CPCWiki - THE Amstrad CPC encyclopedia! - User contributions [en]

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2007-02-06T22:17:20Z

145.254.114.168: /* Did you know? */ even more ;-)

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== Welcome to the Amstrad CPC Wiki! ==
This site hopes to evolve into an encyclopaedia on all things [[Amstrad]] [[CPC]] related. There are now '''[[Special:Allpages|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles]]''' around the CPC available. Feel free to [[help:editing|contribute]] or post your [[suggestions]] here, or in the [[discussion]] page!<br><br>

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=== CPC related news ===

The six last CPC related news.

* 10/01/2007: [[FutureView]] IV has been re-released with some changes!
* 07/01/2007: [[Croco Chanel N°4]] Very important CPC meeting near Paris from 4,5 & 6 May 2007
* 06/01/2007: New version of [[WinCPC]] with lots of nice details
* 29/12/2006: [[News:Area_51_converted_from_the_ZX_Spectrum_to_the_Amstrad_CPC|Area 51]] has been converted from the ZX Spectrum by Nicholas Campbell
* 28/12/2006: [[Hermol]] has released a [http://cpcrulez.free.fr/Scene_Demos/index.php?download=x-mas_2006 demo] for Christmas 2006.
* 28/12/2006: [[CPCE]] v1.71 has been released
* 27/12/2006: [[SymbOS]] 1.1 released, with MSX2 support.
* 24/12/2006: [http://retroremakes.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=8545 Sorcery Plus] remake for the PC, based on the CPC version (of course!)!!!

<div style="text-align: right;"><small>'''All [[News_and_Projects|CPC news]]'''</small></div></div>

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=== Become an Author! ===
We are searching for authors of the following articles:
* [[Grim]]
* [[MicroDesign]]
* [[Gate Array]]
* [[RSX]]
* [[Genesis 8]]
<div style="text-align: right;"><small>'''All [[Special:Wantedpages|wanted articles]]''' | [[:Category:Stub|Extendable Stubs]]<br />'''[[List of most active contributors]]'''</small></div>
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=== Where are you from? ===

Help clarify the nationality of CPCWIKI users!
Participate in the pool on the cpcwiki forum.

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=== Did you know? ===
* With a possible total amount of '''768 x 270 pixel''' (540 interlaced) the [[CPC]] was the 8bit homecomputer with the highest screen resolution ever.
* '''OpenOffice''' for Windows/Linux is a direct descendant of [[Star-Division|StarWriter]] for the CPC.
* The transfer speed of the [[CPC Booster|CPC Booster +]] serial interface is faster than a standard '''DSL connection'''.
* [[SymbOS]] can handle more than '''50 times''' bigger hard discs than MS Windows 95A.
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=== CPCWiki updates ===
* The CPCWiki now uses about '''2.2 GigaBytes''' for file- and article-storage and about '''1.7 GB Traffic'''! WOW!
*'''Merry Christmas''', '''Happy New Year''' and much success in 2007 to all CPCWiki contributors and CPC users! Let's make 2007 to a great year for the CPC again! -- [[User:Prodatron|Prodatron]] 00:45, 25 December 2006 (CET)
*Woo-hoo! '''10.000''' hits and going!!!
*New gallery software has been [http://www.cpcwiki.eu/gallery installed]! Please upload your pictures there!
*As of yesterday, we now have a dedicated [http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum '''forum'''] where we can discuss all things related to the wiki, since it's much more useable than discussion pages. Please do drop by!!! [[User:Gryzor|Gryzor]] 09:03, 22 November 2006 (CET)
*Finally, and thanks to [[User:ChaRleyTroniC|ChaRleyTroniC]]'s advice, file uploading has been fixed. You can now up mp3, dsk, png, zip, rar, pdf and ogg files! Any other file you'd like to see? [[Suggestions|Tell us so]]!!! [[User:Gryzor|Gryzor]] 15:52, 17 November 2006 (CET)
* Today our wiki has passed the '''1000 article''' point!!! So many thanks to everyone who has made this possible... let's just try and fill all those stubs :) [[User:Gryzor|Gryzor]] 13:45, 25 October 2006 (CEST)
* Add the CPCWiki to '''your Homepage'''. Check out [[About#Wiki-Napping]] and start napping this Wiki.
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SYMBiFACE II

2006-12-07T02:52:52Z

145.254.110.94:

== Introduction ==

[[Image:Cpc-ide.jpg|200px|thumb|Prototype of the CPC-IDE interface]]

In autumn 2004 the "CPC-IDE" was developed by [[Dr.Zed]] with financial support of [[Octoate]] and [[Tolkin]]. It is the first hardware solution ever that allowed connection of IDE-harddrives and CF-cards to the CPC with the maximum possible data transfer speed. Technically the CPC-IDE interface was based on the GIDE IDE interface by Tilmann Reh.

It was fully working, but still had a prototype state, so only 10 pieces have been produced. Some people should write software first, before the final version would be released. So fully IDE-support for [[Disc_format|FAT]]16 and FAT32 harddiscs has been implemented in [[SymbOS]] until Xmas 2004.

After working successfully, [[Dr.Zed]] and [[Prodatron]] made plans for a second version, which includes a lot of more extensions. So the '''SYMBiFACE II''' is not only an IDE interface anymore. It merges the CPC with current PC technology.

== Features ==

[[Image:Symbiface2.gif|400px|thumb|SYMBiFACE II with description]]

CPC SYMBiFACE II contains the optimal solution for connecting a CPC with an IDE harddisc. It provides the maximum - both for the performance and for the simpleness in accessing the harddisc.

''IDE Features''

* Supports IDE-Harddiscs with up to 128GB
* Bigger HDDs or CD/DVD drives support possible with drivers
* Simultaneous operation of two harddiscs (master and slave):for a total of up to 256GB on your CPC!
* Transfer speed of 162KByte/s: That's as fast as copying memory inside the CPC with LDIR. In practice (loading FAT16/32 files) the speed is still about 130KB/s ([[SymbOS]]-FAT-driver).
* External power supply required: no extra load for the CPC's internal PSU
* No timing problems: Interrupts don't need to be disabled during the data transfer with the harddisc. The harddisc can operate while you play sound or doing other things with your CPC (multitasking etc.).
* Traffic activity display via a LED on the board

'' Additional Features''

* 512KB RAM extension, which is fully compatible with the CPC [[6128]] and the [[dk'tronics]] ram extension
* 512KB rewriteable ROM. You can upload up to 32 ROMs, which are persistant. You can also use the ROM space as an additional RAM extension. ROMs can be switched on or off via switches or via software.
* PS/2 mouse connector. This makes it possible to connect wireless and optical mouses to your CPC.
* Realtime clock, which is fully PC compatible and provides additional 128 byte persistant RAM, which can be used to store config data.

== Rom-Manager ==

[[Image:sf2romman.gif|thumb|320px|SYMBiFACE II rom manager]]

SYMBiFACE II includes a rom manager software, which runs under [[SymbOS]]. This tool is needed for displaying, loading, saving and deleting of the 32 x 16K ROMs.

* A preview of a program with the same name ("[[ROManager]]") is available for [[FutureOS]]. It allows the complete backup and restoration of all 32 ROMs and loading, saving, testing, copying, shifting, erasing and (un)parking single ROMs. It supports the languages German, English, French and Spanish.

== See also ==

* [[Programming:SYMBiFACE II|SYMBiFACE II documents]]
* [http://www.symbos.de/sf2.htm SYMBiFACE II homepage]

[[Category:Hardware]] [[Category:Peripherals]] [[Category:SymbOS]] [[Category:Memory expansions]]

SYMBiFACE II:IDE routines

2006-11-10T17:12:21Z

145.254.112.66: added 48bit LBA routine (just for demonstration)

These are the core [[SYMBiFACE II]] IDE low level routines of [[SymbOS]], written by [[Prodatron]]. They show how to read and write sectors from/to an IDE device.

<pre>
;==============================================================================
;### IDE-HARDDISC-ROUTINES ####################################################
;==============================================================================

ideprtsta equ #fd0f ;Portaddress + #f (Status/Command)
ideprtsdh equ #fd0e ;Portaddress + #e (SDH)
ideprtdat equ #fd08 ;Portaddress + #8 (Data)
ideprterr equ #fd09 ;Portaddress + #9 (Error)
ideprtdig equ #fd06 ;Portaddress + #6 (Digital-Output)

;### IDEADR -> set address
;### Input HL=Track, E=Sector, D=SDH (head, drive, mode), B=number of sectors
;### Output CF=0 -> ok
;### CF=1 -> A=error code (...)
;### Destroyed AF,BC
ideadr call ideadr0
ret c
dec c
out (c),h ;Track High
dec c
out (c),l ;Track Low
dec c
out (c),e ;Sector
dec c
out (c),a ;number of Sectors
ret
ideadr0 call iderdy
ret c
push bc
ld bc,ideprtsdh
out (c),d ;write SDH-Register
call iderdy
jr c,ideadr1
pop af ;A=number of sectors
or a
ret
ideadr1 pop bc
ret

;### IDECMD -> Send command
;### Input A=Command
;### Destroyed BC
idecmd ld bc,ideprtsta
out (c),a
ret

;### IDERDY -> Wait, until IDE-drive is ready for command
;### Output CF=0 -> ok, CF=1 -> error (A=code)
;### Destroyed AF
iderdy push bc
push hl
ld bc,ideprtsta
ld hl,256*60
iderdy1 in a,(c)
and #80
jr z,iderdy2
dec l
jr nz,iderdy1
call subslp
dec h
jr nz,iderdy1
iderdy3 ld a,stoerrabo
scf
iderdy2 pop hl
pop bc
ret

;### IDEDRQ -> wait for "Data Request"
;### Output BC=Portnumber of the Status Register
;### Destroyed AF
idedrq ld bc,ideprtsta
idedrq1 in a,(c)
and #08
jr z,idedrq1
ret

;### IDERED -> read 512Bytes
;### Input HL=destination address
;### Output HL=address behind destination
;### Destroyed AF,BC
idered call idedrq
ld bc,ideprtdat
ld a,512/32
idered1 ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b
ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b
ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b
ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b:ini:inc b
dec a
jr nz,idered1
ret

;### IDEWRT -> write 512Bytes
;### Input HL=source address
;### Output HL=addresse behind source
;### Destroyed AF,BC
idewrt call idedrq ;wait for ready
ld bc,ideprtdat ;bc=IDE data port
ld a,512/32
idewrt1 inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi
inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi
inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi
inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi:inc b:outi
dec a
jr nz,idewrt1
ret

;### IDEERR -> check error status
;### Output CF=0 -> ok (A=0 everthing is fine, A=1 data needed to be corrected),
;### CF=1 -> error (A=code, 6=error while read/write, 7=error while positioning, 8=abort, 9=unknown)
;### Destroyed BC
ideerr ld bc,ideprtsta
in a,(c)
and 1+4
ret z ;CF=0, A=0 -> ok
cp 4
ld a,1 ;CF=0, A=1 -> ok, but with data correction
ret z
ld bc,ideprterr
in a,(c)
ld c,a
ld b,6
and 128+64 ;Sector unreadable/BadMarkedSector -> error while read/write
jr nz,ideerr1
ld a,c
inc b
and 2+16 ;Track0 not found/wrong SectorNum -> error while positioning
jr nz,ideerr1
inc b
bit 2,c ;Command Aborted -> abort
jr nz,ideerr1
inc b ;everything else -> unknown
ideerr1 ld a,b
scf
ret

;### IDE48B -> set 48bit address
;### Eingabe IX[32-47],HL[16-31],DE[0-15]=Sectornumber, A=SDH, B=Number of Sectors
;### Output CF=0 -> ok
;### CF=1 -> A=error code (...)
;### Destroyed AF,BC,DE
ide48b push af ;4
call iderdy ; wait for ready before SDH write
jr c,ide48b1 ;2
pop af ;3
ld c,a ;1
push bc ;4
ld bc,ideprtsdh ;3
or #0f ;2
dec a ;1
out (c),a ;4 write SDH Register (low bytes)
call iderdy ; wait for ready after SDH write (maybe this can be skipped)
jr c,ide48b1 ;2
dec c ;1
out (c),l ;4 LBA 16-23
dec c ;1
out (c),d ;4 LBA 08-15
dec c ;1
out (c),e ;4 LBA 00-07
ld bc,ideprtsdh ;3
pop de ;3
inc e ;1
out (c),a ;4 write SDH Register (high bytes)
dec c ;1
db #dd:ld a,h ;2
out (c),a ;4 LBA 40-47
dec c ;1
db #dd:ld a,l ;2
out (c),a ;4 LBA 32-39
dec c ;1
out (c),h ;4 LBA 24-31
dec c ;1
out (c),d ;4 Sector count
ret ;3 -> 79 microseconds
ide48b1 pop bc ;Return on Error
ret

</pre>

== See also ==

* [[Programming:SYMBiFACE_II|SYMBiFACE II documentations]]

[[Category:Programming]]

News:Burgparty 2 will take place in december in Germany

2006-10-09T21:39:28Z

145.254.114.68: /* Expected participants */

[[Image:freusburg.gif|thumb|330px|The Freusburg in Kirchen/Germany]]

'''03. September 2006'''

While the [[Burgparty 1]] was the first german CPC party of 2006, the [[Burgparty 2]] will be the last one of this year.

== Where and When? ==

It will take place...
* Location: '''Kirchen (Sieg)'''
* Start: '''Friday, 01.12.2006'''
* End: '''Sunday, 03.12.2006'''

The location is the '''Freusburg''' in Kirchen, which is an old castle from the middle age. This castle is now used as a youth hostel, which has some very big advantages for beeing a party place. Kirchen itself is close to Siegen (one hour from Cologne in east direction).

== How? ==

Like last time the party will feature a complete all-inclusive-package:
* Breakfast and lunch at saturday and sunday
* Dinner at saturday
* a real bed for the two nights
* and of course a very nice historical environment ;-)
...for the costs of about 48 Euros.

== Costs and Registration ==

Unfortunately that also means, that we have to pay the costs for the youth hostel again in advance. So it is necessary, that all registered persons have to transfer the money even in advance to the organisators
Bankaccount.

As the Internet is a very insecure place, we can not place a Bank-adress inhere public :-/
So please send an eMail to > drzed A T ngi D O T de < if you want to registrate yourself for the Burgparty II.
ASAP after i got your eMail, i'll send you my bank-account, so that you can transfer
the above-mentioned 48 Euro onto it.
Please use "BurgPartyII Registration, %your-name%" as the Subject in your Registration-eMail!

For questions you also may contact Prodatron: mika A T prodatron D O T net

The deadline for the registrations is the 18.09.2006. We can't guarantee to accept later registrations, as the managers of the youth hostel force us to pay one week after the reservation.

== Web links ==

* [http://www.jewa-media.de/kunden/jugend-sommercamp/freusburg.html Information about the Freusburg (German)]
* [http://www.hostelz.com/l/de/hostel/20805-Jugendherberge-Freusburg Information about the Freusburg (English)]
* [http://www.jewa-media.de/kunden/jugend-sommercamp/freusburgweg.html Location plan]

== Expected participants ==

* [[Brainblaster]]
* [[Dr.Zed]]
* [[Gert Genial]]
* [[Mr.Ams]]
* [[Prodatron]]
* [[TFM]]
* [[Tobias Zimmermann]]
* [[Tolkin]]
* [[Villain]]
* [[Xesrjb]]

Maybe:

* [[Dreamer]]

[[Category:News 2006-09]]