New finds: enough Torch stuff to sink a battleship
> Hi all,
>
> Picked up a huge pile of old Torch hardware, software and manuals from someone
Well done!
>
> Triple X 'prototype'
> --------------------
> Supposedly this was a prototype of a Triple X machine used in-house by Torch,
> presumably for development purposes. I'm not 100% convinced yet but I haven't
> yet been inside it! It's built into two seperate grey metal cases (hard &
> floppy disk / CPU) - certainly not production-quality either, but the official
> badging suggests it perhaps wasn't a homebrew project either, so who knows.
> - Top metal case houses hard disk and floppy in metal case; rear just has
> power and 50-pin SCSI connector.
OK, in the production XXX, the hard and floppy drives were connected to
an OMTI board, and thence to the SCSI bus. Your unit is consistent with this
> - Bottom slice is the CPU box; there's a standard-looking Triple X keyboard
> attached (cable runs through a hole in the case). The front has power LED only
> and stuck-on label reading: "XXX iss.2 in disguise" :-) The rear has the
> following with 'proper' lettering:
> 50 pin SCSI running to disk unit
> Low-volts out (via bodged connector) for disk unit
> "Video" (small hole in case only)
The production machines have a 8 pin DIN for video.
> "Torchnet" (small hole in case only)
> "Disc interface" (blanked off)
> RS423 (25-w D female)
> Parallel (25-w D female)
Be careful. This sounds like the case from something else. Production
XXXs have 2 DB25 sockets, and both are RS232 ports (one actually carries
2 sets of RS232 signals, for a total of 3 serial ports). There is no
parallel port on the production machines....
> RGB (round DIN, 8 pin)
> Cassette (round DIN, 7 pin)
No cassette on prpduction machines!
> Reset button (I assume)
> Mains AC input
> Power switch
Production machines don't have a conventional power switch. The PSU is
controlled by a relay. There's a touch-sensitive contact on the front of
the box that turns the PSU on when touched. The service processor then
keeps the PSU running, and starts up the 68K side. Touching the contact
again sends an interrupt to the service processor which tells the 68K to
sync the filesystem and shut down. The 68K tells the service processor
it's done this, and the latter then turns off the PSU.
All this requires that the NiCd battery in the PSU is good. If not, then
the thing can't start up. The official procedure at this point is to
replace the PSU -- there's no official way to charge a flat NiCd (!!!!).
>
>
>
> "Torch Hard Disc"
> -----------------
> This thing weighs one hell of a lot! 2-tone brown metal case, with inbuilt
> floppy, hard drive, and monitor. Data sticker gives the model as a C520 and the
> serial as 84472645
> Power supply is in a seperate unit (see below) but still feeds mains into the
> machine via seperate plug by the looks of it, presumably for the display
> circuitry.
>
> Back-left corner:
> Keyboard socket (15-w D female)
> Reset (??)
> Contrast ?
> Back-right corner:
> Mains in (probably!) - from power supply unit
> 19-w huge round connector to mate with power supply
> Rear:
> UHF socket
> RGB (6-way DIN)
> Cassette (7-way DIN)
> Analogue (15-way D female)
> RS423 (25-way D female)
> Printer (25-way D male)
This sounds a bit BBC-micro like!. There is a Torch SCSI hard disk unit
for the beeb -- it's supposed to be rather rare. The one I've seen is a
plinth to fit under the nonitor contianing the SCSI interface (connectes
to the Beeb 1MHz bus) + hard disk and also a floppy drive (connects to the
normal Beeb disk controller). Maybe you have much the same unit built
into a case with the Beeb mainboard and monitor.
> Torch-725
> ---------
> This may be a Quad X machine; if so then there aren't many of them left I
The QuadX I have is in the same case (basically) as a production XXX. But
the mainboard is a singla 6U VME card, and there's a little 3 slot (I
think) VME cardcage in the bottom slice. Much the same PSU as a XXX.
> expect! It is according to the previous owner, but it doesn't say so on any of
> the badging. Case is grey steel, about the size/shape of an IBM XT case. Data
> sticker gives the model as a "725/U" and the serial as "84022913"
> At the front we have:
> 2 x slimline 5.25" floppy drives
> Hard disk led visible through window cut in the case
> Power led
> Whilst at the rear:
> Reset button
> Keyboard socket, 15-w D female
> Phone-jack type connector (Mouse? Or alternate keyboard socket - I have
> keyboards with both type of connector? Or modem?)
> "RS423 #1" - 25-w D female
> Parallel - 25-w D male
> Blanked ports: "RS423 #2", "RS423 #3", "Extension bus", SCSI, X25
> Analogue port, 15-w D female
> Torchnet port, 5-w DIN
> RGB 6-w DIN
> Mains in
> Mains out
> Switch (power I assume!!)
> Large grille for cooling fan
This does not sound like a XXXX....
>
>
> Monitors
> --------
>
> One of these should work with the 725 above, another with the Triple X
> 'prototype' I guess.
>
> Single Torch Triple X 13" monitor, model CM13. 8-pin DIN input.
THis is actually a Sony Trinitron chassis...It works at TV rates and will
take analogue or digital RGB in. Works with the Beeb, XXX, XXXX, etc...
> Two Torch Triple X 10" monitors, model CM10. 8pin DIN input
I've never seen one of these, but it should work, at least, with the XXX
> Four Triple X keyboards; with 6-pin phone-type flat plugs on trailing leads
> and 6-pin phone-type flat sockets on back of the keyboard (for mice?)
Yes. Mouse connector. It's basically a special serial port. AFAIK the XXX
and XXXX take the same keyboard.
> Torch Z80 disc pack - grey metal case for two half-height 5.25" drives; it's
> been stripped of drives but I think the psu is intact. I believe this needs an
> interface card (which may well be amongst the cards listed below)
AFAIK the drives just link to the normal Beeb fisk controller
> Triple X PSU (or so I was told; not having a 'genuine' Triple X I don't
> know!)
Can you describe it? I've got a couple of XXXs (including a nicely
expanded one with a Quinring on top), and quite a pile of spares...
> Tape drives
> -----------
>
> Possibly for Quad X? Anyway, there are a couple of 5.25" HH units; not given
In theory the XXX can support a tape drive on the SCSI bus, but I've
never managed to get it to work...
> Three Torch Z80 Communicator boards. Z80A CPU on board, 40 pin data
> connector. Another BBC plugin? The owner had hundreds of them apparently and
> most of them went to landfill a while ago.
This is the board that goes with the Z80 disk pack. It fits inside the
Beebm and connects to the Tube (I think). It runs CP/M (or something close
to it).
> Unknown Torch Z80 card. 40-pin connector at one end, 26-pin connector at the
> other. Z80A CPU and SIO chips on board, plus 6522A and an 8255 chip. ROM is
> Torch labelled as CCCP V1.02
Sounds like an expanded version of the above, with a serial port.
> Three Torch internal (internal to what, though?) modems - 40-pin connectors,
> plus 4-pin single-row for power. Several 40-pin chips: Z80 PIO, MC6803,
> EF68A21P. ROM is Torch, labelled as "ADM5 2.1". Also a TM2016 chip on board
> (memory I believe) and a 28-pin IC branded as "world-chip".
The 'world chip' is an AM7910, that well-know 300 and 1200/75 baud modem
IC. This sounds a bit like the Torch modem for the Beeb and XXX, but I
don't recall a Z80 PIO on that board.
> Two oddball "modems". I don't even know if that's what they are :-) 2x 4-pin
> single-row connectors, 14 pin single-row connector, then a long trailing lead
> terminated in a 5 way rounded jack plug. I've not seen those jack plugs on
> anything before, but it's possible old UK phone exchange equipment might have
> used them - anyone? There's very little in the way of logic on the boards -
Sounds like a 'Plug 95A' which was the standard UK telephone plug before
the flat 400 and 600 series. Commonly used on Prestel sets, etc.
> it's all analogue. Boards are 6" x 7". Trailing lead goes into a large white
> plastic 'box' in one corner of the board. On top of this, apparently as an
> afterthought, is a glued-on smaller black box out of which come two leads that
> connect back to pins on the 14 pin connector. Hardware hacking at its best...
>
> Right, the following appear to all be protocol convertor / interface boards for
> various storage devices. All are on boards around 6" x 8" in size, and all have
> a single 4 pin power connector (I may have manuals for all of these; I haven't
> got that far yet!):
>
> Seven issue 3 Torch manta boards, for converting between SCSI and floppy
> interfaces.
These are used in XXX and XXXX machines if you have a real SCSI hard
drive (as opposed to an ST506 one on an OMTI board).
> Single issue 5 Torch manta board
> Four OMT boards (model 5200) with a 50 pin connector, 2x 34-pin connectors
> and 2x 20 pin connectors. SCSI (or SASI?) to MFM disk?
SCSI to ST506 and floppy. Used at least in the XXX.
> Single OMT board with a 50 pin connector, 34-pin connector, and 4x 20 pin
> connectors. maybe SCSI (or SASI?) to MFM disk again?
Probably.
> Four Xebec boards with a 50 pin connector, 3x 20 pin connectors and single
> 34-way edge connector.
> Single Xebec board with a 50 pin connector, 2x 20 pin connectors and single
> 34-way edge connector.
Sounf like SCSI to ST506 interfaces
> Two Archive boards with a 50-pin connector at one end and a 50-way edge
> connector at the other.5 LEDs by the power connector. Tape interface of some
> sort, presumably?
Take controllers, Probably SCSI to either QIC 02 or QIC36....
> Single Emulex board, 2x 50-pin connectors at opposite ends of the board. Hmm.
> Tape again?
> Single Adaptec board, 2x 50-pin connectors at opposite ends of the board.
More tape controllers...
> Single Western Digital board (labelled WD1002-05), 2x 34-pin connectors, 3x
> 20-pin connectors, and a singe 40-pin connector. Only thing I can think of with
> 40 pins is IDE and it's too early for that I'm sure (last chip date is 1983)
>
>
>
> I *think* that's all of it, for now. The guy I got these from had several rooms
> piled up with stuff; he said he used to have a few 'proper' Triple X systems
> and is surprised he threw them out, so they may still be lurking somewhere.
> Same goes with other genuine Torch spares, drives, software, cables etc.
> There was a Quad X-on-a-card which I had my eye on but the guy still uses some
That sounds like the production QaudX....
-tony
Received on Wed Jun 25 2003 - 19:05:01 BST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0
: Fri Oct 10 2014 - 23:36:09 BST