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+--- Thread: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository (/thread-770.html)
New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - ChickenMan - 02-02-2024
There is a new Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository started by johnhalk who made a Dreamdisk Floppy controller which is based on the original Dreamdisk Microbee floppy controller. So check it out at - exidysorcerer.net - Index page
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - MikeCornflake - 04-02-2024
Nice. I picked up that Exidy Sorcerer from the Philippines. Doesn't work - another project waiting for me to retire. And its a unit I know very little about, so I've joined the forum.
Many thanks
Mike
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - ChickenMan - 04-02-2024
Yes they are really a great machine and in many ways similar to the Microbee, unfortunately I dont have one but have played a lot via MAME emulator that finally supports disk systems and in particular, the Dreamdisk.
system. We also have a growing Exidy Sorcerer section in the Vintage Repository here but mostly Australia related.
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - griffo - 28-02-2024
(04-02-2024, 08:53 AM)ChickenMan Wrote: Yes they are really a great machine and in many ways similar to the Microbee, unfortunately I dont have one but have played a lot via MAME emulator that finally supports disk systems and in particular, the Dreamdisk.
system. We also have a growing Exidy Sorcerer section in the Vintage Repository here but mostly Australia related.
Hey ChickenMan, I had the pleasure of borrowing a FOAF's Sorcerer in the early 80s for a Car Club Sprint timing system.
I just happened to trip over parts of the design/coding of the solution during a cleanout.
The Sorcerer was a great device for such a project with it's S100 bus connection, well documented BIOS etc.
The external hardware consisted of a Zilog PIO, CTC and a handful of other ICs and 1MHz Xtal clock. The coding was all in assembler (well machine code).
So basically a hand held trigger (bicycle hand grip with the debounced push button) triggered an interrupt to a Real Time Clock function (with a resolution of 100mS) and the elapsed time printed on the VDU as well as a printer. From memory the trigger and RTC pulse triggered NMIs via the PIO to the Sorcerer which maintained the timing RTC. This was a similar solution to an expensive Heuer system we used hire for such events.
Looking at the coding and circuitry, I'm still amazed how it worked so well.... and that I actually created it ;-)
The innocence and bravado of youth!
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - ChickenMan - 28-02-2024
Fantastic, sounds like a great addition to the Sorcerer for a real time solution. Are you prepared to send scans of your design and coding of the unit, or I can scan them for you ?
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - griffo - 28-02-2024
(28-02-2024, 08:53 PM)ChickenMan Wrote: Fantastic, sounds like a great addition to the Sorcerer for a real time solution. Are you prepared to send scans of your design and coding of the unit, or I can scan them for you ?
Hi Chickenman, unfortunately I don't have a full listing... only fragments of hand written code.
The actual external hardware was a classic Veroboard solution and similarly I appear to only have some early partial circuit diagrams.
This was some 40 years ago so I'm a bit hazy about some of the aspects. I presume the code was typed in and then dumped onto cassette and loaded by same as required.
But as I said, the ease with which you could interface with the Sorcerer via the S100 bus was very impressive. Great documentation.
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - someone - 02-03-2024
(28-02-2024, 10:26 PM)griffo Wrote:(28-02-2024, 08:53 PM)ChickenMan Wrote: Fantastic, sounds like a great addition to the Sorcerer for a real time solution. Are you prepared to send scans of your design and coding of the unit, or I can scan them for you ?
Hi Chickenman, unfortunately I don't have a full listing... only fragments of hand written code.
The actual external hardware was a classic Veroboard solution and similarly I appear to only have some early partial circuit diagrams.
This was some 40 years ago so I'm a bit hazy about some of the aspects. I presume the code was typed in and then dumped onto cassette and loaded by same as required.
But as I said, the ease with which you could interface with the Sorcerer via the S100 bus was very impressive. Great documentation.
There was a microbee S100 expansion chassis but it wasn't popular because was far easier and cheaper to directly attach to the microbee's Z80 bus. One can easily add a Z80 CTC internally in a microbee at address PORT04-07. The CTC was omitted from the microbee to allow it to meet a low price point.
RE: New Exidy Sorcerer Forum and Repository - jds - 19-08-2024
Thanks, ChickenMan
I initially got confused about how to register there, but eventually found topic 33 on the subject :
https://www.exidysorcerer.net/index.html/viewtopic.php?t=33
Joe.