Date   : Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:53:09 -0000
From   : profpep@... (Mike)
Subject: OT: ZX80 ROM ?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jules Richardson" <jules.richardson99@...>
To: "xx BBC micro mailing list" <bbc-micro@...>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 3:01 PM
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] 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)
>
Somewhere amongst my collection of bits, I have an original FLEX-09 disc,
that may have been from Control Universal - it came with some maintainance
source for a computer controlled weighing system. If anyone has any doco on
the format, I could try extracting it, otherwise I'd be willing to let
someone see if they could read it. The source, (I think), might be on a BBC
disc format, though I have no documentation whatsoever.

||\/||ike