Unless you really insisted on using BASIC, there were several free monitors
that required only that you substitute the addresses, and perhaps a couple of
bit masks for what was in place in the serial port driver. With a "real"
monitor you could write loops that were not so slow that your 'scope would
fail to display a consistent waveform because of the infrequency of the
trigger event. If you required a composite video output, and could tolerate
working around the hardware you didn't need, modifying an educational toy like
that might, indeed, have been easier for the inexperienced. A storage scope
or logic analyzer would probably have made working with the BASIC easier,
though.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Glen Goodwin" <acme_ent_at_bellsouth.net>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 28, 2002 10:20 PM
Subject: Starting point
> > From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
>
> > There was one big advantage to starting from a home computer rather than
> > just a CPU chip. You had a 'base system' that included enough software to
>
> > PEEK/POKE bytes to your homebrew add-on for testing. That alone made life
>
> > a lot easier when you wwre starting out.
>
> Tony! This is exactly the point I was making a few months ago about the
> ZX81. At that time, you said you'd prefer to start with a Z80 and build up
> from there, while I suggested that the ZX81 was a better starting point for
> a homebrew system since the BASIC and video were built-in.
>
> Care to clarify?
>
> Glen
> 0/0
>
>
Received on Mon Apr 29 2002 - 04:42:37 BST