The FNX6809 combined with the F256 makes a great system for running OS-9/6809. OS-9 was a real-time, embedded operating system created by Microware Systems Corporation. While it was used in many areas of industry, home computer users know it best for its implementation on the Tandy Color Computer sold by Radio Shack in the 1980s.
Today, a community effort has led to the creation of NitrOS-9, an open source version of the OS-9/6809 operating system. Throughout this document, I'll may refer to NitrOS-9 as OS-9, as both are synonymous for our purposes.
This document assumes you're running on Linux or macOS. If you're using Windows, someone will have to step up and write a document for that platform.
To get code into the F256, you need FoenixMgr. Download this package and follow the instructions to install it on your machine. Pay particular attention to these shortcut scripts, as they will make your life easier.
Note
If you're using a Mac, you won't be able to upload code into the F256 due to the driver manufacturer being so behind on updates. I use the FoenixMgr tools in bridge mode, which allows me to run the commands on my Mac and direct them to a Linux box thatconnects to the F256.
Cross-hosted development is the fastest way to develop for the F256. For this you need the following:
- lwtools - an assembler/linker package
- ToolShed - a set of tools for creating disk images
- NitrOS-9 - the NitrOS-9 operating system in source form
You can pull these down individually, or better yet, use @strickyak's awesome CoCo Shelf repository. It
has a Makefile which gets all of the above, builds it, then puts it in a convenient location (note that you'll have to update your shell script of choice
to include the locations of the binaries in the PATH environment variable).