earl@trsvax.UUCP (01/17/89)
/* ---------- "What sort of support is there for T6000" ---------- */
Do they still make/sell them?
I'm asking because a friend of mine can pick one up cheap ($100-200) and we're
trying to figure out how much work it will be to bring it up as a BBS or
USENET node. It comes with Xenix, (I didn't make a note of the version,
unfortunately) 1MB RAM, 15MB hard disk, and BASIC. I was amazed to find that
it doesn't come with a C compiler. I was even more amazed when the Tandy
dealer we went to showed us a list of software we could order which include
F77, COBOL, Pascal and BASIC but not C.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
First: The 'C' compiler comes with the Xenix Development System software set.
The development system is sold separately from the Xenix Core package.
A lot of people (users) don't do development thus they didn't want all
that extra software using up precious disk space. So the development
system is offered separately.
--------------------------------------
1) Has anyone ported GNU C to the 6000? If so how can we get
executables for it?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A number of people have ported and run GNU 'C' on the 6000's
but from my understanding, you need more than 1 meg to use it.
There are a couple of other types of C compilers running around
out there, but I simply use what comes with the development
system.
2) How difficult/expensive is it to add more mass storage?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The newer 15 Meg Internal HD 6000's have a hard disk controller
that supports 2 hard disk drives. One internal and one external.
The older 16B's have a HD controller that supports up to 4
external hard disk drives. A lot of people have replaced the
15 meg HD's internal or external with 70 or 80 meg Hard disk
drives. It only takes money.
3) How difficult/expensive is it to add more memory?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A couple of companies outside of Tandy make and sell memory
expansion for the 6000's. These will allow you to expand from
1 meg on up to three or 4 meg's worth of extra memory.
Considering the price of memory chips nowadays, it's pretty
expensive to expand RAM. The boards aren't that bad in price
but the RAM is. Of course at 8 Mhz, you only need 150 ns 256k
chips. But those are starting to get scarce nowadays.
4) What version of Xenix is considered minimal to be used as a USENET
node?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Versions 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2 all ran USENET stuff OK.
5) Is it possible to add more RS232 ports to it?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tandy used to sell a special 3 serial port expansion board for
6000's.
6) Is it a good deal at $100? $200?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I thought so, I got one myself. My personal opinion is that the
Tandy 6000 Xenix has one of the best 'C' compilers around. It
works. Many things that don't work on other 'C' compilers work
great on the 6000's version. Plus it's remarkably DEC-VAX
compatible as far as C compiler etc. go.
On my 6000, I installed the Model II graphics board. Xenix 3.2
supports graphics with a 'C' library. I also installed a 10 meg
Bournelli removable cartridge drive board. I am also running
three hard disks off of it too.
By looking around and scrounging, hunting etc. you can get or
run on a Tandy 6000:
1 - A MMU memory board to support more than 1 meg of memory
(Not from Tandy though, I forget who's selling it)
2 - A Model II graphics board.
3 - A Bournelli 10 meg cartridge adapter board.
4 - A 3 serial port Rs-232 expansion board
5 - A 2 HD or 4 HD hard disk controller board
6 - Model II, 12 or 16 ARCNET board, no software though for
these, but that never stopped anyone before.
7 - They're are even some Tape cartridge adapter boards too.
8 - For the fanatics, some people have even modified their
machines to use hi-density 1.2 meg 5.25" floppy disk
drives in place of or in addition to the 8" ones.
Much of this stuff nowadays, is used, lease returns, etc. You may be
able to find this stuff at the Tandy/Radio Shack Outlet Store in
Fort Worth, phone number 817-654-0337.
***********************************************************************
<This information is provided by an individual and is not nor should be
construed as being provided by Radio Shack or Tandy Corp. Radio
Shack/Tandy Corp has no obligation to support the information provided
in any way. >
Earl W. Bollinger
@ <trsvax!earl>
"You were in the Clone Wars!", said Luke excitedly.
"Yes", replied Obi Wan, "I was a DOS programmer. But that was before the dark
times, before OS2."root@gak.UUCP (01/17/89)
>/* Jan 14, 1989 by stormy.atmos.washington.edu!jeff in gak:comp.sys.tandy */ >/* ---------- "What sort of support is there for T" ---------- */ >Do they still make/sell them? > >it doesn't come with a C compiler. I was even more amazed when the Tandy >dealer we went to showed us a list of software we could order which include >F77, COBOL, Pascal and BASIC but not C. The C compiler is part of the development system. Use either the version 7 one or the system 3 one. > >There are several things I am interested to know. > > 1) Has anyone ported GNU C to the 6000? If so how can we get > executables for it? not me > > 2) How difficult/expensive is it to add more mass storage? Might be easier to change the 15 meg to a 35 or 70 ST506 style. or use the 25-1041 external 20 meg HD. > > 3) How difficult/expensive is it to add more memory? The new MMU mentioned elsewhere will allow raising it, but its not a cheap way to go. > > 4) What version of Xenix is considered minimal to be used as a USENET > node? V7 used to work fine for me, but I now use system 3 (3.2 Xenix). > > 5) Is it possible to add more RS232 ports to it? yes, if the 3 user boards are still in stock. > > 6) Is it a good deal at $100? $200? > >/* End of text from gak:comp.sys.tandy */ Gary Kueck {trsvax:sys1}!techsup!gak!root
root@gak.UUCP (01/17/89)
>/* Jan 14, 1989 by stormy.atmos.washington.edu!jeff in gak:comp.sys.tandy */ >/* ---------- "What sort of support is there for T" ---------- */ >Do they still make/sell them? > The Tandy 6000 > 4) What version of Xenix is considered minimal to be used as a USENET > node? > >V7 used to work fine for me, but I now use system 3 (3.2 Xenix). > A correction (or addition). The UUCP software comes with the development system. This is also where the C compiler is. >/* End of text from gak:comp.sys.tandy */ Gary Kueck {trsvax:sys1}!techsup!gak!root
uhclem@trsvax.UUCP (01/19/89)
<> B> 1) Has anyone ported GNU C to the 6000? If so how can we get B> executables for it? Yes it has been done. However GNU really needs more than 1 Meg of program memory. (Ram-SWAP does NOT help that much here.) B> 2) How difficult/expensive is it to add more mass storage? The hard disk drives are standard ST506/ST412-compatible drives. If you have a 16B-HD or a 6000-HD, you are limited to two drives (one internal and one external) unless you are willing to do a lot of work. If you don't have a built-in, then up to four external drives can be used. These can be up to 1024 cylinder by 8 heads. (This can be increased by other modifications.) I use a 1024x9 drive simply because it was cheaper at the time than any other 1024x8 drive around. The 1024x9 cost $559. You can use 8" or 5-1/4" hi-cap floppy drives. You can add Bernoulli boxes (Iomega removable media) to your system. It supports up to 2 8" 10-megabyte or 2 8" 20-megabyte cartridges. Increasing that to four drives is not beyond reason. The resulting cartridge format for tars is identical to that used on the 286/386 systems Tandy sells. The 8" drives aren't available from Tandy anymore, but you can get them at many mail-order computer shops. The drive is expensive $1000+, and the media runs about $70 per 10-Megabyte cartridge. You can also add SCSI hard drives and 9-track tape if you are willing to get far off the supported track. B> 3) How difficult/expensive is it to add more memory? As expensive as it is for any other machine these days. The 6000 allows up to 1 Megabyte of RAM for program space. Additional RAM can be used for a RAM-swap device. Buying the memory board (even with 0K) from Tandy is getting hard, but there are other makers of compatible memory boards out there. A MMU extension is available from a third party vendor that will allow up to four megabytes of program RAM. This extension is not quite as expensive as the RAM you will need to use it, but a cheaper solution may be on the way. Memory must be 150nsec for the 8MHZ system. B> 4) What version of Xenix is considered minimal to be used as a USENET B> node? People have been using it for USENET since the earliest V7 releases from Tandy (1.x.x). However the latest System III versions (3.2.x) is preferable. B> 5) Is it possible to add more RS232 ports to it? The basic machine has two built-in. Up until the 3.2.0 release, only one 3-port board (a total of 5 ports) was advertised although some large customers got support for a second board added. You could use it but not report problems with it. As of 3.2.0, two 3-port boards are officially supported, bringing the official total to 8 ports. A third board happens to work in 3.2. (12 ports), but that is unsupported. 6) Is it a good deal at $100? $200? If in good condition, sure. B>probably be best to respond via E-Mail. Sorry, faulty or non-existant path. Besides, too much inaccurate info has already been posted. <This information is provided by an individual and is not nor should be construed as being provided by Radio Shack or Tandy Corp. Radio Shack/Tandy Corp has no obligation to support the information provided in any way. Geez! I invented this disclaimer and now everybody uses it whenever they want.> "Thank you, Uh Clem." Frank Durda IV @ <trsvax!uhclem> ...decvax!microsoft!trsvax!uhclem ...sys1!hal6000!trsvax!uhclem