The Sinclair QL Forum

Hello,

I have an old Sinclair QL with an MGS ROM 1.13, a swedish ROM.
I want to use this ROM on the Qemulator.
I'm copying it from QL to PC over a serial cable with this command:

SBYTES SER2IR,0,49152

On the PC side:

type com4: >> MGS.ROM

The files arrive OK to the PC, but the filesize is slightly bigger when
checking the file properties, around 14-15 bytes bigger.
It should be 49152 bytes but always end up as 49167 bytes.
I've tried several times an dmade sure to do a file compare on the
PC side, and the file are always identical to each other.

I read somewhere that there is some padding or something else with
the header to do for this ROM to work on an emulator.
Or do I use the wrong SER parameter on the QL side?

Could anybody please help and enlighten me on this?

Attached is the ROM image.

Thanks, regards Thomas

File header on the beginning of the file?

Could be a header, maybe try SBYTES to a file, then COPY_N the file to the serial port. In theory COPY_N should avoid sending the header.

In any case your file looks mostly good, if you remove the first 15 bytes it should work.

Hi guys,

I tried the following after doing a copy to the microdrive:

copy_n mdv1_ql_swe to ser2i

File went correctly sized and worked as a charm on the Qemulator.
Not sure if Dilwyn wants this ROM, as the swedish ROM is not listed
on his website or anywhere else on the web.

Its listed as version 1S13. Its attached here.

Is this a way to also transfer raw files from a microdrive to the PC
to run them on the Qemulator?

Thomas

I didn't know there was also a Swedish QL version! I assume the keyboard also different? Did it come with a Swedish manual?

Swedish keyboard with self adhesive stickers (!) on the swedish ÅÄÖ key positions but with an english manual...
I know there was a german QL version, you change the Z key position with another key.

thomasraden wrote:Swedish keyboard with self adhesive stickers (!) on the swedish ÅÄÖ key positions but with an english manual...
I know there was a german QL version, you change the Z key position with another key.

Stickers, I see! Yes, but those aren't the only keyboard German differences (the umlaut letters are there and e.g. also the Enter and Shift keys are different). "We" also got better CTL/SER ports. I assume the Swedish one has the BT type? Are the ROM chips official looking? If the k/b has stickers and it has an English manual I wonder if the Swedish version was non-official or some kind of grey import. Did you buy it new? Very interesting though and well done for wanting to save the ROM data for posterity.

Interestingly, names for months and weekdays are not translated to Swedish - In the German and French ROMs they are.

thomasraden wrote:Is this a way to also transfer raw files from a microdrive to the PC
to run them on the Qemulator?

Many ways by using floppy disks, SD cards, etc., but since you got serial communication working, you should be able to just COPY the files to SER on the QL and COPY from SER to a file in a local directory from within Q-emuLator.

You can also create accurate microdrive images with mdump_task, although that may require a floppy disk, or memory expansion + ram disk or other storage device on the QL side as images can be too big to fit on a microdrive.

Typically I just have a basic QL with only microdrives and 128kB of RAM.

Which makes it impossible to copy the unzip utility from a PC to a microdrive
to run it on the QL.

As I know the only way to transfer exe files from a QL to a PC without loosing
the header file for it is to zip it on the QL and then transfer it over to the PC.

Soo, not possible to use programs that run the exec_w command in the boot file
on the emulator for me.....