Using Your Meatloaf

Its time to have fun!

You have been patient and acquired the parts from China (or nearer to home) and built and tested your device. Now we're going to show you what it can do.

Connect to your WiFi

If you configured your platformio.ini file, you can skip this step, however if you need to connect to your WiFi, use the following Commodore BASIC command:

OPEN1,30,15,"SETSSID:MYSSID,MYPASSWORD":CLOSE1

Replace MYSSID and MYPASSWORD with your SSID and Password If your SSID/PASSWORD includes characters you can't type on a Commodore keyboard you can URL Encode those characters and Meatloaf will decode them automatically.

After It connects, it will persist on future reboots. To verify you're connected, try to connect to the Meatloaf.cc server on the internet. It's programmed in shorthand on your device.

LOAD"ML:$",8  // This will load the file directory on the Meatloaf server

Load some stuff

Loading software from Meatloaf is very easy. You simply load programs as you would from a regular Commodore disk drive, with a few additions depending on where or how the files are stored. If you've changed your drive number in the configuration, please substitute the examples below with your chosen device.

A note about loading: Currently Meatloaf loads programs at the same speed as a regular Commodore disk drive. Jiffy Dos or other fast load routines are being worked on. Please keep this in mind when loading software. To view the progress of your software loading operation, you can use a terminal application to view what your Meatloaf device is up to. Learn how here.

Loading a program from a web server

LOAD"HTTPS://LOADRUN64.COM/D64/SNOW.PRG",8
RUN

Loading a disk image from a web server.

LOAD"HTTPS://LOADRUN64.COM/D64/SPACEDEMO.D64",8

This is equivalent of inserting a disk into your Commodore drive. From here, Meatloaf will return the file listing from inside the disk image. To verify just use the LIST command. From here simply issue the standard LOAD command to load the program.

LOAD "*",8,1
RUN

Loading a disk image from your meatloaf device

By default, Meatloaf's flash file system will be available from root "/". You can get a directory listing using standard commands.

LOAD "$",8
LIST

If you have an SD card installed it will show up as a directory named "SD". You can change into a directory by loading it like you would a file.

Using Meatloaf's Server

The creator of Meatloaf has set up a dedicated server that you can use with your device: Meatloaf.CC. Meatloaf is capable of using shortcuts to servers to allow faster keyboard entry. The shortened Meatloaf.CC server name is called "ML". To retrieve a directory of the Meatloaf server, simply use the directory command with the shortened name and a colon. Make sure you're connected to the internet of course.

LOAD"ML:$",8

Load from a from a share

Load a D64 image on your own Windows/Samba server (all known CBM image formats supported):

LOAD"SMB://STORAGE/C64/FAVORITES/PIRATES/PIRATES_A.D64/*",8

Load from a compressed archive

Meatloaf can load files from WITHIN compressed archives!

Load a program straight from a D64 image residing inside ZIP archive that is located somewhere on the Internet:

LOAD"HTTP://C64WAREZ.NET/DROPZONE/FRESH_WAREZ.ZIP/GTA64.D64/START.PRG",8

Some other things to try from the Meatloaf server

LOAD"ML:C64ROBOTS",8,1
LOAD"ML:BASIC",8
LOAD"ML:GAME*",8,1
LOAD"ML:GOTD", 8,1
LOAD"ML:OLDTOWER",8,1

Traverse your file system

To navigate the file structure of your meatloaf device or any server set up to stream content to Meatloaf, you can use these commands to move through directories.

FB64 File Browser

The Meatloaf filesystem includes a modified version of the CBM File Browser, a powerful tool to navigate online and offline files.

You can load it locally from the device by typing the following:

LOAD"FB64",8,1

You can load it from the Meatloaf server using the shorthand name by typing this:

LOAD"ML:FB64",8,1

Here's how you navigate the user interface.

[CURSOR/JOY UP]     = Previous entry
[CURSOR/JOY DOWN]   = Next entry
[CURSOR/JOY RIGHT]  = Next page
[CURSOR/JOY LEFT]   = Previous page 
[RETURN/FIRE]       = LOAD and RUN
[F5]                = Previous page
[F6]                = To top
[F7]                = Next page
[F8]                = To bottom
[S]                 = Sort (Enable/Disable)
[Q]                 = Quit to basic
[BACK SPACE]        = Exit dir
[ESC]               = Reset

Connect to BBSs

Meatloaf is capable of connecting to BBS's OVER IEC! There is a modified version of PTERM on the Meatloaf server. You can load it after connecting to the internet by typing this:

LOAD"ML:PTERM",8,1

From here you can connect to the BBSes listed or add your own.

WEBDAV

Yes, you can connect to your meatloaf device using WEBDAV (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning). This allows you to manage files on your Meatloaf device over your network.

Simply find the IP address assigned to your device after connecting to your network, then enter

http://<device ip address>/dav 
\\<device ip address>\dav (windows)

or

http://meatloaf.local/dav
\\meatloaf.local\dav  (windows)

This will connect you to the SD card (yes, you need an SD installed) on the device. How cool is that.