13 Feb
1999
13 Feb
'99
4:19 p.m.
I was out doing a little junking and ran across a interesting little ROM
Pack. It is a Tektronix "4052 Character and Symbol" pack (C) 1981. Am I
correct in assuming that it is for a Tek terminal?
I also found two very interesting floppy disks, I think I reconginze them,
but can't remember the name of the computer I think they go to. They're
Amsoft CF-2 Compact Floppy disc's. They're double sided for single sided
floppy disk drives. They measure 3 9/10" x 3 1/10" x 1/5". Both are in
protective hard plastic cases and the one is still in the shrink wrap!
Then there were a few Tandy cartridges, and a TI-99/4A "Terminal Emulator
2" cartride that I picked up at the same place.
At my favorite book store I got a couple cool books "Machine and Assembly
Language programming of the PDP-11", and "Studies in Operating Systems".
The OS book looks to be fascinating as it was published in 1976 and has
sections on the Burroughs B5500 Master Control Program, CDC Scope 3.2,
T.H.E. Multiprogramming System, and the TITAN Supervisor.
I didn't find any computers really, just a TRS-80 that was only part there,
and a lot of PC clones. Nothing worth bringing home.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
13 Feb
13 Feb
4:29 p.m.
On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Zane H. Healy wrote:
I also found two very interesting floppy disks, I
think I reconginze them,
but can't remember the name of the computer I think they go to. They're
Amsoft CF-2 Compact Floppy disc's. They're double sided for single sided
floppy disk drives. They measure 3 9/10" x 3 1/10" x 1/5". Both are in
protective hard plastic cases and the one is still in the shrink wrap!
Those are "Three inch floppies".
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH '3.5"'! (nor with '3.25"' (Dysan) )
They were used in some Amstradt machines, in Amdek add-on drives for Apple
][ and RS Coco, the earliest (prototype?) Gavilans, and in a few Japanese
computers that never made it to the U.S. (some model of Canon???)
--
Fred Cisin cisin(a)xenosoft.com
XenoSoft http://www.xenosoft.com
2210 Sixth St. (510) 644-9366
Berkeley, CA 94710-2219
4:33 p.m.
On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Zane H. Healy wrote:
I was out doing a little junking and ran across a
interesting little ROM
Pack. It is a Tektronix "4052 Character and Symbol" pack (C) 1981. Am I
correct in assuming that it is for a Tek terminal?
No, not a terminal but the second generation of the MC6800 based 4051
micro-computer that Tek marketed in the mid/latter '70s. The 4052 used
bit slice technology in lieu of the MC6800. The 405x series had a
backpack that would accomodate two ROM Packs, and a 'toaster' was an
optional accessory for those who needed more capacity.
I also found two very interesting floppy disks, I
think I reconginze them,
but can't remember the name of the computer I think they go to. They're
Amsoft CF-2 Compact Floppy disc's. They're double sided for single sided
floppy disk drives. They measure 3 9/10" x 3 1/10" x 1/5". Both are in
protective hard plastic cases and the one is still in the shrink wrap!
Amstrad PCW series used those, as well as Amdek drives that were sold for
some of the early micros over here.
- don
Then there were a few Tandy cartridges, and a TI-99/4A
"Terminal Emulator
2" cartride that I picked up at the same place.
At my favorite book store I got a couple cool books "Machine and Assembly
Language programming of the PDP-11", and "Studies in Operating Systems".
The OS book looks to be fascinating as it was published in 1976 and has
sections on the Burroughs B5500 Master Control Program, CDC Scope 3.2,
T.H.E. Multiprogramming System, and the TITAN Supervisor.
I didn't find any computers really, just a TRS-80 that was only part there,
and a lot of PC clones. Nothing worth bringing home.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
14 Feb
14 Feb
7:20 a.m.
Amstrad PCW series used those, as well as Amdek drives
that were sold for
some of the early micros over here.
Bingo! The Amstrad PCW series was what I was thinking of, and the Amdek
drives explain my confusion. I kept wanting to say Amdek, but knew that
wasn't the machine I was thinking of.
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
3:32 p.m.
At 07:33 PM 2/13/99 -0800, you wrote:
On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Zane H. Healy wrote:
That ROM was used on both the 4052 and 4054 but not on the 4051. The 4051
first appeared in the 1978 (I think) catalog and last appeared in the 1984
one. I'm not sure of the dates for the 4052 and 4052 but both are in the
1982 and 1983 Tek catalogs.
The 4052 used
I was out doing a little junking and ran across a
interesting little ROM
Pack. It is a Tektronix "4052 Character and Symbol" pack (C) 1981. Am I
correct in assuming that it is for a Tek terminal?
No, not a terminal but the second generation of the MC6800 based 4051
micro-computer that Tek marketed in the mid/latter '70s. bit slice technology in lieu of the MC6800.
Yes but what's interesting is that the bit-slice 4052 is software
compatible with the 6800 powered 4051!!! The 4052 is a 16 bit machine. I'm
guessing that Tektronix used the bit slice CPU so that they could retain
the same software but gain the power of the 16 bit system.
The 405x series had a
backpack that would accomodate two ROM Packs, and a
'toaster' was an
optional accessory for those who needed more capacity.
I have a "toaster", it has eight ROM sockets. Neat device and a hell of
a lot more complicated than you'd expect. It maps all of the (8) plug in
ROMs into the same address space and switches them in and out automaticly.
Each system can use two "toasters" at a time.
Joe
2:44 p.m.
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7:30 p.m.
At 01:44 AM 2/15/99 +0000, you wrote:
That's odd unless they (Tektronix) never used that instruction since they
claim the the 4052 and 4054 will run all the 4051 software.
Does the 4052 service manual give that level of detail? The one for the
4051 gives NO information on the CPU instruction set other than what was in
the Motorola 6800 brochure that's included in the manual. Does the 4052
manual give the entry points of the software routines in the system ROM?
And there are (of course) some extra instructions on
Yes but
what's interesting is that the bit-slice 4052 is software
compatible with the 6800 powered 4051!!! The 4052 is a 16 bit machine. I'm
guessing that Tektronix used the bit slice CPU so that they could retain
the same software but gain the power of the 16 bit system.
From what I recall (looking at Philip's 4052
service docs), the
instruction set is not identical. There's at least one 6800
instruction
missing on the 4052. the 4052 that aren't on the 6800. That's why
some ROMs are 4052 and later
only.
The 4052 and 4054s also have a larger address range and more memory,
that may also be why their ROMs won't work in the 4051.
At the hardware level, the 4052 is 16 bit. But the microcode implements
an 8 bit processor - the 16 bit operations are used for calculating
addresses only.
I wondered if they were using all 16 bits for data since they could use
the 8 bit 4051 ROMs.
Joe
15 Feb
15 Feb
8:20 a.m.
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5:11 a.m.
New subject: Sanyo 550
Purchased a Sanyo MBC 550 today at the local thrift for $3.50..
Just the CPU, no monitor or Keyboard..
Haven't really tested it yet, but I did power it up with no monitor or keyboard
and it tried to access drive A:
Wonder if this thing has any real value.
Anyone know how many of them were produced ?
Phil..
6:04 p.m.
New subject: Sanyo 550
Phil Clayton wrote:
Purchased a Sanyo MBC 550 today at the local thrift for $3.50..
Just the CPU, no monitor or Keyboard..
Haven't really tested it yet, but I did power it up with no monitor or keyboard
and it tried to access drive A:
Wonder if this thing has any real value.
Anyone know how many of them were produced ?
I was over at the thrift store today, and saw a Sanyo MBC 555 and the
monitor for $1.91 each; don't know if it had a keyboard or not. I have
three of them here along with keyboards, and two monitors.
16 Feb
16 Feb
4:47 a.m.
New subject: Sanyo 550
At 11:11 AM 2/15/99 -0500, Phil wrote:
Purchased a Sanyo MBC 550 today at the local thrift for
$3.50..
Then you paid about $3.50 too much!
Just the CPU, no monitor or Keyboard..
OOPS! The keyboard is special, only the Sanyo one will work on the 550.
Haven't really tested it yet, but I did power it up
with no monitor or
keyboard
and it tried to access drive A:
Wonder if this thing has any real value.
Only as a low point in the developement of IBM clones.
Anyone know how many of them were produced ?
Lots and lots and lots. I used to see them all over.
Joe
Phil..
17 Feb
17 Feb
12:05 a.m.
New subject: Sanyo 550
Phil Clayton wrote:
Purchased a Sanyo MBC 550 today at the local thrift
for $3.50..
Just the CPU, no monitor or Keyboard..
Haven't really tested it yet, but I did power it up with no monitor or keyboard
and it tried to access drive A:
That was $3.50 too much.
Wonder if this thing has any real value.
Nope, as you've probably been told by now.
Anyone know how many of them were produced ?.
Billions of those junkers. There was a Sanyo specific magazine out by Falsoft
Publishuing near Louisville, KY some years ago called Soft Sector, that's what a
terrific machine it was (YUK). Without a keyboard you are *screwed*. It uses a
proprietary keyboard that has no ALT key. Real piece of crap (for lack of a better
word in public). Maybe you got $3.50 worth with the floppy drive anyway.
13 Feb
13 Feb
5:11 p.m.
On Sat, 13 Feb 1999, Zane H. Healy wrote:
I also found two very interesting floppy disks, I
think I reconginze them,
but can't remember the name of the computer I think they go to. They're
Amsoft CF-2 Compact Floppy disc's. They're double sided for single sided
floppy disk drives. They measure 3 9/10" x 3 1/10" x 1/5". Both are in
protective hard plastic cases and the one is still in the shrink wrap!
Amsoft disks were distributed by Amstrad for their various computers. I
have an Amstrad PCW9512 and PCW8256. Both were marketed in the U.S. as
word processors/computers. I have several 3" compact floppies with CP/M
and Wordstar.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Always hasslin' the man.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 01/15/99]
14 Feb
14 Feb
2:51 a.m.
At 07:19 PM 2/13/99 -0800, you wrote:
I was out doing a little junking and ran across a
interesting little ROM
Pack. It is a Tektronix "4052 Character and Symbol" pack (C) 1981. Am I
correct in assuming that it is for a Tek terminal?
Zane, have you been scrounging at Paxton's again? That's plug in ROM
for a Tektronix 4052 computer.. I have a Tektronix 4051. I don't know if
that will work on mine or not but I'd like to grab it if you don't need it.
Joe
10:07 a.m.
Zane, have you been scrounging at Paxton's
again? That's plug in ROM
for a Tektronix 4052 computer.. I have a Tektronix 4051. I don't know if
that will work on mine or not but I'd like to grab it if you don't need it.
Nope, Goodwill believe it or not. You're the second person to want it,
haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not. Of course if a trade I
can't pass up comes along....
Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh(a)aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh(a)holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.dragonfire.net/~healyzh/ |
2:50 p.m.
At 01:07 PM 2/14/99 -0800, you wrote:
That's Ok. I doubt it'll work in my 4051 so I'll let the other guy have
it. Let me know if you find any other Tektronix computr parts.
Joe
Zane, have
you been scrounging at Paxton's again? That's plug in ROM
for a Tektronix 4052 computer.. I have a Tektronix 4051. I don't know if
that will work on mine or not but I'd like to grab it if you don't need it.
Nope, Goodwill believe it or not. You're the second person to want it,
haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not. Of course if a trade I
can't pass up comes along....
10:33 a.m.
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2:38 p.m.
At 07:19 PM 2/13/99 -0800, you wrote:
I was out doing a little junking and ran across a
interesting little ROM
Pack. It is a Tektronix "4052 Character and Symbol" pack (C) 1981. Am I
correct in assuming that it is for a Tek terminal?
Part of my haul this weekend was a 1982 and a 1983 Tektronix catalogs.
Here's the description of the ROM from the 1982 one.
"(4052 and 4054 only)" "Generates high resolution stroked characters
that can be scaled, rotated and slanted to the user's specifications. In
addition to the over one hundred standard characters, users can construct
unique custom characters. The degree of smoothness is selectable for quick
screen previews before final plotter copy. Addtitional commands are
provided to extend Dynamic Graphic capabilities."
Did you happen to get a manual for it? It's useless unless you can find one.
Joe
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