C70:info-cpm (06/25/82)
>From COMSAT.SoftArts@Mit-Multics Thu Jun 24 23:17:49 1982
Local: INFO-CPM at MIT-MC, cc:MADDOX at MIT-ML, cc:WALTERS:sent.po
Original-date: 24 JUN 1982 08:32:36
Via: Mit-Mc; 24 Jun 82 18:42-EDT
I was involved in the shipment of a CP/M system to France last
fall for a three month museum exhibit. The system was a custom
design which had been assembled with parts from about a dozen
manufacturers.
The 8 inch Shugarts were the part of the system we were
most worried about reconfiguring, but it turned out that while
you do have to change a drive belt and a pulley for the main
motor (which is turning more slowly with a 50 Hz AC supply),
this is relatively straightforward and involved no more than
unscrewing the old one and dropping in the new. Although we
probably could have obtained a 220V motor as well, we just used
a 220 to 110 volt transformer which is relatively common
overseas because of all the U.S. equipment used there. The
parts did take about two months to get since the American
suppliers of Shugart parts don't seem to have a lot of European
components in stock; they probably would have been relatively
easy to get in Europe but we wanted to have everything ready
before we left.
The other worry we had was the compatibility of our black and
white video equipment with European monitors, but, as we had
been assured, European monitors can easily synchronize on a
video signal with standard NTSC characteristics. Fortunately,
we were not working with color since the standards for
broadcast color signals are much different.
Most of the rest of our equipment had been purchased with a
220/110 power supply which could be converted by flipping a
switch and changing a fuse. American style fuses are a little
harder to get in Europe and a little more expensive because
they are not a standard size; it would be worth taking over a
few spares of the new values. One unit had to have the power
cord rewired (the manufacturer had not provided a switch but
had given instructions); another unit had no conversion option
but drew little power and ran fine on the conversion
transformer for the floppies. All in all, we were up and
running in about two days.
It turned out that our largest problem was not the voltage
levels in France, but their unreliability! Fading voltages and
sudden power surges are much more common overseas, and we ended
up having to replace a few fuses (again, take some spares) and
chips. Eventually we ended up grounding everything very
thoroughly and getting a conditioned power line, and had no
further problems for the duration of the show.