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low level projects in hardware, assembly language, 'C', and
sometimes Forth. Our articles cover PC's, microcontrollers, and
embedded and older systems.
In general, we cover software and hardware that one person can work
with, where you can "do it by yourself". This includes common
programming languages and boards and systems where you can identify
(and get) the parts and get code to make it work. Source code from
the articles is posted on the TCJ Web pages and BBS so you can
download it instead of typing it in.
The subscription rate is $24 for 6 issues or $44 for 12.
Subscriptions may be sent to:
The Computer Journal
P.O. Box 3900
Citrus Heights, CA 95611-3900
Voice: (800) 424-8825 or (916) 722-4970
Fax: (916) 722-7480
The The Computer Journal has it's own mailing list. To subscribe,
send an email message to 'Majordomo@psyber.com' with
subscribe list-tcj
end
as the body of the message. 'list-tcj' is a digested mailing list -
the messages are collected during the day and then sent out to
subscribers in the middle of the night. That way, you only get one
email message from the list on any day.
The Computer Journal (TCJ) is also on the Internet.
Email tcj@psyber.com
Web page http://www.psyber.com/~tcj
Q29: Are there other magazines supporting CP/M?
A: (Jay Sage)
The Z-Letter from David McGlone is no more. Classic Computing
(formerly Historically Brewed), edited by David Greelish is
available at:
Classic Computing Press
5227 Seaspray Ave.
Jacksonville, FL 32244
These magazines may list other publications, support groups and CP/M
supporting companies.
Q30: Does anybody support Amstrad machines?
A: (Matthew Phillips, Bill Roch, Howard Fisher)
WACCI on http://users.ox.ac.uk/~chri0264/wowww.html includes:
A directory of suppliers for Amstrad CPC and PCW machines
An "email helpline" of contacts who are willing to give advice
A listing of other Amstrad user groups and magazines
Forthcoming events in the Amstrad world
The WACCI PD Library listings - both Amstrad and CP/M stuff.
There is also information on WACCI itself, the UK's biggest Amstrad
CPC user club, including details of subscription rates.
Amstrad support is also available from Bill Roch. He offers
software, hardware and does repairs on the PCW's - 8256, 8512 and
9512. He may provide the most support for the wonderful Amstrad in
the U.S.
Bill Roch
4067 Arizona Avenue
Atascadero, CA 93422
(805) 466-8440 - phone
(805) 461-1666 - fax
broch@thegrid.net - email
The descendant of Locomotive Software, a developer of software on
the PCW (and CPCs) for Amstrad, are now with LocoScript Software.
Their web page is mainly concerned with proprietary word processing
software, but has some CP/M related stuff and has links to other
useful PCW CP/M related sites. Try:
Howard Fisher
LocoScript Software
10 Vincent Works
Dorking, Surrey H4 3HJ, UK
Tel 01306 747757
Fax 01306 885529
sales@locomotive.com
http://www.locomotive.com
Q31: Does anybody support Sharp Machines?
A: (Maurice Hawes, Mike Mallett)
The SHARP USERS CLUB, based in the U.K. but with members in Europe,
South Africa, and Australia. The SUC started in 1980 and its quality
Magazine, published 3 times a year, covers ALL Sharp computers,
including the latest PC laptops. The SUC has a large library of PD
software for all the older Sharp machines such as:
Z80 machines (Sharp Basic Tape/Disk OS or CP/M programs): MZ-80K,
MZ-80B, MZ-80A, MZ-700, MZ-800, MZ-3500, and PC-3201 (The PC-3201
was known as the ZY-3200 in the USA).
Also Z80 machines that were sold mainly or exclusively in Japan
e.g. X1, MZ-2500.
Early 8086 machines (CP/M-86 or non-IBM Sharp MS-DOS programs):
MZ-5500, MZ-5600, 'SHARPWRITER', PC-5000 'Bubble' machine.
The SUC can supply hardware upgrades and documentation for many of
the above machines. Contact :
Maurice Hawes
Sharp Users Club
6 Belle Vue
The Esplanade
Weymouth
Dorset DT4 8DR United Kingdom
phone: +44 1305 783518
Email enquiries may be sent via mike.mallett@zetnet.co.uk.
Q32: What is ZCPR and the Z System?
A: (Jay Sage, Mike Finn, Don Kirkpatrick, Dave Baldwin)
The original ZCPR was written in Z80 code and was called the "Z80
Command Processor Replacement". It was a drop-in replacement for
the Digital Research CCP (Console Command Processor) and adhered to
the 800H space restriction. ZCPR2 (February 14, 1983) was the first
experiment in greatly extending the power of the command processor.
It added additional memory modules for supporting such things as
multiple commands on a line, a dynamically reconfigurable command
search path, and directory names associated with drive/user areas.
The ideas and implementation in ZCPR2 were only half-baked, and they
came to logical fruition in ZCPR3 (Richard Conn's 3.0 and Jay Sage's
3.3 and 3.4).
ZCPR3 gives you UNIX-like flexibility. Features implemented include
shells, aliases, I/O redirection, flow control, named directories,
search paths, custom menus, passwords, on line help, and greater
command flexibility. ZCPR3 can be found on many BBS and SIMTEL
mirrors. The Z System commercial version is available for a nominal
fee from The Computer Journal. Further details can be found in the
text "ZCPR3, The Manual", by Richard Conn, ISBN 0-918432-59-6.
You can find a detailed history of the development of ZCPR and the Z
System in Jay Sage's column in issue #54 of The Computer Journal.
This article celebrated the 10th anniversary of ZCPR, which was
first released on February 2, 1982. His "ZCPR33 User's Guide" also
has a section on the history.
There still are active Z-nodes supporting Z-system and many RCP/M's
supporting CP/M as well as some special interests. As of November
7, 1995, the known BBS's supporting the Z-System are:
Z-Node Sysop Telephone Type of BBS
3 Jay Sage 617 965 7046 PC 33,600 baud
5 Ian Cottrell 613 829 2530 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
6 Finn, Morgen, Isaac 215 535 0344 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
9 Don Maslin 619 454 8412 PC 14,400 baud
33 Jim Sands 405 237 9282 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
36 Richard Mead 626 799 1632 PC 28,800 baud
45 Richard Reid (Ken) 713 937 8886 PC ? baud
Michael McCarrey 509 489 5835 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
Wil Schuemann 702 887 0408 PC 28,800 baud
Wil Schuemann 702 887 0507 Z-Syst 9,600 baud (Soon)
TCJ Dave Baldwin 916 722 5799 PC 14,400 baud
There is also a Z-node in Munich, Germany,
51 Helmut Jungkunz +49.8801.2453 28,800 baud
and one in Perth, Australia.
62 +61 9 450 0200
Q33: What ever happened to the Z800?
A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy, Frank Zsitvay)
The Z800 was planned to be NMOS, and was finally implemented as the
Z280 in CMOS, five years late. And it does have a 4kB/8kB paged
MMU, and separate I/D space, and cache. There are small differences
between the Z800 preliminary spec and the final Z280 specification.
The call for Z280 end-of-life last time buys went out in December,
1995.
The Z180 was not an outgrowth of the Z800. It was a joint effort
between Zilog and Hitachi. The first two versions of the HD64180
were slightly different from the current Z180. The current HD64180
and Z180 are identical, and both have flags in one of the control
registers to emulate the earlier versions. The changes are mostly
bus timing, as the HD64180 was designed to interface with Motorola
6800 style peripherals as well as Intel and Zilog, which wasn't too
strange since Hitachi second sources some Motorola 6800 series
products.
Q34: What is the status of the Z380?
A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy)
The Z380 is a 32-bit version binary-compatible upgrade of the
HD180. The 18MHz part in the 100-pin QFP package is shipping. The
plan for a PGA-package for the Z380 has been scrapped. Zilog is
working on a 25MHz part, but it isn't quite ready yet. The
"Preliminary Product Specfication", Zilog part number DC6003-02,
documents the part. According to the manual, the plans include a
40MHz part, but the time frame is uncertain.
Q35: What is the KC80?
A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy)
There was an announcement in the trade press about a deal between
Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Zilog. Kawasaki has developed
something called the KC80, which is a Z80 (no MMU, extended address
space, or 32-bit enhancements), but speeded up to execute most
instructions in one or two cycles, and running at 20MHz. Zilog has
the rights to the design. The catch is that Zilog is currently not
planning to sell it as a chip.
Q36: What is the S-100 bus (also known as IEEE-696 bus)?
A: (Herb Johnson)
Among the earliest microcomputers offered to electronic hobbyists in
the mid-1970's was the Altair 8800 by MITS. It was offered as a $400
kit in an article in the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics
magazine. Each functional block of the computer, such as the
processor, memory, or I/O required at that time many logic or memory
chips each. So a card was designed for each function, connected
together by plugging into a common bus of parallel connections or
"motherboard". The function and timing of signals on the 100 pins of
that bus became known as the "S-100 bus". The Altair was distinctive
for its "front panel" which displayed binary address and data on
LED's and which provided toggle switches to control the processor,
much like minicomputers of the era.
While not the first microcomputer or microcontroller to be offered
for public sale, the Altair 8800 is often cited as the "first
personal computer" as it was a widely accepted and visually
recognized product; it recieved a lot of press coverage inside and
outside the electronics industry; and it set a manufacturing
standard for a new industry. It and its successors were certainly
early yet enduring leaders in affordable personal, business, and
industrial computers. Only the IMSAI 8080 compares in recognition
value among hobbyists, but the Altair is often cited by the popular
press.
At first, MITS (and almost immediately others) produced cards which
were compatible to the Altair bus. Soon, IMSAI and others followed
with the production of competitive yet (somewhat) compatible
systems. The S-100 bus evolved as other manufacturers, notibly
IMSAI, made slight changes to the Altair bus signals and improved
the front panel. Yet other manufacturers used digital designs that
either depended on special signals from their own cards, or had
signal timing requirements that varied between manufacturers. Over
time, these differences and the limits of the original Altair/IMSAI
produced a number of manufacturer-specific bus variations for
extended addressing, bus operations, memory refresh and so on. MITS,
IMSAI, Cromenco, Compupro, Ithica Intersystems and Northstar were
among the major S-100 systems manufacturers of the time. Card
manufacturers are too numerous to list. Most S-100 systems used the
8080, Z80, or 8085 processors, but some companies produced cards
with almost any available 8 or 16-bit processor.
Bus signal differences were finally addressed in 1983 with the
publication of the IEEE-696 standard by the Institute of Electrical
and Electronic Engineers. The standard was previously in use
primarily by Compupro and Ithica. As CP/M personal systems went to
single-board designs with no bus at all, the introduction of new
S-100 designs peaked. Further competition, price pressures, and
finally the IBM PC caused new S-100 system designs for business and
personal use to drop in the mid-1980's. A notible system of the era
was the Heath\Zenith Z-100, a dual processor 8085/8088 system that
could run CP/M 80, CP/M 86 and MS-DOS: and *very* similar to the
popular Compupro 8\16 system. Zenith sold thousands of Z-100's to
the military. Incidently, many systems of the mid-1980s began to
run other operating systems, such as CP/M-compatible Turbodos, ZCPR
and Z-system; and various UNIX-compatible OS's on 68000's, 80286's,
and other processors.
New IEEE-696 systems were subsequently developed through the end of
the 1980's, primarily for industrial and/or development (non-CP/M)
applications, particularly where multiprocessing or speed were
important. Up to at least 1993, Compupro and Cromemco still
supported these systems at commercial prices, but apparently they
did not support their prior CP/M systems except as cards and
documentation for sale. New S-100 cards were also introduced
throughout the 1980's, but declining through the end of the decade.
Zenith's Z-100 system is supported by some active user groups and
on-line maillists such as Usenet's comp.sys.zenith.z100. Northstar
systems owners correspond occasionally on comp.sys.northstar.
One person who provides S-100 cards, documention, and some support
is Herb Johnson. As "Dr. S-100" he wrote (1994-96) a regular column
in The Computer Journal (www.psyber.com/~tcj/) and corresponds with
S-100 and IEEE-696 owners. As of 1996 he can be reached via The
Computer Journal or:
Herbert R. Johnson
Dr. S-100
59 Main Blvd
Ewing NJ 08618
(609) 771-1503
Email: hjohnson@pluto.njcc.com
Web page: http://pluto.njcc.com/~hjohnson/
Q37: Anyone know a good source for cross assemblers?
A: (Roger Hanscom, Mike Morris)
There are a variety of sources for cross platform development tools.
The C Users' Group (1601 W. 23rd St., Suite 200, Lawrence, KS
66046-2700) has a library of software that includes all kinds of
development tools. Source code is distributed with many of them.
They charge $4/disk and $3.50 s&h per order, and can supply 3.5" or
5.25" DOS formats. Those of you seeking assemblers or disassemblers
will be particularly interested in volumes number 398, 363 (2
disks), 348, 346 (2 disks), 338 (2 disks), 335 (4 disks), 316, 303,
and 292(4 disks). They also market a CD-ROM of volumes 100 through
364 for $49.95 list (it can usually be found at computer shows for
$25 to $35). They can be reached at 913/841-1631 FAX: 913/841-2624.
The Circuit Cellar BBS is on-line 24 hours per day with some cross
development tools, particularly for CPU's that are commonly used as
controllers. They have a Courier HST running 2400/9600 bps at
203/871-0549, and another line that will do up to 14.4k bps (8N1) at
203/871-1988. Both of these numbers are in Connecticut.
The Motorola BBS is in Austin, Texas, on 512/440-3733. They have
downloadable cross development products mostly for the 68xx and
68xxx architectures. Like the Circuit Cellar BBS, this BBS seems to
specialize in micro-controller development. Many of these files can
also be accessed over the network on bode.ee.ualberta.ca
(129.128.16.96).
2500AD software lists a Z80 assembler, a Z80 C compiler (that
includes the assembler in the package), a Z280 assembler, a Z280 C
compiler (that includes the assembler), and a Z380 assembler.
Don't forget to look in the old familiar places, such as
oak.oakland.edu and wuarchive.wustl.edu.
The Walnut Creek CDROM has some tools from some of the sources
listed above on the CP/M CDROM.
=====================================================================
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