Programming a replacement NTSC kernel rom.

So the first project is to program a replacement NTSC kernel rom for my recently repaired Commodore C16.   This step will simply replace the original NTSC kernel from Commodore with a programmed EPROM.   The idea of this step is to insure that I'm programming the chips correctly.  (and not breaking a working computer.)

I downloaded the NTSC kernel from Bo Zimmerman's FTP page (Thank Bo!) and noted that it was a 16K file meaning that I'll need to use a 27128 (128 / 8 = 16k) chip.

In less time that it takes to update this blog.   It worked!

Replaced 318005 located at U4 with the programmed EPROM.

Information for this was located in the Commodore C16 Service Manual, page 4 and page 5.  (Thanks to Plus4World)

I'm reasonable sure that at this point I could replace the BASIC rom as well, and even add JiffyDOS by simply locating the correct .BIN files and making new EPROMS.

I'm not really seeing the need for JiffyDOS as the programs this machine can currently load at 16k max and they load reasonably fast already.

Looking at the .bin, it looks like I could easily change various text items to customize the look of the boot message, errors, etc.

Lesson's learned so far:

Clear buffer before programming.
Program & Verify chip.

Next up.

Re-program the kernel rom again, this time with a PAL kernel and replace the crystal with one sourced from digikey to support the correct video output.