CocoFEST next week with a preliminary Coco emulation
> distribution it (see below). For those who can't attend, I'm looking for a
> place to host an image file. I still need to type up some documentation,
> but plan to demo it at the show.
>
> Thanks
>
> -Ron
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 11:30 AM, Ron Klein <ron at kdomain.org> wrote:
>
>
>> 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
>>
>>
>