Frequently Asked/Answered Questions
Hardware related questions
01. What is this all about ? What is a FlashROM or ROM ? How Do I use it ?
02. Can I use one the ROMs from this site with my old Datel hardware ?
03. How can I pre-order for the new hardware ?
04. What can the FlashROM, the connector or the 32kb RAM of the new hardware give me what my old hardware can't do?
05. Will transfer routines for 64net, trans64 or others be supported?
06. Can some of the new features be added to old hardware aswell ?
07. Will old softwares or other cartridge softwares from NP, AP or SS V4/5 work with the new hardware?
Software related questions
01. When is the software finished ?
02. How can I contribute development ?
03. How compatible will the cartridge be towards other speeders ?
04. What about compatibility with IDE64 and SuperCPU?
05. Will there be support for parallel cables ?
06. What about adding a Sound-Ripper or Sample-Ripper ?
07. I installed the cartridge and the TASS command doesn't work !
Hardware related questions
01. What is this all about ? What is a FlashROM or ROM ? How Do I use it ?
First, let me explain some used terms.
ROM is the most used term here and we are referring to the firmware running on the Retro Replay.
Firmware is pretty close to what PC people refer to when talking of their BIOS.
The Retro Replay is pretty much the same. The FlashROM on the RR-hardware is programmable
FROM THE C64/C128 and can therefore be updated any time.
For more info read HERE.
02. Can I use one the ROMs from this site with my old Datel hardware ?
YES! You obviously didn't read any of the pages here. Do so to learn how it works.
03. How can I pre-order for the new hardware ?
04. What can the FlashROM, the accessoiry connector or the 32kb RAM of the new hardware give me what my old
hardware can't do?
Numerous things we are looking forward with great joy to program them.
Although that will take some time, we will be looking forward to implement routines to fully take
advantage of the new features.
The accessoiry connector enables you to transfer data and even (later on) control the retro replay
software up to a certain stage from ANY computer. Since we will be using null-modem transfer technology
which is anywhere available, you can choose to use a PC, Amiga, Macintosh or another C64 to transfer
files.
The FlashROM will allow you to upgrade or downgrade the software on your cartridge by flashing a new
ROM into the FlashROM using a program on the C64. The program will be available in time then.
The 32kb RAM will enable us to save some more data here and there to allow even more possibilities.
This additional RAM can be used from the c64 aswell, so third party programs can take advantage of
it aswell as e.g. the cruncher which is being worked on.
There is some more stuff on the new hardware, like the possibility to become compatible with a REU
aswell as having 64kb of ROM for the cartridge software. Read the RR-History to see what we are planning.
05. Will transfer routines for 64net, trans64 or others be supported?
No, we will be supplying software for all kind of computers to enable connectivity. Third party cables
will for now not be supported. Maybe when there is an internal developer version which we are using you
could be lucky. :)
On the other hand, the serial connector, when supported will be damn fast and enable you to cross-assemble,
use PC-based fileserver, debugging and other stuff.
06. Can some of the new features be added to old hardware aswell ?
Yes. I heard of cartridges which where upgraded to allow 64kb eproms or the reading of $de00 without
crashing. Since this is soldering work and needs technical experience I can't tell you how to do that.
Also, please don't trust other manuals you may find regarding such upgrades, since there are a few
different hardware versions from Datel and others around, which may not meet the needed specs.
07. Will old softwares or other cartridge softwares from Nordic Power, Atomic Power or Super Snapshot
work with the new hardware?
We are working on this. If we get the correct register settings for these carts, we may even be able
to include hotpatching of these ROMs into the FlashROM utility. Wait and see or supply us with any info
you know about these cartridges.
Software related questions
01. When is the software finished ?
I have no idea. There is so much to do, that you can expect regular updates until 2003 or 2004 for sure. :)
02. How can I contribute development ?
MAIL US about suspicious behaviour, common bugs and ideas you may have. That'll help a lot already.
Also code contributions are welcome anytime.
03. How compatible will the cartridge be towards other speeders ?
I am regularly testing with JiffyDOS, but have the option to go for SpeedDos aswell.
Personally I will put focus on JD, but whenever there are major incompatibilities, we'll be trying
to fix it.
Thanks to Skern, who made up a neat ROM for me with SuperJiffyDos aswell
as normal JiffyDos, support for these is saved.
04. What about compatibility with IDE64 and SuperCPU?
Personally I am trying to focus on CMD HD and FD2000/4000 to gain compatibility. Also making all
the stuff work with JiffyDos and SpeedDos is a difficult task here and there.
So IDE64 is pretty much out of reach. The SuperCPU doesn't allow some operations (like freezing)
at all, so there won't be compatibility for a long time. On the other hand I am putting a lot of hope
into the UHS Project which might have software based ROM emulation.
05. Will there be support for parallel cables ?
Not from the ROMs software. Speeders like SpeedDos should override the Action Replay and Retro Replay
software speeder and therefore take effect.
Newer versions of the ROM and Flash Utility will also feature settings which can be edited, so you
may choose your own F-Key setup, or disable the fastloader by default if it collides with your preferred hardware.
06. What about adding a Sound-Ripper or Sample-Ripper ?
Forget it. You are free to write a parameter program for this though.
07. I installed the cartridge and the TASS command doesn't work !
For making our live easier, but to also supply you with a fully
working hard/software, we flashed the cartridge with 2 different
ROMs. The first one is a 32kb Beta 3.1 PAL (stable) and the second one is
64kb Beta 3.2 with some more bugs, but the TOOL command installed.
The TOOL command saves the FlashUtility 0.01 to disk and took the
space for the TASS command. To get the TASS command, please download
the latest 64kb Beta Version from the download area and flash it.
08. I installed the cartridge and the TOOL command doesn't work !
The TOOL command is only available on a quickly hacked ROM
we assembled for the initial hardware release. This way we
were able avoid a disk to give you full flashing capabilities.
Recently sold cartridges may have been flashed with different
ROMs in the meantime.
PLEASE do yourself a favour, check the download section for the
latest versions or ROMs and Utilities and use those.
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