My super minty Intext ICS/Elenco XK-300 M6800 trainer plus some extras

[mountainking]

I LOVE microprocessor trainers. I had a bunch of those Radio Shack/Science Fair experimenter sets growing up and trainers are the more grown up, microprocessor based version of those (and yes...I have the RS/Science Fair Microcomputer Trainer as well, though I didn't have it growing up).

This Intext ICS/Elenco XK-300 M6800 based trainer is in absolute mint condition, like no sign that it was ever touched by human hands, and what makes it even better is that the trainer came with the bunch of extras!

1.Original operating and service manual in original binder with the Motorola M6800 Programming Reference Manual

2. MEK6802D5 Microcomputer Evaluation Board User's Manual Appendix 1

3. Various paperwork including: Intext ICS envelope, Elenco warranty card, Elenco letter about the 6808 conversion kit, Errata sheet and Motorola M6800 Instruction Set Summary card.

4. Original bag of parts for experiments, still sealed!

And for some reason....

5. Three sets of Zeroxed copied L.J. Electronics Emma II User and Technical Manuals (not picture is one set that I sold)

6. A card for a HP printer (HP A-2949-56).

I purchased this lot from ebay and I wasn't given any history on it but I strongly suspect that it all came from an electronics school which would kind or explain why there are the copies of the Emma II manuals, but who knows.

One thing about this trainer is that the manual is written in such a cryptic way that I have yet to figure out how to enter programs, as far as key steps. Where as most trainers have a straightforward set of instructions on how to enter programs, with some simple examples programs to get yourself acquainted with the process, this manual has you jump around to different chapters to find the info needed for programming, making it very confusing, and then there are the example programs which the manual don't really even tell you what the programs actually do. Maybe I just need to reread the manual with the trainer on hand and experiment til I figure it out because I really want to experiment with this thing as it has some great features like cassette read and write capabilities and a breadboard.

Anyone ever use one of these back in the day?

Thanks,
Alan



P.S.- if anyone can use the HP printer card please message me and I will send it to you for free if you pay to ship it.

 

[epooch]

Nice score!
The Elenco XK-300 manual is almost identical to the MEK6802D5 manual, as the boards have nearly identical schematics. There are a few test programs in the manual: USE D5, HELP, and TIME that are well documented on the previous page. The rest of the code in the manual is thorough documentation of the various ROM subroutines.
If you want to actually enter the example programs, follow the instructions in 3.3.4 Memory Display Change, and enter the HEX digits in columns 3 and 4 of the listings.
Basically the manual is a reference manual, not an intro to programming course. You can use any programs for the MEK6802D5, except for ones that use the D5's serial port, as the XK-300 does not have one.
One of the most interesting parts of the board is the bus header at the top which is the Motorola EXORbus. So, you have a lot of options for expansion, if you wanted.
Good luck!

 

[epooch]

Here is a step by step for entering the HELP program on page 3-10:

0 M

CE GO
76 GO
79 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
1D GO
CE GO
38 GO
73 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
1F GO
CE GO
40 GO
40 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
21 GO
CE GO
F0 GO
A2 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
19 GO
7E GO
F0 GO
BB GO

RST
0 GO

 

[mountainking]

Here is a step by step for entering the HELP program on page 3-10:

0 M

CE GO
76 GO
79 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
1D GO
CE GO
38 GO
73 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
1F GO
CE GO
40 GO
40 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
21 GO
CE GO
F0 GO
A2 GO
FF GO
E4 GO
19 GO
7E GO
F0 GO
BB GO

RST
0 GO

I'm realizing now that I did kind of a lazy skim over the manual, expecting it to be organized and worded a certain way, because I see now that all of the info I was looking for was actually included in the manual. Yeah, I love that this trainer has so many interfacing possibilities, even jacks for a cassette deck! Thank you for the reply!

 

[epooch]

I pulled my manual out to see what you were talking about, there are definitely some gaps, which is why I gave the step-by-step.. You have to know how to read an assembly listing at least. And the final instruction to…’press “0” and “GO” to begin execution” would just set the final address to zero. As far as I know, you have to push “RST” first.
I assume that all of the XK-300s were for tech schools since they all are branded INTEXT or RISE, so hopefully there were some course materials with it too.
I couldn’t imagine buying a MEK6802D5 back in the day with just those materials and having any idea what to do.😅

 

[mountainking]

I pulled my manual out to see what you were talking about, there are definitely some gaps, which is why I gave the step-by-step.. You have to know how to read an assembly listing at least. And the final instruction to…’press “0” and “GO” to begin execution” would just set the final address to zero. As far as I know, you have to push “RST” first.
I assume that all of the XK-300s were for tech schools since they all are branded INTEXT or RISE, so hopefully there were some course materials with it too.
I couldn’t imagine buying a MEK6802D5 back in the day with just those materials and having any idea what to do.😅

I have a Heathkit ET-3400 trainer (MC68000) so going from that manual to this manual was a bit a change, lol. The Heathkit manual has a couple pages that clearly explain what buttons to push for entering a program, checking a program and running a program and there are some simple but interesting starter programs to help you make sure you understand the explanations. There are the couple pages of the Elenco manual that explains what the various keys are for and how to enter and check programs but I read through it and it just didn't click for me, it just read in such an odd way but then after looking at what you wrote out for entering a program it suddenly made it all make sense. Now I read it and wonder why it didn't make sense to me to begin with, though I have a "mild case" of dyslexia so sometimes it takes a few readings for something to make sense to me. Btw, I tried entering what you wrote a couple times but every time it resulted in a blank display, but I kind of figured that I entered it wrong so then I tried it reading the program from the manual and eventually I get it to work and yes, you hit RST before you enter the program.


I'm almost positive that this came trainer came from a school, it came with some xeroxed (yes, xeroxed,lol) copies of the manual for the EMMA II which for some reason made me think "school copies". I didn't realize what the "INTEXT" branding was all about.

I think I'm too sleepy to be writing so....

 

[epooch]

I am pretty sure this is the text book for it:
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-to-microprocessors-Electronics-series/dp/093318705X
I bought one. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[mountainking]

I am pretty sure this is the text book for it:
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-to-microprocessors-Electronics-series/dp/093318705X
I bought one. I'll let you know how it goes.

Please do!

 

[epooch]

Book arrived. It is definitely the textbook for the ICS INTEXT course. It goes through a lot of microprocessor basics, and then details of how those apply to the mc6802 and 6802D5. There are just a few hardware/software examples.
Unfortunately, amazon raised the price to $20 after I bought my copy at $15.
.

 

[stanleyruppert]

The book "Introduction to 6800/6802 Microprocessor Systems" by RJ Simpson and TJ Terrell pairs nicely with the 6802D5 trainer.
Besides basic intro to concepts, it has nice worked examples and labs utilizing the D5 trainer.
Shows up cheaply occasionally in used bookshops / ebay. Also available as an ebook - expensive though at $60.

 

[epooch]

Hi Stanley!
Good idea with the TOC... Here is "Introduction to Microprocessors" by Carl M Glow and Roger M. Kersey, published by National Education Training Corp (same parent company as ICS INTEXT), for comparison:

 

[mountainking]

Book arrived. It is definitely the textbook for the ICS INTEXT course. It goes through a lot of microprocessor basics, and then details of how those apply to the mc6802 and 6802D5. There are just a few hardware/software examples.
Unfortunately, amazon raised the price to $20 after I bought my copy at $15.
.

Yeah, hate when that happens, guess it could be worse, they could have doubled the price. Fortunately, another forum member has an extra copy and he has graciously offered to send it to me This is a such great forum to be a part of, everyone is pleasant and helpful, none of the juvenile nonsense that you see on the other forums, maybe that's because we are all old nerds, lol (joking)

 

[stanleyruppert]

Hi Stanley!
Good idea with the TOC... Here is "Introduction to Microprocessors" by Carl M Glow and Roger M. Kersey, published by National Education Training Corp (same parent company as ICS INTEXT), for comparison:
View attachment 1260191View attachment 1260192View attachment 1260193View attachment 1260194View attachment 1260195

Thanks for additional title, I've collected a fair number of 6800/68XX books over the years (decades) and hadn't seen this one before utilizing the D5 for examples.