C4P floppy issues

From: Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink_at_verizon.net>
Date: Thu Sep 23 21:20:13 2004

> > A friend gave me his first computer to go in my collection.
> > Its a Challenger C4P. I do have the original manuals etc.
> > And of course my friend for information.
> >
> > What I am looking for however is additional information,
> > websites etc devoted to it. I have the cassette based
> > version. The first question would be details on the
> > floppy disk version. IE can I upgrade mine. If not,
> > sources for programs for the cassette based unit.
>
> You might think that you could just add a floppy interface
> board and have a C4P-MF. Nope, afraid not. The floppy
> controller is integrated into the CPU card in the C4P-MF.
> That CPU card is a 505. On a non-MF C4P, the CPU is a 502.
> On the 502, instead of the floppy interface, there is Micro$oft
> 8K BASIC in ROM and the cassette port (the C4P-MF does NOT have
> a cassette port). One possibility to get cassette functionality
                                            ^^^^^^^^
Duh, should be "floppy"... (proof read _BEFORE_ you post, moron)

> on a C4P(non-MF) would be to hack up a 470 board... but you
> would then also have to re-do the monitor ROM, as the boot
> loader code in the C4P monitor (according to rumor) doesn't
> work anyway. Might have something to do with addressing conflicts
> with the cassette port. Finally, there are issues with the
> OS (usually OS-65D) expecting/not expecting to see BASIC in ROM.
> I think if it sees it, it figures that it is running on a C1P
> and you get funny results if you are not (keyboard issues maybe?
> I'd have to look through some old PEEK65s to check).
Received on Thu Sep 23 2004 - 21:20:13 BST