Denial

JagMod wrote:I built a small device to dump the carts.

http://www.jagmod.com/avi/VicRomId.avi

Good work. Is it just for Vic carts or can it be used for other platforms?

I read the label

Only joking, nice and quick cart id.

Pedro Lambrini wrote:

JagMod wrote:I built a small device to dump the carts.

http://www.jagmod.com/avi/VicRomId.avi

Good work. Is it just for Vic carts or can it be used for other platforms?

This is for Vic-20 carts only.
I wanted a way to quickly checksum a cart to see if I had it.
The nice side effect is that I can now tell if the rom is different from what I have. In the case of Meteor Run from UMI they have two different roms.
I also have a serial port on this device so I can dump the rom to the pc.
My unique cart count is now up to 171.

I have the following carts and I would like to make a ROM image of them to share with others if possible.
UMI Wordcraft 20 (16k ROM)
UMI ViTerm B [16__]
Kantronics Hamtext Client for amateur radio.
AEA-SOFT MBA-Text VIC-20 PROM Ver 1.2 SYS40969 to start

I also have a cart for a C-64 called Mini-Jini which was a database program. Is it possible to make a ROM copy of it and have ot run on a Vic-20? The instructions reference the Vic more than the C-64. Any help would be great.
Thanks,
kc2ykn

[MOD] kc2ykn, thanks for your post and welcome to the forum. Your carts are surely interesting, but there's no need to post the same message in three different sections .
UMI's Wordcraft 20 has already been uploaded in Funet (HERE and HERE).

Thanks orion70. Did not know were I would post the items and who looks at them. I'm looking for any info. on these carts.
Thanks.
kc2ykn

Ok guys... if I got it, this program Mike posted in 2009 make us to set the memory blocks, right?

But... sorry if I'm that ignorant...
let me resume the matter:

1. copy the prg file on a floppy or an SD
2. use the program Mike wrote to put the memory in block 5
3. load the program
4. use a sys command to run the game

Right?
But... I've a question: when we talk about "to put the memory in a block" are we talking about expanded memory? I mean: to play a cart game on a real Vic (without the cart, of course) I've to insert the memory expansion cart and then follows the procedure?
I'm a little confused... but I'm still new on Denial...
I'm reading here and there trying to find clues...

I'm not a hardware guru, but learned a lot here about the VIC's nooks and crannies . The 6502 CPU can address 64K of RAM, even if a stock machine has only 5K. When you plug a memory expansion in the cart port, you can access more RAM, which is placed in blocks as follows:

+3K -> block 0
+8K -> block 1
+16K -> blocks 1+2
+24K -> block 1+2+3
+32K -> blocks 0+1+2+3+5

As you see, RAM addresses may vary according to the expansion you use.
Generally speaking, the RAM is split into separate 8K blocks, each with its memory address, and if you have a program in that block you can call it with a SYS. That's why for example a game for +3K expansion doesn't seem to work with a simple RUN if you have a 8K (or more) expansion.
See also this article (in Italian ) and the DenialWiki entry.

Thank you, Orion70!
The article from MC reminds me my youthness, when with friends we read such magazines to understand the computer world.

I will learn more about this issue, although I do not have any memory expansion yet. I had a nice multi-expansion cartridge (+3,+8,+16 and +24 total) but seems that I lost everything when I moved from my old flat to the new one. I hope that, one day, I will find back my box with the old carts, memory expansion included, but 'till then I've to wait to get my hands on the MegaCart.

Thanks again, I saved the article on my HD.