INFO-IBMPC@USC-ISIB (03/22/83)
From: Dick Gillmann <INFO-IBMPC@USC-ISIB>
Info-IBMPC Digest Monday, 21 March 1983 Volume 2 : Issue 17
Today's Topics:
Info-PC becomes Info-IBMPC
MPX-16: Boot EPROM, CP/M-86, Address Map PROM, etc.
Quadram and DOS 2.0
AST Superspl and Serial Spinwriter
Central Pennsylvania IBM PC Association -- CPIPC
Assemblers under MS-DOS Query
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Date: 21 Mar 1983 1638-PST
Subject: Info-PC becomes Info-IBMPC
From: Dick Gillmann <GILLMANN@USC-ISIB>
To: Info-IBMPC
I have changed the name of this list from Info-PC to Info-IBMPC.
There has been a steady trickle of mis-directed msgs about TI-99s
etc., and so, to avoid confusion, I have made the name more explicit.
Mail about non-IBM 8086/8 based microcomputers is still welcome, of
course.
Effective immediately, send all mail for the list to Info-IBMPC@ISIB
and all requests to be added/dropped to Info-IBMPC-Request@ISIB.
Mail addressed to Info-PC and Info-PC-Request will be automatically
forwarded.
/Dick
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Date: 18 March 1983 23:43 EST
From: Dan Blumenfeld <DAN @ MIT-ML>
Subject: MPX-16: Boot EPROM, CP/M-86, Address Map PROM, etc.
To: Info-Micro @ BRL, Info-PC @ USC-ISIB
Some new info for those interested in MPX-16 boards...
Originally, MicroMint was going to supply the CBIOS for CP/M-86 in
EPROM, so that a stock version of CP/M-86 from DR would boot... well,
things have changed. They realized that this was a very bad move if
they also wanted to run MS-DOS, so now all you get on EPROM (one 2732)
is a generalized Booter, which will initialize the board and read in
the system tracks on the diskette. They also give you the listing for
the Booter, which happens to be written in Intel's PL/M. I'm not sure
if it is the complete listing, because the Booter initializes the
8272A Disk Controller for a 5 1/4" diskette, but MicroMint claims that
the Booter will also work with 8" drives. In any event, what this
means is that you have to purchase CP/M-86 from MicroMint. The 5 1/4"
version is available now, and the 8" version will be available by the
end of March. I talked to one of the technical people there, and they
assured me that the CBIOS source would be included on the diskette (it
better be!).
Two other minor but useful additions have been made to the board. The
address map PROM is now included with the kit, so that you don't have
to burn one yourself. The board also comes with nine expansion slots
in place, rather than the advertised five.
One of the problems with booting CP/M-86 is that the entire OS can't
fit on the system tracks of a standard diskette. What happens is that
the Booter reads in a smart Loader from disk. The Loader locates the
CP/M-86 proper on the diskette (ideally by looking for the file
CPM.SYS in the directory), reads it in, and cold boots. The problem
with this is that that all the user tracks on the diskette are skewed,
so the loader has to know about this. In many systems, the Loader
assumes that the CPM.SYS file is right after the directory (i.e. the
first file on the diskette), which simplifies the Loader's job, but is
a gross solution. This is how MicroMint does it.
I'm planning on doing one of two things to alleviate this problem.
One idea is to make track zero on the diskette double density
(normally it is single). Since track one is double density on a DD
diskette, this should be enough room for the entire CP/M-86 system. A
second possibility is to place the entire CP/M-86 in EPROM, as four
sockets are available on the MPX-16. The "booter" would simply
initialize the system, then copy the OS from EPROM into RAM, and then
cold boot. Either solution requires modification of the Boot EPROM.
MicroMint can only provide this on an Intel ISIS diskette in PL/M, but
fortunately we have a Intellec III development system here at UPENN.
Suggestions and comments on this?
Dan
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Date: 19 Mar 83 8:21:33-EST (Sat)
From: Farber@UDel-Relay
Subject: Quadram and DOS 2.0
To: info-pc@isib
The Quadram Ramdisk and their timer routines run just fine under dos
2.0. Just leave them in the autoexec.bat file (not the config.sys).
I also noticed that some Ramdisk programs (not Quad's) supplied by
manufactures check to see whether or not the board they are working
with is one of theirs and don't work otherwise. Any one know how they
do that?
Dave
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Date: 19 Mar 1983 1321-PST
Subject: AST Superspl and Serial Spinwriter
From: Billy <BRACKENRIDGE@USC-ISIB>
To: INFO-PC
We have bought a NEC 3510 spinwriter. This is identical to the NEC
3550 which is advertised to be IBM compatible except that it has a
serial port and is much cheaper. It uses XON/XOFF as a flow control
protocol rather than using any hardware flow control as in a parallel
printer interface.
I tried using the print spooler program that comes as part of the Tall
Tree DOS 1.1 modification package. This program has a simple command
structure and does the print spooling in a memory external to DOS.
While printing, any other processing slows down to a crawl. There is a
command to regulate how many cycles the print program gets vs
foreground processing, but lowering this number just seems to slow down
printing. It also doesn't do the XON/XOFF flow control required by
the NEC 3510.
The AST Superspl program has none of these problems. It can keep the
printer running at full speed with no degradation in foreground
processing.
My system has two serial ports. One is connected to the printer and
the other to a Micom terminal multiplexer. I connected to TOPS-20
with VDTE over a 9600 baud direct link and typed out a large file,
while spooling a copy to the slower Spinwriter. Not a character was
dropped. When I did this with the Tall Tree spooler, both the printer
and terminal connections were garbled.
Within DOS one can use the MODE command to redirect printer output to
a serial port without any spooling. This command will not work with
the NEC 3510 due to the XON/XOFF flow control so the Superspl program
becomes essential.
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Date: 17 Mar 83 17:45:43-PST (Thu)
To: info-pc at Usc-Isib
From: hplabs!hao!seismo!presby!burdvax!psuvax!psuvm%cjs at Ucb-Vax
Subject: Central Pennsylvania IBM PC Association -- CPIPC
This new user's group has been formed for the purpose of sharing
information about, and public-domain software for, the IBM PC and
compatible microcomputers. Our members come from The Pennsylvania
State University and nearby high-tech companies such as HRB-Singer.
We are interested in exchanging newsletters and disks with other
clubs. We have about 10 disks of public-domain programs from outside
sources, and will have a couple of our own soon.
If you are interested, respond to CJS@PSUVM (on BITNET) or write or
call me:
Christopher J. Sacksteder phone (814) 865-1156
Vice President, CPIPC Assoc.
119 Tyson Building
University Park, PA 16802
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Date: 20 March 1983 01:29 mst
From: Schauble at M.PCO.LISD.HIS (Paul Schauble)
Subject: Assemblers under MS-DOS Query
Reply-To: Schauble%PCO-Multics at MIT-MULTICS
To: Info-PC at USC-ISIB
I need an assembler for the PC to run under MS-DOS. Any comments on
what's available?
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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