To: hjohnson@pluto.njcc.com, "Henry Broekhuyse"
Cc: 
Bcc: hjohnson@pluto.njcc.com
From: hjohnson@pluto.njcc.com (Herbert R Johnson)
Subject: Re: Altair power supply
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 22:12:38 -0400

On Tue, 11 Apr 2000 12:46:45 -0400, hjohnson@pluto.njcc.com (Herbert R Johnson) wrote:
*>In article <2cLG4.10018$eh.924321@news.bc.tac.net>, you wrote:
*>*>
*>*>> [in response to a question about Compupro 80286 based systems]
*>*>
*>*>CompuPro did sell systems with a CPU286 which used the classic CompuPro "big
*>*>iron" chassis, and carried the "286" label.
*>*>
*>*>The CompuPro "10"s were pre-configured as a multi-user system (running MP/M
*>*>or CCP/M), using an [8088 and 8085] system master CPU and multiple Z80 slave CPUs. A
*>*>limited number of options could be added.
*>*>
*>*>The CompuPro/286 used the same "compact" chassis as the model "10" with
*>*>minor modifications. It was a standard S100 system (except for the switching
*>*>power supply and no on-card voltage regulators). The standard configuration
*>*>included at least a CPU286, some RAM, a Disk1A, and  a System Support card.
*>*>CompuPro's full line of S100 cards were available as options. Many were
*>*>configured as multiuser systems, using Z80 or 80186 slave processor cards,
*>*>all running under CCP/M8-16.
*>*>
*>*>CompuPro's last systems were the MP1xx/2xx/3xx series (before they went out
*>*>of business in 1990/91). By this time, CompuPro no longer sold individual
*>*>S100 cards to end users but continued to sell complete multiuser systems for
*>*>commercial use. The "MP" series were also built into what was essentially a
*>*>modified model "10" chassis. They were still S100-based systems (not PC
*>*>clones), again using cards without voltage regulators on them. The '386
*>*>based systems added an additional bus across the top of the boards
*>*>connecting the CPU and RAM (to get around the 16-bit "limitation" of the
*>*>S100 bus). The '386 provided sufficient computing power to render slave
*>*>processor cards unnecessary, and CP/M-80 was emulated in software. These
*>*>were multi-user systems running CCP/M or CDOS; any user could run a CP/M-80,
*>*>CP/M-86, or "well-behaved character-based" MSDOS program. This worked well,
*>*>providing in one box the equivalent of a network of CP/M  and PC-clone
*>*>boxes.
*>*>

[above quoted with permission by the author 4/12/2000 - Herb]