NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements

[Allison]

>
>Subject: RE: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements
>   From: "Rod Smallwood" <RodSmallwood at mail.ediconsulting.co.uk>
>   Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:59:36 +0100
>     To: "General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only" <cctech at classiccmp.org>
>
>Hi
>	
>Even though my main collection is DEC I'd love a Horizon with or with
>out its wooden case. I wrote a lot of code on one in CBASIC back in the
>70's
>
>They are somewhat rare in the UK to say the least. 
>In fact, the case is less of a problem than finding a system in the UK.
>I have a retired friend with fully equipped wood working shop.
>
>Consulting my 1979 copies of Practical Computing (a UK magazine). 
>They were widely available in the UK. They must be out there somewhere.
>
>Rod Smallwood

For the most part you can do the same on ANY S100 CP/M machine or even SBC
(CBASIC stuff).  The only thing that sperated the horizon from most S100s
was the case had room for two full height 5.25 floppies and had two serial
and a parallel port built on the the mother board.  However any serial card
that used 8251s coud be configured for ports 0/1,2/3 and be transparent.
The rest is the NS* MDS controller (either SD or DD  version) and that 
worked fine in most any Z80 S100 crate.

What made the box notable was floppies in the crate rather than external 
box and only a LED (power on) on the front pannel.  It was one of the early
turnkey systems and became popular with applications/system integrators 
for that reason.  The reason being it was now possible to sell a small(then)
system that was powerful enough to be a complete office accounting system.
It didn't hurt that the wood cover fit into office decor of the time. 
The wood disappeard when FCC started forcing RFI constraints.

Allison





>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org
>[mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Allison
>Sent: 19 June 2007 12:37
>To: cctech at classiccmp.org
>Subject: Re: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements
>
>>
>>Subject: NorthStar Horizon Case Cover Replacements
>>   From: "Andrew Lynch" <lynchaj at yahoo.com>
>>   Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 17:35:13 -0400
>>     To: <cctech at classiccmp.org>
>>
>>Hi,
>>
>> 
>>
>>I noticed in another cctech mailing list thread about the NorthStar 
>>Horizon case cover replacements.  Recently, I procured a NorthStar 
>>Horizon which is missing its original wooden case cover and I was 
>>looking to either buy an original replacement or make a new one.
>>
>>I did not get a lot of responses to my queries on other forums for a 
>>replacement wooden case cover so I am considering fabricating my own.
>>Apparently, it is common for Horizons to have lost their wooden covers 
>>over time for many reasons and others have done what I am considering.
>>
>>Has anyone built replacement NorthStar Horizon case covers before and 
>>would be willing to build more?  They do not look terribly 
>>sophisticated to build provided you have access to a table saw and the 
>>proper bits.  I was planning on just copying the dimensions from 
>>another Horizon wooden case cover I already have.
>>
>>If anyone has a spare NorthStar Horizon wooden case cover, has built 
>>new ones, or knows how to build a replacement, I would certainly like 
>>to hear from you.  Please email me or post here.
>>
>>Thank you in advance.
>>
>
>First it's a simple 3 sided thing. with a groove routed (or kerf cut) to
>overlap the cover.  The corners are mitered, grooved for biscuts and
>glued.
>I added two 1/2" cleats to the corners of mine when I reglued it. There
>are 4 recessed hole for screws to secure it. Nominal material is 3/4 oak
>ply though current dimension materials would work as well.  There is
>nothing special about it or difficulty in making it.
>
>The metal cover is simple but without a bending brake it's not easy to
>do.
>
>
>Allison
>
>