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TRS-80 Model II Softwares

J

Junior Ramos

Experienced Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
63
Hello,
I'm looking for some one has a software for TRS-80 Model II.
TRDOS
CP/M 2.2
Scripsit
and another software.
Please let me know.
Thanks
 
Junior,

If you go to Dave's Old Computers at http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img/ he has a small collection of Model II disk images available for download. To use these images you will need to connect an 8 inch disk drive to a PC, have a floppy controller capable of writing Single Density, and an old operating system that will allow a program to write directly to hardware. You'll also need a small supply of blank disks.

Dave has instructions on how to connect an 8 inch drive, a program to test floppy controllers, and a registry of known controllers/motherboards that will work. His program ImageDisk can be used to create the floppies. Basically you need to hand build a Windows 95 machine with parts custom selected to create diskettes from images.

If you were hopeing there would be someone selling these disks, I don't think so...

In a pinch I would be willing to mail you a couple of disks, but there are other images hanging around the net for the Model II, and if you're serious about playing with this machine, you need to be able to write floppies from image.

The Catweasel card is something you should likely research also.

Does this help you?

Kevin
 
I wouldn't use a Catweasel unless you really needed to. Many PC floppy controllers can handle single-density disks just fine and they do a much better job of writing clean copies than the Catweasel for garden variety FM or MFM floppies.

I'm perfectly willing to send along an image for Aton CP/M 2.2 for the Model II.
 
Hi,
I have these image in my computer but right now I don't have a 8" floppy drive and the others parts to make a job, So I will pay for a disk in anybody can make for me.
I'm looking for:
TRSDOS
CP/M 2.2
Scripsit V2.0
Proflie Plus

Thanks for your inputs.
 
leaknoil said:
Sorry for a bit of a thread hijack here but, has anyone tried one of these with Dave's images or applications ?

http://www.dbit.com/fdadap.html
Click to expand...

Yep. You will need:

1) 8" floppy (including power supply for it)
2) FDADAP adapter $40
3) Cable assembly 34pin IDC Socket to 34pin IDC Socket : Digikey P/N A3BBH-3436G-ND Price $15.00
4) Cable Assembly 50 pin Card Edge to 50 pin IDC Socket : Digikey P/N C3DEG-5036G-ND Price $14.40
4) Floppy power extension cable - like ones used for 3.5" floppies
5) Compatible Floppy controller I'm using an Adaptec 1522A (SCSI) - Daves site lists this as compatible with most disk formats. See the file http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img29374/pcfdc.txt
6) 8" Floppy Diskettes - most available on eBay are old stock and may not be reliable. Athena sells new stock, but are expensive.

Just for the adapter, cables and controller, you could be looking at a cost around $90.

I have a Compaq 386 machine I use for imaging. Refer to the photo linked below

http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac299/cledford22/ExternalFloppyconnections001.jpg

I ran the internal floppy connector and a power connector out the back of the computer. I also installed a cable with one end having a 34 pin IDC male connector for external drives and the other end a 34 pin IDC socket to connect to the floppy controller. Using a dremel tool I modified a rear slot cover to fit the Male IDC end of the cable. Now if I want to use the internal drives, I connect the cable you see coming out the back. Otherwise I can connect external floppy drives to the controller. Just have to remember to run the setup diskette and make changes in the BIOS for whatever external drives I want BEFORE I disconnect the internal floppies.

Chuck
 
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Most of those items are in one box or another in my garage. Finding them will be the biggest challenge.

It brings up more questions though. Is the cable wired straight through to the edge connector ? How does it handle termination ? Seems like some people are using catweasle for imaging 8" disks. Can those images be written using teledisk and this ?
 
leaknoil said:
Is the cable wired straight through to the edge connector ?
Click to expand...

YES

leaknoil said:
How does it handle termination ?
Click to expand...

Termination is on the drive just like 5.25" drives.

leaknoil said:
Seems like some people are using catweasle for imaging 8" disks.
Click to expand...

I don't have a Catweasel, but I don't think there would be any advantage to using one over this setup. Maybe someone that has one could comment on that?

leaknoil said:
Can those images be written using teledisk and this ?
Click to expand...

Teledisk cannot write images in the.IMD format. Daves Dunfield's site has a utility to convert .TDO images to his .IMD format.
If the image you want to write is in .TDO format, then teledisk will work with this setup.
 
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I don't have a Catweasel, but I don't think there would be any advantage to using one over this setup. Maybe someone that has one could comment on that?
Click to expand...
A disadvantage of the Catweasel is that there is no TG43 signal. IMD has the nice option to pause at track 43 allowing you to change the signal. The Model II uses double density for track 1 and up, so it needs the write precompensation. Of course the FDADAP has a microcontroller just for this.
 
I also use an FDADAP, and confirm Chuckster's comments regarding cables, except that I'm using a FDD controller that handles three drives, so there's a slightly weirder twist required at the end of the cable, but that's probably dependent on the controller.

I use Teledisk with the 8" disk setup, because I find it much easier to use than Imagedisk.

Whatever you do, don't use an HP Vectra VL5 as your machine. I just dumped mine because the POS BIOS allows only two FDD types: 3 1/2" 1.44MB and 5 1/4" 1.2MB - that's it - nothing else.

PS: I don't know for certain yet, but according to John Wilson at D-Bit, it appears that the RX50 connection on the FDADAP can also be used for a standard TM100-2 type 360K drive. I'll know for sure in about two weeks, when I get my new machine built.
 
Aren't most people using the Catweasel to handle .DMK files, not IMD or TD0 (that's zero, folks--from a time when you could ask TeleDisk to split an image across several floppies, so that the files would be named .TD0, TD1, TD2... etc.).

DMK files are very different from IMD or TD0 files.
 
fjkraan said:
A disadvantage of the Catweasel is that there is no TG43 signal. IMD has the nice option to pause at track 43 allowing you to change the signal. The Model II uses double density for track 1 and up, so it needs the write precompensation. Of course the FDADAP has a microcontroller just for this.
Click to expand...

Wow, I'd like to get a FDADAP. Currently I'm using a home brew squirrels nest.

The TG43 line is something I hadn't thought about. When I first built my imaging machine the 8" drive I chose said it did not require the TG43 line, but I've changed drives since then, and I bet that's why I'm sometimes having trouble on the higher track numbers.

On the subject of the Catweasel, I'd happily do without it. I initially bought it because I was running accross .DMK files, and thought it was the only way to get at the content.

Any reason you couldn't add the FDADAP in the cable after the catweasel? Would that solve the TG43 issue when writing with the Catweasel?

Kevin
 
Hi Kevin,
Are you able to sent to me a floppy disk?
If yes here are the ones I looking:
TRSDOS
Profile PLUS
Mailing List
Scriptsit 2.0
my email is: lramosp@hotmail.com
Please confirm and how can I pay.
Thanks
 
From what I read at http://www.dbit.com/fdadap.html, that is what the controller on the board is for. Otherwise it is just wiring. I still plan to add a similar function to my DIY conversion board, but so far there was no need. IMD has a Track 43 pause function, and the Catweasel is just for TRS-80 Model 1 single density disks with the weird directory sector address marker (WD1771 only). And all those disks are 5 1/4"...

Fred Jan
 
As an addendum to my last post, I read on http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img29374/cnct.htm that the FDC765 controller does have a TG43 signal, but combines it with DIRECTION SELECT. So if the controller logic doesn't filter this out, you might connect pin 2 with pin 34 of the 50 pin connector and have an operational TG43. Not tested yet, ofcourse :).
 
fjkraan said:
As an addendum to my last post, I read on http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img29374/cnct.htm that the FDC765 controller does have a TG43 signal, but combines it with DIRECTION SELECT. So if the controller logic doesn't filter this out, you might connect pin 2 with pin 34 of the 50 pin connector and have an operational TG43. Not tested yet, ofcourse :).
Click to expand...

That might work if your system has a uPD765/8272 on it. Most systems since the late 1980s have most of the FDC, drive control and data separator logic combined in a single IC. (e.g. WD37C65, NS8477, I82078, etc.) While the TG43 signal may find its way out of one of these, the datasheets are entirely silent on that aspect and preservation of it would be a matter of pure luck.

Later systems (P1+) have floppy logic integrated into a "Super I/O" chip or part of the Southbridge support. Given that TG43 was archaic even in the time of 8" drives (later drives did not require it, but counted the cylinders internally), I wouldn't be optimistic. The FDADAP is over-engineered for what it does. An 8-pin ATTiny or PIC would do the same job. I wonder if it could be done with a 6-pin PIC...
 
Bit of an interjection here but once you get CP/M and a 5 1/4" floppy working on a Model II, can you then work with other CP/M software? There were not a lot of "fun" apps that Tandy came out for this business-class computer as opposed ot other systems that also ran a flavor od Z80 CP/M.
 
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