[Coco] Emulator Set-ups

[Frank Swygert]

Heck, in your case I'd can Windows altogether (since MESS won't run) and just use the DOS emulator. Actually, looking back at your message, looks like that might be what you're doing. Do a little research and write a simple batch file menu, including things such as formatting and copying a DECB disk from DOS, and auto boot into the menu. Shouldn't be too hard to have it run the menu upon exiting a called DOS program, but I can't remember if that's easy to do from a batch file or not. 

Most of the lines on the CoCo I/O connector are on a parallel port, or the port can be programmed to mimic them. A few probably can't, but I wonder if there's enough that a program pak would run if an adapter were made. I don't know how programmable the parallel port is anymore! I would think it could be done easy enough, even if a little circuitry was needed in the adapter... something like one of the print wait lines could be used as a CART line, for example. Yeah. I'[m a bit fuzzy on the Cnetronics parallel port right now, but it should have enough lines and be programmable enough to emulate a CoCo cartridge port. The real problem is an emulator would have to be modified to support such an adaptation. I definitely don't have the programming skills to do that! Heck, I don't have the hardware skills to actually make the adaptation, just enough knowledge to look and say "hey, this should be doable..."

--------
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:50:37 -0400
> From: Frank Swygert <farna at att.net>
> Subject: Re: [Coco] Time for that CoCo 3 ethernet card! Twitter access
> 	on	the C64.

I'm actually not that far away from such a thing with my "emulator box"; 
  well, at least I have the box - with emulators on it, and a 5 1/4" 
drive that works well with it. I have the "main" emulators on it, along 
with a copy of an older version of MESS that runs, but too slowly on it 
to matter (IIRC, the box is a P166 or something like that).

It boots into DOS right now, then I have to manually start an emulator - 
but I could easily see booting straight into the emulator and bypassing 
DOS (if the boot sector was messed with - I know it is possible to do). 
You would still need to set up the custom hardware, and ultimately you 
would still want access to all the tools available (I would think?) - 
seems like a big project to take it to the next level, but doable.

-- 
Frank Swygert
Publisher, "American Motors Cars" 
Magazine (AMC)
For all AMC enthusiasts
http://farna.home.att.net/AMC.html
(free download available!)