Dead AIM 65?? - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

15 Apr 2005

-------------------Original Message:

Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2005 20:24:56 -0400
From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Dead AIM 65??

<snip>
...
 The downside is that there's only room on the
mainboard for 4K, 
so memory expansions are external, and used to cost a lot 
(and are rare now because there didn't use to be a wide variety of them). 
Later versions had provision for up to 40K on board; I've got one
sitting beside me.

...
 It's pretty useful out of the box for a machine
that doesn't
come with a disk interface.  You certainly get more than the few
digits and a calculator keypad of the KIM/SYM line. 
Don't forget about the built-in current-loop & almost-RS232 interface; 
with the built-in monitor & text editor it was almost a "real" computer 
when connected to a terminal/TTY, even using the built-in (very reliable)
cassette interface instead of the optional disk drive.

Other factory options included EPROM programmer, Centronics 
printer interface, CRTC video interface etc.; languages included 
BASIC, FORTH, PL/1, Pascal and assembler; the AIM65 was also 
the core of a fairly extensive professional 65xx development 
system with the AIM65 SPS & DOS ROMs and various 
optional RM65 expansion modules.

mike