Mega 65 Operating and safety instructions

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
Dan Sanderson
Jun 13, 2022

CONTENTS
1 Welcome! 3
1.1 Why a Welcome Guide? ......................................... 4
2 Things you’ll need 7
3 Try this first! 9
3.1 Connecting peripherals .......................................... 9
3.2 On-boarding ............................................... 10
3.3 The reset button ............................................. 10
3.4 Demonstration menu ........................................... 10
3.5 The Freeze menu ............................................. 13
3.6 Disk images ............................................... 14
3.7 Loading and running a program from disk ................................ 16
3.8 Commodore 64 mode .......................................... 19
3.9 Other bundled software ......................................... 21
3.10 Configuring your MEGA65 ....................................... 21
4 Important concepts 25
4.1 SD memory cards ............................................ 25
4.2 Cores ................................................... 26
4.3 ROMs ................................................... 27
4.4 The Hypervisor .............................................. 27
4.5 PAL and NTSC .............................................. 27
5 Determining the versions of things 29
5.1 The MEGA65 core version ........................................ 29
5.2 The MEGA65 ROM version ....................................... 30
5.3 Hypervisor and Freeze versions ..................................... 30
6 Opening the MEGA65 case 31
7 Accessing the MEGA65 Filehost 37
8 Setting up the microSD card 39
8.1 Preparing the microSD memory card .................................. 39
8.2 Updating the SD card essentials ..................................... 40
8.3 Updating the ROM ............................................ 41
8.4 Optional: reinstalling bundled software ................................. 41
9 Updating the core firmware 43
9.1 Downloading the latest MEGA65 core .................................. 43
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9.2 Installing the latest MEGA65 core .................................... 43
9.3 Symptoms that you’re using the wrong MEGA65 core ......................... 48
9.4 The C64 core ............................................... 48
10 Using disks 51
10.1 Listing a disk directory .......................................... 51
10.2 Using the SD card from BASIC ..................................... 52
10.3 Using 3-1/2” floppy disks ........................................ 52
10.4 Using an external disk drive ....................................... 54
10.5 Converting a D64 to a D81 ........................................ 55
11 Using the JTAG connector 57
11.1 Acquiring a JTAG adapter ........................................ 57
11.2 Installing the JTAG adapter ....................................... 59
11.3 Using M65Connect ............................................ 67
11.4 The m65 command line tool ....................................... 71
11.5 Finding other JTAG tools ........................................ 73
12 Joining the community 75
13 Video display compatibility 77
13.1 HDMI (DVI) ............................................... 77
13.2 VGA ................................................... 83
13.3 4:3 flat panel displays .......................................... 84
13.4 Video capture cards ........................................... 88
13.5 Resolution and aspect ratio ........................................ 88
13.6 A List of Monitors ............................................ 88
14 Recently added features 89
14.1 New features ............................................... 89
14.2 New BASIC commands ......................................... 90
15 Known hardware issues 93
15.1 The Real-Time Clock doesn’t advance the time ............................. 93
15.2 Case fit issues .............................................. 93
15.3 Keyboard slouching and sticking Help key ............................... 94
15.4 Jammed floppy disk pathway ....................................... 94
15.5 C64 cartridge and peripheral compatibility ............................... 94
15.6 Boot failures with blinking blue LED lights ............................... 94
16 Questions and answers 95
16.1 Does the cartridge port work? ...................................... 95
16.2 Does the Ethernet port do anything? ................................... 95
17 Resources 97
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
Hello! You’ve reached the MEGA65 Welcome Guide 2022. This Guide is intended for new owners of the MEGA65
personal computer, specifically those that received their MEGA65 in the year 2022. It contains answers to common
questions from early adopters not (yet) answered in the official documentation about the first production batch of hard-
ware and factory-installed software, and recommends best practices for continued enjoyment of your new computer. It
was written as an unofficial supplement to the MEGA65 User’s Guide included with the computer.
Oh hi, I’m Dan, known as dddaaannn#7325 in the MEGA65 Discord and @dan_sanderson on Twitter. If you notice
anything in this guide that needs updating, or if you discover a topic not covered by the official manual that you feel
new owners should know about, please report an issue. Thank you!
The contents of this Welcome Guide:
CONTENTS 1

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
2 CONTENTS

CHAPTER
ONE
WELCOME!
Congratulations! You are the owner of the MEGA65 personal computer, a modern recreation of the Commodore 65,
the unreleased successor to the highest selling computer of all time, the Commodore 64.
Tip: Don’t own a MEGA65? You can pre-order one from the next batch!
Your MEGA65 comes with an excellent User’s Guide that describes the machine’s features, including a command
reference for its built-in BASIC programming language. This Welcome Guide 2022 is an unofficial supplement to the
User’s Guide, intended for new owners.
Specifically, this Welcome Guide will recommend first steps you can take to get the most out of your MEGA65 based
on the hardware and software that was delivered in the year 2022. By following this guide, you will:
3

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
•Explore your MEGA65 right out of the box!
•Learn important concepts for maintaining your MEGA65
•Prepare a microSD card for storage and software upgrades
•Open your MEGA65 to install and upgrade components
•Update your MEGA65 to the latest versions of the software
•Learn about features still in development and known issues with the hardware
•Find out how to learn more and connect with the MEGA65 community
This Welcome Guide will refer to the official User’s Guide, so keep it handy!
1.1 Why a Welcome Guide?
The MEGA65 is brought to you by the MEGA Museum of Electronic Games & Art e.V., a registered voluntary asso-
ciation and non-profit organization. The core team of talented engineers and a community of contributors and patrons
made this possible. They continue to improve and refine the capabilities of your upgradable machine.
This unofficial Welcome Guide describes the state of the MEGA65 as it was delivered in the first manufacturing run
(batch #1) in the year 2022, including issues that may be fixed in later hardware batches and software updates. The
Guide intends to smooth out the experience for new owners of early versions of the hardware and software. It is based
on the author’s own experiences and discussions among new owners troubleshooting common issues.
This is meant to be a short-lived living document. Eventually, official documentation updates and future manufacturing
runs will make this Guide obsolete. If you’re one of the first people to purchase a MEGA65, this Guide will help you
get up and running.
If you notice anything in this guide that needs updating, or if you discover a topic not covered by the official manual
that you feel new owners should know about, please report an issue,email me (I’m Dan), or DM dddaaannn#7325 in
the MEGA65 Discord. Thank you!
4 Chapter 1. Welcome!

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
1.1. Why a Welcome Guide? 5

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
6 Chapter 1. Welcome!

CHAPTER
TWO
THINGS YOU’LL NEED
The following items are included in your MEGA65 box:
1. Your MEGA65 personal computer
2. Power supply
3. The MEGA65 User’s Guide
4. Your personal registration code, on a piece of paper
5. The internal SD memory card (installed inside the MEGA65)
For this Guide, you will also need:
1. A PC running Windows, Mac, or Linux, with Internet access
2. An SD memory card reader for your PC, with microSD card support or an SD-to-microSD adapter
3. A monitor that supports either DVI (HDMI) or VGA, with an appropriate cable or adapter
4. If not using a monitor that supports audio over HDMI, speakers or headphones with a mini audio plug
5. A microSD memory card, type SDHC, between 4 GB and 32 GB
6. A Phillips head screwdriver
The following are optional but will be fun additions to your MEGA65 experience:
1. A joystick or gamepad compatible with Commodore computers, with a nine-pin (DE-9) connector
2. A Commodore 1351 mouse, an Amiga mouse, or a modern replacement such as a mouSTer USB mouse adapter
3. A CR1220 watch battery
4. 3-1/2” floppy disks, either type DD or HD
And if you want to get really serious:
1. The XMOD FTDI JTAG Adapter TE0790-03
2. Mini USB B to USB A cable, to connect between your PC and the JTAG adapter
Tip: The compatible JTAG adapter is difficult to find right now. Alternatively, you can use a more common USB UART
adapter, with important caveats. See Use of an USB UART adapter as alternative to a JTAG adapter. A misconfigured
or mis-wired UART adapter may damage the computer.
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
8 Chapter 2. Things you’ll need

CHAPTER
THREE
TRY THIS FIRST!
You don’t want to read stuff, you want to play with your new MEGA65! Well good news, there’s tons to play with,
without ever having to download a file or crack open the case.
The fun is in the digging, so if you’re ready to go, stop reading now and dive in. Come back to this section for some
things to try before going further. Have fun!
3.1 Connecting peripherals
Your MEGA65 only needs to be connected to its power supply (included) and a monitor (not included) to operate.
The MEGA65 has two connectors for monitors: a VGA connector, and an HDMI connector. Both connections work
simultaneously, showing the same display.
Note: See Video display compatibility later in this Guide for some notes on monitors.
The MEGA65 has two methods of producing sound: over the HDMI connection, or through the dedicated audio jack.
You can connect headphones or speakers to the audio jack.
If you own a classic joystick, gamepad, or mouse with a DE-9 nine-pin connector, you can connect it to one of two
nine-pin ports on the lefthand side of the machine. The MEGA65 supports both the Commodore 1351 mouse and
the Amiga mouse; the Amiga mouse requires setting a configuration option. Modern mouse replacements such as the
mouSTer adapter or the upcoming wireless Amiga tank mouse are expected to work. Personally, I use a 1351 mouse
in port 1 and a modern Commodore-compatible gamepad in port 2.
Note: Before connecting a mouse, be sure to set the mouse mode in the configuration step, described later. If an
Amiga mouse is connected while the port is in the wrong mode, it may interfere with the behavior of the keyboard.
Note: Do not connect a Sega Genesis game controller directly to the MEGA65 or Commodore computers. Sega
Genesis controllers are not compatible and may damage the computer, even though they have the same connector. If
you wish to use the Genesis controller, you can use an adapter such as the BackBit GenAssister.
Tip: For more information on the peripheral ports, see the User’s Guide, page 3.
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
3.2 On-boarding
When you turn your MEGA65 on for the first time, it prompts you for some initial settings. The most important setting
is the video mode. Use the Tab key to cycle between digital video without sound over HDMI vs. with sound over
HDMI (“enhanced”), and PAL 50Hz vs. NTSC 60Hz display modes. Press Space to test a video setting to make sure
it works with your monitor.
Note: If your display isn’t working, you may need to adjust the video mode blindly until you find one that works.
Older DVI monitors need the “without sound” mode, and monitors vary in their support for 50Hz and 60Hz refresh
rates. Use the Tab and Space keys to try the different modes.
Take this opportunity to test your audio set-up. Press the Akey to play a musical tone. If you are using audio over
HDMI, make sure the video mode is set to “Enhanced (with sound).”
The “CRT emulation” option is a fun choice when using a modern flat panel display: it adds vertical gaps between
pixels to simulate the CRT raster line. Try it to see if you like it: press the Ckey to toggle it on and off.
You can ignore the “Time” setting for now. We will discuss the Real-Time Clock later in this guide. All of these settings
can be adjusted later.
Tip: For a description of the on-boarding interface, see the User’s Guide, page 28.
3.3 The reset button
As you try out the software that comes bundled with your MEGA65, you will want to reset the machine often. Be sure
to locate the reset button on the lefthand side. There are some cases where you will need to completely turn off the
MEGA65 using the power switch then turn it on again, but most of the time the reset button does what you need.
3.4 Demonstration menu
Your MEGA65 comes configured to run a demonstration program when you turn on the machine. You can use this
menu to launch games, utilities, and demos that show off the capabilities of the MEGA65. Try them out! Remember
that you can use the reset button to start over.
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
You can exit from the menu to MEGA65 BASIC, the built-in programming and operating environment. This environ-
3.4. Demonstration menu 11

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
ment is similar to the Commodore 64 and 128, where you can give the computer commands, write programs in the
BASIC programming language, and load and save programs.
Tip: The User’s Guide does an excellent job describing the BASIC environment. See chapter 3, starting page 9.
The demonstration menu is itself a BASIC program! When you exit from the menu to BASIC, this program will still
be in memory. You can use the LIST command to see its source code. If you want to clear memory to write a new
program, use the NEW command before entering statements.
NEW
10 FOR X=1TO 100
20 PRINT "MEGA65! ";
30 NEXT X
RUN
Once you have tried all of the demo programs, you will probably no longer want your MEGA65 to start the demon-
stration mode every time it turns on. Select the “Disable auto-boot” menu option to disable it. You can get back to this
menu later by loading and running the program with these commands:
LOAD "MENU"
RUN
If you change your mind and want your MEGA65 to automatically load the demonstration menu when it turns on, use
this command to restore this capability:
RENAME "MENU" TO "AUTOBOOT.C65"
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
3.5 The Freeze menu
The MEGA65 spends most of its time behaving as a Commodore 65 computer would, either running a program or
awaiting instructions in the BASIC environment. Your MEGA65 has additional features that were not part of the
original C65 design. You can access many of these features from the Freeze menu.
To open the Freeze menu, hold the Restore key for a second or more, then release it. The MEGA65 will pause whatever
it is doing, flicker the border color, then open the Freeze menu. Whatever program was running remains in memory
and can be resumed by pressing the F3 key from the Freeze menu. You can also abandon the running program and
reset the MEGA65 by pressing F5.
Note: Does your Freeze menu appear too low on the screen? This is a bug in the version of the software that shipped
with the first batch of MEGA65 computers. It is fixed in a newer version of the software. You will upgrade the software
later in this Guide.
If you are experiencing this issue, you can complete this section of the Guide with the broken display, or you can skip
this and return after you have installed the update in a later section.
3.5. The Freeze menu 13

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
There are many useful features in the Freeze menu. Try them out!
One feature to remember when playing games is the “(J)OY SWAP.” This causes the two joystick ports to trade numbers.
If you have a joystick in port 2 and you start a game that expects a joystick in port 1, instead of disconnecting and
reconnecting the joystick, open the Freeze menu, press Jto swap the port numbers, then resume your game.
Note: As of this writing, it is possible—and usually undesireable—to freeze the Freeze menu by pressing Restore
again while the Freeze menu is open. If you do this accidentally, reset and try again.
3.6 Disk images
One of the MEGA65’s most useful features is its virtual disk drive. Of course, you can use vintage 3-1/2” floppy disks
with the MEGA65’s built-in physical drive. More often, you will use files that represent disks (“disk images”) that
reside on a modern SD memory card. You can use the Freeze menu to tell MEGA65 whether to use the physical drive
or a disk image file as a disk drive.
MEGA65 comes bundled with several disk images, including one named MEGA65.D81 that contains the demonstration
menu and all of the demo programs. You can make your own D81 disk images, and can download MEGA65 software
as D81 disk image files over the Internet using your PC.
Try browsing one of the disk images included with your MEGA65:
1. If the Freeze menu is not already open, hold the Restore key for a second then release it.
2. Press 0to see the options for setting up the first drive.
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MEGA65 Welcome Guide
3. Use the cursor keys to navigate to DEMOCOMP.D81. Press Return to select it.
4. Notice that the disk image name appears under the “Internal drive” in the Freeze menu.
5. Press F5 to reset with this disk image in the virtual drive.
Tip: If you are mounting a disk to start a new program, use the F5 key to exit the Freeze menu with a reset. Your disk
will continue to be mounted after the reset.
While it is tempting to use the F3 key to “resume,” exiting with reset is more likely to load new programs correctly.
You only need to resume if you are swapping disks while a program is running.
Tip: The User’s Guide describes disk images and the Freezer menu in chapter 7, starting page 59.
3.6. Disk images 15

MEGA65 Welcome Guide
3.7 Loading and running a program from disk
You now have the DEMOCOMP.D81 disk image mounted to device 8 (drive 0). Let’s see what’s on the disk! Enter the
following command at the BASIC READY. prompt:
DIR
This lists all of the files on the disk, also known as the disk directory.
You can use the LOAD command to load a program off of the disk by name:
LOAD "NOVDEMO"
If you’ve used a Commodore 64, you may remember having to type ,8 or ,8,1 after a LOAD command when loading
from a disk drive. With MEGA65, unit 8 is the default, so this can be omitted.
Move the cursor to a blank line (or press Shift + Clr Home to clear the screen), then type RUN to start the NOVDEMO
program.
RUN
16 Chapter 3. Try this first!