PC88 Core

[wark91]

@zomgugoff, thank you !

@Puu, yes I saw that on my side i produced a boot.rom with basic 1.0 but I saw videos with basic 2.0 so maybe a bios for each version of PC88. Do you think is-it possible to add the possibility for the core to boot with a zip file containing all the files presents on the boot.rom ?

@DanHero, yes there are different modes on PC88. The mode by default is the mode N for compatibilty to PC 8800. You have the Mode 1 required by some games and mode 2 for others. I managed to launch Jesus 1 & 2 and Snatcher but black screen on YS 1.

[DanHero]

thank you, I managed to run the boot file with a little help, and looks like an amazing job, the speed seems just right. I didn't manage to run Super Mario Ball and Mario Bros. Special (I'm interested in the lost Hudson/Nintendo trilogy) but I'll try some other dump.

[tontonkaloun]

hard to find these roms

[tontonkaloun]

it's good, i found and built my boot.rom

[tontonkaloun]

Which version of quartus should I compile with?
With version 19.1 I have errors that I don't have with 17.1

[wark91]

The version 17.0.2 of quatrus (lite or full) is used for Mister Cores.

[breiztiger]

hi
can someone tell md5 sum for each files please ?

[LeftEmpty]

There are no md5 since there are many bios dumps for many different models.

[breiztiger]

mess report for pc88 mk2sr

mk2sr_n80.rom 32768 27e1857d 5b922ed9de07d2a729bdf1da7b57c50ddf08809a
kanji1.rom 131072 6178bd43 82e11a177af6a5091dd67f50a2f4bafda84d6556
disk.rom 2048 2158d307 bb7103a0818850a039c67ff666a31ce49a8d516f
n88_3.rom 8192 7713c519 efce0b51cab9f0da6cf68507757f1245a2867a72
n88_2.rom 8192 af2b6efa b7c8bcea219b77d9cc3ee0efafe343cc307425d1
n88_1.rom 8192 c0bd2aa6 8528eef7946edf6501a6ccb1f416b60c64efac7c
mk2sr_n88_0.rom 8192 710a63ec d239c26ad7ac5efac6e947b0e9549b1534aa970d
mk2sr_n88.rom 32768 a0fc0473 3b31fc68fa7f47b21c1a1cb027b86b9e87afbfff
kanji2.rom 131072 154803cc 7e6591cd465cbb35d6d3446c5a83b46d30fafe95

mk2sr_n88_0.rom doesn't seem be use
and is mk2sr_n80.rom or mk2sr_n88.rom the first basic rom ?

[LeftEmpty]

n80 should be the first rom, as the N mode you can select in the core aims for compabitility with the PC-8001.
I am guessing that n88.rom is probably just the 0, 1, 2 and 3 roms concatenated.

[KnC]

with the files you have on that list it would go like this but you are still missing some files

mk2sr_n88.rom
mk2sr_n80.rom
mk2sr_n88_0.rom
n88_1.rom
n88_2.rom
n88_3.rom
CFONT (not in that list)
graphfont (not in that list)
disk.rom
Blank (space needed for padding)
kanji1.rom
kanji2.rom

[breiztiger]

thanks

is that correct ?

copy / b mk2sr_n88.rom+mk2sr_n80.rom+mk2sr_n88_0.rom+n88_1.rom+n88_2.rom+n88_3.rom+font.rom+graphfont.bin+2KO_BLANK_00.ROM+mh_disk.rom+8KO_BLANK_00.ROM+8KO_BLANK_00.ROM+kanji1.rom+kanji2.rom boot.rom

@LeftEmpty mk2sr_n80.rom must be at first place as you said or at second like Knc said ?

[tontonkaloun]

Hello,
Is "blank" absolutely necessary? I did the rom without and it seems to work?
What size? 8kb?

[KnC]

this is the instructions from the read me

Loads the BIOS image from MiSTer's SD card when booting from MiSTer.
Create /PC8801mk2SR/boot.rom with the following layout and save it.

00000 ~ N88BASIC
08000- N-BASIC
10000 ~ N88 4th-0
12000 ~ N88 4th-1
14000 ~ N88 4th-2
16000 ~ N88 4th-3
18000 ~ FONT (8x16)
19000- Simple graphics font (attached Font / graphfont.bin)
1a000 ~ DISK ROM
20000 ~ KANJI1
40000 ~ KANJI2

as you can see n88 basic is first and n80 basic is second
unless puu got it wrong but built as above works fine for me

[KnC]

Hello,
Is "blank" absolutely necessary? I did the rom without and it seems to work?
What size? 8kb?

i am not sure if not using the blank is a problem i also tried without and it seems to be ok but i did not try every mode and what it can do
but not using the blanks changes the address that are in the readme so i made it with blank to keep in line with the readme address

[breiztiger]

with MESS PC8801 roms (with blank otherise not align on adress)

00000 ~ N88BASIC (32ko) mk2sr_n88.rom A0FC0473
08000- N-BASIC (32ko) mk2sr_n80.rom 27E1857D
10000 ~ N88 4th-0 (8ko) mk2sr_n88_0.rom 710A63EC
12000 ~ N88 4th-1 (8ko) n88_1.rom C0BD2AA6
14000 ~ N88 4th-2 (8ko) n88_2.rom AF2B6EFA
16000 ~ N88 4th-3 (8ko) n88_3.rom 7713C519
18000 ~ FONT (8x16) (2ko) + (2ko blank) font.rom 56653188
19000- Simple graphics font (attached Font / graphfont.bin) (4ko) graphfont.bin CDD1BE6B
1a000 ~ DISK ROM (8ko) + (16ko blank) mh_disk.rom A222ECF0
20000 ~ KANJI1 (128ko) kanji1.rom 6178BD43
40000 ~ KANJI2 (128ko) kanji2.rom 154803CC

copy / b mk2sr_n88.rom+mk2sr_n80.rom+mk2sr_n88_0.rom+n88_1.rom+n88_2.rom+n88_3.rom+font.rom+2KO_BLANK_00.ROM+graphfont.bin+mh_disk.rom+8KO_BLANK_00.ROM+8KO_BLANK_00.ROM+kanji1.rom+kanji2.rom boot.rom

[tontonkaloun]

the file "font.rom" that i have, don't drop me at the correct offset address for the next file. Where to find the right one?

I'm too far: 19800 instead of 19000

[KnC]

the file "font.rom" that i have, don't drop me at the correct offset address for the next file. Where to find the right one?

I'm too far: 19800 instead of 19000

take the last 4kb from the font.bin and use that as cfont.bin

offset 0800 to the end

[LeftEmpty]

@LeftEmpty mk2sr_n80.rom must be at first place as you said or at second like Knc said ?

You better ignore stuff I say, I talk only from my memory, and my RAM is failing ;D
KnC (and the readme, duh!) is right of course. Sorry for the confusion.

[LeftEmpty]

i am not sure if not using the blank is a problem i also tried without and it seems to be ok but i did not try every mode and what it can do
but not using the blanks changes the address that are in the readme so i made it with blank to keep in line with the readme address

The first blank should be important in some case (if I remember *cough*, the DISC.ROM isn't necessary to basic floppy disc operations, but I don't remember the details — some stuff won't work though, probably).
The second blank is very important... if you speak Japanese. If you don't, well the wrong kanjis will be displayed I am guessing, which will make little difference for you. If you do though, the text will probably simply become unintelligible.

[tontonkaloun]

I had looked to delete the beginning or the end, but since it was not 0 ...
So the begining of the file is not useful?

[tontonkaloun]

the file "font.rom" that i have, don't drop me at the correct offset address for the next file. Where to find the right one?

I'm too far: 19800 instead of 19000

take the last 4kb from the font.bin and use that as cfont.bin

offset 0800 to the end

I had looked to delete the beginning or the end, but since it was not 0 ...
So the begining of the file is not useful?

[KnC]

i used the info from puu here

Due to copyright issues, some files may not be included in the archive.
I'm sorry that the attached document is written in Japanese. (Because I can understand only C, VHDL and Japanese)
Probably the missing one is the font file.
Save the 8x16 dot font file as Font/fonth.hex.
Since there is an 8x16dot part in FONT ROM(0x0800-0x17ff), I think that you should extract that part with a binary editor and save it as .hex.

which is just cutting off the first 2kb if you do it that way

[tontonkaloun]

I had read the readme file but too quickly
Thank you

[yubm12]

Hello All - I'm new here, and to the MiSTer in general. I got mine a couple of weeks ago and have been really digging it. Can someone help me out with this core? I can't find the readme/any documentation on how to set it up. Would love to try out Super Mario Bros Special, but I'm at a loss of what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tontonkaloun]

Hello All - I'm new here, and to the MiSTer in general. I got mine a couple of weeks ago and have been really digging it. Can someone help me out with this core? I can't find the readme/any documentation on how to set it up. Would love to try out Super Mario Bros Special, but I'm at a loss of what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello,

You need the core (.rbf file) in the _Computer folder
In the bootom directory you put the boot rom pc8801mk2sr.rom


Then you need a second SD card formatted in exfat for example on which you put your files * .d88

[yubm12]

Sorry - what is the bootom folder and do i rename the bios boot.rom or do i need to name it pc8801mk2sr.rom

also - is there a way to check i have a correct/proper BIOS? mine was named n88.rom and i can't find one with the pc8801mk2sr name.

I've tried to run it with what I have and I just get a black screen. I can pull up the OSD, but there's no place to tell it to load a disk like in other computers on MiSTer. Just wondering if I'm heading in the right direction.

Hello All - I'm new here, and to the MiSTer in general. I got mine a couple of weeks ago and have been really digging it. Can someone help me out with this core? I can't find the readme/any documentation on how to set it up. Would love to try out Super Mario Bros Special, but I'm at a loss of what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello,

You need the core (.rbf file) in the _Computer folder
In the bootom directory you put the boot rom pc8801mk2sr.rom


Then you need a second SD card formatted in exfat for example on which you put your files * .d88

[AmigoMexicano]

Hello All - I'm new here, and to the MiSTer in general. I got mine a couple of weeks ago and have been really digging it. Can someone help me out with this core? I can't find the readme/any documentation on how to set it up. Would love to try out Super Mario Bros Special, but I'm at a loss of what to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello,

You need the core (.rbf file) in the _Computer folder
In the bootom directory you put the boot rom pc8801mk2sr.rom


Then you need a second SD card formatted in exfat for example on which you put your files * .d88

I've been told that the boot.rom file goes inside: /media/fat/PC8801mk2SR

I still can't use this core, until my SDRAM board arrives, so I can't check this for sure.

So, where does it go?

[zomgugoff]

I've been told that the boot.rom file goes inside: /media/fat/PC8801mk2SR

I still can't use this core, until my SDRAM board arrives, so I can't check this for sure.

So, where does it go?

That is the correct location

[Artemio]

@puu,
do PC88 and X68000 use NEC uPD765 as a floppy controller?

I'm mostly certain you know about this, but it is worth sharing anyway:

NEC uPD765 Floppy Disk Controller: Internally this is a microcoded part with a primative controller of NEC’s own design. Testing microcode embedded in a part can be troublesome. The uPD765 had a few extra gates associated with the DMA Request and DMA Ack pins. Presenting a certain illegal combination here places the part into a “test” mode and allows the sequencer microcode to be output on the normal Data pins. The sequencer microcode is responsible for high level commands such as Read Track, Recalibrate, Format Track, or Write Data. There is a similar test mode for the nano-code array which serializes data at the floppy disk head.

Source: https://hackaday.com/2012/08/13/taking- ... ent-734991