ICS Microprocessor Training Lab info

Joe Giliberti starbase89 at gmail.com
Mon Aug 29 00:47:29 CDT 2016


Greetings!

About a month ago, I picked up a "Portable Microprocessor Training
Lab" made by Integrated Computer Systems. This thing is cool! It
consists of three boards and a power supply built into a suitcase.

The main system board is mounted in the bottom of the case on top of
the power supply. It has an 8080a, an 8255, four ROMs and 4K of RAM
with room for four more. It has a hex keypad plus function buttons and
eight LED character displays. There is a bank of about 12 terminal
pins for +5, ground, audio in and out, clock and a few that aren't
named. I take it the audio ones are for cassette?
It has two ribbon cable connectors on the edge. One is for the 50 pin
cable that connects to the I/O board.
The other one is especially cool (to me, at least.) It's meant to hook
up to an S-100 chassis for expansion!

The second board is for I/O. It has two 8255s, an 8253 and room for
eight more RAM chips (but no sockets.) It has connections for
cassette, RS-232 and teletype.

Connected directly on top of the the I/O board is the "Experimental
Parts Assembly." It has I/O terminals for analog signal, plus minus
12v and plus 5, optical in/out and motor control/supply/drive. It has
a holder for three AA batteries, a motor, a speaker and a thermistor.

Finally, it came with the cassette "Self-study Microcomputer Interface
Training Course: Program Cassette Library."

The big thing I'm missing is documentation. It came with nothing and I
can't find much, even with The Google. A system description, a
schematic and something explaining what's in the ROM would be nice.
I've also got to find a book on 8080 assembly language.

Like I'd said, all I have tried to work on so far have been a C64, an
Apple IIe and a TI-99/4a with only a basic understanding of BASIC :-)
Lately though, I've been feeling like I need more of an intellectual
challenge.

If anyone can help with more inflammation about this system,
documentation and/or any suggestions you may have, I'd welcome it.


Thanks in advance!
Joe Giliberti


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