Hi Gil,
I have three or four 9915s and a keyboard. This is the only keyboard that I know of. It took me several years of looking to find it and I only found it by shear accident. I've only been able to find one or two docs for the 9915 and they're not very usefull. One was about networking 9915s, I don't remember what the other was about. More below.
At 11:10 PM 10/7/02 -0700, you wrote:
>Hi folks:
>
>I am new to the classiccmp list. I am an EE, and collect teletype machines
>and HP test gear. My first computer was an RCA VIP 1802-based board. My
>second was an Apple II. I got to play with some bigger stuff when I worked
>at Cray Research a decade ago. But I digress.
>
>I have also been collecting HP 85 computer stuff (85A, 85B, 3"/5"/8"
>drives, roms, cards...), and I just got a 9915A, which is the industrial
>version of the HP 85A (cpu-only in a half-rack box).
>
>This 9915A does not have the tape drive (option 001),
That's odd. EVERY 9915 that I've heard about had both option 001 and 002. I was beginning to wonder if they ever built any without the options!
but has the operator
>interface card (opt 002), which provides connectors for keyboard (DB-25F),
>control (DB-15F), and video (BNC). The problem is, I have no keyboard,
>monitor, or documentation of any sort for the 9915. I have most of the
>useful 85 docs (short of the service manual), but nothing on the 9915.
>
>Judging from the number of pcb connections to the keyboard connector, I'd
>guess it uses a special parallel keyboard. I found reference to a 98155A
>keyboard in a post about a 9915B (85B-compatible), and I presume that is
>the same keyboard used with the A version.
I don't know what the difference is between an A and a B model. I don't recall being aware that there were two different models. I don't recall which model(s) I have. You are correct about the PN of the keyboard. I did make a schematic of my keyboard but I haven't seen it in a while. I think it got tossed in the gaint purge I had here about a year ago.
>
>I hooked the video up to the composite input of a tv, and saw text and
>graphics when I ran the self-test from the front-panel buttons of the 9915.
> The image seemed wider than the screen, and I'm not sure if is just my tv
>adjustment, or if the video signal is not quite ntsc composite.
You need to use the HP composite monitors. IIRC the PN is 82912 and 82913. These are used on the HP 86 and commonly used on the 9000 220 (aka 9920) and are pretty common.
>
>As for the control connector, I have no idea what that might be used for.
I don't recall if it's input and output or only input but the 9915 can detect switch closures and take pre-programmed action.
>There is also a little board inside that has eight sockets, four of which
>are populated with 2732 eproms. I am wondering whether this is part of the
>cpu system, or if it is for embedded program storage like the programmable
>rom card for the 85.
The later. There were software developement kits available that let you write programs in assembler and burn them into EPROMs that plugged into a HP-85 type plug-in cartridges (called a Hybrid ROM or something like that) or directly into the 9915. The EPROMs that are in it are probably Matrix and/or I/O ROM IIRC. That seems to be standard in the 9915s that I'm aware of.
FYI The 9915 doesn't use the HP-85 custom hybrid processor but uses an Intel CPU instead! However it does use the HP-85 keyboard processor but only for the timers that it contains.
>
>I presume that I can hook up a disk with an hp-ib card (and rom), so it
>should be usable once I find a keyboard and appropriate monitor.
Correct. With the keyboard and monitor it should act exactly like a HP-85 (except your's doesn't have the tape drive). But it's a lot easier to find a HP 85, 86 or 87.
Joe
>
>Anyone have any docs/info/tidbits/keyboard...?
>
>thanks,
>
>gil smith
>
>
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Received on Tue Oct 08 2002 - 21:32:01 BST