So...How's everyone doing?
14 messages · 2005-04-25 → 2005-04-30 · Yahoo Group era · View archive on archive.org
Participants: r, Jarek Adamski, bryankvines, Jeff Burrell, Eric Johnson, Jack Boatwright
Preserved from the Timex/Sinclair 2068 Yahoo Group (2001–2019), which is no longer online. Text reproduced from the archive.org archive; email addresses masked.
Messages
1. So...How's everyone doing?
bryankvines · Mon, 25 Apr 2005 21:05
There hasn't been a message posted here in weeks. What's everybody been up to? :)
2. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Tue, 26 Apr 2005 03:24
Utterly fed up
trying to use the internet here in hong kong is
like trying to use the internet in china where
the bbc news website is blocked and here in the
library in hong kong the world of spectrum
website is blocked can you believe it?
--- bryankvines <[email]> wrote:
---------------------------------
There hasn't been a message posted here in weeks.
What's everybody been up to? :)
---------------------------------
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3. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jarek Adamski · Tue, 26 Apr 2005 10:21
Cytowanie bryankvines <[email]>:
> There hasn't been a message posted here in weeks.
> What's everybody been up to? :)
Well, I'm working on http://8bit.yarek.pl. There
are 218 people registered.
http://8bit.yarek.pl/profile/countries/
I've made the auctions list:
http://8bit.yarek.pl/profile/alist/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/profile/aold/
And the 8bit auction registration:
http://8bit.yarek.pl/profile/aedit/
Made some new pages:
http://8bit.yarek.pl/interface/yabus.zxisa/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/upgrade/zx.roms/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/interface/zx.parallel/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/interface/zx.packet/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/interface/zx.interface2/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/upgrade/zx.dock/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/upgrade/msx.mapper/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/upgrade/svi.msx2/
http://8bit.yarek.pl/upgrade/cpc.cpc4mb/
Some are still unfinished, like BEU page. Also
I have ideas for new interfaces.
Wrote some new topics on the forum, e.g about
the links:
http://8bit.yarek.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62
I've upgraded the ordering system and optimized
some keywords to show the service in searchers
as one of the first:
Google: CPCISA, Unipolbrit, FDD 3000, 8bit IDE
MSN: Timex 2048, Timex 2068, Timex Computer
Yahoo: ZX Spectrum IDE (15th)
And finally - I hope to finish soon the pending
orders for YAMOD.ATBUS, YAMOD.AYLPT and YABUS.ZX.
--
Jarek Adamski
4. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jeff Burrell · Tue, 26 Apr 2005 20:19
Well, I'm in the middle of another design project at work. After 8 to 10 hours of analog and digital circuit design, I just come home and veg out - the old brain just doesn't want to look at schematics any more. I haven't even been working on my 2068 port for the C-One for the past couple of months. Seems like when I hit 45, I can't pull the all-nighters like I used to when I was a young and spry 40. ;)
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5. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Wed, 27 Apr 2005 04:39
well theres plenty of websites advertising
viagra!
- talking about cicuit diagrams yarek sent me an
email claiming the timex fdd2000 3½inch drive for
the timex caould shift 200K bytes per second
seems rather odd i read that it could only format
a disc to 320 K so one and a bit seconds to read
the entire disc?
faster than the MB-02+ interface and without a
DMA!
just went to the Zilog office here in Hong Kong
was hoping to purchase an ez80 tcp/ip board but
yes you've guessed it - yet another hardware
manufacturing company who really don't quite know
what to do when a customer walks through the door
- don't worry they didn't sell me anything - God
forbid!
I was so sick and tired of the lack of customer
support in the PC world that I would do just
about anything to avoid buying another sodding
pc!
I was even thinking about downloading the MB-02+
schematics and Sam Coupé and then trying to
figure out how to connect the two sodding
things...
mind you I can get no information about the
MB-02+out of the website it is featured on.
So it looks like I'm going to try to buy a pc -
though I would like an AMD sempron 2600 as the
clock speed is only 1.6GHz so there might be a
chance that I could get it to work in my old
ECS/VIA K7VZA main board which is back in the UK
though that claims to have an Front Side Bus
running at 200Mhz - and this new sodding sempron
processor says it has an FSB of 333Mhz
wierd isn't it you'd think that a good hardware
manufacturer would allow upgrades and down grades
as standard - I still cant figure out how my
mainboards manual claims to have and fsb of
200mhz when I'm using 133SDRAM and the Bios says
the multiplier for the Duron 600Mhz processor is
set to 6 x 100Mhz and the Turbo RAM mode doesnt
work though the RAM clock speed is set to 133Mhz
what a weird set of completely separate
individual companies so that no single supplier
has to accept responsibility - rather like the so
called broadband internet connection here
advertised by PCCW (a hong kong telecoms company)
as 6M 6 megabits per second which is?
dont you have to divide by 8 and then by 1024 to
work it out? so isnt that around 732K bytes per
second though it actually seems to download
around 50K per second so do we offer customers
money back on the unused bandwidth - as the total
used bandwidth is easily calulable and
monitorable by the wretched machines - at that
speed the 224 hong kong dollars per month should
be reduced to HK$20 or so and at HK$15 to the
£pound streling that makes internet access a
little more a affordable rahter than the US$30
per month the buggers are charging!
Apologies for language - sick of being robbed by
telecoms companies - you cant even send free sms
text messages from the internet anymore!
all the best in 2068 land
¡¢£¤¥¦§¨©ª«¬®¯°±²³´¶µ·¸¹º»¼½¾¿ÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÈÉÊ
~}|z{x0ÉÊËÉÌÍÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÙÚÛÜÝßÞàáâãäåæçèé
--- Jeff Burrell <[email]> wrote:
> Well, I'm in the middle of another design
> project at work. After 8 to 10 hours of analog
> and digital circuit design, I just come home
> and veg out - the old brain just doesn't want
> to look at schematics any more. I haven't even
> been working on my 2068 port for the C-One for
> the past couple of months. Seems like when I
> hit 45, I can't pull the all-nighters like I
> used to when I was a young and spry 40. ;)
>
>
__________________________________________________
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> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
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6. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jarek Adamski · Wed, 27 Apr 2005 10:06
Hi Roger!
Cytowanie r <[email]>:
> well theres plenty of websites advertising
> viagra!
And I dete several such e-mails daily...
> - talking about cicuit diagrams yarek sent me an
> email claiming the timex fdd2000 3˝inch drive for
> the timex caould shift 200K bytes per second
Huh? FDC can send at 250000bps=30.5kB/s, the WD2123
serial interface can make transmittions at 307200bps=
30kB/s, while the maximal transfer from YAMOD.ATBUS
and harddisk (using only Z80CPU) is 260kB/s (using
Z80DMA could be 7 times faster).
> mind you I can get no information about the
> MB-02+out of the website it is featured on.
I wait now to get CD with projects by Benjamin
Versteeg (from Netherlands), who worked to make
the MB-04 and some other things.
http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/
He also owns parts to build MB-02/MB-04 and asked
me to make one for him if I could finish the boards.
--
Jarek Adamski
7. Re: So...How's everyone doing?
Eric Johnson · Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:54
Well, It seems everyone was waiting on someone else to break the ice
and send out the first message. Thanks Bryan! I know what you mean
Jeff, I'm struggling to catch up to what I knew 15 - 18 years ago
in the Timex world. I look at some of the hardware projects
(memory) I did back then and think to my self "How the hell did I do
that?" and I'm closing in on 59. The truth of the matter is It's
not the computer and how 'up to date it is' or 'what can I do with
it'. It's the sense of comrodery and belonging to a like minded
group of friends that keeps the love of the 2068 going. I enjoy
hearing how each of you originally got into computing and where it's
led us to. We have such a diverse group here from many nations and
backgrounds all with a single common purpose, to keep the computer
we love and cherish alive and vibrant. Well, enough soap box for me.
Eric
-- In [email], Jeff Burrell <jburrell7@y...> wrote:
> Well, I'm in the middle of another design project at work. After
8 to 10 hours of analog and digital circuit design, I just come home
and veg out - the old brain just doesn't want to look at schematics
any more. I haven't even been working on my 2068 port for the C-One
for the past couple of months. Seems like when I hit 45, I can't
pull the all-nighters like I used to when I was a young and spry
40. ;)
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
8. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jack Boatwright · Wed, 27 Apr 2005 09:41
Jeff said:
> Seems like when I hit 45, I can't pull the all-nighters like I
> used to when I was a young and spry 40. ;)
Just wait until you pass 55 ...
Jack
9. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Thu, 28 Apr 2005 04:09
cheers yarek thanks for the link sent benjamin
versteeg a mail
so now the mb-02+ can only format to 1.8 MB is
that 1960K bytes then?
--- Jarek Adamski <[email]> wrote:
>
> Hi Roger!
>
> Cytowanie r <[email]>:
>
> > well theres plenty of websites advertising
> > viagra!
> And I dete several such e-mails daily...
>
> > - talking about cicuit diagrams yarek sent me
> an
> > email claiming the timex fdd2000 3½inch drive
> for
> > the timex caould shift 200K bytes per second
> Huh? FDC can send at 250000bps=30.5kB/s, the
> WD2123
> serial interface can make transmittions at
> 307200bps=
> 30kB/s, while the maximal transfer from
> YAMOD.ATBUS
> and harddisk (using only Z80CPU) is 260kB/s
> (using
> Z80DMA could be 7 times faster).
>
> > mind you I can get no information about the
> > MB-02+out of the website it is featured on.
> I wait now to get CD with projects by Benjamin
> Versteeg (from Netherlands), who worked to make
> the MB-04 and some other things.
> http://www.benophetinternet.nl/hobby/
>
> He also owns parts to build MB-02/MB-04 and
> asked
> me to make one for him if I could finish the
> boards.
>
> --
> Jarek Adamski
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> [email]
>
>
>
>
>
>
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
10. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jarek Adamski · Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:19
Cytowanie r <[email]>:
> thanks for the link sent benjamin versteeg a mail
I got a CD from him with 500MB of documentation
and projects. He is busy now. I need some time
to browse this all. Now I will continue his work.
:)
> so now the mb-02+ can only format to 1.8 MB is
> that 1960K bytes then?
This is 1804kB - the diskimages size.
But the floppy disk go to the past. The floppy
disk is more expensive than a CD.
--
Jarek Adamski
11. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Fri, 29 Apr 2005 04:53
cheers yarek
dont quite understand the 8bit or sintech website
said it could handle 1960 k on a high density
disc
they also spoke anbout 50k transfer per second
but your disc interface for the sam is faster
no?
but why cant your format a high density disc?
--- Jarek Adamski <[email]> wrote:
> Cytowanie r <[email]>:
>
> > thanks for the link sent benjamin versteeg a
> mail
> I got a CD from him with 500MB of documentation
> and projects. He is busy now. I need some time
> to browse this all. Now I will continue his
> work.
> :)
>
> > so now the mb-02+ can only format to 1.8 MB
> is
> > that 1960K bytes then?
> This is 1804kB - the diskimages size.
>
> But the floppy disk go to the past. The floppy
> disk is more expensive than a CD.
>
> --
> Jarek Adamski
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> [email]
>
>
>
>
>
>
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
12. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
Jarek Adamski · Fri, 29 Apr 2005 11:38
Cytowanie r <[email]>:
> cheers yarek
> dont quite understand the 8bit or sintech website
> said it could handle 1960 k on a high density
> disc
1804 is geometry 82*2*11*1kB or 82*2*22*512B,
1960 doesn't give any sensible geometry
(40*7*7). The possible could be 82*2*12*1kB=1968kB,
but I'm not sure if this is possible. I managed to
put 5.5kB per track on a DD disk, what gives 11kB
per track on HD/QD disk.
12kB per track? The clock is 500000kHz, the spin is
5 times a second, so the track length is 100000 bits
= 12500 bytes = 12.2kB. This would 1041 data bytes
per sector, what means 17 extra bytes for sector
ID, gaps, CRC... I don't belive.
> they also spoke anbout 50k transfer per second
> but your disc interface for the sam is faster
> no?
The FDC offers 30.5kB/s from DD disk and 61kB/s
from HD/QD disk. This is raw transfer and doesn't
include moving head and waiting for the proper
sector to be under head. So, the 50kB/s is
possible. (This even doesn't need DMA.)
The FDC used in Sam is DD one, thus can be
replaced with HD/QD one. The Z80 is faster enough
to get the 61kB/s without DMA.
> but why cant your format a high density disc?
The clock for FDC in Sam is 8MHz, what gives
double density (DD). For high/quadraple density
(HD/QD) the clock must be 16MHz. The FDC in Sam
isn't designed for 16MHz clock. That's all.
I tend to use Compact Flash, Smart Media Cards,
SD cards or something other, as they are more
useful now than floppy disks.
But the cheapst way is to use harddisks (you
save $60, having the same disk capacity).
--
Jarek Adamski
13. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Sat, 30 Apr 2005 05:01
but isnt the colin pigot quazar guy designing a
24mhz accelerator?!
yeah reckon your right about the hard disc...
next on the list
whats the best interface you said your one could
shift 6MB per second thats movie capable speed
no?
--- Jarek Adamski <[email]> wrote:
> Cytowanie r <[email]>:
>
> > cheers yarek
> > dont quite understand the 8bit or sintech
> website
> > said it could handle 1960 k on a high density
> > disc
> 1804 is geometry 82*2*11*1kB or 82*2*22*512B,
> 1960 doesn't give any sensible geometry
> (40*7*7). The possible could be
> 82*2*12*1kB=1968kB,
> but I'm not sure if this is possible. I managed
> to
> put 5.5kB per track on a DD disk, what gives
> 11kB
> per track on HD/QD disk.
>
> 12kB per track? The clock is 500000kHz, the
> spin is
> 5 times a second, so the track length is 100000
> bits
> = 12500 bytes = 12.2kB. This would 1041 data
> bytes
> per sector, what means 17 extra bytes for
> sector
> ID, gaps, CRC... I don't belive.
>
>
> > they also spoke anbout 50k transfer per
> second
> > but your disc interface for the sam is faster
> > no?
> The FDC offers 30.5kB/s from DD disk and 61kB/s
> from HD/QD disk. This is raw transfer and
> doesn't
> include moving head and waiting for the proper
> sector to be under head. So, the 50kB/s is
> possible. (This even doesn't need DMA.)
>
> The FDC used in Sam is DD one, thus can be
> replaced with HD/QD one. The Z80 is faster
> enough
> to get the 61kB/s without DMA.
>
>
> > but why cant your format a high density disc?
> The clock for FDC in Sam is 8MHz, what gives
> double density (DD). For high/quadraple density
> (HD/QD) the clock must be 16MHz. The FDC in Sam
> isn't designed for 16MHz clock. That's all.
>
> I tend to use Compact Flash, Smart Media Cards,
> SD cards or something other, as they are more
> useful now than floppy disks.
>
> But the cheapst way is to use harddisks (you
> save $60, having the same disk capacity).
>
> --
> Jarek Adamski
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> [email]
>
>
>
>
>
>
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
14. Re: [ts2068] So...How's everyone doing?
r · Sat, 30 Apr 2005 05:21
was gonna try to build another pc
but im sure the 2.6 GHz sempron processor will
not be compatible with my ecs via k7vza rev 1.0
mainboard!
so theres no point might just try to go for a
couple of 64 bit processors and the sli graphics
card interface maybe install linux and try to get
a graphics card ATI as i have had some dire
experiences with Miocro Star Internationals
Geforce 4 MX440 VTD with video input and output
(namely it doesnt work and the software corrupts
the main boards bios!)
so will try for a couple of 512mb graphics cards
then maybe install linux and try to get the thing
capable of reading and displaying magenetic
resonance iamaging scans from an mri machine
though im sure itll need a pretty high spec
machine!
roll on ASIC II for sam!
why someone doesnt develop an asic capable of
24bit colour palete but also capapble of
displaying mixed graphic modes on a single line i
rekon its the only way that compression and
memory restrictions will improve the quality of
digital images without increasing the amount of
staorage space by large amounts- after all if a
256 colour pallete taken from the 24 bit tru
colour pallete can be displayed each 256 pixels
then the display problem for 8 bit machines is
solved and if the display could use low
resolution screens at the same time or fewer
colour resolution screens at the same time in
order to reduce resolution without image quality
loss - add a few other tricks like rotations and
pattern analysis and surel;y a much superior
video compression would be capable than the
sodding mpeg II shite(oops sorry rubbish!)
the thing would only need to add mpeg3
compression encoding and unencoding and the
ability for the resolution to display HDTV and
you'd be ahead of the idiots in the pc market!
they cant even make an internal modem use hardwar
or have Audio Modem Riser, CNR and PCI
connections on the same circuit board ! surely
you could put the pci connection on the top of
the modem card and the cnr and amr on the bottom!
surely some clever coder could get v.32 modems
transferring data at their top whack 234 Kbps -
isnt that around 28K bytes per second sheesh a
round five telephone lines and you have a maximum
faster than a lot of broadband services i've had
the misfortune of using - especially in
afghanistan china and pakistan where the
connection is dreadfully slow and makes anyone
putting pictures on a website look like a baffoon
and not only that but the govt there blocks
certain websites - like the bbc - rather like in
the hong kong library where the World of Spectrum
archive website is blocked can you believe it!
--- r <[email]> wrote:
---------------------------------
but isnt the colin pigot quazar guy designing a
24mhz accelerator?!
yeah reckon your right about the hard disc...
next on the list
whats the best interface you said your one could
shift 6MB per second thats movie capable speed
no?
--- Jarek Adamski <[email]> wrote:
> Cytowanie r <[email]>:
>
> > cheers yarek
> > dont quite understand the 8bit or sintech
> website
> > said it could handle 1960 k on a high density
> > disc
> 1804 is geometry 82*2*11*1kB or 82*2*22*512B,
> 1960 doesn't give any sensible geometry
> (40*7*7). The possible could be
> 82*2*12*1kB=1968kB,
> but I'm not sure if this is possible. I managed
> to
> put 5.5kB per track on a DD disk, what gives
> 11kB
> per track on HD/QD disk.
>
> 12kB per track? The clock is 500000kHz, the
> spin is
> 5 times a second, so the track length is 100000
> bits
> = 12500 bytes = 12.2kB. This would 1041 data
> bytes
> per sector, what means 17 extra bytes for
> sector
> ID, gaps, CRC... I don't belive.
>
>
> > they also spoke anbout 50k transfer per
> second
> > but your disc interface for the sam is faster
> > no?
> The FDC offers 30.5kB/s from DD disk and 61kB/s
> from HD/QD disk. This is raw transfer and
> doesn't
> include moving head and waiting for the proper
> sector to be under head. So, the 50kB/s is
> possible. (This even doesn't need DMA.)
>
> The FDC used in Sam is DD one, thus can be
> replaced with HD/QD one. The Z80 is faster
> enough
> to get the 61kB/s without DMA.
>
>
> > but why cant your format a high density disc?
> The clock for FDC in Sam is 8MHz, what gives
> double density (DD). For high/quadraple density
> (HD/QD) the clock must be 16MHz. The FDC in Sam
> isn't designed for 16MHz clock. That's all.
>
> I tend to use Compact Flash, Smart Media Cards,
> SD cards or something other, as they are more
> useful now than floppy disks.
>
> But the cheapst way is to use harddisks (you
> save $60, having the same disk capacity).
>
> --
> Jarek Adamski
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> [email]
>
>
>
>
>
>
Send instant messages to your online friends
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ts2068/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to:
[email]
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the
Yahoo! Terms of Service.
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