Epic Computer Model 2296

[barryp]

I have to get rid of stuff, including this computer.

On the front, you see only two full-height floppy drives (Probably 80-track) and a tag that says "Epic Computers"

In the left drive is a Verbatim disk (double sided / double density soft sectored, cert. 77 tracks / side) which is labeled CIVILYZIV, but I'm not sure if the disk is even for this system.

On the back is another label which shows that Epic Computer Products, Inc. is/was located in Fountain Valley, CA.
There's: a Reset button, Test | Normal slide switch, a to COMM EQUIP | to PRINTER slide switch, a DB-25F connector labeled SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, a Centronics F labeled PARALLEL, two telephone-type connectors (BUT a phone cord is too big), power cord connector and power switch.

I think I remember this has a Z80 and 64KB RAM, it's probably a CP/M computer but know nothing about it.........

 

[barryp]

I still have this thing...

 

[barryp]

Pictures:

Pictures:

Here are a few.

 

[barryp]

Two more pictures:

Two more pictures:

any takers?

 

[Ole Juul]

This is an interesting computer. I'm surprised no one has offered even suggestions. I'm not sure how to use it though. Can one simply put a terminal (eg. WANG) into the console jack? If so that would be a nice way to use a terminal. Any idea of what year this was and what the CPU is, and what OS is needed/possible?

 

[barryp]

This is an interesting computer. I'm surprised no one has offered even suggestions. I'm not sure how to use it though. Can one simply put a terminal (eg. WANG) into the console jack? If so that would be a nice way to use a terminal. Any idea of what year this was and what the CPU is, and what OS is needed/possible?

I've had this thing many years and offered it for sale nearly seven years ago. I can open it up again but ISTR it's a Z-80 with 64KB ram.

 

[Chuck(G)]

I'm surprised that no one recognized this--an Epic Episode. A rock-bottom CP/M computer (ca. 1982) for the office desktop. 4MHz Z80, 64K RAM as mentioned by the OP. It might be fun to reverse-engineer to get it to boot.

 

[Ole Juul]

I've had this thing many years and offered it for sale nearly seven years ago. I can open it up again but ISTR it's a Z-80 with 64KB ram.

Thanks, but it looks like Chuck(G)'s got the info. (I knew he would.)

Anyway, sorry to sound like a complete idiot, but the fact is that I simply don't know. What kind of console does it use or need?

 

[MikeS]

I've had this thing many years and offered it for sale nearly seven years ago. I can open it up again but ISTR it's a Z-80 with 64KB ram.

Looks unusual enough to be interesting and with a big *LOOK*!!! *RARE*CP/M System!!! it might even fetch a few bucks on eBay...

It almost looks like there's a disk in the left drive; do you have any possibly bootable disks for it by any chance?

 

[Chuck(G)]

This hooks to an RS232C terminal to work. I'm guessing, from the date, either a Televideo or Wyse, just to keep system cost low.

This might come in handy if someone's already using a terminal to talk to a mainframe, which, given the time, was very common. IBM PCs were only just beginning to appear.

 

[Ole Juul]

This hooks to an RS232C terminal to work. I'm guessing, from the date, either a Televideo or Wyse, just to keep system cost low.

This might come in handy if someone's already using a terminal to talk to a mainframe, which, given the time, was very common. IBM PCs were only just beginning to appear.

I was thinking that it might be a very cool way to make use of a Wyse terminal (which I have) and essentially have a 2 floppy system. What would scare me off is my lack of CP/M experience. I once booted a CP/M disk and was pleased to see that the interface was DOS like enough to be familiar. hehe That's a very long way from being able to set up a system disk for something like this. Too bad, because to my sensibilities this is one of the coolest vintage computers I've ever seen.

 

[Chuck(G)]

What's the model of your Wyse? The WY50 was probably the most common.

This comes from a time of some bittersweet memories. I'd got to work with a fellow who thought that since everyone had a terminal on their desk, they could integrate an IBM PC (or XT) into a window on their terminal. So we worked up a card to take the place of the MDA; it had a Z80, some memory, a couple of DARTs and some other stuff on it. You stuck the 5160 under your desk and could switch between the 5150 and your remote mainframe or share them split-screen. The smarts were all in the card--the PC thought it was talking to an MDA.

We sold a few of them, but not enough to make a go.

It just goes to show you what the mindset of folks was back then and how it changed in only a few years.

I can see sticking this thing between your mainframe and your terminal and either passing data through from the terminal to the mainframe or using the terminal to do your Wordstar, Multiplan or whatever.

I've sent a PM to the OP; I can probably get this thing going. I'd hate to see it junked. Thus far, no response.

 

[MikeS]

...The smarts were all in the card--the PC thought it was talking to an MDA.

Why wouldn't you just run a terminal emulator on the PC? Switching back & forth wouldn't be a problem, lots of task-switching software around, and it shouldn't be too hard to do split-screen either... Am I missing something?

I've sent a PM to the OP; I can probably get this thing going. I'd hate to see it junked. Thus far, no response.

Yeah, cute little box.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Why wouldn't you just run a terminal emulator on the PC? Switching back & forth wouldn't be a problem, lots of task-switching software around, and it shouldn't be too hard to do split-screen either... Am I missing something?

We were working with the terminal of the day--VT220-type. When most productivity programs of the time (spreadsheet, word processing) used direct video access, split-screening with a terminal emulator wasn't really an alternative. Consider supporting double-high and double-wide characters mixed on a screen with normal fonts and you get the idea.

And, most importantly, it allowed the user to keep the terminal he or she was familiar with, using the terminal's keyboard for input to either system. No special software in the PC.

It was very attractive for the time.

 

[MikeS]

We were working with the terminal of the day--VT220-type. When most productivity programs of the time (spreadsheet, word processing) used direct video access, split-screening with a terminal emulator wasn't really an alternative. Consider supporting double-high and double-wide characters mixed on a screen with normal fonts and you get the idea.

Pshaw! I'm sure you could have done it! ;-)

And, most importantly, it allowed the user to keep the terminal he or she was familiar with, using the terminal's keyboard for input to either system. No special software in the PC.

Hadn't thought of that; so trivial to us techies, and so important to people in the 'real' world...

Always interesting to look at the various interesting products of that time and wonder why some died and some were successful; marketing seems to trump quality and technical superiority everytime...

So, what happened to the OP? Still here?

 

[barryp]

So, what happened to the OP? Still here?

I'm still here. There have been a lot of interest via PM.

For what it's worth; it will not be junked but I don't have the time/expertise to fiddle with it.

There are several buyers, but I don't have the funds yet. ($50 plus shipping)

 

[Ole Juul]

What's the model of your Wyse? The WY50 was probably the most common.

It is indeed a WY-50. I used to have another one (of unknown brand) and found that they could be connected with a phone wire so the kids could type back and forth across the room. I thought it would be a great elementary school aid at that time when terminals were being thrown out by the truck load. They quickly got expensive again though. Anyway, I think it is a great vintage item and one of these days will make good (read interesting) use of it.

There have been a lot of interest via PM. . . .There are several buyers, but I don't have the funds yet. ($50 plus shipping)

Great! I knew we could drum up some interest by keeping the posting current for a little while.

PS: It always puzzles me how some threads don't take off when they're about such interesting items as this. Perhaps it is some shortcoming of vBulletin that many people can't overcome.

 

[Chuck(G)]

One of the occasional problems that occurs is my lingering too long on a post (or getting interrupted by something else) some posts will no longer show as "New Posts'. I'm trying to get into the habit of searching for the previous day's posts before I navigate away for the day.

 

[Ole Juul]

One of the occasional problems that occurs is my lingering too long on a post (or getting interrupted by something else) some posts will no longer show as "New Posts'. I'm trying to get into the habit of searching for the previous day's posts before I navigate away for the day.

I think that is indeed the most important (and very) serious bug with vBulletin. I work around it by clicking "reply" to post (while not logged in) and once I've submitted I immediately log out and click "what's new". I miss nothing. People don't (and seemingly won't) talk about the techniques they use. I certainly hope that most of them aren't clicking into each forum individually because that would just be a ridiculous and inappropriate way to go about it. I certainly don't come here for a click fest. I come here to read and (sometimes) post.

 

[twolazy]

TBH I think the floppy drives are prob worth more then rest the machine, provided they work .