Microdrive Emulator

[Martin_Head]

This looks really good, Martin. Is it ready for me to make available via my website (I take it you got my reply to your email a while back, I never got a reply back from you after that).

No I didn't get your reply. But my E-Mail did throw a bit of a wobbly the other day, so it may have gone astray. So yes please add it to your web site.

[Mr_Navigator]

Martin, a great little driver, I have no idea why this hasn't been done before and bonus points to you for doing it, and also the fact that

I had never tried to write a device driver before, and had little idea how they worked. As I had a copy of the Minerva source code from the last cover disk of the QL Today magazine, I decided to use this to learn how the Microdrive device driver worked. And use it as basis of my driver.

Just shows :

• What can be done
  There are still useful software to be written
  What people missed by not subscribing to QL magazines

again thanks Martin

[dilwyn]

Just shows :

• What can be done
  There are still useful software to be written
  What people missed by not subscribing to QL magazines

again thanks Martin

Absolutely, well said.

[Martin_Head]

I've written a BASIC program to convert between my MDI image files and MDV image files.

It seems to work OK in QLAY2, but could someone try the attached MDV image that I made from one of my MDI images, in QEmulator. I'm only using the unregistered version which does not support MDV files.

On a slightly different subject. I was looking into the idea of adding the Direct Sector access routines (MD_READ, MD_WRITE etc) into the MDI Driver under QEmulator, but I don't think I will be able to do it, as the emulator gets in the way.

Anyway I'm considering adding the Direct Sector access routines as BASIC commands, but I'm wondering if there is any call/need/desire for it?

[Dave]

Daniele Terdina is very approachable. I think if you talked with him, you might be pleasantly surprised at his helpfulness.

[Martin_Head]

Daniele Terdina is very approachable. I think if you talked with him, you might be pleasantly surprised at his helpfulness.

What I did, was that I patched a JS ROM image to redirect then Microdrive direct sector access routines to my code. Only I then found that QEmulator does the same thing, and overwrites my changes.

It seems to insert an Illegal instruction, so I guess it Traps the Illegal instruction error when using the MDV image support.

It was just an Idea I had, but I don't really want to circumvent the features of the paid for registered version.

[Ralf R.]

It was just an Idea I had, but I don't really want to circumvent the features of the paid for registered version.

If you need, Danielle gives you a 14days access for all. I think, programmer to programmer should do this.

[prime]

Is the driver / source still available anywhere, the link in the first post has expired....

Cheers.

Phill.

[RWAP]

The microdrive (and floppy) image drivers are available on the Sinclair QL Homepage -

http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/utils/index.html

Look for MDIDriver

[Martin_Head]

As I've had no feedback as to whether my image file conversion program works OK in QEmulator, I'm just going to post it anyway.

It's just a small SuperBASIC program that requires TK2 extensions.

I am also e-mailing it to Dilwyn Jones for inclusion in his Web site.