[Coco] Becker port

[Bill Pierce]

Jim, that's exactly what Gary Becker did with the Becker Port on the Coco3FPGA. Unless you use the "Becker Port" versions of NitrOS9 with the Coco3FPGA, the unit will use a standard DECB or OS-9 FDC driver, which the FPGA converts (in the background) to use DriveWire. No modification is needed to the OS as it thinks it's accessing the drive. Of course to use the other features of DriveWire, you need the Becker versions of the OS to access the virtual ports and such.
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: RETRO Innovations <go4retro at go4retro.com>
To: apple2 <apple2 at markoverholser.com>; Mark D. Overholser <marko555.os2 at gmail.com>; CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Mon, Apr 22, 2019 9:16 pm
Subject: Re: [Coco] Becker port

    The Idea of the Becker Port has a lot of merit in the Hardware
    realm..
    Each of the above Hardware devices plus other USB devices like the
    FTDI
    chips...

  I disagree.

  With the CPLD/Arduino/etc. functionality that would be required to
  integrate an ESP8266 or some other peripheral to $ff41/42, one can just
  as easily implement enough of the 6551 register set to emulate the
  RS232, or implement enough of the WD1773 to emulate the FDC, etc.  In
  fact, if you added emulation for those two items, you would have a
  piece of HW that supported the interface of your choice without needing
  a custom or patched OS.  Both options require the same amount of
  hardware, and the latter offers more compatibility (and can do
  drivewire on the back end, if you want/need that).

  Jim

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