Giovanni R. Nunes wrote:
>
[...]
>
> A other soluction is a mini-LAN used in the schools in the old
> USSR. I don't know how this things runs but I have a version of
> MSX-DOS adapted to run in 'networks'. But I never found some
> information about the HARDWARE!!! Any former-sovietic student
> can help me?
>
This network adapter was not a regular cartridge. It was connected
(with screws) to a special slot of Yamaha YIS-???. Module had two 5-pin
connectors (like cassette connector). All computers were connected
sequentially, first and last one had some kind of "terminator" in one of
their connectors. Maximum number of computers in the network was 15. The
module had switches to select the computer number (1-15), special number
0 was teacher's computer.
The module had its own ROM and CALL-commands (CALL NETINIT, CALL NETEND,
CALL SEND, CALL RECEIVE, etc.). Teacher could send BASIC programs,
binary files and even VRAM contents to other computers, while these were
in BASIC. Student computers could not send files, until teacher enabled
them to do so (CALL ENACOM, CALL DISCOM). CALL NETEND disconnected from
network and made computer much faster - so the interrupts must have been
used for communication.
The original CALL-commands were quite slow, comparable to loading from
cassette. Several students made programs, which programmed the network
directly and achieved much faster speeds. But it was still not close to
loading from diskette. I once disassembled one of these programs. It
seemed to me, that the network operated like bus - every computer could
see the information sent by other computers. Even more - the
student/teacher setting was only for ROM, actually all computers in the
network were equal.
That's all I remember.
Tambet (from Estonia, former Soviet Union republic)
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