27 Apr
1997
27 Apr
'97
11:57 p.m.
On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, Sam Ismail wrote:
Now, I think I'll declare a ZX80-run BBS as an impossibility, if only
because I really want to see it done and I know that whenever anything is
declared "impossible" it just acts as added incentive to hackers. ;)
Actually, I just picked up an excellent book entitled "The Micro-Computer
Builder's Bible" by Chris Johnston, and it's got some pictures of S100
boards in it (I like the one labeled "A typical 4K static board"). It
looks like the chances are excellent that what I've got is an S100 bus
interface for the PET, but I really have to drag the thing out of storage
to count the pins on it to make sure.
If it IS an S100 bus interface, I wonder where I could find documentation
on how to use the thing. It would be extra neat if I could plug I/O
boards and graphics cards into the PET this way. :)
On Thu, 24 Apr 1997, Doug Spence wrote:
Nah, I may as well claim the credit. I think it says more for my bravery
than my skill, though, because I did a really messy job and it's some sort
of minor miracle that it worked. (I was too imatient to get it done and
didn't wait to collect the right tools first... ended up having to REBUILD
pins on chips on the motherboard that had been sheared off to
barely-visible protrusions of metal, using model railroad connectors.)
Interesting. I performed the piggyback RAM hack
on my Amiga 1000 (back
when it was worth real money) and that seems to still be holding up. I
*don't* want to do that to my PET, though. :) (In fact, in retrospect, I
wish I hadn't done it to my Amiga, either - I should've bought an Insider
board instead and keept the Amiga in its original condition. I wasn't a
collector yet, though. :) )
Don't worry. It just adds character to the machine. You can just say
some "unknown" hacker made the mod if anyone asks. And don't forget to
mention it adds character to the machine. BTW: Who here
thinks I'm crazy for wanting to run an "old-time BBS" off a
VIC-20? Who here thinks it's impossible? :)
Not me. Of course its totally possible. As soon as there are 27 hours
in the day I'm going to be putting up and old style BBS on my Sinclair
ZX80! (Just kidding, it'll be on a Linux box probably, but I'll just say
it runs on a Sinclair). This strange
contraption wouldn't be some kind of interface between the
PET and an S100 bus, would it? (THAT would be cool!) How would I know an
S100 bus if I saw one? :)
It would have slots that have 100 pin connectors (50 on side side, 50 on
the other). Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Doug Spence
ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca