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Start the Altair emulator

There are two classes of docker images you can use to run the Altair emulator.

  1. The first is for general use on 64-bit Linux, macOS, Windows, and Raspberry Pi operating systems.

  2. The second image is for a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS with a Pi Sense HAT. The Pi Sense HAT 8x8 LED panel can display the Altair address and data bus information can also be switched between Font and bitmap modes for games.

    Raspberry Pi with Pi Sense HATRaspberry Pi Sense HAT
    The image shows the address and data bus LEDsThe gif shows the address and data bus LEDs in action

Altair disk storage​

The Altair emulator disks are stored in a Docker persistent storage volume. This ensures any changes made to the contents of the Altair disks are saved if the Docker container is stopped or deleted.

Start the docker container​

You need to follow these steps to start the Altair emulator Docker container.

  1. Enable I2C hardware access. This is only required if you are running the Altair emulator on a Raspberry Pi with a Pi Sense HAT.
  2. Create a Docker persistent storage volume.
  3. Select and start a Docker container.

Enable the Pi Sense HAT​

If you are running the Altair emulator on a Raspberry Pi with a Pi Sense HAT, you need to enable I2C hardware access with the following command.

sudo raspi-config nonint do_i2c 0

Create a persistent storage volume​

docker volume create altair-disks

Select the Altair Docker image​

Select the Altair Docker image that matches your system. Be sure to replace the Australia/Sydney time zone with your local time zone.

  1. For general use on 64-bit Linux, macOS, Windows, and Raspberry Pi operating systems. Run the following command.

    docker run -e TZ=Australia/Sydney -d -p 8082:8082 -p 80:80 --name altair8800 -v altair-disks:/Altairdocker/AltairHL_emulator/Disks --rm glovebox/altair8800:latest

  2. For a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS with a Pi Sense HAT. Run the following command.

    docker run -e TZ=Australia/Sydney -d --privileged -p 8082:8082 -p 80:80 --name altair8800 -v altair-disks:/Altairdocker/AltairHL_emulator/Disks --rm glovebox/altair8800-pisense:latest

Open the Web Terminal​

Open the Web Terminal to access the Altair emulator. Follow these steps.

  1. Familiarize yourself with the Web Terminal and the CP/M operating system.

  2. Open your web browser:

    • Navigate to http://localhost if you deployed the Altair emulator on your local computer.
    • Navigate to http://hostname_or_ip_address if you deployed the Altair emulator on a remote computer.

    The following image is of the web terminal command prompt

Docker tips and tricks​

Stop the Altair emulator Docker container​

Use the following command to stop the Altair emulator Docker container.

docker stop altair8800

Restart the Altair emulator Docker container​

Use the following command to start the Altair emulator Docker container that you previously stopped.

docker start altair8800

Delete the Altair emulator Docker container​

First, stop the Altair emulator Docker container, then delete the Altair emulator container.

Use the following command to delete the Altair Docker container.

docker container rm altair8800

Inspect the persistent storage volume​

docker volume inspect altair-disks

Check the data in the persistent storage volume​

sudo ls /var/lib/docker/volumes/altair-disks/_data -all

To remove the persistent storage volume.​

docker volume rm altair-disks

Trouble shooting Raspberry Pi issues​

  1. Ensure strong WiFi connection

  2. Disabling the WiFi power management can improve stability

    sudo iw wlan0 set power_save off