Re: "Partner 128" by Timeworks Inc.

Am Montag, 26. September 2022, 17:17:55 CEST schrieb groepaz_at_gmx.net:
> Hello fellow hackers!
>
> In the past days i have started to fix and enhance the cartridge emulation
> in the C128 emulator of VICE. Related to that, i am looking for more info
> on one of the cartridges:
>
> "Partner 128" by Timeworks Inc.
>
> This one is rather obscure, as there is a cable going from the cartridge to
> joystick port 2. There is also a button at the cartridge. It appears to have
> a simple "freezer" functionality, and that cable appears to play a role in
> that.
>
> Now if you google for this cartridge a bit, you can actually find pictures,
> some related d64, a pdf of the manual, and even a ROM dump. So far so good.
>
> Unfortunately the dump "out there" appears to be broken - so the first
> request is for a dump that has NOT the following checksum:
>
> $ crc32 partner128.bin
> e165bdb6
>
> Another big question is: What is this mysterious cable really doing?
> Interesting things would be:
>
> - Pictures of the inside of the cartridge (that hopefully show where the
> cable is connected to.)
> - If the cable is not connected, how does this actually affect it's
> operation?
>
> Obviously having a schematic of the cartridge would be ideal - that is a
> request for someone who not only owns the cartridge, but is also able to
> open it and desolder some components eventually. Besides having too much
> time :)
>
> Additionally, since the manual is kindof vague at times, there are more
> questions:
>
> - how exactly do you bring up the "partner menu"?
> - what exactly is the button for?
> - the manual mentions ESCAPE but not exactly when to press/hold it, whats
> that about?
> - the manual mentions holding CTRL when the cable is in port 1 (?). what
> does that do?
>
> If you own the cartridge please speak up, we can help with dumping and
> further inspection. Let's preserve this obscure thing :)

PS: Apparently they also released "Partner 64" for the C64 - any info/docs/
dumps related to this are also wanted :)

--

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Knowing what to optimize matters as much as knowing how to optimize.
Otherwise, you'll optimize the wrong thing, and end up with really fast slow
code.
<Michael Abrash>