Dragon survey, what to ask for?

[zephyr]

I think this is a great idea, including the question about the double speed pokes. I like to do a little test to all Dragons to determine if it really runs well at double speed...

(1) Switch on, and wait until the machine has reached normal operating temperature.

(2) Type in directly at the command prompt: POKE65495,0:POKE65497,0:PLAY"CDEFGAB":POKE65496,0:POKE65494,0 - and press enter.

If the Dragon returns to the command prompt at normal speed, I know it will be a good machine to use at double speed. I have found over the years that most good Dragons will pass this test without any problems whatsoever.

[Vato]

I think this is a great idea, including the question about the double speed pokes. I like to do a little test to all Dragons to determine if it really runs well at double speed...

(1) Switch on, and wait until the machine has reached normal operating temperature.

(2) Type in directly at the command prompt: POKE65495,0:POKE65497,0:PLAY"CDEFGAB":POKE65496,0:POKE65494,0 - and press enter.

If the Dragon returns to the command prompt at normal speed, I know it will be a good machine to use at double speed. I have found over the years that most good Dragons will pass this test without any problems whatsoever.

Great!
I'll add that to the description of the "Poke"-field, giving people the chance to do that test before submitting their entry.

Thanks for the input!
Vato

[zephyr]

Great! In all but a few very exceptional cases, I can tell you whether a Dragon will run well at double speed by knowing which type of mainboard is installed.

[Vato]

Great! In all but a few very exceptional cases, I can tell you whether a Dragon will run well at double speed by knowing which type of mainboard is installed.

hmm... interesting...
I did the test on my 2 D32's, and my original one (issue 5/Hitachi) passes the test no matter how many times I try it. But my second one (issue 6/Motorola) returned the first time (although there were some random characters on the screen) and worked OK. When I then tried the test again, it never recovered.

Are these in line with your findings?

Vato

PS.
Should I add a field for the 14.21818 MHz vs 14.218 MHz crystal? Or is this tied to the motherboard version?

[zephyr]

Did you let the machines reach full operating temperature first? Most Dragons will pass that test easily within the first 10 minutes after power on. Run a little BASIC program in a loop at POKE65495,0 A/D speed for a while to get the Dragon nice and hot before you run the test. Or just play a game for half an hour or so...

Yes, I think it would be a good idea to add a field for the 14.31818 MHz v 14.218 MHz crystals.

[Vato]

Did you let the machines reach full operating temperature first? Most Dragons will pass that test easily within the first 10 minutes after power on. Run a little BASIC program in a loop at POKE65495,0 A/D speed for a while to get the Dragon nice and hot before you run the test. Or just play a game for half an hour or so...

Yes, I think it would be a good idea to add a field for the 14.31818 MHz v 14.218 MHz crystals.

I have added a crystal field to the survey... I changed the name to "Dragon Database"

It would be nice if someone could try to register some of their beasts.... The link is in one of the earlier posts.

Regarding the high speed poke test..... I tried again with my "good" D32 (Issue 5/Hitachi). I left it on doing some maths for 1 hour, then played half an hour of "Cosmic Invaders", ran the test, and left it on doing some more maths for about another half hour. It's still counting and doing it's thing without any "hiccups". So I will certainly make this one pass as "good".

Vato

[Alastair]

Another field to add, the power board version. If you look at your (Vato's) photo you will find the issue number in the red circled area, though in your case someone has stuck a sticker over the writing. My Dragon's power board is Issue 3 by the way.

Incidentally, again with reference to the photo, is there any power board where "Reg 3" is attached to the heat sink?

With respect to Zephyr's double speed test, I added a "10" to the beginning so that I could just RUN the test when I wanted rather than repeatedly type in the line. Initially it worked, as expected, but after leaving the Dragon on for about 15 minutes (and not running anything) it failed.

Now I have to open my Dragon up again to check on the crystal, then I will be able to fill in the survey.


P.S. In an earlier post there was talk about power supplies, I seem to recall in an thread on one of the old boards that there may be more than one version. But perhaps this is best left to a separate survey.

[Vato]

hmm... I didn't realise there were different power boards as well. But when I take a closer look at my two boards I can clearly see the difference I'll add a field for that as well!
What I can't see is what versions mine are.... are the markings stuck under the labels of both boards?, or are there any other ways to determine the version?

How many different versions are there? Just so I know what to write in the drop down box of that field.....

....and how many versions are there of the motherboard? I have included Issue 1 to 6 in the drop-down, but should I be adding more? How about the 64's and Tano's MB's?

[Alastair]

On the lower photo the "B" sticker covers the issue number, the copyright symbol that is visible is part of the text that includes the number - there is no sticker covering the number in my Dragon. I assume that in the upper photo that the serial number sticker is covering the issue number, it may be a little tricky to remove the sticker to find out.

[Vato]

On the lower photo the "B" sticker covers the issue number, the copyright symbol that is visible is part of the text that includes the number - there is no sticker covering the number in my Dragon. I assume that in the upper photo that the serial number sticker is covering the issue number, it may be a little tricky to remove the sticker to find out.

Does your board look like any of mine? If I could put up photos of the various board versions, people could "report" the board version without the need for peeling off any stickers that may cover it.

Vato