Re: ROM Editing & Prize Offer

[r_beaudry@hotmail.com (Rich Beaudry)]

"Paul Grammens" <grammens@svn.net> wrote in message news:<3c9f7f1b@news.svn.net>...

> I'll offer a nice Apple IIc+ or Apple High Speed SCSI card to anyone who can
> disassemble the Vulcan EPROM and modify it to work with other drives. I can
> supply the binaries to work on, and I'll ship the prize free to the winner.
> If you can do this, but want something else, let me know. Perhaps I have it.

A VERY interesting challenge....

However, my experience disassembling (admittedly short) programs is
that it gets difficult to separate code from data.  For example, if
there is some numerical lookup table defined in the source code, it of
course is stored right in the binary.  The disassembler than merrily
chugs on it as if it were code, resulting in a lot of spurious
output... THAT can be tough to handle....

Also, how are we to test the "new" EPROM code w/out a Vulcan?  If you
were willing to also supply the Vulcan, that would make things MUCH
easier.  It would also allow some analysis into the circuitry, which
is an aid in disassembly of code as well (if you can decipher what
output ports go where, how addresses are decoded, etc., it makes it
much simpler).  Be aware, however, that a mistake may mean a fried
Vulcan...  However, that risk is the same whether you supply the
Vulcan, or you trust the "New" EPROM, and plug it into your card
yourself...

And, any technical information on the Vulcan (especially, he says
laughing, schematics) would help.

I'd be interested, but only if you'd send me the whole unit, and not
just binaries.  I'd be willing to ship to you a High-Speed SCSI card,
or an Apple IIc+ as collateral :-)

Rich B.