![[Altair 8800]](altair2.jpg)
This Web page last updated June 23 2009. To email me or to order, see see my ordering Web page for my email addresses.
S-100 and IEEE-696 systems are computers from 1975 and through the 1980's which have a specific kind of 100-pin computer "bus" for their cards. For many years I've provided assistance, hardware, and photocopied documentation for S-100 computer systems. In the 1990's I wrote a series of articles about these computers for The Computer Journal as "Dr." S-100. Most of these systems ran CP/M: from 2004-2008 I researched the development of the CP/M operating system, Digital Research Inc and the work of Dr. Gary Kildall. Most S-100 systems used floppy diskette drives: I have extensive technical information and manuals about floppy drives and diskettes; we also sell drives.. Most of my content is original, written by me or the words of others. My manuals archives are mostly originals, almost all on paper. We sell S-100 cards, manuals, floppy drives, diskettes These sales support my activities, year after year: we've been on the Web since 1996! and have supported S-100 a decade or more earlier.
I update my Web pages often, and I'm always looking for more documents and history about S-100. If you know something about a S-100 company's history, tell me about it before that history is lost. Check what I have and see if you have some docs I do not. I appreciate inquiries and storis, and I'm glad to offer some bit of discussion and directions to the manuals and docs and resources I have which correspond to the hardware you ask about. But my general response to a lot of technical questions is that "I let the manuals (or my site) do the talking". If you have some information, upgrades, or experiences to offer, I'll gladly consider adding them to my site and to my archives. Thanks for your interest! Help me keep this history available.
To contact me and to order, see see my ordering Web page.
S-100 is one of a number of old technologies we support and describe at retrotechnology.com. Check my retrotechnology.com home page for links other activities on this Web site. Don't expect a lot of videos and photos: we are preserving content, information about how things got DONE, so YOU can do it again.
- Herb Johnson
S-100 systems are are computers, designed between about 1975 and through the 1980's, with a specific kind of 100-pin computer "bus". For many years I've provided assistance, hardware, and documentation for S-100 computer systems. In the 1990's I wrote a series of articles about these computers for The Computer Journal as "Dr." S-100. Since the 1980's, I've offered good copies (photocopies) of S-100 manuals, from my extensive collection of original S-100 manuals and documents from over a hundred companies.
Over the years of S-100 service, I've accumulated a lot of docs on 8-inch, 5.25-inch drives. Most of these drives were produced long before the Internet was public, some before microcomputers were available! I also have some docs on 5.25 inch drives, 3.5-inch drives, 3-inch drives, and some hard drives. Check my links below for more info. Know what drive model and brand you have in mind before you contact me.
One of my major S-100 services is to provide good, clear photocopies of original manuals of S-100 cards and associated equipment; for a modest per-page fee. I believe I have the largest number of original, on-paper, S-100 manuals and documents of any archive. I also have many manuals on floppy drives as well as extensive ON LINE technical information on disk formats.
Why do I charge for these copies? To cover my time, storage, Web support and acquisition costs. Why offer photocopies instead of scanned PDF files? They are clearer than most PDF's which were scanned at low resolution - my customers tell me that, over and over.
So it's not about "bandwidth" or "free vs paid" or "paper vs digital", it's about SUSTAINED, INFORMED, QUALITY SERVICE.
CP/M was a dominant operating system, from the mid-1970's to well into the 1980's; they offered alternatives to MS-DOS and Windows for another decade. The current owners of CP/M, still offer OS's today. CP/M was created by Dr. Gary Kildall before 1975 and sold quietly in that year as CP/M version 1.3 for $70 per disk. It became IMSAI's disk operating system IMDOS in 1976. CP/M or duplicate OS's, spread to most Z80 and 8080 systems of the 1970's microcomputer market (including most S-100 systems). Much MS-DOS software for the IBM-PC, was simply recompiled CP/M software, as MS-DOS was largely based on CP/M. After the IBM-PC was developed in 1981, DRI produced and sold a number of advanced OS's for PC-compatibles; the Amiga OS was based on a DRI OS called "GEM". DRI was sold in 1990 to Novell, Inc for $150 million dollars US ($230M to $300M in 2008 dollars); today it exists as a small company, still selling DR-DOS.
Below is a list of every S-100 producing company I'm aware of - all in the United States unless noted. I have S-100 documentation for these unless there is a note "no docs yet". In addition, there are a few manufacturers of printers and terminals sprinkled in this list. For manufacturers for which I have MANY manuals, I list them on an individual page and link to that page. If there is not a link and I have docs, they are listed on my Miscelaneous docs list which is also alphabetical by manufacturer.
Again, here is how to order S-100 stuff and how to contact me.
docs for company names below without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
Ackerman Digital Systems (ADS)
ACom Electronics
ADES or ADSI or Adapted Data & Energy Systems
- no manuals yet but see this page
Advanced Digital Corp. (ADC)
Advanced Micro Digital
Alloy Engineering
Alpha Micro - not quite S-100, used an IMSAI chassis anyway.
Alpha Systems Corp. - no manuals yet.
Altair - see MITS
Andicom or NABU - no manuals yet. Canadian company.
Artec Electronics Inc
California Computer Systems (CCS) has its own page here
California Data Corporation (CDC, but not Control Data!)
Celetron
Central Data
Certek or Cer-tek
Compuduct or CTM - no manuals yet. Canadian company.
Computalker Consultants (Santa Monica, CA) - no docs yet.
CompuTime
Compupro has its own page here
Computer Systems
Cromemco has its own page here
Data Sciences - see "Delta Products"
Delta Products has its own page here
DC Hayes
Digital Graphics Systems (Palo Alto, CA, 1979 and later, no docs)
Digital Research Incorporated (DRI) has its own page here
DRC (Digital Research Computers or Digital Research Corp., Texas)
Dual: see my Dual manuals list page.
Dynabyte has its own page here
D & W Digital
docs for company names without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
Earth Computers
Electrologics
Electronic Systems
Emulex
Evotech
Exatron (drives not S-100 cards)
Friden Flexowriter: follow this link for history
Fulcrum - see my IMSAI page
Futronics
Godbout - see Compupro page
Gunn Enterprizes
Hayes
Heath, Heathkit - listed seperately on my Heath/Zenith page
Also see my Z-100 Web page
Heuristics
iCOM - see this Web page
IEEE-696 standards - see this S-100 bus page for specifics and publications.
IMS International - see Industrial Micro Systems
IMSAI - see my IMSAI page
IMS Associates Inc. - see IMSAI
Industrial Micro Systems or IMS - listed on this page
Intelligent Computer Designs Corporation of Australia & USA
Interactive Products Corporation may be a company name for Polymorphic Systems
Intercontinental Micro Systems or ICM:
International Data Systems
I/O Technology
Integrand
Ithaca Intersystems, Ithaca Audio has its own page here
Jade
JBC Electronics
Kent Moore
Keptronic
Konan
Lear-Siegler (terminal)
Lomas Data Products (LDP) has its own page here
LF Technology or L/F Technology - listed under "IMS International"
docs for company names without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
Macrotech - has its own page here
Magnum Digital
Mariposa
Matrox (Canada) has its own page here
Measurement Systems and Controls
Memory Merchant
Microcomputer Systems Corp.
Micromation
Micropolis: see Micropolis computer manuals
Mikos Engineering or Wameco or WMC has its own page here
MITS - has its own page here
Morrow - has its own page here
Mountain Hardware
Mullen - has its own page here
Multiflex - Canadian, no docs yet
NABU or Andicom - no manuals yet. Canadian company.
NorthStar has its own page here
Netronics
Objective Design
Oliver Audio Engneering
PAIA
Persci floppy drives - check this link
Piiceon
Pickles & Trout
PMMI (see Hayes)
Polymorphic Systems: see my Polymorphic Web page
Problem Solver Systems
Processor Interfaces Inc
Processor Technology documentation list
Quest Electronics,
Q&T (Quick and Timely) Systems
Ro-Che Systems
docs for company names without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
S100 Computer Products
S100 Inc
Salota GMBH (Germany) - has a Web page here.
S C Digital - no docs yet.
SCION
SCT
Simpliway - no docs yet. Canadian company
SD Sales
SD Systems has its own page here
Seals Electronics
Seattle Computer Products has its own page here
Semidisk
Simpliway Products Company (no docs yet)
Sky Computers Inc.,
SMS Static Memory Systems
Solid State Music (SSM) documentation list
SOL - see Processor Technology
Suntronics - no docs yet. Canadian company
A. Szerlip
Tarbell has tis own page here
Techmar
Technical Design Labs (TDL, CDL) has its own page here
Teletype
TEI
Teletek
Thinkertoys - see Morrow
Transam - no docs yet. UK company.
Tuscan - a Transam Z80 system, no docs yet.
docs for company names without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
US Micro Sales - see "Delta Products"
Vector Graphic has its own page here
Vector
Visual (Terminal)
Wameco or WMC or Mikos Engineering has its own page here
W W Component Supply - see my IMSAI page
XCOMP Corp
Xitex
XOR - - see "Delta Products"
Zenith - listed seperately on my Heath/Zenith page
Also see my Z-100 Web page
docs for company names above without links are listed on my miscelaneous documentation page.
Again, here is how to order S-100 stuff and how to contact me.
Copyright © 2009 Herb Johnson