HP 21mx/whatever processor works with doublesided key... i forgot model#

[COURYHOUSE at aol.com]

NOPE NOT A BIG  RTE PERSON -  BUT  YES THERE  WOULD  BE  MULTI  SERIAL 
BOARDS IN SOME INCOMING PROCESSORS 
 
RAN IT  ONCE AND PLAYED  WITH IT...
BROKE 1000 SYSTEMS   DOWN AND SOLD THE  PIECES.  THE  ONLY SYSTEMS THAT WE  
SUPPORTED SOFTWARE WISE  WERE  F   AND  THEN  ACCESS
 
 
THIS   21 WHATEVER   IS THE SKINNY ONE! DOUBLE  SIDED  KEY -  AND IF I 
REMEMBER WILL YANK IT UP OFF THE FLOOR IN  MY OFFICE TOMORROW  AND SEE THE  #  
BUT    SUSPECT   2108 AS  
 
ABOUT  ALL I REMEMBER LIKING ABOUT IT WAS IT  HAD THE BOOT   BUILT IN 
,GRIN!.
 
WHAT I DID NOT  LIKE WAS  IT WAS NOT  CORE MEMORY.
 
SURE  WERE FUN  TIMES... 
 
ALTHOUGH THERE WAS ALWAYS A FOND  SPOT  FOR THE 21XX  STUFF...  I  GOT 
REALLY OCCUPIED  WITH THE 3000 AS A   COMPUTER THAT I WOULD  REALLY USE.  IN THE 
 EARLY  DAYS  OF  RUNNING  THE  ACCESS THOUGH  WHAT  GREAT   FUN  AND  THE 
100 BOARD  BBS/MULTI USER CHAT/VOTE AND  POL/EMAIL  AND MOST  GAMES WE DID  
GOT MOVED TO THE   3000.
 
ED - WHOSE KEYBOARD THINKS IT IS AN ASR 35 TELETYPE SO THAT IS HOW THE  
REST  OF THE MESSAGE  GOT  FININSHED
 
 
In a message dated 10/20/2017 7:37:48 A.M. US Mountain Standard Time,  
jwest at classiccmp.org writes:

Ed  wrote...
------
HP 21mx/whatever   processor    works  with double  sided  key... (I forgot 
 
model#)
------
Given the way you phrased it, the correct replacement  for 'whatever' is M
series. E and F never used the double sided  key.
However, even that is not entirely correct. Older M's used the double  sided
key. Later M's used the single sided key that is the same as the E  and F.

And....
-------
It has ... of all things  3   tty  boards in it? what  is  with that? Multi
user  without  a  mux?
-------
Didn't you sell and support these  things in a prior life? It was always far
more common to see the 21MX  machines with 'discrete' tty boards rather than
muxes. There were only two  mux boards, the one in 2000/Access which was 
very
uncommon as far as 21mx's  go... and the one that RTE commonly used which 
was
also not super common to  find in the wild. If you had a mux board, then I
would have been a bit  surprised. Multiple tty boards? Not surprised, that
was the far more common  thing.... more often than not, the 21mx's weren't
really used/targeted for  multiuser (except 2000 TSB of course). RTE did
multiuser well, but... still  was probably most often used in situations 
that
really didn't require it.  Mux's weren't super common.

And....
--------
Has  2   memory boards   think I  remember   64k  total.
--------
64kb or 64kw? Remember, the M.E.M. option is required to  support more than
32kw. On the M, MEM was optional. I believe it was  standard on E & F.

And...
-------
need to  find a   paper tape  basic   to   play   with.
-------
There are plenty of those floating around. Google is your  friend... I think
MU-BASIC may have been the one I heard people using? See  below for a better
option....

And...
------
Any other   advice?
------
You should probably start by reading an introduction to  the 21MX to get 
some
basic background on the machines...
Go to:  http://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?hwdoc=108
You should start with  02108-90004 followed by 02108-90002

Finally - for you (and anyone else)  that has just a cpu or a cpu and 
minimal
peripherals, the best thing you  can use to play with the machine is Terry
Newtons HP-IPL/OS.
See  http://www.infionline.net/~wtnewton/oldcomp/hp2100/  and
http://newton.freehostia.com/net/hpiplos.html
Yes, you can run BASIC  like you mention above. But it is a very well done
"Forth-like" system that  is well developed/flushedout. So in addition to
BASIC, you get  oh-so-many-wonderful-things. I very highly recommend that
anyone messing  with 21mx/1000 systems take a good look at  HP-IPL/OS.

Best,

J