Re: Card info needed

[mjmahon@aol.com (MJMahon)]

Louis Schulman <louiss@gate.net> writes:

> In <19961231092500.EAA06101@ladder01.news.aol.com>, mjmahon@aol.com
(MJMahon) writes:
>>I recently rescued a //e containing three cards I have not previously
>>encountered.  I'd like to tap the expertise of the group to obtain
>>enough information to make them useful, if possible.
>>
>>The first card is an aux slot card:  the Microsoft Premium SoftCard //e,
>>a 12 MHz Z80 card. 

>>Will this card run my existing CPM software on a //e?  Is there a
special
>>CPM system for this card which offers additional space/features/etc.?
>>I guess it's too much to hope for that it might be compatible with a
>>ZipChip...  ;-/

>Of course, this is a Z-80 CP/M card as you suggest.  I don't think you
are 
>right about the 12 mHz.  I don't have the card in front of me, but a Z-80
is
>2.5 mHz, a Z-80A is 4 mHz, a Z-80B is 6 mHz, and a Z-80H is 8mHz.
>I think your card has the Z-80B.

Right, it's a Z80B--the crystal is 12 MHz and the processor is 6 MHz.

>The card offers no advantage, except it doesn't take up a slot and does
perform
>the 80 col. card functions.  It runs CP/M 2.2, but needs it own special
boot
>disk (ver. 2.26).

Any idea where I can get the image of that boot disk?

>                        Since the chip is much faster than a stock Z-80,
the system
>is fast and an accelerated 6502 wouldn't help.  But you might have to
take the
>Zip chip out for the card to work properly.

Compatibility was the issue, not acceleration.  ZipChips don't like to be
removed
and inserted a lot!  (And a ZIF socket for the processor has too high a
profile
to allow cards to be plugged into several slots.)

-michael