User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Mon May 16, 2022 8:15 pm

This guide is for new owners of the Mega65. The information below will likely change over time as the platform continues to evolve and improve.


Prologue


The very first time you turn on your machine just to make sure it works, you'll be presented with a very stark and simple settings screen.

origSetup.jpg

You should go through the motions and fill this out, but the Guide below will go step-by-step after the fact. The only setting here that may matter in the beginning is the Video selection.

The Video labeling is a tad unusual for most. Here is what it means:
The 'Enhanced' selection sends audio out with the digital video signal. 'DVI' only sends video - necessary for using an hdmi->dvi cable with some dvi monitors that have problems if the audio is present. If you're using the VGA output, it doesn't matter which option you pick. Cycle through to find the NTSC/PAL video mode you'd like to use with your setup.

Test out the audio if you're in the mood. I also chose CRT emulation, which I think looks nice and gives me those warm fuzzies. It's up to you. You can always change any of this later.

Save your settings and exit and now let's really do this.



Getting Started


1. Video & Power

At this time, VGA, DVI & HDMI monitors are possible for use with the Mega65 (M65). If you had plans to use a VGA > Composite cable to rock your 1702, you’ll need to wait (possibly a very long time). Go get a nice 4:3 flat panel display and plug it in. I use a beige NEC LCD that matches the case color fairly well. You could also go grab the latest and greatest wide-screen HDMI monitor you want. It's up to you.

IMG_8078.JPG

Before getting very far, you should enter the Utility Screen from the demo disk that loads when you boot-up every time and set your video mode if you want to change from PAL to NTSC mode or vice versa.

You can get to these global settings by holding down the ALT key, then pressing "1" on the next menu.

Using the left/right-arrow cursor keys on the keyboard will let you navigate to the different sections you can modify: Input, Chipset, Video, Audio and Network.
IMG_8148.jpg

You should make yourself familiar with these screens and make any adjustments you like. Make a note of how to get back here, as you'll likely need to do it a few times in the near future and beyond.


2. Account Creation, Mega65.org

Go to files.mega65.org and create an account. When you do so you’ll want to register your machine using the code on the piece of paper that came in the box. Once you do this, you’ll have access to all of the latest files on the file server. If you don’t register, many of the important files will be missing from the list.


3. Join the Discord - No, really do it.

Either via a browser or the desktop software (you can use the mobile app later if you really want to), go to the mega65 Discord Server. If you don’t have an account, create one. The Discord Server is very busy and noisy (better than it being empty) but it’s a great place to ask questions when they arise and sometimes trip over the solution to a problem you might be having. Folks in the Discord are very friendly and helpful.


4. Declare Yourself

After creating an account in the Discord, shout "!register" (without the quotes) in the #general channel and a private bot will message you asking for your registration code. Enter the code and your username will blue. This will distinguish you from non-owners. 


5. FDD Eject Test

Make sure your floppy drive can accept and eject a floppy disk. Some folks had to adjust the screws that hold the drive in order to get the alignment just right. In my case, it was fine. Once that test is behind you move to the next step.


SD Storage Cards

The Mega65 (M65) comes with an internal SD card found within the trap door, which is not very easily accessible to be honest. Like, I can see the card through the trap door, but I’ll be damned if I can remove that card with these manly hands!

On it are some core essential programs as well as some bonus programs like GEOS, the “Eleven” programming environment and some cool games. I left this card the way it was after copying the programs to my modern Mac and grabbed a 16GB SDHC microSD I had on the shelf.

When you use the external microSD slot the internal card is more or less bypassed entirely. This way if you ever screw up your external card, or need to start from scratch, your internal card will be intact and ready to go. I wouldn’t mess with it. Consider it a safety net.


6. SD Card Prep

1. What you’ll want to do first and foremost is pop a blank microSD into the external slot and let the Mega65 format it. It should be an SDHC microSD that is 8, 16 or 32GB. (I used a 16GB card.)
2. With the power off, hold down the ALT key and turn on the power. Press ‘2’ in the menu.
3. Use the SD Utility inside the M65 Utilities and pick SDCARD FDISK + FORMAT UTILITY.
4. Pick the External microSD slot (e.g. “1”)
You’ll be asked to type in a confirmation statement in all caps. Press Return.

Next your card will get formatted, and you should also see it automagically copy some of the root files from your internal card over to the external card. Now the external card is a clone of the internal - and it will get used as the new primary storage!

Pretty cool, right?

Now what you’ll need to do is update most of your programs as well as the M65’s core.


7. Essential Software

First, let’s grab the latest “Card Essentials” from the file host.

These are the must-have files you want as a foundation on your M65. And, in some cases they may fix bugs that shipped with your M65 (and they did ship with bugs). Any files that have the same name on your prepped card you should overwrite with these. Anything with a unique name, just leave it alone and put it on the card. You can pop your prepped card into your PC or Mac and just move the downloaded files into place. After that, don’t forget to move your “bonus programs” like GEOS over, too, that you copied from your internal SD earlier.


8. Flashing the Core

Next, you’re going to want to flash the core. I know, it sounds scary. But it’s not that bad. Well, it can be bad for some… I’ve seen one guy who flashed the core on his internal card when the process failed; he was pretty upset at the time. But if you’re doing everything from your external SD card chances are you should be fine.

As of May 15, 2022, you want to look for “mega65r3-dev.cor” on the file server while logged in, which is a whopping 8MB file. Download that to your Mac or PC and pop your external SD card into your modern machine using an adapter card.
1. Copy the .cor file to the root of your SD card where you just put your essential files.
2. With the M65 turned off, put the fresh microSD into the external port and turn the M65 on while holding down the No Scroll key on the keyboard. A utility screen will appear.
3.  The M65 can have 8 cores with #1 (core 0, which is the factory default) being READ ONLY / hard-coded. So i put the NEW core into slot #1. It’ll boot to slot 1 automatically if it’s populated. You can use the keyboard’s up/down keys to move to where you want to go. Hit Return to flash the core. If you picked an empty slot, it’ll just move the file into place. You’ll see a white progress bar to let you know where you are in the process. In my case, when done the new core was in slot #1 with an obtuse name of MEGA65 180-BDEEB15. Got that? Select “1” on your keyboard and reboot. It’ll always use slot 1 ROM from here on out.
4. After you’re done, you can actually delete the .cor file from the SD card as it is no longer needed.

At this point, your machine’s software is pretty much good to go. And, you now have the knowledge and tools to perform future updates as they are released. And I think it’s fair to say with the amount of talent and passion behind this computer, these are skills you’ll put to good use often in the years to come.

Incredibly, all of your most sensitive and precious system programs will sit here in the root, naked and exposed. However, the M65 supports folders. So you can create a Games directory, or Music or Demos or whatever subdirectories you like as you move more programs over in the future.

Consult your amazing Manual for mounting disks with the M65.


Next Steps


The Freezer

There is a built-in program that will allow you to load disk images you have saved to your external SD card called The Freezer. It also is a place where you can conveniently modify your joystick and video settings.

Press the RESTORE key for about 1 second and release it to launch the program.

You are given a menu to pick the drive you want to mount. So, in my case, I press RESTORE then select “0” to access my external micro SD card as ID 8.

This will show you the D81 files you have stored in the root. We can see my GEOS disk and others I moved over earlier. It does not display the core files, just the ones not needed by the machine to run that you might want to use.

Select the D81 (note: I don't mean a C64 D81, I mean a D81 created for the M65) you want to mount. (Press return on the name.)
Then, when you're back at the main Freezer screen press F5 - not F3. While it might look more intuitive to many to "resume" rather than "reset," Reset will drop you to Basic (without errors) and allow you to now load the file you want to.

So, type:

Code: Select all

DIR
You'll get a directory of the disk you mounted. Next, use your cursor to go up to the file you want to run. You can make it look like this:

Code: Select all

LOAD "filename"
Note that you don't need to type ",8" to make this statement work when loading M65 files in M65 BASIC. Since drive 8 is the machine's default (just like the tape drive was the C64's, believe it or not, you don't need to assign a drive ID to tell the computer which drive to use in this example.

Loading C64 d64 files, or C64 D81 files

  • Turn on Mega65 and exit menu to BASIC
  • Freeze using Restore key held and released#
  • Mount d81 in drive 0
  • F3
  • go64 from basic and confirm
  • load"*",8,1
If your file is compatible it should load.

Note: If the games/files you're trying to load have fast loaders or use a cruncher that has illegal opcodes, they won't work. Those are two quite common problems.

The RTC

There are reports that several Batch 1 M65’s have faulty Real Time Clocks. The rhyme or reason is at this time unknown. For example, my RTC seems to be fine. However a good friend of mine who has an M65 with a serial number just 4 digits away from mine with the exact same chipset has a faulty clock.

First, set your clock (use the Utility from the Demo Disk to set the clock). Note: while not obvious to me, the date format is YY/MM/DD even though it shows 00.01.01. Be sure to do it like I’ve shown or it can generate some corrupted characters. The clock entry tool will take any numbers you give it with no error checking…

Once done, test your own machine in C65 basic and type:

? TI$

Do that a few times and see if the time appears to make sense and not give erratic results. For the real test, remove the 3 case screws that hold the M65 together and pop in a CR1220 coin cell battery. Now set your time again and check the time 4 or five times waiting a little bit between commands. Compare it to your cellphone or another clock you trust. You should know by now if your RTC is OK, or not. If it is the latter, you should get on the Discord server and send your results to the mega65 team. They have been keeping records of this issue to try and see if there is a predictable pattern.


The Case

With the Batch 1 cases, the mould maker in Germany named Hintsteiner apparently removed the cases from the moulds before they were fully cooled. As a result, many cases have “stretch marks” on the top shell and even minor warping on the bottom shell. In general, the warp appears to be no more than 1mm inwards. However, this can make the back area very unstable and even make a case audibly pop if pushed without much effort.

When I put in my RTC battery, I pried my lower shell outward 4-5 times in different locations near the center-back. The plastic is surprisingly bendable and not rigid. After reassembly, my warp appears to have been fixed. Do this at your own risk, but I’m pleased with my results.
IMG_8095.JPG

C64

Type “Go64” to drop to C64 mode.

At this time, the built-in C64 support is not 100% by a pretty wide mark. But that is going to improve over time.

You could load a real physical disk from a 1541 floppy drive if you wanted to at this point. You could even update all of the drive IDs on the Mega65 in case you really need the 1541 to be Drive 8, which some software demands. Right now your Drive IDs would need you to make the 1541 drive 10 or 11, though, unless you make those changes.


Epilogue and Thanks


At this stage you should have enough information to feel comfortable with getting to know your amazing Mega65 and begin your own journey.

The machine’s software will continue to improve and stabilize in the coming months. I’ll do my best to update this post as things change.

Have fun!

Note: My deepest appreciation and thanks to Dan Sanderson and Matt Martin for their thoughts and advice as the 3 of us worked together to update our machines across multiple days when they first arrived. Thanks, guys.

User avatar
A1-X1000
Toronto, Canada

Posted Wed May 18, 2022 11:01 pm

thanks for this guide Eric! I’ll be referring to it for sure once my MEGA65 arrives and hoping the so called 2nd batch fixes those case ‘minor’ defects





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