Old 5 1/4 pol IDE HD Dock used in Old Servers and Computers. Museum ESIJMJG

IDE HD Drawer Dock used in old servers and computers. Product demonstration video. ESIJMJG Museum.

    Few old (vintage) products still survive the passage of time in conditions of at least being filmed/photographed, and even rarer are those that have their functional characteristics preserved. In the world of vintage computing, there have been countless parts/accessories created over the years, and since everything quickly becomes outdated (obsolete), it doesn't take long for them to become parts of electronic waste.

    Therefore, it is very rare to see this part that we show in the video below, it is a "Dock" Drawer for HD-IDE used in servers/computers from the 90s/2000s. 

Watch the video below and see what this rare but very practical and functional accessory was like for the world of vintage servers. (Portuguese Audio Only)

    This rack dock is very rare because today there are practically no more hard drives in the IDE standard, as well as motherboards that currently support the IDE bus are even rarer. 

    We believe that the IDE dock shown was used in many old servers, since it allows for quick hard drive replacement without opening the equipment (computer). Since servers are usually built into racks, having to remove them from their place, open them and replace a part would be a very costly and time-consuming task, which completely compromises a server's function (being operational to serve 24 hours a day)!

    A stopped server is an incalculable loss for certain companies, which is why the urgency of performing corrective maintenance is very important. We don't have time to open the computer, unscrew the entire structure to replace a hard drive! A 10-minute task that should be completed in 1 or 2 minutes at most!

    With this, this IDE HD Drawer allowed technicians to replace hard drives in just a few seconds. This is the main function of these devices created for the server world.

    A desktop computer would hardly have optimized parts to be replaced, since the target audience for desktops are home users, while the target audience for servers are corporate and more experienced users.

    A desktop computer can be stopped for longer for maintenance, while a server should only stop for the shortest possible time, since each second represents a strategic/financial loss for companies!

    With that, the entire server market should be focused on practicality and speed when it comes to maintenance.

    What impresses us is that this IDE HDD Drawer has an internal fan (disk cooling) and can be easily locked/unlocked by simply pushing/pulling its carrying handle (like a lock).

    A very well developed ingenuity.

    Although we can use this drawer on any desktop computer, rarely will it be used for the price.

    Of course, today there are versions of this drawer with SATA connection, but at the time the IDE was the best thing there was.

    Did you like it?

    Join us next time as we reveal other rare and classic items from our Museum of ESIJMJG IT!

JMJG
Electronic Eng.

Read More

Tip Linux KDE in Notebooks,strange Like FN Key was Pressed directly. How to Solve it easily!

Notebook keyboard on Linux is strange as if the FN key was pressed directly. Is it a Bug? How to solve this easily.

FNis a Special Function key available only on Notebooks or special keyboards. Normally common Desktop Computer keyboards do not have this key. On some Notebook models the FN key is also responsible for activating the numeric keypad function (Num Lock) and with that, in some newly installed Linux operating systems users may encounter a very common problem. Typing on the keyboard and seeing that instead of letters, numbers are coming out, completely confusing the user.

Many people even try to adjust the Keyboard Layout in the Linux settings, but without success. That's exactly what will happen, because this is not the correct way to solve the problem!

So what can I solve? Is this a bug in my Linux? Should I install the system again?

Don't do this! The issue is not about a bug or defect in your Linux, the problem is that the Notebook must be configured for the numeric keypad (Num Lock) by default when the KDE session or others is being loaded!

The blame lies partly with the many Notebook manufacturers who still do not include the famous light bulbs in their keyboards LED

to indicate whether the Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock functions are activated on the keyboard!

Desktop keyboards always have LEDs to indicate when these functions are activated, so the user remembers to turn off the functions when they are no longer needed. The same goes for Caps Lock (which always writes in uppercase letters). 

In the special case of Num Lock, the layout of the Notebook keyboard is usually differentand, except for some more expensive manufacturers, the Notebook keyboard does not have the right part of the numeric keypad, and therefore there is no space to embed the LED signaling lamps.

So we will show you how to easily solve the problem for the Notebook that is using Linux, and also "adapt" a reminder of the Num Lock and Caps Lock keys directly in Linux. Check it out:

1) Turning off the Num Lock function at the beginning of the KDE session or others, avoiding problems with wrong keys.

To temporarily solve the problem, the user can press the FN + NumLock key on their Notebook keyboard to turn OFF the NumLock function. NumLock is usually printed on the key with another function, so the FN key must be used to activate the NumLock function.

    As we can see, some letter keys also share numbers, J=1, K=2, L=3, U=4, etc. and with that, if the NumLock function is on, when we press the keys in their place the corresponding numbers will be printed on the screen, generating confusion.

To turn off the NumLock function at the beginning of the KDE session or others, access the Linux system settings and go to "Keyboard".

Click "Disable" on the Num Lock function at the start of Plasma. For those who use Gnome, XFCE, LXDE or other proscure the same option in the system settings (usually in Keyboard).

This way, every time we start Linux and enter KDE, it will automatically turn off Num Lock for us, avoiding the confusion we mentioned.

2) Installing an Aplet for simulate the Num Lock and Capslock LED

Even if our Notebook does not have the NumLock and CapsLock LEDs like a common Desktop keyboard, we can use other alternatives to do this.

In Linux using KDE and others it is possible to install an "Aplet" that reminds us about when the function is activated NumLock or CapsLock are on, showing messages near the clock bar.

To install in KDE you need to access the "Add Widgets" function

The procedure in detail can be seen in the video below, it works in KDE 4 or KDE 5 (Plasma 5). For other graphics managers, try installing them via the application or package center.

This way, your problem with typing letters and numbers will be solved, and the FN can still be used to turn on the NumLock function at any time you want, just remember to turn off the NumLock function to be able to type normally.

For Notebook manufacturers, the time has passed that even models with the most advanced keyboards compact, have at least 2 LEDs to indicate the NumLock/CapsLock function. The Scroll Lock function does not cause many problems so its LED can even be suppressed.

See you next time

JMJG

Eng Electronic/Desktop Linux Instructor.

Read More

Know the Old 5 1/4 inch Floppy Disk Drives. New Original Sealed Box and a Little History about this Media!

Old 5 1/4 inch Floppy Disk. Unboxing Opening a NEW Original Sealed Box. Rarity. What were the first Digital Disk Storage Media like? Check out this Vintage Classic here! ESIJMJG EXCLUSIVITY!

    Before checking out a little history about Floppy Disks, watch this classic video. We did a sealed unboxing of a 5 1/54-inch floppy disk, one of the most used media in computers during the 70s/80s.

We did this to use these disks in our old computers (486/MSX), so don't worry, we didn't open the box for nothing! Of course, if it was closed, it would have more value for collecting, but what's the point of a closed box if we can't use it in our 5 1/4 units! kkkkk Practice speaks louder.

Check out this detailed unboxing of a sealed box of brand new 5 1/4 disks. ESIJMJG Computer Museum! (portuguese audio Only)

    It is not the first time that humanity feels the need to store information digitally. The first magnetic storage units were Magnetic Reel Tapes. After the invention of the Cassette Tape (K7) many devices were already being manufactured and became cheaper and easier to adapt to computers!

Thus during the 70s/80s cassette tape storage units (K7) became popular in personal computers such as the TRS-Color/TK/ MSX/ Apple II/ CP /XT/ AT/PC.

    But the tapes took a long time to store and even longer to find the information (you had to constantly rewind or fast forward)since the data was stored in a linear and sequential way!

    To solve this, engineers designed the Magnetic Floppy Disk (Floppy Disk) drives. The first Floppy Disk from the 1971s was 8 inches, huge/giant and could only store a maximum of 80Kb! That's right 80 Kilobytes! But this unit was too large to be embedded in personal computers.

    Later they reduced the size to 5 1/4 inches and the floppy disk had 160 Kb of storage, in addition to being able to be built into the cases of personal computers!

    Now that was a tremendous revolution!

    On a floppy disk, data is stored in a sectorial manner, in tracks, which can be quickly accessed by a mobile reader head, unlike traditional K7 tapes. This represented faster access and easier storage, which made floppy disks the most desired magnetic storage unit of the 70s/80s. But their price was very high! Few could have these units in their computers, and the K7 tape was still used in most computers.

    However, over time, floppy disks became popular and their price dropped so much that the use of K7 tapes was discontinued from computers and only floppy disk drives were being used in the late 80s and early 90s.

A Little History, 1970 until 1990!

    Nowadays, some text files in the Office suite take up more than 5 Mb, so it is not possible to store current text on these old floppy disks. However, in the 70s/80s, using DOS systems, a text file could be much less than 360 Kb, so there is enough space to fit text on these disks.

    But not only text, these disks were already used on a large scale for computers from the MSX/TRS/TK/CP line from Prológica and even the famous IBM-PC! At that time, personal computers did not have Hard Drives (Winchesters) because they were very expensive and used only in large company computers (replacing K7 Tape Recorders). Therefore, a 5 1/4 Drive was the only best option for storing files on personal computers from the 70s/80s, compared to K7 audio tape recorders!

    

The D.O.S (Disk Operating System) system was the most famous in the 70s/80s and long before Windows graphical systems became popular, "DOS" was the standard at the time, a system operated entirely by text, via command line (Prompt).

    At that time, computer users had to understand the system more technically, since there was no GUI graphical interface to help! For this reason, these systems were considered difficult to use and not all users liked using computers.

    Among the various DOS systems, the most famous and popular is MS-DOS (Microsoft) which came "bundled" with many standard AT-X86 computers.

    

    The most famous was the AT-286, simply called 286, which was soon evolved into the 386 and finally the 486 which was the most advanced 32-bit processor at the time. Even after the famous Pentium 1 (successor to the 486), 5 1/4-inch floppy disks were used in computers, but they were soon replaced by 3 1/2-inch disks and the 5 1/4-inch bay was soon occupied by the modern CD-ROMs that were part of the Sound Blaster Multimedia Kits!

    The First 8 inch Floppy Disk model, could store up 80 Kb Kilobytes! That's it! 80 Kilobytes! 

    The first 5 1/4-inch floppy disk models could store up to 160 Kb of information, using a Single-sided model. That's less than a text file in .TXT format today! But back then, that was everything!

    As floppy disk readers and, of course, the media itself evolved, high-density models emerged, in this case reaching the maximum that a 5 1/4 floppy disk can store.

    With the HD (High Density) floppy disk, we could achieve up to 1.2 Mb (Megabytes) of storage capacity. In the 70s and 80s, that was enough to store a few games, dozens of text files, and some software, but even by the beginning of the 90s, that capacity was already somewhat limited.

    As a result, it was common for users to have dozens of boxes with these 5 1/4 floppy disks just to store their information. At that time (1985) the Hard Disk was also quite popular and had much more capacity . Enough for MS-DOS systems or even Windows 3.1/3.11.

    But the 5 1/4 floppy disks were losing ground to another 3 1/2 (3.5 inch) floppy disk that was more rigid and allowed the HD version to store up to 1.44 Mb (Megabytes)! With practically the same price as the box, the 3 1/2 inch version was much more widely used and survived until the end of the 90s, when the famous CD began to be adopted in computers, thanks to the famous Sound Blaster Kits!

    And at this point is the End life for the Floppy Disk media and Drives... But here in the ESIJMJG they live forever!

ESIJMJG Computer Museum.

JMJG

Electronic Eng.

Read More

Know the Old 3 1/2 Floppy Disks the old Store Units in Computers 1.44Mb of Space!

The old 3 1/2 Floppy Disk. The Old Storage Units. An Incredible 1.44MB of Space! Meet the grandfather of the flash drive!

Our private collection of floppy disks 3 1/2

    It sounds like a joke, but it's not. 1.44mb (a little less than a simple digital photo, taken with your modern cell phone camera), was the incredible amount of digital space, made available by this storage device, called a "3 1/2-inch floppy disk" or floppy-disk.

    For years, it has reigned as the most secure and reliable medium for storing digital data.

    "Floppy disks" have been used since 1960, initially they were 8 inches and could store only a measly 128kB, less than a typed text! After 1970, the 5 1/4 unit was developed with a capacity of 360kB! Then the famous 3 1/2 format of 720kB.

    With the high cost of hard drives at the time, floppy disks were the cheapest and most practical way for users to store data. Better than the old K7 tape drives (used as data storage for decades)!

    You could store your text files, games, images and even carry them with you in your pocket! Of course, all this because the old floppy disks were much larger than it, and stored much less capacity.

    The 5 1/4 floppy disks (360kb or 1.22mb HD) of space were very large, thin and without protection against dust or handling. These could not be put in a shirt pocket and taken out. In addition, they could easily be damaged, had to be kept in the box, and handled with much more care.

    But it wasn't always like this. The first 3 1/2 floppy disk drives were low density (DD) and stored only 720kb, only in the HD version these wonderful disks began to store 1.44mb (formatted)! In addition to the more compact format, the 3 1/2 inch floppy disks innovated in practicality. A hole on the right side determined whether it was DD (720kb) or HD (1.44mb), while on the left side, there was a safety lock, which could be manually activated to protect the recorded data. The old 5 1/4 floppy disks had to be covered with adhesive tape for this function.

    1.44 MB was a lot of space, enough at the time to store many files, and even an entire operating system (UNIX, MAC, MS-DOS or Windows 1.0)!

    Inside them, there was a magnetic media that was protected by a fabric (removed dust and dirt). On the outside, there was a protective cover, which could also contain labels to write the data content.

    It could be read by appropriate disk-drives (FDD) units. Thousands of computers between 1980 and 2000 had floppy disk drives installed. Pen-drives did not yet exist, which only became more famous after the invention of the CD-Rom.

    Due to the advancement of technology, in 1994 floppy disks were losing space, since they stored very little information, compared to CD-Roms (700mb) or pen drives (1Gb).

    With that, floppy disks were being abolished from everyday use in mid-2010, and many computers no longer had floppy disk drives built into the cases. Many users have been migrating their information to other media, and nowadays it is RARE to find someone who still uses them!

    RARE but not impossible! Even in the 21st century, many users in the world still need to use floppy disk drives. This is due to the limitations of some old programs, which still require running on DOS systems and being handled on floppy disks. For this, today there are floppy disk units that work via USB port.

    Our tribute to this device that is over 55 years old, and that was part of the lives of many, especially ours.

    Stay connected with us, soon many other curiosities and nostalgia.....

JMJG
Eng. Electronic

Read More

The Old Computer Cases 286/386/486 and AT Standard and AT power Supply.

Remember the Old 286/386/486 Cases. Meet the old AT Standard computer power supply. 

    In the evolution of computers, the most remembered and acclaimed period in Brazil and perhaps in the world, will be the 80s/90s. The classic XT/AT 286/386/486 really were an unforgettable standard. So striking that some characteristics jump out at you, clearly identifying these computers. "I had an AT 286 at the time of 20Mhz with MS-DOS 4 and Windows 3.11, at that time computing was very technical and put the user in contact with the most intelligent electronic equipment ever manufactured in the century"  (JMJG)

The Video Bellow are in Portuguese Language Only (but in the future will be translated)

After watching the video, let's talk about some additional technical features.

The XT standard case was usually "lying horizontally" exactly like the first one, highlighting a super monitor on top of it, and its huge 5 1/4 units. The AT 286/386/486 standard case, on the other hand, was usually standing up (vertical) and had some striking features on its front panel.

1. The first one was the inclusion of a 3 1/2 disk drive, more modern and with greater capacity.
2. A window with a small LCD numeric display, which indicated the clock speed. At that time, computers needed to highlight their performance through speed. The AT 286 had speeds of 10 MHz to 36 MHz or more, and this was extended to the AT 486 standard, which reached an incredible 100 MHZ! Those who upgraded to the Pentium 1 and took advantage of the case could now change the numbers to 166 MHz or more!
3. It had the famous TURBO button next to the Reset button! This button is unique and only present in the X86 family (Pentium no longer had this function on the button, it was via physical configuration).
4. Some models had a key (with padlock) to protect the keyboard against unauthorized use (yes, at the time, the MS-DOS operating system and others did not have the password feature). This way, the owner of the computer could "lock" the keyboard to prevent strangers from using the computer.

    The Turbo Button was very important at the time for compatibility issues with XT (8088) processors that operated in the 5 Mhz range or less. With the AT 286 standard, processors had speeds ranging from 6 Mhz but the latest models already had 10 Mhz or 20 Mhz! This was a problem, because many Games and Applications of the XT standard were inherited to the AT and could be run normally, the problem is that developers used the processor clock (speed) as the basis for the application speed. So if a game for example ran "normally" on a 5 Mhz processor when it was executed on a 10 Mhz computer for example, it would become completely "unplayable - unplayable" because it would run very fast at twice the speed!

    To solve this in a simple way, the TURBO button manually toggled the processor speed, interfering in the clock base between the full value (Full Speed ​​Turbo) and exactly HALF (Slow Half Speed). Thus the user of an AT with 10 Mhz could run that game (XT 5 Mhz) just by turning off the TURBO, this would change the original clock of the machine to half, exactly 5 Mhz and the game would be fully playable again at normal speed! To alert the user to the speed of the machine, there was an LCD display that indicated the number in Mhz, if the Turbo button was pressed the Full speed in Mhz would be displayed, if it was turned off, the speed would be displayed exactly at half!

    That's what that unique LCD display on standard AT X86 cases was for!

As an option, there could also be an LED indicating TURBO ON/OFF or the LED with the writing HI/LOW, just to confirm the status of the Turbo button! It was a retention button, press to turn on and press again to turn off, it was not a pulse button like it is today in modern cabinets!

The standard AT Power Supplies were actually the first computer switching power supplies that existed, already used in the first PCs of the XT line.  In appearance they are very similar to the current power supplies (popular low performance), kind of square and with a classic fan for cooling.

But the AT power supply has big differences. 

• The On/Off button of the computer is of the retention switch type, press it once to turn it on, press it again to turn it off. It is quite large and has strong terminals, because in fact raw electrical energy flows through it. All this because the AT source must be turned on/off manually, that is, there is no way for it to turn on or off by itself! With this, the main difference from an AT source is that the on/off button on the computer panel is connected directly to the AT source and not to the motherboard as is currently done in the ATX standard!

• 
  The power connectors on the motherboard and the AT power supply are in the two-by-two 6-wire standard, known as P8 and P9. 

They are very similar, the technician can easily get confused and connect them incorrectly, burning the motherboard/power supply, causing huge damage! 

The right way to connect is to always leave the black ones together in the middle!

Therefore, although switching power supplies have greater advantages in size/weight/current than old linear power supplies, they still do not have any interactivity features with the operating system (automatically turn off, ACPI, suspend, hibernate, etc.).

I hope you enjoyed our trip to the past. The classics NEVER die!

See you next time!

JMJG

Electronic Eng

Read More

The Power of Old Sound Cards Better Than the new onboard! Check this with Old Sound Blaster and OPL3 Yamaha!

Can the old overcome the new? Are old sound cards better than the new ones? Comparative Test see the results and be amazed!

Testing a Yamaha OPL3-SA3 Slot ISA (1990) in Linux Mint. Surprising!

Check the Test Result of an ISA Card with Yamaha OPL3-SA3 and TEA 2025B Integrated Amplifier! 

 

    Making Sound on a computer is something that has existed since 1951 (Ferranti Mark 1), when there was any record of it. Of course it wasn't a super HI-FI 3D Surround Dolby Digital, but... it was fascinating to have an electronic device reproduce its first musical notes at that time.

    Already in the era of the famous 286 (1984), computers already used a small speaker in their case. With this, games could reproduce soundtracks, many of them exciting, all this using beeps (distinct tonal frequencies). 
    Until then, this was the best available for computer SOUND. However, the need for more technology led to the development of the famous SOUND CARDS, which were plugged into computers as an accessory, greatly improving the user experience with digital music.

SOUND CARDS (The most famous)

    Sound cards had a dedicated "processor" that could provide better sound processing, as well as circuits capable of applying effects and filters to the audio signal, bass/treble adjustments, and MIDI music playback (those played by keyboards).

    In the 90s, the signs of "AdLib" and "Creative" with 16 bits, which transformed the computer into a true multimedia center. Some old games took advantage of these cards to play very exciting music and soundtracks. It was a really great improvement, which practically made the computer's internal speaker (8 bits) useless.

    Still in the 90s, Creative brought to the public its amazing Multimedia kits (Creative Sound Blaster). This kit included:

• 16-Bit Sound Card (with CD/ROM support+amplified output+microphone input,MIDI)
• CD/ROM (2X) + Game Titles on CD-ROM
• CD with Drivers for MS-DOS/Windows 3.11/95
• Passive Speakers (NO Amplification) with great acoustics for bass/treble

    This made any computer user crazy to buy it! Here in Brazil this kit was so successful that the term "Multimedia Kit" was used commercially to highlight computers that had this capability.

    In terms of SOUND, it was state of the art!

Yamaha OPL3-SA3 A151-A00 (Features and Technical Specifications)

    The A151-A00 (Addonics) is a 16-bit sound card, fully amplified! Powerful but still connects to theold buses ISA 16 BITS, typical of computers from the 90s. In the picture the 16-Bit ISA bus is black, and the famous PCI (more modern) is white.

    Fortunately the 16-Bit ISA bus is better than its old 8-Bit ISA! This board is more current and has superior performance, compared to the first generations of ISA 8-bit boards!

    This board was manufactured by several different companies (addonics, yamaha, etc.), which could add different functionalities to each one. Basically, it had a MIDI/Joystick connector, output for passive speakers, microphone input, line input (to connect radio, cassette deck, etc.).

    Electronically, they could have a different internal "layout", since each manufacturer could change the additional features a little.

    The Original board (OPL) manufactured by Yamaha itself, had all the basic features of the A151-A00 plus an excellent MIDI controller, internal connection for CD-AUDIO, and additional inputs/outputs. 

A151-A00 with CD-ROM Support

    Many old motherboards (80/90) did not yet have the famous controller for CD-ROM drives! This feature was provided by the sound card (from the Multimedia Kits), which had a 40-pin IDE connector, so that the CD-ROM control flat cable could be connected there. This way, the computer could read the CD-ROM via the sound card, and not via the motherboard! (in the photo, the CD-ROM connector is on the left corner).

    Cards external to the multimedia kits did not have this feature, and in this case only the sound could be increased (our test board).

The Yamaha YMF718- chip was the sound processor, using 16 bits.  It is also responsible for controlling the CD-ROM functions (when available on the board), compatibility with SoundBlaster, Adlib, WAV and MIDI resources, MPU-401. In addition, it could also add bass/treble control and the incredible 3D-Surround feature, making listening to music an unparalleled experience (even though the board is Stereo-2 channels).

    On Windows, the driver for this Controller is standard on Windows 95/98/ME and on GNU-Linux, the driver that was tested is the OPL3-SA3 already provided, just needing to be configured (Linux MINT/Ubuntu and others). On other systems, you should research support for OPL2-SA2 or OPL3-SA3.

    All the power of this sound card was due to the TEA2025B circuit, from ST, a STEREO amplifier chip, with an incredible 2.3W per channell! This could easily play passive speakers, loud and clear!

EXAMPLE of AMPLIFIERS WITH TEA2025

    The TEA2025B was originally used as an amplifier chip for AM/FM radios, including Tape K7, or any other portable equipment, since the chip works with a wide range of voltages (3V min and 12V max). The higher the voltage, the higher the power!

    It can still be connected in "bridge" mode, which will cause it to lose the STEREO function, but it will gain in power, the only one being up to 4.7W with an 8-ohm load!

    Due to the practicality of this circuit, it is used on a large scale, serving as the basis for amplifier circuits in many external speakers (even today).

    On the A151-A00 OPL3 board, this chip was already integrated into the board, and configured to use almost all of its 2.3W per channel! 

    Finally, the sound quality was reproduced in high-quality speakers (SBS30) from Creative, with fidelity, marking the presence of bass and treble with perfection above average. 

    As you can see, better, LISTEN, the sound quality of these old boards + passive speakers, is superior to the current kits. Not to mention thatToday's amplified speakers, for the most part, can't even reach half of this board!

    Today we have sound chips, built-in "onboard" but they are NOT amplified! Many of them also do not have 3D-Surround effects, not even a bass/treble control. 
    Only high-quality motherboards have better sound chips, but even then, they still depend on external amplification!

    Result: Yes, old sound cards can be better than new cards, even 32-bit ones, because here we are not comparing signal/sampling resolution, but rather resources and power!

    It can be better than 85% of the sound of Notebooks/Netbooks on the market, and 65% of the amplified speakers on the market.

For Windows 3.X Systems and D.O.S systems, follow the link to Download the Drivers, which are so rare to download

OPL3-SAX Driver Download for D.O.S

OPL3-SAX Driver Download for Windows 3.X

Drivers for Windows 9X (up to XP) are already built in so they should be automatically configured!

    He who has ears, let him hear this!

    I'll leave the TEA2025B datasheet for download, in case anyone wants to play with this chip (you can buy it or take it from another used equipment)

Download TEA2025b.pdf Information No MidiaShared 

    This way, electronics lovers, you can learn more about this fantastic integrated circuit, which was/is used in audio equipment, mainly portable ones.

See you next time.
JMJG
Electronic Engineer

Read More

About the MSX Brazilian Computer Version See the Hardware and much tips.My First Computer MSX Expert Gradiente

Personal Computers of 1980. MSX the standard that evolves in Brazil and in the world (JMJG's first computer)

"When people talk about the MSX standard, I get tears in my eyes. It was my first computer, which I got from my parents, and I bought it used in 1987! (a new one was very expensive). That's how I started my story with computers and electronics." JMJG

The MSX standard means that it is a computer "architecture", and not a brand or manufacturer! For a computer to carry the MSX logo, it had to have certain characteristics, so that it could be considered worthy of carrying this symbol. The MSX standard was born in Japan (the beloved and beloved land of electronics) in 1983, and was created by a company there that was a kind of "subsidiary" of Microsoft. 

    MSX came about so that computers could have a "standard", that is, be compatible with each other, which today is universal, back then (1970-1980) it was not! Each manufacturer had its own architecture (IBM, Apple, Commodore, etc.) so, if you bought a computer, you had to use everything from the manufacturer, including accessories, cartridges and even the programs. Nothing was compatible!

    The MSX came so that several manufacturers could develop computers, but so that an MSX accessory could work on another computer, regardless of its manufacturer! Sensational!

    MSX has no meaning explained yet, some say that the M is (Microsoft), but it can also be "Machine" (machine), S is software and X (Exchangeability). But Japan claims that M is from Matsushita the fusion (National+Panasonic) S from "Sony" and X from (x-power). Anyway, either way MSX is the power of the 80s.

    Practically all major manufacturers supported the idea and manufactured their MSX computers, and to this day it is possible to find MSX computers from various brands (Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, National, Philips, etc.).

    And several countries also adopted the MSX standard, whichhi almost worldwide success, only the USA and England and a few other countries did not adopt the MSX standard, and developed their own standards.

    The MSX standard was discontinued only in 1995, with the exclusive launch in Japan of the model MSX-TurboR (Panasonic). There were four MSX standards (MSX1, MSX2, MSX2+), with the MSX-TurboR being an exclusively Japanese model manufactured only by Panasonic.

    In Brazil, the standard was very well represented by the major manufacturers, Gradiente and Sharp!

MSX1 Standard Basic Hardware

    At a time when there were other famous architectures (Apple2, TRS-80, IBM-PC, ZX Spectrum, etc.) the MSX standard established the following basic hardware:

• Processor 8bits using the classic Z-80 (Zilog) with exact 3.58Mhz clock.
• VPU (video processor) from Texas Instruments TMS9918/TMS9128.
• PSG (Programmable Audio Generator) Audio Processor from General Instruments AY-3-8910 with 3 channels + noise and effects generator.
• Intel 8255A Peripheral Controller
• 16Kb of independent Video Memory accessed by the VPU.
• 64Kb of RAM (expandable up to 512kb)

32 Kb ROM+Microsoft Basic interpreter, loaded directly at Boot without an active operating system.

Cartridge Slot (at least 1)

I/O for K7 Tape (recorder for storing programs)

RGB+RCA Video Output

RCA Audio Output+Internal Speaker

Centronics Printer Output

Data Bus for accessories (disk drive, etc.)

Input for JoyStick DB9 Kempson (Atari 2600 standard)

    This relatively "simple" hardware was very agile for the large applications of the time. The low cost of the MSX was its great advantage, in relation to other micros of the time, in addition to its compatibility with the CP/M and IBM-PC systems, since the floppy disks could be read on the MSX in DOS standards.

    In Brazil two manufacturers produced their MSX models, Gradiente and Sharp, both companies that are standards in technological excellence. Although the models were very different from each other, they were completely compatible with each other (accessories, peripherals, programs, etc.).

Sharp HB- 8000 (HOTBIT)

Launched in 1985, this Sharp MSX was compact and well identified. It was a single piece, computer+keyboard, and had a built-in cartridge slot also in the keyboard. The first version was white and gray, but later there was a black version with the BR1.2 system+integrated K7 recorder. This model had preparations to be transformed into an MSX2 but it was never done by Sharp. In Brazil it is called "RotBait" and many schools adopted this model to teach computer science to children (I had my first computer classes with a HotBit at my school in 1987).

Expert Gradiente (XP-800)

    Also released in 1985, the MSX Expert had a more modern and futuristic look adopted by most computers today. At the time, it cost around US$500 (it was expensive).

    It had the CPU separated from the keyboard, which made the machine take up more space on the desk, but it could accommodate the monitor on top of the CPU, something that Sharp's "Hotbit" could not. 

    Another highlight is that the Expert had a Double Cartridge Slot in front pannel. The first version 1.0 (gray), was a standard basic MSX, but it was also widely explored and modified by Gradiente. 

    A Version 1.1 had corrections to the keyboard and accentuation, the Expert-PLus version had more memory and a video card with 80 columns. 

    The black top model DDPlus had a 3 1/2-inch floppy disk, built into the CPU, exactly on the right side of the slots, where there was already a space reserved for it, since the first generation. In MSX 1.1 and DD+ version also Reset Button and RF circuit Video signal was inserted in the inside of CPU (in the 1.0 version the RF circuit was external).

JMJG had an Expert 1.0, exactly the model in the photo.

    Unfortunately, as it is today, Brazil was still very closed to technology, and there was a computer law, protecting national industries. The MSX standard remained stuck at 1, while in the rest of the world the MSX2, MSX2+ standards were born. There were the famous "conversion kits" that were sold, but everything was very expensive and rare.

    The MSX in Brazil and in many places around the world became more famous for being a video game console than for actually being a computer! A sad fact, because it is actually a computer and not a game console. However, many applications were developed for it. 

MSX EXPERT-GRADIENTE 1.0BR

In terms of games, the MSX was a hit! Even more famous than the standard ATARI 2600, there were many companies developing games for it, which developed computing in Brazil. Electronic technicians and engineers (no, I hadn't graduated yet at the time) were also very well served, since the national market was closed to imports, and many "national kits" were developed and designed. The famous one was the MegaRAM kit, and the cartridge to connect disk-drive (5 1/4) and modem (Video Text) to the internet in 1980!

The keyboard was already standard QWERTY, with 88 keys, and had special keys that we don't find on standard PC computers today. The red key STOP (which was used to end the execution of programs in MSX-Basic), and the green keys RGRA LGRA (which were used to generate special characters that were used to create graphics in games). A red LED (IN USE) lit up to indicate that the keyboard was powered.

On the CPU console, there was a Power button (push style with retention), and an LED that indicated when the device was on or not. A Cartridge A Slot Always available on the left side,and already has a smart switch, which turns off the computer every time the lid is opened. This was a common problem at the time, it could easily burn out (Atari, etc.) because distracted users had the habit of inserting/removing cartridges with the equipment on. 

Result: They would burn out the product. In the MSX-Expert, the engineers don't forget it and put a switch that turned off the product if the Slot door was opened. The two doors of cartridges are protect by the switch. Below are the DB9 connectors for standard Atari JoySticks, two so that up to 2 players could play at the same time.

On the right side, Cartridge B was available (exclusive to the Expert model), so that the user could better take advantage of combinations such as. The user could insert an floppy interface cartridge into A, and then a game into B, and run the game with Disk-Drive support, for example. In other words, Cartridge A has priority over  Cartridge B, and any interface connected to A will run first. However It was not possible to run 2 game cartridges at same time, for example! 

    In order for the user to take advantage of and use both Slots at the same time, they should connect a special cartridge (interface or MEGARAM) to Slot A, and then Slot B would be available to run their games).

Rear Connections (Gray Expert)

    On the back, there was a potentiometer to adjust the volume of the internal speaker (very cool), the RCA outputs (Audio+Video) to connect amplifiers and monochrome monitors. A DataCorder output for the K7 recorder (to record programs and load games, etc.) and an RGB output (to connect the color video interface) so we could use the MSX on the color television at home, wow! They all had a DIN style connector.

    The BUS Expansion was a special MSX interface for connecting modems, serial printers, or disk-drive interfaces, etc. It was not possible to use peripherals that were not developed for the MSX standard.

    The KeyboardInput, was a special input, a unique connector used by Gradiente. No other computer keyboard can be connected here. Only the Expert's own keyboard! The Printer Output, accepts only standard Centronics parallel printers! The fuse holder, the power outlet to connect monitor and recorder, and the voltage selector 127/240V!

    The Expert DD+ model already had a slightly different back, had a "reset" key and did not have a "datacorder" since it had a 3 1/2 drive built-in. 

    

    The Expert's Manual was very technical, just like any computer of the time. Its user should have a good understanding of electronics and IT in order to make the most of it. The manual had small explanatory programs, developed especially so that the user could understand the "power" of his MSX. The video processor's 16-color capacity was highlighted, with white+colorless, well explored in graphics programs and games. There was also the connector pinout, in case technical users wanted to build/repair the connection cables with the peripherals. Other more technical information for building interfaces and expansion cartridges.

A Technical Manual on the Basic system was also provided, a kind of Basic Dictionary, which contained all the known commands and sample programs for each of them, thus encouraging the user to create their own programs, and even sell them to other users. Of course, there were companies that only did this, but at that time it was common for the user to create their own programs, since the computer had the command interpreter. A special MSX Expert demonstration cartridge was provided by Gradiente, so that the user could learn about the new features.

MSX Exclusive Peripherals

    To connect standard PAL-M monitors (color) or even common televisions TV of the time, the user had to purchase a special peripheral. The TA-1 was a video switcher that "assembled" the component video signal using the RGB output provided by the VDP/VPU. 

    We could also connect more modern monitors or televisions via RCA video (composite), and on the other side, an antenna (flat parallel wire, those old ones) of 300 ohms, and RF output for a 300 ohm television as well. 

    The famous RF channel selection switch (3 or 4). The funny thing is that unlike the one used in the ATARI, this switcher was automatic, that is, when the MSX was turned on, it switched channel 3/4 on the MSX video signal by itself, without the user having to do it manually (as was done in the ATARI). Turning off the MSX, the switcher releases the antenna signal. normally. 

    At a time when computers rarely came with storage units, much less with Disk-Drivers (floppy disk readers), the K7 tape drive was the only cheap and popular alternative for data storage for the user. Many computers had interfaces for these devices, as well as having integrated K7 drives. For the MSX, K7 drives from recorders like these were supported, connected with a special cable.

     Normally, recorders of that time were MONO. The manufacturer recommended that the recorder have a "Tape counter", as this made it easier to know at which point on the tape a certain program existed.

     The MIC was the microphone used to record MSX-BASIC data, the EAR was to load programs into MSX-BASIC, REM was an automatic control that turned the recorder's motor on or off when necessary. 

    The REM pin was optional, and models that did not have it worked well, but the user had to manually turn off the PLAY or REC buttons on the device. The K7 had a characteristic, it used FSK modulation, so it made a noise, similar to the modems that accessed the internet in the 90s, when they were reading/writing data. 

    This could be reduced in the MSX, (less irritating), by simply decreasing the volume of the MSX's internal speaker. Depending on the program, the loading process was slow, taking tens of minutes or more!

    K7 recorders were cheap and very popular units in the 80s, but they were not the best storage units for computers. This was because each K7 recorder had its own quality, and this could hinder the recording/reading task. 

    The volume, tone, motor speed, noises could affect the reading/writing of data. Therefore, it was common to have problems with losing programs recorded on tapes, or even lending a certain tape to a friend, since the computer's recorder would be different. The tape + the K7 recorder should be lent to reduce the risk of problems. This would change with the famous disk-drive units

    In the future, 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 floppy disk drives became cheaper and became popular in computers. They were much more reliable and there would no longer be data recording problems like in K7 drives.
    MSX-BASIC had instructions for reading/writing in K7 units (CSAVE, CLOAD) and other different ones for reading/writing in floppy disk-drive units (LOAD/SAVE).

    MSX cartridges were state-of-the-art for their time. Reliable, stable and very resistant, they contained the famous ROMs of many games, programs or even special cartridges (interfaces for modems or disk drives). The cartridges had only one defect: they were very expensive! 

    The fit was very different from the famous ATARI'S, which is why it was not possible to run ATARI games on the MSX and vice-versa. Some titles had a version on K7 and then on cartridge, with a good difference in price between them. 

    The cartridges were much more finished and came in cases or packaging, many of them bringing beautiful prints and manuals.

    The Cartridge had a huge advantage that the K7 tape did not have: the reading speed was extremely fast, almost instantaneous! Today we had the same result in SSD or NVME data storage.

     There was no need to wait several minutes for the game to load! Inside the cartridge there was a ROM memory chip, so that explains the high speed. Since it could not be recorded, the "Scores" of the games were not registered for the next game, and when the MSX was turned off, the user would have to start all over again! To solve this, some games released "passwords" for the levels, so the user could continue a certain level. But not all games had this....

    

    That's why the greatest quality of MSX games were their music and special effects, better than other consoles in Brazil (ATARI, IBM-PC, etc.). Game developers explored these resources well to create the best melodies. Some didn't even play the games properly, they just listened to the music, lol... Later, there were FM-MUSIC expansion cartridges, which added more advanced musical capabilities, using the Yamaha YM2413 chip. With the FM-MUSIC cartridge, the MSX would gain more channels that were added to the three channels of the AY-3-8910 and even MIDI resources for keyboards.

    When it comes to JoyStick, the big news was the DB9 connector standard, the same as the ATARI, they were fully compatible. A great "move", because as these controls were always breaking (users know what I'm talking about), there was always a spare control on hand. And ATARI/MSX users could lend the controls without fear of incompatibilities. 

    The original MSX-Expert JoyStick felt better, had a more attractive design and smoother buttons, and the movement of the lever had a damping system.

    Anyway, the MSX in Brazil was very well represented, and both brands (Gradiente/Sharp) knew how to build machines worthy of the MSX standard. 

    It's a shame that Brazil fell behind in the standard, and the MSX2, MSX2+ didn't catch on. Some say that Gradiente and Sharp made their models inspired by other imported models (reverse engineering), but there are many MSXs that are the same, since the basic hardware is always the same, there's not much to invent....

    Nowadays, the "MSX market" is still active around the world, with the constant buying/selling of devices and peripherals. YES, the MSX is still alive and well in Brazil too. Some companies still develop applications for it. 

    The MSX also has emulators, which are very good at exploring the resources of the time. For Windows/Linux systems, we have emulators available for download, as well as ROMs for games and applications.

    For Brazilian fans, we have excellent news. We will also publish a lot of material about the MSX, including Videos, Games, ROMs and emulators.

For more technical details, the Computer Science Museum maintains a page with details about the MSX-Expert Gradiente. Click here to see more information that I didn't mention in this post.

    Long live MSX, the standard that introduced me to the world of computing and also made Brazil develop its technology a lot. Our tribute to the professionals who work for decades to develop products/peripherals/games and much more!

    If you actively participated in this development, leave your comment below, and let the public know in which part of the MSX project you were involved! It will be a pleasure to welcome fellow national developers/technicians!

    Stay tuned, soon more news about MSX! Some really will make you cry.
    We have the turtle program, and classic games like the Penguin and others....

See you later.

JMJG
(Electronic Engineer)

Read More