EXO Corporation singleboard?

From: Frank McConnell <fmc_at_reanimators.org>
Date: Sun Jun 28 11:44:02 1998

A couple of weeks ago someone thrust this bag into my hands and
suggested that I find out about it. In the finest tradition of
getting the 'net to do my homework for me, I did a few web searches
that gave me a lot of false leads and no real info, and now I'm
pestering y'all.

So what's in the bag? It's a Z80 singleboard, 4 15/16" x 6 3/4"
(12.6cm x 17.1 cm for you metric-threaded folks). Legends in the
component-side traces include an "EXO corporation" logo, "(C) 1982"
(where (C) is the C-in-circle copyright symbol), and "1010A" which I
guess is a part or model number. There's a terminal strip off to one
side which I am guessing (from the ICs and a little bit of
follow-the-traces that is about the limit of my know-how) is intended
to be connections for power, interrupt lines, and a serial port. And
there are three 34-pin (2x17) plugs in about the middle of the board.

Significant ICs would seem to be an SGS Z80A, a National 2716 EPROM,
nine Hitachi HM4864P-2, Zilog Z8410A (DMA) and Z8440A (SIO/O),
National MC1489P and two TI SN101057 on the way to that terminal
strip, and a couple of what I guess are some sort of programmable
logic in 20-pin DIPs whose markings have been removed so that "(C)
1981... EXO SYS. CORP." can be stamped on top.

Anybody know what this is, or anything about the company, or any
better places to look? I'm guessing "singleboard for control system"
but that is pretty much outside my know-how.

And how did I get into this fix? I suspect it's karmic payback for
something I said a couple hours before at the Foothill swap meet.
Someone showed me a 68000 singleboard (not too different) and I said
something like "once upon a time I'd have found that a really neat
hacker toy, now I don't think I have time for it." There's clues in
here somewhere, but I don't think I've figured out which ones I'm
supposed to pay attention to.

-Frank McConnell
Received on Sun Jun 28 1998 - 11:44:02 BST