SAGE@LL.ARPA (10/22/86)
Tony Li asked about a version of ZCPR3 for a VT-180. I have ZCPR3
running on a VT-180, but it is running in conjunction with Multisystem-180
(MS-180), a commercial product that allows the Robin to read, write, and
format many foreign disk formats (it makes yours drives look like any
combination that you want of drives from other machines). Therefore, I am
not in a position to give you a copy of it unless you purchase MS-180.
The difficulty in getting ZCPR3 to run on the VT-180 is the lack of the
BIOS source code. With MS-180 one gets the source code to the enhanced
BIOS. Then one can readily make the modifications required to get a custom
version of ZCPR3 running. The cost of MS-180 is $80 in the version that
supports standard 48-tpi drives or $100 in the version that includes support
for 96-tpi drop-in-replacement drives.
I repeat the recommendation I made in previous messages -- if you want
to do things the simplest way, buy one of the autoinstall versions from
Echelon. They cost little more than the cost of ZRDOS alone (which is worth
having), and they run very nicely on the VT-180 (I have used them on the
Robin myself along with Multisystem).
Jay Sage
Non-disclaimer: My wife's company sells MS-180, and thus I do have a
financial interest in its sale. Nevertheless, unless you have use for the
multiple formats capability, are troubled by some of the bugs in the
original DEC BIOS, or just can't resist the idea of having a BIOS with
source code, I recommend that you get one of the Echelon packages directly
from them.