Flash 8 accelerator

[Mangelore]

Hi guys.

I just received the following 8MHz accelerator for the C64 called Flash 8. Has anyone heard of it?
It came with a C64, CP/M and Geos floppy.

There was no manual and I can't seem to find one for download on the net as I'd like to figure out what a few of the jumpers do.

Here are some photos.





There seems to be two 512KB ZIP RAM chips on the board for the 65816.

It doesn't seem to like my C128 though

[airship]

Sorry. Can't find the manual. But I did find all of this, in case anyone else is curious:

It was apparently released in Europe in 1995 and was the inspiration for the SuperCPU, according to Commodore Hacking #12: http://www.canberra.edu.au/~scott/C=Hacking/C-Hacking12/cmdcpu.html

In mid 1995, Creative Micro Designs, after having evaluated the FLASH 8 accelerator from Europe with only mild success, noted that there might possibly be a market for a speedy accelerator that would run GEOS and other useful applications in the USA. After surveying the readership of Commodore World, the Internet, and FIDONet, CMD decided that interest in such a unit was forthcoming. Shortly thereafter, the SuperCPU announcement was made.

Here's the data sheet for the the MACH130, which 'consists of four PAL blocks interconnected by a programmable switch matrix':
http://www.latticesemi.com/lit/docs/datasheets/cpld/14131.pdf

The Commodore Languages List shows a version of the AssBlaster assembler for the Flash8: http://www.npsnet.com/danf/cbm/languages.html (scroll down)

There are four GEOS disks for it on this German site: http://www.npsnet.com/danf/cbm/languages.html

Jim Brain's Commodore FAQ (in the pre-SuperCPU days) said this about it:

Flash 8

  This accelerator, the only one being currently produced, is also the
  fastest such accelerator for the Commodore 64 to date.  The module,
  which plugs into the expansion port of the Commodore 64, increases
  the CPU processing speed from 1MHz to 8MHz.  It uses a 65816 CPU
  (The 65816 is a descendant of the 65XX series) running at 8MHz to enable
  the increased speed.  Also, it can be optional expanded to 4 or 8 MB RAM
  onboad.  This product is the successor to the Rossmoeller TurboAccess 4MHz
  accelerator card.  The unit has the capability to provide 10x speed disk
  access via a parallel cable and has a CP/M option.  
 
  GEOS compatible requires the special patches that are available from the
  manufacturer, and games or demos which do very intensive timing or raster
  effects might not fucntion correctly.  At present, the accelerator only
  works on PAL 64s of certain revisions and will not function on a C128 in
  64 mode.  Currenlty, the REU is not supported.
 
  From the advertisement:
 
    "FLASH 8 is a GEOS-compatible module for the expansion port with a 65816
     CPU that speeds the C64 to 8Mhz by highest compatibility with existing
     software.  Additionally to the original Commodore Kernal a JiffyDos
     kernal is available. You can choose between two different kernals via
     DIP-switch.  Flash 8 comes either with 256 Kbyte or 1 Mbyte RAM onboard.

     A CP/M-emulator for running Z80-CP/M-Software, a macro-library and
     assembler for the 65816 in native-mode are included."

  The prices are:

  349 DM (~$245.00 US) for the unit with 256kB RAM.
  449 DM (~$315.00 US) for the unit with 1MB RAM.

  It is being manufactured and sold by Discount 2000 and Performance
  Peripherals, Inc.

Looks like the JiffyDOS ROM image for it, in German, is on Zimmers: http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/c64/diskutil/misc/index.html

If you have Commodore World Issue #4, it had an article titled 'Flash8 Finally Comes to Market': http://cmdrkey.com/cbm/cworld/back/issue04.html

The documentation, in German, for the 4MHz 'Turbo Process' predecessor to this 8MHz card is on Zimmers. I don't know if there are any similarities to speak of, but it might be a place to start: http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/documents/projects/accelerators/turboprocess/

Here's where PPI was once upon a time. Don't know if they're still there:

Performance Peripherals, Inc. (PPI)
  5 Upper Loudon Road
  Loudonville, NY 12211
  (518) 436-0485 (Technical Support)
+ (800) EASYWEB (Orders and Information)
  Peter Fiset (Contact)
  fiset@global1.net (Internet Contact)

+ Performance Peripherals, Europe
+ Mchael. Renz, Silcher Street 12
+ 53332 Bornheim
+ Tel. 02227/912097, Fax: 02227/3221

[Mangelore]

Thanks Mark,

The info in your post confirms that the Flash 8 will not work with a C128 even in 64 mode
I wonder why...

[Mathias Roslund]

I remember reading about the Flash8 in the early 90's, and was interested in one, but it apparently was delayed quite a bit and by the time it was available I was mainly using my A1200. The SuperCPU game Metal Dust started its life on the Flash8, but IIRC, the Flash8 wasn't very stable which slowed down development a lot, and in the end, a SuperCPU would be required.

[airship]

My guess is there's some code in the PAL that doesn't work right with GEOS, NTSC 64s, or the C128. So all you have to do is rewrite it and burn a new one. :rodna:

Hey! 'Peter Fiset' of Loudonville, NY has a patent for Skin tanning and light therapy incorporating light emitting diodes.

This is apparently his latest company, though it looks like it might be down and out, too: http://www.datacommunity.org/
There's an email address for him on that page, though.

[Golan Klinger]

Wanna sell it?

[RobertB]

I just received the following 8MHz accelerator for the C64 called Flash 8. Has anyone heard of it?
It came with a C64, CP/M and Geos floppy.

Very nice!  I've heard of it but have never seen one in-person.  :-)  My most recent buy was yesterday at VCF X.  Our South San Francisco member, Gerald O., brought in an Entrepo stringy floppy drive to sell.  Wow, I hadn't seen one of those in years!  It was complete (with two wafers), and the price was right ($10).  I bought it right away.  Time to see if it will work with my C128DCR.  :-)

Remembering it sold for $120 back in the day,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

[airship]

Nice buy, Robert! I reviewed it for INFO. It worked, but it basically had all of the disadvantages of tape and disk combined. An interesting little piece of technology, though, and definitely a rare find.

[Mangelore]

My guess is there's some code in the PAL that doesn't work right with GEOS, NTSC 64s, or the C128. So all you have to do is rewrite it and burn a new one. :rodna:

Well, there's a 27C256 EPROM on the board so maybe it's just a firmware issue? I've dumped it to disk as it's a UV erasable one which may start playing up one day.

[Mangelore]

Wanna sell it?

Nope, I'll be keeping this one for my collection for a while. It's a much simpler design than the SuperCPU so I'd like to study it.

[airship]

'Playing up'? I just love you guys' Aussie slang!

[Blacklord]

Wanna sell it?

Nope, I'll be keeping this one for my collection for a while. It's a much simpler design than the SuperCPU so I'd like to study it.

Next hardware project huh ?

[Mangelore]

Next hardware project huh ?

I wouldn't hold your breath. I don't have the equipment to figure out what the MACH130 PLD is doing.

However, I've been working on a few other interesting projects.

[Blacklord]

Next hardware project huh ?

I wouldn't hold your breath. I don't have the equipment to figure out what the MACH130 PLD is doing.

However, I've been working on a few other interesting projects.

As usual we await eagerly

[Mangelore]

Hi guys,

I just received the documentation for the C64 Flash8 (8MHz accelerator) in scanned JPEG format.
Unfortunately, it's in German. Do you guys know of any German Commodore user groups that would be interested in a copy and possible translating to English?

[RobertB]

Do you guys know of any German Commodore user groups that would be interested in a copy and possible translating to English?

Here is an old contact from Roger Long's list:

Germany

GEOS Users Club      
Moerser Str. 11
D-46286 Dorsten
GERMANY
+49 - 2866-96101
Fax:  +49 - 2866 -96102
Supports:   GEOS (C64/C128)
Newsletter:
BBS:        GeoBox, +49 - 2366 - 886175
E-mail:     khguenter@t-online.de -- Karl Heinz Günter
Web page:   http://home.t-online.de/home/khguenter/Regioseiten/
                      GeosUserClub-Regio-Baden-Hauptseite.htm


Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

[Moloch]

Every two or three months you can find a Flash8 on eBay.de, I'd have a few by now if the Germans would ship outside of Germany/Europe.

You can also find the Rossmoeller 4MHz expansion called Turbo Process from time to time.

I uploaded a few pictures of both here.

[Mangelore]

Hi Moloch,

Thanks for the photos. Great stuff!

[wte]

Do you guys know of any German Commodore user groups that would be interested in a copy and possible translating to English?

Here is an old contact from Roger Long's list:

Germany

GEOS Users Club      
Moerser Str. 11
D-46286 Dorsten
GERMANY
[...]

Forget it! GEOS is dead and the GEOS User Club is more dead.
If you have a request for anything: use www.forum64.de (it's a German board but you can ask in English - and will get an English reply )

WTE

[wte]

Hi guys,

I just received the documentation for the C64 Flash8 (8MHz accelerator) in scanned JPEG format.
Unfortunately, it's in German. Do you guys know of any German Commodore user groups that would be interested in a copy and possible translating to English?

Link?

Regards WTE

Edit: Not a very comprehensive post but #50! Now I'm a PET user - very good, my first computer ever.

[Mangelore]

Link?

Here are the links for the .jpg scans of the Flash8 documentation.

http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage89gk6.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage67hs6.jpg

http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage45go2.jpg

http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage23gv6.jpg

http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage1gl5.jpg

http://img507.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scanimage10tl2.jpg

[RobertB]

GEOS is dead and the GEOS User Club is more dead.

Tell that to the GEOS interest group of the HCC Commodore.  They show up at every Netherlands Commodore Show (which is every 2 months) with their Commodore hardware and GEOS software.  If you want to contact them, send me a message, and I'll forward it to Ron van Schaik of the HCC Commodore.

          And they could read German, too,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
          The Other Group of Amigoids
          http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
          Southern California Commodore/Amiga Network
          http://www.sccaners.org/