10 Sep
2007
10 Sep
'07
4:12 p.m.
Hi,
PE (Practical Electorncc) 'CHAMP' system, in
1977 or so. It
was built on stribboard (and IC postion layouts were given, but
you had to work out where to run the wires from the shcematic).
As was the assembly listing of the monitor ROM.
A couple of years later they produced the "System 68", a 6800 based machine
constructed on Eurocard sized PCBs (though using an edge connector rather
than a DIN-whatever connector).
IIRC circuit diagrams and PCB layouts were provided, along with a full
listing of the system monitor program. You could even buy ready made PCBs
(and kits of parts?) from a little company called "Newbury Data"....they
actually had an office a couple of miles down the road from here at the
time.
Not sure whether ETI published the PCB layout for the "Triton" (I'm pretty
sure they didn't, it was a fairly large, through hole plated PCB), but they
sure publisged the schematics and monitor listings.
Then there was the UK101.... :-)
TTFN - Pete.
10 Sep
10 Sep
4:22 p.m.
Ensor wrote:
[System 68]
IIRC circuit diagrams and PCB layouts were provided,
along with a full
listing of the system monitor program.
That latter's the important bit; there are just too many computing-related
projects in magazines of old for which the software / firmware had to be sent
away for - and of course whilst the magazines (and hence schematics) survive,
the code which they ran has typically long since gone :-(
You could even buy ready made
PCBs (and kits of parts?) from a little company called "Newbury
Data"
Hmm, that name rings a bell for some reason.
Not sure whether ETI published the PCB layout for the
"Triton" (I'm
pretty sure they didn't, it was a fairly large, through hole plated
PCB), but they sure publisged the schematics and monitor listings.
I'll have a look if I remember; I think we've got a pretty comprehensive set
of ETIs from around that period.
12 Sep
12 Sep
5:30 p.m.
Hi,
On reflection, I think they actually published a hex-dump of the system
monitor along with the schematics etc rather than a listing (though it's
possible it got published in Computing Today at a later date).
I'm pretty sure I still have a big collection of ETIs and CTs from that era
somewhere....
TTFN - Pete.
[System 68]
I first came across this myself in the mid-90s. I'd picked up a copy of
"Elektor" for the first time in almost 10 years and was surprised that they
didn't provide any listings of any form for the projects based around PICs,
you had to send away for pre-programmed parts.
I'm sure this sort of thing began much earlier though.
IIRC circuit diagrams and PCB layouts were
provided, along
with a full listing of the system monitor program.
That latter's the important bit; there are just too many
computing-related projects in magazines of old for which the
software / firmware had to be sent away for.... Not sure
whether ETI published the PCB layout for the "Triton" (I'm
pretty sure they didn't, it was a fairly large, through hole plated
PCB), but they sure publisged the schematics and monitor listings.
I'll have a look if I remember; I think we've got a pretty comprehensive
set of ETIs from around that period. 
13 Sep
13 Sep
1:03 a.m.
On Thursday 13 September 2007 01:30:39 Ensor wrote:
I first came across this myself in the mid-90s.
I'd picked up a copy of
"Elektor" for the first time in almost 10 years and was surprised that they
didn't provide any listings of any form for the projects based around PICs,
you had to send away for pre-programmed parts.
That's about when I remember seeing it happen; also with an article in
(possibly) PE&EE about building a Z80-based SBC that ran Forth.
These days when you can build a simple PIC or ATMEL programmer from a couple
of components, or buy an EPROM programmer off eBay for about a tenner,
there's not really an excuse.
Ob. on-topic: does anyone remember the Forth SBC article I was talking about,
and does a copy of it exist online anywhere?
Gordon
9:15 a.m.
On Sep 13, 2007, at 4:03 AM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
I'd like to see that too, if anyone finds it.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Farewell Ophelia, 9/22/1991 - 7/25/2007
I first came
across this myself in the mid-90s. I'd picked up a
copy of
"Elektor" for the first time in almost 10 years and was surprised
that they
didn't provide any listings of any form for the projects based
around PICs,
you had to send away for pre-programmed parts.
That's about when I remember seeing it happen; also with an article in
(possibly) PE&EE about building a Z80-based SBC that ran Forth.
These days when you can build a simple PIC or ATMEL programmer from
a couple
of components, or buy an EPROM programmer off eBay for about a tenner,
there's not really an excuse.
Ob. on-topic: does anyone remember the Forth SBC article I was
talking about,
and does a copy of it exist online anywhere? 
14 Sep
14 Sep
12:41 p.m.
On Thursday 13 September 2007 01:30:39 Ensor wrote:
Actually, Elektor have been rather better about this recently, and in a
lot of cases the _source_ code for the microcontroller firmware is
available as a free download from their web site.
Alas, in some cases (often for the projects I am most interested in :-(),
this is not the case, often becasue the author gets a royalty from each
pre-programmed chip sold.
I first came across this myself in the mid-90s.
I'd picked up a copy of
"Elektor" for the first time in almost 10 years and was surprised that they
didn't provide any listings of any form for the projects based around PICs,
you had to send away for pre-programmed parts.
That's about when I remember seeing it happen; also with an article in
(possibly) PE&EE about building a Z80-based SBC that ran Forth.
These days when you can build a simple PIC or ATMEL programmer from a couple
of components, or buy an EPROM programmer off eBay for about a tenner,
there's not really an excuse.
I suspect the reason (not an excuse...) was that they made money selling
pre-programmed chips. Certainly when you boughht the pre-programmed chip,
it came copy-protected.
Ob. on-topic: does anyone remember the Forth SBC article I was talking about,
and does a copy of it exist online anywhere?
No, and as a Forth (and stack based languages in general) lover, I would
be interested.
-tony
6312
days inactive
6316
days old
5 comments
5 participants
participants (5)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
classiccmp＠memory-alpha.org.uk -
gpearce＠curiousgroup.co.uk -
julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk -
mcguire＠neurotica.com