|
 |
The Memotech MTX Series |
 |
REMEMOrizer
REMEMOrizer is another of
Andy Key's great enhancements for
the Memotech MTX.
To quote from Andy's site, "REMEMOrizer is an add-on for a
real Memotech MTX500, MTX512 or MTX512 S2 computer, built using
hardware and software developed for REMEMOTECH. . . . .Its like
an SDX, only smaller, faster, cheaper and better. This is the
upgrade you wished you'd had in 1984."
The biggest advantage of REMEMOrizer is its provision of
random access storage for the MTX, i.e., it allows you to load
and save software and data from/to SD card, in the same way as a
floppy disk drive on the SDX/FDX, rather than the base
functionality of the MTX which uses cassette tape storage.
Again, from Andy's page, the features include :-
| SD Card as a large and fast alternative to
floppy disk |
| 80 column card, with 80x24 and 80x48 modes,
outputting to 640x480 @ 60Hz VGA |
| 512KB of extra memory - includes the
functionality of
Andy's RAM card |
| 320KB is directly
usable, and is typically used as a RAM Disc |
| 128KB is hidden,
and is used as virtual cassette |
| 32KB or 64KB can
be used to upgrade an MTX with 32KB or 0KB to 64KB |
| CP/M boot ROM and SDX BASIC ROM providing access
to SD Card and RAM Disc |
| Replacements for the fixed OS and BASIC ROMs,
providing Virtual cassette support |
Unlike myREMEMOTECH,
REMEMORizer does not need much help from the user - it works
"right out of the box". The only thing you need to do,
is to check/set a couple of jumpers on the board and decide
whether you want/need to replace the existing MTX OS & BASIC
ROMS. There's so little to do that I can't really classify this one as a
"Project", but it is a fantastic add-on for an MTX.
Comprehensive setup and usage instructions are
available on
Andy's
website, so there's not too much to add here,
although I have created a User Manual based on the
information on Andy's comprehensive web pages. You can
download it from Andy's site
here, or from my site here.
The photo above is my REMEMOrizer rolling off Andy's "production
line". This may be the last time that so many
REMEMOrizers are gathered together in one place! You will
notice that the board is labelled "REMEMOrizer 2" - the
first version was the first development of the board and was
not formally released, board revision 2 is the first
publically available REMEMOrizer.
Of the initial batch of REMEMOrizers
produced, as (bad) luck would have it, mine was the only one
that seemed to exhibit any problems. I had problems that
seemed to be related to the SD card, particularly during
writing. After trying to eliminate a number of potential
causes by swapping the power supply, the MTX being used and
even REMEMOrizer itself, I returned the board to Andy along
with my MTX and PSU for further investigation.
Andy found that my machine has a very noisy
clock signal, he was able to modify the code to "de-glitch"
the clock signal, which has fixed the problem. The red dot
on my GODIL signifies that it has been upgraded to r2.
VGA Monitor Compatibility
REMEMOrizer is great piece of kit, and the majority of users
have no problems when using it. However, a couple of users have
experienced some problems with the emulated 80 column card
output to VGA, as highlighted on Andy's
REMEMOrizer Failures page.
I thought it might be useful to tabulate user feedback on the
subject in
this thread on
MEMEORUM - the Memotech MTX Forum. If
you add your experience to this thread, I will include it in
the table on this page.
|
