Laser computers from VTL

From: Doug Spence <ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca>
Date: Fri Mar 21 03:00:40 1997

On Fri, 21 Mar 1997, Stefan Walgenbach wrote:

> That sounds correct - HongKong is mentioned on the box. Maybe Video
> Technologies was a unkown name at this time. I have the 16k-Ram Expansion
> card you mention so it looks like that this announce was not completely
> vapourous ...

There's actually five complete paragraphs in the article dealing with the
VZ200 and Video Technologies Ltd. which I could type in if you're interested.
It was VTL's first computer, so indeed they may not have been well known yet.
I actually hadn't heard of them until I found my Laser 3000 in a thrift shop.

> >> I have four LASER 500 with LASER Tapes. Anyone heard of these?
> >
> > Well, obviously I haven't. :) Is the Laser 500 an Apple-compatible
> > machine, or is it something entirely different?
>
> I will check this but I this it has a Z80 ...

Well, nope, that wouldn't be Apple-compatible!

My Laser 3000 is Apple compatible. Sort of. But the thing has a very
"prototype" feel to it. There are several bugs in the BASIC, some
software decisions that weren't too bright, and when I had to open it to
fix the power supply (a wire from the socket into the PS had actually
worked loose!) I noticed what looked like hand soldering and some
"corrections" with pieces of wire going between pins of chips. Ewww! :)

Also the colour set it displays in the extended graphics modes seems to
depend on the phase of the moon. Not for the basic 8 colours, but for
"mixed" colours made with alternating pixels... something I wouldn't
normally consider "legal", but for an Apple clone is positivily
FANTASTIC! :)

Oh, there are some hardware bugs, too, dealing with the graphics modes.
And I'm not entirely convinced that the sound chip is completely accessible.

If Video Technologies always made systems like this... well, interesting,
but a bit shoddy. :)

> sorry I don't have a single line of doc for my machines.

Nor do I, but I always hope. I've made some docs of my own for the L3000.

> Does anyone know how to load a file from a tape with a LASER?

On my Laser 3000, it's done in the same way as on the Apple ][. You even
have to get into the monitor to load machine language files. I was
actually testing software on it by loading it on the Apple from disk,
finding the starting address and length, and saving to cassette. The
Laser's cassette in was connected to the Apple's cassette out, with an
amplifier between. That worked well, and quite a lot of the games I
tried worked.

A lot of my old BASIC programs didn't work, though. :/

Doug Spence
ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca
Received on Fri Mar 21 1997 - 03:00:40 GMT