RBSC Carnivore2 User Manual
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RBSC Carnivore2 User Manual

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Carnivore2 User Guide
English version
Copyright (C) 2020 RBSC (Russian Bear Service Crew)
Русская версия находится здесь:
About the project
Carnivore2 is the multi–functional cartridge for the MSX platform that was created in 2017 by RBSC. The project is still
supported — new firmware for FPGA is being released, as well as the software — the tools for working with the cartridge, the
Boot Menu (boot block), etc. The website of RBSC can be found here.
Carnivore2 features
External storage: CF card (CompactFlash)
Nextor is used as DOS (built-in support for FAT12/16, maximum partition size: 4 GB)
High read and write speeds
Инструкция по эксплуатации Carnivore2
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Summary of Contents for RBSC Carnivore2

  • Page 1 About the project Carnivore2 is the multi–functional cartridge for the MSX platform that was created in 2017 by RBSC. The project is still supported — new firmware for FPGA is being released, as well as the software — the tools for working with the cartridge, the Boot Menu (boot block), etc.
  • Page 2 Easy setup and user–friendly interface Links to important Carnivore2 documents and websites The below table contains the links to important Carnivore2 documentation and websites. List of compatible cards and adapters CF card and adapter compatibility reference Internal blocks and data layout...
  • Page 3 Source code, board files, documentation Article on MSX Wiki Official MSX Wiki article List of authorized distributors The below table contains the list of authorized Carnivore2 manufacturers and distributors. Order from Maxiol (RBSC) Official distributor in Russia Purchase from 8bits4ever online store Official distributor in Spain...
  • Page 4 Thе board assembled by Maxiol (authorized manufacturer/seller, Russia): Thе board assembled by Carmeloco (authorized manufacturer/seller, Spain): Thе board assembled by Retro Game Restore (authorized manufacturer/seller, Taiwan): 4/30...
  • Page 5 If any of your CF cards or SD-to-CF adapters no longer work with Carnivore2, try to replace the IDE bios with an alternative version. To do this, rename BIDECMFC.ALT into BIDECMFC.BIN and write the IDE BIOS into Carnivore2 with the C2MAN or C2MAN40 utility.
  • Page 6 SCC and PSG music and sound effects. When a computer is just powered on with the Carnivore2 cartridge inserted into a slot, it may reboot twice. This is normal and was implemented to make sure that the cartridge is fully initialized after the cold boot. You can enable the dual–reboot feature in the Configuration settings.
  • Page 7 Nextor's files to be copied onto it. FDISK Partitioning of CF memory card must be done in Carnivore2 cartridge! Insert CF memory card into the cartridge and start the computer When the boot menu appears, press the button to boot using the default configuration...
  • Page 8 Power cable connected to the cartridge: Connect the programmer's cable to the cartridge's connector (make sure the cable is connected correctly!) To connect the programmer to the connector on the cartridge, you need a dual–row pin header (PLD 2 × 5, 2.54 mm) that must be inserted into the programmer cable's connector: Then the programmer’s connector must be inserted into the connector of the cartridge and slightly tilted to ensure good contact...

  • Page 9: Usage Instructions

    Usage instructions The program that serves as the main interface of the Carnivore2 cartridge after a computer is powered on is called the Boot Menu. It can be also referenced as “Boot Block” or “bootblock”.
  • Page 10 If the cartridge is inserted into slot 3, the system will be halted immediately. In this case please power down the system and insert the cartridge into another free slot.. If the Boot Menu version is incompatible with the MSX computer, the following warning message will be shown and the cartridge will try to boot into MSX-DOS2 within the next 10 seconds.
  • Page 11 How to work with Boot Menu The Boot Menu allows to start the ROMs from the FlashROM chip and to restart the cartridge with the desired configuration. After a computer shows its boot logo, the cartridge's Boot Menu should appear and you should see the main menu with the list of directory entries.
  • Page 12 start selected entry (single slot configuration) Space start an entry directly reset MSX and start an entry Dual-Slot setup page Enter ⏎ select entry for the master slot select entry for the slave slot select entry for autostart clear Auto-Start & Dual-Slot settings toggle 50Hz or 60Hz frequency toggle Turbo or R800 mode customize configuration...
  • Page 13 2.40 of the Boot Menu, the record number for the auto–start feature is saved into the configuration EEPROM, so this chip must be installed on the Carnivore2's board. The selection of an entry for auto–start is done with the key from the main menu.

  • Page 14: Cpu Mode

    actions are possible: skip countdown and start selected entry cancel autostart Please hold a joystick's button for at least 1 second to cancel the autostart and go to the main menu or to start the selected directory entry. This works the same way when the message about the incompatible Boot Menu is shown. VDP frequency button only temporarily changes the VDP frequency to the desired value.
  • Page 15 Configuration screen. This will enable the mono mode for FMPAC's sound output through the Carnivore2's audio socket. PSG/PPI clicker settings The Boot Menu also supports enabling or disabling the internal PSG and PPI's Clicker emulation as well as setting the volumes for both of them.

  • Page 16: Configuration Screen

    save & exit to main menu enable/disable PSG Space enable/disable PPI Clicker Enter⏎ increase PSG volume ↑ decrease PSG volume ↓ increase Clicker volume → decrease Clicker volume ← reset to default values Home The volume's value is stored within the small EEPROM on the cartridge board. The value is saved when key is used to return to the main menu.
  • Page 17 To customize the configuration please use the key from the main menu. Beside the cursor keys, the following keys can be used in configuration screen: save & exit to main menu change selected value Space reset to default values Home A user can customize various configuration settings including directory sorting, fade in/out effects, keyboard/joystick delay as well as the colors (font and background) for the main menu, help screen, volume control screen and PSG setup screen.
  • Page 18 The new setup screen allows to run dual–slot configuration with flexible options selection for the master slot (you can choose what Carnivore2 built–in devices to enable). You can select 2 ROMs to run simultaneously. The only restriction for the slave slot is that it can run games with mappers as well as small games up to 32kb without mapper.
  • Page 19 After enabling the “Slave Slot as Master's Subslot” option, you need to select what subslot of the main slot should be used to emulate the slave slot. This can be done by putting the cursor onto one of the Carnivore2's devices — RAM, IDE or FMPAC and pressing .

  • Page 20: Help Screens

    same as cursor keys ↑ ↓ apply selected configuration and restart ← → change or toggle setting, select ROM or SCC+ mode, enable or disable device, assign subslot for slave emulation (same as on keyboard) Space exit to the main menu (same as on keyboard) Help screens The two help screens provide a complete list of keys and their assignments as well as information on the joystick's stick and...
  • Page 21 Save the configuration entry and exit the utility Put the Carnivore2 cartridge that you want to use as the SCC+ device into the first MSX slot and the device to load games from into the second slot. Start your MSX and when the Carnivore2's cartridge menu appears, select the newly created “Config: SCC+ Cartridge”...
  • Page 22 utility works only on MSX2 and later computers, it sets the 80 character mode by default. On MSX1 computers this C2MAN utility shows an incompatibility note and exits. For MSX1 computers the utility must be used. This utility, however, will also work on MSX2 and later computers in 80 C2MAN40 character mode, but all messages will be truncated for the 40 character mode.
  • Page 23 into the same 64kb block and finally four 16kb ROMs will be grouped written into the same 64kb block. All this is done automatically. You can add a ROM into the chip without user interaction. The following command line should be used: C2MAN file.rom /a The utility will try to automatically detect the ROM's mapper, check whether any free space is available and then it will write the selected ROM into the FlashROM chip.

  • Page 24: Service Menu

    rename it while editing. The number of directory entries is limited to 254. If the utility can't find an empty directory entry, it will ask you whether the directory should be optimized. If you select “Yes”, then there's a big chance that unused directory entries will be found and deleted and you will have the possibility to add new ones.
  • Page 25 RAM module, FM Basic will also be available. With the missing Boot Menu, it will be impossible to start ROMs as well as configuration entries. The Boot Menu is one of the most important programs for Carnivore2. To write the Boot Menu, you need file...
  • Page 26 The FMPAC's 8kb SRAM is emulated by the cartridge at the Shadow RAM's address 0FE000h. This area is not affected by the 1mb of primary RAM in any way. This area is used by certain games to save the data. If the Carnivore2 cartridge doesn't have a backup RAM battery installed, then the data that was saved into that area will be lost when an MSX computer is switched off.
  • Page 27 To stop the test it's necessary to hold the key. In the end the utility shows the total/success/failed counters. Carnivore2 support in openMSX The openMSX emulator supports Carnivore2 emulation from version 0_14_0-200. To configure the emulation, you will need 27/30...

  • Page 28: Troubleshooting

    Settings Edit configuration The device called will appear in the list of the found devices. You can then attach a disk image to Carnivore2 by Carnivore2 specifying the location of the file (your own CF card's image) in the Catapult's user interface. Click on the...

  • Page 29: Contact Information

    Contact information The terms and conditions for commercial production of the cartridge can be found here: http://rbsc.su/en/licensing/#Carnivore2 The members of RBSC group Tnt23, Wierzbowsky, Pencioner, Ptero, GreyWolf, SuperMax and DJS3000 can be contacted via the group's e-mail address: info@rbsc.su The group's coordinator could be reached via this e-mail address: admin@rbsc.su...
  • Page 30 2020-11-27 21:27 30/30...

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