[Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age

[w2bvh at comcast.net]

My 1st "computer" was a development system for the Rockwell PPS4 pmos cpu. Next was a Motorola Exorciser for the MC6800 .... assembly was done on a DEC PDP8 & debugging  on the Exorciser. Next a Millenium 2000 development system (later bought out by Tektronix)  for the Intel 8080 and a n Intel MDS800, also for the 8080/8085. Then an HP 64 000 system for developing on multiple processors (8085, 68000, F8). 



I didn't get a personal computer until 1982 when someone plopped an original IBM PC on my desk with DOS 1.0. 



All very nostalgic. A great time was had by all during those days. Programing down to the iron is very rare now. Justifiably so, but the skills learned on those machines are still quite useful (and I'm still using the skills , only on much better hardware). No more clock cycle counting and highwater marking the stacks though ;-). 



73, 

Lenny W2BVH 



----- Original Message -----


From: wb4jfi at knology.net 
To: "Kevin Cozens" <kevin at ve3syb.ca>, elecraft at mailman.qth.net 
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 3:05:00 PM 
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age 

I still have a working IMSAI 8800 with three SA-800 drives and an H19 
terminal.  I can boot CP/M and run Wordstar, several Basics, a Pascal and a 
C compiler.  Plus, most of the CP/M-UG and SIG/M-UG disks.  I also have an 
Altair 8800 and an Altair 8800 "Turnkey" (no front panel), along with 
several other S-100 cards.  The Altair ran one of the first bulletin boards 
in the country (Ward Christensen CBBS) for AMRAD.  I also have my first 
5-slot IBM PC, and many versions of DOS. 

The Commodore 64 also had a Z80 card, which allowed you to run CP/M. 

How about a nice game of chess? 
73, Terry, WB4JFI 


-----Original Message----- 
From: Kevin Cozens 
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2014 2:19 PM 
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net 
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Computers in the Stone Age 

Someone wrote: 
> Desktop computers did not come into being until the advent of the IBM 
> PC in the 1980s. 

(Among?) The first desktop computers were the S-100 bus based machines. 
First, the Altair 8800 announced on the cover of Popular Electronics 
magazine in January 1976, and its later popular variant the IMSAI 8080. They 
were in boxes along the size of 17" rack mount sized boxes with 
high-amperage power supplies. 

Other early desktop computers that came along not long after were the Apple 
I and II lines, and the Commodore computers such as their PET. 

Josh W6XU wrote: 
> Maybe he's remembering running DR-DOS on the Apple II? Required a Z80 
> card. 

PC-DOS/MS-DOS/DR-DOS were all for the IBM PC and compatible computers. The 
plug-in card for the Apple II and later computers that had the Z-80 CPU on 
it was so that you could run CP/M. I have one for my pair of Apple 
computers. 

The plug-in card and floppy disk system used with the Apple II could be 
thought of as the K2 of its day. It may seem quaint today but the disk 
system was a marvel of engineering in its simplicity and elegance. 

-- 
Cheers! 

Kevin. 

http://www.ve3syb.ca/           |"Nerds make the shiny things that distract 
Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172      | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're 
                                 | powerful!" 
#include <disclaimer/favourite> |             --Chris Hardwick 
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