Storage devices for your KIM-1 microcomputer were traditional either Tape drives or Punched Paper Tape solutions.
The possibility to connect the KIM's and it's clones via the serial connection to a modern PC helped a lot for transfering the ASCII data of a papertape to the KIM-1.
Yet Tape devices became more and more obsolete and its not that easy to buy cassettes nowadays.
Of course you can serve the wave file over the lineout / linein connection of your computer also, but Willem Andewiel figured out a way to simplify it a lot:

The Kim direct Tape Recorder "dTR"

https://willem.aandewiel.nl/index.php/2021/02/20/digital-tape-recorder-for-the-kim-1-and-clones/

The files are stored on an ESP Microcontroller (with wifi access) and can be played back directly to the Tape I/O Line of the KIM; you can also save files from the KIM on the EPS. This works as well for original KIM-1s as for newer Clones.

Via the microcontrollers webinterface you can upload and download files.

How to get files on to the dTR?
When you load files via Papertape (Terminal) to the KIM, you can store them afterwards on the virtual tape. Another option is to convert the papertape files direct with a program called ptp2hex and upload them via WIFI to the digital Tape Recorder. The Program is available as sourcecode on Willems Github: https://github.com/mrWheel/KIM_TapeDevice/tree/master/papertapeConverter
It was originally written for Mac's, to compile it for windows (cygwin) I needed to adjust it a bit:
Replace Line 24 with "#include <stdlib.h>" ,
in Line 151 replace the "int eol = strlen(lineIn) -5;" by "int eol = strlen(lineIn) -6;" under windows the end of the line is 2 characters long - we need to cut off one more at the end of a papertape line ...
As I am the only one in the world using this tapedevice under windows, it makes no sense to share it, i guess...
anyway: https://netzherpes.de/ptp2hex.zip is the *.exe
Thats it. Place it in your cygwin home folder.

Here is a little demo video of the dTR in action:




So long,
yours, webdoktor

Tiny Basic is another Basic Client for old Microcontroller Computers.
It's famous for its very little size. For example, it is running on an KIM-1 with only 4K of RAM.



The original author Tom Pittman tells the story of it's creation:

In 1976 at the HomeBrew Computer Club (HBCC), there was a lot of whining about Bill Gates charging $150 for his Basic interpreter. Dennis Allison responded by printing a "Build Your Own [tiny] Basic" article, so I asked if anybody would buy it if it cost only $5. There seemed to be some affirmation, so I wrote my interpreter. Others jumped on the same article, and I wasn't the first done, but I wanted to be paid for my efforts. As far as I know, nobody at HBCC bought it, but I sent a freebie to Byte magazine and they printed a 1-inch announcement. The next month my mailbox was full of orders, every one with $5. I didn't get rich off it, but it did pay a lot of my expenses at grad school.

One of the most obscure Computer magazines formed around this Tiny Basic:
Dr. Dobb's Journal of COMPUTER Calisthenics & Orthodontia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Dobb%27s_Journal It lasted 38 Years till 2014 (!)

If you want to try it yourself, go ahead and find some Interpreter for your system on Tom's Page http://www.ittybittycomputers.com/IttyBitty/TinyBasic/

If you have a KIM or a KIM Clone, I found two working versions; one for 4K Ram, one for KIMs with MEM Expansions.
Both run from Adress 0200. Remember to always clear your decimal flags!

Get it here: netzherpes.de/Tiny_KIM.zip

Have Fun
Yours
webdoc

and its working: netzherpes.de/kb9_found.pap



Way to success:
1. Load kb9_found.pap
2. Reset
3. 00F1 00.
4. 4065 G

weiterlesen ...

Mein in die Jahre gekommenes altes Windows Tablet (Asus VivoTab Note 8) ließ sich nicht mehr laden.
Der einzige Port dieses kleinen Zechentabletts ist ein micro USB Anschluß, der sowohl zum Laden als auch zum Anschließen von Peripherie genutzt wird.
Die Kontake der USB Buchse sind _derart_ minderwertig, das sie abreißen _müssen_.



Ersatzteile gibt es nicht mehr, und obwohl das Tablett noch bis vor dem Ausfall perfekt funktioniert hat, ist es damit Schrott.

Es sei denn.....

man findet ein Dirty Hack:

Heckklappe entfernen und ein 2 € USB Li-Ion Ladegerät direkt an die Akku Anschlüsse löten (die Äußeren am Akkuanschluss).
Das ganze ist natürlich brandgefährlich (im wahrsten Sinne) und auf keinen Fall zur Nachahmung empfohlen!
Kurzschlüsse sind möglich, aber ich kann nicht immer auf die guten Zeicheneigenschaften verzichten.


webdoc

#M80TA IO_BD./AS #vivotab #killswitch #asus #usb #charge #broken #killswitch

It is sadly not very easy to find Programs or books for the KIM-1. Despite this microcomputer has been very popular in the late 70s, most pieces seem to end in the trashbin in the euphoric belief in progress. Old programs, Books, Tapes, magazines are rare. Hans Otten and Rich Cini did a great Job in preserving those last memories of existence (see https://www.netzherpes.de/blog/index.php?entry=MOS-KIM-1-resources ), but you should never rely on just one sauce. (Old BBQ wisdom)

Meanwhile I started a small collection of PDFs.
BTW: This one has not been found anywhere else. I got it from a little old book shop around the corner
Günther Eisenack - Programmieren von Mikrocomputern (Skriptum)

The rest of the collection is on a google drive (maybe I put it on Netzherpes later...)
KIM-1 Collection on my Google Drive

Have Fun,
Nils

And in german:

Es ist gar nicht so leicht Programme oder Literatur über den KIM-1 zu finden. Zwar war der Mikrocomputer Ende der 70er überaus beliebt, doch scheint in der Euphorie durch den Glauben an den Fortschritt vieles im Orkus gelandet zu sein. Alte Programme, Kasetten, Bücher, sind rar.

Mittlerweile habe ich eine kleine PDF Sammlung angelegt, doch dieses Exemplar hier konnte ich nirgendwo online finden:

Günther Eisenack - Programmieren von Mikrocomputern (Skriptum)

Und hier der Link für die gesamte KIM-1 Sammlung auf meinem Google Drive


Viel Spass,

Webdoktor

#commodore #mos #kim-1 #6502 #65o2 #assembler #programming #learn