This is something we need to figure out!!!

Since we are talking about Spectrum pathologists, I want to talk about what
I had to face.
There are quite a lot of computers like Miko Best in Lviv. He is only best "nominally", but in reality he is a complete Saxon. A nasty scarf with a bunch of RT-shiks, BB55,
used
not for its intended purpose, tracks that need to be soldered only once - during assembly.
In general, a glucodrome. I heard a lot of interesting things about this computer,
but their latest joke literally killed me.
In general, this Miko has a certain RESET MANAGER - a menu where to go, in DOS,
SOS or somewhere else, it pops up using RESET.
So they asked me to figure out how to put Gluk Reset Service there. I took the Miko firmware, looked, and there it was nonsense - a mess of bytes, no program, no text. I think the firmware is broken, I erased it. and
the next day it dawned on me - they somehow encrypted it (at Miko they didn’t do anything like that)!
I restored the files and am starting to figure it out. I see that in all
quarters the first byte is #DE, and in theory it should be #F3.
Xorka! There are eight LP5s on the bus between the CPU and ROM and they are all being re-mixed. But no.
I struggled with this matter for a long time and as a result I found this:
the processor data bus and the ROM are mixed up! Here is a plate (in
pin numbers in brackets):

ROM CPU
D0 (11) D2 (12)
D1 (12) D7(13)
D2 (13) D0 (14)
D3 (15) D1 (15)
D4 (16) D5 (9)
D5 (17) D3 (8)
D6 (18) D4 (7)
D7 (19) D6 (10)

Notice that the pins are placed in a row? This could have been invented by either a very stupid designer (why do I need a bunch of vias if I can do it all like this?), or a very cool cryptographer. And mind you, I didn’t have a diagram or a computer -
I had to look for everything at random!
How do you like this kind of bullying of users? IMHO no one has thought of this yet!
I almost forgot this Miko also has a younger brother with 48 K, so in addition to
the main ROM
there is also RF2 in which there is a program that, when reset, transfers the
main
firmware to the shadow RAM! This is how you have to disrespect yourself and the user in order to be so perverted.

With respect, Vladimir.

15-11-98 13:21:32 Vladimir Klymus ==> All
You have to think of that!!!

VK> I struggled with this matter for a long time and as a result I found this:
VK> The processor data bus and the ROM are mixed up! Here is a plate for you (in
VK> pin numbers in brackets):

Well, what don’t you like? Maybe it was easier to wire the board this way.
And the fact that some software for programmers with such firmware
doesn’t work - that’s something that really should have been thought of. Addresses
can also be confused.

W!7h Be$7 W!5he$, FK0.

20 Nov 98 Kirill Frolov wrote to Vladimir Klymus:

KF> Well, what don’t you like? Maybe it was easier to wire the board that way.

Did they wire it manually? What I don’t like is that they don’t think about users (thank
God I’m not one of those users).

KF> And the fact that some software for programmers with such firmware does not work
KF> - this really should have been thought of. Also, the
KF> addresses can also be confused.

Okay, at least the addresses on the process are consecutive (almost).

With respect, Vladimir.

VK> Did they breed it manually? What I don’t like is that they don’t think about users

Partially always done manually. And what difference does it make how the ROM’s legs are confused -
the main thing is that everything works.

With best wishes, Kirill Frolov.

KF> Always partially manually. And what difference does it make how the ROM's legs are confused -
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Interesting...

KF> the main thing is that everything works.

Golden words!
If you are a developer, then of course you don’t care about the lack of flexibility of your
system -
the main thing is that you are comfortable. And if you are an outsider who is asked to attach one thing or another to such a coffin, and you are not able to do this due to the lack of flexibility of the system under study, then you don’t care at all.

Sincerely, Vladimir.

VK> If you are a developer, then of course you don’t care about the lack of flexibility of your
VK> system -
VK> the main thing is that you are comfortable. And if you are an outsider who
VK> is asked to screw one thing or another to such a coffin, and you are not able
VK> to do this due to the lack of flexibility of the system under study, then you
VK> it
VK> well, you don’t care at all.

Well, it’s not all that way. It is not difficult to swap addresses and data bits from the ROM.
A small program will do this. But re-wiring the board or making a new one
is much more of a problem.

29 Nov 98 Kirill Frolov wrote to Vladimir Klymus:

KF> Well, that’s not the case. It is not difficult to swap addresses and data bits from a ROM.

It is not difficult to change, but in order to change something you must first
know what and how. I didn't have a board to see what went where - I had to do it at random. And this was a little more complicated.

KF> A small program will do this. But re-wiring the board or making a new
KF> is much more of a problem.

The point is to initially design normal, maximally
open
systems. I would understand if such a computer was designed ten years ago, but not today. Can you explain to me why even now there are people who save money on the same vias (PCAD, for example, you would install the vias yourself)?

With respect, Vladimir.