Hi from Central QLD, Microbee-curious

[wstanley]

Hi all

Fell down the rabbit hole of TRS-80 Model 1, found out that DSE had a clone (System 80) and while reading about Dick's computing business, was reminded that Australia had it's own unique Microbee thing happening...... the rabbit hole deepens!

Unfortunately I think the Microbee was out of the public spotlight before I was old enough to pay attention or get exposure. Here to find out more and connect a bit more locally (a little tired of everything being US-centric)

Thanks in advance for any stress my limited historical and technical knowledge might inflict 

Warren (yes - I know the joke about rabbits haha)

[MbeeTech]

Welcome Warren.
Good to have you here.

[tmuir]

I remember looking at the Dick Smith S80 when I was a kid, nver had one but my first IBM PC clone was a Dick Smith Challenger computer that had 2 floppy drives, no hard drive only 128K on board and the rest to get me to 640K was on a full length card that only had tinned edge connectors that would always loose contact and give you out of memory errors. I wish I kept it.
I have some of the ROMs and other chips from a kit for a Dick Smith S80 and spent some time trying to find one, but they are rare. I've got myself my first Microbee in the post heading over to me and last time I touched one was in year 9 in high school which was a while so I'll be reading any questions you ask with interest as I probably want to know the answer too.

[wstanley]

Yeah, the System 80 is a rare beast indeed. Never Heard of the Challenger! Sounds like some frustration with that edge connector

I'm finding a big issue (for me at least), is that the uncommon machines are fun initially, be it finding them, sourcing parts for repairs / expansion, getting them reliable and accessible but they can be a little lonely without a decent community around the platform. I built a COMX 35 remake, the COMiX-35, using RCA ICs, super cool, alternate tech to the usual 6502 or z80 machines. But there's nowhere to go after that. No community to speak of. Hence me looking around at what the Australian Microbee Community has going on.

[CheshireNoir]

Huh. I recently built a COMiX-35 as well.
I have a System 80, but as I don't have an expansion unit for it, I find it rather limited, especially after I got a genuine TRS-80 Model 1.
(Somewhere I have a self designed PCB to allow me to plug a System 80 into the TRS-80 expansion unit. I just haven't got around to populating it...)

JOhn

[wstanley]

What are the odds!! I have to fight the urge to buy ANOTHER set of ICs for the COMiX (it's a lottery to get a good set of the main ICs).....from that one eBay seller, just in case . I think, as I was looking into the Model 1, the vegemite(OzEmite?) scented DSE clone sounded pretty cool....... then I caught wind of the Microbee and after watching the Owen Hill interview(Special 40th event hosted by ACMS), here I am, having a look at what's up

[tmuir]

I think this is about as close as I will get to owning an S80.
I was at a vintage carboot sale with my son and he spotted two old toolboxes full of old electronic components.
I asked the sell how much he wanted for one toolbox  and he said '$1', I asked him if it included the toolbox too and he said 'yes', so I asked him how much for the second toolbox and he said '$1', so I quickly handed over my $2 and ran back to my car with the toolboxes before he changed his mind. In the toolbox was this along with all these S80 chips were ROMs for a Vic20, and many other MOS chips for the 1541 drive as well as many other rare components. That was my best ever swap-meet find.

[Robert]

Those parts are for a Dick Smith Super-80, not a System-80.

The roms have probably bit-rotted, but the rest should be ok.

The chip sockets are crap, throw them out. They were a major cause of Super-80s that either never worked, or for only a short time.

[tmuir]

Ah thanks I thought the DS S-80 was a clone of a System 80, will need to go back and do some reading.
I agree the sockets are of no use what so ever, and only someone who likes to fail would ever try to use them, but the roms are all good, except one, the first one I went to dump via my Retro chip tester and I read the manual wrong on what chip to select it as and killed it.
I've dumped and backed up the rest and have tested all the logic and RAM chips and they are all good.
I still have EPROMS I programmed back with my C64 in the 80s that are still fine, even one or two that the sticky paper covers over the window have fallen off, as long as they aren't left in direct sunlight they are generally still fine.