On 14-May-99, Tony Duell wrote: Does the interface also specify how to communicate with devices? I mean, if I hooked up my CBM 2040, would the GRiD know that it is a storage device and be able to use it? I image this could be possible, because the IEEE-488 devices are intelligent, and the 2040 has its DOS built-in, but I don't *know* that it will work. I don't have the cabling to do this, unfortunately, else I would have already tried. I only have the PET-to-IEEE-488 cable (the PET uses an edge connector). The connector on the 2040, of course, is the same sex as the GPIB connector on the GRiD. There is a menu item in GridManager (I think) for adding or removing devices. When I select that, the GRiD goes away for a while then comes back. It's probably polling the GPIB bus to see who's out there. That's a shame. I don't think there would be much use in doing it anyway, though, except for transferring small files (<8K) to and from the PET's RAM, for storage on cassette. I only have a PET 2001-8K. Heh. Probably an understatement. :) Without additional software? Gosh it would be nice to have an assembler or BASIC on that bubble device... -- Doug Spence ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca http://alcor.concordia.ca/~ds_spenc/

On 17-May-99, Tony Duell wrote: Too bad. I guess I'll have to keep scavenging for genuine GRiD GPIB devices, or find a machine that can hook up to the Compass and _not_ need to be the master, and figure out how to program it to do something useful (not very easy). Nope. Apparently GRiD did sell their own GPIB peripherals. Whether or not they are compatible with HP's devices I have no idea. More likely HP than CBM, though. :) Doug (Yowza) Salot mentioned that he had an external GRiD GPIB 10MB hard drive that he was trying to access, back in March 1998 (yes, I've combed the ClassicCmp archives looking for GRiD info). Interestingly, the post was called "GPIB + disk drives" and you (Tony) posted about the GPIB/IEEE-488/HPIB standard. Seeing as the other Doug is more than a year ahead of me in his search, I should probably contact him. :) Also, John Higginbotham apparently had some of his Compass manuals on the web at one point, but they've been removed. :/ It's funny how none of the GRiDdites read this list anymore. Yup, I had noticed that. Quite handy. But I don't have the cables to make use of this, I only have the single cable that connects to the PET. Radio rallies == Hamfests are not easy to find themselves, and the only one I've attended (some two hours away by bus) was very small and not well populated with computer gear, unless packet-modemed VIC-20s, TeleVideo terminals, and lunchbox '286 machines at three-times Salvation Army prices are your thing. I'm hoping to attend one of the big fleamarkets soon, to see what turns up. Actually, I don't have an IEEE-488 printer (unfortunately). For a while we had no printer, and then we got an Oki and PET-to-Centronics adapter which did the translation (if needed). I don't think the gods will curse you for this mod. :) And actually, you could buy ROMs for some printers to change their character sets. The Oki we had, had the ROMs replaced so that it would print using PETSCII. But that may have been in the C64 era. I don't know where that printer is ATM. My brother must have it (it was his printer, but he's got a PC with one of those Canon bubblejets now and he probably wouldn't be USING the Oki). I use my HP LaserJet 4L with my PET these days. :) Which reminds me, I've been wanting to fix the program I use to print BASIC source listings to work with upgrade ROMs... -- Doug Spence ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca http://alcor.concordia.ca/~ds_spenc/