*** Quoting Ben Collver to Abbub dated 04-28-24 ***

You mentioned getting it to work with GOTEKs. Are those USB floppy
drives? How did you get it to work with those?

Yeah, it has two GOTEK USB floppy emulators pretending to be 8" Shugarts, and a MFM Emulator rev. D pretending to be a 190 MB full height Maxtor XT2190 MFM drive. I'm using a FD50to34 adapter to connect it to the IMS 401 8" floppy controller board, and the two GOTEK's have the latest version of the flashfloppy ROM installed on them. There was a TON of trail and error that a guy down in TX and myself did to figure out the 'magic recipe', but some of that had to do with the fact that TurboDOS used it's own format to squeeze more data onto the disks than CP/M did.

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* Origin: Telnet: bbs.WalledCTTY.com:1989 - Fort Collins, CO USA (21:2/145)

it's the first computer I every wrote a program on. My dad's radio
station in the early 1980s used one and when he'd go up
after hours to work (he was the main engineer as well
as the owner) he'd take me with, park me in front of a
terminal, and let me write programs with Microsoft BASIC and it's compiler.

Great opportunity for computer time!

Did you ever type in programs from the 'learn to program' books aimed at kids? They may have come along just a bit too late for you. I remember borrowing them from the library in the late 80s when I was learning on Apple ][ in elementary school and a Tandy 1000 at home. By the late 80s the books started to feel dated (but I still enjoyed them a lot).

These may be from after the time period you're referring to - and are targeting home computers, but a lot of it was fairly generic BASIC - but anyway I thought I'd share a link to download Usborne 1980s Computer Books:
https://usborne.com/ca_en/books/computer-and-coding-books

I've been working since March to get it running again.
74x logic chip issues, incomplete documentation issues,
getting it to work with GOTEKs (since I don't have a 8"
floppy), and learning the operating system, of which
there's SCANT knowledge of on the internet.

That is a complex project - lots of pieces to sort out before it all works together. Is it all working pretty smooth now, or is there more to sort out?

Fortunately, there's one guy on teh vcfed forums who
seems to know the systems really well, and he's been a huge help.

And it's great that there's now another person who knows the system too! Great work!


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

*** Quoting Akacastor to Abbub dated 04-29-24 ***

Did you ever type in programs from the 'learn to program' books aimed
at kids? They may have come along just a bit too late for you. I

I know the books, but I didn't use them. I think I had a print out of the reference guide. I mostly wrote D&D character generators, variations of Star Trek (based on what I had seen pictures of in computer magazines, having never actually seen the game), and 'security' login programs. lol

*** Quoting Akacastor to Abbub dated 04-29-24 ***

works together. Is it all working pretty smooth now, or is there more
to sort out?

It's all working very smoothly. The last thing I need to do is build an actual case for it. I have all of the pieces in place, but they're just sort of spread out across my workbench. This computer was originally a desk. Like, it was literally built into a desk that you sat the terminal on top of. I've moved to Mean Well power supplies, and all of the original 8" components are now 3.5" or 5.25" components, so it's much less hardware than it originally was. My plan is to build an 'homage' to the original cream and wood-grained case that IMS shipped some of these units in, but not as xbox huge.

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* Origin: Telnet: bbs.WalledCTTY.com:1989 - Fort Collins, CO USA (21:2/145)

Re: IMS Series 8000 Microcomputer
By: AKAcastor to Abbub on Mon Apr 29 2024 17:09:38

Did you ever type in programs from the 'learn to program' books aimed at kids? They may have come along just a bit too late for you. I remember borrowing them from the library in the late 80s when I was learning on Apple ][ in elementary school and a Tandy 1000 at home. By the late 80s the books started to feel dated (but I still enjoyed them a lot).

That's how i "cut my teeth" too, checking out kids programming books from
the library and typing them in on an Apple ][, and later into GW-BASIC on
a PC. It felt novel at the time, similar to those Science Fair 150 in 1 Electronic Project Kits. So many options to start out with, then modify.

http://www.zpag.net/Electroniques/Kit/Images/150in128248box.jpg

http://www.zpag.net/Electroniques/Kit/Images/Kit150.jpg

https://usborne.com/ca_en/books/computer-and-coding-books

Thanks for this link. Could make for a fun lazy Sunday in an emulator.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (21:2/101)

It's all working very smoothly. The last thing I need to do is build an actual case for it. I have all of the pieces in place,
but they're just sort of spread out across my workbench.
This computer was originally a desk. Like, it was
literally built into a desk that you sat the terminal on
top of. I've moved to Mean Well power supplies, and all
of the original 8" components are now 3.5" or 5.25"
components, so it's much less hardware than it
originally was. My plan is to build an 'homage' to the
original cream and wood-grained case that IMS shipped
some of these units in, but not as xbox huge.

Will you build a box-type case for the computer, or a desk-type case? It sounds like the box-type case is the plan (easily understandable for space-saving reasons). Were those cases that IMS shipped the units in meant to be used after shipping, or were they just for packing the materials together to deliver to the site?

It would be pretty great to have a computer that is also furniture, given enough space was available for it of course. It seems like the ergonomics of computers has changed over the years. ;)


Chris/akacastor


--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

That's how i "cut my teeth" too, checking out kids programming books from the library and typing them in on an Apple ][, and later into GW-BASIC on a PC. It felt novel at the time, similar to those Science Fair 150 in 1 Electronic Project Kits. So many options to start out with, then modify.

My biggest memories of the 150 in 1 electronic project kits is a hand-me-down with missing parts, where any project was hit-or-miss whether I'd be able to complete it successfully. The kits always looked very enticing, but at the time I didn't quite "get it" I guess. I did have to add one of the kits to my retro hoard^H^H^H^H^Hcollection a couple years ago when I saw it at a garage sale. Maybe I'll understand it better on the next project I try and build. :)


Chris/akacastor

--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

I think I can keep this down to about 18"x12"x10" or so,
since I don't need any 8" drives and the modern power
supplies I'm using are much smaller. It won't be a
replication of the original case, but a modern version
that's an homage to the original design.

This sounds like a great way to display the IMS system.

I also like the idea of computers as furniture, but I'll
reserve that for when I eventually get a CRAY that I can
set up in the living room upstairs as guest seating. :D

Yes, that's the dream isn't it! I saw a Cray at the Computer History Museum a few years ago, the first time I'd seen one in person, it felt like a big moment. :) Very stylish hardware, beautiful.


Chris/akacastor


--- Maximus 3.01
* Origin: Another Millennium - Canada - another.tel (21:1/162)

*** Quoting Akacastor to Abbub dated 04-30-24 ***

Will you build a box-type case for the computer, or a desk-type case?

I'm going to build a metal case with wood accents, similar to the units that IMS shipped in the early 80s. The unit that was up at the radio station that I remember from when I was a kid was about the size of a mini fridge. I don't have the space for that, or for a desk, though I was joking with my wife about running down to IKEA and getting a new 'case' for this machine from the 'office furniture' section.

I think I can keep this down to about 18"x12"x10" or so, since I don't need any 8" drives and the modern power supplies I'm using are much smaller. It won't be a replication of the original case, but a modern version that's an homage to the original design.

*** Quoting Akacastor to Abbub dated 04-30-24 ***

space-saving reasons). Were those cases that IMS shipped the units in
meant to be used after shipping, or were they just for packing the
materials together to deliver to the site?

They were actually shipped in the cases that they ran in, with legit IMS markings on them. It may have been possible to get something custom built, but I'm not entirely sure.

I also like the idea of computers as furniture, but I'll reserve that for when I eventually get a CRAY that I can set up in the living room upstairs as guest seating. :D

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* Origin: Telnet: bbs.WalledCTTY.com:1989 - Fort Collins, CO USA (21:2/145)