If NO IMAGES will be shown, use www.z80.eu/blog instead of blog.z80.eu

Please note also - THIS BLOG ENDS HERE WITH THE LAST ENTRY FROM NOVEMBER 9th 2021.

I have prepared a new blog with wordpress at https://vintagecomputing.info !!!

Thank you.

I wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year 2019 !

Btw. There is an Amiga demo existing, which contains digitalized singing ("Leise rieselt der Schnee", means "silenty is falling the snow") and a colorful picture showing a lot of Santa's ... but it's an unusual demo, hard rock inspired a bit, and the gestures are unusual, too ....

There are other Amiga demos which shows 3D effects and more, but not really XMAS related.

Also, I've found an improved version of CPMLS (running on Windows).
Take a look at http://www.sydneysmith.com/wordpress/2251/cpmfs-2-00/ to get more infos.
Really useful.

It is crazy what can be done with QBASIC (for DOS).
Even the "original" Taito Invaders game, having a *real authentic* look, can be implemented in QBASIC. While looking for GWBASIC samples, I found also some QBASIC samples.
This one was the best one I ever found. It runs with any VGA (screen mode 13).
It was the result of a competition in mid-1996 for retro arcade games written in any version of BASIC. You can download it from the referenced page (related link at the bottom).

It can be easily played by using

Left - Left CTRL
Right - Left ALT
Fire - Right SHIFT
Stop program - Esc

A screenshot of the running game (unmodified):


Meanwhile I have slightly modified the program so a highscore is temporarily saved also, because then it's possible to compare your skill with others (if played on the same computer). The modified version includes also the QBASIC source, just download it from >here<. It looks of course similar:


Take also a look at the other programs James Eibisch published on the referenced "related link" page.

Today I want to show you a meanwhile really rare ECB Z80 system from 1982. It has a ECB-backplane, so many ECB-cards (like the important Z80 CPU Card, the RAM and the FDC-card, and last but not least also a VIDEO-80 (terminal) card) can take place.
The systems exists also in a desktop case, but this one has a "portable" case from Schroff.
Portable means, it has a handle to carry it, but it's unexpected heavy (~20 Kg).
The Z80 CPU runs with 4 MHz, and it has at least 64KB RAM (you can add more) and two quad density floppy drives with 800KB storage capacity.
Usually it runs with CP/M 2.2, which is not extraordinary for an ECB system.

I got the system with a broken power suppy and I had not enough space and also not enough time to repair and run it, so I swapped it against two Microprofessor MPF-1(B) with someone which has space and time enough (I can ask him if you like to exchange infos/expirience etc).
To get an expression how expensive it was, see the offer also from mid 1982:


If you look (=google) for further infos about this system, you will not find so much helpful.
If you're looking for a system disk, I can send you a TELEDISK image file.

Related link points to the wikipedia entry for ECB.

CPU (SC/MP 8A/500D aka INS 8050)

I/O board

keypad (self made, not the original pcb)


The related link points to the Elektor site with the related article overview.

Somebody told me his father had experimented with the SC/MP processor many years ago, so I pleased him to look after this again. He found the "archived" boards, and now he handed over this to me. This is great, because the CPU is already about 43 years old, and very rare.
I will try to make photos from it, and also to run it again.
Unfortunately the first thing I have to figure out is what happened with the power supply, which looks a bit exotic and perhaps the capacitors are already died, too.

While looking for documents about the SC/MP, I found some hints about a website, which offered also an emulator. Unfortunately the author of the website, Sipke de Wal, already died in 2004.
So I tried to find it on archive.org and yes, I found something about it here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20050403201729/http://xgistor.ath.cx:80/scmp.htm
But the emulator can't be downloaded anymore (written in Visual BASIC 6.0), so if anybody knows where to find "Scmp09.zip", plz inform me.

Sipke wrote about the availability of the emulator in 2001, see also
http://www.verycomputer.com/44_e9dcb0c463ab0a0c_1.htm

Picture of the emulator:


The dutch Elektuur magazine from 1977 can be found here:
https://archive.org/details/Elektuur16319775

The archived english versions can be found here:
https://archive.org/details/ElektorMagazine
Look for the issues 11-1977 to 03-1978 for the SC/MP system itself,
later issues covering cassette interface and other extensions

A really nice photo can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eveliensnel/3115361201

Some other sites also referring to SC/MP related informations, see related link.