Intellec-mds 800

From: Joe R. <rigdonj_at_cfl.rr.com>
Date: Tue Sep 7 13:07:47 2004

At 12:42 PM 9/4/04 -0400, you wrote:
>Somehow I missed the original message in this thread, but maybe I can
>clear up a bit of Andy's confusion.
>
>The Intellec MDS 800 is the development system that Intel sold to create
>products on their 8080 and later processors. It was itself based on
>what later became known as the "Multibus" architecture. It ran a 2MHz
>8080 cpu and was standard with 16K bytes of RAM. You could add more, up
>to 64K that the main cpu (the 8080) could address.
>
>Intel sold a disk-drive subsystem that consisted of two Shugart 801 8"
>floppy drives. They could work as single density or double density
>depending on whether you had the 201 or 202 controller board set. Yes,
>it was a set of TWO multibus board to control those two floppy drives.
>
>Gary Kildall wrote the CP/M operating system for that computer and Intel
>also sold their own called ISIS-II (there might have been an ISIS
>without the II, but I never knew of it).
>
>The system that Steve mentions here with an integrated CRT and keyboard
>has to be the follow-on product from Intel called the MDS Series II, a
>different, but compatible, system from the MDS-800. The 800 needed an
>external terminal.
>
>There is much more, and if Andy wants to e-mail me directly I can give
>him much more information. Joe Rigdon and Tony Duell are authorities on
>these systems and they will likely offer their own information.


   Currently I can tell you that they're too heavy to fly away during TWO
hurricanes!

   Seriously I have a pile of docs and SW for both the 800s and 2xx models.
but at the rate things are doing I'll never have time to organize them.

     Joe


>
>Good luck with that classic, Andy.
>
>Dave
>
>Steven N. Hirsch wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 2 Sep 2004, Andy Allaway wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I am considering buying a classic pc. The one I might buy is the
intellec mds
>>>800. It comes with a drive also. I dont know much about vintage pc's but
>>>would love to be like you all. I thought starting with one of the best
pc's
>>>would be good. So my question is, if I were to buy this pc, what type of
>>>monitor/keyboard do I hook up to it? Where can I get one?
>>
>>
>> I'm not an authority on the MDS800, but the one I have is actually
>> integral with the display and came with a keyboard. Certainly, I'm able
>> to use it without an RS232 terminal.
>>
>>
>>>ps, if I buy this intellec, what can I do with it?
>>
>>
>> Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you have to ask that question
>> you may want to reconsider buying it. The MDS800 provided a complete
>> hardware and software environment for developing products using some of
>> the older Intel CPUs. It is not really what I'd think of as being a "pc".
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
>--
>Dave Mabry dmabry_at_mich.com
>Dossin Museum Underwater Research Team
>
>
>
Received on Tue Sep 07 2004 - 13:07:47 BST