MiSTer MultiComp

Port of Grant Searle's MultiComp to the MiSTer.

Ported by Cyril Venditti and Fred VanEijk.

Updated by S0urceror to use MiSTer image files, use all 4 machine types and have the MiSTer UART connected to serial interface 2 of the core. The latter allows to use the core remotely.

Using the MiSTer Serial Terminal/Console

Connection Methods

1. USB: Connect the console port from the MiSTer FPGA to your computer using a USB cable.

2. Network: Use SSH to connect to the MiSTer FPGA if you have a Wireless or Ethernet connection.

3. USB/Serial cable: For more information see the Serial Port section of the Altair8800_MiSTer repository: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Altair8800_MiSTer

Setting Up the Connection

For UART/Serial with PuTTY

• Connect at 115200 baud, 8 bits, no parity to the COM port.

For SSH with PuTTY

• Connect to the ip address of your MiSTer fpga.

Linux command line to establish the connection to the core

1. Identify the UART device:

   • Usually mapped to /dev/ttyS1 or /dev/ttyUSB0

   • Use this command to help identify the correct device:

     dmesg | grep tty
     

2. Access the serial terminal:

   • Use screen or minicom

   • Example command with screen:

     screen /dev/ttyS1 115200
     

   • Replace /dev/ttyS1 with the correct device identifier

   • Change 115200 to the appropriate baud rate if different

Additional Information

For more details on console connection, refer to the official MiSTer documentation: MiSTer Console Connection Guide

The MiSTer OSD allows the access to four machines

Z80 CP/M

You can now use both an external SDCard and/or select the image file within MiSTer. Whatever you like.

Formatting the SD Card and Installing CP/M

Note this procedure has to be performed from a tty terminal as descibed above.

Formatting the Drive

1. Load the Intel-HEX dump of the FORMAT program into memory by copying the contents of FORM128.HEX (for 128MB SD card utilization) into the terminal window.
2. The FORMAT program will reside at memory address $5000 when loaded. To start the formatting process, execute the program by typing G5000 and pressing ENTER.
3. You will see the following message:

CP/M Formatter by G. Searle 2012

4. After a few seconds, the formatting process will display:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
Formatting complete

Each drive is 8MB, so a 128MB SD card will have drives labeled A: to P:.

Installing CP/M

CP/M is installed on the first track of the disk. When booted, the first track is read into memory and executed. To install CP/M, follow these steps:

1. Load the Intel-HEX dump of CP/M by copying the contents of CPM22.HEX into the terminal window (this takes about 10 seconds).
2. Load the Intel-HEX dump of the CBIOS by copying the contents of CBIOS128.HEX (for 128MB total drive space) into the terminal window (this takes about 3 seconds).
3. Load the Intel-HEX dump of PUTSYS by copying the contents of PUTSYS.HEX into the terminal window.

The PUTSYS program also resides at memory address $5000. To transfer CP/M and CBIOS to the disk, execute PUTSYS by typing G5000 and pressing ENTER. You will see:

CP/M System Transfer by G. Searle 2012
System transfer complete

At this point, CP/M is installed and ready for boot. You can now proceed with installing applications.

Boot CP/M from image file

Note that currently the DOWNLOAD.COM program is not working reliably (we hope to fix this in the future). To get around the issues with DOWNLOAD.COM we have added the cpm image file and some Python based utilities, thus being able to get a working and custamizable CP/M sytem up and running.

In the CPM-sd-image directory, you will find a zip file that contains a cmp.img file that can be copied to the /media/fat/games/MultipComp directory. This file can be used to boot CP/M without the SD card. It contains the structure for disks A thru P with A having the DOWNLOAD program and other utilities available. Use this as a strating point to place CP/M applications on the image. See the Installing Applications section at http://searle.x10host.com/Multicomp/cpm/fpgaCPM.html#InstallingCPM.

Note the process for this is mostly described in PART 2 - Using the Windows packager program. The packager program is in windowsApp. Again, this process requires the use of the tty terminal not the console, as you will be pasting the file data into the terminal.

We have also added a zip file in the CPM-sd-image directory with a set of application pre installed. See cpm-apps.zip. This file can also be copied to the /media/fat/games/MultipComp directory and mounted. It contains 5 drives A,C,D,E, and F where A still only has the DOWNLOAD program and the other drives contain the following. The cpm.zip file contains just the basic utilities described in the CPM-sd-image directory.

C:	D:	E:	F:
0_FILES.TXT	0_GAMES	0_OLDUTILS	0_NEWUTILS
1_BDS_TINY_C	1_MUMATHSIMP	1_F80M80BASIC	1_ROMS
2_APL	2_CROSSTALK	2_AZTEC_C_106D	2_ZSYSTEM
3_JANUS_ADA15	3_QTERM43	3_TPASCAL3	3_MICROPRO
4_MS_COBOL	4_CLINK	4_DXFORTH401	4_MULTIPLAN
5_PILOT	5_SUPERSFTUTIL	5_PLI14	5_DBASEII
6_SYSLIB	6_RCPM	6_ALGOLM	6_DWG_APPS
7_BBC BASIC	7_DDTZ SOURCES	7_SUPERCALC	8_MICROSHELL

Note the use of user numbers here i.e. 0_, 1_ etc..
(Not all the applications were tested to run, so you are on your own)

The applications were obtained from the Obsolescence Guaranteed site.

Included in the CPM-sd-image directory are also some python scripts to initialize/build the image for the CP/M disks. Along with a script in the transient packages directory that can extract the .COM files from the package (note this was used to provide some content to build the cpm.img file provided in CPM-sd-image directory).

To use the Python scripts we recommend using Visual Studio Code and opening the MultiComp_MiSTer directory as its project location. Them just run the Python scripts from within Visual Studio Code.

Other useful links.

For convenience you can use the Multicomp FPGA - CP/M Demo Disk from Obsolescence Guaranteed: http://obsolescence.wixsite.com/obsolescence/multicomp-fpga-cpm-demo-disk

After you have flashed the CP/M Demo Disk to the SD Card you will have to use the secondary SD Card on the MiSTer on the I/O Board: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Wiki_MiSTer/wiki/IO-Board

Using CP/M - from Grant Searle website: http://searle.x10host.com/Multicomp/cpm/fpgaCPM.html

DeRamp - This website focuses on early personal computers from the mid 70s into the early 80s. Here you'll find resources for restoring and maintaining many of the great computers and peripherals from this era, in addition it has a Downloads section where you can find the bits for many applications. https://deramp.com/

Z80 Basic

SGN, INT, ABS ,USR, FRE, INP, POS, SQR, RND ,LOG, EXP, COS, SIN, TAN, ATN, PEEK ,DEEK ,LEN, STR$, VAL ,ASC, CHR$ ,LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$, END, FOR, NEXT, DATA, INPUT, DIM, READ, LET, GOTO, RUN, IF, RESTORE, GOSUB, RETURN, REM, STOP, OUT, ON, NULL, WAIT, DEF, POKE, DOKE, LINES, CLS, WIDTH, MONITOR, PRINT, CONT, LIST, CLEAR, NEW, TAB, TO, FN, SPC, THEN, NOT, STEP, +, -, *, /, ^, AND, OR, >, <, =

PLUS additional implementations here (making it version 4.7b):

HEX$(nn) - convert a SIGNED integer (-32768 to +32767) to a string containing the hex value

BIN$(nn) - convert a SIGNED integer (-32768 to +32767) to a string containing the binary value

&Hnn - interpret the value after the &H as a HEX value (signed 16 bit)

&Bnn - interpret the value after the &B as a BINARY value (signed 16 bit)

6502 Basic - No SD card support (No CSAVE/CLOAD)

END, FOR, NEXT, DATA, INPUT, DIM, READ, LET, GOTO, RUN, IF, RESTORE, GOSUB, RETURN, REM, STOP, ON, NULL, WAIT, DEF, POKE, PRINT, CONT, LIST, CLEAR, NEW, TAB(, TO, FN, SPC(, THEN, NOT, STEP, SGN, INT, ABS, USR, FRE, POS, SQR, RND, LOG, EXP, COS, SIN, TAN, ATN, PEEK, LEN, STR$, VAL, ASC, CHR$, LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$, +, -, *, /, ^, AND, OR, >, +, <

6809 Basic - No SD card support(No CSAVE/CLOAD)

FOR, GO, REM, ELSE, IF, DATA, PRINT, ON GOSUB, ON GOTO, INPUT, LINE INPUT, END, NEXT, DIM, READ, RUN, RESTORE, RETURN, STOP, POKE, CONT, LIST, CLEAR, NEW, EXEC, TAB, TO, SUB, THEN, NOT, STEP, +, -, *, /, ^, AND, OR, >, =, <, DEL, DEF, LET, RENUM, FN, &, &H, TRON, TROFF, EDIT, SGN, INT, ABS, USR, RND, SIN, PEEK, LEN, STR$, VAL, ASC, CHR$, LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$, INKEY$, MEM, ATN, COS, TAN, EXP, FIX, LOG, SQR, HEX$, VARPTR, INSTR, STRING$, MID$ (MODIFICATION), POS

http://searle.x10host.com/Multicomp/#BASICKeywords

MultiComp OSD Configuration

This section describes the On-Screen Display menu configuration for the MultiComp system, providing control over CPU selection, storage, and communication parameters.

Menu Structure

System Control

• Reset after Mount: Configures system behavior after mounting storage
• Options: No, Yes
• Reset: System reset function

CPU and ROM Configuration

• CPU-ROM Selection:
• Z80 with CP/M
• Z80 with BASIC
• 6502 with BASIC
• 6809 with BASIC

Communication Settings

• Baud Rate:
• 115200
• 38400
• 19200
• 9600
• 4800
• 2400
• Serial Port:
• UART - use the MiSTer console port
• USER_IO - use the MiSTer user I/O USB 3.1 port

Storage Configuration

• Storage Controller:
• SD Controller - use the secondary SD card as storage
• Image Controller - use this to access the cmp image from the games/Multicomp directory

Additional Information

The OSD includes version information and build date tracking. This configuration interface provides comprehensive control over the MultiComp's core functionality, allowing users to switch between different CPU architectures, operating systems, and I/O configurations.

The menu system is designed for straightforward navigation and configuration of the MultiComp's essential features, making it accessible for both basic setup and advanced customization needs.

License

Software and VHDL project download link

By downloading these files you must agree to the following: The original copyright owners of ROM contents are respectfully acknowledged. Use of the contents of any file within your own projects is permitted freely, but any publishing of material containing whole or part of any file distributed here, or derived from the work that I have done here will contain an acknowledgment back to myself, Grant Searle, and a link back to this page. Any file published or distributed that contains all or part of any file arom this page must be made available free of charge.

Original Author

Grant Searle

URL

Grant's MULTICOMP pick and mix computer

Note

The 6809 Basic is not resetting properly. This issue is present in the original Grant Searle's MultiComp project