Info wanted (lots)

From: Captain Napalm <spc_at_armigeron.com>
Date: Mon Feb 2 20:47:15 1998

(Man, is it weird to be using a 2400 modem to reply to this. "Why are you
using a 2400 modem?" you might ask. Good question. Answer: bad weather
(rain and lots of it) and crummy phone lines. I felt it was easier to hook
up the 2400 than to figure out how to reset my 28.8 not to attempt to
connect at 28.8 ... man have I gotten spoiled 8-)

It was thus said that the Great Uncle Roger once stated:
>
> I've started scanning photos of my collection, and want to build the web
> pages for each machine. Unfortunately, I don't know everything about all
> of them; so I'm asking for help. Here are the machines I've scanned so far:
>
> Data General One
>
  Hmm, seeing how I have one of these, plus the programmer's manual and some
of the add ons. A nice machine and one of the best keyboards ever (IMNSHO)
on a portable/laptop.

> I'm looking for any info, specs, anecdotes, whatever you might know of
> regarding these machines. Specifically, the specs I want to list (and I'm
> open for suggestions on other info) include:
>
{mfr} Data General
{location} Mass. if I remember correctly. Or at least their main HQ
{model} 2217A
{processor} 4Mhz 80C88
{opsys} MS-DOS 2.1, CP/M-86 (version unknown)
{bits-int} 16b
{bits-data} 8b
{ram-min} 128Kb (48Kb reserved for display)
{ram-max} 512Kb (internal, 48Kb for display, 464Kb for program/data,
                        external, an additional 364Kb is possible)
{rom} 32Kb
{input} keyboard, serial port, floppy (2 3.5" internal, external
                drives possible with expansion port), expansion port (opt)
                300b internal modem (opt)
{display} 640x256 LCD display, non-back lit (compatible with CGA)
{stor-cas} none (or N/A)
{stor-fdd} up to 2 internal 3.5", external with expansion port
                (5.25" available from DG, not sure about 3.5" external)
{stor-hdd} none (at least to my knowledge)
{expansion} external bus adaptor (external floppy adaptor uses this)
{intro} 1984
{discon} unknown
{cost} unknown (but I can get the info - it made the cover of Byte
                in 1984 when introduced)
{size} 11.25" x 13.5" x 3" (when folded)
{weight} unknown (but it's hefty)
{power-volt} 30W +5.8v DC
{power-conn} proprietary (unknown)
{power-polar} unknown
{notes} Two serial ports are built in, the primary is RS-232C/RS-422
                and contains modem control lines. The secondary is only
                RS-232C with no modem control lines (primary use of the
                secondary port is for serial printers). Both are driven
                by 82C51 USART controllers and are NOT PC compatible
                (bummer for an MS-DOS machine).

                RAM is 64K-bit CMOS static RAM (speed unspecified in the
                docs I have) and is not preserved when shut down. When all
                internal memory options have been installed, user has 464Kb
                to work with. An additional 368Kb (for a total of 832Kb,
                although MS-DOS would only use 704Kb) can be added via the
                external IO bus, although I know of no product that does
                this.

                The LCD display is both MDA (mono-chrome) and CGA compatible
                and 48Kb of RAM is set aside for use by the LCD display
                (including 12Kb for a RAM based font).

  -spc (What I want to know is if battery packs are still available. I'd
        like to be able to use this without having to plug it in)
Received on Mon Feb 02 1998 - 20:47:15 GMT