MicroPath P1
MicroPath P1
The wife of Ian Gledhill (Mutant Caterpillar) has posted on Facebook about a new find she made in a local shop - called a MicroPath P1, it appears to be a custom ZX81 complete with custom ROM and keyboard, plus an add-on, specifically aimed at the Homeopathy specialist.
Pictures below. Has anyone ever come across anything linked to this?
Pictures below. Has anyone ever come across anything linked to this?
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Rich Mellor
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Re: MicroPath P1
Ian has got it working now and dumped the 12 ROMs (the one in the ZX81 plus 11 in the expansion board) !!
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- Homeopathy.rar
- (42.13 KiB) Downloaded 249 times
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- 16142402_1832857036930102_5798936180968856403_n.jpg (94.1 KiB) Viewed 4483 times
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- 16114496_10158043478645032_4438206552479363892_n.jpg (54.07 KiB) Viewed 4483 times
Rich Mellor
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Re: MicroPath P1
Is this kind of medical database ?
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Re: MicroPath P1
I'm not sure I would use homeopathy and medical in the same sentence but I suspect so!PokeMon wrote:Is this kind of medical database ?
It certainly looks like you can search for symptoms and 'cures' but I didn't realise the zeddy could do floating point maths to a high enough degree to calculate the dilutions used in this branch of 'medicine'.
Having a whole load of presumably pageable ROMs is quite cool though!
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
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Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
Re: MicroPath P1
The ROMs are obfuscated - Brendan Alford has decoded all of the ROMs too now.... (Attached)
- Attachments
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- MicroHomeopathyDecodedROMs.zip
- (40.7 KiB) Downloaded 295 times
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Re: MicroPath P1
I suppose this is one of those custom applications with low # of users which must have been fairly common for the ZX81. Just not many surviving beyond their intended use. A ROM add-on + matching sticker over the keyboard, not that special from a technical p.o.v. really. Nice find though!
Curved pcb traces +1. And single sided too!
Looking at that pcb: back in the day there existed some kind of sticker sheets with pieces of pcb traces (for various widths), holes spaced 0.1" apart to easily use for IC footprints, pin headers etc. With a soft pencil you'd rub those off onto a design sheet or even a bare pcb for prototyping uses (which I did quite a few times). Designs you'd get look a lot like what's seen here.
Chances are someone used this method to transfer such symbols onto a transparent sheet (= photo mask). A time-consuming manual job... Then for each product: UV light + photosensitive pcb, developer, etching, followed by a chemical tin bath. With low numbers, may easily have been done manually, quite possibly in-house somewhere.
Curved pcb traces +1. And single sided too!
Looking at that pcb: back in the day there existed some kind of sticker sheets with pieces of pcb traces (for various widths), holes spaced 0.1" apart to easily use for IC footprints, pin headers etc. With a soft pencil you'd rub those off onto a design sheet or even a bare pcb for prototyping uses (which I did quite a few times). Designs you'd get look a lot like what's seen here.
Chances are someone used this method to transfer such symbols onto a transparent sheet (= photo mask). A time-consuming manual job... Then for each product: UV light + photosensitive pcb, developer, etching, followed by a chemical tin bath. With low numbers, may easily have been done manually, quite possibly in-house somewhere.
Perhaps to simplify pcb layout?RWAP wrote:The ROMs are obfuscated (..)
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Re: MicroPath P1
Hi, I was 13 when my dad Peter Chappell (hence the P, he was very self important) made 400 of these. I helped modify them and put those plastic binders on the manual pages, and fitted bigger heat sinks, stuck on the overlays etc.
I have no time for homeopathy but still play with computers raspberry pis now. I was given a zx80 which effectively set my career from that day!
If you look Peter up online you can see the craziness that followed. I just inherited the first P1. (He died last week). If you want to know more post here or try ollyporders at gee mail dot com as this is the first forum I have ever joined nd may forget to check back.
I will try to get mine running again but it was great to see those screen shots thanks. They brought back memories.
I have no time for homeopathy but still play with computers raspberry pis now. I was given a zx80 which effectively set my career from that day!
If you look Peter up online you can see the craziness that followed. I just inherited the first P1. (He died last week). If you want to know more post here or try ollyporders at gee mail dot com as this is the first forum I have ever joined nd may forget to check back.
I will try to get mine running again but it was great to see those screen shots thanks. They brought back memories.
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Re: MicroPath P1
Last edited by 1024MAK on Sat Jan 20, 2024 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Tidy up tags
Reason: Tidy up tags
Re: MicroPath P1
The forum really needs an "upvote" button IMHO. That had me laughing hard.Lardo Boffin wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:30 pm I'm not sure I would use homeopathy and medical in the same sentence but I suspect so!
All that I've learned - https://msknight.com/bbc/index.html#zx81
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Re: MicroPath P1
crashtestolly wrote: ↑Sat Jan 20, 2024 11:13 am Hi, I was 13 when my dad Peter Chappell (hence the P, he was very self important) made 400 of these.
Hello and welcome to our forum crashtestolly!
Thank you very much for posting
Mark
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ZX81 Chip Pin-outs
ZX81 Video Transistor Buffer Amp
Standby alert
There are four lights!
Step up to red alert. Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb
Looking forward to summer later in the year.