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Re: custom rom for hazeltine terminal

Hi Wayne,

No worries, Happy to do the testing.

To answer your questions below;

I'm using the original SBC , although i've built the SBCv2 but have'nt got it working yet.

The boot message that appears does go all the way to the ==⇒ prompt.

Using an 8250 UART and the WBW bios works fine with the PC terminal emulator, I think i have a 16550 UART somewhere to try.note i disabled FIFO in the config file. 

The setup i have at the moment is the sbc and diskio3 only plugged into a smaller backplane but i can test the SBC board on it's own. 

Appreciate your help with this !

Regards,

Nik











On Sunday, May 26, 2013 1:21:27 AM UTC+10, Wayne Warthen wrote: <blockquote> Hi Nik,

I'm really perplexed and definitely want to track this down because I suspect there is some subtle issue that other people will hit as well.  You are an excellent test case for the new version of the RomWBW bios.


I am going to post a new beta version of v2.5 later today.  I will also send you an email with a  pre-built image of beta version that I will have tested on my system.  The image I send you will be setup for 9600 baud.


The new beta does have support for the cassette interface.  I am pretty sure it is working correctly, but I am having some challenges with my cassette interface hardware, so my testing is not quite  perfect.


In the meantime, here is a new list of questions and things you could respond to or try if you have any time…

  1. Which hardware variant of the N8VEM SBC do you have?  The original one or the SBCv2?  All of my testing is on the SBCv2 because that is all I have.
  2. I want to make absolutely sure I understand how far the problematic RomWBW v2.5 boot process gets.  Can you confirm that you get all the way to the point where you see the “==⇒” prompt from the boot loader?
  3. What variant of the UART chip are you running?  TL16C550C?
  4. Do you have a way of trying the problematic RomWBW v2.5 on a PC (with flow control disabled)?  If so, does that work?
  5. Can you try the problematic RomWBW v2.5 with no other cards installed?  Either by pulling the SBC out of the backplane or by removing all of the other cards from the backplane?

I appreciate any help you can provide because I really want to get this resolved.


Thanks!


Wayne


On Saturday, May 25, 2013 4:43:59 AM UTC-7, brizza wrote: <blockquote> Hi Wayne,

You have'nt broken my setup :-) Actually my existing system is using Dan Werners BIOS and running a VDU and SCG card with a two monitors. I'd like to use your BIOS with a “real” terminal and 5.25 inch drives and perhaps the cassette interface later on :-)

Yes i'm getting the boot messages. i just cant select the boot device since the keyboard wont respond.

Kind Regards,

Nik


On Saturday, May 25, 2013 3:23:18 PM UTC+10, Wayne Warthen wrote:

<blockquote> Yikes, it sure sounds like I have done something to break things in your setup.

Do you get the boot messages like the ones I have listed below?  Do yours look any different?  I assume you get stuck at the BOOT prompt, right?

Thanks,


Wayne


Boot….


N8VEM Z80 @ 8MHz ROM=512KB RAM=512KB

UART0: IO=0x68 BAUD=9600

FD: IO=0x36 UNITS=2

PPIDE: IO=0x20 UNITS=2


N8VEM HBIOS v2.5 - Beta 7 (RomWBW-WWarthen-130524T0926)


A=RAM B=ROM C=FD0 D=FD1 E=PPIDE0-00 F=PPIDE0-01 G=PPIDE0-02 H=PPIDE0-03

Boot: (M)onitor, (R)OM, or Drive Letter ==⇒




On Friday, May 24, 2013 9:45:12 PM UTC-7, brizza wrote: <blockquote> Hi Wayne, Yes your impression is correct. I have Andrews original default rom bios and it works fine. David Giles' rom Bios also works with the Hazeltine.

Thanks,

Nik

On Saturday, May 25, 2013 2:38:52 PM UTC+10, Wayne Warthen wrote: <blockquote> Hi Nik,

I reviewed the config file and even used it to build a ROM.  It all worked fine for me at 9600 baud.  I also confirmed that the current ROM code is indeed still setting RTS and DTR (which may or may not matter depending on your hardware configuration).


I have seen the discussion about the terminal type and am a bit confused.  I want to make sure I understand the issue correctly.


I am under the impression that you are seeing characters on the screen when you boot on the new ROM (the normal boot messages).  However, when you type on the keyboard, nothing shows up on the screen.  Is that right?


If the above is correct, this issue has nothing to do with the terminal type setting.  John is probably on the right track regarding making sure all the RS-232 signals required by the terminal are asserted.


I assume you do not have the old ROM to try, right?


Thanks,


Wayne

On Friday, May 24, 2013 5:09:08 PM UTC-7, brizza wrote: <blockquote> Hi Wayne, Thanks. Here is the config file.

Nik



On Saturday, May 25, 2013 2:06:59 AM UTC+10, Wayne Warthen wrote:

Hi Nik,

Very odd.  Will you please send me the modified config file you are using?

Thanks,

Wayne

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