|
| Home > Computers and Hardware > |
| comp.sys.amstrad.8bit FAQ v1.27 1 / 16 1/1 |
Section 1 of 5 - Prev - Next
All sections - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
comp.sys.amstrad.8bit Frequently Asked Questions v1.27 (04/14/2002)
* The FAQ exists in english, french, german, spanish and dutch. The
* spanish and german translations arent up to date. They are are archived on :
- first site : http://www.genesis8bit.com
- second site : ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad
- FAQ archive (english text only) :
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/amstrad8bit-faq
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.sys.amstrad.8bit
The french translation was done by Pierre Guerrier and then by Pierre
Thevenet. Thanks to them.
This FAQ is posted twice a month on the 4th and 19th to
comp.sys.amstrad.8bit, and only once on the 4th to comp.answers and
news.answers
Lines preceded by '+' have been added since the last FAQ
Lines preceded by '*' have been modified since the last FAQ
This FAQ is written by :
- Emmanuel Roussin, roussin@noos.fr, section A (CPC), D (PcW16), E (PDA600)
- Mark Ray, h089@mth.uea.ac.uk, section B (Notepad)
- Frank van Empel fvempel@euronet.nl, section C (PCW)
If you have any ideas for the FAQ, send an email to the correct
person. About parts written by E.R., as english isn't my mother
tongue, this FAQ has certainly typing mistakes, grammar errors, etc...
I welcome the corrections.
This FAQ is freeware, you can use it freely for your personal use, but we
retain the copyright. For commercial use, you must ask our permission
before.
Parts of this FAQ are taken from the documentation of CPCEMU, some are
from the main faq keeper (E.R.) and Mark Ray (Notepad part), other
parts are taken from articles of the newsgroup, thanks to :
michaels@jake.unsw.edu.au
llopis@cs.unc.edu (Noel Llopis)
l21ba540@rz.unibw-muenchen.de (Robert Steindl)
ard@siva.bris.ac.uk
kmc56@cantva.canterbury.ac.nz (Kenneth Crawford)
simonh@cvcge.ic.ac.uk (Dr S.J. Harris)
ml322523@dingo.cc.uq.oz.au (Ben Williamson)
rrotz@ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu (rrotz)
nwc@kom.auc.dk (Peter Sorensen)
dave@altavista.net (David Long)
ksweber@cip.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Klaus Weber)
ian@caliban.org (Ian Macdonald)
iri@aber.ac.uk (IAN RODERIC IZETT)
amstrad@aiind.upv.es (K.E.W. Thacker)
slog@cix.compulink.co.uk (Roger Bradley)
matthew.phillips@christ-church.oxford.ac.uk
richard@systemed.u-net.com (Richard Fairhurst)
hubersn@lcs.wn.bawue.de (Steffen Huber)
dik@dix.teuto.de (Dirk Eismann)
makra@cip.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de (Martin Krausse)
guerrier@ecoledoc.lip6.fr (Pierre Guerrier)
prhunt@dyson.brisnet.org.au
gblancha@jonque.ens.fr (Gilles Blanchard)
cliffl@amstrad.com (Cliff Lawson)
phil_stewart@yahoo.com
s.j.matthews@btl.lhmc.ac.uk (Simon Matthews)
david@cantrell.org.uk (David Cantrell)
------------
Table of Contents
Introduction
A - Amstrad CPC
A0) Amstrad CPC(+), KC Compact and GX 4000 presentation
A1) Emulators and utilities
A1.1) emulators
A1.2) utilities
A2) Sources of emulators, ROMs, programs, new hardware/software
A2.0) IRC
A2.1) FTP
A2.2) WWW
A2.3) BBS
A2.4) Using programs with emulators or real CPC
A2.5) New hardware/software
A3) Transfer between CPC and PC
A3.1) 3" drive on PC
A3.2.1) 3,5" or 5,25" drive on CPC
A3.2.2) 3,5" or 5,25" drive on CPC+
A3.3) parallel cable
A3.4) RS 232 / RS 422 (Macintosh)
A3.5) Companies
A3.6) Tapes
A4) Maps, solutions, pokes, basic loaders
A4.1) Maps and Solutions
A4.2) Pokes
A4.3) Basic loaders
A5) Hardware problems
A5.1) Internal drive
A5.2) External drive
A5.3) Components
A6) How can I help the Amstrad world ?
A6.1) Updating the FAQ
A6.2) Commercial games becoming freeware
A6.3) Adding files to ftp.lip6.fr
A6.4) Updating ALL_CPC, ALL_HW, ALL_ROM, ALL_UTIL
A7) Programs
A7.1) Commercial programs which are now PD, freeware or shareware
A7.2) New non commercial games
A8) Useful addresses and information
A8.1) Snail mail addresses
A8.2) Information
A8.3) Email addresses
A9) Fanzines
A9.1) on paper
A9.2) on disk
A10) Additional hardware
A10.1) Hard disk
A10.2) Multiface II
A10.3) Rombox
A10.3.1) ROMCARD and RAMCARD
A10.3.2) Inicron ROM-RAM-BOX
A10.4) Sound Player 1 and 2
A10.5) Network
A10.6) Future OS
A10.7) Memory extensions
A10.7.1) 2 Mo RAM extension
A10.7.2) Inicron RAM-BOX
A10.8) Card Tridge
A10.9) CPC ISA
A10.10) Amstrad MP1 & MP2
A10.11) CD-ROM
A10.12) Mouse
A11) Upcoming CPC meetings
B - Amstrad Notepad (NC100/150/200)
B0) NC 100/150/200 presentation
B1) Emulators
B2) How can I buy one ?
B3) What peripherals can I use ?
B3.1) Printer
B3.2) Extra Memory
B3.3) Disks
B4) How do I connect it to a PC ?
B4.1) Which cable ?
B4.2) Settings
B4.3) Converting Word Processor Files
B4.4) How do I connect it to a BBC micro
B5) BASIC
B5.1) Where can I find basic programs ?
B5.2) Can I use the Word Processor to enter listings ?
B5.3) Can I make a program auto-run ?
B6) Other Programs
B7) I've just crashed it
B8) I've just broken it
B9) Where to ask help
B10) Internet resources
B11) Credits
C - PCW
C0) PCW presentation
C1) Emulators and utilities
C1.1.1) Joyce
C1.1.2) Joyce MAC
C1.1.3) M.E.S.S.
C1.2) Utilities
C2) Where can I find emulators and programs ?
C2.1) FTP sites
C2.2) WWW
C2.3) Various sources
C3) Transferring between PCW and PC
C3.1) 3.5" drive to a PCW
C3.2) LocoLink for Windows
C3.3) RS 232
C3.4) 3" drive on PC
C3.5) Acoustic communication
C4) Shops supporting PCW
C5) Hardware
C5.1) Printer
C5.2) Keyboard
C5.3) Disc drive
C6) Additional hardware
C6.1) Memory up to 51k2kb
C6.2) Memory beyond 512kb
C6.3) Interfaces (various purposes)
C6.4) ProScan
C6.5) MasterScan
C6.6) Electric Studio Light Pen
C6.7) Electric Studio Digitiser
C6.8) Robotics Hegatron Grafpad II
C6.9) Intergem interface
C6.10) Disc drives
C6.11) Hard disks
C6.12) Margin Maker
C6.13) Mice & other input devices
C6.14) Teqniche keyboard
C6.15) LocoLink & LocoLink for Windows
C6.16) d'kTronics sound synthesiser
C6.17) ISA card
C6.18) Various DIY layouts
C7) Fanzines
D) PcW 16
D0) PcW 16 presentation
D1) Emulators
D1.1) CP/M v2.2 and 3.1 for the PCW16
D1.2) M.E.S.S.
D2) Support
E - PDA600
E0) PDA600 presentation
F - CP/M
---------------------------
Introduction
The vote for the creation of this newsgroup passed on 28th July 1994
with 148:36, it was effectively created on 4th august 1994. It was the
idea of Marco Vieth and David Long.
This unmoderated newsgroup comp.sys.amstrad.8bit is open to
discussions about the Z80 Amstrad computers : CPC (464, 664, 6128,
464+, 6128+), GX4000, PCW (8256, 8512, 9256, 9512, 9512+, 10),
NC100/150/200 and PDA600.
Appropriate topics include, but are not limited to :
- CPC, GX4000, PCW, NC, PDA hardware and software,
- emulators,
- specific Amstrad CP/M files, overlays...
- ads for selling/buying the relative hardware and software.
etc...
The only topic that is excluded :
discussion of Amstrad PC-compatible (1512, 1640, 2x86, 3x86 and
others Amstrad compatible I don't know) because these computers
are really compatible, so comp.sys.ibm.pc.* newsgroups must be
used, especially comp.sys.ibm.pc.classic
For questions about these PC see http://web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson
For easier reading and filtering, please use the following tags at
the start of your subject line :
- announce posts : [announce]
- unrelated topic : [i]
- for buying items : [want to buy]
- for selling items : [want so sell]
- for post in another language : [french], [german], etc..., but put
a short summary in english to not ignore people who dont understand
your language, also you will get much more help if more people can
read your post.
A - Amstrad CPC
A0) Amstrad CPC(+), KC compact and GX 4000 presentation 10/26/2001
Amstrad made the following CPC systems :
- 1) CPC 464 (Arnold 1),
- 2) CPC 664 (Arnold 2),
- 3) CPC 6128 (Arnold 3), there was also a CPC6128 cost down (Arnold 4
which was identical in operation to the original 6128 but had a new
PCB and ASIC that reduced the board size and chip count to a mere
fraction of the original size. If you open up a 6128 and the board
fills the entire space you've got one of the originals. If you open
one up and the board only occupies about 1/4 to 1/3 of the available
space with a LOT of surrounding fresh air then you've got an Arnold 4.
- 4) CPC 464+ (Arnold 5),
- 5) CPC 6128+ (Arnold 6),
- 6) GX 4000, the Amstrad 8 bit console.
The CPC+ and GX 4000 have enhanced graphics and sound (DMA), colour
palette of 4096, hardware sprites, hardware scrolling, and used
128 Ko to 512 Ko carts.
Amstrad used CRTC (Cathodic Ray Tube Controller) from different
manufacturers, which worked the same in the main, but do have many
different characteristics. This is the reason why a demo designed
for CRTC type 1, may not display correctly (or even at all), on a
CRTC type 0 :
- CRTC 0 : chipset HD6845S,
- CRTC 1 : chipset UM6845R,
- CRTC 2 : chipset MC6845,
- CRTC 3 : CPC+ Asic,
- CRTC 4 : ?
The KC compact (KC mean KleinComputer = little computer) is a clone
of the Amstrad CPC. It was made by VEB Mikroelectronik in East Germany
(the old DDR) in 1989. It was made the year before the Berlin wall
came down, and ceased production soon after.
The KC compact is 95% compatible to the CPC. The functions of the
Gate-Array are simulated by TTL-Logic and a Zilog Z8536 CIO. The ROMs
are a patched English CPC6128 Operating system ROM (includes setup code
for the Z8536) and a unpatched Locomotive BASIC v1.1 rom.
The only incompatibility lies with the interrupt generation mechanism.
Any program that relies on exact interrupt generation behaviour may
fail to work.
In some respects, the KC compact is actually more powerful than the CPC,
because the interrupt frequency can be programmed, in theory the resolution
could be reprogrammed, and the colour palette changed (replacing the colour
rom). More details are available at
http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~amstrad
If you can read french and want to learn more about Amstrad CPC
history, you should order the excellent book "Ces ordinateurs sont
dangereux" by Fran‡ois Quentin (fquentin@club-internet.fr)
for 25 Euros (postage included, send an international postal order
by going to your post office) to :
Fran‡ois Quentin
9 Nonneville
28140 Loigny la Bataille
FRANCE
A1) Emulators and utilities
A1.1) emulators
There is a commercial spectrum emulator for the CPC, reviewed in
Amstrad Action.
The best emulator for DOS is Caprice32. For win9x, the emulators are
quite good : Arnold, Winape32 and MTMW. All win9x emulators emulates
CPC+, NO$CPC is the only DOS emulator which emulates CPC+.
On Amiga, Emu-CPC should be the best emulator.
A1.1.1) CPCEMU (PC) 06/25/98
CPCEMU by Marco Vieth, last version is 1.5b1, get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpcemu15.zip
A1.1.2) Caprice32 (PC) and CPE (for PC and Amiga) and 10/23/2001
CPE, first written by Bernd Schmidt and then by Ulrich Doewich
(report bugs, suggestions to caprice32@cybercube.com) since v5.1
Get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpe52.zip, or if you have a
386, get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpe51.zip
For sources : ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpesrc52.zip
CPE is now replaced by Caprice32, a 32bit emulator for dos (v1.11 or
2b2) or win9x (v3.0), get them at :
http://www.classicgaming.com/caprice
Amiga CPE (68000, 1 Mo), last version is February 95, get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/acpe_new.lzh
A1.1.3) A-CPC (PC) (06/01/97)
The Amstrad CPC emulator (v0.55beta) by Herman Dullink on PC, get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpc055.zip
Current beta version is v0.56
A1.1.4) PC-CPC (PC)
A PC v0.40 of AMI-CPC by Ludovic Deplanque (see A1.1.7), go
http://home.nordnet.fr/~ldeplanque or get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/pccpc040.lzh and
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/amicpcut.lzh
for conversion between .CPC and .DSK images disks.
A1.1.5) NO$CPC (PC) 02/04/2001
Another german emulator by Martin Korth, get the dos version :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/nocpc18d.zip
for win9x : ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/nocpc18w.zip
Go to http://www.work.de/nocash
A1.1.6) Richard Wilson's emulators 12/23/99
Richard Wilson (author of ParaDOS) wrote no less than 3 emulators, get
them at http://winape.emuunlim.com :
- RWCPC for msdos : ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/rwcpc.zip
- CPC emulator for windows 3.1, with debugger and assembler :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpcwin10.zip
- Win Ape 32, the CPC(+) emulator for win9x, it comes with
a built-in compatible Maxam assembler, get v1.8b at
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/winape18.zip
A1.1.7) AMI-CPC (Amiga) 02/15/98
A french CPC emulator for Amiga, by Ludovic Deplanque. Last version is
v0.46, get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/amicpc46.lzh,
includes sources. See http://www.chez.com/deplanque
A1.1.8) A-CPC (Amiga)
A CPC emulator for Amiga by Kevin Thacker. Get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/acpcde20.lha
It's an evaluation version of the real shareware. Don't forget the web
page of Kevin (see A2.2).
A1.1.9) Emu-CPC (Amiga) 04/15/99
Another french CPC emulator on AMIGA by Stephane Tavenard, get EmuCPC
v0.7 at ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/emucpc07.lzx
http://www.info.univ-angers.fr/pub/puerto/raphael/fr/doc/emucpc.html
A1.1.10) !CPC (Acorn) 07/18/99
!CPC is a CPC emulator for Acorn RISC OS machines (Archimedes/RISC PC)
by Mark RISON. Get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpc0728.zip
Get the sources at http://www.acorn.com/~mrison/en/cpc or get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpcs0728.zip
A1.1.11) !CPCemu (Acorn)
This emulator for Acorn RISC OS machines is written by Andreas
Stroiczek, aka Face Hugger. Get v1.10 at
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpcem110.zip
or on ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/acorn/long/emulator
ftp://ftp.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/systems/acorn/riscos/emulator
* A1.1.12) CPC++ (Unix and MAC) 03/02/2002
This emulator for SunOS, Linux and MAC is written by Brice Rive.
* Go at http://bricerive.free.fr/cpc
A1.1.13) SIMCPC (PC)
Presumably the first CPC emulator written, for PC XT/AT by GHE,
Aachen. It is only black and white, with additional ROMs.
Get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/simcpc.zip
A1.1.14) Multi-Machine, or MTM (win9x) 01/11/2000
Get MTM v1.30b by Paul Hodgson (paul.hodgson@multi-machine.demon.co.uk)
at ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/mtmw130b.zip
MTM is a win9x multi-machine emulator. It emulates Amstrad CPC(+),
Sinclair ZX80/81 and Spectrum, Jupiter Ace and Elan Enterprise.
It can read .WAV or .CDT (digitalized Amstrad tapes).
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Stadium/4428
A1.1.15) Arnold (win9x, MACos and Unix/Linux) and Arnold Junior (Java) 10/24/2001
A CPC(+) emulator by Kevin Thacker for win9x, get binaries and
sources at http://arnold.emuunlim.com
Get the MACos conversion by Richard Bannister at http://www.bannister.org/software
Andreas Micklei is working on the Linux version, get patches at
http://www.cpcszene.de/users/nurgle
Arnold Junior is a different emulator, the emulation is very simple.
It uses the z80 emulation from Jasper (Spectrum emulator at
http://www.spectrum.lovely.net
The source to Arnold Jnr is available from
http://www.arnoldemu.freeserve.co.uk
A1.1.16) Zsim (PC) 02/17/98
Zsim v2.41 by Jurgen G. Weber, it simulates a CP/M Z80 machine. It
DOES NOT simulate CP/M. It includes a PD CP/M compatible operating
system and a program to format CP/M disks, so you can run CP/M
programs. It can read DATA and SYSTEM disks directly. Get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/cpm/zsim241.zip
A1.1.17) Yage (PC) 07/15/99
Yage v0.91 by Antoine Pitrou, a CPC emulator which handles demos like
'The demo' and 'divine megademo'. Get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/yage091.zip
* A1.1.18) CPCE (PC) 11/24/2001
The first spanish Amstrad CPC emulator by CNGSOFT, go
* http://cpce.emuunlim.com ou
* ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpce091.zip
A1.1.19) CPC-emulator (Linux/Unix) 02/05/2001
CPC-emulator for Linux/Unix with X11 version 023 by Ulrich Cordes,
features .DSK (with large formats : 720 Ko), sound, debugger.
go http://www.amstrad-cpc.de or get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpc4x023.zip
A1.1.20) M.E.S.S. (PC & MAC) 10/23/2001
Multi-Emulator Super System (Amstrad CPC, PCW, and NC) v0.37b15 is
available on (msdos, win9x and MAC) :
http://www.mess.org
For using PcW16 emulation, get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/misc/pcwos.zip
A1.1.21) Arnimedes (PC) 04/22/2000
Arnimedes for msdos by Oliver Lenz, get v0.8a here or on
http://www.arnimedes.de
A1.1.22) XCPC (Unix/X11R6) 10/24/2001
A new Amstrad CPC emulator by Olivier Poncet for unix and X11R6 at :
http://xcpc.emuunlim.com
A1.2) Utilities
A1.2.1) SNA2GIF (PC)
SNA2GIF v1.1 by Marco Vieth is included in CPCEMU, it extracts
screens from snapshots to GIF format.
A1.2.2) SNAP GRAB (PC)
SNAP GRAB v1.1 is a freeware by Georg Schwarz to extract screens from
snapshots to Multiface II format, which can be seen on real CPC even
with a multiface. If you want to see the picture on your PC, you will
need CPC2x (see A1.2.3), get SNAPGR11.ZIP.
A1.2.3) CPC2x (was CPC to TIFF) (PC)
CPC2x v2.0 by Michael Stroucken converts Amstrad CPC screens to the
graphic TIF and GIF format. Get CPC2X.ZIP with sources and
binaries for MSDOS and CP/M.
A1.2.4) CPC file system (PC) 10/24/2001
CPCfs v0.85.3 by Derik van Zutphen, it transfers CPC files between .DSK
files and DOS files, in the two ways. There is a useful batch mode.
http://home.t-online.de/home/derik/cpcfs.htm
Better get CPCXFS, the updated version by Kevin Thacker which
supports now extended .DSK, bugs removed, other updates, at :
http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~amstrad
A1.2.5) Multiface II to Snapshot (PC)
M2TOSNA v1.1 by James McKay converts CPC Multiface II files to 64
Ko and 128 Ko snapshots files. Look for M2TOSNA1.ZIP.
A1.2.6) CPDread and CPDwrite (PC) 06/03/99
Copy Protected Disk reader v3.24 by Ulrich Doewich, for transferring
CPC disks into the common DSK file format of CPC emulators. It uses
the extended DSK format which manages copy protected disks better.
Get CPDR324.ZIP
CPDwrite v1.03, for writing back .DSK to a disk, even with protected
games, get CPDW103.ZIP
A1.2.7) MACTerm (MAC)
Transfer files between CPC and MAC with a parallel cable, get CPCTERM.ZIP
A1.2.8) 22disk (PC) 08/06/2000
22disk is a shareware utility by Sydex (http://www.sydex.com) which
can read/write/format CP/M disks on PC. It can read CPC disks formats
with a file called CPMDISKS.DEF which comes with CPCEMU, or EURO.DEF
(ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/eurodef.zip) or my
own file (ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/gen8-def.zip).
You shouldn't use it under OS/2 or win95, unless you have the last
version (ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/22dsk144.zip).
Sydex has removed 22disk since 2000 from public distribution, but is
still for sale on their web site.
A1.2.9) DIC (PC) 06/14/97
Disc Image Copier by Tim Rieman, transfer DATA and SYSTEM disc from
CPC to PC with a parallel cable, get :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/dic130.zip
For conversion from PC to CPC, see A1.2.11
A1.2.10) AIFF decoder (Unix, PC, Amiga) 02/28/2000
AIFF decoder by Pierre Guerrier, a tool for retrieving data from
sampled Amstrad CPC tapes, C sources included. Get programs from
author homepage or :
- MSDOS port v1.2 by Ulrich Doewich :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/pcdcdr12.zip
- Amiga port by Kevin Thacker :
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/amiaiff.lzh
A1.2.11) PC2CPC (PC)
PC2CPC v2.0 by James Churchill converts CPC emulator EDSK images to 3"
disks via the CPCEMU parallel link, look for
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/pc2cpc.zip
For conversion from CPC 3" disk to PC .DSK see A1.2.9
A1.2.12) DSK-CPC (CPC) 09/01/99
DSK-CPC by Divine Coding (divine_coding@yahoo.com) reads a .DSK or
.EDSK image from a 3.5" 720Kb DOS disc and writes the image to a CPC
disc, thus recreating the original software disc. It can can cope
with copy-protected software. Get it at :
http://www.divine.freeserve.co.uk/cpc.html
A1.2.13) CPCKEY (PC) 06/08/2001
CpcKey v0.3 for msdos use the CPCEMU parallel link for :
- command/replace CPC keyboard with the PC keyboard,
- send files between CPC and PC
- modify the CPC memory, poke during games
- automatic procedures, etc...
- compatible Intel HEX format
A1.2.14) SEND2 (CPC) 06/15/97
SEND2 v1.2 by J.GUEZENNEC (jguezenn@icor.fr) is a complete parallel
transfer package which is an amelioration of CPCPARA.BAS :
- 3" disk transfer (DATA, SYSTEM, IBM),
- ROM transfers,
- tape transfers.
A1.2.15) TransCPC
CPC transfile project, a project aimed at simulating a small file
system on the Amstrad CPC with the files being stored on a PC hard
disk. The project is complete, there is no plan to improve it. Get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/transcpc.zip
The CPC asm code needs Devpac or similar to be compiled, and any PC
assembler for the PC asm code.
A1.2.16) ReadScr (PC)
A PC utility for ms-dos by Ark for viewing Amstrad CPC screens, with
palettes or not, get ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/graphic/readscr.zip
A1.2.17 CPC2TAPE (PC) 08/16/99
A dos utility (comes with C sources) to transfer Amstrad files from
a PC to the CPC directly via the sound card, or to tapes, get
ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emu-uti/cpc2tape.zip
A1.2.18) SLIP/IP stack 04/24/99
A SLIP/IP stack developped by mrison@hotmail.com for Amstrad
CPC6128s with Amstrad serial interfaces. Using this, you can
establish a SLIP connection from your Amstrad and then ping it. To
find out more, go to http://www.altsoft.demon.co.uk/cpcip
It's probably easiest if you connect your CPC to a Linux box,
using a null modem, and the instructions assume this, but there's
no reason in principle why you couldn't connect via a modem.
A2) Sources of emulators, ROMs and programs
ROMs are now included with CPCEMU and CPE, with the permission of
Amstrad and Locomotive Software.
If you have ROMs on a romboard, you can get them for use with an
emulator, get CPCEMU, it comes with a basic program to transfer a ROM
to a file.
A2.0) IRC 03/27/2001
You can exchange files with Internet Relay Chat, but its primary goal
is to chat with other internet users. There are 3 IRC channels :
- #CPC, every days on IRCNet, see
http://jan.homepage-admin.de/cpc ;
- #CSA8, every SUNDAY at 3:00 pm, on Undernet (best server is
the London Netcom server, see http://www.csa8.com ;
- #CPC, on irc.emm.fr
* A2.1) FTP sites 01/18/2002
If you have problems accessing FTP sites, use the following method :
ftp://anonymous@ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad/emulator/cpcemu15.zip
- ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/amstrad, thanks to Remy Card,
http://www.genesis8bit.com/files.html (HTML front-end with
the list of all files, size and description included).
all questions about this site should be directed to roussin@noos.fr
files comes from 'Genesis, the 8bit generation BBS' (see A2.3).
* - ftp://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/pub/cpc/ADATE, thanks to Sergio Bayarri
+ or creating the site, and to Kevin Thacker for maintaining it. Send
+ what you have in /pub/cpc/ADATE/incoming. This site contains tape
+ images (.cdt) and disk images (.dsk). The aim of this site is to
+ preserve games, so only original games are allowed. No hacked or
+ modified games will be allowed. Please see the documentation at this
+ site about creating tape-images using existing tools. (voc2tzx)
- ftp://ftp.nvg.ntnu.no/pub/cpc, thanks to Arnt Gulbrandsen for
creating the site, and to Nicholas Campbell for maintaining it.
Send what you have in /pub/cpc/incoming or email to nich@otto.org,
look for the HTML front-end : http://tacgr.emuunlim.com
- ftp://ftp.math.uni-hamburg.de/pub/misc/cpc_emu
mirror of ftp.nvg.unit.no
- ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/cpm, thanks to Paul Martin, specific
Amstrad CP/M related files. Paul Martin (pm@nowster.demon.co.uk)
will send anyone, who can give him proof (photocopy of the CP/M disk
with the serial number for example) that they have original Amstrad
CP/M Plus, the binary ROM images of his "CP/M Plus ROMs" for free.
- http://www.cantrell.org.uk/mirrors, mirror of lip6 and nvg
- Two Mag FTP site
A2.2) WWW 04/24/99
You will find them at :
- http://www.genesis8bit.com
the FAQ maintainer homepage with Amstrad news, the AFC association
(sells belts, 3,5" drives, the zine Amstrad Live, a CD with all
lip6 files and other 8bit computer files), FAQ (english, french,
german in HTML and text), all emulators, gallery of CPC users,
the most comprehensive Amstrad links, list of books and hardware, etc...
Two other important web sites :
- http://www.amstrad.com
the official Amstrad web site
- http://andercheran.aiind.upv.es/~amstrad
the biggest Amstrad web page by Kevin Thacker
A2.3) BBS 01/20/2001
- Genesis the 8bit generation (2:320/220) : +33 1 53 95 32 43
(modem/ISDN) & 44 (modem), Paris (FRANCE), sysop : Emmanuel
Roussin. There are about 139 Mo of Amstrad files (CPC, PCW, NC and
PDA600).
- ZNODE 51 : +49 89 961 45 75, in Germany, from 15:00 to 3:00 CET
(MEZ), up to V32b, CPC files.
- The Dream Machine (2:442/600) : +44-1222-689812, Cardiff, Wales,
U.K., V21 through v34/VFC, sysops : David J. Thomas and Rachael
Munns, this bbs carries CPC and CP/M files, and the c.s.a.8 newsgroup.
- Chill out zone : +49 821 2290356, Augsburg, Germany, v21 to v32b,
sysop : Dark Sector, CPC files (coming from Razormaid).
- SchnickSchnackBBS (FidoNet: 2:2448/615): +49-234-9620318, Bochum,
Germany, V34, X75, sysop: Armin Schaefer, this bbs carries cpc files
and it is the home of CPCNet, a german speaking network for Amstrad
8bit-users based on Fido and ZConnect-technology. For infos on
CPCNet write to CPCNet@p2.zebulon.ftg.donut.de
- Chaos Cottage : +44 1736 756633, Hayle, Cornwall, U.K., V34,sysop :
Nigel Woolcock (jacob@spuddy.mew.co.uk), CP/M file area (mainly PCW)
with 5 Mo, AMSTRAD, CPM, CPMTECH fido echos and the csa8 newsgroup
available.
A2.4) Using programs with emulators or real CPC
A2.4.1) DSK files
These files are images of a disk, you "insert" a disk with F3 in
CPCEMU, and F6 with CPE, then you can type CAT to see the files,
RUN"file_name" to run a program (.BAS or .BIN).
* A2.4.2) CPC files 10/27/2001
Three solutions to use plain CPC files :
a) put them in the TAPE directory, type |TAPE then the usual RUN"
b) WinAPE comes with a ROM image called CPCDOS. Simply select the ROM
(probably best below AMSDOS in ROM 6), then you can use |DOS,
|DOS.IN, |DOS.OUT, |CD
c) inject them in a .DSK file with CPCFS (see A1.2.4) :
- create an empty .DSK : CPCFS -nd empty.dsk (you can omit the .dsk)
- inject files : CPCFS empty -mp *.* (the files must be in the
current directory, the DSK can be somewhere else)
To extract files from a .DSK : CPCFS image.dsk -mg *.*
XTI by Pierre Guerrier can also put amsdos files into a DSK.
Note that there are MAC and Amiga ports of XTI.
A2.4.3) How to run programs with a CPC or emulator ?
Type CAT to get the directory of the disk, mostly programs are run
with a BASIC loader, so looks for *.BAS, then type RUN"name.BAS" (.BAS
can be omitted). If there isn't a basic loader, run the .BINary
program directly : type RUN"name.BIN" (.BIN can be omitted).
Some disks doesn't have a real directory, and must be launched with
the CP/M command : |CPM.
For running tapes on a real CPC, type RUN", the CPC will launch the
first program on the tape.
A2.5) New hardware/software
A2.5.1) New hardware
- You can buy a selection of games cartridges for the CPC+ and the
GX4000, cartridges are unboxed and without instructions. Price ú7.99
each including postage and packing in United Kingdom, also programs
for CPC/PCW, go at http://www.tradeinpost.com
John Thackeray (Tradingpost@btinternet.com)
Trade in Post
Victoria Road
Shifnal
Shropshire TF11 8AF
Tel/Fax : 00 44 (0)1952 462135
A3) Transfer between CPC and PC
Later mentions of DDI-1 can also be replaced by FD-1 (which comes
without the interface for the 464)
A3.1.1) 3" drive on PC (part one) 01/11/2000
Porting files across from CPC to PC for use in CPCEMU is easy, at
least, if you have a DDI-1 disk drive it's easy! You need to follow
these instructions. Follow them exactly. As is usual with things like
this, you do everything entirely at your own risk. I have done this on
my own PC without damaging it, but cannot guarantee that it will work
with yours. If you do damage your computer, it is YOUR FAULT.
Note of the FAQ keeper, I have a report of someone trying out the
following instructions, who had his controller burnt, and another
whose 3" drive died, so beware.
These instructions only apply to the DDI-1 package. They MAY work with
the FD1 3" second drive, and will definitely NOT work with the
internal drives on 6128s, 664s, and 6128+s.
Install 22DISK! You will need to tell it you have no A: drive, and
that B: is a 360K drive, physical unit 0, on the Primary adapter, with
step-rate of 12 milli-seconds. You will also need the CPMDISKS.DEF
file from CPCEMU.
0 Install 22DISK with CPMDISKS.DEF coming with CPCEMU or the one from
EURODEF.ZIP
1 open your PC, following all usual precautions such as turning off
the power and discharging any static electricity on your body!
2 Unplug any floppy drives. This step is important. (See note 1)
3 Find the connector that is meant for the B: drive. (It is probably
on the same cable as the connector for the A: drive. The A: connector
Section 1 of 5 - Prev - Next
All sections - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
| Back to category Computers and Hardware - Discuss "comp.sys.amstrad.8bit FAQ v1.27 1 / 16 1/1" |
| Home - Search - About the project - Forum - Feedback |
© 2005 allanswers.org | Terms of use