24 Jun
2006
24 Jun
'06
1:13 a.m.
yeah, got the techie manuals for the T2K...alot of
good itll do me if a weirdo chip goes bad. I even
checked the manual today to see if there was any
resemblence between this SMC 9007? and/or 9212? to a
6845 maybe...no dice. Yep, custom components sure do
bite, but Ive had to come to the acknowledgement that
to some degree theyre unavoidable...could I possibly
ban a 2000 from my collection...or a Mindset...?
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24 Jun
24 Jun
8:40 p.m.
yeah, got the techie manuals for the T2K...alot of
good itll do me if a weirdo chip goes bad. I even
All I can say is that it can't be harder to make a functional equivalent
chip (say in an FPGA) if you have the manuals, than if you don't. OK,
there may not be _that_ much information in the tech manual, but at least
you'll know the functions the chip performs, the pinout, etc.
It's like the argument that you should carry a few important car spares
(and things like jump leads). You're much more likely to find somebody
who knows how to use them if you break down, than you are to find
somebody who knows how to use them _and has them_
checked the manual today to see if there was any
resemblence between this SMC 9007? and/or 9212? to a
6845 maybe...no dice. Yep, custom components sure do
bite, but Ive had to come to the acknowledgement that
to some degree theyre unavoidable...could I possibly
I try to avoid machines which use custom chips, but I have to acknowledge
they exist. Several of my machines have custom chip processors (things
like the BPC hybrid in the HP9825, HP9831 and HP9845, and even the arrays
of processors in the DAP). I just don't like to depend on them
ban a 2000 from my collection...or a Mindset...?
I know the feeling :-)
-tony
26 Jun
26 Jun
10:57 p.m.
All I can say is that it can't be harder to make
a
functional equivalent
chip (say in an FPGA) if you have the manuals, than
if you don't. OK,
there may not be _that_ much information in the tech
manual, but at least
you'll know the functions the chip performs, the
pinout, etc.
Although the possibility intriques me to no end,
rather then *attempt* to recreate the dopey chips in
the 2000, I'd probably rather *attempt* to shoe-horn a
whole different graphics subsystem in it's place. It's
a totally vintage approach, in spirit anyway - no one
actually LIKED having an MS-DOZE based puter that ran
oh 25 or 30 programs. They did like the advanced
capabilities though. Wouldn't it be lovely to have yer
cake and eat it too. Trouble is, any graphics chip/s
that have the same gusto as those dopey SMC things
will be just as hard to find/replace. Nothing was
quite as common as the 6845 (although it has been used
in some things that sport 400 lines of resolution,
IINM). The 7220 is somewhat more common, but still
hard to find.
-tony
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27 Jun
27 Jun
12:25 a.m.
Although the possibility intriques me to no end,
rather then *attempt* to recreate the dopey chips in
the 2000, I'd probably rather *attempt* to shoe-horn a
whole different graphics subsystem in it's place. It's
a totally vintage approach, in spirit anyway - no one
actually LIKED having an MS-DOZE based puter that ran
Surely the whole point of having a Tandy 2000 is that it runs Tandy 2000
software. If you want a PC-incompatible that has a 7220 as the graphics
controller, get a Rainbow :-) [Yes, I know there are custom chips in the
'bow, but IIRC, they're also used in the VT100, so they're not that rare]
Juat be glad it's not an HP150-II. That thing has 5 gate arrays in it,
and IIRC thate's not that much documentation on them in the technical
manual (which I do have). Come to think of it, the plain HP150 uses some
SMC chip for the video, I can look up to see which it is if you like.
oh 25 or 30 programs. They did like the advanced
Actually, I would like one, but Tandy 2000s are not at all common in the
UK, and I can't afford the shipping on one from the States.
-tony
12:42 a.m.
Surely the whole point of having a Tandy 2000 is
that it runs Tandy 2000
software.
Eh there isn't too much stuph that runs on it that's
2000 specific. There was Lumena, but I'm sure that was
offered for a real peecee (no doubt with a hi-res
aftermarket card though, like a Sigma 400). I just got
Lumena and a few other softwarez and hardwarez for the
MindSet the other day.
For the uninitiated, Lumena was basically just Paint.
I used to have the 2000 version. I was thoroughly
unimpressed lol.
Some of us collect this stuph cuz it's what we owned
back in the day. Again, do you think someone wouldn't
want to run Starflight on their Tandy 2000? T2K
specific versions aside (which are so hard to find), a
2000 with the equivalent of a Software Library
Expander card that was offered for the NEC APC III
(GOT IT!) would greatly increase it's interest and
collectibility. The dude in Chicago who sent me a few
T2Ks was a developer (or tried to be one) and in fact
was working on a software mod that would give the 2000
full compatibility. Never finished it sadly, and
seemingly none of the docs were included with the
acquisition. Involved "spying" on chips and NMIing to
replacement routines for the stuph in io.sys IIRC.
Something strange like that. Very groovy too.
If you want a PC-incompatible that has a
7220 as the graphics
controller, get a Rainbow :-) [Yes, I know there are
custom chips in the
'bow, but IIRC, they're also used in the VT100, so
they're not that rare]
Just one of the more common hi-res crtc's that came
to mind. The NEC APC has them, 2 in fact (methinks). I
do have a Rainbow, but it doesn't have the color
option (or color graphics option?). The 7220 IS a
worthy candidate for an FPGA recreation IMHO.
Juat be glad it's not an HP150-II. That thing has
5
gate arrays in it,
and IIRC thate's not that much documentation on them
in the technical
manual (which I do have). Come to think of it, the
plain HP150 uses some
SMC chip for the video, I can look up to see which
it is if you like.
Curious. I haven't focused on the HP 150* stuph to
date. Don't know why. I used to use a number of their
machines years ago. One day the bug'll byte me I
suppose...
oh 25 or 30
programs. They did like the advanced
Actually, I would like one, but Tandy 2000s are not
at all common in the
UK, and I can't afford the shipping on one from the
States. from what I gather better made too. What do you figure
it would cost to ship an average puter from shore to
shore? I could live with ~$150 on some occasions, but
more then that...
-tony
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10 p.m.
If you want a
PC-incompatible that has a
7220 as the graphics
controller, get a Rainbow :-) [Yes, I know there are
custom chips in the
'bow, but IIRC, they're also used in the VT100, so
they're not that rare]
Just one of the more common hi-res crtc's that came
to mind. The NEC APC has them, 2 in fact (methinks). I
do have a Rainbow, but it doesn't have the color
option (or color graphics option?). The 7220 IS a worthy candidate for an FPGA recreation IMHO.
> Juat be glad it's not an HP150-II. That thing has 5
> gate arrays in it,
> and IIRC thate's not that much documentation on them
> in the technical
> manual (which I do have). Come to think of it, the
> plain HP150 uses some
> SMC chip for the video, I can look up to see which
> it is if you like.
OK, I've found the techref...
Fro the original HP150 (9" CRT). the text (alpha) video system uses an
SMC9007 + quite a bit of logic including a character generator ROM and a
HAL16L6. The bitmapped graphics system uses a custom chip, 1820-3091, and
yet more logic.
For the HP150-II (12" CRT), the gate arrays are :
ELMER (real time clock, baud rate generator, handshake ports, etc)
PAMELA (address decoder, DRAM timing/control)
KAZE (garphics RAM control)
PACIFIC (video controller)
Some early machines (including mine) have a daughterboard in place of the
ELMER chip. That contains only standard parts, and can be traced out...
Actually, I
would like one, but Tandy 2000s are not
at all common in the
UK, and I can't afford the shipping on one from the
States.
yeah, and I want an RM Nimbus. If you don't have one,
I really need to ask why not? As cool as the 2000, and
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