CoCo Floppies: Was:These darned old computers

From: Lawrence Walker <lgwalker_at_mts.net>
Date: Wed Aug 28 17:19:04 2002

 I haven't worked on my M.2 for a long time (since I first got it about 3 or 4
yrs. ago, and I'm also missing the cables for the 3 HDs) It was
recommended by several people that I transfer the programs I have from 8" to
5 1/4 disks (unless bit-rot has already got to them) and I believe there's a faq
on how to do that. Do you know if the disk controller on the model 2 /16 is
the same as on the other RS models ? If so possibly I could just transfer
them to another format.

 I'm afraid I have been quite remiss in that there might be some programs that
are not currently available, especially on the hard drive.

 I also have an historic machine, the Micom 2000 that was in production
before the Apple. The first one shipped July,1975. Used mainly for
wordprocessing with limited graphics ability (NASA apparently had about 100
of them). IIRC without unburying it, it had an 8080 CPU. Charlie Fox an old
list-member had a 2001 model. Phillips acquired it in 1978 or 79 and
produced it for about 5 or 6 years after. I know it had com. capabilities
and the Toronto Phillips distributor sold a program for that but I decided
at the time to forgo the $60 it would cost. :^(
At present it has a keyboard problem that I haven't been able to solve. It's
equivalent of a function key.
 Undoubtably the 8" disks would copy (discounting bit-rot) and I have seen it
mentioned on disk recovery sites but I can't afford thier high prices. It used
an early Shugart SS/sd(?) 8" disk. I guess it would require some sort of disk
image program for 8 " floppies.
 I used it for several years, the wordprocessing program was similar to
Scripsit and much superior to the then popular W-P or WordStar.
 Using it's graphic program I produced a sales brochure using an amazingly
fast for the time Qume disk-wheel(?) printer (with the biggest separate power
supply I have ever seen) for a community newspaper in Toronto I was selling
advertising for.
 Was there any disk image program for the model 2 ?
 Any volunteers to recover this stuff would be more than welcome.

Lawrence

Lawrence


> >
> > Do you mean that I could use a 3 1/2" floppy in the 502, with suitable data
> > connector of course ? That would be even cooler than a 2nd 5 1/4 !!
> > That would enable me to get into "serious" OS9 stuff. Woo-haa !!
>
> You can use a 720K 3.5" drive with any of the CoCo controllers (AFAIK).
> It will be an 80 cylinder DS unit, which means RS-DOS won't use all of it
> by any means, but OS-9 should be OK.
>
> I have used a 3" drive (40 cylinder DS) as a second drive in one of the
> CoCo drive units. No problem at all.
>
> The same applies to the M3 and M4, BTW. I have run 720K 3.5" drives as
> external drives off an M3. Again no problems given a decent OS like LDOS.
>
> There's noting strange about the interface on Radio Shack floppy drives,
> thankfully!
>
> -tony
>


lgwalker_at_mts.net
bigwalk_ca_at_yahoo.com
Received on Wed Aug 28 2002 - 17:19:04 BST