Getting started

This page explains how to get zeST up and running for your FPGA board.

Download

The latest build of zeST can be downloaded by clicking this link.

You can also access older releases by browsing the download directory.

The binary archive contains builds for the Microphase Z7-Lite board, 7010 and 7020 versions, as well as the TE0726 “ZynqBerry”. zeST also supports the MyIR Z-Turn 7020 board, but since I’m the only known user of it and its availability is decreasing, it is not included in the official binary distribution. If you own this board and are interested in getting the files in the official archive, just let me know.

Installation

If you just acquired a brand new ZynqBerry, there are specific first-time-only setup instructions you need to follow first. For the other supported boards, all the necessary installation instructions follow.

To install zeST on your board, just extract all the files from the archive into the root directory of a FAT32-formatted micro-SD card, and also copy the boot.bin file specific to your board (from the boards directory) to that same root directory.

Then, copy some of the floppy or hard disk image files you want to use to the SD card (either in the root directory or in a subdirectory). Supported floppy file formats are : ST, MSA, and MFM (zeST’s internal format). If present, a hdd.img hard disk image file will be mounted as the default ACSI hard disk.

The zeST archive contains a default ROM image file rom.img, which is an EmuTOS image, UK version. You can replace it with any ST ROM image you want (STf compatible). zeST supports TOS versions 1.00 to 1.04, 2.06 and any version of EmuTOS.

Now insert the SD card into the board’s SD card drive.

You should also at least connect a standard USB keyboard on the board’s USB host port to be able to do anything with the ST. You can also use a USB keyboard/mouse combo, or separate keyboard and mouse connected through a USB hub.

Of course you will also need to connect the board to a HDMI screen.

Configuration file

The zest.cfg file contains default configuration values. The format is a INI-style key-value text file. It is divided in two sections, [main] and [floppy].

The different possible settings are listed below. For file path names, the SD card mount point is /sdcard, so if you need to address for instance a file named foo.msa from a floppy directory which resides in the root directory of the SD card, the full path name would be /sdcard/floppy/foo.msa.

[main] section

  • mono: boolean setting (true/false). If true, zeST starts in monochrome high resolution mode.
  • extended_video_modes: boolean setting (true/false). If true, extra resolution modes become available to software running on zeST. See the dedicated section for more details.
  • mem_size: memory size. Possible values are: 256K, 512K, 1M, 2M, 2.5M, 4M, 8M, 14M.
  • wakestate: GLUE wakestate setting. Possible values are 1, 2, 3, 4.
  • shifter_wakestate: Shifter wakestate setting. Possible values are 0 and 1.
  • rom_file: full pathname to the default ROM image file.

[floppy] section

  • flopimg_dir: default directory for floppy image selection in the setup menu.
  • floppy_a: full pathname for the floppy image file in drive A. If you don’t want to have a floppy inserted at boot, just leave this field empty.
  • floppy_a_write_protect: this is a true/false toggle to determine if inserted floppy disk in drive A is write protected or not.
  • floppy_b: same as floppy_a, but for drive B.
  • floppy_b_write_protect: same as floppy_a, but for drive B.

[hdd] section

  • image: full pathname for a ACSI hard disk image file. You can mount an Atari-formatted SD card (for instance coming from an Ultrasatan drive) by plugging a USB SD card reader and using the device file name (typically, something like /dev/sda) as the image file.

[keyboard] section

  • right_alt_is_altgr: boolean setting (true/false). If true, the keyboard’s right Alt key is treated differently from left Alt. See the PC keyboard support section below for more details. If false, both Alt keys are mapped to the ST Alternate key.

Drivers

zeST provides specific drivers to improve the use of zeST. They consist in Atari binary files to be placed in the AUTO folder of your boot disk.

Extended video modes

When (and only when) the extended_video_modes option is enabled, zeST includes additional, nonstandard screen modes. There is one for each of low and medium resolutions.

Technically, those extended modes are made available to programs by enabling bit 2 of the ST’s resolution hardware register (at address $ff8260).

You can have the GEM desktop use these modes by copying the supplied extmod.prg driver program into the AUTO folder of your boot disk.

PC keyboard support

Since zeST uses a PC keyboard instead of the original ST keyboard, some keys do not exactly produce the expected characters because what zeST does is simply map each PC key to the most equivalent ST key.

To overcome this issue, zkbd has been written, and provides drivers for several modern PC key maps.

Pre-built binaries for zkbd can be found in the downloadable zeST archive, under the drivers/zkbd directory. Just copy the one corresponding to your keyboard into the AUTO folder of your boot disk.

Boot

To power on the board, you can either connect it to one of your PC’s USB ports using a USB cable, or directly use a USB power supply. On the Z7-Lite board, you can use any of the two USB slave ports (UART or JTAG).

The ST should boot after less than 5 seconds.

Quick Start Guide

Setup menu

By default, the ST starts without any floppy inserted.

You can get access to the setup menu by pressing either of the Scroll Lock or Page Up keys, or using the Meta+Enter key combo. From there, you can access different functions including rebooting the ST, selecting a floppy disk image, choosing the RAM size.

You can navigate between the different buttons by using the Tab, Shift-Tab, and arrow keys. To activate the selected button, press Enter.

To exit the setup menu, press Esc.

Floppy disk image selection

Navigating the files in the file selector works by selecting the ⇧ or ⇩ arrow buttons, then pressing Enter to move one file up or down. When your choice is made, select the Ok button.

You can also choose a directory to browse its files and subdirectories.

The the SD card root directory can be accessed from the /boot directory.

Joystick emulation

If you press Num Lock or use the Meta+J key combo, this enables or disables joystick emulation. A LED on the board should light up when joystick emulation is on.

When joystick emulation is on, the arrow keys will act as the joystick directions, and the Left shift key becomes the fire button.

Volume control

The multimedia keys Volume Up, Volume Down and Mute allow you to control the sound level.