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Old 8th Dec 2022, 2:50 pm   #101
777xxxx
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pernod70 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by 777xxxx View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pernod70 View Post

What is the size of the file you are trying to load, it should be 220 bytes, which I've already tested and confirmed works when loaded at f1f.
677 bytes
That's clearly the wrong file, you are supposed to using the file from post #79.
yeah, i found the right one but now it wont execute
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Old 8th Dec 2022, 3:12 pm   #102
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Won't execute or won't start? You have to press 'Go' again to start the game running.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 3:48 am   #103
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

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Originally Posted by SiriusHardware View Post
Won't execute or won't start? You have to press 'Go' again to start the game running.
whats the 'go' button in mame? i typed 'go' to get the lcd display to work. then i typed 'fbd' in the lcd display followed by 'x' to try to execute it
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 9:24 am   #104
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

That's for the MAME guys to answer I think? Which keys on the PC represent the MK14 Go, Mem, Term, and Abort keys during MK14 run time?
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 11:18 am   #105
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Most likely to be G, but there are not that many other keys to try on a pc keyboard so long as the wrong key doesn’t make it crash out.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 11:29 am   #106
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Big thank you to the mods
To avoid any future confusion over bad attachments I asked the mods to remove the bad ones from the earlier posts, and replace each with a pointer to the corrected file - which they've done, all attachments in this thread should now be 'good'
Thank you mods
Phil

Last edited by Phil__G; 9th Dec 2022 at 11:45 am.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 1:41 pm   #107
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Quote:
Most likely to be G, but there are not that many other keys to try on a pc keyboard so long as the wrong key doesn’t make it crash out
Yes, I would expect that 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F would be mapped one-to-one and that G=Go, M=Mem and T=Term. The only one which is usually in doubt is 'Abort' since 'A' is already taken. On a PC keyboard perhaps ESC might be a logical substitute for 'Abort' if it is not already used for something else.

As there is no physical reset switch to press, I would also expect that pressing 'R' would be equivalent to pressing the reset button.

Edit: well done to Phil and the mods for shorting out the wheat from the chaff.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 1:54 pm   #108
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

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Originally Posted by 777xxxx View Post
whats the 'go' button in mame? i typed 'go' to get the lcd display to work. then i typed 'fbd' in the lcd display followed by 'x' to try to execute it
That 'x' is the GO button, just press it again.

Other keys are:
MEM - cursor up
ABORT - minus
TERM - equals

All keys can be easily reconfigured.

Of course you can easily find this out for yourself if anyone actually reads documentation that I've linked to repeatedly.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 2:13 pm   #109
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Sorry Pernod70, I haven't yet been able to allocate any time to installing or using the emulator personally, but I agree RTFM is pertinent advice for anyone who is actually using it.

How did you arrive at the default keys chosen to shadow the Go, Mem, Abort, Term keys? If I'm honest, the ones chosen are not in the first half dozen that I would have guessed.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 2:26 pm   #110
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

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Originally Posted by SiriusHardware View Post
How did you arrive at the default keys chosen to shadow the Go, Mem, Abort, Term keys? If I'm honest, the ones chosen are not in the first half dozen that I would have guessed.
I didn't, the MK14 has been emulated in MAME for well over 15 years, so whoever did the original emulation chose them. All I did was add the VDU emulation.

All official documentation is at https://docs.mamedev.org/, and is reasonably well maintained.

Basic usage info is at https://docs.mamedev.org/usingmame/index.html which includes accessing the internal User Interface which gives access to Input Settings, and a whole lot more.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 2:43 pm   #111
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pernod70 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by 777xxxx View Post
whats the 'go' button in mame? i typed 'go' to get the lcd display to work. then i typed 'fbd' in the lcd display followed by 'x' to try to execute it
That 'x' is the GO button, just press it again.

Other keys are:
MEM - cursor up
ABORT - minus
TERM - equals

All keys can be easily reconfigured.

Of course you can easily find this out for yourself if anyone actually reads documentation that I've linked to repeatedly.
yeah, i think its working now. does the game have controls? and if so, what are they? thanks.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 2:51 pm   #112
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

'F' when you are just about to collide with a 'Mine'. If you fail to 'deactivate' any of the mines, you're sent back to the start of the screen. Clearing a whole screen starts another wave - I think you might have to press 'Go' to start each wave. Each successive wave runs a little bit faster.
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 3:42 pm   #113
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

This is 1977 remember - dont expect an Xbox game with Dolby surround, total-immersion video and haptic feedback!!!
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Old 9th Dec 2022, 4:39 pm   #114
777xxxx
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

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Originally Posted by Phil__G View Post
This is 1977 remember - dont expect an Xbox game with Dolby surround, total-immersion video and haptic feedback!!!
no, these games are even better
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Old 10th Dec 2022, 4:45 pm   #115
777xxxx
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil__G View Post
Think thats all except segtris, which is in 2 parts, can you load 2 things?
Part1 loads at F14
Part2 loads at B00

If you tell me one thats defo not working, I'll double check it

G I just use DOS debug thats all, no app as such

UPDATE: see post 63 for Segtris
ive had a look at the debug command but cant see how you would create a bin file from hex. could you give me an example of how you did this? maybe use charset.hex as an example?
Attached Files
File Type: zip CHARSET.zip (450 Bytes, 21 views)
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Old 10th Dec 2022, 5:23 pm   #116
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

actually i just solved it with hxd, so no worries.
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Old 10th Dec 2022, 5:56 pm   #117
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Well, I'd already typed a pageful of guff so might as well post it, though its much quicker to do than to describe

Actually charset is an awkward example as the Intel hex file has two parts. Taking the first part as an example (the second part is done the same way, with its own addresses):

From the hex file we need three things for each part. Where the part starts, where it ends and the length.
Visually reading the hexfile you can see that the first part of showchar is from 0880 to 08C5 - mental note!
Find the code length by subtracting the first address used from the last and add one which in this case is 46h. (8C5-880+1)
Using debug.exe that was supplied as part of MSDOS and these days needs to be run under DOSBOX - you'll need to
set the right dos version with (say) "ver set 6 22" in dosbox...
You run debug from the dos prompt with the hex file suffixed:
debug charset.hex
It loads the content of the hex file (both parts) as a binary into memory at the address(es) specified in the hex file,
then replies with its own "-" prompt.
You can see the code and confirm it looks like the hex file by typing
-d880 (or wherever its loaded)
Debug saves from location 100h (because its CP/M derived) so we need to move the code down to 100h using the M command:
(move from start address, through end address, to destination)
-m880 8C5 100
The code is now down at 100h where it can be saved.
Give the binary a name using the N command:
-ncharset.bin
and set the code length in cx using the R command:
-rcx
-46
then you can write the binary using the W command: [be careful not to include any numbers here, just a 'W' and press return]
-w
Control/C to exit debug and a dir should show showchar.bin in the current directory.

*or*

Run HxD, drag across the required code, save as bin

Last edited by Phil__G; 10th Dec 2022 at 6:16 pm.
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Old 10th Dec 2022, 6:13 pm   #118
777xxxx
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil__G View Post
Well, I'd already typed a pageful of guff so might as well post it, though its much quicker to do than to describe

Actually charset is an awkward example as the Intel hex file has two parts. Taking the first part as an example (the second part is done the same way, with its own addresses):

From the hex file we need three things for each part. Where the part starts, where it ends and the length.
Visually reading the hexfile you can see that the first part of showchar is from 0880 to 08C5 - mental note!
Find the code length by subtracting the first address used from the last and add one which in this case is 46h. (8C5-880+1)
Using debug.exe that was supplied as part of MSDOS and these days needs to be run under DOSBOX - you'll need to
set the right dos version with (say) "ver set 6 22" in dosbox...
You run debug from the dos prompt with the hex file suffixed:
debug charset.hex
It loads the content of the hex file (both parts) as a binary into memory at the address(es) specified in the hex file,
then replies with its own "-" prompt.
You can see the code and confirm it looks like the hex file by typing
-d880 (or wherever its loaded)
Debug saves from location 100h (because its CP/M derived) so we need to move the code down to 100h using the M command:
(move from start address, through end address, to destination)
-m880 8C5 100
The code is now down at 100h where it can be saved.
Give the binary a name using the N command:
-ncharset.bin
and set the code length in cx:
-rcx
-46
then you can write the binary using the W command: [be careful not to include any numbers here, just a 'W' and press return]
-w
Control/C to exit debug and a dir should show showchar.bin in the current directory.

*or*

Run HxD, drag across the required code, save as bin.
sorry about that
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Old 10th Dec 2022, 6:19 pm   #119
Phil__G
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Default Re: How do I convert hex files to binary for use in the MK14 mame VDU emulator?

No probs, I was joshing, Sirius had asked too.
The short answer to the question...
Quote:
Originally Posted by 777
ive had a look at the debug command but cant see how you would create a bin file from hex. could you give me an example of how you did this?
...is dont, use HxD


Here are the two binaries (both must be loaded):
Attached Files
File Type: zip charset2_load0f12_exec0880.zip (457 Bytes, 18 views)

Last edited by Phil__G; 10th Dec 2022 at 6:33 pm.
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