Turnkey Monitor with Intel Hex Load

[AltairClone]

I have place an updated version of the Altair Turnkey Monitor in the ROMs directory on the support page. This new verion, TURMONH, adds an "H" command to load an Intel hex file directly into memory. This alleviates the guilt of using the load hex file option in the Clone's configuration monitor ;) In fact, it makes the ROM a handy tool in a real Altair as well! The new monitor sets the stack pointer at the 8000h (top of 32K RAM boundary), since many systems don't have RAM at F800h or FC00h as expected by the original TURMON.

To make room for the new command to fit in the small, 256 byte ROM, I removed the rarely used "D"ump command. To load a hex file, type the letter "H" (no return). There is no user feedback when the "H" is typed other than you might notice the front panel light pattern change. At this point, send the hex file through the console serial port. As each line is read, a colon is display as a progress indicator. Once the file has been read, control returns to the Turnkey Monitor and the "." prompt is displayed.

Mike