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My CompuPro 8/16 System - Say Cheese !!!

retrogear

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
1,124
Location
Minnesota
Attached are some pics of my resurrected CompuPro 8/16 running WordStar on CP/M-86 1.1R and booting Concurrent CP/M 3.1DM.
System consists of :

System Support 1
Interfacer 4
DISK 3
DISK 1
8085/88 processor
RAM 22
two Mdrive 512k
Quantum Q540 hard drive

Televideo Personal Terminal

Off to the left is my Wameco S100 board and aTE power supply I'm ordering parts to finish.
I thought it was time for a photo shoot ...

Larry G
ccpm86.jpgchassis.jpgsystem.jpgtelevideo.jpg
 
Very nice!

I'm working on a similar system here, thus far have been able to boot off of a floppy emulator using Disk1A/System Support1 and 8085/88. Unfortunately I don't have original floppy system or MDrives.

I haven't been able to get the Interfacer 4 to be recognized, if you get a second to take a picture of the board I'd be appreciative.

Also if you have extra boards you'd consider swapping or selling please PM me.

Thanks!

Attached are some pics of my resurrected CompuPro 8/16 running WordStar on CP/M-86 1.1R and booting Concurrent CP/M 3.1DM.
View attachment 26010View attachment 26011View attachment 26012View attachment 26013
 
I am using the SS-1 for console. My Interfacer 4 switches are just set to the default in the manual. At this point I don't even know if it's working. If I get output from it I'll let you know.

Larry G
 
Well, I enjoyed my system for about a day and then a couple tanatulums blew on the System Support I board. The damn things are rated 20V and my DC unregulated is running 18-20V. They definitely underrated those. I'm ordering 35V replacements. I have one blown previously on the DISK1 to replace too. Good thing I took screenshot pictures before it went up in smoke ...

Larry G
 
Sorry to hear about the caps! Saw this thread when you posted, just been too busy to jump in and say very, VERY nice! I think that makes now 3 different Compupro threads on here. :D (maybe we should converge on one?) Gary - meant to ask you after you commented on mine - I'd love more info on the disk emulator you used. I googled the name and found the website, but details on which model is known to work would be great (and some hints on how you set it up!) I fully intend to get the floppy setup I have working, but I would rather NOT try to keep a supply of 8" and 5.25" floppies for all eternity - they are getting harder and harder to find in good shape. I have a decent collection of the 5.25, but no 8". I have a pair of bare, IDEv2 boards from John Monahan that I need to build, one for my Zeniths and the other will either go in the compupro or in my generic chasis. Anyway, options for getting around the use of real floppies always interest me!
 
I'm also active on John Monahan's S-100 Forum and have a pretty full build of his stuff including the IDE boards. They work nicely, but I wanted a way to keep the CompuPro system "stock" and boot original factory images.

The Lotharek SD system works nicely loading the .imd and .td0 images from the web and booting from 8085/8088, 8086/8087 and Macrotek Z80/286 CPU boards. I have it wired with a 40 pin ribbon cable to the 5.25" connector on a Disk 1A - but jumpered as an 8" drive. I only recently got it running, but thus far it works nicely.

Haven't been able to get either of my Interfacer 3/4 boards working yet, and sure would love to find a MDrive and another Disk 1A.

- Gary

Sorry to hear about the caps! Saw this thread when you posted, just been too busy to jump in and say very, VERY nice! I think that makes now 3 different Compupro threads on here. :D (maybe we should converge on one?) Gary - meant to ask you after you commented on mine - I'd love more info on the disk emulator you used. I googled the name and found the website, but details on which model is known to work would be great (and some hints on how you set it up!) I fully intend to get the floppy setup I have working, but I would rather NOT try to keep a supply of 8" and 5.25" floppies for all eternity - they are getting harder and harder to find in good shape. I have a decent collection of the 5.25, but no 8". I have a pair of bare, IDEv2 boards from John Monahan that I need to build, one for my Zeniths and the other will either go in the compupro or in my generic chasis. Anyway, options for getting around the use of real floppies always interest me!
 
Gary,

Sounds great! I have 3 Zeniths, so one or two will stay 'pure' while one of them will become my retro-dev-box 'O DOOM! :D (Goal is to run linux, or eventually write my own OS, but linux would be a great start - to be able to work in C using VIM. Because, well, it's VIM. On a phosphor monitor :D) Said machine will be the recipient of several of the Monahan cards, with the rest being used to build out my generic backplane/chasis/powersupply that I have stashed away. Though eventually I wish to turn that into an 'expansion' cage for the devBoxODoom(DBOD?) though I am not sure how easy it will be to create a 'jumper' to connect the backplanes. I also need to get much smarter about the power requirements, signalling, etc. I worry about speed and so on, how much noise/lag I would introduce - but my basic thought it to use maybe a couple of extender boards, with a pair of the edge connectors that get connnected via several ribbon cables, minus power traces. That way, I can make use of the second cages power supply to locally power the cards, without issues, and ONLY pass the signals back and forth. Not sure that this is even technically feasible, or if it does 'work' whether it will be useable after the added bus length, etc. Still, it's one of the ideas floating around my brain. I also wish to keep my compu-pro 'pure', card - wise, so that SD drive sounds like just the ticket. The system is already 'complete' though I think you may have been the one to identify it as a 'basic' system - bare necessities. Still, should be great fun. Enough rambling from me, I need to get back to work.
 
I have a working CompuPro 8/16 system. I am running CCPM 5.X (I think). I am able to boot off the CDC/Seagate HD using the Disk 3 board. I can also boot off an 8" floppy. It took me a while to get it up and running (three years ago), but since then it has been stable.

I am running with the following boards:
8085/88
DISK 1A
DISK 3
System Support 1
Interfacer 4
4 X RAM 22s

I also have a CompuPro 286 board that I can swap in (removing the 85/88 board).

I have manuals if anyone cannot find what they need online. There were many little gotchas that I discovered along the way to getting my machine to boot, then run reliably. I found a guy in southern CA who used to be a CompuPro dealer. He had a lot of knowledge about the systems and even had all the ECO's on the different boards (which made a big difference on one case).

If anyone has any questions about anything, feel free to contact me here, or at my email address (jackson.jones@gmail.com). If I don't know something off hand, I may be able to figure it out (remember), or find out.

Thanks,

Jackson



RAM 22
 
I also have a 286 board that I think is reading the disk on boot but doesn't finish. I am jealous of your DISK1A, mine is DISK1.
Couple questions:

1) Do you happen to have any MP/M 8-16 manuals? I am looking for one that would describe how to change the floppy step rate.

2) Do you happen to have a manual for your 286 board? Does your board match one of the boards shown here:
http://s100computers.com/Hardware Folder/CompuPro/CPU-286/CPU-286.htm
My board is a 451B similar to the 451A shown on top. So far there is no manual for that board.
If your board is a 451A or B could you attach a picture of it? Mine doesn't have the 2764 eeproms shown in the picture.

3) Does your 286 board boot an run ok when you swap in for the 8085/88 or do you change some other switches?

Thanks for any info

Larry G
 
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