Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!LIN@Mit-Mc.ARPA From: Herb LinNewsgroups: net.micro.cpm Subject: report on macro-tech board (80286/z80) - of interest to 8085/8088 users Message-ID: <6811@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Fri, 28-Dec-84 11:53:15 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.6811 Posted: Fri Dec 28 11:53:15 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 29-Dec-84 23:13:45 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 31 a report to netland about the Macrotech dual processor board, (with an 80286 (10 MHz) and a Z-80 (8 MHz) advertised as a "drop in replacement" for the Compupro dual processor board (8085/8088). It isn't. No doubt it does adequately with certain configurations, but with mine, it does not. The symptom of difficulty is that when I boot my system (a Compupro System 8/16 C) running MPM 8-16 (Gifford Computer Systems), the system does not boot properly (but only intermittently). It sometimes takes me a few pushes of the reset button to even start the system; then, sometimes, the system seems unable to find the right INIT files. Sometimes, it finds the files, but then branches off into some strange part of the code. It has never entirely failed to work, and these troubles seem to happen only when I am doing my boot. Once the system has booted properly, it appears to operate properly after that. The problem has been diagnosed as an interaction problem between the processor board and my hard disk controller board, a Morrow HDCA, that probably results from timing problems. Gifford has offered to refund in full the cost of the dual processor board; they have also suggested that I upgrade my hard disk controller to a COMPUPRO Disk 2 board. They have explicitly refused to develop a fix to my problem. Since I would really like Z-80 capability for my 8 bit processor, can anyone make suggestions to me? tnx.