miniFLASH User Manual
Contents
1. ettenchaatei koho by 13 FLASH Bank Selection Beglslel cr euch cop co ep uoti ahi aie aed debate akin 13 FLASH SoftWare nea O sii oes eit bi vasi nos ada cat aac os cede qt e Pee nho a FRA a FEES 13 Special Considerations acce cta ODE red eoe ue Re E T LED M eM IE US 14 Te Additional Morato sssini tainane a aaaea Lets O Calc cited Letsetelad ents 15 fia zdielel Raid co ANNE EE TEE 15 1 Congratulations Thank you for purchasing the miniFLASH another one of the fine products offered by Cloud 9 This product was designed to be used with the Radio Shack TRS 80 Color Computers 1 2 and the Tandy Color Computer 3 The miniFLASH allows you to use FLASH technology to store ROM Pak images or your favorite DOS Features e Uses state of the art components for low power draw and decreased part count e 64K of internal FLASH holds four distinct 16K ROM images e Easy to use FLASH programming and IDE test software System Requirements In order to use the miniFLASH you need the following components e Radio Shack TRS 80 Color Computer 1 or 2 with 64K RAM or a 128K Tandy Color Computer 3 e Multi Pak required for certain FLASH programming tasks 2 Getting Started We know you re excited about using your new miniFLASH However before you plug it into your CoCo please read the following pages carefully for important configuration information Examining the Interface There are a number of DIP switches on the miniFLA2. odd numbered 1 3 5 7 and 9 and the top row of pins is even numbered 2 4 6 8 and 10 Each top and bottom pin forms a pair that may or may not be covered with a shunt The following table shows the function of each of the five pairs of jumpers Jumper Pair Function if ON Function if OFF 1 2 FBSR resets on FBSRH resets on power cycle RESET 3 4 Not used Not used 5 6 Bit 4 of base address Bt 4 of base is SET address is CLEAR 7 8 Bit 5 of base address Bit 5 of base is SET address is CLEAR 9 10 Bit 6 of base address Bt 6 of base is SET address is CLEAR You will learn shortly how to set these jumpers for your specific system setup Configuring the Interface In order to insure that your miniFLASH matches your Color Computer system it is important to set the state of the jumpers to reflect the proper base address as well as FBSR reset behavior Setting the Base Address As shipped the interface s base address is set up at a default of FF59 We recommend keeping this setting if possible In order to this you must verify that no other devices in your system conflict with this address allocation If you do have a conflict then a base address must be selected where there are no conflicts The interface allows a base address selection of FF49 FF59 FF69 and FF79 Jumper pairs 5 6 7 8 and 9 10 allow you to select one of these four base addresses The following table shows how to set
3. 50 PRINT PEEK amp HFF59 4 Programming the FLASH The miniFLASH Utilities disk image contains software to extract a ROM from a ROM Pak or disk controller It also contains software to program a ROM image into any of the four FLASH banks on the interface Typically you will want to program the FLASH on the miniFLASH if you intend to use it in a specific application In such a scenario the interface would be plugged directly into the side of the cartridge port with a DriveWire compatible DOS such as HDB DOS in one of the FLASH banks You may also want to just keep the miniFLASH in a slot in the Multi Pak and have one or more ROM Paks programmed into the FLASH allowing them to be selected on the fly Let s take a look at different scenarios for programming the FLASH using the supplied utilities Programming an Existing ROM into FLASH To program a ROM Pak or disk controller ROM into the FLASH you have several options Option 1 Save a ROM Pak or disk controller EPROM s contents to disk using GETROM BAS then program the desired FLASH bank in the miniFLASH using FLASH BAS Option 2 Use ROMXFER BAS to directly transfer the contents of a ROM Pak or disk controller s EPROM to a FLASH bank this requires a Multi Pak For illustration we will perform option 1 Your first step is to choose the disk controller or ROM Pak that contains the ROM you want to transfer to FLASH If it is a ROM Pak you will need to place tap
4. ASH Subsequent calls are required to program an entire bank In ROM Read mode the contents of ROM Paks can also be read if the value at 7100 is 00 There is a parameter block at 7100 that is referenced by the FLASH BIN routine That parameter block contains the following offsets Offset Value 7100 Read Write Mode 00 Read ROM 01 Read FLASH FF Write FLASH 7101 Multi Pak Slot where FLASH or ROM is located 0 3 or FF if no Multi Pak is present 7102 FLASH bank to read write 0 3 7103 Page to read write 0 125 on a CoCo 1 2 0 123 on a CoCo 3 7104 Page size should be 128 7105 06 ROM base address usually C000 7107 08 Address of FLASH Bank Selection Register FF49 FF59 FF69 or FF79 7109 0A Address of a 128 byte buffer This buffer either contains data to write to the FLASH in write mode or will hold the contents of a FLASH or ROM page read mode 710B 0C Two byte checksum of the contents of the FLASH ROM page in Read Mode Once the parameters from 7100 to 710A have been set the caller may JSR into the subroutine at 7000 and the selected operation will be performed After reading a page of FLASH or ROM a two byte checksum of that page is automatically computed and stored at 710B 0C This value is the sum of all bytes in the page and can be used as a verification mechanism Special Considerations It is important to note that not all of th
5. ASH bank in another Multi Pak slot CHECKSUM BAS This program will provide a checksum on a ROM or bank of FLASH returning the sum of all bytes A blank FLASH bank should return the checksum value of 0 indicating that the FLASH contains all zeros ERASE BAS This program will erase a bank of FLASH by writing all 00s to the specified bank 12 6 Technical Information This chapter provides detailed technical information on the miniFLASH including register layout and the software interface for programming the FLASH Hardware Register Layout The hardware registers are documented below FLASH Bank Selection Register This register is located in memory mapped I O and is settable to FF49 FF59 FF69 or FF79 via the jumper block on the board Bit 7 of this register is the FLASH Enable bit This bit is set by the FLASH programming routine when writing to the FLASH Unless you fully understand what you are doing you should never set this bit Bits 6 2 are undefined Reads of these bits will always return zero Writes to these bits are ignored Bits 1 0 are used to software select one of the 16K FLASH banks 0 3 FLASH Software Interface Assembly language programmers who wish to access the FLASH read write routines in FLASH BIN may do so using the following information The FLASH BIN routine loads at 7000 and can be called by JSRing to that location The routine either reads or writes one page 128 bytes of the FL
6. SH that must be set properly to reflect your particular system DIP Switches The DIP switch block has three switches and can be accessed even with the cover in place The switches are labeled from right to left as 1 2 and 3 and perform the following functions Switch 1 This is the auto start switch If this switch is ON in the Down position then the CART interrupt is triggered upon power up If this switch is OFF in the Up position then the CART interrupt is not triggered on power up This switch is useful if you have an auto start ROM such as a game in the selected FLASH bank You should NOT turn the auto switch on if your FLASH bank contains a DOS such as HDB DOS Switch 2 and 3 Both of these switches are used to select one of four 16K banks of the internal 64K of FLASH The following table show the settings Switch 2 Position Switch 3 Position FLASH Bank ON Down ON Down 0 ON Down OFF Up 1 OFF Up ON Down 2 OFF Up OFF Up 3 Each of the four 16K banks can contain either a DOS such as Disk BASIC HDB DOS or A DOS or the contents of a ROM Pak We will learn later how to burn a ROM image into the FLASH Jumper Block The jumper block allows the setting of the interface s base address as well the Flash Bank Selection Register FBSR behavior on RESET Power Up There are 5 jumper pairs for a total of 10 pins Looking at the pins from right to left the bottom row of pins is
7. bank 0 3 EXEC 40999 If the FLASH bank you are switching to contains a ROM Pak image such as a game be sure the auto switch DIP Switch 1 is in the OFF Up position and type the following on a CoCo 1 2 POKE amp HFF59 X where X is the bank 0 3 EXEC amp HCOO00 Depending upon the contents of the target FLASH bank your CoCo may go into a crash mode This is normal due to the fact that the ROM that BASIC is fetching instructions from is actually being totally replaced at the point of the POKE command If this happens press the RESET button and the code should execute properly CoCo 3 FLASH Bank Software Switching Depending on the type of ROM image there are two different methods for software selection of a FLASH bank If you are switching to a FLASH bank containing a DOS such as Disk BASIC HDB DOS A DOS etc the following commands will work on a CoCo 3 POKI POKI amp HFF59 X where X is the bank 0 3 113 0 DLOAD my h Li my h Li If the FLASH bank you are switching to contains a ROM Pak image such as a game be sure the auto switch DIP Switch 1 is in the OFF Up position and type the following on a CoCo 3 POKE amp HFF59 X where X is the bank 0 3 EXEC amp HEO10 Determining the Active FLASH Bank You can determine which of the four banks of FLASH memory is active by reading the FBSR Type the following assuming the miniFLASH s base address is FF
8. e ROM can be read nor all of the FLASH programmed Ona CoCo 2 all but the last 256 bytes SFFOO FFFF of FLASH can be read written On a CoCo 3 all but the last 512 bytes FE00 FFFF of FLASH can be read written The included BASIC software automatically detects the type of Color Computer being used and makes the proper adjustments when reading writing FLASH Refer to the source code for consideration when writing your own FLASH programming software 7 Additional Information If Problems Arise Although our products are engineered with quality and care Cloud 9 cannot guarantee that you won t run into problems If you have a problem or question please contact us via the Internet at support cloud9tech com You can also visit our website at http www cloud9tech com for up to date information on your product 15 Manual Revision 1 1 April 15 2015 Cloud 9 3749 County Road 30 Delano MN 55328 Telephone 7639723261 www cloud9tech com
9. e over pin 8 to prevent the cartridge from auto starting during the transfer process If it is a disk controller then it isn t necessary to cover pin 8 In either case once the cartridge is properly prepped insert it into a free slot of the Multi Pak Slot 1 is usually a good slot for this Put your miniFLASH in slot 3 of the Multi Pak and your floppy disk controller in slot 4 Be sure the slot selection switch is set to 4 Mount the miniFLASH Ultilities disk image into your DriveWire Server and type RUN GETROM Follow the prompts and supply a filename The contents of that disk controller or ROM Pak will be saved to the filename When the program is complete you will be returned to Disk BASIC Now it is time to run the program to transfer the ROM on disk into the FLASH on the interface 10 To start type RUN FLASH The program will prompt you for the following information The base address of the miniFLASH The MPI slot of the miniFLASH The FLASH bank where the ROM image will be programmed The name of the file to program BOD Once the information is provided the file will be opened and its contents transferred to the appropriate bank of FLASH That s all there is to programming the FLASH 5 Supplied Software The supplied miniFLASH Utilities disk image provides additional software which can assist you in setting up your interface and drives properly We highly recommend that you work fr
10. hat power is OFF on your Color Computer and your Multi Pak then insert the miniFLASH is in slot 3 Your floppy disk controller should reside in slot 4 Once the controllers are firmly in place turn on your Multi Pak and then your Color Computer 3 Using the FLASH The innovative feature of the miniFLASH is its utilization of FLASH memory technology to store ROM code This technology totally replaces the antiquated EPROM that is found on older floppy and hard drive controllers Unlike EPROMs FLASH memory brings several benefits to Color Computer users First FLASH can be programmed in circuit without any additional hardware Second FLASH technology delivers a large amount of storage in an extremely small footprint This allows multiple ROMs to be stored in the same chip and selected via hardware or software by the user How the FLASH is Partitioned The miniFLASH contains 64K of internal FLASH which is partitioned into four banks bank 0 bank 1 bank 2 and bank 3 Each bank can hold 16K of code Typically a ROM image will reside in each bank These ROM images can be DOS s such as Disk BASIC HDB DOS or A DOS etc or they can be ROM Paks such as games and applications While all banks can hold code only one bank is active at any given time It is up to the user to determine which bank will hold code and to which bank the interface will start from at power on There are two methods of FLASH bank selection the hardware swi
11. miniFLASH User Manual Cloud 9 3749 County Road 30 Delano MN 55328 Telephone 763 972 3261 www cloud9tech com miniFLASH 2015 Cloud 9 All Rights Reserved All portions of this hardware are copyrighted and are the proprietary and trade secret information of Cloud 9 Use reproduction or publication of any portion of this material without the prior written authorization of Cloud 9 is strictly prohibited miniFLASH User Manual 2015 Cloud 9 All Rights Reserved Reproduction or use of any portion of this manual without express written permission from Cloud 9 is prohibited While reasonable efforts have been made in the preparation of this manual to assure its accuracy Cloud 9 does not assume liability resulting from any errors in or omissions from this manual or from the use of the information contained herein 2 Table Of Contents PES he enuresis ee erate MEE dd OK ees 1 MSV S uiri mc D 1 Mie x Congratulations ihs tiksin anaiena aea aaa aaea aaan aata aaeeea MTS 4 e115 1 NE EE C c cM A A 4 System Pedir emet sees eon se ete ene ee etx keen eee ae eur era ee viu tice xa ee v HH seis 4 2 E TUG SUA DREA TM 5 Examining the Interface nete iti att AL eee D ad tC hed Ane td E et deta oa 5 PU SS ien NEPTIS em toC PO rrr 5 Jumper BOCK v EE 5 Configuring the Interface te eo cta cereo eres eee eres ehe ene eios ete eek trap em RO O O NA tu 6 Setting the Base Address ky jaa eiua e an on bia Eo Su ruv as UU UL LE ae 6 Se
12. om a backup of your original disk All BASIC programs are saved in ASCII format and therefore will load somewhat slower from the disk To speed up subsequent loads LOAD then SAVE the program back to disk FLASH ASM FLASH BIN These two files make up the FLASH programming routine used by the included BASIC programs The interface to the routine is documented later FLASH BAS This program uses FLASH BIN and allows you to program the contents of a disk file into a FLASH bank of your choosing GETROM BAS This program uses the assembly routines in FLASH BIN and allows you to save a ROM image from a controller or ROM Pak to disk When run GETROM BAS will prompt you for the Multi Pak slot where the ROM resides and the size of the ROM It will then obtain the ROM s contents and save it to the disk file specified If this program is run on a CoCo 3 then additional options are available to save a 32K ROM Cartridge or even the internal 32K ROM REMEMBER For auto start cartridges such as ROM Paks be sure to place a piece of tape over pin 8 so that the cartridge does not auto start Also insure that DIP Switch 1 of the miniFLASH is in the OFF Up position Failure to do so will result in a crash when the program starts the transfer ROMXFER BAS Like GETROM BAS this program also uses FLASH BIN The convenience of ROMXFER is that it will transfer the contents of a ROM Pak or disk controllers EPROM in one Multi Pak slot to the desired FL
13. tching method and the software switching method Hardware Switching DIP Switches 2 and 3 located on the side of the miniFLASH can select bank 0 1 2 or 3 as the desired bank to reference on power up Simply set up the switches for the desired bank to be active Due to the location of the DIP Switch on the interface we recommend that you turn OFF your system and remove the miniFLASH to properly set the switch If the desired FLASH bank contains a DOS such as Disk BASIC HDB DOS A DOS etc then the auto start switch DIP Switch 1 should be in the OFF Up position Conversely if the desired FLASH bank contains a ROM Pak game image you can elect to turn on the auto start switch This will cause the game to auto start when your CoCo is powered up Software Switching Use of the FLASH Bank Selection Register FBSR allows you to switch to a ROM in a specific FLASH bank without necessarily having to power down your CoCo The procedure for software switching between a CoCo 1 2 and a CoCo 3 are slightly different due to the fact that the CoCo 1 2 runs BASIC from ROM whereas the CoCo 3 runs BASIC from RAM CoCo 1 2 FLASH Bank Software Switching Depending on the type of ROM image there are two different methods for software selection of a FLASH bank If you are switching to a FLASH bank containing a DOS such as Disk BASIC HDB DOS A DOS etc the following commands will work on a CoCo 1 2 POKE 113 0 POKE amp HFF59 X where X is the
14. the jumper shunts based on the desired base address Please note that when a jumper shunt is OFF the corresponding bit is SET Address J5 J6 Bit 4 J7 J8 Bit 5 J9 J10 Bit 6 FF49 Shunt OFF Shunt ON Shunt ON FF59 Shunt OFF Shunt ON Shunt OFF FF69 Shunt OFF Shunt OFF Shunt ON FF79 Shunt OFF Shunt OFF Shunt OFF Setting the FLASH Reset Behavior The Flash Bank Selection Register FBSR is located at offset 09 from the base address of the interface At power up this register holds the value of DIP Switches 2 3 which determine which of the four banks of 16K appear in the CoCo s ROM space at C000 Software can modify the value in this register to automatically select a different bank of FLASH If jumper pair 1 2 contains a shunt then the contents of the FBSR will remain the same even through hardware reset and only a power cycle will cause the FBSR value to change back to the DIP switch settings If jumper pair 1 2 does NOT contain a shunt then contents of the FBSR are reset to the state of the DIP switches upon pressing the RESET button For a CoCo 1 or CoCo 2 we recommend that you keep the shunt ON since these Color Computers run from ROM Hence pressing the RESET button insures that the last value written to the FBSR remains and that the corresponding FLASH bank stays mapped into memory space Connecting to the CoCo Now it s time to connect the miniFLASH to your Color Computer Be sure t
15. tting the FLASH Reset Behavior iiti dite bai esie e nente pci pete tendon 7 Gonneecthd t the Co 0 aaa eee ten vacca aa AEA aa Ka a AAEE E IAEA KARNET rA a EATE un 7 Or MISING ING PEAS NO AA 8 How the FLASH is Partitioned x 5 icsecoticetaceassnbaspnicetaceadciesacaneshtacesdciehacubtubguenstetaceabaabeaunscebecntecesbanamanee 8 Hardware wie le ak oa oa M n gk AA cuu AE obe EA EE ooo oa 8 Software SWILGDIEIG das da ee ea P ee a A es o eo o GERNE SGE 8 CoCo 1 2 FLASH Bank Software Switching e44eeeeeeeeeeeeeee 0000000 eee nenene anne n een n n 9 CoCo 3 FLASH Bank Software Switching c ccceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess 9 Determining the Active FLASH Bank eee eee eee eee eee nenene KKK Kea nahe 9 4 Programming the FDASHM sus zs S ee tes el t pl outer eee ee a ius edis 10 Programming an Existing ROM MOS Fassa i e P eta e latte a e RR o Pa 10 b SUpplied oae euet Lu E A MA M T mur E 12 EEASFEASM EEASPEBIN ra aa a co ob d oto bolt ob ono bod ee o cce a 12 PES FB dp EE 12 GETRONDBAS p58 Lom omn Goa n be ee o o LA IM EL 12 ROMXFER BAS skt eb eb ln Annas Ababa hhh pa bo da do ooo bo o nooo ARC ete A 12 G PECI SUV BS N O EAS tutu ete cer T 12 PRASE A bece ecetecelevasace veetedeiuvelecncavengveleueieceresatecoodea tte 12 b Technical OAO EP eoo tour eed oet o IM iet pini Peli 13 Hardware Register ESyOUE c entere oes espostbep Mappe pepeiet esp ba Rep
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