New find: Headstart Explorer

From: Russ Blakeman <rhblake_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Wed Apr 11 15:23:41 2001

Headstart had a cd to load it with and most people neither have the CD nor
do they have the boot floppy for the cdrom. I retored one back to factory
load about 3 yrs ago but I've since lost all ties with where the Headstart
links have gone.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
> [mailto:owner-classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Robert
> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2001 2:46 PM
> To: classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org
> Subject: Re: New find: Headstart Explorer
>
>
> My wife's family still has one although I don't know if her
> younger brother has
> 'experimented' with it yet. It worked when I saw them last and I
> know they had
> a bunch of games and programs for it. It ran what looked like a
> version of
> windows. I can ask if they still have any programs for it.
>
> Robert
>
> Mark Gregory wrote:
>
> > I came across a neat little PC/XT clone on the weekend, a Headstart
> > Explorer (made by Vendex according to some Web info I found).
> It's an 8088,
> > with an unusual level of integration: mono/CGA video card, modem (300
> > bps?), serial port, parallel port and external disk drive port
> all on the
> > motherboard. There's an internal 720K 3.5" drive, and a bay for an MFM
> > drive. Comes in an unusual pseudo-portable case, where the
> hinged keyboard
> > folds up and stores upside down on top of the case. There's a single ISA
> > slot under a cover on top. Apparently, there was a monitor
> available that
> > came with a custom stand that fit neatly over the desktop case.
> >
> > It has several features I've not seen before: the folding keyboard, a
> > mono/colour switch on the video output, and the PS/2 style
> mouse and heavy
> > integration on a clone of this vintage. Also, as far as I could
> tell, there
> > was no trace of the manufacturers name anywhere. I had to take
> the system
> > to pieces to find the Headstart Explorer name on the PCB, and the name
> > Vendex wasn't on it anywhere.
> >
> > Does anybody have the custom version of DOS that came with this
> thing, that
> > supposedly included a very annoying shell program, or any
> additional info
> > about this beast? I didn't get any manuals or docs with it (why
> oh why do
> > thrift stores never keep system components together?)
> > and the HD was missing.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mark Gregory
>
Received on Wed Apr 11 2001 - 15:23:41 BST

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