====== Thomson MO6 (French, Sep 1986?) ======
===== Features =====
* CPU: 1 MHz Motorola 6809E
* RAM: 128 KB
* ROM: 64 KB BIOS, BASIC 1.0, BASIC 128
* Video: 8 video modes (similar to TO8):
* legacy 320x200, 16 colors with proximity constraints
* 320x200, 4 colors, unconstrained
* 160x200, 16 colors
* 640x200, 2 colors
* 320x200, two 2-color pages
* 320x200, two overlaid pages, 3 colors
* 160x200, four 2-color pages
* 160x200, four overlaid pages, 5 colors
* Palette: 16 colors to be chosen among 4096.
* Sound: 1-bit buzzer + 6-bit DAC extension + speech synthesis extension
* Keyboard: AZERTY 69-keys, French with accents
* Game-pad: two 8-way 2-button paddles
* Mouse (exclusive with game-pad)
* Lightpen
* Cartridge: optional, MO5 compatible
* Cassette: 1200 bauds (MO5 compatible) and 2400 bauds
* Floppy: requires an external controller (TO7, TO7/70 and MO5 compatible), up to four external 2"8, 3"1/2 or 5"1/4 drives, TO7-compatible floppies
* Printer port (CENTRONICS)
===== Usage =====
== Menu ==
From the startup menu, press 1 for the BASIC 128, 2 for the legacy BASIC 1.0, and 3 to set preferences (color palette, switch between lightpen and mouse, and change cassette speed).
== Cartridges ==
An optional cartridge can be inserted with the
option. It can be started from the startup menu by pressing 0.
The MO6 can run MO5 cartridges, not TO7, TO7/70 ones.
== Cassettes ==
Most MO6 software are provided on cassettes.
Two cassette formats are available: 1200 bauds and 2400 bauds (double-speed). 1200 bauds cassettes are compatible with the MO5.
MESS recognizes two kinds of cassette images: raw sound (.wav) and preprocessed byte-level cassettes (.k5,.k7).
We recall that cassettes are loaded with one of the two following commands:
RUN"" (for BASIC files)
or
LOADM"",,R (for binary files)
when using the legacy BASIC 1.0.
If you use the newer BASIC 128, you must type
RUN"CASS:"
and
LOADM"CASS:",,R
instead.
The MO6 should load and run most MO5 software, provided you use the legacy BASIC 1.0. New, MO6 software generally also work with the BASIC 1.0. To improve the compatibility, use preferably .wav image formats and disable the external floppy controller in MESS's in-game menu.
The MO6 cannot load cassettes in the "TO" format (TO7, TO7/70, etc.).
== Floppies ==
As the MO5, TO7, TO7/70, and unlike the TO8, TO9, the MO6 does not have an internal floppy controller. You must first ensure that the relevant external floppy controller is activated in MESS's in-game configuration menu. Prefer the CD 90-351 controller which is the most versatile: it accepts 5"1/4, 3"1/2 floppies (.sap or .fd suffix, 80 KB to 320 KB), as well as 2"8 floppies (.qd suffix, 50 KB).
Four drives are emulated: -flop0 to -flop3. They are available directly from the BASIC 128 using the commands DIR, LOAD, RUN, SAVE, DSKINI0 (or DIR"1:" ... DSKINI1 for drive number 1, and so on).
The floppy format and floppy images are fully compatible with all other Thomson computers (TO and MO families). However, only MO5, MO6 and pure BASIC software will run correctly.
== Keyboard ==
The keyboard is a mix between the MO5 and TO9 ones. There are function keys, a CAPS-LOCK (with LED) and modern AZERTY-like layout,
but also a BASIC key and no keypad.
F1/F6 F2/F7 F3/F8 F4/F9 F5/F10
#@ 1* 2e 3" 4' 5( 6_ 7e 8! 9c 0a )� -\ =+ ACC UP
STOP A Z E R T Y U I O P ^" $& ENTER LEFT RIGHT
CTRL [{ Q S D F G H J K L M u% ]} DOWN
CAPS SHIFT W X C V B N ,? ;. :/ >< BASIC HOME INS DEL
SPACE
Also, as in the MO5 but unlike the TO9, digits are obtained with the SHIFT key is unpressed.
== Mouse ==
The mouse behaves as the TO8 one, i.e., you must choose whether a mouse or a game-pad is connected to the port using MESS's in-game menu (both cannot exist at the same time, but you can switch between them dynamically, without a reset).
The startup menu will then automatically detect the presence of the mouse and disable the lightpen. Use the startup preference menu (2) to revert back to the lightpen.
== Video ==
As for the TO9, you should switch to high-resolution video emulation in MESS's in-game menu if you intend to use software in 640x200 resolution. Otherwise, the low-resolution video emulation is sufficient and faster.
== Fun ==
In the startup menu, try holding M, O and 6 at the same time.
===== Known Issues =====
* Mouse, video, sound: see the to8 driver
* Cassette: .k5,.k7 compatibility issues, prefer .wav files
===== History and Trivia =====
The MO6 is the long-awaited successor of the MO5.
That is, a MO5-compatible computer and a cheap alternative to the TO8/TO9. It uses the same technology as the TO8.
In particular, the very same gate-array is used for the video and memory management. It is versatile enough to adapt to a MO5-like address map and emulate the legacy 320x200 MO5 video mode instead of the legacy TO7/70 one.
It also provides many enhancements from the TO8 (4096 color palette, various video modes, hardware video page flip, flexible memory management, etc.).
The MO6 was made cheaper than the TO8 by limiting its memory to 128 KB (not expandable, in theory) and making it cassette-based (there is no floppy drive, an not even an internal floppy controller: it must be added as in the TO7 and MO5). Even the keyboard shrank and reverted to an archaic management based on CPU pooling (no dedicated keyboard CPU anymore).
===== Links =====
* Main page for all Thomson drivers -- http://www.di.ens.fr/~mine/mess
See the information for the to7 system for generic Thomson links
===== Other Emulators =====
* DCMOTO: universal Thomson emulator, with many software and documentations -- http://dcmoto.free.fr
Generated on Sun Jul 19 10:17:28 2009