HUGE additions this last week!

From: Bob Stek <bobstek_at_ix.netcom.com>
Date: Mon Mar 6 12:39:43 2000

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of John B
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 11:08 AM
To: classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
Subject: HUGE additions this last week!


Congratulations! You made a great find. Never knew the PDP line, but here
is some info on the S-100:

>S-100
>---------
>Altair 8800 , serial #80, all original MITS boards (15 boards), mostly rev
>0, 6 4K RAM boards, 1 CPU, dual floppy controller (2 boards), PROM board,
>display board? serial/rs232 board, and others I can't identify yet. It came
>with 3 boxes of Manals, many early newsletters, engineering drawings,
etc...
>and software from MITS.
>Dual Floppy 8" disk system.
>Amazingly, the 8800 is in mint condition, unmarked.
>I never really got into the 8800 hardware back then so I have no idea what
>some of the boards are...

Obviously any Altair is a find ... (drool, drool)


>Cromemco? (sp) S-100 system with manuals and software - 4 floppy drives. I
>know nothing about this unit other than it's heavy.

Cromemco (from Crother Memorial Hall - the founders' dormitory at Stanford)
started off making S-100 boards. Their 8k EPROM-burner Bytesaver was
popular with Altair and IMSAI owners, as was their TV-Dazzler (128x128 color
graphics). They then designed a 2/4 MHz switchable Z-80 CPU card which
upgraded a lot of IMSAI's. Now that the company was cooking, they started
manufacturing systems - notably the Z-2 which (as you note) is built like a
tank. Their version of CP/M was CDOS, but they were ahead of their time in
providing multi-tasking, multi-user Cromix - an 8-bit version of unix. They
went defunct around 1986 - another casualty of the PC. They were considered
the Cadillac of S-100 systems.


>Victor/Vector? Graphics S-100 computer with dual external 5 1/4" floppies,
>books, etc..

Vector Graphics started off selling 8k static memory boards and then started
selling S-100 systems. It was notable at the time (1976) for being owned
and operated by a woman, Laurie Harp, in a very male-dominated industry
(apologies to, and for, Ampl' Annie - Trivia Question: Who did Ampl' Annie
hawk wares for?). I believe Laurie's husband designed the memory board.


>I can't remember the manufacturer name but this board was used with an
>extender on an S100 system and has all the flip switches and lights to
>control the micro like an Altair 8800. It came with manuals, etc...

I don't recall this one. If I have time to peruse some old Kilobauds, I
will research it.

Bob Stek
Saver of Lost SOLs
bobstek_at_ix.netcom.com
Received on Mon Mar 06 2000 - 12:39:43 GMT