Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

ZX80 / ZX81 hardware and software offered for sale or swapping
torrid
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 4:10 am
Location: North Carolina

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by torrid »

Was that the A&J Microdrive? I think it was a re-branded Exatron.
keith_r25
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Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by keith_r25 »

I just bought a CAI/O interface with a CAI/P40 printer. My documents look very different from the ones listed in this thread and I will scan them. I will also include a binary of the eprom. It only came with one eprom. (2716)

The thing that struck me about the printer (after disassembly) was its simplicity. It had an 8255 chip with drivers. It used all ports on the 8255 (head and motor) (continuity check) and was wondering how it (8255) got configured?
I can see data reaching the 8255 in the printer, but CS never goes low. I'm thinking that I will have to do some poking to configure the 8255 ports for output.

Does anyone have a printer like this?
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mrtinb
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Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by mrtinb »

And you overbid me ;)
Martin
https://zx.rtin.be
ZX81, Lambda 8300, Commodore 64, Mac G4 Cube
keith_r25
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by keith_r25 »

Sorry about that, but bid only once.
Cover.pdf
Cover
(290.25 KiB) Downloaded 458 times
inside cover 1.pdf
Stapled to inside cover.
(564.64 KiB) Downloaded 438 times
inside cover 2.pdf
Stapled to inside cover.
(466.61 KiB) Downloaded 358 times
inside cover 3.pdf
Stapled to inside cover.
(262.14 KiB) Downloaded 378 times
pages 2-3.pdf
(446.23 KiB) Downloaded 376 times
keith_r25
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by keith_r25 »

pages 4-5.pdf
(603.73 KiB) Downloaded 392 times
pages 6-7.pdf
(846.63 KiB) Downloaded 439 times
pages 8-9.pdf
(697.4 KiB) Downloaded 361 times
pages 10-11.pdf
(605.03 KiB) Downloaded 414 times
page 12.pdf
(357.99 KiB) Downloaded 382 times
I'm not able to attach the binary file. The website doesn't appear to support it.
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Paul
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Location: Germanys west end

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by Paul »

keith_r25 wrote: Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:54 am I'm not able to attach the binary file. The website doesn't appear to support it.
Just add a .txt at the end of the name ;)
ROM1.BIN would be ROM1.BIN.TXT
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
keith_r25
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by keith_r25 »

If doesn't work, send me an email.
CAIO.BIN.txt
(2 KiB) Downloaded 375 times
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Paul
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Location: Germanys west end

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by Paul »

It seems to work.
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
keith_r25
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: Exatron Stringy Floppy and CAI/O Interface

Post by keith_r25 »

Does anyone use the printer port on this interface? If so, what type of printer?
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