[torontocbm] Re: Just wondering, has anyone in the group...

  • From: "Miraglia, Walter" <Walter.Miraglia@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "'torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:49:16 -0600

I had the same thing!!!

Infact I had three of them....

I removed mine from the plastic and made it look more like a home made 
computer....

Yeh had a big chip in it, I remember the two posts it had to hold up the 
display.... When I was thirteen living in etobicoke, I had a summer job working 
at radio shack at yonge and bloor....working under the table.... I got 
electronic stuff and a couple of these computers we are discussing.... They had 
broken plastic supports for the display, but other than that they worked....

I had the book, the cards for the displays.... I think I got hooked on it.... 
Then after that came my elf....

( I just finished soldering the main board parts on, sockets etc....)

Today, I went to this site that had vintage radio shack complete catalogs... I 
checked 1978 all the way to 1984 and could not find this computer thingy.....

Brings back memories!!!

:)


________________________________
From: torontocbm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <torontocbm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu Jan 21 22:46:04 2010
Subject: [torontocbm] Re: Just wondering, has anyone in the group...

It was more of a game, but it programmed with hex codes. It had a base unit 
with the keypad and 2-digit hex display and a small hood-like box held up by 
two posts with the speaker and 4x4 led matrix. Ontop of the matrix you could 
mount small cards to help play each game. I remember the keypad being made of 
very cheap plastic and not working very well. I'm pretty sure there was only 
one main chip to the entire thing. I think I threw out the main section, but I 
manage to find the top hood thing and the cards. I think I still have the 
manual somewhere.

I did a web search and for the life of me can't find a single picture of the 
thing...

Steve

From: "Miraglia, Walter" <Walter.Miraglia@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, January 21, 2010 4:52:33 PM
Subject: [torontocbm] Re: Just wondering, has anyone in the group...

Did this trainer  play music and have goofy games on it?
And it looked kinda like et? If I recall correctly?

Played yankee doddle or oh suzanna  if I recall or
Was it a serious computer?



From: torontocbm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:torontocbm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
On Behalf Of STEVE GRAY
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 4:46 PM
To: torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [torontocbm] Re: Just wondering, has anyone in the group...

I have heard of the ELF but never used one.

My first "computer" was a Radio Shack "trainer" with hex keypad, two-digit LED 
and a 4x4 matrix LED "screen"...

My first REAL computer was an Ohio Scientific (OSI) C4P..... 6502 @ 1MHz, 8K 
ram, BASIC in ROM, cassette storage and 16-colour 64x32 character text-only 
video... Bought in 1981. It was closely based on the earlier OSI  "SuperBoard 
II" single-board-computer. That held me for a while, while I learned 6502 
assembly language. We used PET 4032's at school and a Wang system with 
card-reader.
Steve


From: "Miraglia, Walter" <Walter.Miraglia@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <torontocbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, January 21, 2010 1:20:19 PM
Subject: [torontocbm] Just wondering, has anyone in the group.....
Ever messed around with COSMAC ELF?
RCA 1802 based micro computer chip.

I’m in the process of building an ELF 2000
From www.sparetimegizmos.com<http://www.sparetimegizmos.com/>    and wondered
If anyone shared my passion for these old so called “Single
Board Computers…”

I built an ELF II with pixie chip and 2K of ram when I was in
Grade 10.  In keeping with my interest in Early home computers,
I was wondering what everyone’s first computer was…

Mine was the above mentioned Elf that I built from scratch…

( Incidentally, I will have with me the circuit board and manual for the
ELF 2000 tonight at the meeting if anyone is interested in seeing it…
I just got it today so it’s totally bare….. )

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