If you want to learn the PC-1500 internals you must read this book.
You will find lot of informations :
– LH5801 Microprocessor
– LH-5810/LH-5811 I/O port controller
– PC-1500 hardware description
– PC-1500 software
– Machine language reference
…
I’m proud to present a french friend : Christophe known as “CGH”
– Christophe, can you tell us some words about you ?
Christophe, 50 years old, computer engineer, working on ARM and PowerPC targets running Real-Time Embedded Linux systems for Telecom software development.
I discovered the “computer world” in june 1980 when I received a TI-58. So, my first steps were the TI-58 language, close to the assembler.
After, I bought a Texas TMS169/199, a single board computer, where I play a little with the University BASIC, but also with UNIBUG monitor. I say that I really learn assembler with it. This was in middle of 1981.
– Where, when, why your PC-1500 ?
The PC-1500 comes in the last days of december 1982. I chose the PC-1500 for the unique reason that the assembler was accessible and also some french magazines (L’Ordinateur Individuel, L’Ordinateur de Poche) were speaking about the first MCODE discoveries. After I became a member of the SHARPENTIERS and I also got access to some TRACE reviews, thanks to a schoold friend who owned a TANDY PC-2.
I always said, that I never really used the embedded BASIC. I only worked in machine language on my PC-1500. I have bought the PC-MACRO software with its monitor PC-HEX, and after I discovered the BEST of ALL: XMON written by Philippe GAC. Today, 30 years later, I own several PC-1500, and all have a XMON image inside.
On my view, I believe that the PC-1500 was really the best pocket computer ever built. Graphic, Music, powerful BASIC, assembly access, … and now, fully documented and of course, a very great built quality.
– Our friend Emmanuel is hosting some of your freeware tools on his historical website www.PC1500.com. Can you tell us more ?
I started in 2012. I had really time to do a pass on all my softwares and write a sample README to document it.
- The first one, the oldest, MONMON, is a simple monitor to look inside memory, show and modify. It is written in MCODE and when I developed it, it was with a pen, paper and POKEs.
- ASSEMBLER is a small assembler able to build the MCODE instruction from a mnemonic string, and callable from the BASIC with CALL addr and a string variable. For exemple, A$=”PUSH HL” CALL ASSEMBLER,A$ will code &FD &A8 at the current assembler address.
- MACBAS-95 is a whole symbolic assembler, debugger and sourcer embedded inside the BASIC. To enter an assembly program, you just write a BASIC program with assembler mnemonics, and do RUN. As provided by PC-MACRO, the structured code (BEGIN/UNTIL, WHILE, IF/ELSE/ENDIF) is supported. You are also able to call your routine by giving values to the registers, retrieve the returned values from registers and debug in step-by-step. All of this without living the BASIC.
- BASFILE is a extended memory manager. It creates a region of the memory that it is seen as a little disk. It supports BASIC and binary programs storage, ASCII or numeric files operations (CREATE, WRITE,READ,SEEK,OPEN,…) and a small access to grahic files. BASFILE is inspired from XMEM developped on the HP-41C.
- BASWORD is a tool to register or unregister new BASIC keyword and routines.
- MMPS the biggest, the hardest ! Just a small multi-process operating system with virtual console. It started it after I wrote a multi-task kernel. It is more a Proof-Of-Concept, but it is very well working. I stopped its development because I had no more place to work on it. All the 18Kbytes where used, and also, the complexitity of some parts gives me difficulties to continue. At the same period, I also have another interest… Linux. But, MMPS, got sometimes enhancements or bugs correction. I started it during the end of 1993 and the last kernel is tagged of April 1998.
– Ho much time do you allow each month to these tools ?
No really slot time allowed. It depends of the time I really have, but also the ideas and of course the motivation !
– New software for soon ?
Yes. Some…
- MACBAS-2014 : A rebuilt of MACBAS-95 with many optimizations and corrections … and a nice documentation. MACBAS-2014 is now provided as full assembly sources and images for the different modules are built. You need at least 8Kbytes. I am writing the documentation and testing it.
- I have diffused the lhTools-0.7.2 recently and I am now working the new release of these lhTools. I call it “project 0.8.0”. This is a major release, because I have introduced several new tools like lhcom to send and/or receive files from/to the PC-1500 using the CE-158 serial interface … and lhexec, a LH5801 emulator and enhanced debugger. This is still a POC (Proof-Of-Concept), so the diffusion will be late this year… if any. I will write an article on the site to present it when the code will switch to alpha release. Keep connected !
– You told me about some threads you want to start in the forum… would you explain to our readers ?
This will to present the lhTools project 0.8.0. And also the got some ideas, remarks, critics or suggestions from the forum members. But, I miss time in these weeks…
– You are a Team-1560 member, ins’t it ? What do you expect from a such project ?
Yes ! Thank to you to invite me in the team 🙂 What I expect ? Trying to build with the team a new powerful extension to keep the PC-1500 alive ! Big RAM, big screen, with several softwares available in ROM. A nice way to learn more about the internals.
It is also the best motivation for me to continue my developments: MACBAS-2014, but also and more, the new lhTools are dedicated for the 1560. MACBAS as “ROM”able software, and the lhTools as cross developments tool chain and emulation.
– We are in 2015, 33 years after PC-1500 commercial launch, how would you recommend this pocket to a newbie ?
The BASIC is very easier to learn and the documentation is real exeception, very well written. So, for someone who want to got a nice computer with a “long story”, it may be a good start. Remember, that THE PC-1500 was one of the first “8-bits” pocket computers and certainly the first with a graphical access. It is a major actor of the pocket computer story.And, it is still alive… just reading all informations and articles provided by www.PC-1500.info !
Thank you Christophe and welcome on www.PC-1500.info !
You can download Christophe’s tools from Emmanuel’s website :
http://pc1500.com/index.html#utils
And you can read all the french magazines here :
http://www.pc-1500.info/2014/09/23/some-french-magazines-from-the-80s/
In the 80’s the Sharp PC-1500 was a very popular pocket computer.
Do you know it was the fisherman’s friend ?
It was used in a prototype of a portable fish measurement station :
Download article
Thanks to Bruce ELLIOTT for his articles in the TRS-80 Microcomputer News magazine !
If you want to start programming in machine language (ML) this is the paper to read.
I have grouped all the 6 article in a single pdf file :
I have published lot about French, German and Swiss magazines or Club papers.
Now lets talk about one US magazine !
The TRS-80 Microcomputer News was published from January 1981 to June 1984.
A new pocket computer appear in the May 1982 edition : the TRS-80 PC2 !
You can discover the whole collection at Color Computer Archive
If you own the Pocketcomputer Newsletter please contact me…
There is an really useful tool i must present to you : Wav2Bin
It was originally written by www.pocketmuseum.com and is now updated by Torsten MÜCKER as a package named PocketTools.
Here is the link to the PocketTools page :
http://www.peil-partner.de/ifhe.de/sharp/
I use it from a year and must say : THANK YOU !
All my tapes are now SAVED on my computer into a readable format.
The package contain other utilities but i only use Wav2Bin.
First download the free software AUDACITY :
http://audacity.sourceforge.net
It works on Linux, Windows and OSX.
Launch it and set the correct parameters.
Choose Mono for the device :
Set the quality to 11025 hz :
Connect your tape player (like the Sharp CE-152) to you computer.
Start a new record on Audacity and hit play on your tape player.
After the first side of your tape is recorded press stop on Audacity.
You can now see and select blocs of signals. These are recorded programs.
Save each as Wav file with the export function :
Move your Wav files into PocketTools directory and start converting them.
If the program is Basic its simple as illustrated by “Frank C. Odds” Probe.Wav file. This will create a .BAS file
Rename your Wav and BAS files with the “save name” found.
If it’s a binary file like machine code saved by CSAVEM… you only have to add –type=img like here for the Turbo Tape Master software. This will create a .IMG file
Rename your Wav and IMG files with the “save name” found and add the “start address” to this name, it’s important, you’ll need it to load the program into the PC-1500 at the correct address or it will may work.
Repeat this for each wav file and enjoy the result !
The basic file can be opened by a text editor.
If you have some interesting software to publish, please, contact me.
Thank you Torsten !!!
And for the .IMG files ?
Stay tuned, there is another tool to convert it to .ASM !!! Thank you CGH !
If you loose your way ask your PC-1500 !
Here is a small navigation system for the PC-1500 : the CN-2000 from InfoCenter, Inc.
It’s stored in a very nice wood box.
The CN-2000 can be plugged to a PC-1500 or PC-1500A.
You have a module to connect on the 60 pins connector and a user manual.
The module is in a plastic box.
But when you open the box… you are far away from a professional system !
The box is not closed by the screws, it’s closed by some silicon glue.
The 4 screws are very short and fixed by the same glue.
And the board looks like self made but not pro with green paint.
The program is BASIC and stored in the EPROM. It’s read protected for common users.
Here is the user manual :
Download
If you want to read more about navigation with this module there is “The navigator’s newsletter”
Go to the Newsletter archives…
And i have found a small paper in the Yatching magazine talking about the CN-2000 :
Our Sharp CE-152 is not unique !!!
His clone is the General Electric 3-5160A.
I was very surprised when found this tape recorder.
Lets discover it :
And now compare it to our Sharp CE-152 :
And the 3 tape recorders :
The PC-1500 is a really well designed pocket computer and offers many ways to extend it’s software and hardware capabilities.
Some companies were seduced by the Sharp solution and it’s “owner” memory modules.
EDTech was one of these companies and were offering a solution for education administrators :
(Picture taken from eBay)
Externally it looks like the PC-1500A + CE-150.
But internally there is a custom memory module :
It holds a 57256 32KB EPROM
We have to distinguish three kinds of memory modules :
– RAMs stored between &0000 to &3FFF (like 4KB CE-151, 8KB CE-155, 8KB CE-159, 16KB CE-161 or 2x16KB CE-163)
– ROMs or EProms stored between &8000 to &BFFF (that extends the system with Basic instructions)
– Pseudo ROMs stored between &0000 to &3FFF (like the 7,8KB CE-160 used to store custom invisible Basic programs)
– EProms stored between &0000 to &3FFF used to store invisible Basic programs
The EDTech ROM is in this last case.
But if you understand address decoding “&0000 to &3FFF” is only 16KB wide.
On this module there is a TTL 74LS73 IC. It’s a dual J-K flip-flop with clear.
It’s function is to select one of the two 16KB pages.
Open the Technical Reference Manual and look for memory configuration and /S3 signal.
On the PC-1500 this signal select a memory zone starting at &5800.
On the PC-150A this signal select a memory zone starting at &6800.
Nice, this can work with the two pocket computers.
On my schematics you can see it connected to the CLK pin of the Flip-flop.
Now examine the content of each 16KB page (only the beginning, the rest is the EDTech program)… lines 11, 40 and 41
1st page :
2nd page :
The POKE instruction writes a value to a memory case. By this way the program can swap the page.
Depending on the address it writes a 0 or 1 on the J and K entries and the clock push it to the Q and /Q outputs.
It’s a very nice design, isn’t it ?
I asked EDTech to get some informations and maybe a user manual.
They answered but nobody was able to help me.
Can you ?
Contact me if you have other “non Sharp” modules… 😉
