ZXMMC+ Tech Specs

The heart of this interface is a 72 macrocell CPLD. This page describes it's functions and the layout of all the I/O registers built in it.

MEMORY PAGING:

The interface has 512KB of nonvolatile RAM and 512KB of FLASHROM. They can be "PAGED-IN" in 16KBytes blocks on address space 0 - $3FFF. This is the only region that allows such a feature, as the "ROMCS" signal provided on the Edge Connector can be used to disable the internal ZX-Spectrum ROM and avoid any conflict. This makes the ZXMMC+ interface able to run ResiDOS by Garry Lancaster. To tell it right, this interface was designed just for this purpose.

The PAGING Control Register:

This RD/WR register, built into the CPLD, works exactly as on the ZX-Badaloc clone. The I/O address on ZXMMC+ is $7F and it's bit layout is as follows:

D7         RAM WR Enable
D6         PAGE-IN Enable
D5         RAM/ROM Select
D4:D0    Page number (0 - 31)

D7: This is a stand-alone bit. When SET, the RAM Chip is WRITE ENABLED, no matter what is enabled on READ. For example, a simple BASIC program may copy the Sinclair ROM to one RAM bank by just setting this bit then performing a FOR/NEXT loop which POKEs back what is read by PEEK on the 0 - 16383 address space. The PEEK will read the Sinclair ROM, while the POKE will write in RAM. When the loop completes, the RAM can be enabled in READ mode in place of the internal ROM. Being a separate bit, D7 allows write-only operation as well as write protection, turning the nonvolatile RAM into some kind of fast ROM. This is the key feature used by ResiDOS to work. NOTE: Sinclair basic uses to alter a few locations of the "ROM", if the zxmmc+ ram is left write-enabled. If the above basic example is tried, it is advisable to write-protect the ram bank prior to returning to the basic "prompt" (i.e. by including the OUT instruction in the command, after a colon).

D6: When SET, this bit activates the PAGE IN on READ cycles. The internal ROM is disabled and one bank from RAM or ROM is accessed instead.

D5: When LOW, the RAM chip is selected for PAGE IN function. When HIGH, the ROM (FLASH) is selected.

D4:D0    These 5 bits are used to select one of 32 banks, 16KB each, from RAM or ROM (depending on D5). Their state directly affects the logic level on the 5 upper address lines of bot the RAM and FLASH chips, who are provided by the CPLD.

The power-on status of D5 and D6 is user-selectable by means of dip switch n. 3 and 4 respectively. When PAGING is OFF, the internal ROM will show up when the system is powered or reset. If RAM paging is enabled and ResiDOS was previously installed into nonvolatile ram, then ResiDOS will start on power-on. If ROM paging is enabled, then ROM BANK 0 will be selected at power-on.

128K Compatibility:

The CPLD detects the OUT $7FFD instruction and captures data bit D4 to the lower address line of the bank page. This means that a complete 128K Spectrum ROM SET can be programmed and will work in flashrom, enabling the creation of NMI-patched rom for snapshot purposes. This feature is disabled when zxmmc+ RAM is paged-in, to avoid problems when running ResiDOS or bootrom firmware.

MASS MEMORY STORAGE:

The interface provides two SD/MMC card slots, accessible through an hardware SPI port built into the CPLD. This port is capable of transferring one byte in 16T-states, so the 21T-states INIR/OTIR or even a 16T-states INI/OUTI "unrolling" instruction sequence (proposed by Paolo Ferraris) can be used. This means that, beside header overhead, reading a block of data from the card is as fast as transferring it from memory to memory. Write can be somehow slower, because the SD card needs time to physically "program" the internal flash memory array and will respond as "busy" in the meantime. Further details on the SPI port can be found in the ZX-Badaloc clone technical reference and, later, in the hardware page of this site.

The SPI Port Registers:

I/O $1F (WR Only):

D0        Slot 0 Chip Select (active LOW);
D1        Slot 1 Chip Select (active LOW);
D2        Not used
D3        RS-232 Start Bit's NMI ENABLE (described in the RS-232 section)
D7:D4   Used for FLASH WR unlock code (described in the 'Flash Rom Chip' section of the Hardware page)

I/O $3F (Read/Write): SPI DATA Register

Note: $1F is the Kempston Joystick Port when read.

KEMPSTON JOYSTICK:

This is a simple 5-bit Kempston compatible Joystick port, readable at I/O address $1F. The Kempston Joystick can be enabled/disabled by means of Dip Switch n.1. Due to a lack of free pins on the CPLD, two joystick data lines are shared with two of the 5-bit BANK Address for RAM and ROM bank selection. As can be seen in the schematic, Kempston D4 and D5 are placed on MSB_A17 and MSB_A18 respectively, through a resistor. When memory is accessed by the processor, these two CPLD pins are turned into Outputs and the complete 5-bit MSB address is formed on RAM/ROM address bus. In all other cases, the pins work as Inputs so that reading the Kempston port will give the expected result.

IF 1 FEATURES:

The zxmmc+ implements a RS-232 and a Network port that works like those on the Sinclair INTERFACE 1, with a few exceptions. These peripherals can be enabled/disabled by means of dip-switch n. 2.

Both the RS-232 and NetWork interfaces has been successfully tested. The IF1's Shadow ROM can be programmed into ZXmmc+ flash memory, turning the machine into a real IF1-equipped system under any point of view, except microdrives.

Due to PCB size constraints, RS-232 and Network connections end up on a single 6-pin strip connector. It's pinout is as follows:

PIN 1    NET
PIN 2    RXDATA (output)
PIN 3    TXDATA (input)
PIN 4    DTR (input)
PIN 5    GND
PIN 6    CTS (output)

With the exception of PIN 1, this can be straight pin-to-pin connected to a female DB-9 to be directly plugged into an IBM-PC 9 pin serial port. It should however be noted that the CTS input on ibm-pc is pin 8 and not 6; a straight connection is still possible as pin 6 is DSR (which is an input as well).

The IF1 NetWork signal goes to pin 1; this could be wired to a 3.5mm male jack to be plugged into the NET socket of a real IF1 interface (which of course should be plugged on another ZX-Spectrum). An on-board 330 ohm termination resistor is provided (and can be disabled by removing a jumper, in case the zxmmc+ is not at one end of the network).

As on the original hardware, I/O Addresses involved in RS-232 and Network communication are $EF and $F7. However, in order to simplify the internal CPLD logic and thanks to the fact that there are no data bits with different meaning at same position on these two ports, both $EF and $F7 returns the same data when read, as follows:

D7    TXDATA status (rs-232 data input) (in the original IF1, this is on port $F7 only)
D3    DTR status (rs-232 DTR input) (in the original IF1, this is on port $EF only)
D0    NET status (Network) (in the original IF1, this is on port $F7 only, while on $EF this is the zx-microdrive write protect bit)

All remaining bits will read '0'.

On write access, these two ports will behave in different way. Supported bits are as follows:

$F7 D0    NET Output / RXDATA (Network output or rs-232 data output, depending on $EF D0 state)
$EF D5    WAIT: when '0', this bit will LOCK THE PROCESSOR in WAIT STATE, if the NET line is active (+5V). Wait state will cease as soon as NET is resting.
$EF D4    CTS Output
$EF D0    COMMS_OUT: When LOW, net/rxdata ($F7 D0) out goes to NET; when HIGH, net/rxdata goes to RS-232

A nonstandard feature of the RS-232 port is the capability to generate an NMI when a Start Bit is detected. This is disabled by default and can be activated by setting bit D3 on $1F port, described in the "mass storage" section. This feature allows an NMI handler to establish serial a communication, no matter what the Spectrum is doing, when requested by a remote device. This is how the provided "bootrom" firmware performs RS232-based screenshots and snapshots on a running ZX-Spectrum. The NMI handler should immediately disable further NMI calls by resetting bit D3 on $1F port, to avoid nested execution on each rising edge of the RS-232 input line. The feature should then be re-enable just before quitting (the firmware takes care of all this).

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