8 May
1999
8 May
'99
4:36 a.m.
I picked up a Compupro 816 computer yesterday and an
external drive unit
with a hard drive and an 8" floppy drive. I haven't brought it home yet so
I haven't taken more than a quick look at it. Can anyone tell be about the
computer and drive? What CPU, speed, etc. What kind of operating system it
uses, etc.
If it's using the same CPU's it shipped with, it has a 8085A and a
8088A on a 85/88 CPU board. Speed is 2 or 5 MHz, depending on what
the big red switch labeled "SPEED" on the CPU board is set at.
Of course, it's a S-100 box, so just about anything could have been
dropped in at either the factory (special-order), the Compupro dealer,
or by the end user.
Typically the system either ran CP/M-80, CP/M-86, or a special
Compupro version that was basically CP/M-86 but would also run 8-bit
executables on the 8085.
There were many aftermarket CPU's available, some with 80286's on them
and 8 MHz Z-80's, that were commonly dropped into Compupro chassis.
I don't see a keyboard or video connectors so I
assume it needs
a terminal to talk to it.
Very likely, yes. Most likely, it has a System Support 1 board
with console serial port, clock, and interrupt controllers. But there
are lots of other ways to set up a S-100 system.
Does any have a pinout of the serial port so I
can make a terminal cable.
Look for a 25-pin cable from the System Support 1. It's plain old
RS-232. Depending on which OS and version you run, and how it was
generated, you might need to assert DTR.
What size is the hard and floppy drives
You tell us :-). A Compupro 816 most likely shipped with a Qume
Datatrack DSDD 8" floppy drive, a bit over a Megabyte, most likely
hooked to a Disk 1 (or 1A or 1B or 1C) controller in the S-100 chassis.
The hard drive is likely a MFM drive, anywhere between 5 and 30 Megabytes,
hooked to a Disk 3. Again, just about anything was orderable/configurable.
does
the floppy drive use hard sectored disks, etc etc, etc.
Almost certainly soft-sectored disks.
I noticed that
there are connectors for both a 5.25" and an 8" floppy drives and another
for a hard drive on the back of the CPU box. Does anyone have a manual or
the OS software for one of these?
Sure. I bought out the last Canadian Compupro dealer while I was in
Vancouver and have manuals, configuration software, etc. Let us know
what's *in* your box and you'll get more details.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa(a)trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927