As far as I understood, there's a 8Kb ROM in the controller cards of Jasmin and Microdisc systems.
My question is: apart from this, are the controller cards different?
Would it be possible to have only 1 controller card and swap the ROMs to have the two systems?
Or even better, switch from one ROM to the other?
Simple curiosity.
Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
Also the FDC registers are mapped at different addresses...
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
They have different versions of the disk controller chip, they also use different registers for the interface I believe.
The bottom line is, it would be possible to abstract that very easily in software, so a Sedoric that runs on Jasmin is doable with some patching, but the low level code that access the hardware is different.
The bottom line is, it would be possible to abstract that very easily in software, so a Sedoric that runs on Jasmin is doable with some patching, but the low level code that access the hardware is different.
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
Ok thanks. So anyone willing to have Jasmin and Microdisc drives in a single PC case will have to install both controllers, and up to 8 floppy drives
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
I guess technically it would probably be possible to make a system where the same 4 drives are connected to both disk controllers with some kind of switch on the flat cableSymoon wrote:Ok thanks. So anyone willing to have Jasmin and Microdisc drives in a single PC case will have to install both controllers, and up to 8 floppy drives
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
You're right, though I just wondered if the Jasmin system is not limited to 2 drives. Not sure about this.
EDIT: just checked, it's four for Jasmin too \o/
EDIT: just checked, it's four for Jasmin too \o/
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Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
I'm not sure Jasmin+Microdisc will work flawlessly side by side. Anyway you will need a special DOS that will manage both.
If I remember correctly, the Jasmin need a precise IRQ handler, where the microdisc can be a bit more slowly, and so on.
Same, I'm not sure there is a way to know if the IRQ come from the Microdisc or the Jasmin...
If I remember correctly, the Jasmin need a precise IRQ handler, where the microdisc can be a bit more slowly, and so on.
Same, I'm not sure there is a way to know if the IRQ come from the Microdisc or the Jasmin...
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Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
To me the idea was just to choose, either Jasmin, etiher Microdisc (with a switch, connecting the 4 drives to one or the other controller card), then boot.
Having both together... Didn't even think of that
Having both together... Didn't even think of that
Re: Hadware ignorant question - Jasmin / Microdisc
I thing it's possible if manage IO signal - to go to Jasmin or to Microdisc. The question is if you want to make new controllers or you have both. If you have them I thing it's not difficult to build, but if you not, I don't know if it's possible to build new Jasmin, because of the PAL program. We have the schematics, but is there anywhere PAL content? If there is I thing it's not impossible to build dual controller. I thing to move my Microdisc compatible controller:
http://forum.defence-force.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=953
to CPLD somewhere in the future. Then it's not impossible to add Jasmin content.
http://forum.defence-force.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=953
to CPLD somewhere in the future. Then it's not impossible to add Jasmin content.