*** SOLVED *** is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk

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techy
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*** SOLVED *** is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk

Post by techy »

Hi forum ,


is it possible to update the tkII part in the qdisk interface ??

where is it located , and will any updated version fit inthere ??



please let me know



any help is help.




techy
Last edited by techy on Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.


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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by RWAP »

Which manufacturer is it ? A CST QDisk (there were others !!) ?

The Toolkit II is stored on the only EPROM on the disk interface - normally has a label on it over the UV window.
What version do you have at the moment?


techy
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by techy »

hi rich ,

it is a cst qdisk firmware version 1.19

hardware version 2 ( large cooling fin )




techy


Zx80-1/3k exp.-zx81-16k exp.- Spectrum 48 - Spectrum+ -Spectrum 128- Interface 1 - DIVide - Zx flashcard- Zx printer - Ram turbo - Velleman interface system - Currah microspeech - Ql - Miracle 512k exp.- Ql printer - Cst Qdisk interf.- Qubide - Double 3.5 floppy- Minerva - Ice 1.9 - Ql Usb mouse adapter - Qimi-and much more .
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by RWAP »

I have several disk EPROMs here, but v1.19 seems to be the last version released by CST.

The EPROM contains the driver code plus Toolkit 2 - you would need to use an EPROM programmer to read the EPROM chip, and then find the start of the Toolkit 2 copy contained on it - you could then overwrite the old Toolkit 2 code with a later version (checking it has not changed in length, so you are overwriting anything else).

You could then re-blow the EPROM with the updated code and plug it into your CST interface

I would guess that the Toolkit 2 code appears at the end of the EPROM dump, but it is anyone's guess really.

The other option is just to load the latest Toolkit 2 from disk, or use it on an EPROM cartridge plugged into the QL ROM Port.


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belg4rion67
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by belg4rion67 »

Hi techy, a little contribution from me: I've same floppy interface and I've used a eprom programmer to write a 64k eprom with Minerva+tk2 then I've replaced the original ql's roms with new eprom and all things work fluently :)
In other post in this forum you can find two pics with little pcb drawing to put a 64k eprom into ql's rom socket.
Cheers
Paolo


Only original hardware! :)
techy
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by techy »

Sorry for my late reply ,

But i found qdisc 1.19 occupies the whole eprom ..........

And also tkII occupies the same amount of space.

Unfortunaltely it won't be possible to merge those on one eprom .

Who can inform me about the start addresses of the respective modules ( rom , romport-module , expansionport ).


techy


Zx80-1/3k exp.-zx81-16k exp.- Spectrum 48 - Spectrum+ -Spectrum 128- Interface 1 - DIVide - Zx flashcard- Zx printer - Ram turbo - Velleman interface system - Currah microspeech - Ql - Miracle 512k exp.- Ql printer - Cst Qdisk interf.- Qubide - Double 3.5 floppy- Minerva - Ice 1.9 - Ql Usb mouse adapter - Qimi-and much more .
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by dex »

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tofro
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by tofro »

All,

it's probably worth mentioning that QDOS will be looking for a valid ROM header at $C000 as well as starting at $C0000 up to $DFFFF in 16k increments. Early ROMS failed to detect add-on ROMs beyond the first possible slot at $C0000 (I think JS was the first to do that correctly). The ROM header format can be looked up in the QDOS Technical Guide.

Regards,
Tobias
Last edited by tofro on Sat Oct 20, 2012 9:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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techy
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Re: is it possible to update the tkII in a qdisk interface

Post by techy »

Thank you all who replied :D

interesting info , i will have a look into that next weekend.

Right now i am waiting for the hardware to arrive , so i can start testing next saturday.


And , also i have found the ql / qdos technical guide , which makes searching a lot easier .


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Zx80-1/3k exp.-zx81-16k exp.- Spectrum 48 - Spectrum+ -Spectrum 128- Interface 1 - DIVide - Zx flashcard- Zx printer - Ram turbo - Velleman interface system - Currah microspeech - Ql - Miracle 512k exp.- Ql printer - Cst Qdisk interf.- Qubide - Double 3.5 floppy- Minerva - Ice 1.9 - Ql Usb mouse adapter - Qimi-and much more .
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