The New Hotness Dan’s MEGA65 Digest Podcast

It’s time! We have a shipping schedule for the next batch of MEGA65 computers, and a candidate for the next platform release. Everyone is invited to help with testing, so let’s get to it!
Shipping update!
Trenz Electronic has announced that the next batch of MEGA65 computers will ship on June 1st, 2024.
We currently expect that all preorders up to this point will be included in this batch. If you need to make adjustments to your preorder before then, contact sales@trenz-electronic.de.
Once we clear the preorders, remaining stock will become available for purchase in the Trenz Electronic store, while supplies last.
Please bear with us while we work through any last minute issues that might change these estimates. And thank you so much for your patience! I can’t wait for you to receive your MEGA65!
v0.96 release candidate now available to test!
To make the new delivery schedule, we need to hand over the gold masters of the next release of the MEGA65 firmware and system software, as well as the updated User’s Guide, to Trenz Electronic by January 31st. Release v0.96 of the firmware, ROM, and system software will be installed at the factory on all MEGA65s about to ship. Of course, it will also be available as a free upgrade for all existing MEGA65s. This next release has a ton of new features and bug fixes—and we need testers!
If you have a MEGA65, you can install the release candidate on your machine to help test. If you don’t have a MEGA65 yet, you can still help by testing the new version of the ROM with an updated version of the Xemu emulator.
Testing the release candidate on a MEGA65
To begin, be sure to back up your SD card, or use an alternate SD card, before proceeding with testing. I usually just move the SD card to my PC, then copy all of the files from the SD card into a folder on my desktop. This doesn’t back up the configuration or Freeze states, but personally I don't keep important freeze states around long term. Alternatively, you could also use a disk imaging utility to back up both the hidden configuration partition and the files partition.
If you’re using a fresh SD card for testing, remember to prepare the card first using the MEGA65’s SD Card Utility. Insert the card in your MEGA65, hold the Alt key while switching on the computer, then select the utility from the menu and follow the prompts. This erases all data on the card.
Here’s how to get the files for the release candidate:
* Release v0.96 RC core and system software. Select the latest build that begins with mega65r3-r-0.96, such as mega65r3-r-0.96-build-5.7z. The “r3” refers to all MEGA65s delivered up to this point. The MEGA65s shipping in June will be known as “r6.” Yes, we’re skipping R5 after all: we found one small non-electrical change needed for the board during R5 testing.
* Release v0.96 RC ROM. Sign in with your Filehost account with your owner code redeemed to access this. Download the most recent version: 920391.bin.
* MEGA65 command line tools: Windows, Mac, or Linux. These will be bundled with, and be the basis for, an upcoming version of the M65Connect app, and are generally useful on their own for the new Ethernet file transfer feature.
* The MEGA65 User’s Guide, 2nd edition (PDF).
Unpack the mega65r3-r-0.96-build-5.7z archive. Transfer the .cor file to the root of your SD card. Open the sdcard-files folder, and copy its contents (.M65 files) to the root of the SD card as well.
Rename 920391.bin to mega65.rom, and transfer it to the root of your SD card.
Install the SD card in your MEGA65. With the power switched off, hold No Scroll then switch on the computer. This opens the core selection menu. Hold the Ctrl key and press a number to select an appropriate core slot for the new core, then follow the prompts to select the .cor file and flash the core. See the User’s Guide for more information about upgrading cores.
Using both the release candidate and the previous stable release with one MEGA65
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