ICEbox, AppDEC, KIM, Communicator

From: Adrian Graham <agraham_at_ccat.co.uk>
Date: Tue Jan 23 04:38:03 2001

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 08:57:30 -0800
> From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_mcmanis.com>
> Subject: Re: Intel ???? rescued, weekend finds
>
> This is "The ICEBox" an in-circuit emulator for Intel
> processors. It is a
> great way to bring up new designs and defeat copy protection
> schemes :-)

I've got a similar beast manufactured by Amtron. It's a 386PC with a
specialized interface card that you plug these bloody huge and heavy boxes
into that you must piggyback over a CPU or something. It came with pods for
8086, 8088, 286, 386SX, 386DX, 486 and 68K chips. Haven't powered it up yet,
and some of the pods have never been taken out of their rather large boxes.

No docs though.

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 18:17:44 -0500
> From: Jeff Hellige <jhellige_at_earthlink.net>
> Subject: Re: Machines I'm looking for...
>
> According to an ex-Commodore engineer I used to correspond
> with, they were one and the same thing, as Commodore never did

Have you still got his details? Could you ask him about the European P500?
:)

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 23:02:00 -0500
> From: Gene Ehrich <gehrich_at_tampabay.rr.com>
> Subject: TI Expansion Unit
>
> I have the following that I am selling for an acquaintance.
>
> Let me know if you know anyone who is interested.
>
> Texas Instruments Home Computer Peripheral Expansion System
> Model No. PHP1200 in Original Box
>
> Never used

<puts hand up>. I'm interested but I guess I'm in the wrong country :(

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 23:40:04 -0500 (EST)
> From: "r. 'bear' stricklin" <red_at_bears.org>
> Subject: Re: Windes ME
>
> And the N9000 Communicator uses a pair of 80386 CPUs. The 9110 uses an
> 80486. I know, I was there. (:

Does it? Ooo - I've got a 9110 right next to me ATM, but it looks a bit dead
:(

> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 23:26:14 -0700
> From: "Mark Gregory" <gregorym_at_cadvision.com>
> Subject: applicationDEC 433MP
>
> - - the machine has 2 memory boards, which give a maximum of
> 32 megs of ECC
> RAM, with 40 x 1 meg SIMMs. Can the system use more than 2
> memory boards, to
> go to 64 megs? Or can the 1 meg SIMMs be replaced by 4 meg SIMMs?

These things top out at 16mb and only report 14mb available......

> there any OSes that could use 4 processors at a time? Is it
> worth hunting down two extra CPU cards?

The only OS to use the dual CPU was a SMP version of SCO U**x 3.x, but I
could never see the point of a dual CPU machine with so little RAM
available!

> - - there's a TZK10-AA tape drive in the system. What tape
> cartridges does this drive use?

Off the top of my head I can't remember, so I'll go downstairs and get the
DEC bumf for it.

> engineered, but I had never heard of them before I found this
> one, and the
> MicroPDP-11 that I got with it ... but that's another story.

We only ever sold 1 (the mini version) to a local college to run some
financials on, we used one internally for SCO development (ack - what a
terrible OS), another one ended up with NT on it as a server and it ended
its days as a humble fax server - the other one ended up with Winduhs 95 on
running as a Quake server :o))

I think they were eclipsed 'cos that was around the time the PC market
started exploding.....

> Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 01:16:55 -0700
> From: "Richard Erlacher" <edick_at_idcomm.com>
> Subject: Re: KIM-1 restoration advice sought
>
> switch matrix to match what's on the KIM. I've built memory
> circuits, etc,
> for the KIM, but never paid much attention to the KIM itself,
> hence, I can't
> remember anything specific about the keypad, except that it

Do you know anything about memory modules for the KIM made by "The
Computerist"? My Kim's got one and I was told it's also an EPROM blower....

Ross:

> Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately I don't think it
> has anything like standard parts. Everything about it looks
> custom-molded to fit the
> unusual key shape (curved keytops with painted legends and
> smoothly-rounded key edges), unusual key layout (slide switch
> + two independent buttons and 3 x 7 matrix of scanned buttons).
>
> The way it's put together suggests to me a very well-designed
> custom keypad that would only make sense if sold in the
> thousands.
>
> Of course, as always, I could be wrong. :)

I think that the keypad for the KIM is actually from one of the CBM
calculators of the day since they'll have had one or two lying around!
Certainly from a looks point of view its identical to the keypad on one of
my non-scientific calcs from around '76/'77, both layout and power switch
are the same.

Back on me head :o)

--
Adrian Graham MCSE/ASE/MCP
C CAT Limited
Gubbins: http://www.ccat.co.uk (work)
<http://www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk> (home)
<http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk> (The Online Computer Museum)
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Received on Tue Jan 23 2001 - 04:38:03 GMT

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