9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean? These two acronyms refer to the type of TV broadcasting signals used to create the video picture on your TV or monitor. American, Japanese, = and Canadians use NTSC, while a good part of Europe uses PAL. This usually makes no difference to programs, as the C64 and C128 in C64 mode always present 200 lines of pixels to the video display. However, since the P= AL standard allows more lines to be displayed on the screen and has a slow= er screen refresh time, the PAL computer has more time before screen refreshes to perform other operations, and also can put more informatio= n on the screen in some cases, since there are more lines in a PAL dislpa= y. Since demos use highly optimized timing and complex routines to perform the effects, some demos can only be written for PAL machines. Sometime= s, a demo is written for a PAL machine, but it can be made to run on an NTSC machine. Demos that can run on both machines without any code modification are called regular demos, those that can only run on PAL machines are PAL demos, PAL demos that have been modified to run on NTS= C machines are called NTSC-fixed demos, and NTSC demos that have been modified to run on PAL machines (rare) are called PAL-fixed demos. The mean difference between NTSC and PAL is that the mathematical description of NTSC will fit on one page while PAL takes a phone-book style book full of integral/Fourier/Laplace equations. From a demo coder's point of view, the difference lies in how many cycl= es you get per scan line and how many scanlines there are: VIC type cycles per line lines per screen frame rate old NTSC-M 64 262 60 Hz new NTSC-M 65 263 60 Hz all PAL-B 63 312 50 Hz 9.3. Where do I get demos? There is a whole site full of demos. They are located in the /pub/cbm/c64/demos directory of nic.funet.fi. See section 5.4 for directions on how to transfer files from this site. 9.4. What is a demo competition? This is a "convention" where people from the demo "scene" get together. They are usually held in Europe, although other countries do have them. Coders get together and exhibit previously unreleased demos in a compe= tition where the best ones are ranked according to a subjective scoring system. At the end of the competition, the demos are released to the public. T= o make things somewhat fair, demos are judged according to computer type,= so Amiga demos do not get judged alongside 64 demos. These competitions a= re usually held in conjunction with music or art competitions. Most demo competitions are held within Europe due to copyright laws and stuff. Previous pardies (demos parties, or competitions) held were:- Event Location Date ----- -------- ---- Radwar Pardy Germany January 1994 Pardy III Denmark Decemeber 1993 Chormance & Faces Pardy Hungary December 1993 Elysium Pardy Poland Decemeber 1993 Entropy Pardy Holland June 1993 Assembley '93 Pardy Finland May 1993 The Computer Crossroads Sweden April 1993 Radwar Pardy Germany January 1993 Duration 1993-1994 (March 1994) Most pardies are held when all the schools are on hoildays. The point of a copy pardy is to go there with your computer, meet other computer friends from other groups and swap different warez, meet other members of your group and using the combined skills from the members (graphics/coding/musix/spreading), write a demo before the closing time= for the pardy so it can get voted on. The winner comes away with about 300 Kronar or similar. 9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean? Writing a successful demo often means tweaking routines and hardware to reach beyond the normal capabilities of a computer system. Such is partially why such programs are called "demos". To tweak the system an= d hardware, programmers utilize undefined routines, use hardware in non- standard ways, and create tming loops that force events to happen at certain intervals. When these components are composed together, they create an effect, either via video or sound. The effect is known by a name or phrase. Some phrases are known by their acronyms, as the two i= n | the heading are known. FLI is Flexible Line Interlace, while DYCP | is Differential Y Character Position. It is beyond the scope of the FA= Q to discuss all the effect names, but a somewhat complete list can be found at http://www.msen.com/~brain/pub/demo-acronyms.txt on WWW or as file demo-acronyms.txt on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section for more information on mailservers.) #! rnews 29915 Path: pravda.aa.msen.com!news1.best.com!news.texas.net!newshost.comco.com= !newsfeed.concentric.net!news-master!mariner.cris.com!Gaelyne From: Gaelyne@cris.com (Gaelyne Moranec) Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm Subject: COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 7/9 Supersedes: Followup-To: comp.sys.cbm Date: 5 Jul 1996 06:24:43 GMT Organization: Brain Innovations, Inc. Lines: 709 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Message-ID: Reply-To: brain@mail.msen.com NNTP-Posting-Host: mariner.cris.com Summary: This posting contains answers to questions that commonly surface= in comp.sys.cbm. This posting will tell you enough to get your computer connected to a network, fixed, and/or enhanced. This f= ile should be read by new users of comp.sys.cbm before posting to th= e group. It should also be proofread by users who are currently active in comp.sys.cbm. Keywords: CBM FAQ Help List C64 C128 VIC Modem X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p7 Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part7 News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part7 Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part7 Version: 3.1 Last-modified: 1996/06/05 -----------------------------------------------------------------------= ---- Table of Contents (for this file) --------------------------------- 10. Emulators 10.1. What is an emulator? 10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on? 10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on? 10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated? 11. Troubleshooting 11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive? 11.2. What do I do for my ill computer? 11.2.1. What do I do for my ill Commodore 64? 11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128? 11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard? 12. Modifications and Cabling 12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from? 12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply? 12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128? 12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable? 12.5. How do I build a 2400/9600 bps RS-232 interface cable? 12.6. How can I determine how much VDC video memory is in my C128? 12.7. How do I build a GEOCable interface? + 12.8. How do I connect my Commodore printer to an IBM PC? -----------------------------------------------------------------------= ---- 10. Emulators As time moves on, people move to other computer systems, for business r= esons or otherwise. However, many still long to play Commodore games, use Commodore software, and enjoy Commodore demos. Thus, emulators were bo= rn to bring the non-Commodore computer owner the enjoyment of owning a Commodore. 10.1. What is an emulator? An emulator is a piece of software that runs on a given platform and emulates, or mimics, the operation of another machine. When the emulator loads up a program, the programs runs as though it were runnin= g on the emulated platform. | For more information on emulators and their use, please see The Commodo= re | emulator FAQ, maintained by Ken Gifford (tsrken@voicenet.com). It | can also be found on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section 6.5.2 for= more | information). For those with WWW browsers, the CBM Emulation FAQ is at: | http://www.hut.fi/~msmakela/cbm/faq/ 10.2. What platforms do 64 emulators exist on? 64 emulators exist on the following machines: Amiga IBM Atari ST Macintosh UNIX 10.3. What platforms do 128 emulators exist on? There is a very basic Commodore 128 emulator bundled available for the UNIX platform under X. It is bundled with X64. 10.4. Are any other Commodore computers emulated? There is a commodore product called the PET emulator that remaps a Commodore 64 to emulate a PET 40 column unit (i.e. PET 4032). You can run this program on a C64 to emulate a PET, or you can run this program | on a 64 emulator to emulate a PET on an IBM, for example. + As for VIC-20 emulators, one exists for the Amiga, and there is a progr= am + similar to the PET Emulator that allows a C64 to emulate a VIC-20. For= the + UNIX OS, one called VICE is available for machines with X Windows. Con= tact + Andre Fachat (a.fachat@physik.tu-chemnitz.de) for more information. Th= e + emulator is at: http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/ Although not necessarily a different Commodore computer, there is a GEOS emulator in the works. It is called GEOS Warp v1.0 and informatio= n is available at http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/geoswarp/index.html. A version for the Apple PowerMac is in the alpha stage, and support for a PC version. Plans for a UNIX/X11 version are still unclear. The aut= hor is Andreas Varga, and can be contacted at e9426444@stud1.tuwien.ac.at. 11. Troubleshooting 11.1. What do I do for my ill disk drive? If the drive spins and the LEDs are off: At the back of the 1541 circuit board are two bridge rectifiers - stout epoxy packages with 4 leads each. The innermost one is defective If both LEDs are dim: The 5VDC regulator is bad. If both LEDS are on: Drive did not make it through the power-on reset sequence. Kernal ROM (901229-05) is susepct, as is (in order of expectation): VIA (6522), CPU (6502), RAM (6116 or equivalent), or a "glue" chip in the reset log= ic If your drive won't even accept input from the computer, and the drive light is making some blinking pattern, then the drive may be telling yo= u what is wrong. No Blink Kernal (E000-FFFF) ROM or 6522 VIA Failure One Blink 6116 RAM Failure Two Blinks Possible Zero Page RAM Failure Three Blinks DOS (C000-CFFF) ROM Failure Four Blinks DOS (C000-CFFF) ROM Failure Five Blinks 6116 RAM Failure Six Blinks 6116 RAM Failure | Six Blinks 2114 RAM Failure at c4 or c5 (8050) Seven Blinks 6116 RAM Failure Eight Blinks 6116 RAM Failure 1541 The most common problem facing the 1541 disk drive is alignment. If yo= ur 1541 has trouble reading commercial disks, or reading disks written som= e time ago, but has less trouble reading recently written disks, chances = are that your 1541 is out of alignment. C=3D service centers will typicall= y align a 1541 for anywhere from $20 to $45. There are also 1541 alignment programs, (e.g. Free Spirit's "1541/71 Alignment System") which allow y= ou to align a 1541 yourself. There are those who claim that this does not produce good results, but there are others who claim to have had satisfactory results with these programs. There were a couple of artic= les in COMPUTE Gazette and I think RUN on how to do this. The real problem= is mechanical in nature and can be over come. Other products are PHYSICAL EXAM 1541 and 1571 versions. 1571 The C=3D1571 drive is normally a double sided drive. However, it can a= lso emulate a 1541 and read single sided disks. Some of the earlier 1571's= had older system chips (ROMs) which caused a couple of problems. One, thes= e older drives were typically very slow when writing to the back side of = a disk. Two, it would take these drives ~30 seconds to go into single si= ded mode. To check your ROM version, read the error channel of the disk dr= ive right after startup. On the 128, just PRINT DS$. On the 64, use: 10 open15,8,15:input#15,a,a$,b,c:close15:printa,a$,b,c | Run the program; if the message says v3.1, you have the newer ROM. | If it has a version 3.0 or older, you have the older ROM. One problem that might occur is not having the head close enough to the= disk as required because of the light tension of the spring that pulls the h= ead down. Somewhere I remember that there was supposed to be a replacement part. However, one of the alignment programs suggesting using pennies = to weight it down and lo and behold it started working. 1581 The C=3D1581 drive is a 3.5" drive that uses DSDD 800K disks. It is compatible with both the C64 and C128, although some programs will not = work correctly with the 1581. A small number of 1581's were shipped with an early version of a contro= ller chip which has problems with some software. 11.2. What do I do for my ill computer? At times, every computer must be serviced. As the parts supply of Comm= odore equipment dwindles, servicing becomes harder. However, there are many sources in Section 16.2 that can service your Commodore machine, and he= re are some things you can do to service it yourself. If the screen is garbled, but BASIC seems to be limping along, and any command is met by an error, RAM could be bad. You can look at bit patterns on the screen by determining screen codes for garbage charact= ers. only bit 4 (32) should be on. After you determine which bits, here is = the bit->IC mapping: Bit 7 (128) : U12 Bit 6 (64) : U24 Bit 5 (32) : U11 Bit 4 (16) : U23 Bit 3 (8) : U10 Bit 2 (4) : U22 Bit 1 (2) : U9 Bit 0 (1) : U21 A common problem with the C-64 is it's power supply. The C64 power supplies are not especially powerful, and have this disturbing tendency= to fail. If your computer stops working, first check the power supply. Replacement power supplies can be obtained from a number of mail order places (e.g. Tenex, Parsec, Inc.). Additionally, several places advert= ise "heavy-duty" power supplies that come with warranties, and give the C64 enough power to run a REU. If your power supply goes, it can sometimes take other parts of the computer with it. If your power supply has died, but the C64 continues to fail with a known working power supply, it is likely that a few of y= our chips got fried. Also, another common problem with the C64 is the fuse inside the comput= er. If the system power on light comes on, but you get a blank screen, susp= ect the fuse. It is usually blown by misinsertion of devices into the comp= uter. 11.2.2. What do I do for my ill Commodore 128? Like the 1571, the C-128 has an older ROM and a newer ROM. The differe= nces between the two are less serious than is the case with a 1571. The eas= iest way to tell the difference is to click down the CAPS LOCK key and hit Q while in BASIC direct mode. If you see a lower case q, then you have a= n older ROM. If you see an upper case Q, then you have a newer ROM. New= ROMs can be ordered from (e.g. the Grapevine Group) for about $25. The ROM = chips in the 128 are all socketed, so replacing the chips is relatively easy. 11.3. What do I do for my ill keyboard? Clean it: Materials you will need: Denatured (rubbing) alcohol, a clean pencil eraser, cotton swabs, a s= mall Phillips head screwdriver, a jewellers size Phillips screwdriver, a solder iron of some type, and a Commodore 64 computer keyboard. Procedure: 1. FIRST AND FOREMOST. Make certain that you have discharged any stat= ic electricity in your body by grounding yourself to something like a= cold water pipe. Otherwise, you could blow chips in your computer if yo= u were to touch the wrong things. 2. Turn off your computer and unplug any and all cords and connectors= , fast-loaders, modems, etc. (just have yourself a naked (if you wil= l excuse the expression) computer). 3. Thoroughly clean all external connectors and ports with the swabs = and alcohol. Also, clean all plugs that go into those ports. If the pr= oblem you had persists, proceed with the following: 4. On a clean surface, turn your key-board upside-down. Remove the sc= rews in the bottom. 5. CAREFULLY, separate the two halves about an inch. Unplug the conne= ctor to the "power" LED on the top of the C-64. 6. Place the two halves flat so that the keyboard is facing you. The= two halves will be connected by a wire harness. This harness may be he= ld down by tape that must be removed in order to place the unit flat. 7. Remove the 15 or so brass screws that hold the circuit board un= der the keyboard. 7a.Unsolder the wires going to the shift-lock key. 8. Turn the circuit board over. You will see the bottom of the keyboa= rd with a rubber "U" under each key, which makes contact with the boa= rd. You will also see on the circuit board, a pair of gold contacts fo= r each key on the C-64. 9. CAREFULLY wash ALL the rubber "U"'s and the gold contacts with the swabs and rubbing alcohol. Allow the alcohol to DRY. 10.Gently, clean each gold contact with the eraser. BRUSH AWAY THE ER= ASER CRUMBS (I use a small hand-held, battery-powered vacuum cleaner= ). 11.Re-clean the gold contacts with the swabs and alcohol to ensure th= at you have removed ALL traces of the eraser. 12.Reassemble the C-64 in the reverse order of disassembly. 12. Modifications and Cabling As time wears on, many Commodore owners are turning to themselves to manufacture small interfaces, modify their systems, and perform other enhancements. Here are some common things the user can construct himself or herself. 12.1. How can you alter which side a 1571 reads from? On a 128, you can force the 1571 to go into single sided mode with the = drive command "u0>m0". (Issue such a command with open15,8,15,"u0>m0":close1= 5.) On the 64, a 1571 defaults to single sided mode, but you can convert it= to double sided mode (and read full double sided disk in 64 mode) with the drive command "u0>m1". While in single sided mode, you can actually fo= rmat both sides of the disk as separate file systems. The command "u0>h0" selects the regular side of the disk, and "u0>h1" selects the flip side= of the disk. Note that the flip side, when formatted this way, cannot be = read by a 1541; neither side will be readable by a 1571 when the disk is inserted upside-down. 12.2. How do I open a C128 power supply? First, unplug both leads running from the power supply and turn it upsi= de down. Locate four (4) small circles in the bottom; two are in the corn= ers and two in the other end a bit nearer each other. Find some sharp tool, e.g. pin or nail. In turn, poke it inside each o= f the cirles, firmly, and pull the caps off gently. They'll come out easi= ly. Breaking the caps should not matter, but there is no need to destroy th= e casing in process. Unsrew the 4 Phillips headed srews with an appropriate tool. Notes: This does not apply to the C64 brick! Some 128 power supplies do not have rubber feet; rather, they have "L"- shaped extensions on the casing. The caps on these extensions are not made of rubber, but can be removed. 12.3. How do I make a cable to hook my CBM 1902A to my 64 or 128? Here is the diagram used to make a replacement Chroma / Luminence 40 column cable, that the 1902A uses, to connect to the 64 or 128. _______ ________ / 3 \ 1. Not Used / 2 \ *1. Luminance / 2 4 \ *2. Audio / 4 5 \ *2. Ground ! ! *3. Ground ! ! *3. Audio out ! 6 ! *4. Chroma ! 1 6 3 ! 4. Video out ! ! 5. Not Used ! ! 5. Audio in \ 1 5 / *6. Luminance \ 7 8 / *6. Chroma \____n____/ \____n____/ 7. Not used 8. Not used 1902A 64/128 * Actually used 12.4. How do I build a simple RS-232 interface cable? Here are a couple of different interface ideas, and another can be foun= d at ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/CBM/documents/rs232.txt Using MAX-232 IC: Userport C64 C64 RS232 _________ | | PA2 M-----------11-| |-14------------------- TXD (2) PB1 D-----------10-| |--7------------------- RTS (4) PB6 K-----------12-| MAX 232 |-13------------------- CTS (5) FLAG2 B---X--------9-| |--8------------------- RXD (3) PB0 C---| | |--3--|+-| VCC 2-----------16-| |--1-----| DB25-connector GND N------X----15-| | X--|+-2-| |--5--|+-| X--+|-6-|_________|--4-----| | |---------------------------------------- GND (7) -|+- capacitor 22uF/16V - + Using Transistors: RS-232 interface <24 pin edge connector> N <-----------------------+-----------+ / ! 22k !-!>+ ! M <----/\/\/--------! ! !---+ ! 1k \ ! 2 <----/\/\/--------------+------------>-------------------> 2 ! +-----------------+ \ + 8 +---! / H <-----------------+ E <--------------------------------------------------------> 20 C <---+ ! B <---+-------------+ \ +---! 22k !---------------/\/\/------------> 3 + 7 ! +-----> 4 ! +-----> 1 If you are having problems with this circuit as it stands, you may wish to modify it in this way to reverse the clock signal: Disconnect the emitter and collector on the middle transistor of the diagram (the one that goes to the H line on the computer side) Connect the collector to pin 2 on the 24 pin edge connector (the 5v Vcc= line), connect the emitter to pin H on the same connector, then connect= a 1k ohm resistor to the same pin H and the other end of the resistor to = pin N or A.