Have always loved the look of these since I first saw one. Definitely one I want to pick up at some point, they're just really neat! Shame there's no internal HDD support but the dual pop-floppies are an interesting enough alternative. Any cap issues on these? And is that LCD backlit? Looks like it is, and I certainly like the look of it.
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Zenith Z-181 - My Review
- Thread starter compaqportableplus
- Start date
Caluser2000
Veteran Member
Here are pics of my two Zenith ZFL-180 series babies. A 181 and 183. The Z180 service manual covers ALL Zenith ZFL-180 series computers.
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compaqportableplus
Veteran Member
Yes, they are excellent machines! Very reliable. I haven’t had any cap issues with them as of yet. And yes, the LCD is backlit!
Nice!
Compaqportableplus, I'm dragging this thread up from dead for a couple questions. I just rediscovered my old Zenith laptop (identical to yours) out of storage. It turns on (battery is of course dead), but I do not have a boot disk for it. I'm not really interested in using it for anything, but would love to figure out if it is actually functional. Do you have a source for boot disks? I understand that you can download the software and then load up on to a floppy, but I do not have a floppy drive. currently. Are you aware of a source for a 3.5" boot disk for this computer? Thanks!Finally got one of these after years of wanting one. I've pretty much wanted one of these since I started collecting.
It's the classic Zenith ZFL-181, which was released in 1986 and competed directly with the IBM PC Convertible. This particular one is the -93 variant, made in 1987, so it has a 4.77/8Mhz switchable-speed 80C88 CPU and slightly different port arrangement than the original -92 variant.
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Of course, I have already crammed Windows 1.01 onto some 720KB disks to run on it! Runs just fine on here. Can even launch DOS apps from within Windows just fine.
For the OS I'm running the original Zenith MS-DOS 3.2, which I found the image of on Winworld.
The most unique feature about this laptop is the "pup-up" 3.5" floppy drives. They look so cool! The are not belt-driven either, so they are pretty robust.
The battery mine came with is stone-dead, and makes the side of the machine get EXTREMELY hot! This must be why the side of these gets melted sometimes. I have unplugged the battery and left it in the unit. I would recommend anyone else that has one of these with a dead battery to do the same, as a melted case is no fun, and it could be a potential fire hazard if it was left plugged in unattended. I may rebuild my pack at some point.
It's also worth mentioning that these came with the full 640KB of RAM from the factory, unlike the convertible and others that typically had 128 or 256KB, which is practically useless in my opinion. My absolute bare-minimum for a PC is 512KB, as I actually like to use my PCs, not just sit them on a shelf.
So, what are my thoughts on it? It's kick-ass! It has a nice blue, 10", CGA compatible display, great feeling keyboard (layout is slightly non-standard, but you adjust to it fairly quickly; at least I do). It has cool pop-up disk drives and is an overall nice looking and very functional XT-class laptop.
I would highly recommend this machine to anyone looking for a nice, early dual-floppy laptop. It's a bit more practical than some of the other early laptops in my opinion, and has everything you need to use it built-in. They also aren't worth much at all, so they aren't hard to get.
I've found Zenith laptops to be some of the more robust and reliable vintage laptops, and overall I'm a big fan of them. I've had a SuperSport 8088 for 5-years now, and it's never given me any trouble. Even the funky Alps 20MB hard drive still works perfectly. Perhaps that'll be the next one I review.
I give it a 10 out of 10 once again. I don't really see any problems with its design. Definitely one of my favorites now. Next one I want to find is the ZWL-183, which looks very similar, but it slightly larger, and has a built-in 10MB hard drive.
Happy computing!
compaqportableplus
Veteran Member
I’m not sure where you can get a pre-made one, but the boot disk image is available on Winworldpc.com. It has to be a 720k double density disk as well, so keep that in mind.
USB floppy drives are pretty inexpensive though, so getting one wouldn’t be hard. These computers are very robust in my experience so yours likely works fine!
compaqportableplus
Veteran Member
Really? I did not know that. I have used several over the years and never had an issue with writing 720k disks in any of them. The current one I use is one for IBM ThinkPads (has the colored IBM logo and a blue button). Don’t remember exactly who manufactured the drive in the case, but it’s probably a TEAC or Mitsumi.
modem7
Veteran Member
"Most" implies over 50%. A question is, is there data to back that up? Did a trade magazine of the time do a comprehensive test of drives, past and present? (And that would exclude drives released after that time.) Did a comprehensive list get produced by computer clubs/BBS' ? Etc.
[Here]. One of these days, I will create an index.
Hmm... really not sure the statistics. I'm fairly sure it's the newer ones that you can get on amazon, ebay, etc. that won't? I used to have one but it died a couple years back and so I can't test.
The drive I use now is in fact one of those IBM branded ones made for ThinkPads - got it with my i1260, and it is one of the models listed on modem7's page to be compatible with 720k disks. My guess would be that most older drives from that era are the ones that can, which would make them quite common still, but again, I'm not sure about the new ones. I've just heard before that most drives can't, so they had to get that reputation from somewhere?
The drive I use now is in fact one of those IBM branded ones made for ThinkPads - got it with my i1260, and it is one of the models listed on modem7's page to be compatible with 720k disks. My guess would be that most older drives from that era are the ones that can, which would make them quite common still, but again, I'm not sure about the new ones. I've just heard before that most drives can't, so they had to get that reputation from somewhere?
I dug out my failed modern USB floppy drive. It indeed won't format any disks, but here's my findings on 720k compat. I don't own any 720k disks, so I used the tape trick on a 1.44MB disk. To my knowledge disks made this way will read in other 1.44MB drives but will have trouble in 720k drives, so fine for my testing.
Modern drive: IDs as a TEAC USB UF000x
taped over disk identified as 1.44MB disk under Windows 10 and XP
IBM-branded drive: IDs as a Teac FD-05PUB
Windows 10 gave a compatibility error with the disk "windows can't format this type of disk". I'm assuming this means it ID'd it as a 720k disk but Windows doesn't support this type anymore. I tried with XP and it didn't give the error, but it just didn't fill in the disk information at all and wouldn't let me format. I assume this all means it's recognizing it as the proper type of disk but I just need an older OS that supports it properly.
Modern drive: IDs as a TEAC USB UF000x
taped over disk identified as 1.44MB disk under Windows 10 and XP
IBM-branded drive: IDs as a Teac FD-05PUB
Windows 10 gave a compatibility error with the disk "windows can't format this type of disk". I'm assuming this means it ID'd it as a 720k disk but Windows doesn't support this type anymore. I tried with XP and it didn't give the error, but it just didn't fill in the disk information at all and wouldn't let me format. I assume this all means it's recognizing it as the proper type of disk but I just need an older OS that supports it properly.
Caluser2000
Veteran Member
So no concrete proof that MOST usb floppy drives don't do 750k floppy disks.
I'm a part number guy. List the P/Ns that don't do 750k floppy disks please.
I'm a part number guy. List the P/Ns that don't do 750k floppy disks please.
Caluser2000
Veteran Member
Still No proof of your claim. I hate generalizations.
What you are providing is just hearsay.
What you are providing is just hearsay.
Have a look at every single amazon listing for new 3.5" floppy drives. they all look exactly the same with a different logo printed on them (except for one that I saw that had a different case, maybe that one is different). If someone would like to buy 20 different USB floppy drives to confirm that every one has the same mechanism inside, feel free. That's not something I'm going to do though.
modem7
Veteran Member
From time to time, people here will challenge/query certain information in posts. It's a healthy thing.
Inaccurate/wrong information, if unchallenged/queried, can be read by others as fact, and then those people sometimes go on to unknowingly perpetuate the misinformation.
( I think it was in the nineties that my mother-in-law said to me that one of the reasons she has an Apple computer is because she was told that it is impossible for Apple's to catch computer viruses. )
( I used to believe that the Earth was round, until the Flat Earther's put me right. )
Inaccurate/wrong information, if unchallenged/queried, can be read by others as fact, and then those people sometimes go on to unknowingly perpetuate the misinformation.
( I think it was in the nineties that my mother-in-law said to me that one of the reasons she has an Apple computer is because she was told that it is impossible for Apple's to catch computer viruses. )
( I used to believe that the Earth was round, until the Flat Earther's put me right.
)