Comments on: CHROMAtrs http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/ TRS-80.org is a source for information about the Radio Shack TRS-80 line of computers, hardware, and software, with articles, interviews, and more! Sat, 21 Jan 2012 03:40:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Chuck Sites http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-13857 Chuck Sites Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:25:50 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-13857 South Shore was lucky to get Robert French to write ChromaBasic. At Thirteen he could program circles around anybody. And he could type unbelievably fast too. Hi Rob. Here is my story on the ChromaTRS. I bought mine in the form of the $99 kit. I still have it too. I bought my Model I in 1978. by the time ChromaTRS came around I was pretty good at hardware hacking. One of the mods I made to the Model I, was something i called the Re-Mapper which was an amazingly simple mod to run a real CPM. I never got around to publishing it, but 80-Micro would have loved it. Basically a bit on port 7E, toggle a JK-flipflop that triggered an XOR on A14 and A15. Magically the ROM moved from 0000-3FFF to C000-FFFF and the RAM from that location moved to 0000. And all your code from 4000-BFFF stayed there. It made booting CP/M a snap. The mod was as easy as the reverse video mod. In the end; my Model I had 192K RAM bank-switch CP/M mod, swap RAM for ROM mod, speed up mod, reverse video mod, lower case mod, and a ChromaTRS. I showed the ChromaTRS to Rob and said you should take your RF-Extended Basic and re-write it for the ChromaTRS which he did. He even did the 3D commands as a favor to me. Geeze we are talking sines and cosines in assembly language here. It was very impressive. My hat is off to the people at South Shore for making a great expansion device, and to Rob for coding up such a cool language. . South Shore was lucky to get Robert French to write ChromaBasic. At Thirteen he could program circles around anybody. And he could type unbelievably fast too.
Hi Rob. Here is my story on the ChromaTRS. I bought mine in the form of the $99 kit. I still have it too. I bought my Model I in 1978. by the time ChromaTRS came around I was pretty good at hardware hacking. One of the mods I made to the Model I, was something i called
the Re-Mapper which was an amazingly simple mod to run a real CPM. I never got around to publishing it, but 80-Micro would have loved it. Basically a bit on port 7E, toggle a JK-flipflop that triggered an XOR on A14 and A15. Magically the ROM moved from 0000-3FFF to C000-FFFF and the RAM from that location moved to 0000. And all your code from 4000-BFFF stayed there. It made booting CP/M a snap. The mod was as easy as the reverse video mod. In the end; my Model I had 192K RAM bank-switch CP/M mod, swap RAM for ROM mod, speed up mod, reverse video mod, lower case mod, and a ChromaTRS. I showed the ChromaTRS to Rob and said you should take your RF-Extended Basic and re-write it for the ChromaTRS which he did. He even did the 3D commands as a favor to me. Geeze we are talking sines and cosines in assembly language here. It was very impressive. My hat is off to the people at South Shore for making a great expansion device, and to Rob for coding up such a cool language.

.

]]> By: Mark McDougall http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-11030 Mark McDougall Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:11:42 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-11030 If you have any software listings Ben, that'd help with reverse-engineering?!? If you have any software listings Ben, that’d help with reverse-engineering?!?

]]> By: Ben Mesander http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-7400 Ben Mesander Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:04:47 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-7400 I wrote some game programs for my own use in Z-80 assembler that used the CHROMAtrs. Stuff like a parachute jump program, the plane would be one sprite in the 9918, the little person and the chute were two others. I had a WICO joystick and trackball hooked to mine. I recall the trackball either drew too much power and made the CHROMAtrs unreliable or the 5V wasn't provided on the atari-compatible port, can't remember which, so I tapped 5V off somewhere else and ran a wire to the joystick port so I could use it. I remember using the CHROMAtrs from BASIC, Z-80, small C, and FORTH. I also ported some Applesoft BASIC graphics programs from Creative Computing to the TRS-80/CHROMAtrs. Good times when I was in highschool, sometimes I wish I still had all that old hardware, but there's just not enough time anymore. Later I remember porting some of these old programs to the Amiga 1000 when I got one of those with money from my first "real" engineering job. I wrote some game programs for my own use in Z-80 assembler that used the CHROMAtrs. Stuff like a parachute jump program, the plane would be one sprite in the 9918, the little person and the chute were two others. I had a WICO joystick and trackball hooked to mine.

I recall the trackball either drew too much power and made the CHROMAtrs unreliable or the 5V wasn’t provided on the atari-compatible port, can’t remember which, so I tapped 5V off somewhere else and ran a wire to the joystick port so I could use it.

I remember using the CHROMAtrs from BASIC, Z-80, small C, and FORTH.

I also ported some Applesoft BASIC graphics programs from Creative Computing to the TRS-80/CHROMAtrs.

Good times when I was in highschool, sometimes I wish I still had all that old hardware, but there’s just not enough time anymore.

Later I remember porting some of these old programs to the Amiga 1000 when I got one of those with money from my first “real” engineering job.

]]> By: Robert French http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-2853 Robert French Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:28:28 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-2853 Wow, I just ran across this web page by accident. I'm the "shockingly young student from Kentucky" that StevenHB referred to above. I was 14 when I wrote and sold Chroma BASIC to South Shore, and I still remember it well. I also remember writing a Pacman-equivalent and some other games. I would be thrilled to hear from anyone else from South Shore or any users of the product. Wow, I just ran across this web page by accident. I’m the “shockingly young student from Kentucky” that StevenHB referred to above. I was 14 when I wrote and sold Chroma BASIC to South Shore, and I still remember it well. I also remember writing a Pacman-equivalent and some other games. I would be thrilled to hear from anyone else from South Shore or any users of the product.

]]> By: Matthew Reed http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-1056 Matthew Reed Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:06:42 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-1056 The CHROMAtrs was mapped to ports 78H to 7FH, although the base address could be changed using a jumper. I don't know which of the ports mapped to the TMS9918A and which mapped to the sound and the joysticks. I have thought before about adding CHROMAtrs support to my TRS-80 emulators, but the lack of software is a problem. It would be fairly easy to reverse engineer the CHROMAtrs hardware if any of the software was still available. The CHROMAtrs was mapped to ports 78H to 7FH, although the base address could be changed using a jumper. I don’t know which of the ports mapped to the TMS9918A and which mapped to the sound and the joysticks.

I have thought before about adding CHROMAtrs support to my TRS-80 emulators, but the lack of software is a problem. It would be fairly easy to reverse engineer the CHROMAtrs hardware if any of the software was still available.

]]> By: Mark McDougall http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-1027 Mark McDougall Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:17:49 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-1027 Does anyone have any documentation for the CHROMAtrs (and the other similar colour add-ons)? I'd be particularly interested in the schematics, user/programmer manual, and the driver software. I'd like to implement this (and perhaps the other TMS9918A-based add-ons) in my FPGA TRS-80. But I have no idea how it was interfaced to the TRS-80 (memory/port map(s) etc). I'm surprised none of the software emulation authors have added these products. I do know MAME/MESS already has a TMS9918A core... so adding it to MESS would be a no-brainer... Thanks in advance! Regards, Does anyone have any documentation for the CHROMAtrs (and the other similar colour add-ons)? I’d be particularly interested in the schematics, user/programmer manual, and the driver software.

I’d like to implement this (and perhaps the other TMS9918A-based add-ons) in my FPGA TRS-80. But I have no idea how it was interfaced to the TRS-80 (memory/port map(s) etc). I’m surprised none of the software emulation authors have added these products. I do know MAME/MESS already has a TMS9918A core… so adding it to MESS would be a no-brainer…

Thanks in advance!
Regards,

]]> By: StevenHB http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/comment-page-1/#comment-468 StevenHB Thu, 22 Jan 2009 23:55:24 +0000 http://www.trs-80.org/chromatrs/#comment-468 I worked for South Shore Computer Concepts in 1982 and 1983. I assembled a few of them and debugged more. I probably still have one in a closet somewhere. I know that I have the keyboard/CPU unit from my own Model I. I worked with the author of CHROMA Basic, who was a (shockingly) young student from Kentucky. Thanks for the memories. I worked for South Shore Computer Concepts in 1982 and 1983. I assembled a few of them and debugged more. I probably still have one in a closet somewhere. I know that I have the keyboard/CPU unit from my own Model I.

I worked with the author of CHROMA Basic, who was a (shockingly) young student from Kentucky. Thanks for the memories.

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