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Victor "Vicky"

carlsson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
6,274
Location
Västerås, Sweden
I finally got a PC compatible! Err.. ok, I've have been using modern PC's for at least a decade, but previously I didn't own anything older than a Pentium 75. Now I do, for sure.

Here is my Victor "Vicky", a 8088 that seems able to run at 4.77 or 7.16 MHz. It comes with 512 kB RAM and a 20 MB HDD. I haven't checked the exact hard disk type, but I suppose ST412/506 type interface. Its built in graphics is supposedly switchable between mono and colour. I haven't looked up exactly which graphics modes those are. The installed operating system is MS-DOS 4.01, Victor edition. I also got some folders with original docs.



Since it was not screwed tight, I opened it up to take a picture:


And yes, I picked all this up for free! Now I may look around for a 8-bit ISA network card, perhaps even VGA. Then I could install Mike Brutman's TCP/IP routines and get onto the network. Since it only has three expansion slots, I would have to remove one if I want to install more than one new. The two currently installed seems like the HDD controller and a serial/paralllel port card. Somewhere I have a 16-bit combined HDD controller (ST412/506) and serial/floppy port, but maybe that card would not work at all in a 8-bit slot.

Actually, I am bidding on a 80286 board too, a local seller who has a bunch of old and new expansion cards and another HDD. I might end up getting that too, whatever I would do with it.
 
Very nice! Only having three slots is really going to make you think about what you want it to do. If you get a network card, you won't need a serial port for anything. Video cards typically have a parallel port on them. Heck, as I think about it ... three slots is plenty. Good luck. :)
 
I finally got a PC compatible! Err.. ok, I've have been using modern PC's for at least a decade, but previously I didn't own anything older than a Pentium 75. Now I do, for sure.

Here is my Victor "Vicky", a 8088 that seems able to run at 4.77 or 7.16 MHz. It comes with 512 kB RAM and a 20 MB HDD. I haven't checked the exact hard disk type, but I suppose ST412/506 type interface. Its built in graphics is supposedly switchable between mono and colour. I haven't looked up exactly which graphics modes those are. The installed operating system is MS-DOS 4.01, Victor edition. I also got some folders with original docs.



Since it was not screwed tight, I opened it up to take a picture:


And yes, I picked all this up for free! Now I may look around for a 8-bit ISA network card, perhaps even VGA. Then I could install Mike Brutman's TCP/IP routines and get onto the network. Since it only has three expansion slots, I would have to remove one if I want to install more than one new. The two currently installed seems like the HDD controller and a serial/paralllel port card. Somewhere I have a 16-bit combined HDD controller (ST412/506) and serial/floppy port, but maybe that card would not work at all in a 8-bit slot.

Actually, I am bidding on a 80286 board too, a local seller who has a bunch of old and new expansion cards and another HDD. I might end up getting that too, whatever I would do with it.

What a nice catch, looks in great shape love those fluorescent monitors. I have a green matrix style 12 inch Victor monitor. Turn out those fluorescent monitors fun programming vertical and horisontal scroll.

Beautiful smear outs just like original matrix style ;D

I got a 16-bit ISA graphiccard with WD chipset in my
"8088 with 4 8-bit isa slots"
Works very good MSD report the card as a Paradise, yesterday i got color VGA instead of monochrome VGA i had to move a jumper.
I have a nice SB PRO 8-bit sound card, and even an external SC-7 card for midi "sounds great" vintage gaming.

I also working on getting my current server a 500 mhz PENTIUM II tó work with the 16-bit ISA networkcard a DE220 in the 8088. It looks promising the packet driver loads.

But i have been to load tcipip. I am trying ntcpdrv but it tries to load from bootprom whatever that could be.

I tried MTCP utils that someone here wrote but i am not able to get the DHCP working with my router. So i am back with ntcpdrv and a straight ip cable to the PENTIUM II

If you will try to get win286 or win3.0 on it please report on progress because i siimply can not get win286 to work on my 8088. I am not sure what computer to use in win setup should i choose AT compatible TANDY or what with the 8088?

Vintage machines is great fun good luck with your new PET, will you use 16-bit cards or just 8-bit ones?

I have a very nice 8-bit ide controller in my an ADP50L works like charm, maybe i buy the project card that is developed here when it become stable. And hook it up with a 32-bit compact flash. Then i only need a fanless AC/DC for the thing to become the most quiet PC - XT on planet not a sound can you beleive it.....

Good luck JT
 
I am bidding on a 80286 board too,
Bah, I got outbid.

Back to the Vicky, I rescued a CTX CC-3435 multisync monitor. I acquired a suitable DB9 cable, configured the motherboard and monitor and plugged it in. It works very nice. I can't yet deduce if what I'm seeing is pure CGA or some colour enhanced mode.

However, some things got me curious. The monitor has an on/off toggle for Text, where "on" means mono in four different colour settings: white, red, green or amber. In "off" mode it outputs colour, selectable between 8, 16 or 64 colours. There is also a manual/auto switch, which may have something to do with different sync frequencies.

On the computer motherboard, I can select colour/monochrome, text/graphics and in colour mode 40 or 80 column output. Currently it is set for colour graphics, 80 columns. What is likely to happen if I toggle the text/graphics switch in the computer? Will I get faster text output at the expense of not being able to draw graphics? I suppose I wouldn't have to make any changes to the monitor.

JT64: Since all three slots are 8-bit, I would be forced to use any card that can operate in 8-bit mode, am I not? Currently I don't have a big choice of expansions, apart from some random 8-bit ISA cards that I may put for sale or swap.
 
I tried MTCP utils that someone here wrote but i am not able to get the DHCP working with my router.
Today I received two NE2000 compatible 16-bit ISA network cards: Siig E-LAN 10Base 2-in-1 (1996) and Eagle EP2000plus. I put the Siig into a 8-bit slot and after reconfiguring IRQ and installing the packet driver it works like a charm (*) together with the mTCP routines. Perhaps some routers are more picky than others when it comes to DHCP requests. Some other day I will try the Eagle one to see if it installs as smoothly.

Inspired by my success with the mTCP, I also connected a Xircom parallel port Ethernet adapter to a Commodore C286-LT and after installing its packet driver it works just as well.

(*) Well, after 20 minutes the Vicki shut down but I got it to restart after removing the serial port card.. perhaps a resource conflict occured after all.
 
Bah, I got outbid..

The height of frustration. Who does he think he is, paying exorbanant fees for something you want like that?

On the computer motherboard, I can select colour/monochrome, text/graphics and in colour mode 40 or 80 column output. Currently it is set for colour graphics, 80 columns. What is likely to happen if I toggle the text/graphics switch in the computer? Will I get faster text output at the expense of not being able to draw graphics? I suppose I wouldn't have to make any changes to the monitor.

If this computer is like an IBM PC, the text/graphics switch tells the computer whether to start with/use a monochrome display adaptor or a color graphics adaptor. You can have both cards installed and after boot-up, you can switch back and forth with DOS commands and by turning the color monitor on or off as appropriate (the IBM mono monitor turns itself on). If you have an aftermarket card with the electronics for both mono and color, my guess is that it would act as if it were both cards at the same time, and the two parts would be controlled by the timing of the signals coming down the bus.

A case in point is different than this, however. The IBM EGA card will run in MDA mode, but you have to set toggle switches on the back of it to get it to select that mode. Uh, if I remember correctly...

Sean
 
Yesterday I successfully installed an 8-bit VGA card. Paired with the network card from before and the original MFM controller, I'm set for the moment being. With help from Jorg on IRC, I tried to install a larger HDD but either my controller doesn't seem to like it or the drive is partly faulty. It formatted as 10 MB although being a 44 MB drive. I suppose I'll settle with the original 20 MB one, at least until the long awaited 8-bit IDE card is ready to be mass produced.
 
Somewhere I have a 16-bit combined HDD controller (ST412/506) and serial/floppy port, but maybe that card would not work at all in a 8-bit slot.

I think the majority of 16-bit controllers out there are depending on a "hard drive aware" BIOS, which I'm assuming didn't occur with any XTs or compatibles... but then, I don't know much about the Vick.
 
Nice machine Anders. These 16-bitters can be fun to play around on.

I like the sensible keyboard connection (i.e. on the front!).

Tez
 
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