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ishotjr
Newbie

Joined: 09/05/2016
Location: United States
Posts: 1

Posted: 04:32pm 14 May 2016

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I'm just getting started with the Micromite LCD Backpack - so far I've assembled it and written a little demo:

http://ishotjr.tumblr.com/post/144076280372/simple-demo-program-for-the-micromite-lcd-backpack

and what I'm wondering is whether it is possible to use the Micromite as a "primary" display, or otherwise simulate it? I saw kiiid's "MM+ school laptop " which appears to be doing what I have in mind:

but I'm not sure if that's e.g. hardware VT100 or VGA or ... ? If there's no straightforward solution, is there a way to "emulate" console functionality e.g. using an "exec"-type command to run BASIC commands from within another program that handles the UI, i.e. something that looks like this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hard_reset_BBC_Micro_32K_Acorn_DFS.gif

with an interactive prompt that executes what the user inputs (via serial for now, maybe touchscreen keyboard eventually...?

robert.rozee
Guru

Joined: 31/12/2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 2447

Posted: 04:58pm 14 May 2016

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i believe that, at the moment, this is well beyond the abilities of the MX170. there is simply not enough flash memory space available to provide this level of functionality. if microchip were to come out with an MX190 (with double the flash) that would perhaps be another matter.

one solution would be to use two MX170 micromites. one as the 'main processor', while the seconds one would run an MMbasic program that was a VT100 terminal emulator using an attached colour LCD screen and keyboard. in essence, you would be using the backpack as a tiny VT100 terminal.

cost wise, two MX170's are probably about the same price as one MX470, so there is not a great gain if you are happy using SMD parts.

cheers,
rob :-)

Geoffg

Guru

Joined: 06/06/2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 3303

Posted: 06:30pm 14 May 2016

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If you want to have a self contained computer then you have to use the Micromite Plus (MX470 chip).

Grogster has designed a backpack like PCB for the MM+ designed to fit on the back of a 5" SSD1963 display. This includes a keyboard interface so the whole thing can act as a self contained computer with SD card storage. I am currently writing an article describing it and it should appear in Silicon Chip (an Australian magazine) in a few months. This is a sneak preview:

Kon's School Laptop uses the same chip but is more sophisticated.

GeoffEdited by Geoffg 2016-05-16

Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net

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