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Recommended: Gigatron

a computer w/o a microprocessor

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Multicomp FPGA - CP/M Demo Disk

This page provides a SD disk image for Grant Searle's Multicomp CP/M machine, based on the earlier version for the N8VEM computer. Also, a quick how-to is provided on how to exchange files between the Multicomp and a Windows PC.
What's on the disk image:
Languages:

  • Aztec C v1.06 (compiles DWG N8VEM support apps)

  • BDS C & Tiny C

  • APL & Janus ADA v1.5

  • Microsoft Cobol, Fortran, Basic, Basic Compiler

  • Microsoft Macro-80 assembler

  • BBC Basic

  • Turbo Pascal v3.0

  • DX-Forth 4.01

  • PL/I v1.4

  • Algol/M

 

Applications:

  • WordStar 3.30, CalcStar, DataStar, SpellStar

  • muMath & muSimp (CAS math package)

  • Microsoft Multiplan

  • DBase II

  • Qterm, Crosstalk, RCP/M, CLink (not installed yet)

 

Games:

  • Infocom Adventures: Zork, Planetfall

  • The classic Colossal Cave adventure

  • Ladder & Catchum (Donkey Kong/Pacman clones)

  • Sargon Chess, Othello

  • Star Trek, Wanderer

Tools:

  • Microshell & microtools - like the unix shell

  • Supersoft Utilities 2 - useful unix-like tools

 

  • ZDE - standard editor.

  • DDT, DDTZ - standard debuggers/intel mnemonics

  • DDTZ80 - standard debugger/Zilog mnemonics

  • SID, ZSID - original symbolic debugger

  • DEBUGZ - Full-Screen debugger - probably the best

  • LINK - Linker & LZ - LinkZ, a faster L80 alternative

  • ASM - standard CP/M assembler/Intel mnemonics

  • RMAC - macro assembler (v1) from Digital Research

  • MAC - later (v2) version of RMAC

  • ZTRAN4 - translate Intel to Zilog

  • MC.SUB - Submit file for Macro-80 compile cycle

  • SUPERSUB - a better Submit

  • LS - a better dir

  • ZAP - file manager

  • NSWP207, WASH15, VFILER - file management tools

  • NULU, LBREXT - for lbr archives

  • CR, UNCR - (un)crunch *.*z* files

  • USQ - unsQueeze *.?q? files

  • UNARC, UNZIP - deals with arc, ark & zip files

  • SURVEY - inventorise your system & test memory

 

How-To

 

Click on the black buttons to download from Google Drive. Note: you need to select File->Download from the top menu to actually get the zipped files. Clicking on the single files within the zip archives downloads only that one specific file, uncompressed.

 

Simply copy the image file to your Compact Flash or SD card using Win32 Disk Imager (provided under the Tool Set button further below) or dd. I've been sloppy: the drive image requires at least a 256MB SD card. But you can chop off the last 128MB, it's not used... I do beg your pardon for the waste of space & bandwidth.

 

Once you boot from the disk, there is a FILES.TXT on the A: drive that you can type to get a quick overview of what's where.

 

 

Software Manuals

 

To the left is a download link containing PDFs of almost all applications on the disk image. Note that these have simply been sourced from all over the net, from public sources. Pro forma: if you feel I'm infringing a copyright that belongs to you, please let me know and I will remove the offending PDF. Warning: 172MB download.

 
 
File Exchange: some useful tools put together

 

Although Grant provides a tool to transfer files to/from the Multicomp, there are other ways to access the SD card from your PC. The Tool Set download provides:

 

  • a directory structure in the TO_IMG subdirectory with all the CP/M files to be shot into the drive image. So deposit any additional files in here if you want to add to this Demo Disk.
     

  • a crude-but-effective cpmtools batch file to shoot the entire TO_IMG directory onto the drive image. Be sure to run this on an empty, freshly formatted drive image! Also, a word of caution: the Windows version of cpmtools does not seem to like user numbers above 9. 10-15 are thus off-limits.
     

  • Win32 Disk Imager, to copy disk images to and from the actual SD card.
     

  • cpmtools, to read & write files to the Multicomp drives on a disk image. The diskdefs file contains definitions for the Multicomp's A-E drives. Example: "cpmls -f hd0 imagefile.img" shows a dir of the A: drive, hd1 will show the B: drive, etc. See the cpmtools home page for cpmcp and other utils.

 

Not in the download file is cpmcbfs, which allows you to mount the SD card as a drive on your Windows PC, and read/write straight to it. No need for image files as an intermediate step - but thus also less safe. See its home page. You can copy the diskdefs file from the Tool Set so cpmcbfs understands the Multicomp disk format.

 

 

In summary

 

This is not exactly the Ultimate Disk Image & Tool Chain. But I hope it's useful, and please let me know of any software to add or errors to fix.

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