More on the Compupro - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

24 Jun 1999

I've been watching this thread with some interest, as I'm curious how large
a board with 512Kbytes in 4116's would be.  I've got some boards downstairs
which have sites for 288 4116's on each.  That's 576KB, though it's
organized as 64-bit words with off-board SECDED which makes it 512 KBytes
with correction.  These boards are about 15"x22" which is quite a bit large
for any of my S-100 boxes.  The compupro boys often were fairly ambitious
with their "features" and may have planned a different
jumpering/multiplexing scheme for the power, addresses, etc, which were
different once the 64K parts became available.  However, considering what it
took to make a memory board, even 64K parts would have left it a difficult
task to fit all those DRAMs on the board, considering 1982 or so technology.

I worked on a board from "little machines, inc" in '80 or so, which had on
it about 250 IC's including some of the first sipps I ever saw on one side
of the board (Multibus-1) and about 1000 passives and discretes on the other
side.  I think the combined RAM on the board came up to 512K, though the
parts with which you could do that were not available.  That board used
every modern LSI and space-preservation strategy available at the time, yet
was truly 10 pounds of SH*T in a 5-pound bag.  The Godbout boys were really
not inclined to use the most costly technology available.  Hence, I doubt
the CompuPro board in question held 512K of 4116's.

The question remains, "What is it?"

Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Don Maslin &lt;donm(a)cts.com&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Thursday, June 24, 1999 12:01 AM
Subject: RE: More on the Compupro

...
 On Wed, 23 Jun 1999, Arfon Gryffydd wrote:

  1. 
"Disk n" disk controllers, n=1, 1A, 1B, 2, 3, or 4.
2.  "CPU nn" CPU cards, nn=85/88, Z, etc.
3.  "Interfacer n" I/O boards, n=1 to 4
4.  "System Support" boards, with real time clock, console port, etc.
5.  "RAM nn" boards, nn usually greater than 16. 
  On a more
serious note, I looked inside and there was:
 A Z-80 cpu card.
 2 cards with 512K on them and were labled Disk something. 
Well, then, these are your disk controller(s).  The "something" that
comes after Disk is very important in identifying them!

The "512K" sounds like a Compupro board etch identifier, but I just
looked over my Compupro Disk 1's, 1A's, Disk 2's, and Disk 3's, and
none of them say 512K.  Maybe it's a Disk 1B?  Disk 4? 
 Nope... I suspected RAM disc cards because 512K is the AMOUNT of RAM I
 counted (a board covered w/ 4116s).  And there were no connectors to the
 boards other than the card edge.
 There are two of these mystery boards. 
SemiDisk, perhaps?
 - don

>
> >> A wire wrapped (home-brew looking) card that looks like the 8" drive
> >>interface.
> >
> >What makes you think that it's the 8" drive interface?  Look for the
50-pin
...
   cable coming from the drive box and figure out where
it's going. 
 Uh,I thought it was the drive interface because it had a 50pin cable
 comming off it that matched the 50pin connection to the 8" drives box.

   Another
card covered with 6116 Ram chips. 
32 6116's gives you 64Kbytes, a comfortable amount for running CP/M-80.
Your description matches that of the Compupro RAM17, though lots of
of other manufacturers made similar boards that might be in your system. 
 Yep, that sounds right.

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