TRS-80 Tandy CoCo 3 Hitachi 63B09E CPU Upgrade

[@douro20]

Does NitrOS-9 have extensions for the HD6309?

[@CurtisBoyle]

Yes... in fact when we originally created it back in 1992 (and until it went open source around 2002/2003), it *required* a 6309. The 6809 version was actually a backport, and has been optimized itself, but the 6309 version is noticably faster, especially on some graphics commands, RAM drives, etc. where it can twice as fast (or more). On average it's 15-30% faster depending on what one is doing. We have preinstalled/set up versions ready to go for the CocoSDC on my NitrOS9/EOU website.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thank you for all you do Curtis with all things Color Computer related. It's much appreciated!

[@RetroTechy]

Fantastic as always, you took real pride when cleaning it and recapping it as well.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thank you! I really do take pride in my restorations and repairs, especially for computers I plan on keeping in my collection. Cheers!

[@MrWaalkman]

Gonna have to get my CoCo3 out and play with it. I've got the 63C09EP CPUs, but I will probably go with the Pro-Tector+ instead. Thanks for the videos!

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Indeed, get your CoCo 3 out and have some fun with it. As for the Pro-Tector+, my understanding is that's an add-on board for making sure all lines are buffered and protected. Is that right? P.S. you're welcome for the videos. Thank you for watching, liking and commenting on my videos!

[@MrWaalkman]

@@geekwithsocialskills That's what it appears to be. And I have several of what I hope are actual, working 63C09EP CPUs purchased from two sources. But I'm happy to use theirs. As for the old 6809, I'll probably take the coward's way out and clip the legs on it instead of risking disaster for a $10 chip that I don't want anyways. And you are welcome of course. :)

[@geekwithsocialskills]

If you change your mind on how you remove the 6809, just be very careful and take your time. I used a lot of flux and also my Hakko FR-301 desoldering gun. It worked out just fine as you saw in my video. Based on reading about others having issues like lifting pads or traces, I did consider just clipping the chip out, but in the decided to go for it.

[@MrWaalkman]

@@geekwithsocialskills Not sure why I would (other than to avoid being labeled a wanton "Retro Part Killer" :) ). But I do have the same Hakko as you do (mine is the "-03/P" version). I've done serious damage to a C64 in the past, but then again the traces on a Commodore board are largely held in with happy thoughts and good wishes. The CoCo3 looks to be far superior than the Commodore.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

With all boards, including Commodore 64's, it takes a lot of practice with a nice mix of heat and how long you hold the iron on the board. I've been soldering/de-soldering since the 1970s. I'm old LOL. As a side note, what's the difference between the FR-301 and the FR-301/P version?

[@TJBChris]

Nice! That CoCo 3 is now ready to get down to business. Nick Marentes has games that use the 6309 and 512K (Gunstar is one). They’re worth checking out.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thanks! As for the games by Nick Marentes, I've already purchased a few of them. They are amazing for sure!

[@anovaprint]

Look forward to seeing how the improved cpu beefs things up. I wish there were more modern cpu enhancments for 8bit machines as a little extra boost seems to go such a long way.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

There are a ton of awesome Color Computer homebrew games that take advantage of the CPU upgrade and also the memory upgrade. There will for sure be more videos with this machine and showing off what it can do.

[@joelavcoco]

The 6309 performs exactly like the 6809 on boot, but as GWSS says, it has extra registers, adds a hardware DIVide instruction (on top of the hardware MULtiply the 6809 already has), adds block transfer (DMA-like) instructions, and has a '6309-native' run mode that runs most instructions in fewer clock cycles. Software has to be written to take advantage of those features, so existing CoCo software will not see any speed-up just by installing the 6309 chip. But, as GWSS mentions, there are quite a few more recent games that have been written with the 6309 in mind. And the NitrOS-9 operating system can take full advantage. Some of the OS-9 games, like Flight Simulator II, have also been patched for the 6309. Note that the 6309 version of NitrOS-9 runs in native mode, which means that every OS-9 program will automagically benefit from the faster instruction timing, whether it's (re)written to take specific advantage of the 6309 or not.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thanks Joel for chiming in with such awesome and detailed information. I've only been a CoCo user for a little over a year, so a lot of this is still new to me. I grew up using Apple II's in school and a Commodore 64 at home, however in present day, the Color Computer line is interesting and a lot of fun.

[@joelavcoco]

@@geekwithsocialskills Yeah, I think a part of the fun in vintage computers is getting to see what the systems you didn't get to play with as much as a kid are like, and compare and contrast. The CoCo will always be my first love, but as soon as the Apple 2s and Commies entered the "worthless junk" phase of their desirability I gladly snatched them up, and am happy to have them all in my collection. I even enjoy the heck out of the lowly T/S 1000. Each system was unique, and that's something sorely lacking in modern PCs.

[@NPrescott]

When you removed the RAM upgrade…it literally was Rise of the Triad! 😅 I really need to get a Hakko desoldering station. My cheap China version died a few years ago. The spring loaded solder sucker just isn’t the same. I love how it instantly boots. Even the C64 takes a few moments on power up. Arkanoid looks just like Apple IIGS 😮

[@geekwithsocialskills]

"Rise of the Triad" could be the name of an adventure game or a metal band LOL. As for the Hakko FR-301, they are really awesome, but expensive, however if you do a lot of desoldering like I do, it's really worth the money. It saves so much time and frustration too.

[@soupwizard]

How about "Radioctober Shack"?

[@geekwithsocialskills]

The whole OctTandy thing was a joke a year or two ago for the same reason I used it, not getting all my SepTandy videos done in time for September. Radioctober Shack does sound like a good future possibility LOL!

[@ChadDoebelin]

Thanks! It will be useful to follow when upgrading to the 6309. I wasn't sure where to source them from and was glad to find the link in your description! So are we going to use "OctTandy" or "OcTandy" when we hashtag?

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Glad I could help! You will want to be very careful when removing the stock CPU. I used a lot of flux and also my Hakko FR-301 desoldering gun and took my time. As for OctTandy being a hashtag, nah, just use #SepTandy. The whole OctTandy thing was a joke a year or two ago for the same reason I used it here, not getting all my SepTandy videos done in time for September.

[@winstonsmith478]

Any benchmarks anywhere of the Hitachi '09 vs the Motorola '09 in a Coco 3?

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Here is some information from the RetroRewind website (link in my description): The Hitachi 63B09E is a pin-to-pin direct replacement for the 6809E found in all Tandy Color Computers. It's a CMOS chip with runs much cooler than the 6809E found in the CoCo and contains additional CPU registers and an enhanced instruction set that will bring significant performance compared to the stock 6809 CPU.

[@BollingHolt]

Nice!

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thanks! As you've probably noticed from the last few videos on my channel, I've been decking out my CoCo 3 computer.

[@BollingHolt]

@@geekwithsocialskills Indeed I have! I actually saw the RAM upgrade video before I saw this one.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

I first did a 512K memory upgrade and the most recent one was a 2048K memory upgrade. At this point I'm pretty much done upgrading my CoCo 3 LOL.

[@BollingHolt]

@@geekwithsocialskills I bet! I can't wait to see the applications you run on it, though!

[@geekwithsocialskills]

More CoCo 3 videos showing applications and games running will be coming down the road. I have some other work in progress videos I'd like to get wrapped up and on the channel first.

[@RetroGamingNook]

Nice upgrade! My Cloud-9 memory upgrade arrived at the beginning of October 2023... I would like to do the processor, but my keyboard is failing so that's the next upgrade. Thanks for the links.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed my video. Awesome you received your Cloud-9 memory upgrade back in 2023. It's so worth it. Best of luck with your keyboard repair. IIRC there is someone who is selling replacement keyboards using modern parts. You just need to swap over your keycaps.

[@RetroGamingNook]

@@geekwithsocialskills Yes. I can play Sierra games now with the extra memory. I’ll be ordering the KeyFix3 for about $50 with shipping very soon.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Indeed, having the extra memory is pretty awesome and yes, the KeyFix3 for the CoCo 3 is really nice!

[@Evilslayer73]

Hi the link for the ram board upgrade is dead do you have a new link for it? thanks in advance :)👍👍

[@geekwithsocialskills]

Hey there. I just updated the link in my video description but also put it in my reply comment to you as well www.cloud9tech.com/Cloud-9/Hardware/Triad.html