17 May
2015
17 May
'15
5:06 p.m.
F.Ulivi wrote on 2/17/2015 9:19 AM:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for the images of ROMs installed on the IOC (I/O controller)
board of Intel MDS-2 development systems. In particular I'm looking for
the content of the character generator ROM (A19-2708) and of firmware
ROMs (A50 to A53-4x2716). So far I had no success in googling them.
My goal would be to contribute a good emulation of MDS systems to MESS,
especially for what regards the look of the video terminal. Well, this
is the plan, when "real-life" is not inteferring too much...
Thanks a lot.
-- F.Ulivi
I know I'm kind of late into this discussion, but I just took a look at
what I have and perhaps I can help.
I have the character generator rom code from an IOC. Not sure if there
were any changes to it over the revisions of the IOC, but I don't think
so. My copy should be good.
As for the firmware, there were many versions. At one point Intel
released an upgrade package called the iMDX-511. That added
cursor-addressbility on the integral CRT, a function key on the keyboard
(replaced the RPT (repeat) key), some shortcut key sequences, improved
speed, and other things I can't remember. It was a standard part of the
Series-II at some point, about the same time the white one became available.
I have all that rom code. I even took a swipe at disassembling it to
try to understand it. That was never finished, but I did make some
progress.
If the 8741/8041 chip on the IOC was called the PIO (Parallel I/O) then
I have that rom code too. I have a document that says the 8041 is
indeed the PIO.
The iMDX-511 also included an enhancement to the keyboard processor. I
have that rom code as well.
I'm really sorry I didn't look into this sooner as it may have saved a
lot of discussion on this list.
In any case, I can create a zip file of what I have an email it to
anyone interested.
Just email me a good email address for you and I send it out.
Dave