PC8801FabGL

What is PC8801FabGL

The PC8801FabGL is an emulator of PC-8801 running on ESP32 with FabGL. It emulates not only the main unit but also peripheral devices such as disk units.

Emulated hardware

Hardware	Description
PC-8801	Main unit
PC-8801-01	Kanji ROM board for PC-8801
PC-8801-02N	128K bytes RAM board
PC-80S31	Dual mini disk units (for supporting d88 file)
PC-80S32	Dual mini disk units for expansion (for supporting d88 file)
DR320	Data recoder (for supporting cmt file)
PCG-8800	Programmable character generator board for PC-8801

Requirements

Hardware

• LILYGO TTGO VGA32 V1.4
• PicoSoft ORANGE-ESPer with ESP32-WROVER-E
• PS/2 Japanese 106/109 keyboard
• Display with VGA port (VGA 640×480 60Hz)
• VGA cable
• Micro SD card

Software

• Arduino ESP32 Version 2.0.5
• FabGL v1.0.9
• Arduino IDE (for building PC8801FabGL)

ROM images

File name	Requirement	File size
N88.ROM	Required	32,768 bytes
N80.ROM	Required	32,768 bytes
N88_0.ROM	Required	8,192 bytes
FONT.ROM	Required	2,048 bytes
DISK.ROM	Optional	2,048 bytes
KANJI1.ROM	Optional	131,072 bytes
USER.ROM	Optional	8,192 bytes

How to make micro SD card image

In a micro SD card, create a pc8801 folder in the root. Under the folder,
put ROM images and create some folders as shown:

/
+-- pc8801/
    +-- N88.ROM
    +-- N80.ROM
    +-- N88_0.ROM
    +-- FONT.ROM
    +-- DISK.ROM (optional)
    +-- KANJI.ROM (optional)
    +-- USER.ROM (optional)
    +-- disk/
        +--- *.d88
    +-- tape/
        +--- *.cmt
    +-- n80/
        +--- *.n80
    +-- bin/
        +--- *.bin

The files with .ROM extension are ROM images. The disk is a folder putting d88 files. The tape is a folder putting cmt files. The n80 is a folder putting n80 files. The bin is the folder where bin files that are compiled sketches put.

How to build PC8801FabGL

Set up Arduino IDE

First of all, set up the Arduino IDE on your machine. You can get it from the Arduino web site.

Download PC8801FabGL

Download PC8801FabGL from https://github.com/Basara767676/PC8801FabGL. Put it in your Sketchbook location.

Install Arduino ESP32 Version 2.0.5

Run the Arduino IDE. Select the Preferences from the File menu. Add the following URL in the Additional Boards Manager URLs.

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json

Next, select the Board from the Tools menu and open the Boards Manager. Search for ESP32 and install the esp32 by Espressif Systems board with version 2.0.5.

Install FabGL v1.0.9

Select the Manage Libraries... from the Tools menu. Search for FabGL and install FabGL by Fabrizio Di Vittorio version v1.0.9.

Specify the board information

Specify the board information from the Tools menu.

• Board: ESP32 Dev Module
• Partition Scheme: Hug APP (3MB No OTA/1MB SPIFFS)
• PSRAM: Enabled

Upload the PC8801FabGL

Complete the sketch of PC8801FabGL and upload it into your ESP32.

Operation

PC-8801 keyboard mapping to PS/2 keyboard

PC-8801 Keyboard	PS/2 Japanese 106/109 keyboard
STOP	Esc
COPY	Scroll Lock
ESC	半角/全角|漢字
TAB	TAB
CTRL	Ctrl
CAPS	Caps Lock (Turn on LED of Caps Lock on Keyboard when enabling.)
カナ	カタカナひらがな|漢字 (Turn on LED of Scroll Lock on Keyboard when enabling.)
GRPH	Alt
INS DEL	BackSpace or Delete
ROLL UP	Page Down
ROLL DOWN	Page Up
HOME CLR	Home
HELP	End
PAD =	Shift + PAD Enter

Keys and Key combination

The keys and key combination to operating an emulator are as shown:

Keys and Key combination	Description
F9	Whether to mute BEEP and PCG sound.
F10	Whether to force enable PCG. (Output 8 to I/O port 3)
F12	Enter preferences mode.
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Reset PC-8801 with keeping memory contents.
Ctrl + Alt + Insert	Power on reset PC-8801 without keeping memory contents.
Win + Left arrow	Rewind tape. (Move tape to BOT)
Win + Right arrow	Move tape to EOT.
Win + Up arrow	Up sound volume.
Win + Dwon arrow	Down sound volume.
Win + (from 0 to 9)	0: No wait, 1: Very very fast, 5: Normal, 9: Very very slow

Preferences

Press F12 key to enter the preferences mode. To exit this mode, press Esc key.

Item	Description
Miscellaneous settings	Move to miscellaneous settings.
BASIC	Swich BASIC mode. N-BASIC or N88-BASIC.
TAPE	Specify a cmt file to be mounted on the tape unit.
DISK	Conect or disconect disk units.
Drive1	Specify a d88 file to be mounted on the drive unit 1.
Drive2	Specify a d88 file to be mounted on the drive unit 2.
Drive3	Specify a d88 file to be mounted on the drive unit 3.
Drive4	Specify a d88 file to be mounted on the drive unit 4.
Load n80 file	Specify a n80 file. Switch to N-BASIC mode when using this feature.
PC-8801 reset	Reset PC-8801 with keeping memory contents.
PC-8801 cold boot	Power on reset PC-8801 without keeping memory contents.
ESP32 reset	Reset ESP32

Miscellaneous settings

Item	Description
File Manager	Enter File Manager menu.
CPU Speed	Set CPU Speed.
Volume	Set volume level
Columns	Specify columns of text screen. 40 or 80
Rows	Specify rows of text screen. 20 or 25
Resolution (Hsync)	Specify display resolution. 200 lines (15.7kHz) or 400 lines (24.8kHz)
PC-8801-02N	Enable or disable 128K bytes RAM board
PCG	Whether to enable PCG-8800. (Auto or On)
Behavior of PAD enter key	Specify behavior of PAD enter key as = key or RETURN key.
Update firmware	Update firmware for this emulator.

File Manager

Item	Description
Create a new tape	Create a new empty cmt file.
Rename a tape	Rename a cmt file.
Delete a tape	Delete a cmt file.
Create a new disk	Create a new d88 file that is a blank disk formatted for 2D disk.
Rename a disk	Rename a d88 file.
Protect a disk	Whether to set a d88 file to protected or writable.
Delete a disk	Delete a d88 file.

Architecture

Tasks

Task	Core	Priority
PC-8801 task	0	1
PC-80S31 task	1	1
Keyboard task	1	1
FabGL tasks	1	more than 1

This program runs without the Wifi and Bluetooth feature.

Dependencies

Software	OSS license
FabGL v1.0.9	GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3
Arduino ESP32 Version 2.0.5	GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2.1

OSS license

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3 (GNU GPLv3)

Copyright

Copyright (C) 2022 Basara767676