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RE: [N8VEM-S100:459] S-100 8086 CPU board done, ready for manufacturing
Yes board needs external RAM. Our 4MG static RAM would be best but any
S-100 IEE-696 static RAM should be OK. It will NOT work with old 8 bit RAM
and I have not tested it with dynamic RAM either -- I suspect not, since
most of these were 8 bit only memory boards. (The RAM board must respond to
the S100 sXTRQ* signal).
The board has onboard EPROMS see here for details
http://s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/8086%20Board/8086%20CPU%20Board
.htm
Douglas I have to emphasize this is NOT a commercial operation. You are on
your own with these boards. The board does not come with "preconfigured
software"
I wrote a 10,000 line BIOS/Monitor for my own use which I posted. It works
with the other S-100 boards Andrew and I have made over the years. Other
than that you will have to modify/do your own. As to the CPM86 BIOS, it's
written for the ZFDC floppy disk controller board and IDE hard disk/CF card
board. The former will handle 8", 5" & 3" disks but you will need to adjust
the software for whichever disk you want to boot from. Its easiest to boot
from a CF-Card. And yes you can boot from the ROM. You will have to spend
quite some time reading all the stuff there if you wish to get a functional
system going with CPM86+/MS-DOS. IT IS DEFINATLY NOT FOR A CASUAL PLAYER.
I spent 100's of hours on the above so far, sorry I simply don't have time
to "commercialize'" a thing like this. Perhaps somebody else can write-up a
shopping list etc. That said when the final Production board arrives I will
try and write up a step by step build/debugging account.
I have no experience with Concurrent CPM -- and will probably keep it that
way (personal choice), my focus going forward for future Intel chips will be
DOS, windows etc.
Finally I have to stress that there is always risk in a project like this
that some bug crops up in the final board, rendering the board inactive or
severely handicapped. If anybody out there is not comfortable with a risk
like this -- please don't even think of order this board. These bare boards
are for experienced hobbyists who can afford to risk a few $'s (and time)
on a long shot.
John
John Monahan Ph.D
510-502-5890
mon...@vitasoft.org
-----Original Message-----
From: n8vem...@googlegroups.com [mailto:n8vem...@googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Douglas W. Goodall
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2011 6:43 PM
To: n8vem...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [N8VEM-S100:459] S-100 8086 CPU board done, ready for
manufacturing
Andrew,
I understand that the 8086 board is about to happen. I have a couple of
questions about that. The 8086 can address a meg of memory. Does the board
need or use external memory, and if so, what kind?
The other question is about what system software will come preconfigured
for the board...
I believe I read that the board will come with BIOS code supporting the
intelligent floppy card, but I am unsure about the availability of that card
since I have had one on order for quite a long time.
The existence of the ROM BIOS complicates things a little as you would want
to have your hardware be compatible with the provided system software.
Is there some reason a parts list is not provided for the new board?
Are any of the parts expensive or difficult to obtain?
John's procedure for bringing up CP/M-86 on the board requires that you have
8" floppy drives, and not all of us do...
Is there going to be bootable system software provided? Will we be able to
boot CP/M-86+ from ROM, like we do CP/M today?
Oh yea... John doesn't know what he is talking about regarding the history
of CP/M-86+. It was I who took CP/M+ to Europe and it was subsequently
licensed to ACT for the Apricot to be sold along side of the Concurrent
CP/M-86 v2.0 which I implemented on that machine. I am curious exactly what
experience John has with Concurrent to be making comments about the
difficulty of implementation and usefulness for beginners.
Douglas
On 10/23/2011 6:04 AM, lynchaj wrote:
> Hi! Good news! The S-100 8086 CPU board has finally finished!
>
> I am getting ready to make a manufacturing order for the S-100 8086
> CPU board. There have been three prototype boards already that John
> has built and tested so I think this board is in good shape. John
> also ported CP/M-86, monitor, and a BIOS among other software.
>
> Since it has been so long I am asking everyone who has signed up for
> the S-100 8086 CPU board to reconfirm their request for the board.
> There has to be about 20+ boards or so to make the PCB order feasible.
>
> http://n8vem-sbc.pbworks.com/w/file/44072238/N8VEM%20Waiting%20List.pd
> f
>
> Thanks and have a nice day!
>
> Andrew Lynch
>
>