About 42 kb ram was available for the user, the video memory and the rom were mapped on the same addresses with a dedicated chip to switch the memory banks automatically. The amstrad cpc short for colour personal computer is a series of 8bit home computers produced by amstrad between 1984 and 1990. Why did the amstrad cpc use a nonlinear screen memory layout. This ink value is used to access a small area of ram inside the.
This memory will be readonly and a special scheme involving io mapping will be required to write to this additional ram from the computer. Z80 has separate memory address and io port address bus no conflict. Kb repeats table each bytebit applies to all three key tables. Features of computer hardware and software have advanced far more rapidly than even existing users are able to follow, and to attempt to show owners of the cpc464 all the available power and subtlety of its basic, operating system and hardware attributes would require several thousands of pages. C4cpc flash cartridge for amstrad cpc now available. It was one of the bestselling and best produced microcomputers, with more than 2 million units sold in europe. The amstrad cpc was a series of 8bit home computers produced by amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. The cpc 464 was the first personal home computer built by amstrad in 1984. Amstrad mp1 tv modulator power supply for use with amstrad cpc 464.
Using a microsd card slot and usb port for loading games, the c4cpc slots into either a gx4000, cpc464 plus, or 6128 plus systems as if it was a standard game cartridge. The first machine, the cpc 464 was introduced in 1984. Turning off the power will lose all that is stored in the cpc464 memory. Retro virtual machine, the emulator of amstrad cpc and zx. The system features a motorola 16 or 25 mhz 68030, 68881 or 68882 math coprocessor, new enhanced chip set, zorro iii bus, 2 mb ram, 40 or 100 mb hard drive, amigados v2. View and download amstrad cpc464 user manual online. I learned to program on a 464 cpc on the z80, af bc hl and djnz were by friends. Cpc464 cpc664 cpc6128 filedatenbank index of cpc demos. Yes, we had a cpc 464 which was originally hooked up to a green screen.
Amstrad cpc 4646128 vintage is the new old, retro games. But with the ddi3 usb floppy emulator for the amstrad cpc 464 it was a little more involved with no guides available when purchasing. Announcing the tmtlogic gfxnine, an msx v9990 compliant. Full text of amstrad cpc464 service manual 1985amstrad. The memory map is complicated by the fact that into the z80s address space of. We thought it was about time the amstrad 6128 also had a device of its own, so it too could play demos and games stored on a usb memory stick. These are loaded into the palette alternately under software control. Cpc464 microcomputer ctm640 colour monitor gt64 green monitor service manual price.
The second is allocated from user ram, typically located at a700habffh unless other expansion roms with. Rom and ram memory mapping, 300hz interrupt counter. In the last serie of cpc 464 and 6128 produced by amstrad in 1988. Lots of memory, a decent colour screen, easy to setup and use. For emulating computers that have memorymapped io the peripheral chips. Simon rockman finds that the memory backpack from dktronics really does turn the 464 into a 6128, and more. It is based on jemu richard wilson and javacpc my main project.
This is the full, official amstrad documentation of the firmware for the cpc range of computers. Cfg file was, it is basically a configuration file to be able to show and play the games using the hxc the short description. I can vividly remember the day when we got a colour modulator and i could play manic miner in glorious technicolour. The new computer could also run cpm, the 1970s standard os for business software. Programs in upper roms may call routines in other roms, using the various. I lot of what i know about computers goes back to programming in assembly, knowing how to multiply and divide on an 8bit processor gives you a better appreciation of how information is processed.
Locomotive basic is a variant of basic that is built into the rom of the amstrad cpc series of z80based home computers introduced in 1984. A lot of great cpm software was adapted for the amstrad cpc. At the palladium in new york city, commodore hosts multimedia live. Relevant excerpt from firmware manual about video memory mapping. It is equipped with 64 kb memory and a cpc6128s firmware customized to the modified hardware, including an unmodified copy of locomotive basic 1. But the main use of the extra 64k is with commercial programs that are. At the cpc 464 s launch in april 1984, alan sugar was. Paging hardware flipped the 16kb section in use at the time in and out of the z80as memory map in alternation with the video memory. It was designed to compete in the mid1980s home computer market dominated by the commodore 64 and the sinclair zx spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the united kingdom, france, spain, and the german. It is not like on the 6502, which has memory mapped io. In the 1980s, cpcs were a popular, slightly more expensive alternative to the commodore c64c128 and were not just suited for games but also office work because of their high resolution displays and cpm support.
Bbc micro, spectrum, amstrad cpc 464 and more the machines that defined british computing. It worked fine, but since i am not good in mechanics i never managed to mount it perfectly on my star printer problem was the round print head, plus. The new computer was released in 1984 as the amstrad colour personal computer 464. The adaptor allows a gotek usb or sd floppy emulator drive to be fitted internally or externally to your amstrad cpc 6128 464 664 and plus computers. Retro virtual machine is and emulator of amstrad cpc and zx spectrum for windows, linux and macos. The screen memory layout on the commodore 64 in bitmap mode was nonlinear which incurred a penalty in development time, code size and speed for games using it because when designing the vicii, they ran out of chip area, couldnt quite afford the small extra area for a separate pointer increment circuit, had to reuse the one from character mode. The screen memory layout on the commodore 64 in bitmap mode was nonlinear which incurred a penalty in development time, code size and speed for games using it. Dktronics 64k and 256k memory expansions for the amstrad cpc. It has been suscessfully used on the amsap msx adapter for cpc, also from hans of tmtlogicon the video above, and on the mslot msx adapter for the enterprise computers. And about the gfxnine, it is a good option for europeans, better look on the smallest case, only vat tax and lower shipping. It is written in 100% z80 assembler and uses no operating system calls but accesses the hardware directly. Cpc stood for colour personal computer, although it was possible to purchase a cpc with a green screen gt6566 as well as with the standard colour screen ctm640.
The graphical user interface supports joystick, mouse or keyborad control. My favourite memory of that era is the occasion where i took the amstrad or possibly the later atari st on holiday to france. Amstrad cpc gotek floppy adaptor for internal or external. Amstrad cpc464 upgraded to a cpc6128 how to by andy jun 25, 2012 464, 6128, amstrad, cap, computer, copy, cpc, ddi1, disk, drive, eprom, retro, rom, upgrade, vintage. This is a scanner similar to the dartscanner for the cpc. Emerald software was a video game publisher founded in 1988 by two uk entertainment executives david martin of martech, and mike dixon who previously worked with emi and worked as the company ceo. The dktronics ram pack is supplied with software which people imagine is necessary, but it isnt. What it does is test the extra memory and provide some rsxs so that it can be used from within basic programs. However, the cpc 464 is still a dominant machine in the retro scene, and one of the best british home computers of all time. Copymate is a copy system for cpc 464 6646128 with optionally 64k memory extension. Although the machine included various substitutes and emulations of an amstrad cpc s hardware, the machine is largely compatible with amstrad cpc software. I upgraded one of my spare amstrad cpc464 machines to the same specification as the cpc6128. Other expansions such as the amstrad disc interface for the cpc 464. Es ist ideal geeignet um professionelle software zu entwickeln.
Features of computer hardware and software have advanced far more rapidly than even existing users are able to follow, and to attempt to show owners of the cpc464 all the available power and subtlety of its basic, operating system and hardware. By using the 64k upgrade the 464 and 664 computers will have the same amount and configuration of ram as the cpc 6128. Paging hardware flipped the 16kb section in use at the time in and out of the z80as memory map in alternation with the video. The british microcomputer boom had already peaked before amstrad announced the cpc 464 which stood for colour personal computer which they then released a mere 9 months later. On a cpc 6128, the situation is made even more complicated by rambanking. See more ideas about retro video games, gaming computer and last ninja. The default offline storage media was cassette tape which even at the time of release was pretty outdated. This must be the the best peripheral to have emerged for the cpc 464. Page 1 features of computer hardware and software have advanced far more rapidly than even existing users are able to follow. Modern storage devices is the dream of every retrocomputer user, and users of amstrad cpc are not out of the party, thanks to the c4cpc flash cartridge. The 472 theoretically had 72k, but the extra 8k ram chip was not even hooked up. Webcpc is an amstrad cpc emulator especially for webuseage.
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