tranZPUter FusionX User Manual

Overview

Board Overview

Connectors and Headers

• 10-pin JTAG Header — Used for in-system programming (ISP) of the Altera MAX7000AE CPLD via a compatible JTAG programmer (e.g., USB-Blaster). This header is also used for initial device programming when a blank or incorrectly programmed CPLD must be flashed with a new variant. See the Technical Guide for programming details.
• USB-Serial Connector (CH340E) — A micro-USB or pin-header connector routed through an on-board CH340E USB-to-UART bridge. This provides direct access to the Linux serial console at 115200 baud, 8N1. On the SOM side, this connects to the primary UART. This is the primary management interface during initial setup and day-to-day administration.
• USB 2.0 Port (SOM) — A standard USB 2.0 Type-A host port exposed from the SSD202D SOM. This port can be used to attach USB mass storage, USB-Ethernet adapters, or other USB peripherals supported by the Linux kernel.
• SD Card Slot (SOM) — A micro-SD card slot connected to the SOM's SDIO interface. The SD card is used for additional storage, holding ROM images, MZF program files, and OTA firmware update images. The SOM will detect a correctly prepared SD card at boot and perform an OTA upgrade automatically if a valid firmware image is present.
• WiFi Antenna Connector — An IPEX/U.FL coaxial connector for an external 2.4 GHz WiFi antenna, connected to the SSD202D's integrated SSW101B wireless module. An appropriate antenna must be fitted for reliable wireless connectivity.

Status Indicators

• Power LED — Illuminates when 3.3 V power is present on the board, confirming the TLV62569DBV buck converter is operating correctly.
• Activity LED — Driven by the SOM; indicates Linux kernel and Z80 emulation activity. Flashes during boot and during active Z80 emulation cycles.
• CPLD LED — Driven by the CPLD; indicates bus activity on the host Z80 bus. Useful for confirming the CPLD is actively interfacing with the host machine.

Power Supply

Daughter Boards

• MZ-80A Daughter Board — Interfaces the FusionX video and audio outputs to the Sharp MZ-80A's internal display and speaker circuitry.
• MZ-700 Daughter Board — Interfaces the FusionX video and audio outputs to the Sharp MZ-700's internal display and speaker circuitry.
• MZ-2000 Daughter Board — Interfaces the FusionX video and audio outputs to the Sharp MZ-2000's internal display and speaker circuitry.

Supported Host Machines

Initial Setup

Step 1 — Verify CPLD Variant [Common]

Step 2 — Fit the Correct Daughter Board [Host-specific]

Step 3 — Install in the Host Machine [Common]

Step 4 — Connect the USB-Serial Adapter [Common]

• Baud rate: 115200
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow control: None

Step 5 — Power On [Common]

Step 6 — Access the Linux Console [Common]

Machine Startup Modes

General Startup — start_FusionX.sh

1. Loads the ttymzdrv kernel module, which maps the host keyboard and display to /dev/ttymz0.
2. Isolates CPU1 from the Linux scheduler using isolcpus, reserving it exclusively for the Z80 emulation loop.
3. Loads the z80drv kernel module, which initialises the Z80 emulation engine and the CPLD bus interface.
4. Starts the Z80 emulation using the default ROM image and hardware configuration for the installed CPLD variant.

sudo /opt/fusionx/start_FusionX.sh

ROM Filing System Mode — startZ80_RFS.sh

• Switchable ROM pages are enabled, allowing multiple ROM images to be banked in and out of the Z80 address space at runtime.
• MZF program files stored on the SD card can be loaded directly into Z80 memory and executed without requiring a cassette tape interface.
• The ROM filing system provides a menu-driven interface on the host display for selecting and loading programs.

sudo /opt/fusionx/startZ80_RFS.sh

tranZPUter Filing System Mode — startZ80_TZFS.sh

sudo /opt/fusionx/startZ80_TZFS.sh

Switching Between Startup Modes

z80ctrl --stop
sudo rmmod z80drv
sudo /opt/fusionx/startZ80_TZFS.sh

Using the Z80 Emulator

Load a ROM Image

z80ctrl --loadrom /path/to/rom.bin --addr 0xE800 --size 0x2000

Add a Virtual Hardware Device

z80ctrl --adddev --device mz80a

Start and Stop Emulation

z80ctrl --start

z80ctrl --stop

Inspect Memory

z80ctrl --dump --addr 0x0000 --size 256

Load an MZF Program

z80ctrl --loadmzf /sd/programs/test.mzf

Switching Between Z80 and Linux Console

Suspending the Z80 Session to Access the Linux Console

Returning to the Z80 Session

sharpbiter --resume

WiFi Setup

Configuring WiFi with wpa_supplicant

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

network={
    ssid="YourNetworkName"
    psk="YourNetworkPassword"
    key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
}

sudo wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
sudo udhcpc -i wlan0

SSH Access

ip addr show wlan0

ssh fusionx@<ip-address>

SD Card and File Management

Mounting the SD Card

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/sd
sudo mount /dev/mmcblk1p1 /mnt/sd

/dev/mmcblk1p1  /mnt/sd  vfat  defaults,noatime  0  2

File Organisation

/mnt/sd/
  roms/          - ROM binary images (.bin)
  programs/      - MZF format program files (.mzf)
  firmware/      - OTA firmware update images

OTA Firmware Updates

1. Download the firmware update image from the project release page.
2. Copy the firmware image to the firmware/ directory on the SD card.
3. Insert the SD card into the SOM's SD card slot.
4. Power cycle the host machine. The SOM boot process will detect the firmware image, write it to NAND Flash, and reboot automatically.
5. After the upgrade completes, the firmware image on the SD card is renamed or removed to prevent repeated upgrades on subsequent boots.

Troubleshooting

Host Does Not Start / Blank Display

• Verify that pin 1 of the FusionX board is aligned with pin 1 of the DIP-40 socket. Incorrect orientation will prevent the board from operating and may damage the host machine.
• Confirm that all 40 pins of the FusionX board are fully and correctly seated in the socket. A single bent or missed pin can cause complete failure.
• If using a daughter board, confirm it is correctly fitted and its host-side connectors are attached to the correct points on the host mainboard. An incorrectly routed daughter board will result in no video output.
• Confirm the CPLD variant matches the host machine. A CPLD programmed with the wrong variant will produce incorrect bus timing, resulting in no display or corrupted output. Refer to the Technical Guide for CPLD variant verification.

No Linux Console on USB-Serial

• Confirm the CH340E/CH34x USB-serial driver is installed on your PC. On Windows, download and install the driver from the CH340 manufacturer page. On Linux, run lsmod | grep ch341 to confirm the driver is loaded.
• Confirm the terminal emulator is set to 115200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, no flow control.
• Confirm the USB cable is data-capable (not a charge-only cable). Charge-only cables do not carry the D+ and D- data lines.
• Check that the USB-serial port is not already open in another application on your PC.
• Try a different USB port on your PC. Some USB controllers handle full-speed USB-serial devices with more reliability than others.

Z80 Emulation Not Starting

• Check whether the z80drv kernel module is loaded: run lsmod | grep z80drv. If it is not listed, the startup script failed to load the module.
• Review the kernel log for error messages from the module load attempt: run dmesg | tail -50 and look for messages relating to z80drv or ttymzdrv.
• Check the startup script for errors. Run the script manually from the serial console and observe any error output.
• Confirm the ROM image path specified in the startup script is correct and that the file exists and is readable.

MZF Program Not Loading

• Confirm the SD card is mounted: run mount | grep mmcblk1. If not mounted, mount it with sudo mount /dev/mmcblk1p1 /mnt/sd.
• Confirm the file path passed to z80ctrl --loadmzf is correct and that the file exists: run ls -la /mnt/sd/programs/.
• Verify the MZF file is not corrupted. A valid MZF file has a 128-byte header beginning with a file type byte of 0x01 (machine code) or 0x02 (BASIC). Use xxd /mnt/sd/programs/test.mzf | head -8 to inspect the header.
• Ensure the Z80 emulation is running before attempting to load and execute an MZF file.

WiFi Not Connecting

• Confirm the external WiFi antenna is connected to the IPEX/U.FL connector on the FusionX board. Operating the SSW101B module without an antenna may result in extremely poor signal or complete failure to associate.
• Verify the SSID and passphrase in /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf are correct. Both are case-sensitive.
• Check the wpa_supplicant log for association errors: run wpa_cli status or inspect dmesg | grep -i wlan for error messages.
• Confirm your access point is operating on the 2.4 GHz band. The SSW101B does not support 5 GHz networks.

Machine Runs Too Fast / Timing Errors

• Confirm the CPLD variant matches the host machine exactly. Each supported host machine requires a specific CPLD variant compiled in Quartus II. Refer to the Supported Host Machines table above for the correct variant identifier.
• If the CPLD was recently reprogrammed, confirm the correct .pof file was used. Refer to the Technical Guide for CPLD programming and variant verification procedures.
• If the correct CPLD variant is confirmed, check the Z80 emulation clock configuration. The z80drv module may need its clock divider setting adjusted for your specific host machine's expected Z80 clock frequency.

Reference Sites

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