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Tektronix 4051 / 4052 / 4052A / 4054 / 4054A Program Archives

I've updated my Tektronix 4050 BASIC github repository folder on Battlestar Galactica with my Vipers on Patrol program and data files. I also updated the README to include the vector plot of Vipers on James Willing's "Computer Garage" website that I found in 2000 - that inspired me to digitize the Viper with my 4662 plotter digitizing pen and my 4050 BASIC program to capture the data, followed by my original Vipers program which stored the Viper data as ASCII DATA on tape.

I updated the Vipers program in 2018 after I joined vintage computer federation ([vcfed.org]) and found a 4051 Emulator written in javascript. This emulator didn't support accessing external files - so my 2018 update embedded the Viper vector data as BASIC DATA statements.

Now that I have the R12 Fast Graphics/Graphics Enhancement option ROM - I have updated the program to take advantage of R12 graphics performance as previously posted. I have posted both the latest R12 version and 2018 version plus R12 data file in my repo.

My 2018 BASIC program took over 58 seconds on the 1975 Tektronix 4051 vector graphics computer with 800KHz Motorola 6800 to display. My latest program below only takes 3.6 seconds to display all five Vipers on patrol on that same computer with the vintagetek.org MAXIROM pack which includes the R12 Fast Graphics option ROM!

Here is my new Viper R12 BASIC program listing:

Code:
250 INIT
260 WINDOW 0,130,0,100
270 PRINT "    Battlestar Galactica - Vipers on Patrol"
280 FIND@5:3
290 DIM I$(321*3)
300 DATA 1.0,0,0,0.77,-1.5,29,0.54,-2,51, 0.35,-1.0,69,0.27,-4.2,81
310 FOR I=1 to 5
320 REM ignore Scale=S. X0,Y0 is object location
330 READ S,X0,Y0
340 REM G1,G2 is the Viper first vector beginning location
350 READ@5:G1,G2,I$
360 MOVE G1+X0,G2+Y0
370 CALL "RDRAW",I$,1,X0,Y0
380 NEXT I
390 END

Here is the Viper plot from the Computer Garage website (archive.org) that I used to start this journey and my screenshot from the 4051 javascript emulator with R12 and emulator of my Flash Drive.

Computer Garage plot of Vipers.png


Battlestar_Galactica-Vipers_on_Patrol.png

And the link to my repo folder on Battlestar Galactica and Tektronix 4051 vector graphics computers:
https://github.com/mmcgraw74/Tektronix-4051-4052-4054-Program-Files/tree/master/Battlestar_Galactica-and_Tektronix_4051
 
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I have added several more Tektronix 4050 R12 dithered dot images to my github repository in this folder (and updated the viewer and files in the Bitmap_Pictures folder):

Since my avatar on vcfed dot org is nikola-wan (Nikola Tesla and Obi-Wan), I decided to create a bitmap dot image of Tesla in that lecture for Tektronix 4050 vector graphics computers with my 4050 R12 dithered dot BASIC program.

I also decided most folks would not understand that the image is 131 years old and came from Tesla Lecturing Before the French Physical Society and the International Society of Electricians in 1892! In this lecture he demonstrated lighting various bulbs of his design with high voltage high frequency wireless power!

So I created another image that may be more recognizable of Tesla and his monstrous lightning experiments at his Colorado Springs laboratory in 1899! In the Century Magazine June 1900 article by Tesla on "The Problem of Increasing Human Energy" he explains this photo shows his lightning discharge is over 12 million volts at a current oscillating at 130,000 times a second! This photo is a double exposure as described by Tesla.

First attached image is the Tesla lecture on the 4051 javascript emulator. Second image is my photo of my Tesla Lightning bitmap image on my 4052 and third photo is Tesla Lightning on my 4054A.

Note that you can see Tesla's signature on the photo in my 4054A picture, but not the 4052 picture due to the much smaller dot size in the 4054A. This also gives more depth to the 22 foot lightning bolts!

Tektronix 4051 javascript emulator displaying Tesla Lecture image
Tesla 4051 em.png

Tektronix 4052 displaying Tesla Lighting image ------------------------------------- Tektronix 4054 displaying same image, higher details with smaller dots.
Tesla Lightning 4052.jpgTesla Lightning 4054A.jpg


ASCII and BINARY DATA files posted in Bitmap_Pictures/More Pictures folder on my repo.
 
I was looking for a sort algorithm to sort my Asteroid game high scores and found a Tekniques V3N4 article comparing BASIC software bubble sort to the R07 Signal Processing #1 ROM Pack "MAX" function call.

I wanted to test sorting the 10 asteroids high scores with the BASIC program listing versus the faster R07 Signal Processing #1 ROM Pack call and realized I had not posted 4052 Signal Processing ROM Packs on my repository. Looking at my collection of 4052 ROM Packs I only found the R08 Signal Processing #2
🙁


Checking my old PC files for 4052 ROM Packs I found a zip file from @Al Kossow from his 4052A in 2003 with both 4052R07 and 4052R08 as the only option ROM Packs he had.

I have now added both 4052R07 and 4052R08 ROM Packs on my github repository here:
https://github.com/.../tree/master/4052_ROM_Pack_Firmware

I also updated the README and created a table of all the 4052/4054 ROM Packs based on info from the 1983 Tektronix Catalog page 100 with compatibility information since the R14 GPIB Enhancement ROM is different for 4052/4054 versus 4052A/4054A since A-Series has a different I/O board with the TI 9914 GPIB Controller instead of discrete GPIB logic.

ROM Pack #
Name
Compatibility
4052R06EditorWorks in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A
4052R07Signal Processing #1Works in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A
4052R08Signal Processing #2Works in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A
4052R09Real Time ClockROM Pack not available - however @jdressen added the TransEra RTC ROM Pack hardware to his 4052 Multifunction ROM Pack
4052R10Advanced File ManagerRequires 4909 Hard Disk Multi-User File Management System
4052R11Character and SymbolWorks in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A
4052R14GPIB EnhancementOnly 4052/4054 but has powerup error message with v5.1 BASIC ROMs
4052R14-1AGPIB Enhancement for A-SeriesOnly 4052A/4054A due to TI9914 GPIB IC on I/O Board
4052F10RS 232 Printer InterfaceWorks in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A
020-0476-004052 File Manager -00Requires 4907 floppy system. Older ROM version - not recommended
020-0476-014052 File Manager -01Requires 4907 floppy system. Works in all 4052/4054 and 4052A/4054A


I will now add the 4052R07 to my @jdreesen 4052/4054 Multifunction ROM Pack so I can test bubble sort with that ROM Pack "MAX" function.
 
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