World of Commodore 2023

1. Tracking the
International Space Station with Commodore Computers
(and other fun networking applications, devices, and more)
Leif Bloomquist
World of Commodore 2023

2. What’s Coming Up
• History
• Networking 101
• Summary of networking interfaces for Commodore computers
• The FujiNet Project, Meatloaf, and the ISS Tracker demo application
• Porting the ISS Tracker to the Ultimate 64
• What next?

3. Credits!
• Thomas Cherryhomes: FujiNet Project, developed many demo
applications, including original ISS Tracker for VIC-20 and C64
• Jaime Idolpx: Meatloaf IEC Wi-Fi interface, code and tons of support
• Scott Hutter: Networking Library for the Ultimate 64

4. First, a bit of history…
1986
Won a C64 in a raffle
draw
1984
Bought a VIC-20 with
paper route money 2008-2009
Lead Developer on SSRMS
(Canadarm 2) Control GUI on the ISS
A bunch
of stuff
happens
More stuff
happens
2020-2022
Project Engineer for Canada’s ISS
Logistics and Sustaining Engineering
Data Archival/Analysis Team
2022-Present
Product Manager for Canadarm 3
(Lunar Gateway)
Mission Planning Tools Development
I stopped
writing code
at work
around here

5. Why Connect Commodores to the Internet???
• Commodore users had rich online experiences from early on:
QuantumLink, Bulletin Board Systems, etc. Lots of nostalgia
• Commodore gaming has always had a strong social aspect.
Bringing it online adds a new dimension
• Incorporating Internet capability on an 8-bit computer is a fun
technical challenge. We can leverage Arduino and Internet of
Things
• It appeals to the Japanese philosophy of Chindogu,
the whimsical idea of the “unuseless invention”

6. Networking 101 – the TCP/IP “Stack”
Credit: t-suarez, DEV Community

7. Ethernet
Ethernet (and Wireless Ethernet, Wi-Fi) have become the de facto standard for
commercial “link layer” - the actual connection between computers on a network.
It specifies the cables, frequencies, etc at the lowest level.
Fun fact! Commodore had their own Ethernet Organizational Unique
Identifier 00:80:10
• Same ID as their early acoustic coupler/modem, coincidence?
• If you set your computers to use this Ethernet address prefix they
will show up as Commodore devices in modern network analysis
tools 
Photo Credit: David Bradley

8. IP (Internet Protocol)
• The Internet Protocol is the next layer up, which provides addressing information (source
address, destination address, etc) and basic information about the type of data
• It doesn’t do much on its own – other protocols like TCP and UDP (next slides) are used to
actually carry data

9. UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
• UDP is one of the simplest methods for sending data over the Internet
• It’s “fire and forget” – you collect your data into a small bundle (called a “packet”) and send it
across the Internet with a destination address attached
• Routers and modems along the way do their best to get the packets to their destination, in
the right order, but there are no guarantees
• Analogy: Postcard
• Ideal for real-time games, and quite manageable
by 8-bit machines with the right hardware

10. TCP (Transport Control Protocol)
• Unlike UDP, TCP provides a “reliable” connection and ensures your data gets through
• You collect your data into a “stream” and TCP handles the rest
• The protocol creates a connection, acknowledges that the data got through in the correct
order, and tries again if needed. Continues streaming data until either end “hangs up”.
• Analogy: Phone Call
• Ideal for (ie) strategy games, applications where the data must get through i.e. Email, chat
apps like WhatsApp, Web browsing
• Manageable by 8-bit machines with the right hardware, but requires significantly more
resources and memory

11. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
“HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files -- such as text,
images, sound, video and other multimedia files -- over the web.” – TechTarget.com
• HTTP (and its secure encrypted big brother, HTTPS) are the “language of the web”
• Built “on top of” TCP
• Every web page you visit, file you download, video you watch…involves HTTP(S) in some way.
• Once you have access to HTTP on a Commodore, many cool possibilities open up!
• Simple web browsing
• Download files (PRG files or D64 disk images can be loaded directly from the web)
• Access to JSON files

12. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
“An open standard file format and data interchange format that uses
human-readable text to store and transmit data objects” - Wikipedia
• Derived from JavaScript, but now supported by most modern
programming languages
• Relatively easy for humans and computers to understand
(even our beloved 8-bits, with a bit of work)
• This data can often be dynamic for getting real-time information
• The public interface is called an API – Application Programming
Interface. (Usually over HTTP)
More on JSON Later!
ISS Live Location JSON API
http://api.open-notify.org/iss-now

13. More history! • In 2002, Adam Dunkels unveils “The Final Ethernet”
cartridge (a riff on “The Final Cartridge”)
• A fully functional design of an Ethernet cartridge
interface for the Commodore 64
• The uIP “micro” TCPIP/IP stack that runs in very
limited memory (like the C64)
• Contiki OS with many example applications: Web
browser, Web server, Telnet client, audio
streaming…
• The era of the Internet-Enabled Commodore 64
begins!
Photo credits: Adam Dunkels

14. My Networked Commodore 64 Games
Free Downloads at https://schema64.itch.io/
Artillery Duel NET NetRacer Vortex Dungeon of the
Rogue Daemon

15. A Plethora of Networking Options!
Expansion Port
The Final Ethernet
RR-Net
64NIC+
User Port
WiFi Modem
WiC64
ZiModem
etc.
IEC (Serial) Port
Meatloaf

16. Credit: xkcd

17. User Port “Modems”
• Connect to the User Port
• Pretends to be an old-skool dialup modem (“ATDT….”)
• Usable on any machine with a User Port: VIC20, C64, C128,
PET (with modified wiring)
• All your old terminal software like CCGMS, NovaTerm, etc will work – they don’t know the
difference
• You can even host a classic Bulletin Board System for incoming calls, in theory
• Bandwidth is limited to 2400 bits per second (or maybe 9600 or higher with non-standard
hacks)
• Examples: Retro Rewind WiFi Modem, WiC64, ZiModem, Stupid PET Tricks, many others

18. Expansion Port Interfaces
• Connects to the C64/128 Expansion Port aka “Cartridge Port”
(or VIC20 with appropriate adaptor)
• TCP/IP Stack resides on the machine – requires a lot of RAM and resources
• Special software is required – usually written specifically for the interface
• Bandwidth is blazingly fast, 10 Mbps (fill the C64 memory in 0.0524 seconds)
• Examples: The Final Ethernet, RR-Net, 64NIC+, FB-Net
• All based on the CS8900 chip and compatible with each other
• Despite the limitations, has been the “de facto” Ethenet standard for
Commodores for years

19. Proprietary Interfaces: Ultimate 64 and MEGA65
• These are both hardware re-implementations of the original machines with an FPGA
(Field Programmable Gate Array) and Ethernet ports added
• TCP/IP Stack resides inside the FGPA, but outside the 8-bit memory space – saves a lot of memory
• Special software is required – usually written specifically for the interface
• C libraries are available to do (most of) the dirty work
• Not compatible with the RR-Net, or each other
• Bandwidth is very fast, 10 Mbps, but not memory-mapped so throughput is reduced

20. • FujiNet is a multi-peripheral emulator and WiFi network device for vintage computers.
• The first completed hardware was for Atari 8-Bit computers and development has begun for other systems with the goal of
supporting as many as possible.
• FujiNet allows vintage computers that do not have enough processing power to handle TCP/IP connections talk to the modern
internet over Wifi.
• Many example programs have been created: Card games, strategy games, PLATOTERM client, news readers, ISS Tracker, more!
• These example programs are available on GitHub under the GNU Public License so encourage you to build your own
To Learn More: https://fujinet.online/
Atari 8-Bit Apple II
“FujiApple”
Coleco ADAM Commodore
“Meatloaf”

21. IEC Interfaces: Meatloaf
• Based on the common ESP32 system-on-a-chip microcontroller
(Lolin D32 Pro)
• You can build one yourself with under $20 in parts
• Connects to the IEC (Serial Bus) port
• Pretends to be one of more virtual floppy drives
• Usable on any machine with an IEC Port: VIC20, C64, C128, Plus/4, etc.
• No special drivers or software required: It uses standard KERNAL calls and standard LOAD command
• You can program it in BASIC! OPEN 15,8,15,”HTTP://EXAMPLE.COM/API/DATA.JSON”
• Can access and download any files: D64, PRG, but also HTML and JSON
• Built-in JSON parser
• Bandwidth is limited by IEC Bus: ~400 bytes/second
Jaime Idolpx will be talking about the Meatloaf project in detail with more updates at 2 PM!

22. …Tracking the International Space Station
• Demo applications developed by Thomas Cherryhomes
for the FujiNet project, including Commodore versions
• Meatloaf has everything we need!
• IEC Interface
• TCP/IP Stack
• HTTP(S) Interface
• JSON Parser
• NASA provides an JSON API with the ISS current location

23. Tracking the ISS on an Unexpanded VIC-20
• Since the TCP/IP stack, HTTP interface, and JSON parser reside on the Meatloaf, this can even be
done on an unexpanded VIC-20 from 1980 with 5K of RAM
• Application runs as a cartridge ROM image, program size ~2,791 bytes
• Remaining RAM on the VIC used for temporary variables
• The application polls the JSON API, updates the PETSCII screen and ISS position every 10 seconds
Credit: Thomas Cherryhomes

24. Tracking the ISS on an Ultimate 64
• The Ultimate 64 is a modern, FPGA-based, implementation of a C64
• Can be overclocked to 48MHz
• U64 has its own proprietary but well-documented
Ethernet interface with TCP and UDP
• Ported the FujiNet version to the Ultimate 64:
• Adapted to use Scott Hutter’s Ultimate 64 Library
• Implemented a crude HTTP interface in C to “GET” the JSON files
• Implemented a crude JSON parser in C that pulls the data from the
received data object
• The application polls the JSON API, updates the screen and ISS position (sprite) every 10 seconds
• Code is freely available on GitHub
Map Credit: Thomas Cherryhomes

25. Some other cool JSON APIs
• Weather, News, etc.
• Stock Prices! (Many APIs out there, some free)
• Cheerlights Xmas Lights! http://cheerlights.com/api/
• Realtime Earthquake Notification! http://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/queryformat=geojson
• Chuck Norris Facts! http://api.chucknorris.io/
• Geolocation (track your computer’s location)! http://ip-api.com/docs/api:json
• International Space Station Location! http://api.open-notify.org/iss-now
• …thousands more!

26. Fun JSON uses on your Commodore?
• News/weather apps?
• Shared high-score tables for new games?
• News and notifications of new releases of demos and games, with the ability to directly
download or run them?
• List of current players of games – ie a lobby for online games?
• Dynamically grab game updates, maps, new content “on the fly”?
• Patches and upgrades, new libraries and content for systems like 64OS?
• …Your idea here!

27. Discussion