Wang Thang

From: Doug Spence <ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca>
Date: Sat Jun 27 07:19:00 1998

On Fri, 26 Jun 1998, Don Maslin wrote:

> Cannot help on the pinouts, but I think their monitor connector was
> unique. You need to boot it with Wang disks. They are in PC format,
> but the DOS is different. I have a set that I can copy when you get
> video going.

Great! I'll get various Kaypro stuff from you at the same time. ;)

Do you know what the monitor connector looks like? The only possibilities
are the DIN plugs on the back of the IBM Emulator card. Unless the
monitor was some kind of terminal that attached to the serial port.

The 8-pin DIN plug has a little symbol next to it which might represent a
CRT. (It looks kind of like a pie slice.)

> As I recall, the IBM Emulator board really hacks the WangDOS to be more
> like PCDOS and it will then run many - but not all - PCDOS programs.

Pretty big hack. A whole PC could fit on a card half that size. :)

> Don't believe the D-subs on the back are for monitor and keyboard, but it
> may be a different board than I ever saw.

Well, I don't know where else to put a monitor. The Wang keyboard plugs
into the 4-pin DIN socket connected to the machine's motherboard, I can
only guess what the other things are for. I'm just scratching my head
trying to figure out how to get a picture from the thing.

> > The sticker on the side (top) of the machine says it's a PC-002, but the
> > sticker on the back says it's a PC-P002.
> >
> > The keyboard has a lot of word processing functions on it.
>
> That is what Wang really got established in.

Too bad the keyboard doesn't have the greatest feel. And some of the keys
are in the wrong places, but that's a holy war I don't want to get into.
;)

> > Anyway, I haven't opened it up yet, or done anything with it but look at
> > it. Disassembly looks like it might be difficult, because I have to slip
> > the innards through the full length metal sleeve. I won't be up to that
> > until my arms recover. I've even got bruises and some kind of blood
> > blisters or something, from carrying that thing. :/
>
> Stand it up on its face and lift the cover off. Everything inside is in
> a heavy guage wire frame.

Yeah, it took me a few minutes to figure it out, but it opened up easily
once I decided to pull from the back instead of the front. :)

> - don

Doug Spence
ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca
http://alcor.concordia.ca/~ds_spenc/
Received on Sat Jun 27 1998 - 07:19:00 BST

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