13 Nov
2007
13 Nov
'07
6:06 p.m.
Subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil
DevelopmentSystem
From: JP Hindin <jplist2007 at kiwigeek.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:03:04 -0600 (CST)
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Snippage>>>>>
The next is a 'Rex Microcomputer System', model REX-1032, "Manufactured by
Realistic Controls Corporation of Davenport, Iowa". I'm guessing this is a
kit computer that's been put together by this local company, but "Rex
Micrcomputer" gets me nothing via google and breaking it down gives me
screeds of irrelevancies. The machine has a Z80 microprocessor, although
it might have another (ala Rainbow) and I just haven't dug far enough.
REX was late like 1979 to early 80s not later than 1985 time frame.
They were not seen around my travels and I wondered if they were really
vaporware. It's a Z80 CP/M crate. More like Robin not Rainbow.
The last is quite a beasty, weighing plenty thanks to
its significantly
hefty linear power supply. Intersil Development System, ISB 80DS 3020-120.
Got six apparently serial ports on the back with what I think is a console
cable hanging out one side. What I like best is the socket mounted in the
front plate for reading/writing 24 pin DIP chips. Two 8" drives with
diskettes in them, God only knows if they're still good after sitting out
for this long.
Likely a 6100 (PDP-8 in cmos) powered deveopment system though they
sold 1802, 80c85 and 80C88 too.
With some TLC they sould still run if rust or corrosion are not evident.
Allison
14 Nov
14 Nov
2:18 p.m.
On Tue, 13 Nov 2007, Allison wrote:
Now THAT interests me. When I was flipping through boards in the Intersil
I did find a Z80 - so I assumed it was Z80 powered, but I suppose it's
plausible it would use the Z80 for something else. How would I determine
this? I know _zip_ about Intersil.
REX was late like 1979 to early 80s not later than
1985 time frame.
They were not seen around my travels and I wondered if they were really
vaporware. It's a Z80 CP/M crate. More like Robin not Rainbow.
I managed to find a little more on the Rex not long after I posted to the
list, naturally. I haven't got any 5.25" CP/M disks immediately handy -
except for my C128, which I'm imagining isn't going to be of much use.
Finding some should be too hard.
The last is quite a beasty, weighing plenty thanks
to its significantly
hefty linear power supply. Intersil Development System, ISB 80DS 3020-120.
Got six apparently serial ports on the back with what I think is a console
cable hanging out one side. What I like best is the socket mounted in the
front plate for reading/writing 24 pin DIP chips. Two 8" drives with
diskettes in them, God only knows if they're still good after sitting out
for this long.
Likely a 6100 (PDP-8 in cmos) powered deveopment system though they
sold 1802, 80c85 and 80C88 too. With some TLC they sould still run if rust or
corrosion are not evident.
I didn't get any OS disks with the Victor, although I know it runs MSDOS
I'm not sure how the disks are formatted. I tried with a random diskette
labelled "MSDOS" and didn't get any joy - but the machine appeared to
power up and gave me an adorable little graphic of a floppy disk that
blinked, presumably indicating no OS diskette - a good sign it's in some
kind of working shape :)
Does anyone out there have a Victor/Sirius with OS diskettes they might be
able to clone for me?
Muchas gracias!
15 Nov
15 Nov
12:30 a.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and IntersilDevelopmentSystem
JP Hindin wrote:
On Tue, 13 Nov 2007, Allison wrote:
Likely a 6100 (PDP-8 in cmos) powered deveopment
system though they
sold 1802, 80c85 and 80C88 too.
Now THAT interests me. When I was flipping through boards in the Intersil
I did find a Z80 - so I assumed it was Z80 powered, but I suppose it's
plausible it would use the Z80 for something else. How would I determine
this? I know _zip_ about Intersil.
Intersil was an early manufacturer/proponent of LSI CMOS and very-low-power
stuff, starting IIRC ~mid/late 70's. Along with the 6100 they made chips like
LCD drivers, single-chip A/D converters/display drivers for DVMs,
very-low-power voltage
regulators and CMOS op amps, etc.
I think their technological/market peak could be said to have been in the
early/mid-80s, after which their specialty/niche became more commonplace in
chip design. I haven't looked into what became of the company.
7:01 p.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil DevelopmentSystem
--- JP Hindin <jplist2007 at kiwigeek.com> wrote:
I didn't get any OS disks with the Victor,
although
I know it runs MSDOS
I'm not sure how the disks are formatted. I tried
with a random diskette
labelled "MSDOS" and didn't get any joy - but the
machine appeared to
power up and gave me an adorable little graphic of a
floppy disk that
blinked, presumably indicating no OS diskette - a
good sign it's in some
kind of working shape :)
Does anyone out there have a Victor/Sirius with OS
diskettes they might be
able to clone for me?
Muchas gracias!
NO. Absolutely not. I've had Vics and even a Vicky
for over ~1.5 years now, but haven't booted a one yet.
There are those that can help you on here (not me!).
We're working on swapping rom images at the moment
(unless I'm too far out of the loop).
Be advised the Vic formats a DD disk to about
1.2megs, so it is a highly proprietary format. And
even the DOS is customized for it's hardware. Good
luck pal!! Heh heh.
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16 Nov
16 Nov
12:39 a.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil DevelopmentSystem
On 15 Nov 2007 at 16:01, Chris M wrote:
Be advised the Vic formats a DD disk to about
1.2megs, so it is a highly proprietary format. And
even the DOS is customized for it's hardware. Good
luck pal!! Heh heh.
Well, it's best cloned by someone with a Sirius/Victor. IIRC, the
drive is CLV and was pretty much sui generis. I've got a Victor 9000
boot disk that *maybe* could be cloned using the Catweasel, but I've
never tried to do it.
Cheers,
Chuck
3:05 p.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil DevelopmentSystem
--- Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 15 Nov 2007 at 16:01, Chris M wrote:
Do you have a Catweasel? Why not try it? Or else you
or someone else should ship it to someone who has one.
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Be advised the Vic formats a DD disk to about
1.2megs, so it is a highly proprietary format. And
even the DOS is customized for it's hardware. Good
luck pal!! Heh heh.
Well, it's best cloned by someone with a
Sirius/Victor. IIRC, the
drive is CLV and was pretty much sui generis. I've
got a Victor 9000
boot disk that *maybe* could be cloned using the
Catweasel, but I've
never tried to do it.
5:41 p.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil DevelopmentSystem
On 16 Nov 2007 at 12:05, Chris M wrote:
Do you have a Catweasel? Why not try it? Or else you
or someone else should ship it to someone who has one.
I have several. The problem is that I don't have a Victor
9000/Sirius box. So if I copy one, I have no independent way to
determine if the copy is correct.
Cheers,
Chuck
17 Nov
17 Nov
10:28 a.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000, Rex Microcomputer and Intersil DevelopmentSystem
Oi you could mail it to someone
--- Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 16 Nov 2007 at 12:05, Chris M wrote:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better sports nut! Let your teams follow you
with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/sports;_ylt=At9_qDKvtAbMuh1G1SQtBI7ntAcJ
Do you have a Catweasel? Why not try it? Or else
you
or someone else should ship it to someone who has
one.
I have several. The problem is that I don't have a
Victor
9000/Sirius box. So if I copy one, I have no
independent way to
determine if the copy is correct.
Cheers,
Chuck
16 Nov
16 Nov
7:18 p.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000,
Be advised the Vic formats a DD disk to about
1.2megs, so it is a highly proprietary format. And
The Sirius/Victor 9000 disk controller is _strange_. Not suprisingly,
giving its origins, the data circuitry is very similar ot that in a
Commodore 8050 or similar, it is, of course, a GCR encoded unit.
The data rate is constant (unlike an 8050), but the spindle speed changes
(I thrink there are 16 possible speeds), giving an apporxximation to CLV
recording as the head moves to different tracks. There are more sectors
packed onto the outer tracks than the inner ones.
even the DOS is customized for it's hardware. Good
That is not suprising. About the only thing that's common between a
Sirius and an IBM PC is the processor.
IIRC, the Sirius could run (at least) MS-DOS, CP/M-86 and the UCSD P-system.
-tony
17 Nov
17 Nov
10:30 a.m.
New subject: "Barn" finds - Victor 9000,
--- Tony Duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
IIRC, the Sirius could run (at least) MS-DOS,
CP/M-86 and the UCSD P-system.
Likely. And IINM there was a mention of a UNIX
variant available for it. I also saw something, maybe
an advert to that effect also. Could be that it was
vaporware though...
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9 comments
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participants (6)
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ajp166＠bellatlantic.net -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
cclist＠sydex.com -
chrism3667＠yahoo.com -
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jplist2007＠kiwigeek.com