Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
I opened my NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge today. It was, of course, just like your's pictured below but my ROM sockets (4) were white. So clearly the NEC PC-8500 was designed to employ option ROMs. Still not sure if any were made or if the Real Estate and Expert I & II program advertised were ROM-based. On Saturday, June 27, 2020, 01:16:07 AM EDT, Chris Fezzler wrote: From your pic, there are ROM sockets in the PC-8508A! I wondered if they offered any ROMs? Never came across any. On Friday, June 26, 2020, 11:33:00 PM EDT, John R. Hogerhuis wrote: On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar?To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If someone has docs or files that would help. I do believe I have the boot disk though. The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? I don't know. I will open it up. Here are pictures: https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge -- John.
Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
As an owner of a Starlet, I have a 32k cartridge that lets me use the full 64k for CP/M. That's the only change I see. I also have the expansion cartridge that lets you connect a monitor and a floppy. I don't have the floppy (yet?), but I do have the monochrome cable and have connected it to a composite monochrome monitor. The major mistake they made is to only allow the memory cartridge OR the expansion cartridge, not both. Of course, if I can every find the floppy drive then I wouldn't need the RAM cartridge to give 64k to CP/M. On Sat, Jun 27, 2020, 12:15 AM Gary Weber wrote: > The rumor I had heard way, way back in the day was that NEC had originally > intended to release ROMware for those cartridges. Not sure it ever > happened. > > I'd like to believe they'd at least released the technical information on > how those ROM sockets are mapped within memory. We just need to find > technical reference manuals covering the PC-8401A, 8500, and/or 8508A. > (Yeah, I know, I'm laughing out loud as well...) > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 8:33 PM John R. Hogerhuis > wrote: > >> >> >> On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: >> >>> Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar? >>> To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned >>> to the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? >>> >>> >> I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried >> that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I >> know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. >> Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If >> someone has docs or files that would help. >> >> I do believe I have the boot disk though. >> >> >>> The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? >>> >>> >> I don't know. I will open it up. >> >> Here are pictures: >> >> https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge >> >> -- John. >> >
[M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar?To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? Thanks. Chris
Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
I found an old add that said and option were programs called Insurance Expert I and II and Real Estate Expert. Not sure if they were ROMS. Interesting. On Saturday, June 27, 2020, 01:15:37 AM EDT, Gary Weber wrote: The rumor I had heard way, way back in the day was that NEC had originally intended to release ROMware for those cartridges. Not sure it ever happened. I'd like to believe they'd at least released the technical information on how those ROM sockets are mapped within memory. We just need to find technical reference manuals covering the PC-8401A, 8500, and/or 8508A. (Yeah, I know, I'm laughing out loud as well...) On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 8:33 PM John R. Hogerhuis wrote: On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar?To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If someone has docs or files that would help. I do believe I have the boot disk though. The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? I don't know. I will open it up. Here are pictures: https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge -- John.
Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
From your pic, there are ROM sockets in the PC-8508A! I wondered if they offered any ROMs? Never came across any. On Friday, June 26, 2020, 11:33:00 PM EDT, John R. Hogerhuis wrote: On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar?To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If someone has docs or files that would help. I do believe I have the boot disk though. The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? I don't know. I will open it up. Here are pictures: https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge -- John.
Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
The rumor I had heard way, way back in the day was that NEC had originally intended to release ROMware for those cartridges. Not sure it ever happened. I'd like to believe they'd at least released the technical information on how those ROM sockets are mapped within memory. We just need to find technical reference manuals covering the PC-8401A, 8500, and/or 8508A. (Yeah, I know, I'm laughing out loud as well...) On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 8:33 PM John R. Hogerhuis wrote: > > > On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: > >> Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar? >> To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to >> the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? >> >> > I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried > that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I > know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. > Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If > someone has docs or files that would help. > > I do believe I have the boot disk though. > > >> The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? >> >> > I don't know. I will open it up. > > Here are pictures: > > https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge > > -- John. >
Re: [M100] Off Topic: NEC PC-8500/Starlet
On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 7:20 PM Chris Fezzler wrote: > Any NEC PC-8500/Starlet owners or folks familiar? > To keep it short, in 64K Mode, all the 64K in the computer is assigned to > the OS and all the RAM in the cartridge is for storage. Is that correct? > > I've never got it into all-RAM mode. Admittedly though I haven't tried that hard. I thought the point of that was to run CP/M, but the only way I know you can do that is with the floppy disk attached, that no one has. Theoretically you could probably do it with just the ROM/RAM cartridge. If someone has docs or files that would help. I do believe I have the boot disk though. > The NEC PC-8508A ROM/RAM Cartridge...is there a "ROM" socket in there? > > I don't know. I will open it up. Here are pictures: https://bitchin100.com/wiki/index.php?title=NEC_8508A_RAM/ROM_Cartridge -- John.
