CoCo SDC Firmware and SDC-DOS Upgrade

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Great tutorial. Now I need to update my SDC firmware and SDC-DOS. Agreed, the SDC is awesome. It was one of the first modern pieces of kit I ordered once I had a CoCo 2. I now use it with my CoCo 3.

[@TJBChris]

Thanks! One thing I should have mentioned in the video: If you have replaced the CPU in any of your CoCos with a Hitachi 6309 and are also using the 6309 version of NitrOS-9 EOU, don't upgrade the firmware quite yet (you can do SDC-DOS, though). There's a timing issue with the new SDC firmware and NitrOS-9 EOU that causes it to crash on boot. If neither apply, you're good to update.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

@@TJBChris I have done the Hitachi 6309 upgrade, so I'll only do the SDC-DOS portion of the upgrade for now.

[@BollingHolt]

Growing up on my CoCo2, I'm still beyond amazed at just how capable these machines really are, especially the 3. I didn't even know about NitrOS-9 until a little over a year ago. My CoCo3 only has 128k, but I have the 512K expansion board. I just don't trust myself with a soldering iron anymore these days and need to find someone local who is so I can have it installed and open up the way to play some of the really cool games 😎

[@TJBChris]

I feel like back in the day the CoCo didn’t really get its due outside of the community, but inside the CoCo community it got a lot of love. We seemed to know what we had (especially for the price), but it’s hard to convey that and not get compared to pricier machines that are “better”. That seems to be changing as people continue to push it well beyond what anyone ever imagined was possible. Even stock, it’s amazing what people have done with it. As to your upgrade, many 512K upgrades only require removal of one or two caps, removing the socketed 128K chips, and installing the board in the header. I just clipped the caps in mine rather than desoldering them. I’m sure some would cringe, but meh. 😁

[@BollingHolt]

@@TJBChris Yeah, I may revisit it here soon enough. At the moment, I'm working on some Apple IIe and IIgs things ;)

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Hey Bolling, nice to see you in the comments section 🙂I have faith that you can do the 512K upgrade on your CoCo 3. As mentioned by TJBChris, you can just snip the caps pending on which upgrade you have.

[@BollingHolt]

@@geekwithsocialskills Maybe, but if I mess something up, that's it LOL

[@BenevolentChum]

So close. You almost played my Bombaway port to OS9 :( Maybe next time.

[@thebaron512]

need to setup my coc3 again and go through everything.

[@TJBChris]

I highly recommend it. So much of the old software is available for it now, and with hardware like the CoCo SDC, it's more convenient than ever to use it. Even before you do, check out the CoCo Nation live show on KZbin. It's live every Saturday at 2 PM and back episodes can be found on KZbin. Also check out the Color Computer Archive (colorcomputerarchive.com). Enjoy!

[@todd1498]

is there anyway to get that STL file for that Rs232 case ? (Many Thanks!)

[@TJBChris]

Consider it done! It's a crudely-made adaptation of a CoCo SDC case, but I've put my version up on my GitHub. KZbin seems to hate links in comments, so you can find it under the YTReference repo on my GitHub page. I'm TJBChris on GitHub, too. Thanks for watching, and I hope it helps you out!

[@todd1498]

found it, Many THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@cocotower]

My progress bar went about 25% and stopped with FAILED AT BLOCK 64, resulting in a bricked CoCoSDC, no light or anything now.

[@TJBChris]

Ouch! Not sure where you bought your CoCo SDC, but it might be worth reaching out to the seller to see if they have any ideas. I’ve had good luck with the upgrades I’ve done on mine, so sadly I don’t have much insight. Otherwise, if you’re on Facebook, the TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo) group is full of folks who might have some ideas. I hope you get it going again!