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en:unicmt:software

Software


Starting the UniCMT manager

After you turn on your computer, you can start the UniCMT manager (UC) by:

  • On MZ-700 - Entering the L<CR> monitor command in the MZ-700 computer. The DIP switch SW4 must be in the ON position for proper operation.
  • On MZ-800 or MZ-1500 - just press the C key on the startup screen. If you have a device on your computer that causes another program to start automatically (for example SRAM disk, Floppy disk, Unicard, etc.) it is possible to press the C key, hold it down, and press the reset button. This will force the computer to boot directly from the cassette recorder. You also can load the manager with the L<CR> command from the monitor.


USB flash drive contents and configuration

Apart from the FAT32 file system, there is no need to organize the files on the USB flash drive in any way. The structure is entirely up to you. The manager is always loaded, as it is in the internal memory of the UniCMT. It displays the contents of the USB flash disk when loaded.

There are three exceptions. If you want to configure certain types of data files to run, you can place a run.cfg file with the configuration in the /unicmt folder.

The second exception is the location of the data to be saved. If you save data in any program to a cassette recorder, it will be saved to the /SAVED folder on the disk. The name is always in the form KANJITEST.BAS#001.MZF, with the name you choose at the beginning and the version number at the end in case you save under the same name more than once.

The last exception is placing the unicmt.app file in the root directory. This file is used to update the firmware and is no longer necessary and can be deleted after the update, but it doesn't matter if you keep it.

The directory structure could look like this:

/GAMES/
        FLAPPY.MZF
        multipart_game.mzt
/PROGS/
        BASIC_1Z-016A.MZF
/SAVED/
        LINEDEMO.BAS_____#001.MZF
        LINEDEMO.BAS_____#002.MZF
        OPENINGB000______#001.MZF
/unicmt/
        run.cfg
unicmt-date-time.mzf
unicmt.app

Setting the UniCMT real time clock

To set the internal real-time clock of the UniCMT, use the program unicmt-date-time.mzf, which can be downloaded as part of the sample contents of the USB flash drive for UniCMT.

The real time clock is backed up by a CR1220 battery. Currently, the time is only used when saving files. If you do not use this function or the time of the saved files is not important to you, we recommend not inserting the battery to prevent it from draining during potentially extended periods of non-use.

Set UniCMT real time clock


Running programs

You can navigate through the disk structure with the manager and press <CR> to quickly start any MZF, MZT, M12 or similar executable file. Executable programs start with byte with the value 01.

Files with bytes starting with 02 or 05 are usually BASIC programs or data. You can use the run.cfg file in the /unicmt folder to tell UniCMT what program to use to load the data. UniCMT then runs this program instead of the data and prepares the data file for cassette tape emulation. Once the program is loaded, just enter LOAD command and the data file you started with the <CR> key will be loaded.
The UniCMT manager has the integrated accelerated version of MZ-1Z016A BASIC for the MZ-800 and the FET editor. It is not necessary to create a run.cfg file for these. Accelerated BASIC is modified to automatically run the RUN "CMT :" command, so the BASIC program will also run when loaded. For the FET text editor, you must load the data file with the key sequence ESC G <CR>.

Sample contents of /unicmt/run.cfg file and the default configuration

For example, the contents of /unicmt/run.cfg might look like this. The bellow sample represents the default and is executed automatically for the MZ-800 if the run.cfg file does not exist.

; English MZ-800 BASIC programs (fast load/save)
[05]
RUN=/unicmt/1z-016a_run_max_speed.mzf
LH=85
LL=25
SH=18
SL=65

; Czech MZ-800 FET editor text files
[FE]
RUN=/unicmt/Fet-3-2.mzf
LH=470
LL=120
SH=240
SL=278
  • ; lines starting with semicolon are treated as comments and ignored
  • [HH] starts a section for data files starting with a byte HH (hex)
  • RUN= specifies the program to be run to load data file
  • LH, LL, SH and SL are the time coefficients in microseconds used in the tape recording routines. By changing the coefficients, you can change the recording speed.


Multipart cassette files and accelerated recording

A cassette recorder usually has several programs on tape in a row. UniCMT allows this function via MZT files (the file extension is not important). Simply concatenate multiple files into one file and UniCMT will play them sequentially when the computer requests the CMT to run.

If you want to change the playback speed of a part, just insert a header file 1xspeed.mzf, 2xspeed.mzf or 3xspeed.mzf between them.

If you don't want to link files manually, you can use the QDToolto create MZT files. It is primarily designed to work with QuickDisk image files, but it can also handle MZT.

QDTool

WARNING

Most files on SCAV are copied via CP/M and their lengths are extended to multiples of 128 bytes, because CP/M can only specify file length in sectors, not bytes. This does not matter for normal work, but it does matter if you want to simply concatenate such files to create an MZT. Therefore, check the length before concatenating or use for example QDTool.


Download sample content for a quick start

To make your work with UniCMT easier, we have prepared sample content for a USB flash drive to get you started with UniCMT.


Aktualizace firmwaru

The firmware includes the manager, so updating the firmware usually means updating the manager as well. To update the firmware, you need to place the unicmt.app file in the root directory of the USB flash drive and turn on the computer with the grey button pressed. The left LED will flash red, then both LEDs will flash red, then both LEDs will flash green and then stay green. This indicates that the firmware has been successfully updated. Then just press the right red button to switch the UniCMT to normal operating mode. Or turn the computer off and on.

The latest firmware version and sample content for your USB flash drive can be found here.


Technical support

In case of problems, you can get support for your purchased product by email:
support@retrocomp.cz

Please note that UniCMT is a hobby product. It is not a product of industrial mass production and the capacity to support and develop both hardware and software is limited. Nevertheless, we will do our best to help you.

en/unicmt/software.txt · Last modified: 2025/01/27 00:04 by admin