Any Cromemco USERS?

From: M H Stein <mhstein_at_canada.com>
Date: Thu Jan 23 22:53:31 2003

------------------Original Message--------------
From: "Bill Sudbrink" <wh.sudbrink_at_verizon.net>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Subject: RE: Any Cromemco USERS?
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 09:51:34 -0500
Reply-To: cctalk_at_classiccmp.org

<snippage>
> I'd be interested in knowing how you got CP/M onto the Cromix
> diskettes and configured for its memory model?

The hard way (and the fun way)! I wrote my own CBIOS, bootstrap,
and a program to format a diskette, cross-compiled on a modern intel
box, wrote a program to massage the compiler output into a text stream
that the ROM monitor on the 16FDC would like and then used the monitor
to run the formatter. Finally, pumped over the bootstrap, CP/M and
my CBIOS and used the sector write facility of the 16FDC ROM to write
the whole thing to a diskette a sector at a time. It was very gratifying
when the sucker booted up the first time.

MS: !!!!!! Very gratifying indeed, I'll bet!!! Wow - that's REALLY doing it
the hard way, but maybe it was the only way...! How long did that take?
-----------------------------------------
> TM100 drive(s) I assume?

Actually, a pair of SA-851s.

MS: Ah yes, you did say Imsai chassis, not Cromemco...
------------------------------------------

Something about the 16FDC doesn't play nice with the IMSAI front panel.
You can't deposit or examine memory with it on the bus. Even with the
schematics, I don't see what the problem is. Do you know a solution by
any chance?

MS:
Afraid not, the Cromemcos I worked with were all essentially stock.
Someone else asked me about that a while back; apparently there
is a document somewhere talking about using a 16FDC with a front panel.

I assume you have the complete manual, esp. PP 64-65, and have set the
switches to map out the RDOS ROM? I wouldn't think the interrupt chain or
the serial port have anything to do with it, but if your front panel uses I/O
ports, I don't think they can easily be disabled on the FDC.

Sorry, wish I could help.

mike
Received on Thu Jan 23 2003 - 22:53:31 GMT