23 Mar
1997
23 Mar
'97
2:45 a.m.
Hello all,
Just wanted to ask if anyone out there has an Intel MDS (Microcomputer
Development System). That was the 8080-based system that Intel sold for
developers to develop hardware and software based on their
microcomptuers. It ran an operating system called ISIS-II from Intel.
An interesting point of trivia is that Gary Kildall originally developed
CP/M on the first 8080-based MDS called an Intellec 800. This system
was based on the Multibus (a bus system developed by Intel and used in
lots of industrical applications of single board comptuers). If you
happen to buy a CP/M in the generic form it would run on one of those
Intelled 800.
Anyway, anyone who would like to discuss these systems, I'm game. I
have an Intellec 800 and a Series II (the successor).
I would be interested in anyone who might have for sale a set of floppy
diskette controller boards for these systems. It is a two-board set and
I need the double density version.
Thanks.
--
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team
NACD NSS-CDS #42872
23 Mar
23 Mar
2:57 a.m.
Hello all,
Just wanted to ask if anyone out there has an Intel MDS (Microcomputer
Development System). That was the 8080-based system that Intel sold for
developers to develop hardware and software based on their
microcomptuers. It ran an operating system called ISIS-II from Intel.
Yes, I have one, and most of the manuals. The only manual I am missing (I
think) is the hardware reference for the ICE-80 in-circuit emulator for
the 8080 processor. I have the hardware (2 multibus cards + probe) for
that option.
My system contains (I think) :
8080 CPU
4 off 16K RAM cards
Bootstrap/monitor/bus controller
I/O (for tty, paper tape, prom programmer, etc)
ICE-80
Double-density floppy controller + 2 drives
UPP (Universal Prom Programmer) controlled by a 4040.
Anyway, anyone who would like to discuss these
systems, I'm game. I
have an Intellec 800 and a Series II (the successor).
Mine's the MDS800. I also have the MCS8i, which was also 8080 based, used
a custom bus, and had a full front panel. That one has 8K of RAM, (2 4K
cards), 2K ROM (in 1702s), 8080 CPU, I/O card, and 1702 programmer.
I would be interested in anyone who might have for
sale a set of floppy
diskette controller boards for these systems. It is a two-board set and
I need the double density version.
I have the double density disk controller + all the manuals, but obviously
I want to keep it.
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
8:05 a.m.
A.R. Duell wrote:
I have the ICE-80 as well, and used it many times (in the way past!).
Intel was the first company to have in-circuit emulators (I believe) and
that was the first one. It was a marvelous tool for system
development. Seemed like magic at the time.
I think the MCS8i was originally the Intellec 8. It was 8008 based, but
there was an upgrade that made it an 8080 cpu. As old as I am, that one
predates my experience. The Intellec 800 was my first development
system.
I suspect that most of them are going to be in the same situation. I'll
keep looking. Take care.
Hello all,
Just wanted to ask if anyone out there has an Intel MDS (Microcomputer
Development System). That was the 8080-based system that Intel sold for
developers to develop hardware and software based on their
microcomptuers. It ran an operating system called ISIS-II from Intel.
Yes, I have one, and most of the manuals. The only manual I am missing (I
think) is the hardware reference for the ICE-80 in-circuit emulator for
the 8080 processor. I have the hardware (2 multibus cards + probe) for
that option.
My system contains (I think) :
8080 CPU
4 off 16K RAM cards
Fairly typical system (they came with 16k but you really needed 64k to
do anything with language compilers under ISIS-II).
Bootstrap/monitor/bus controller
I/O (for tty, paper tape, prom programmer, etc)
ICE-80
Double-density floppy controller + 2 drives
UPP (Universal Prom Programmer) controlled by a 4040.
Now the UPP is a unique device. It has personality boards for many
different type of memories. There aren't too many eprom programmers out
than can do 1702s, but it is one.
Anyway, anyone who would like to discuss these
systems, I'm game. I
have an Intellec 800 and a Series II (the successor).
Mine's the MDS800. I also have the MCS8i, which was also 8080 based, used
a custom bus, and had a full front panel. That one has 8K of RAM, (2 4K
cards), 2K ROM (in 1702s), 8080 CPU, I/O card, and 1702 programmer. I would be
interested in anyone who might have for sale a set of floppy
diskette controller boards for these systems. It is a two-board set and
I need the double density version.
I have the double density disk controller + all the manuals, but obviously
I want to keep it. --
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
--
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team
NACD NSS-CDS #42872
8:13 a.m.
I have the ICE-80 as well, and used it many times (in
the way past!).
Intel was the first company to have in-circuit emulators (I believe) and
I'd _love_ an ICE-3000 (or whatever it's called) - the one for the
3000-series bit-slice chips.
Do you happen to have any manuals on the ICE-80? I got all the other
manuals for my system, but those, and the ICE-80 probe were missing. The
probe turned up in a clearout 2 years later (!), but the manuals were
never found.
UPP (Universal
Prom Programmer) controlled by a 4040.
Now the UPP is a unique device. It has personality boards for many different type of memories. There aren't too many
eprom programmers out
than can do 1702s, but it is one.
I don't have the 1702 personality board, but then my MCS8i can do 1702's,
so it's no real problem...
Mine's the
MDS800. I also have the MCS8i, which was also 8080 based, used
a custom bus, and had a full front panel. That one has 8K of RAM, (2 4K
cards), 2K ROM (in 1702s), 8080 CPU, I/O card, and 1702 programmer.
I think the MCS8i was originally the Intellec 8. It was 8008 based, but there was an upgrade that made it an 8080 cpu. As old
as I am, that one
predates my experience. The Intellec 800 was my first development
system.
I bought my MCS8i at a radio rally (hamfest). It was a choice between that
and an Altair. I personally think I bought the more interesting machine...
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
1:10 p.m.
A.R. Duell wrote:
Never knew there was one of those.
Indeed. I think I have the 2708, 2716 and 8748 (!) personality boards. I
have the 2 24 pin sockets on the front (alas - the 16 and 24 pin pair
would probably have been more useful).
The personality boards contain the 4001 ROMs containing the programming
code for the particular EPROM.
That was another one of those boards prone to failure. Too much analog
stuff I suppose. Tough to keep it in cal.
Indeed it was. It says Intellec 8 on the front, but I seem to recall that
MCS8i is written on it somewhere. I think mine was built as an 8080 system
(The date codes on the CPU board are not much later than those on all the
other boards, for example), rather than being upgraded.
Indeed you did! Altairs are everywhere! You have the machine that
likely the Altair was designed with!!!
--
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team
NACD NSS-CDS #42872
I have the ICE-80 as well, and used it many times
(in the way past!).
Intel was the first company to have in-circuit emulators (I believe) and
I'd _love_ an ICE-3000 (or whatever it's called) - the one for the
3000-series bit-slice chips. Do you happen to have any manuals on the ICE-80? I got
all the other
manuals for my system, but those, and the ICE-80 probe were missing. The
probe turned up in a clearout 2 years later (!), but the manuals were
never found.
I'll check. Might just have them.
UPP (Universal Prom Programmer) controlled by a 4040.
Now the UPP is a unique device. It has personality boards for many different type of memories. There aren't too
many eprom programmers out
than can do 1702s, but it is one.
I don't have the 1702 personality board, but then my MCS8i can do 1702's,
so it's no real problem... Mine's the MDS800. I also have the MCS8i, which
was also 8080 based, used
a custom bus, and had a full front panel. That one has 8K of RAM, (2 4K
cards), 2K ROM (in 1702s), 8080 CPU, I/O card, and 1702 programmer.
I think the MCS8i was originally the Intellec 8. It was 8008 based, but there was an upgrade that made it an 8080 cpu.
As old as I am, that one
predates my experience. The Intellec 800 was my first development
system.
I bought my MCS8i at a radio rally (hamfest). It was a choice between that
and an Altair. I personally think I bought the more interesting machine...
8:21 p.m.
A.R. Duell wrote:
[...]
I'd _love_
an ICE-3000 (or whatever it's called) - the one for the
3000-series bit-slice chips.
Never knew there was one of those. I don't
have the 1702 personality board, but then my MCS8i can do 1702's,
so it's no real problem...
That was another one of those boards prone to failure. Too much analog
stuff I suppose. Tough to keep it in cal. Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
24 Mar
24 Mar
1:21 a.m.
New subject: To Digest Commands?
Thanks for offering the disccussion group in digest form. The many
messages each day were often too much to "digest" :-)
What commands do I need to send and where do I need to send them to set
my subscription to a digest?
8:38 a.m.
New subject: To Digest Commands?
Thanks for offering the disccussion group in digest
form. The many
messages each day were often too much to "digest" :-)
What commands do I need to send and where do I need to send them to set
my subscription to a digest?
Read the highlighted section below:
ClassicCmp Regular Posting
Mailing Lists and How to Talk to the List Robot
This message is posted with frequency proportional to
subscription rate (or monthly).
Mailing List Basics
A mailing list is a simple device which takes an e-mail and
redistributes it to a group of people. People can add and
remove themselves from the distribution list by Subscribing
and Unsubscribing. When you send a message to the list, it
is first examined by the robot for key words that tell it
to process an automatic funtion (like help, subscribe,
unsubscribe, etc). If the message does not contain a keyword
it is sent to the distribution list.
How to Talk to the Robot
There are a few List Processor commands that you might
want to
use. To send a command to the list processor, write a message
to listproc(a)u.washington.edu. In the body of the message (not
the subject line, that is) write one of the following commands.
Then send the message.
SET CLASSICCMP MAIL ACK
Tells the robot to send you a copy of messages you
write to the list. This is the default.
SET CLASSICCMP MAIL NOACK
Tells the robot NOT to send you a copy of messages
you write to the list. I don't recommend this.
SET CLASSICCMP MAIL DIGEST
Tells the robot to send you a digest of messages
rather than each as it is posted. With this option
you will get a weekly bundle of messages and keep
a nice, tidy in-box.
SUBSCRIBE CLASSICCMP Your.Address
Subscribes you to the list.
UNSUBSCRIBE CLASSICCMP Your.Address
Removes you from the list.
That's the basics. If you need to know more just drop me
a line at bcw(a)u.washington.edu.
Bill Whitson
ClassicCmp "owner"
bcw(a)u.washington.edu bill(a)booster.u.washington.edu
1:55 a.m.
New subject: Computers I have known
Well Here goes my list of computers I have owned over the years since
1983.
I may miss some, but here goes.
Owned and resold:
Timex/Sinclair ZX-81 and 2068, with Printer
Atari 400, 800, 800XL, Various Drives and Access.
NEC APC with 2 -8" Drives
Epson QX-10, QX 16
Cromemco C-10
Burroughs B??
Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 16
Eagle IIE
Televideo
Radio Shack Model 3, 4
Coloco Adam
XT Clone with 20 Meg. H. Drive
Still own:
Epson HX-20 (non working battery)
Epson Geneva Px-8
Tandy Model 102, and WP-1 (Word Processor)
Casio PB-700 (Pocket computer with Printer/Cassette Adaptor)
Kaypro 2X, 4
Tandy CoCo computers, 2, 3, Originals, Various Drives and Access.
Tandy 1000 TL-3
Tandy 1000 SL
AT&T 6300
Otrona Attache (2 Nonworking)
Dynologic Hyperion (Portable MS-DOS machine)
Intertec Superbrain QD, (2)
AST Adventure DX2-50
ACER Acros 486DX-33
586-133 Clone machine
The Best and Worst?
Best Keyboards, The Tandy 1000SL, TL-3.
Worst Keyboard - Timex Sinclait ZX-81 and COCO's
Best Support - Kaypro's
Worst Support and Software availability - NEC APC
Wierdest Operating system - Burroughs
Wierdest hardware - Cromemco C-10 (a Monitor Box with Moterboard and
ports, separate drive boxes, and separate keyboard.)
Neatest Hardware design - Televideo (Modern Monitor Style with vertical
Floppies, one on top of another.
29 Mar
29 Mar
9:50 p.m.
New subject: Computers I have known
On Mon, 24 Mar 1997, Jeffrey G. Rottman wrote:
Eagle IIE
Is this the same Eagle that now makes Amiga tower boxes?
(BTW, it looks like Amiga is being bought by Gateway 2000.)
Dynologic Hyperion (Portable MS-DOS machine)
Hey! I saw one of these only a few weeks ago. I'm kind of sorry I
didn't pick it up. I think these were made locally (to me), in Montreal.
I of course dismissed it as "just a DOS box", which generally don't
interest me, but it'd be nice to have SOMETHING other than one of my
VIC-20s that was made in Canada.
Wierdest hardware - Cromemco C-10 (a Monitor Box with
Moterboard and
ports, separate drive boxes, and separate keyboard.)
I have the Technical Reference Manual for this one (no, I'm not selling
it. :) ). I fear that I had the chance to pick up the machine itself,
but I didn't know what the heck I was looking at. At least, I remember
there being a rather strange-looking monitor with tons of ports coming
out of it at the Salvation Army store I go to, a couple of weeks before
I found the manual (at the same store). This was before I realized how
rapidly things disappear around there... I think I picked up an Atari
800XL that day instead. <s>
The thing was... heavy. And besides there being a lot of ports coming
out of it, I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't just a terminal. The
keyboard was with it, but no disk drives.
Oh well, live and learn. :)
Doug Spence
ds_spenc(a)alcor.concordia.ca
23 Mar
23 Mar
3:11 a.m.
On Sun, 23 Mar 1997, Dave Mabry wrote:
Hello all,
An interesting point of trivia is that Gary Kildall originally developed
CP/M on the first 8080-based MDS called an Intellec 800.
Anyway, anyone who would like to discuss these systems, I'm game. I
have an Intellec 800 and a Series II (the successor).
Sure - I will discuss it!
I would be interested in anyone who might have for
sale a set of floppy
diskette controller boards for these systems. It is a two-board set and
I need the double density version.
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Uh I don't think so!
If you are *collecting* you maybe in deep trouble 8-)
If you just are *using* then I think there are other options.
Such as third-party hard and floppy controllers for the MultiBus.
BC
7:59 a.m.
Brett wrote:
There are third party controllers for the multibus, but the ISIS-II
operating system is tied to the one that Intel made. And unless the
third party ones are hardware and software compatible, they would not
work with ISIS.
I have two computer systems that use them (Intellec 800 and Series II)
and three sets of controller boards. However, two sets of the
controller boards have a failed board each. Anyway, I have one good
set, so I can run either system, just not both at the same time.
I'll keep looking. I have found these kind of things at swap meets in
the past.
--
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team
NACD NSS-CDS #42872
On Sun, 23 Mar 1997, Dave Mabry wrote:
snip...
I would be
interested in anyone who might have for sale a set of floppy
diskette controller boards for these systems. It is a two-board set and
I need the double density version.
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Uh I don't think so!
If you are *collecting* you maybe in deep trouble 8-)
If you just are *using* then I think there are other options.
Such as third-party hard and floppy controllers for the MultiBus.
BC
8:02 a.m.
I have two computer systems that use them (Intellec
800 and Series II)
and three sets of controller boards. However, two sets of the
controller boards have a failed board each. Anyway, I have one good
set, so I can run either system, just not both at the same time.
I assume it's the same board in each set :-(
What's the fault? I have schematics of that controller somewhere, so it
should be possible to fix the existing one. I have no idea where to find
the custom multibus interface chip or the 3000-series bit slice stuff any
more, but unless the same chip has failed on both boards, you might be
able to make one good one from the 2 dead ones.
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
8:16 a.m.
A.R. Duell wrote:
Yep. I've gone through many of these at work (in the 70s) and they
always fail the same board. It has lots of analog circuitry on it and I
suspect it is that part of it.
I have two computer systems that use them
(Intellec 800 and Series II)
and three sets of controller boards. However, two sets of the
controller boards have a failed board each. Anyway, I have one good
set, so I can run either system, just not both at the same time.
I assume it's the same board in each set :-( What's the fault? I have schematics of that
controller somewhere, so it
should be possible to fix the existing one. I have no idea where to find
the custom multibus interface chip or the 3000-series bit slice stuff any
more, but unless the same chip has failed on both boards, you might be
able to make one good one from the 2 dead ones.
The fault is very non-specific. When trying to boot it just returns a
disk read failure. At that point the rom monitor is the only thing in
charge and it is small. I thing it just says "error". I may try it
again so I can be more specific. When we used them at work they were on
a service contract, so I never had to mess with them. Just isolate
which board was bad.
If I get desperate I may try to fix it, but for now with one good set I
can limp along. Don't use them very often, usually just to get files
off of 8" diskettes. I also have the schematics. Thanks for the offer.
--
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
Great Lakes Maritime Institute Underwater Research Team
NACD NSS-CDS #42872
8:22 a.m.
Yep. I've gone through many of these at work (in
the 70s) and they
always fail the same board. It has lots of analog circuitry on it and I
suspect it is that part of it.
I wonder if it's something as simple as the read PLL failing to lock. That
should be easy to fix.
I have a spare of one of the boards (a mad friend gave it to me along with
some UPP personality boards), but I have no idea if it works, and anyway,
I think it's the digital board with the 3000 stuff on it.
BTW, I am working from memory here, and I've not looked at the schematics
for a couple of months, so don't be suprised if I start talking
nonsense...
The fault is very non-specific. When trying to boot
it just returns a
disk read failure. At that point the rom monitor is the only thing in
charge and it is small. I thing it just says "error". I may try it
Sure. I wondered if you'd tried doing any fault-tracing yet.
again so I can be more specific. When we used them at
work they were on
a service contract, so I never had to mess with them. Just isolate
which board was bad.
Fortunately, I've never had to battle with service contracts.
Board-swapping never seemed satisfactory to me - until you've found the
fault you can never be sure that you've swapped the right board. And if
you've found the fault you might as well solder in a new component.
Dave Mabry dmabry(a)mich.com
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
10080
days inactive
10087
days old
14 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
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ard12＠eng.cam.ac.uk -
bill＠booster.bothell.washington.edu -
classicjr＠juno.com -
danjo＠xnet.com -
dmabry＠mich.com -
ds_spenc＠alcor.concordia.ca