Greetings from Florida!
At 01:30 PM 10/9/02 +0200, you wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I also have a HP 9915A in my possesion. Useless without keyboard and I also
>have only documentation for the HP-85.
The way the 9915 is inteneded to be used is as an unattended computer with no operator, that's why they came without keyboards. The intention is that the application program will be loaded from a tape using an AUTOST program or else that the program will be loaded into EPROM and run automaticly from there. In either case, no operator action is inteneded beyond loading a tape and perhaps restarting the 9915.
Maybe I should back up. You do know that the 9915 will read HP-85 tapes and run the HP-85 programs don't you? The HP-85 is inteneded to be the developement system for the 9915.
>
>> >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.
>
> This sounds like they are absolute unobtainium today? I'd better start looking
>for a HP-85, only they seem to want quite some money when I see them on
>eBay :).
Are you kidding? I've seen plenty of them go cheap. But you should really look for a lot better machine like the 87XM. They have a lot more memory and have a number of ROMs built-in. Take a look at <
http://www.ebbsoft.com>. It has some comparisions of the various models.
>
>> 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.
>
> Are you sure? I must take a look at my machine then.. What kind of processor
>is in there?
IIRC it's an intel MCS-51. The 9915 was designed and built in Germany while the HP-85 was designed and built in Colorado. That's probably why the difference in architecture.
>
>> >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.
>
> I've always assumed you can't hook up a disk since there is are no disk
>routines in ROM?
IIRC it (and the HP 85) will support the old drives that use the Amigo command protocall such of the old HP 9895 8" floppy drives, the old HP 8290x 5 1/4" floppy drives and the HP 9121 3.5" floppy drive. If you have the Extended Mass Storage ROM it will also support some of the newer drives (the ones that use the SS-80 protocall IIRC). The HP 9122 is a common SS-80 drive.
FWIW there's a special version of the 9133 hard drives that have the disk partitioned to look like four 8" floppy drives. It's the 9133V. You may also have to have option 004. The docs are unclear about that, the drive manual says that they 9133V and the 9133V option 4 will both work with the HP 8x series but some of the catalogs indicate that only the 9133V WITH option 4 will do so. Some of the catalogs specify that the necessary option is option 010 and some say that you can use the XV models, including the HP 9134 XV, so this whole subject is confused. Oh yes, at least one catalog says that the HP 8xs will support the 9153 hard drive but I'm pretty certain that that is wrong.
Joe
>
> greetings,
> Michiel
>
Received on Wed Oct 09 2002 - 07:59:00 BST