> I picked up a Compupro 816 computer yesterday and an external drive unit
>with a hard drive and an 8" floppy drive. I haven't brought it home yet so
>I haven't taken more than a quick look at it. Can anyone tell be about the
>computer and drive? What CPU, speed, etc. What kind of operating system it
>uses, etc.
If it's using the same CPU's it shipped with, it has a 8085A and a
8088A on a 85/88 CPU board. Speed is 2 or 5 MHz, depending on what
the big red switch labeled "SPEED" on the CPU board is set at.
Of course, it's a S-100 box, so just about anything could have been
dropped in at either the factory (special-order), the Compupro dealer,
or by the end user.
Typically the system either ran CP/M-80, CP/M-86, or a special
Compupro version that was basically CP/M-86 but would also run 8-bit
executables on the 8085.
There were many aftermarket CPU's available, some with 80286's on them
and 8 MHz Z-80's, that were commonly dropped into Compupro chassis.
> I don't see a keyboard or video connectors so I assume it needs
>a terminal to talk to it.
Very likely, yes. Most likely, it has a System Support 1 board
with console serial port, clock, and interrupt controllers. But there
are lots of other ways to set up a S-100 system.
> Does any have a pinout of the serial port so I
>can make a terminal cable.
Look for a 25-pin cable from the System Support 1. It's plain old
RS-232. Depending on which OS and version you run, and how it was
generated, you might need to assert DTR.
> What size is the hard and floppy drives
You tell us :-). A Compupro 816 most likely shipped with a Qume
Datatrack DSDD 8" floppy drive, a bit over a Megabyte, most likely
hooked to a Disk 1 (or 1A or 1B or 1C) controller in the S-100 chassis.
The hard drive is likely a MFM drive, anywhere between 5 and 30 Megabytes,
hooked to a Disk 3. Again, just about anything was orderable/configurable.
> does
>the floppy drive use hard sectored disks, etc etc, etc.
Almost certainly soft-sectored disks.
> I noticed that
>there are connectors for both a 5.25" and an 8" floppy drives and another
>for a hard drive on the back of the CPU box. Does anyone have a manual or
>the OS software for one of these?
Sure. I bought out the last Canadian Compupro dealer while I was in
Vancouver and have manuals, configuration software, etc. Let us know
what's *in* your box and you'll get more details.
--
Tim Shoppa Email: shoppa_at_trailing-edge.com
Trailing Edge Technology WWW: http://www.trailing-edge.com/
7328 Bradley Blvd Voice: 301-767-5917
Bethesda, MD, USA 20817 Fax: 301-767-5927
Received on Sat May 08 1999 - 11:36:18 BST