Contents |
Description
The Sony HB-20P (P for PAL) is a HB-10P modified for an unknown reason. The monitor connector has been removed. This model was aimed at the Spanish marked only. The keyboard is QWERTY with a ñ key.
The case is available in black. The power supply is external and its connector is proprietary, being similar in shape but different in size to the mini-IEC used in Sony HB-F1 and Panasonic FS-A1 computers. The voltages also are not the same (6V-900mA, AC16V-160mA).
| Brand | Sony |
| Type | HB-20P |
| Year | 1986 |
| RAM | 64kB in slot 3 |
| VRAM | 16kB |
| Media | Cartridges |
| Video | Toshiba T6950 |
| Audio | PSG (YM2149 integrated in MSX-Engine S3527) |
| Chipset | Yamaha S3527 |
| Extras |
Pictures
Specifications
The HB-20P is a MSX1 with a Z80A from NEC (DA780C-1) or Sharp (LH0080A). The MSX-Engine comes from Yamaha (S3527).
The used VDP is the Toshiba T6950, which does not support some undocumented features of the Texas Instruments TMS9918, TMS9928 and TMS9929 VDP's.
The machine pictures above include a video board with the VDP, the VRAMs and some glue logic. It's intended to allow a different type of VRAM to be used, either PSRAM or SRAM, since the motherboard only accepts 4116 DRAMs. Only some batches of HP-20P feature such daughterboard, while the majority has the T6950 VDP and 4116 DRAMs directly installed on the motherboard. This daughterboard causes absolutely no perceptible changes from the software point of view.
Slot Map
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank C000h~FFFFh | RAM mirror* | Cartridge Slot 1 | Cartridge Slot 2 | 64kB RAM | |||
| Bank 8000h~BFFFh | |||||||
| Bank 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | ||||||
| Bank 0000h~3FFFh |
(*) RAM mirror quirk on early models
Connections
- RF output
- Tape data recorder connector
- Centronics compatible Parallel port for a printer
- 2 general connectors (Joysticks, Mouse, Graphic pad, Paddle controlers, etc)
- 2 cartridge slots
Quirk on port A8h
Just like the HB-10P computer, some early versions of the HB-20P also have a quirk on port A8h that makes RAM bank 3 appear both in slot 0 and in slot 3. This mirroring effect is emulated in openMSX for the Sony HB-10P, it can be very annoying as it can play havoc with games that need more than 16kB RAM, using the 16kB RAM mirror to store system variables and assuming that all the ram is in the same slot 0 as page 3.
This configuration can cause poorly written software to crash. Nevertheless, you can run these games if you type the following command before loading:
OUT &hA8,240
For cartridges, the trick is to plug them in after booting the MSX using a slot expander that has switches to disable each slot and prevent them from auto booting (WARNING!! Do not insert a cartridge when power is ON. It can damage the machine). Then type the following instructions on BASIC after re-enabling the slot:
OUT&hA8,240: DEFUSR=&H7D75: ?USR(0)
Alternatively, you can use ROM loaders like Execrom, LoadROM or OPFX /X. Since they start the game from MSX-DOS, this problem will be automatically solved as DOS already selects the proper slots for the RAM.
Fixes, Repair and Upgrades
- Fix the /RESET signal (That improves significantly the cartridges support)
- How to add the connector for AV monitor. (French)
- How to fix port A8h (tutorial to move internal RAM to Slot 3). (French)