Date   : Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:01:35 -0600
From   : jules.richardson99@... (Jules Richardson)
Subject: OT: ZX80 ROM ?

Phill Harvey-Smith wrote:
> Jules Richardson wrote:
>> There was an article in a magazine (What Computer, I think - I have the scans 
>> somewhere) describing how to do just that - albeit with a D64 rather than
D32. 
>> The sad part is that you could send off for a modified copy of FLEX to run on 
>> the Dragon side which could use the Beeb as the I/O processor - but of course 
>> no known copy has ever come to light...
> 
> Which would make the project slightly more involved....

Thinking about it, I believe it used the Dragon's own (cartridge-based) disk 
controller and booted FLEX from there, rather than across the TUBE - which 
perhaps makes sense if they modified the existing Dragon version of FLEX (that 
you mention) and 'just' changed the keyboard/screen routines. I must dig the 
article scans out...

> What is available in source form is the source to NitrOS9, which is 
> basically a clone of the other big 6809 based os OS-9, this was 
> basically a multi-user, multi-tasking os with propper device drivers 
> etc, so would be much more suited to running across a tube or tube like 
> link.

Aha - interesting. I do have OS-9 for the Dragon (along with drive and disk 
controller), but of course not the source. (I've actually got OS-9 for the 
beeb too, in that I've got a Cumana 68008 beeb copro which runs it - but 
without any docs I've only ever managed to get it to boot from floppy, not 
from its hard disk).  It's a wonderful OS, anyway - extremely powerful given 
the low-spec environment that it'll run in.

I've not had any experience of its lesser sibling, FLEX, though - I think I've 
got a 6809-based Control Universal board (with an Acorn System bus) kicking 
around that'll run it, but I don't think I have any intact media :-(

(Acorn themselves did a 6809 System-bus board too, of course, but I don't 
believe they ever officially issued a FLEX variant that'd run on it)

cheers

Jules