23 Aug
2012
23 Aug
'12
10:32 a.m.
On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 23 Aug 2012 at 10:54, Michael Kerpan wrote:
Yup, got a "Joyce" here (120V US version,
probably sold by Sears).
The 3" drive has been replaced with a 3.5" one (there's a gotcha with
the power cable--same connector as a 3.5" but the +5 and +12 are
interchanged. The Joyce does require a "ready" signal, so you need
to either use a drive that provides one or tie it active).
Mine has 512K of memory installed. The downside is the utter lack of
a standard peripheral interface (e.g. Centronics parallel or RS232)
or a way to modify the boot code, which appears to be contained in
the ASIC printer interface.
The non-standard connectors are a bit of a problem, however, the
expansion interfaces do appear to have been available (at least for
those willing to import from the UK and Europe)
In general, I'm a big fan of Amstrad hardware. The CPC home computer
line was excellent (if you could live with CGA-class text, it even
made a decent CP/M system itself) as were the NC series proto-PDAs.
Even their PC clones were better than average (The Tandy 1000 line is
the only other home-oriented clone line that came close IMHO) The PCW
is just a further manifestation of how good Amstrad's stuff was in the
mid-80s through the early 90s.
Mike