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Author Topic: Q&A with Werner Lindner (technical director of the ENTERPRISE Computers GmbH) (Read 101868 times)

Offline Zozosoft

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:smt103 Did it come with a monochrome monitor? :lol:
:ds_icon_cheesygrin:

I asked about the EXOS, for example the blinking ENTERPRISE screen also removed?
Quote from: WernerLindner
It is running and has a standard EXOS 2.1/BASIC 2.1, full English version.

The serial number label is untouched. Therefore I believe, that they just took off the keyboard top and replaced it with the special one. As keyboard printing was done by the assembler (GRI Ltd.) the keyboard top must have been in Scotland before :-).

Offline Zozosoft

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Quote from: WernerLindner
When Vimos Kopacsy was in Munich in autumn 1989 he presented me a MIDI-catridge for the ENTERPRISE. The cartridge was longer than a standard EC cartridge and contained an eprom, an EF6850P async I/O chip, some Ics and two MIDI-connectors for MIDI out/through. The software was far away from being ready, but the cartridge was already able to play some midi-files. He brought a Roland MT-32 digital sequenzer to show communication and the result was impressive.

Can you remember which music played? They are familiar to you?
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV1.MP3
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV2.MP3
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV3.MP3
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV4.MP3
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV5.MP3
http://enterprise.iko.hu/EPV6.MP3

I got these on a side 2 of one Paradise Software tape:
http://ep128.hu/Album/Ep_Kazetta/Paradise_Soft_1.jpg
http://ep128.hu/Album/Ep_Kazetta/Kazetta/Paradise_Software_2.jpg

Somebody told me: Enterprise with MIDI interface played these. If you
heard least one of them then the story true!

Quote from: WernerLindner
I can't believe it !!!! The first song is definitely played by the ENTERPRISE and I think it was on a Roland MT-32. I will never forget this song, because it was the first one that Vilmos presented me in Munich. It is very much like something from Jean Michel Jarre and that is the reason, why I am remembering it so well. The others I cannot remember, but Vilmos had a wide collection of them.
 
The sound is coming from a MT-32 or something similar of that time. You can hear that, because the voices sound a little "metallic". You can find some sound-demos of the device under
 
https://web.archive.org/web/20040509162801/http://homepage.mac.com/synth_seal/html/mt32.html
 
What a pity that we do not have some Scoretrack-Files for the cartridge. I played a little bit with Scoretrack and I think the preset for the voices (8 + 1 channel) was also taken from the MT-32, but I am not shure. Maybe I can take more screenshots of the program later.

Offline lgb

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Do you not noticed the attachment? :oops:
But it is don't run without the hardware :cry: Anyway disassembly possible... :-)

Ooopps, I've seen it, but a quick peek into the ZIP did not indicate any ROM image... Now I can see that file MIDI-10 at hex offset 0x4000 has the string EXOS_ROM ... (and :HELP provided the EXOS command :ST though it just sets up some invalid LPT at least for JSep it is ... PC is at C610 which is a HALT instruction, probably waiting for Nick interrupt and this is an JSep bug, or the lack of the actual hardware, though my intent was exactly to see IN/OUT to "unknown" port numbers). My stupid disasm tries: http://epbas.lgb.hu/tryit/?storage=midi.rom.html (only the second 16K starting with EXOS_ROM)
« Last Edit: 2015.March.30. 13:39:03 by lgb »

Offline gflorez

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The Midi Rom loads on the EP128emu emulator, but if you execute ":ST" it hangs.
« Last Edit: 2015.March.30. 13:26:29 by gflorez »

Offline gflorez

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Can be that Scoretrack software the same or a clone from Scoretrack for C64?
« Last Edit: 2015.March.30. 15:16:06 by gflorez »

Offline gflorez

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The screen is more like this "Euphony" program.



Edit:I think is one more case of the "Elan" fate, naming things with registered marks...
« Last Edit: 2015.March.30. 16:47:29 by gflorez »

Offline Zozosoft

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Because Mr. Kopácsy worked with Atari ST then I think look around about Atari ST programs.

Offline Ep128

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"A little bit later he told me, that all development on this cartridge/software has been stopped, because there would be no market for it in Hungary"
No market? Maybe it's because the VTGe was not at all connection with the users! Just heard as a legend about the MIDI interface. We not even seen least a photo! Until now.
Thousands of Enterprise users waited for new developments for a years but don't got anything from the official company.
« Last Edit: 2015.March.30. 23:52:31 by Ep128 »

Offline Zozosoft

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More screenshots from the MIDI software:
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Offline Zozosoft

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German brochure what we never seen:
It is including photo of the German Floppy Station, but look closely: it is with another drive, not with the regular BASF drive. And the slot cover from the System Bus Bridge are missing. I think this is one early prototype.
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Offline Zozosoft

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it is with another drive, not with the regular BASF drive
Werner found the type:
Quote from: WernerLindner
the drive on the German brochure is a Mitsubishi MF-353-12M, I have one of these drives and will take some photos for you
« Last Edit: 2015.April.03. 11:27:15 by Zozosoft »

Offline Zozosoft

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EXDOS variations:

Quote from: WernerLindner
EXDOS - Engeneering sample

- Small mounting hole
- the FDD connector is not the flat one (90°) but an upright one.
- Yellow placeplan
- Shorter edge connector (2mm shorter than final version)
- Sligthly different contour on the edge connector

This version does not fit to the final EXDOS controller housing.
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Quote from: WernerLindner
EXDOS - Early version - small hole

- Small mounting hole
- Shorter edge connector
- Contour of the edge connector is not optimal for System Bus Bridge (alignment is wrong)
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Quote from: WernerLindner
EXDOS-Controller with handcrafted Box

- A handmade sample of a controller in a box. This sample was used for some press pictures, as there was no Exdos-Box at that time.
The handmade controller from UK can be seen on the following page together with the Cumana double fdd:
http://www.zock.com/8-Bit/D_Enterprise64.HTML
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Quote from: WernerLindner
EXDOS-Controller in Polybags

- Exdos, as it arrived in Germany in polybags. The controller plastic housing parts have been shipped separately, but I do not have original samples anymore.
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Quote from: WernerLindner
EXDOS-Final version

- Bigger mounting hole (8mm diameter)
- Long edge connector

This version fits to the final EXDOS controller housing.
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Quote from: WernerLindner
- Pictures of a German controller and the original English retail controller
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Offline Zozosoft

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And this nice EXDOS clone designed by Werner:

Quote from: WernerLindner
My own EXDOS Controller from 1986.

I made 20 of the controller boards.
Unfortunately the card is not very well documented, because it was my first project for the ENTERPRISE and as you can see from the board: It was completely made by hand with self-adhesive tapes, symbols and in 2:1.
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Offline Zozosoft

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Quote from: WernerLindner
This is my DIY double fdd drive, made of OEM drives and OEM housings, that I got at a very low price in one of the electronic ware houses in Munich. I could never find out, who originally made/sold them, but the drives are from EPSON. I made an external power supply (12V/5V) for them and used them for several years on my own ENTERPRISE 128k.
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Offline Zozosoft

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Quote from: WernerLindner
I made an internal static 64kByte card for ENTERPRISE, to upgrade 64k machines to 128k. I have empty pcb's of that expansion, but they are out of early production and there is a wire missing (as you can see from the attached pictures).
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