What does it mean to be Meatloaf'd?
If you checked out the video "Foenix F256 Jr goes online, OLD SCHOOL (CBBS meets a 5-line SuperBASIC RS-232 Terminal)", you were privy to a brief recount of Ward Christensen's CBBS and a discussion about using the Foenix F256 Serial port with a simple but effective 5-line Terminal Emulator to get online with that WiFi modem that's been kicking around your pile of gear since the late 20-teens. (If you didn't see the video, check here:)
th-cam.com/video/KsSX9o5BKdo/w-d-xo.html
In this video, we go deeper into F256 Serial port registers, talk a bit about the Ti 16750 UART 'chip', and call it "way #1 to get online with the F256". If you liked the original, you'll appreciate the additional detail.
This video goes on from there, outlining a 2nd and 3rd way to get online with your F256; the Adafruit Feather Huzzah ESP8226 internal option and then Jaime Idolpx's MEATLOAF, which is just NOW an option for F256 systems.
Getting Meatloaf'd is an amazing experience if you've been around as long as the 2nd Generation Microprocessors that many of us love. In 'my' old days, gen-x kids downloaded files using the Punter protocol from BBSes (and pier-to-pier friends) at snails pace and sometimes it even worked! As of this video, the F256 platform is the first (I think!) outside of the original Commodore systems to be brought online in a manner that joins vintage to modern to achieve something even I (with all of my crusty experience) didn't think possible.
This is a long video, but I promise a big pay-off (the MEATLOAF) at the end and I've done something unusual, indexing it into chapters:
Table of contents Index
0:00 Intro + Serial WiFi Modem
10:54 Huzzah Feather TCP/UDP
22:54 Meatloaf IEC demo
Links (in order of importance) and references for further reading:
WAY #3: Meatloaf
-----------------------------
Link to DEADLINE of CityXen's Meatloaf video (don't forget, the MEATLOAF Flasher app, which is web based, eliminates the tricky bits relating to Deadline's use of VS Code and the serial port plugin):
th-cam.com/video/QXQjwKSVHjo/w-d-xo.html
Link to the Meatloaf home (check out the shortcodes section; click on the RED text):
meatloaf.cc/
Link to the Meatloaf GitHub (indexed to documentation which outlines much of the capability of this amazing device):
github.com/idolpx/meatloaf-specialty
WAY #2: Adafruit Feather Huzzah
------------------------------------------------------
Link to MuOn's (AnyBit), Feather + F256 primer:
th-cam.com/video/gJ9rZczDlfA/w-d-xo.html
Link to Tail Recursive's Feather + F256 specific video:
th-cam.com/video/UgsJo53sJrw/w-d-xo.html
Link to MicroKernel documentation, indexed to the Network Calls section:
github.com/ghackwrench/F256_MicroKernel/tree/master/docs#network-calls---generic
WAY #1: Serial WiFi Modem
---------------------------------------------
Prior video on this subject from this channel:
th-cam.com/video/KsSX9o5BKdo/w-d-xo.html
The Tindie seller, peddling the WiFi modem I demonstrated; be sure to read all of the details and ask questions to make sure it is right for your before buying; but I can vouch for mine. It has always been trouble-free:
www.tindie.com/products/8bit_bruno/simple-wifi-rs232-modem-v2/
Link to the Foenix Marketplace, a website where you can download code samples and articles pertaining to Foenix computers and related 8-bit platforms. As of today, "Foenix Rising" is midway through its 3rd year since issue #1 was published. Each issue ranges in length between short-form (6 page development focused articles), and long-form, multi-article issues (of 32 pages). At this point, you'll find about 85% of the material is Foenix focused but you'll also find vintage references, and history pertaining to the works of Compute Publishing and Dr. Dobbs journal article discussion. I expect to be writing more Commodore related content in the next year; but even today, there are Apple II, ATARI, and even Rockwell AIM65 and KIM-1 references, with more to come: apps.emwhite.org/foenixmarketplace/
If you've read this far, let's talk about what's next for this project:
a) I'm in active conversation and testing with Micah Bly to mod his F/manager (F256 File Manager) to work with Meatloaf from a navigation and execution perspective.
b) I will shortly be talking with MGR42, author of MLESS.PGZ (the More-or-Less text editor for the F256 platform) about better integration with the 'send-to' feature.
c) I will be creating a clean-room version of the CBM FB (File Browser/launcher) and it will be included in future distributions of the Meatloaf flash image.
d) I will continue to work on building up content for the Meatloaf share so we are ready for new users as they build MEATLOAF devices (which I expect will be soon).
So, of course there will be a part 'b' of this part II covering these topics, soon (rsn).