by TheoAU » August 21st, 2022, 10:17 pm
The news is generally good. I have a working system. Although there are some issues. After my last post, I installed the connectors on the front panel. I got impatient and tested the front panel with a 50 pin cable that I already had. However, I didn't realize that this cable connected the pins in reverse on the front panel side. The LED's did come on but nothing else worked (obviously). Hopefully connecting the cable that way didn't cause any problems?
I then made the correct 50 pin cable and the 8 pin cable to connect the interface board with the CPU. I did an initial power-on test to check voltages and everything seemed ok. Then I tested the system with the following boards installed:
- Replica CPU
- Front panel interface
- FDC+ with memory enabled and PROM disabled
- 882SIOJP with PROM enabled and serial port 1 connected to Teraterm
I tested this configuration in my original machine and it jumped to AMON on power up. So I was hoping to get the same result with the 8800C. But unfortunately it didn't work. The good news is that the following things worked:
- Stop/reset
- Memory examine and deposit, including examine next and deposit next.
- Run/stop
That's where I left things yesterday, some good signs of life but not perfect.
Today, I had a little more success. I changed the configuration to:
- Replica CPU
- Front panel interface board
- California Computer Systems 64k Dynamic ram
- MITS 882SIO
With this configuration I was able to successfully run the serial echo program on port 1. I was also able to load 4k Basic v4 via tape file from Teraterm. I was really happy with the outcome as it shows the machine is generally working!
I have discovered a couple of issues though. I'll post those up shortly. See pics below of bench test setup.
- Attachments
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- Bench test setup with CPU, front panel interface, CCS64k and MITS 882SIO
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- Loading 4k Basic from tape file through Teraterm
Last edited by
TheoAU on August 22nd, 2022, 2:42 am, edited 2 times in total.