Commodore CASSIOPEI, User Manual

Page 1: ...CASSIOPEIv2 0 USER MANUAL this manual is intended for firmware version V20191027 or higher...

Page 2: ...odore computers do not have an IEC bus That device was the Cassiopei It was a very successful project I learned a lot from it mostly about the history of the technology inside the Commodore computers...

Page 3: ...4 4 1 File manager 25 4 2 Settings 26 4 3 Info 27 5 Cassiopei menu program 28 5 1 Starting the menu program 28 6 Using PRG files 30 7 Using TAP files 31 7 1 Swapping flipping the tape change TAP file...

Page 4: ...ction 65 11 Virtual file mode 67 11 1 Cross development 69 12 Compatibility of the Cassiopei 70 13 Upgrading the Cassiopei s firmware 71 13 1 FW Update through webinterface 71 13 2 FW Update through S...

Page 5: ...imply removing the card and inserting it in a normal card reader The Cassiopei is also great for cross development due to it s quick and easy transfer of data to your CBM computer This functionality i...

Page 6: ...ngs are configured and functional as the IP address released for the Cassiopei by the network is shown The values are shown with trailing zeroes to keep the alignment a little easier these zeroes do n...

Page 7: ...to it s progress so that you know when to stop the recording then you must set the switch in this position Lower position of the switch is called R When the switch is in this position the speaker will...

Page 8: ...other cassetteport Placing the Cassiopei on your internal cassetteport isn t very convinient as it requires you to constantly lift the top of your PET in order to press a button on the Cassiopei Also...

Page 9: ...siopei from dangling in mid air while being connected to your computers cassetteport The stand firmly touches the table and therefore creates a solid and stable situation allowing you to safely use yo...

Page 10: ...on from being one of the first 10 people of owing this great device These frontplate changes were made because the filled style text is to be expected to be more durable but also the make it more stan...

Page 11: ...n such a network environment This because WPA2 is the most modern and secure method of security protocol as supported by the Cassiopei 1 6 2 Hidden networks Networks that do not broadcast their name a...

Page 12: ...transfers files for cross development It can also be used for uploading new firmware into the device The network settings like SSID and KEY cannot be changed through the menu it requires removal of t...

Page 13: ...or you as long as you use the menu program to load your program If you would load your program directly by pressing the PLAY button after giving the LOAD command then the menu program isn t started an...

Page 14: ...in seconds 3600 is UTC 1 But when you also use daylight savings time then you need to add an extra hour 3600 seconds This means that the required timezone settings should be 3600 3600 7200 TIMEZONE 72...

Page 15: ...mage back into a real disk Below is how the driver or autoexec file looks like on your GEOS system When this file is on your GEOS bootdisk it will be stated automatically upon booting of GEOS So in or...

Page 16: ...t determines the timing for the TAP file playback and for the loading of the fastloader program 2 4 Operating modes menu item Mode The Cassiopei is more then a TAP file player or cassette emulator It...

Page 17: ...file selection You may navigate through this menu with the three buttons next to the display Play button moves the cursor up Menu button select the item under the cursor Sett button moves the cursor...

Page 18: ...he folder _system_ and is named SETTINGS TXT Cassiopei settings file WIFI 1 Enable wifi 0 OFF 1 ON ATTENTION HOSTNAME SSID and KEY value may NOT exceed 32 characters HOSTNAME CASSIOPEI SSID_1 MYPERSON...

Page 19: ...can be on a network or just to personalize the device the hostname text can be changed In the settings file in an entry called HOSTNAME you may change the default text CASSIOPEI into anything you like...

Page 20: ...the SD card a little easier This SD card has to be properly configured with the right folders and the right files The Cassiopei uses an SD card that must be formatted according to the FAT 16 which is...

Page 21: ...nd move them back to the folder on the SD card The computer will copy alphabetically and therefore store the files in the correct order on the filesystem Making it look like you want However keep in m...

Page 22: ...programs here TAP TAP tape image store your tape images here Optional folders are D64 and PETSCII_VIDEO folders In these folders specific application related files can be stored D64 files for disk bac...

Page 23: ...ut a little and it can be grabbed and removed using the tweezer Gently push the SD card then pull it out using a tweezer Tip two By attaching some tape to the side of the SD card a custom pulling tab...

Page 24: ...ll attempt to login onto your wifi network every time it is switched on or reset When this is successful the Cassiopei will show the IP address on the display Go to the IP address by typing it into th...

Page 25: ...USB card reader Below you ll see the file manager when you click onto the of each folder it will unfold and show the contents Then you may click onto a file and download or delete that file from the c...

Page 26: ...fore not the preferred method for quickly changing the current file or computer model Use the buttons at the bottom of the screen for navigation through the menu In order to save any changed settings...

Page 27: ...to upload new firmware into the Cassiopei This is a feature that might come in handy when there is a new firmware version available firmware binaries can be found on the Cassiopei website Firmware upd...

Page 28: ...ing the menu program Starting loading the Cassiopei menu program into your CBM computer Type LOAD When stated press play on tape press the Menu button on the Cassiopei The menu program will appear wit...

Page 29: ...a C16 to a C64 VIC20 or any other Commodore computer model Therefore changing the computermodel settings using the menu on a CBM computer is not recommended And in some cases it is identical to sawin...

Page 30: ...the Cassiopei wait a few seconds before the menu program is loaded and starts But you could also use the webinterface or the menu on the Cassiopei display itself just press the Sett button to enter th...

Page 31: ...our SD card The path then would be C64 TAP GAMES PACMAN TAP Configure the Cassiopei for the use of TAP files You can do this using the menu program on your CBM computer type LOAD on the CBM when the c...

Page 32: ...nge TAP file during playback When you are in a TAP file game and you must change to a different TAP file simply because the TAP images of the game you are playing is split up into 2 different TAP file...

Page 33: ...program to define your new settings The Cassiopei menu program is to be used for selecting the file and or changing the configuration of the Cassiopei Navigating through the menu is possible using th...

Page 34: ...hen the Cassiopei detects that the file to be loaded is a BASIC file it will load the file to the current BASIC start location Now how does the Cassiopei know if a file is a BASIC or a machine code pr...

Page 35: ...instead or removing the cartridge a simple set of pokes is enough to achieve this POKE642 16 POKE644 30 SYS64818 A problem with loading files are most likely to be caused by an incorrect setup of the...

Page 36: ...Screen 1E00 Color 9600 can be disabled by typing POKE642 16 POKE644 30 SYS64818 VIC 20 3K super expander VIC 20 8K expanded BASIC 0401 Screen 1E00 Color 9600 BASIC 1201 Screen 1000 Color 9400 VIC 20...

Page 37: ...machine language program it will not start at one of these 3 locations If the program is a hybrid program a machine language program that begins with a BASIC stub then it will be relocated But for th...

Page 38: ...s any STA SOURCE_ADR 1 CLV clear flag here to keep the loop fast LDY 00 clear reg here keeps the loop fast RELOCATE_LP LDA SOURCE_ADR Y the actual moving of the program the copy loop STA DEST_ADR Y LD...

Page 39: ...e currently selected game program press the MENU button in order to load the menu program to define your new settings The Cassiopei menu program is to be used for selecting the file when usage of the...

Page 40: ...s operating mode LOAD return The computer will now ask you to press play on tape press the PLAY button on the Cassiopei to load the currently selected game program press the MENU button in order to l...

Page 41: ...demonstrates the C128D plastic version require the use of an additional stand You can attach this by removing the back cover of the Cassiopei and then slide the stand gently over the cassetteport con...

Page 42: ...s not possible or desired Navigating through the menu is possible using the keyboard or by moving the joystick port 1 or 2 up down and fire to select When you press the return key or move the joystick...

Page 43: ...ei connects to the cassetteport at the rear which is cassetteport 2 This model requires the use of an additional stand You can attach this by removing the back cover of the Cassiopei and then slide th...

Page 44: ...range problems is to use the slow kernal loader use the mode named slow in the menu program Note The Cassiopei uses a part of the stack and the cassettebuffer 1 to store the fastloader routines Some p...

Page 45: ...sen in the settings screen Soon after the release of the 2000 series Commodore came with the 3000 series which is very similar to the 2000 series that have no build in tape drive In fact they are so s...

Page 46: ...art the loaded program Note When a program is loaded using the Cassiopei s fastloader the program is executed directly after it has finished loading However TAP files do no use the Cassiopei s fastloa...

Page 47: ...ot attempt to use the Cassiopei while it is not configured The Cassiopei s requires the following sequence of commands independent of it s operating mode Be aware that there are differences between th...

Page 48: ...of the times entering the RUN command again will start the loaded program without any problems In those occasions it would have been better to use a SYS command to start the fastloader routines So in...

Page 49: ...f the computer where cassetteport 2 is located on the side Although the cassiopei could perfectly function on both cassetteports there are some considerations to be taken into account Cassetteport 1 i...

Page 50: ...it in combination with the Cassiopei When the Cassiopei is connected to cassetteport 1 type LOAD return When the Cassiopei is connected to cassetteport 2 type LOAD 2 return The computer will now ask y...

Page 51: ...f ROMs around for these machines Early ones apparently contained the code to run the cassette port though this was dropped to make room for the IPC code to interface with the second processor Any atte...

Page 52: ...unctionality and that is by doing nothing more then simply using it Type a simple basic program on your CBM for example 10 PRINT TESTING THE DATASETTE 20 GOTO 10 Then save this program by typing the c...

Page 53: ...ey were going to make two more Really old tapes most certainly won t have this marking newer tapes might have this marking but most likely won t as it is not a big selling point when laying on the she...

Page 54: ...use if it isn t then the tape drifts across or away from the head during playback and it will be very hard to get a good signal that way In some cases you can replace the presure pad by using one from...

Page 55: ...re winding One of the most common problems with the datasette and any other kind of tape drive used for home computing in the 80 s is tapehead alignment also referred to as azimuth Make sure that you...

Page 56: ...h a perfectly constant speed which is just the way we need it to be in order for it to act as a reference Tip sometimes many times they can t loose belts can be revived shrunk Take a pan add 200ml of...

Page 57: ...out in a nice circle that measured 78mm Now these measurement may be a little bit inaccurate considering that it is a material that stretches easily but choose the belt that is closest to you re meas...

Page 58: ...en the pinch roller a littlebit some fine sandpaper can do the trick While doing this make sure you ll sand the surface evenly because you don t want any flat spots Therefore this should only be tried...

Page 59: ...ong as there is dirt coming of the tapehead Don t forget to use new cotton swaps when they are becoming dirty you don t want to spread the dirt over the head you want to remove it Don t forget to clea...

Page 60: ...n send their data more quickly However these smaller pulses simply mean higher audio frequencies and that is when the importance of a perfect azimuth becomes clear Because if your tapehead isn t prope...

Page 61: ...which could be a bit unpractical The story behind the program recorder justage according to people on CSDB goes as follows Recorder justage by Harald Diebek from Input64 06 1985 Harald owned a compute...

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Page 63: ...e Select the calibrate item and press play on tape The waterfall will move as long as data is being received When you press the stop button on the datasette the Cassiopei will return to the menu scree...

Page 64: ...n emulator to make sure it does not contain errors 9 6 Restore a tape When you have a favorite game and it is stored on tape then you can relive the retro feeling to the max But if you don t you can a...

Page 65: ...power supply can t deliver the power your system is requiring Perhaps you have too much peripherals connected to your system for example large external memory or cartridges It might also be the case t...

Page 66: ...hy would anyone want to disable this audible alarm functionality Well let s say that you have a computer that works fine but for some reason the overvoltage detection trips and the alarm sounds And yo...

Page 67: ...er and requests the file virtual prg Which is then loaded through HTTP into the CBM In order to make this work you need a program to act like a local webserver The program HFS is a very simple program...

Page 68: ...global IP address and this is not what we want Using the local IP address might cause some problems eventually because most routers will try to change this value everyday when starting or rebooting y...

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Page 70: ...easier to control on the non PET computers and therefore requires less code Jiffy DOS The Cassiopei is not compatible with JiffyDOS equipped computers This because Jiffy DOS disables the use of the c...

Page 71: ...ware version until the system is reset or switched off There are three methods to program new firmware into the Cassiopei the first is over the serial port which is available through the expansion con...

Page 72: ...to the fw update location be aware of the fact that the IP addres you require is supplied by your wifi router and is most likely to be a different value then in this example therefore check the displa...

Page 73: ...g the upgrade procedure In some occasion the upgrading procedure will fail this may have been caused by packet loss during the file transfer This may be the case if there is some heavy traffic on the...

Page 74: ...ortunately these animations are without sound simply because the limited throughput of the cassetteport Below you see a screenshot of the CBM PETSCII video converter program This program converts a re...

Page 75: ...based BBS or a simple ASCII based BBS For example the borderline BBS borderlinebbs dyndns org 6400 Below 2 screenshots of the BBS terminal connected to the borderline BBS The BBS terminal is very sim...

Page 76: ...ames sec and audio of 4bit at a sample rate of 12KHz Although this doesn t seem like much today it is revolutionary for this system Under development is software to convert regular videos into VIC20 f...