Mark J. BlairFeb 21
Does anybody remember this #S100 computer from back when I was on twitter? I don't think I've done anything with it since around 2017, and mice have visited it since then. Let's spend a little time with it and clean it up.
Show threadMark J. Blair

I think this came from some company that built (or repaired?) hard disk drives. The cards and power harness had been removed, but the case has a nice 7-slot S-100 backplane and a pair of especially nice Mitsubishi M2896 8" floppy disk drives. Back around 2016, I built a new power harness and fitted it with a #Compupro #S100 board set.

The little rack it's in flips right over with the computer rolled out on its rails, so I made a pair of legs with 80/20 extrusion. They're a bit cumbersome to use, but they were easy to make.

Feb 21 at 5:17amWeb
Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21

Here is the #Compupro #S100 card set I put in the system:

  • DISK1 (floppy disk controller)
  • SYSTEM SUPPORT 1
  • CPU-Z
  • RAM17
  • INTERFACER4

    • There are two more slots free for future expansion.

    That empty spot to the left of the floppy drives is just the right size to stash a copy of The CP/M Handbook by Rodnay Zaks.

    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    I didn't like the exposed screw terminals on top of the big electrolytic capacitor. I had previously just covered them with some kapton tape, but for this revisit I made a 3D printed cap to cover the top. It snaps on top of the capacitor and grabs the groove near the top of the can.
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    The floppy drive bus cable naturally wants to sit right on top of the moving bits of the top drive, so this time I made a 3D printed lid to go over the top. It took a few tries to get the details right.
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    For now I have the floppy drives jumpered as drive ID 2 and 3, with an HXC-2001 filling in as drive ID 0 and 1. In some later incarnation I'll probably mount the HXC-2001, but for now it just sits on top. Other possible future changes include a switch to swap the floppy drives vs. the emulator so I can boot from either, and a hard drive or an emulator for one.
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    I wonder if anybody has yet made a flexible #S100 emulation card comparable to the #UniBone and #QBone cards for DEC systems? Recent projects like #BlueSCSI, #OneROM, #PicoIDE, etc. make me wonder whether an #RP2040 or #RP2350 might have the horsepower to do the job?
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    Given the Compupro flavor of this computer, an emulation of a DISK3 card + drive would be ideal.
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    I have no idea what to do with this system yet, and I've been wondering that for a decade. I got the stripped chassis, and I just had to build it out to relieve the pressure inside my mind.
    Show threadDaniel CarosoneFeb 21
    @NF6X neat. slip-on silicone boot things would be the typical solution, this is more fun
    Show threadMark J. BlairFeb 21
    @uep One of those would be delightful. I'm not sure where to buy those, and anyway I just wanted to make something overcomplicated for the sake of making something overcomplicated.
    Show threadDaniel CarosoneFeb 21

    @NF6X any old electrical store, they're common for auto-electrical fittings, various sizes, etc.

    And, yes, clearly, you did with great success.