Psion Organiser II Re-creation

[PaulK]

That's brilliant Andrew.

I assume that's the graphics display outside of the Org emulation environment? So not OPL with graphics commands etc..

Even so, this gives a taste of what a more graphically capable Org2 might look like. In some ways, it will be a bit like a miniature Workabout in terms of form factor etc... but I always found the Workabout a bit too big for daily use. Your recreation will slot in between the two machines in some respects.

Very excited to see how this all pans out. Feels like we are on the brink of a new lease of life for the Organiser2 format! I can see me using this machine to teach my son a bit of basic coding - very convenient compared to a laptop, desktop, Raspberry Pi etc..

Keep up the amazing work.

All the best
Paul

[amenjet]

That's brilliant Andrew.

I assume that's the graphics display outside of the Org emulation environment? So not OPL with graphics commands etc..

Even so, this gives a taste of what a more graphically capable Org2 might look like. In some ways, it will be a bit like a miniature Workabout in terms of form factor etc... but I always found the Workabout a bit too big for daily use. Your recreation will slot in between the two machines in some respects.

Very excited to see how this all pans out. Feels like we are on the brink of a new lease of life for the Organiser2 format! I can see me using this machine to teach my son a bit of basic coding - very convenient compared to a laptop, desktop, Raspberry Pi etc..

Keep up the amazing work.

All the best
Paul

Yes, although this is based on the emulator codebase the emulator isn't running and this is all Pico sdk code in C
I'm hoping to slot in the new opl and use this code as a base for that.

[1333david]

I'd also like to add my appreciation for the work you've put into this Andrew. It looks really exciting to possibly get a new updated version of the Org2. I also agree that an updated OPL would be the best way to go for the Psion II Re-creation.
Later versions of OPL have graphics commands too although they're not all that intuitive IMO. I was reading through them in this book...https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... p0UsyF31IU
Kind regards,
David

[amenjet]

I'd also like to add my appreciation for the work you've put into this Andrew. It looks really exciting to possibly get a new updated version of the Org2. I also agree that an updated OPL would be the best way to go for the Psion II Re-creation.
Later versions of OPL have graphics commands too although they're not all that intuitive IMO. I was reading through them in this book...https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... p0UsyF31IU
Kind regards,
David

Thank you, it's nice to know that people are.interested.
I'm building the C version of the Psion OS using the original as a framework, mirroring the system calls in a general way. Hopefully this will mean that the new opl will slot in relatively easily.
I think opl is somewhat bigger than Forth in complexity, so that is quite a job. Working on it though.
Also, it looks like the recreation hardware doesn't need much in the way of updates, the datapacks slots should be ok for datapacks using a totally different scheme of interface but the same connector. So SD cards is what I'm hoping to put in there and maybe an i2c link...

[amenjet]

I've added an interface to the organiser C code that should let you send keypresses to the code from the USB connection of the Pico. The display is also sent to the USB (not graphics), so you can see what the code is doing. this means that you can run the code on just a bare Pico board, no other electronics needed. To run it you need to program the Pico with the uf2 file in the build directory of the repository. The forum code won't let me attach that file as it's an unsupported extension, the link to it is here:

https://github.com/blackjetrock/psion-o ... create.uf2

Programming can be done by holding the button on the Pico down when powering it on while attached to a PC. It then should appear as a mass storage device, copy the file to the device and it will program the flash and reboot. Then start up a terminal emulator and the CLI for the code should start up.
I use minicom on Linux, the code uses VT-102 control sequences, so anything that understands them should work.
The CLI help message is displayed with the ? key. The terminal to the Psion C code is 't' and there are some instructions then displayed.

The code uses serial eeproms for data storage at the moment, they are on the recreation hardware but not on a bare Pico. the flash of the Pico could be used but I haven't written any code for that yet. the code doesn't do much but there is a menu that does various things.

If you have a recreation (I think there's one or two in the wild) then the keyboard and display will work with this code.

Andrew

[amenjet]

Another graphics demo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_yosVlFWjY

[amenjet]

And I've updated the USB serial terminal code so you can see graphics in the terminal emulator (VT-102 again). So you can see the graphics output of the organiser, but slowly.

[amenjet]

A bit more progress:

The code is storing data in the internal flash of the RP2040 in the same format as the original organiser. That format was designed for EPROMs so works very well when using flash devices.
I seem to have broken the serial EEPROMs, but they should be on device B:, the internal flash being on device A:.

You can SAVE, FIND and delete, as well as perform other functions. The code structure mirrors the services in the original code as well, so integrating with OPL should be simplified. For example, there is an fl_next() function which performs the function that the FL$WRITE service performs.

The menus and line editor for FIND and SAVE aren't rewritten mirrors yet but that's next.

This is the original recreated hardware, I'm not sure that the main PCb needs any changes. The power PCB is swappable, so can have whatever is needed on it. I think an SD card could be inserted in the existing datapack slots and be accessed using a faster scheme than the original datapacks. Maybe the power PCB can stay the same as well?

Short video:
https://youtu.be/PZ5JC4c85_c

[amenjet]

I'm starting to plan a new revision of the recreation, this one will be a platform for the C based OS work, rather than a continuation of the emulator code. Changes so far (very flexible and not fixed list):

1. Fix problem with P57 line (ON key)
2. Protect RP2040 from battery voltage on P57 better.
3. Internal SD card as a large library of all code known for the organiser, and probably also file based storage.
4. Keep datapack connector but allow different hardware to be plugged in (probably a small, or no hardware change needed).
5. Wifi and Bluetooth using Pico W.
6. Top slot also keeps the original connector as these are easy to buy and populate.

Anything I've forgotten?

When I get boards made I have to order 5, I build one or two usually and am left with spares, so is there anyone interested in one? A donation to cover costs would be nice, but not mandatory.

Andrew

[Martin]

Hi Andrew

A couple of questions..

What screen are you using? I still like the white LED that was on your first iteration.
Is it still planned to 'dump' the RAM to SDCard on power down?

I'm happy to donate to the development costs but can't take a board as I don't have the skills to build it into a case.

Sincerely
Martin