Flex Software for the DragonPlus

[tjewell]

Hi, I thought it better to move this to another thread, and keep the other thread for OS/9

Well, I know a lot more Flex than I used to! But each step forwards comes with a couple back.

I've been sent to this site - http://www.swtpcemu.com/swtpc/Overview.htm - it's got an SWTPC emulator that also comes with some useful Windows tools for examining Flex DSK files. There's also a huge archive of Flex software that may or may not work on a Dragon. I've also got access to the Flex User Group's FTP archive - I'll share the logins with anyone who PMs me, but I'd rather not publicise it. There's a vast amount of stuff there, but it's very hard to navigate.

What I've also discovered is that Flex .dsk files aren't the same as .dsk files I find in our archive. I've attached a file that Tad from Compusense sent me that should contain an 80 column version of Dynacalc for Flex/DragonPlus. I can 'CAT' it from inside Xroar, but I get disk errors when I try to run anything. Same disk image reads fine under the SWTPC emulator and associated disk tools. I note those tools can't read .dsk files I find in our archive, which I presume are Coco disk images, and aren't the same.

I also still have the problem that Flex only seems to boot successfully from a floppy drive and not my SDC, even when I switch back to standard DragonDos. So how on earth I'd get Tad's disk image onto a floppy currently eludes me.

Any thoughts or ideas anyone?

Cheers!
Tony

[sixxie]

Running with "-debug-fdc -1", it stalls and eventually errors out trying to read track 1, sector *20*.

Reading the Flex Programmer's Manual, this seems predictable:

"The first two bytes of each sector contain the track and sector number of the next sector in the chain", and indeed, the sector read before that (track 1, sector 1) has "00 14" as these bytes.

Reading hex dump of the disk image, seems like for the first track at least, "next sector" numbers go up to 36!

Unfortunately, modifying the image to specify 36 sectors per track causes XRoar to hang, as you can't actually fit 36 256-byte sectors onto a 5.25" disk track (bug, there, needs sorting).

Here's the disk image with those per-sector link bytes rewritten as though it were an 18 sector per track disk, and the first/last sector numbers in the directory track. It doesn't error out! Just crashes The CUSTOM tool does however appear to run, so maybe a good place to start?

[tjewell]

Thanks Ciaran!

I'm wondering if it's crashing because it's trying to something DragonPlus related? The custom program works after you do an 'ASN W=1' (to tell it that the second disk is the one with Dynacalc on it), but alas, it only seems related to printers.

Time to get it onto a floppy and in my DPlus machine. I could swear there was a little script somewhere that converts .dsk files to .vdk ... then I can use the VDK2FLO dweeb to move it over.

While I have you Ciaran - is there a way of specifying on Xroar's command line which disks are in which drive? For the life of me, I can't find it!

Thanks again, Tony.

[sixxie]

While I have you Ciaran - is there a way of specifying on Xroar's command line which disks are in which drive? For the life of me, I can't find it!

Ugh no, not yet, they just get inserted in drive order, so "-load disk-for-drive-1.vdk -load disk-for-drive-2.vdk"

[Pernod70]

The 18spt version runs in MAME, though I wouldn't expect it to corrupt the VDG output:

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[tjewell]

@pernod70 - awesome, that looks like it will work!

Any ideas how I can convert Sixxie's DSK file to a VDK so I can write it to a floppy? Also, I must try and work out why Flex and the CocoSDC aren't playing nicely.

Thanks for your help everyone!

[Pernod70]

Any ideas how I can convert Sixxie's DSK file to a VDK so I can write it to a floppy?

I simply added the VDK header with HxD, verified to work in MAME.

[tjewell]

Oh thanks @pernod70, was that all it needed?

Thanks for all your help everyone - I'm up and running with 80 column Dynacalc! Come see it for real at the Meetup in a couple weeks

IMG_20180606_110631 copy.jpg (82.63 KiB) Viewed 6656 times

[Pernod70]

Oh thanks @pernod70, was that all it needed?

Yep, just the header that describes the geometry.

Can you confirm whether it corrupts the VDG output as in my screenshots, or do I have an emulation issue?

[tjewell]

It corrupts in exactly the same way! Maybe Flex presumes it's safe to write to that memory, now the 80 column card is running.