Learning the 6809 Cover

Learning the 6809

Some bonus items:

Learning the 6809 audio lessons are found on CD #1


Learning the 6809 was originally issued in 1983 by Green Mountain Micro for cassette-based TRS-80 Color Computer. I wrote it in Roxbury, Vermont, and recorded it in a quiet farmhouse. This special edition reproduces all the original material without revisions -- in other words, it does not work on a disk-based machine, or on the Color Computer 3. But its purpose is to learn the 6809 processor and accompanying family (6847, 6821, 6883), so for that it will still serve well. Be sure to read the prefatory material in the printed book before getting started!

As you might expect in the heyday of the personal computer -- machines unconnected to the Internet and ripe for modification -- I had planned a series of books as part of the "Micro Language Lab", including the Z-80 and the 68000. But along came IBM and Macintosh and that world changed. Computers were handed back from the people at large to the very few who had the knowledge to work in a complex environment. So, although it went through two printings, Learning the 6809 was the only volume of the "Micro Language Lab" that ever made it to press, and Green Mountain Micro itself died three years later.

Many copies of the book survived, as did my original reel-to-reel tapes. After two months of negotiations, I came to an agreement with a Color Computer enthusiast who would re-issue the book. I spent several weeks cleaning and restoring the old tapes, converting them to digital audio, and encoding them. Data sheets were obtained, CDs produced, and packages put together. Then the enthusiast disappeared with the goods and the money. Fortunately, three dozen copies of the book were still packed away in storage -- enough to fulfill the paid orders and then some.

In this special limited edition of Learning the 6809, I've packed in a few bonus items, including a short, amusing, quasi-sci-fi novel, The Karmora Papers, written by me and David Gunn in the 1970s, as well as four electronic compositions of mine in MP3 format. bellyloops was created from television commercials for the CD "Commercial Ad Hoc"; No Money (Lullaby for Bill) was made entirely from the voice of Bill Gates in an interview I conducted with him in 1980 (yes, every sound is derived from that voice!); the three short pieces zéyu, quânh and sweeh were made from the voice of Chris Mann and appear on "The Frog Peak Collaborations Project"; and finally, exirxion was the proto-piece for my first commercial CD Detritus of Mating. I hope you enjoy them!

My thanks to everyone who helped in re-issuing Learning the 6809, to all the clubs and organizations who have kept the Color Computer itself a curious but vital machine, and especially to Dave Poitras for preparing the data sheets in PDF format and keeping the project from crashing and burning!

Dennis Báthory-Kitsz
Northfield, Vermont
March 26, 2000







Text and illustrations copyright (c)1976-2000 by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz. Music copyright (c)(p)1996-2000 by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz (ASCAP); published by Westleaf Edition. All rights reserved. Produced in the United States of America. Learning the 6809 and all its components are provided "as is" without any warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. No support is provided for this publication. The author assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication or other documents which are referenced by this publication. References to companies, their services and/or products are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. In no event shall the author be liable for any incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, lost data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability in connection with the use of this information. Certain names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases on these pages may constitute trademarks, servicemarks, or tradenames of the author or other entities which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.