My first H89 with Micronex Video Board - need info

[Marvin Johnson]

I have been playing with CP/M computers for decades (mostly S-100 based), but I just purchased my first Heathkit H89. It powers up, beeps, and the CRT shows bright when I turn up the potentiometer. I also get a "click" sound when pressing keys in offline mode. All good signs! However, I do not see any characters on the screen. I will not have time to start any repairs till Summer when I am off work; I am a teacher. For now I want information on a video board I found inside.

Based on the badge inside the computer, it appears to have started life as an H19 terminal before the upgrade to an H89. These boards are Heathkit branded: terminal, CPU, soft sector controller, I/O, video. It has a 16kb RAM expansion board labeled "Secured Computer Systems 90-1000".

Now for the video board. It is about the size of the CPU and Terminal boards and suspended diagonally from the top of the CRT to about halfway down the CPU board. It is labeled "Micronex MX-89 PixelPlotter(TM) Graphics Video Unit". From the description it appears to add pixel graphics, but I can not find any additional information on this board. I wonder if it supports a then popular command set like Tektronix 4010? Does anyone know anything about the board?

Thanks,

Marvin

[Joseph Travis]

Photos please...  Thank you.

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[Mark Garlanger]

Hi Marvin,

   Welcome to the group.

Sounds like an interesting computer. I don't remember coming across any references to Micronex MX-89 PixelPlotter. I'm surprised that nothing is showing up on google. I would love to see some photos of the Micronex board and how it is connected to the rest of the computer.

Mark

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[Marvin Johnson]

Here are some photos. The main reason I purchased this computer is because of its near flawless cosmetic condition. I have not removed the drives yet, but it is clear they are some model of Teac.

 Marvin

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

WOW!  A very complex H89 configuration.

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[Glenn Roberts]

Impressive system. I tried looking through some of the magazine indexes of advertisers but no luck so far. Interesting that it plugs into the upper RAM bank

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[Mark Garlanger]

Interesting. All those ribbon cables between the CPU board memory sockets and graphics board, seem a bit odd to me. If it was just to get the address/signal lines, I would think only one would be needed. It also appears that one ribbon cable is coming from the 16k expansion board to the graphics board. Can you tell if the memory chips are just moved to the graphics board? For the connectors on the right of the graphics board, it looks like the ones in the front are for power. Is the other cable on the right of the graphics board(brown connector) connected to the serial board? Does it appear that any cables are connected to the terminal board, or the video driver board? I looked at the vendor lists in the REMark magazine for 1984 and 1985, and did not see any mention of Micronex. Was there any manuals or software with the computer?

Did the memory board come disconnected like that, or did you remove it?

On Sun, Feb 18, 2024 at 3:05 PM Marvin Johnson <capitas....@gmail.com> wrote:

Here are some photos. The main reason I purchased this computer is because of its near flawless cosmetic condition. I have not removed the drives yet, but it is clear they are some model of Teac.

 Marvin

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[Mark Garlanger]

I tracked down the company - "Micronex Systems Group" - you can find an ad on page 4 of this scan - https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical-Computing/80s/Practical-Computing-1981-09-S-OCR.pdf, it mentions the Heath/Zenith Z19 and Z89.

[Marvin Johnson]

Mark,

You should be a PI if you are not already. 

Looks like "Micronex" was an English company. Notice in the add that in the USA "Maxtek" is licensed to create "XCEL" graphics products. We will probably find more information on the USA stuff like this add on page 34: https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/198109_Byte_Magazine_Vol_06-09_Artifical_Intelligence.pdf

[Marvin Johnson]

Maxtek XCEL is the right way to go. Lots of stuff popping up. 

This article from UC Berkley shows examples: https://nehrpsearch.nist.gov/static/files/NSF/PB84192012.pdf

The article states "The program was written in Microsoft FORTRAN [33] using a RADIO SHACK TRS Model II micro-computer and the CP/M 2.2 [34] operating system which runs on an 8080, 8085, Z80 or any microprocessor which will execute 8080 machine language. With minor modifications the program should run on any computer that has a FORTRAN compiler. The plotting program and routines depend on the availability of XCEL graphics hardware and software [35]."

  (35) Maxtek, Inc., 2908 Oregon Court, Torrance, Calif. 90503.  

   

[Mark Garlanger]

I wonder if something happened to Maxtek in 1983. The Jan 1983 Remark has them listed:

MAXTEK, INC.
2908 Oregon Ct Bldg C-3
Torrance, CA 90503
Contact: Janet Diem Phone: 213 320-xxxx
Comments: Manufacturer of XCEL Graphics. Retrofit Graphics
Hardware and Software for H/Z89, high resoltuion graphics hardware
(512 x 240). Graphics Software: Symbol Generator, Graph
Plotter, Surface Plotter, 3D Generator, Graphics Terminal and
Screen Printer.

But I did not find it in the Jan 1984, or 85 vendor lists. Maybe went out of business, or maybe happened with Micronex and they could no longer sell the board.

I never remember seeing an ad for maxtek either.

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[Glenn Roberts]

Marvin: I don’t suppose you were lucky enough to receive any software disks with the machine? If not its going to be quite a challenge I think to find the drivers and utilities to make use of this enhancement…

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 18, 2024, at 9:59 PM, Mark Garlanger <garl...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Marvin Johnson]

I do not have any disk, but they may exist. This was from an estate.  I am hoping to get a chance to look through boxes of stuff later. I have not been given that opportunity yet.

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[Glenn Roberts]

Fantastic. So if I understand you the estate still may have boxes with software and documentation for this system. Let’s hope!

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2024, at 3:12 PM, Marvin Johnson <capitas....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Marvin Johnson]

Yes. The estate has a ton of stuff packed away in boxes. The gentlemen was big into ham radio, so most of the stuff is related to that hobby. He took very good care of all his stuff, so there is a chance the docs and software are in those boxes. However, it is early and it is a sensitive thing to have a stranger dig through personal belongings. It may be a while before I get that chance.

[Mark Garlanger]

Great, it sounds like you are doing everything you can to acquire them. Hopefully the manuals and disks are there, and you are able to get them. Keep us updated. If the manual has enough details, I should be able to add it to MAME, like I did with the Cleveland Codonics Imaginator, Northwest Digital's GP-19, and SigmaSoft's IGC graphic boards.

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[glenn.f...@gmail.com]

Always a delicate situation. Sounds like the odds are good that with patience you’ll end up with some more useful items. Good luck!

 

• Glenn

 

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Marvin Johnson
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 3:13 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] My first H89 with Micronex Video Board - need info

 

I do not have any disk, but they may exist. This was from an estate.  I am hoping to get a chance to look through boxes of stuff later. I have not been given that opportunity yet.

 

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[Mark Garlanger]

Hey Marvin,

 Any update on restoring your H89? Were you able to find any software/manuals that went with the graphics board in your system?

Mark

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[Marvin Johnson]

Unfortunately the family of he estate is not communicating anymore. I consider this a dead end, so I do not have documentation or software. I will probably remove the Micronex and restore the H89 back to its original configuration. Not sure when I will have time to work on it because I have a lot of of projects to finish first.

Thanks for everyone's help. I may need to reach back out again once I start the restoration.

Marvin

[Mark Garlanger]

Can you take detailed photos of the connections before you remove the board? It would be interesting to see how/where it connected to the CPU and terminal boards.

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