Catastrophe averted!
That was close. The C sized batteries looked bad but didn't leak acid, fortunately. So, what is it anyway? Not my usual Casio music keyboard post. 10 x 1.5v makes for 15V. It is a portable computer that can be powered by C sized batteries... at least for a short while. It came in a nice bag too, to carry it. Seen this before?
It is an Amstrad PPC512. It was not booting and didn't display the error message on the screen. I knew it was a dip switch issue and got it booting and running DOS programs. It was an unusual machine for 1987 (although quite heavy).
#Amstrad #ppc512 #retrocomputing #DOS #pc #retrogaming #portable #floppy
In a sense, it is a bit like a laptop. Built in LCD monitor with MDA and CGA modes, but no backlight. No colors either. This model is the PPC512S, with a single double density 3.5 floppy (720KB). It has the nicest keyboard you've ever used on a laptop. Full size. It has 512KB ram but I plan on adding some chips to get it to 640KB (This is for DOS, so fine).
#retrocomputing #retrogaming #pc #DOS #portable #Amstrad #ppc512 #floppy
The processor is a NEC V30 at 8Mhz. The ibm pc xt ran an 8088 at 4.7Mhz.
The V30 was pin compatible with the 8086, and at the same clock speed, was faster than the Intel processor. It also had extra instructions, including some from the 80286.
The amstrad ppc512 also has a socket for a 8087-2 math coprocessor.
#intel #nec #v30 #8088 #8086 #amstrad #amstradppc
I did have the original boot disk but it was not recognised as a system disk. So I imaged it in case I wanted to get back the files, then wrote the proper Amstrad disk image on it. I used a Windows Xp laptop with a floppy drive and used roadkil imager (1.6)
And it worked. #Amstrad #ppc512 #retrocomputing #msdos
Waiting on a gotek usb drive to arrive so I don't have to image a bunch of floppies
Francois Dion