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General_Usage.md

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General TeensyROM usage

Table of contents

TeensyROM connections and Restart button:

  • With the power off, attach the TeensyROM to the Expansion port of your Commodore64 or 128 machine
  • Power on, the TeensyROM main menu should be displayed
  • The Restart button can be pressed at any time to return to the TeensyROM main menu from another program
  • Additional external hardware connection points:
  • TeensyROM connections

Main Menu Options/Navigation (as of FW v0.5)

  • Menu navigation: Use the keyboard or a Joystick connected to Control Port 2
    • CRSR or Joystick Up/Down: Move cursor up/down the list of files on the currently selected source device
    • CRSR or Joystick Left/Right: Page up/down the list of files
    • Return or Joystick Fire button: Select/run the highlighted file or enter sub-directory
  • Additional Keyboard commands:
    • Up Arrow: Up 1 directory level
    • Home: Move cursor to first item in directory
    • a-z: Search current directory for first item beginning with letter pressed
    • F1: Display files stored in Teensy Memory with firmware
    • F3: Display files on an attached SD card
    • F5: Display files on an attached USB Drive
    • F7: Display files sent via USB from the Windows utility
    • F2: Exit to regular BASIC startup screen, TeensyROM deactivated
      • Re-activate TeensyROM by pressing button
    • F4: Toggle background music on/off
    • F6: Go to Settings Menu
    • F8: Enter the MIDI2SID application
    • Space Bar: Display the Help Menu
  • Screen contents:
    • File Source and dir path is shown in the upper left corner
    • Page number and number of pages is shown in the lower right corner
    • Current time is shown in the upper right (if ethernet connected/synching). Otherwise the time will start at midnight upon startup.
    • File type is to the right of each file/dir displayed. If "Unk" (unknown) then it is not a recognized/supported file type.
      • '+' in front of file type means it is pre-associated with Special IO emulation needed for function (MIDI, Swiftlink network)
    • Quick Help is displayed at the bottom of the screen, hit space for detail help screen.

Loading programs and emulating ROMs

  • Files can be launched from any of the available sources, including any subdirectory
  • When a file is selected, load/run status is displayed on the screen. Usually this will flash by too quickly to read, but in the case of an error, it will pause to provide additional information.
  • File types supported:
    • *.PRG and .P00 files:
      • Super fast-loads any PRG into C64/128 RAM and executes
        • Same result as LOAD"file",x,1 and RUN (but much faster)
      • Must be single PRG file, not multi-part
    • *.CRT files:
      • Emulates/supports most popular cartridge types:
        • All 8khi, 8klo, 16k, and C128 "Generic" carts
        • EasyFlash, Magic Desk, Ocean, Dinamic, Zaxxon/Super Zaxxon
        • Epyx Fast Load, Game System 3, SuperGames, FunPlay/PowerPlay
        • Swiftlink internet, MIDI (Passport, Datel, Sequential, & Namesoft)
      • Additional CRT support info
        • Max file size is ~650MB (impacts large EZF files), also no EasyFlash eapi support at this time
        • If your favorite game isn't yet supported (though most are at this point), send me a note and I'll look at prioritizing it.
        • The OneLoad Games Collection is a great/free source for thousands of CRT files/games
    • *.HEX files:
      • Used for TeensyROM firmware updates (see below)

The Settings Menu

  • Keyboard commands available from the Settings Menu:
    • These commands modify settings stored in the Teensy, and are recalled on power-up
      • a/A: Set local Time Zone for system/screen clock (applied next Ethernet time synch)
      • b/B: Select Special IO to apply when launching a PRG/CRT (see below)
      • c/C: Set Port 2 Joystick repeat speed for menu navigation from 0 (very slow) to 15 (super fast)
      • d: Toggle auto Internet Time Synch on power-up
      • e: Toggle auto background music on power-up
    • These commands only change settings for this session and execute immediately
      • f: Perform Internet Time Synch
      • g: Toggle background music on/off
      • h: Execute Self-Test (takes ~4 seconds)
        • Tests the TeensyROM ability to rapidly read from emulated ROM
        • Helpful in testing out HW and debug, but should not fail in normal use
        • The is not an exhaustive test, but may be expanded later
      • i: Display Help menu
      • Space Bar: Return to Main Menu
      • Return: Screen refresh. Handy for updating the temperature reading
  • Other information on the Settings screen
    • Build Date/Time
      • In addition to the FW version number, the date/time of the build is also logged.
      • This is helpful for tracking custom builds & sub-releases
    • Teensy Frequency and Temperature
      • As mentioned in the main Readme, the Teensy is slightly overclocked to 816MHz in this aplication
      • External cooling is not required for this speed. However, in abundance of caution, a heatsink is specified in the BOM for this project.
      • The max spec is 95C, and there is an automatic shutdown at 90C.
      • Even in extended use, I've never seen the internal temperature exceded 75C.
    • Open source reminder, URL to the Github location

Selecting and associating Special IO

  • What is it?
    • "Special IO" in this context means additional HW that is emulated to assist with SW function.
    • This emulation runs at the same time as a selected program/cartridge
    • Examples of these are Swiftlink/Modem, and MIDI interfaces
    • This HW uses the IO1 ($DE00) address space and interrupts to pass information to/from the program running on the C64/128.
  • How is it used/selected?
    • The easy method is to use the software supplied with the TeensyROM with a '+' sign in fron of the type.
      • These will automatically associate the needed IO to emulate Swiftlink Internet or the required MIDI interface.
      • Currently this includes the following:
    • Special IO can also be selected in the settings menu
      • This setting will be applied at the time of launching any program or generic cartridge
      • The setting stays in memory and will be re-loaded for any app until changed
    • If a selected CRT file is associated with different Special IO (ie Epyx, EZFlash etc), that Special IO will be loaded instead

Firmware updates

There are 3 ways to update the TeensyROM firmware

From SD Card or USB Thumb Drive (easiest method)

  • This method is only available in FW v0.4 and higher.
    • Older versions will have to use one of the other methods one time to update
  • Get the .hex file containing the latest major (x.x) or minor(x.x.x) release from here
  • Copy the file to a USB Thumb drive or SD card
    • This can be done via the traditional method of moving the card to a capable computer
    • or over USB using the provided C64Transfer Windows app
  • In the TeensyROM USB or SD Menu, select the Firmware .hex file
  • A new screen will open and ask you to confirm that you want to update
    • Check that the file name shown is correct
    • 'y' to confirm/continue, 'n' to abort
    • The update process takes about 2 minutes and goes through several stages.
    • Important You must leave your C64/128 powered up during the update
      • Interrupting this process could render your TeensyROM unuseable
    • When the update completes succesfully, your computer will reset and the new version of TeensyROM will be shown
    • If there are any problems, take note of any messages shown before pressing any key to return to the main menu.

Using the Teensy application (requires computer with USB connection)

  • Get the .hex file of the latest released version from here
  • Download and install the Teenyduino/TeensyLoader app
    • Teensyduino requires arduino to run, which works fine.
    • Alternately, the Teensyloader stand alone file can be downloaded via a link further down the page
  • Launch the Teensyloader/teensyduino app (teensy.exe)
  • Select File, Open HEX File and select the save TeensyROM .hex file
  • Connect the TeensyROM to your computer with a USB A to microB cable.
  • Plug the TeensyROM into your C64/128 and power it up to the main menu
  • Press the white button on the Teensy module itself, as shown in the app
  • The process only takes a few seconds to complete
    • Important You must leave your C64/128 powered up during the update
  • You should see the app process through erasing and programming before your C64/128 reboots with the new version

Using the arduino environment (for custom builds/code)


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