Color Computer CoCo SDC Manual
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Color Computer CoCo SDC Manual

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Summary of Contents for Color Computer CoCo SDC

  • Page 1 CoCo SDC...
  • Page 2 About the cover image: Darren Atkinson designed the CoCo SDC hardware and software. http://cocosdc.blogspot.com Printed circuit board manufactured by Ed Snider. https://sites.google.com/site/thezippsterzone/ The clear acrylic case designed by Tim Lindner. https://youtu.be/OdSOUcd60Ok This manual takes inspiration from Brian Blake’s original.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    COCO SDC | iii Table of Contents What is the CoCo SDC? ................... 1 Features and Specifications ................... 2 Hardware Guide ......................... 2 Jumper Settings ......................... 3 DIP Switch Settings ......................3 How is the SDC different from competing products? .......... 4 Getting Ready For Fun ...................
  • Page 4 | Table of Contents Using the CoCo SDC with Drivewire .................16 Connecting via the Color Computer .................17 Accessing Real Floppy Disks ..................18 Automatic Program Execution ..................18 EXP ............................19 DEF DW = n ........................19 Using the Flash ..................... 21 Running a Cartridge Image ..................21 Erasing Banks and Sectors ....................22...

  • Page 5: What Is The Coco Sdc

    COCO SDC | 1 What is the CoCo SDC? The CoCo SDC is a home-brew project for the One drawback of these offerings has been TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo). It has been in that they aren’t compatible with software that various stages of development since 2009.

  • Page 6: Features And Specifications

    • “Disk Switch” button to support multi-disk programs • PCB can be mounted in a Tandy FD-502 enclosure CoCo SDC Revision 3 Board. Hardware Guide Also on board is 128K of Flash memory which is divided into 8 banks of 16K. These...

  • Page 7: Jumper Settings

    FAT16 or FAT32 file system. It could also indicate that the card was not inserted properly or that there is a problem with the CoCo SDC itself. Although SD cards are hot-swappable, the CoCo SDC firmware does not handle that situation very well.

  • Page 8: How Is The Sdc Different From Competing Products

    4 | Chapter 1 Three of the switches specify the Flash bank to How is the SDC different from competing activate upon power-up or system reset. The products? switches are labeled on the board as 4, 2 and • No reliance on expensive third-party 1.

  • Page 9: Getting Ready For Fun

    The Basics D & E Compatibility Issues There are a few very important things that must The CoCo SDC is compatible with all versions be touched upon before we get into the actual of the Color Computer and Dragon Computer operation of the CoCo SDC: lines.

  • Page 10: Identifying The Problem Boards

    This does not affect normal operation of the open the case and look inside. The boards in CoCo SDC in terms of being able to read data question have a large metal shielded area that or execute code from the Flash. When writing...

  • Page 11: Finding A Suitable Enclosure

    The modification is rather simple and involves Finding a Suitable Enclosure cutting just one leg of a capacitor. Be sure to Before you plug in the CoCo SDC, you should disconnect power to the CoCo and discharge consider an enclosure for the device. Ideally,...

  • Page 12: Rescuing After A Failed Update

    D or E board CoCo 1, and Before installation begins you will be asked ended up with a CoCo SDC that will only for confirmation by pressing the Y key. After boot to DECB. The recovery steps should be installation is complete the CoCo will re-boot.

  • Page 13: Recovery Steps

    Atmega micro-controller will read that file at prompts. boot. The STARTUP.CFG file must contain the 10. Your CoCo SDC should now be back to the following line in order cause the Atmega to way it was when it was shipped to you.
  • Page 14 10 | Chapter 2...

  • Page 15: Using The Sdc

    COCO SDC | 11 Using the SDC If you had to go thru the CoCo SDC update The second column in the table indicates process, then you already are familiar with whether or not Disk Image mode is currently one of the enhanced commands. As stated on or off.

  • Page 16: Drive - Mounting Sd Based Images

    DRIVE command CoCo SDC has over products that preceded will give you a status on the CoCo SDC’s drive it to market is the ability to use software that mapping. However, the DRIVE command, as...

  • Page 17: Drive - With Wildcards

    To alleviate this the CoCo SDC, next to the SD slot, one time. problem you can add a startup configuration The red LED will blink twice indicating that file to the SD card.

  • Page 18: Dir

    Sinistaar: Just entering DIR after first powering on the DIR "GAMES/" CoCo, with the CoCo SDC inserted will most Lists the files and folders in the GAMES folder. likely end in an I/O? error since no image was DIR "GAMES/SUNDOG/"...

  • Page 19: Setting Current Directory

    COCO SDC | 15 Setting Current Directory You can specify a Current Directory for commands that access the SD card. Once specified, all subsequent commands that refer to files or directories on the SD card are relative to the Current Directory unless the path name begins with a slash (/).

  • Page 20: Locking Disk Images

    SD card is great. The possibilities are almost To create a single sided disk image in the SDF endless. However, the CoCo SDC is not a one format use the NEW+ option. trick pony.

  • Page 21: Connecting Via The Color Computer

    – let’s say Flight Simulator containing an array of up to 256 floppy images, II – from your PC to the CoCo SDC. The steps you can specify the index of the desired floppy you would take are:...

  • Page 22: Accessing Real Floppy Disks

    Disk Image mode has been turned off. Finally, the floppy controller emulation features of the CoCo SDC are only available to images To turn off Disk Image mode for a particular located on the SD card. The Drivewire support...

  • Page 23: Exp

    COCO SDC | 19 The EXP command has been added to provide quick access to a program for browsing the contents of the SD card (Explorer utility). Entering the EXP command will cause the system to search the root directory of the SD card for a disk image named SDCEXP.DSK.
  • Page 24 20 | Chapter 3...

  • Page 25: Using The Flash

    Normally, pressing the RESET button on the programmed if necessary. CoCo will re-activate the Flash bank set by the DIP switches on the CoCo SDC board. You can Running a Cartridge Image force the system to retain the bank selection of...

  • Page 26: Erasing Banks And Sectors

    22 | Chapter 4 After using this option you will need to When erasing a single sector you can specify any address from C000 to FEFF. The entire fully power-down the CoCo (and Multi-Pak Interface) in order to restore the normal Reset sector containing that address will be erased.

  • Page 27: Copying A Block Of Memory

    ROM cartridge into When creating a utility program to manage one of the Flash banks of the CoCo SDC. the Flash, one feature that is often needed is The example assumes an MPI is attached and the ability to quickly move a block of memory.
  • Page 28 24 | Chapter 4...

  • Page 29: About File Formats

    324 sectors or 18 The secondary format, known as SDF, was tracks of a single-sided CoCo disk (enough to created specifically for the CoCo SDC and is accommodate the Disk BASIC directory track). used for imaging floppy disks only. The third is The disk geometry associated with a DSK the JVC format.

  • Page 30: Disk Geometry Table For Dsk Images

    All of the bytes are optional, but are interpreted in the order listed in the table. If omitted their default values are assumed. The CoCo SDC requires the Sectors Per Track to be 18, and the Sector Size Code to be 1. It will honor a Side Count of 1 or 2.

  • Page 31: Sdf Images

    Unused Unused Compression flags and name length. The CoCo SDC will honor a Number Of Sides value of 1 or 2. It will also honor the Write Protect bit. SDF Images The SDF image format is used to represent floppy disks that have a non-standard layout which is anything other than 18 sectors per track and 256 bytes per sector using standard numbering of the tracks and sectors.

  • Page 32: Sdf File Format

    28 | Chapter 5 SDF File Format An SDF file consists of a header followed by a variably-sized array of track records. The track records are arranged in ascending order corresponding to their physical position on the disk (cylinder and side). SDF FILE Single Sided Double Sided...

  • Page 33: Contents Of The Sdf 256 Byte Track Header

    COCO SDC | 29 Following the File Header is the array of Track Records. Each track record begins with a 256 byte header and is then followed by 6250 bytes of raw track data. There are 150 bytes of unused padding at the end of a track record which are included to align every track on a 512 byte boundary within the file.
  • Page 34 30 | Chapter 5 Byte Offset Length in Description Bytes The 14 low-order bits of this 16 bit field contain the offset from the beginning of the Track Record to the first byte of the sector’s ID field within the raw track data. The two high-order bits (14 and 15) are used as flags.
  • Page 35 COCO SDC | 31...
  • Page 36 32 | Chapter 5...
  • Page 37 COCO SDC | 33...
  • Page 38 34 |...
  • Page 39 COCO SDC | 35 Index FAT16 3 Real Floppy 18 FAT32 3 RUN 21 Flash 21 Flash memory 2 Atmega 2 SCSI 1 AUTOEXEC.BAS 18 SDC-DOS 7, 11, 12, 21 HDB-DOS 17 SDC Exporer 19 SDF 25, 26, 28 BACKUP 18 Startup 11 STARTUP.CFG 9, 14...

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