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Author Topic: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise... (Read 88349 times)

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #150 on: 2020.May.20. 11:11:04 »
Ok, I have decided that 12 Euro for the adapters will compensate the building cost+delivery(from Spain to The Netherlands). I mean the same 12 Euro for each of the 2 options,  slot version+flat cable, or stand-alone version.

Note that the slot option needs the useful bus expander, on stock for 15 Euro+shipping(available from me).

The SymbiFace has a price of 105 Euro, then the only remaining cost is the shipping cost from The Netherlands to your country.

If you plan to use the SF3 on one of the other SymbOS computers, MSX, CPC or PCW, better if you advise of it to Hans, because then, the /BUSDIR cable fix has to be made on a not definitive way, probably with a lead and connector on the adapter.
« Last Edit: 2020.May.20. 11:16:14 by gflorez »

Offline John Fante

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #151 on: 2020.May.22. 07:27:19 »
Thanks for all your work with this :)

A couple of questions. And sorry in advance if this has been answered before. I have been away for a rather long time ...

What is the approx. price for the SymbiFace3?

Can I use this busexpander? I know I have to the special 12 euro adaptor for the symbiface card.

And a related question? Is there any news on EP support for GFX-NINE? As far as I remember you where working on that also.

Thank you in advance!

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #152 on: 2020.May.22. 08:22:29 »
Hello John Fante.

Yes, the price of the Symbiface3 is 105€. You have the correct bus expander, so you will also need the slot adapter, 12€ more. To this the shipping cost to your country will be added.

About the GFX-NINE, yes we can enjoy a wonderful  g9k version of SymbOS on the Enterprise, but for that you will need a fixed version of the M-Slot adapter,. The one I sold you lacks a 74LS245 chip needed for correct operation of the MSX cartridges. I will send you one free of charge.
« Last Edit: 2020.May.22. 12:59:36 by gflorez »

Offline John Fante

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #153 on: 2020.May.22. 13:31:35 »
Thanks for the info!

Great to hear that GFX-NINE is working. Thank you very much for offering to send a new adaptor free of charge. I would be happy to pay for one. So please PM me the cost and I will paypal you and give my adress.

I will send a message to TMT logic about symbiface3 :)

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #154 on: 2020.May.24. 12:07:42 »
Yesterday I was producing some SF3 slot adapters.

I am out of stock of 50 pin EDGE connectors for the MSX Slot. The big PCB is an AMSDAP designed by Hans, an Amstrad CPC bus expander with 4 CPC slots + 2 MSX slots. A different approach than on the Enterprise.

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Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #155 on: 2020.June.26. 21:30:02 »
I am sorry, but I must rise a few Euro the prices of the adapters.

This is a hobby activity, and what I can't do is to loss money on it.

The reasons are evident, the CoVid19 disease has almost closed the cheap component shops in China, so I must find similar components on on-line European shops, slightly more expensive.

Some parts still have to be bought in China, like all the connectors, the PCBs and some outdated components.

But don't worry, the adaptors are still cheap enough.

For the same reasons, Hans has raised 5 Euro the price of the SymbiFace3, up to 110 Euro.

New prices will be only applied to new orders from now on, not to already accepted pending orders.

Also, to discharge Hans from work, and because he is very new to the Enterprise computer, from now on, better order yours adapters and SF3s directly with a PM to my nick.

Thanks for your understanding.

Gustavo.


Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #156 on: 2020.August.12. 14:52:08 »
New important update!

-Fixed Ram allocation on segments F8-FB(internal 64KB on EP128). Now EP64 users can define Ram on the area and the SF3 allocates it correctly. Thanks Teopl Ludic for testing it.

-Re-writing some parts of the code with VHLD(¿? Hans knows...)

-Added a new option to the INI file. The RomTable is executed just before the INI file so, the script file has priority over the Romtable Roms definitions. This produces a curious effect when injecting a Rom on a segment(write protected), but you can define the same segment as Ram on the INI. This can be useful on some cases because, when EXOS searches for Roms, it only needs a Rom header(Ok, not only...) to classify the segments as Roms.

This would allow us to emulate and test some very rare Enterprise devices, like EPDOS2X or other cartridges with attached Ram or Sram. Hans has confirmed me that there is no room on the CPLD for a mix of Ram and Rom on the cartridge area, 04-07, but now we can have easily emulated Roms and Ram there. Soon I will try it. It is not like SRam+batery, but at least can serve to emulate a session.

But some badly written Roms use the damned technique of writing to itself, and then the emulated Rom hangs...

This is the case of ScoreTrack, Vilmos Kopácsy's MIDI sequencer(Written by Jeffrey), which Geco is fixing to work on any memory segment, not only on cartridge area. I was trying it as emulated Rom and it hang, but started to work immediately when I defined it as a real Rom.

You can find the DFU file as usual on the Enterprise downloading area  on Hans Page.

The file is named: SF3_EP_20200810_cpld.dfu  11 August 2020.

You must update the file on the usual way with the DfuSeDemo program, and then follow the procedure to also upgrade the CPLD. 

Offline BruceTanner

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #157 on: 2020.August.13. 09:26:35 »
But some badly written Roms use the damned technique of writing to itself
FYI... EXOS, EXDOS and Cyrus Chess also write to their own ROM! :roll: :twisted:

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #158 on: 2020.August.13. 18:06:50 »
In this Fake News era it seems like it existed a conspiracy inside IS.... 

Offline dangerman

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #159 on: 2020.August.13. 23:13:39 »
FYI... EXOS, EXDOS and Cyrus Chess also write to their own ROM! :roll: :twisted:

Was Cyrus Chess officially made as a ROM? I always assumed the ROM version was a hacked version of the cassette :?:

Offline BruceTanner

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #160 on: 2020.August.13. 23:28:56 »
Was Cyrus Chess officially made as a ROM? I always assumed the ROM version was a hacked version of the cassette :?:
Good point, you may well be right! :idea:

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #161 on: 2020.September.05. 18:36:41 »
Geco has produced one more of his fine conversions. This time it is the SF3boot.Rom from the CPC.

This Rom was made some time ago, more like a proof of concept of RSX extensions and as a demo of some SF3 commands.

RSX is the name of the modules that can be added to the Locomotive Basic used on the CPC, much the same as can be done on IS Basic, being the best example our "Basic Extensions" made by Boxoft.

Geco has adapted the CPC's RSX commands as EXOS commands, making them usable from any program or game able to present an EXOS prompt, not only from Basic.

A list of the commands can be displayed at any time executing the ":SF3"+Enter command:

Code: [Select]
ROM
---
SETROM  "SD/USB","segment","rom file"
        Set specified ROM from
        SD/USB to segment
        It ends with HARD RESET!!!
        SETROM "sd","40","cyruss.rom"
MEMCFG  Displays memory config of EP
RTC
---
RRESET  Resets the RTC
RSDATE  <Day>,<Month>,<Year>
        Sets the RTC-Date
        e.g. RSDATE 31,12,19
RGDATE  Get the actual Date
RSTIME  <Hour>,<Minutes>,<Seconds>
        Sets the RTC-Time
        e.g. RSTIME 9,44,30
RGTIME  Get the actual Time
Buzzer
------
BUZZ    tone,rhytm
        Make a 'beep'
        e.g. BUZZ 2,3
        Values:
        Tone   00 buzzer off
               01 low
               02 middle
               03 high
        rhythm  00 continious
               01 slow
               02 middle
               03 fast
BUZZ    without a param gives silence
BEEP    The same as BUZZ
LED's
-----
LEDT    Tests LED's
LEDV    LeftLED-Value,RightLED-Value
        Set the LED's
        LED-Value - One Bit per LED
        e.g. LEDV 1,17
MISC
----
AMODE   x   Select Audio mode
        0 - Disable SE-ONE
        1 - Seone_MP3A
        2 - Seone_MP3B
        3 - Seone_FM
        4 - Seone_REG
        5 - Audiostream
        6 - MIDI
        7 - SYNTH
        8 - VOICE
        e.g. AMODE 1
VER     Shows Symbiface 3 - Version
LOG     Shows Log
MEMTEST Tests Symbiface 3-RAM
GERR    Shows last Error/Status-Text
MEASURE Get Power Supply 5v
        RTC batt voltage ,ARM temp
DFU     Shows actual Firmware-FileName
NET
---
IPCONFIG Shows the actual IP-Data

The commands inside the Rom are called with ":SF3 " followed of the name of the command. For example ":SF3 DFU" will show the actual version of the SF3 firmware.

For this first complete version of the Enterprise SF3 Rom(the former one only presented the SF3 logo), Geco has adapted the existing CPC sf3 approach commands to the Enterprise SF3 approach, for example SETROM. But also other totally new have been created, like MEMCFG and AMODE.

MEMCFG is a valuable command that will return a detailed list of all EP memory segments used. It can work also on any EP without SymbiFace3, and gives a detailed map of the use of the 4MB memory range, much the same as the HROM and LRAM commands from EPDOS do.

This is an example of what a stock EP+languageRom+EXDOS would return(results from the Emulator):

Code: [Select]
ROM: 00 EXOS 2.1    
ROM: 01 WP    version 2.1
ROM: 04 VDUMP Imprimir Gr@ficos
VSAVE Grabar Gr@ficos  
VLOAD Cargar Gr@f.
ESP   Modo en Espa|ol      
UK    Modo en Ingl^s        
ROM: 05 BASIC version 2.1
ROM: 06 SF3   version 0.2
ROM: 20 ISDOS version 1.0
EXDOS versi}n 1.4
ROM: 21
RAM: F8-FF

The text returned by the Roms has been used, but for Roms that don't return a text, like EXOS or Basic, some version detection has been implemented.

The other command added is AMODE, that is an acronym of Audio Mode. As some of you know, the SE-ONE side(MP3) of the SF3 has several modes, starting from MP3A(MSX legacy mode), then MP3B, the mode used by the SEPLAYER Basic Program, but some others and growing... like REG, MIDI and SYNTH. FM mode is not applicable to the SF3, that lacks an FM tuner(SE-ONE MSX cartridge), but instead the SF3 has the Audio stream mode, the junction of the Wifi+MP3 modules to broadcast Webradio stations. And Voice is the provisional name for a new mode that will allow to make audio calls between SF3 users.

This command has been implemented as a direct way to enter these modes from MP3A, the default mode. Due to the special configuration that some modes have, the return to the default mode is not always sure. Some times you will find that SymAmp on SymbOS doesn't play MP3 files after the SF3 being configured on the MIDI modes, 6 and 7. This will be fixed soon, but by now a fast and effective solution is to switch OFF/ON the Enterprise.

To use this Rom with the SF3 you only need to inject it on the 60h segment. Also, a copy of it will be put on every DFU upgrade, because when there is an execution error on the INI file, or there is not an INI file at all(if you extract the SD, for example), a copy of the Rom will be injected automatically on the 60h segment. This Rom also shows the SymbiFace3 logo on the Enterprise boot sequence.

Use this command, adapting it to your file path, on the INI file, if you have never used the SF3boot.Rom:

Code: [Select]
*ROM[#60]  =SD:SF3BOOT.ROM
If you have already  used the first version, only copy this new version file on the place of the old one.

This is a perfect opportunity to also test the ScoreTrack MIDI Rom, that has been fixed by Geco.

Just enter the SYNTH mode executing :SF3 AMODE 7   and then press the Enter key. Once done you can enter the ScoreTrack Rom you have already installed, with :ST  + Enter.
« Last Edit: 2020.September.06. 01:02:35 by gflorez »

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #162 on: 2020.September.05. 18:38:00 »
Second part

Offline gflorez

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #163 on: 2020.September.05. 18:39:33 »
Third part. Join and un-pack to see a short video.
« Last Edit: 2020.September.06. 01:08:12 by gflorez »

Offline szipucsu

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Re: SymbiFace3 is near your Enterprise...
« Reply #164 on: 2020.September.07. 14:23:00 »
Quote from: gflorez
SF3boot+ScoreTrack.part1-3.rar
I couldn't open the 3 files with 7-zip. Does it work with another program?
100 SOUND SOURCE 2,STYLE 128,PITCH 25.2,SYNC 1
110 SOUND PITCH 25,SYNC 1
120 ! Videos