User:Larz: Difference between revisions

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=== Cosmac Elf (1802) ===
=== Cosmac Elf (1802) ===
=== TRS-80 (Z-80) ===
=== ''TRS-80 (Z-80)'' ===
This was my first true hack.
 
In 1978, the TRS-80 only displayed upper case characters.  This was done to save one chip.  With only 7 RAM chips in the video circuit, the system was limited to displaying the first 128 characters of the character ROM.
 
I piggy-backed a 1K x 1 ram chip (that's 1024 bits - 2021A) onto the character generator circuit to allow all 8 bits of the character ROM to be accessed.  A toggle switch on the side of the case let you turn the mod on and off.  Not bad considering I was 14 years old and the machine cost $500.
 
=== ''Commodore PET, VIC 20, C-64 (6502)'' ===
=== ''Commodore PET, VIC 20, C-64 (6502)'' ===