treid@Mitre-Gateway.ARPA (04/16/84)
From: Tom Reid <treid@Mitre-Gateway.ARPA> I am considering adding an 8086 co-processor to my CPM80 system (Ithaca 525; Z80B, 128K, 2-5 1/4" and 2-8" drives). HSC, Herkimer, NY (see add in April '84 Microsystems, p. 16) has one. Their latest brochure lists an 8086 processor board with 256K ram, MS-DOS 2.11, 8 bit ram disk, Z80 interface, documentation, enclosure, and power supply for $775 retail. Other options such as 68000, CPM86, and a (SOON) IBM compatible bus are available. The system boots up as (1) of old, (2) CPM80 with a 256K ram disk, or (3) MSDOS/CPM86 using the CPM80 for all non-ram I/O. Sounds like a way to get both a ram disk and a 16 bit processor without throwing the old system away if . . . I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with this or other co-processors. In particular, what are the bonuses, problems, or gotchas. For example, could the Z80 being a ribbon cable away from its old CPU slot cause problems or is the 8086-back-to-CPM80-for-I/O going to be too slow? The people at HSC say that the system can be installed in 15 minutes. I will edit and keep updated any responses to those interested via the net. Thanks. Tom Reid at MITRE Corp., McLean, Va. ps - I am interested in buying an Ithaca 64K ram board.
burton@fortune.UUCP (04/23/84)
#R:sri-arpa:-1231300:fortune:25500011:000:601
fortune!burton Apr 22 23:59:00 1984
there are other "add on 8086" boards on
the market.
A company call SWP, somewhere in Texas, produces a board to upgrade most
Z80's. Supposedly the Morrow and Kaypro 16 bit upgrades are
actually manufactured by them.
From their ads, it seems they offer MS-DOS, butr not PC-DOS, since
the latter w ould require specific hardware at specific locations, the
goal of all the IBM-PC-clone designers.
Philip Burton 101 Twin Dolphin Drive-MS 133
Fortune Systems Redwood City, CA 94065 (415) 595-8444 x 526
- - -
{ihnp4 [ucbvax | decvax!decwrl]!amd70 harpo hpda }!fortune!burtonmwm@ea.UUCP (04/25/84)
#R:sri-arpa:-1231300:ea:7800005:000:2007 ea!mwm Apr 24 17:10:00 1984 Not being able to reply to the ARPA-Net (and it's my fault - I have to fix the sendmail tables....), here we go: First, I have nothing but praise for the HSC hardware. It works exactly as advertized. It took less than 15 minutes to install. The z80 runs sits on a short (~2 in) cable from the old socket. I've had no problems with that. Doing the I/O through the z80 does make it slower. I can tell the difference in typing a file on the z80 versus the 68000 (yes, I got the 68000 version). However, this is part of the cost of getting a 16-bit system for cheap. Given the Intersystems caching BIOS (I'm running an II MPU-II with 160K), the result is acceptable. This system does output lots of RFI. The fix for that is in the works. It's nothing more than a shielded cable, so I don't think there's anything to worry about. This may not be a problem for you, though. I've have the 68000 version, so I can't vouch for their MS-DOS implementation. The software isn't quite as good as the hardware. Most noticeably, the BIOS looses disk directories if you have a high performance BIOS (like the II BIOS. sigh). The fix is supposedly out, but I haven't seen it. Their are several other problems in the software. All the ones I know of are supposed to be fixed in the version I haven't seen (I'm going to call them tomorrow. I'll post the results). I've been impressed by their response to customer my problems. The first set of software they sent me had a bum disk. Ditto for the next *two* replacement disks. They sent me - quickly - replacements each time. I complained about the RFI problem, and they sent me the parts I requested for a fix. All in all, I'm impressed by the system. It's a very cost-effective way to get into 16-bit systems. One of the nicest features is that you can still use all your 8-bit software without having to support two systems (space, power, disks, etc). CP/M-68K has problems, but my old DDSS disks work like a charm. Highly unlikely if I'd bought a new system. <mike