Aamber Pegasus PCB with MONITOR 1.0, FORTH 1.1A and FORTH 1.1B EPROMs installed.
The hardware was designed by Stewart J Holmes. The software was designed by Paul Gillingwater, Nigel Keam and Paul Carter.
It is thought[who?] that Apple Computer introduction of the Apple II computer into the New Zealand market, and its subsequent heavy educational discounting was the final nail in the coffin for Technosys and the Aamber Pegasus computer.
Total production numbers are unknown, but it is thought "around one hundred" were sold.[2][3]
Display: 32 x 16 characters, ASCII character set;[4] 256x256 pixels monochrome at 50Hz[5]
Softwareedit
An optional multi ROM board in conjunction with a rotating dial allowed switching between 6 EPROM banks containing multiple language environments, games and applications. The EPROM based language environments include EXTENDED BASIC, Pascal, BASIC (a variant of Tiny BASIC), MAD (Assembler/Disassembler) and Forth. Games available on EPROM are TANKS, INVADERS and GALAXY WARS. Other software included MONITOR (the system BIOS which needed to be present for the system to run) and a word processor application called WORD. The system allowed loading of programs by cassette. Some available cassettes include SNAKES, STAR TREK, HANGMAN and CHARACTER GENERATOR.
Networkingedit
A network version of the Aamber Pegasus provided connectivity to a 6809-based server (SWTPC-6809).[6] Especially the networking version attempted to address the New Zealand Government's computers in schools initiative,[7] but never produced the hoped-for large orders.
Unusual design featuresedit
One of the most unusual aspects of the machine is that to save the cost of a CRTC, the processor set up some bits on the 6821(PIA) to control the row being read out, then stepped through a series of NOPs so that the address lines of the CPU could act as a big counter. This counter drove the X address of the display RAM. On every row, the CPU updates the row number selected from the character ROM (and programmable character RAM) and every 16th row it increments the Y address of the display RAM. At the end of the screen the output is blanked, and the CPU gets to do some “real” work until the FIRQ pin is pulsed by the 50 Hz line from the power supply. Essentially the Pegasus used the mains frequency to trigger vertical sync. Because of this, the CPU is ~90% occupied as a counter, so in a non-real-time application you could disable the FIRQ (one bit in the 6809's CC reg) and the Pegasus ran ~10x faster – albeit with a blank screen. In this respect it was similar to the Sinclair ZX81 which used its ‘FAST’ mode in much the same way.
On the left side of the Pegasus motherboard you can see a small blob of putty. This putty is hiding a series of diodes that act as a simplistic 8-bit ID. This 8-bit ID will only allow EPROMs encoded with a corresponding ID to work in any individual machine. For example, an EPROM from a machine numbered 2569 will not work in another Pegasus with a different ID.
Modern emulationedit
The MAME emulator supports the Aamber Pegasus under the name "Pegasus",[8] and a number of the original manuals are available at the Internet Archive.[9]
^. 2017-02-26. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
^. Archived from the original on 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
^"Aamber Pegasus". Arcade Database. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
^"AAMBER Pegasus Manuals". Internet Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
April 10, 2024
aamber, pegasus, home, computer, first, produced, zealand, 1981, technosys, research, labs, 1981, technosys, shown, here, suitcase, style, cardboard, case, developerhardware, design, stewart, holmessoftware, design, paul, gillingwater, nigel, keam, paul, carte. The Aamber Pegasus is a home computer first produced in New Zealand in 1981 by Technosys Research Labs 1 Aamber PegasusThe 1981 Technosys Aamber Pegasus shown here in its suitcase style cardboard case DeveloperHardware design Stewart J HolmesSoftware design Paul Gillingwater Nigel Keam and Paul Carter ManufacturerTechnosys Research Labs 1 TypeHome computerRelease date1981 43 years ago 1981 Units sold 100Operating systemMONITOR BASIC Tiny BASIC variant EXTENDED BASIC MAD Assembler Disassembler Forth PascalCPUMC6809C CPU 4 MHzMemory4k RAM later versions 64k RAMDisplayTV via RF modulator 32 x 16 characters 256x256 pixels monochrome at 50HzSoundCustom monoInputKeyboardAamber Pegasus PCB with MONITOR 1 0 FORTH 1 1A and FORTH 1 1B EPROMs installed The hardware was designed by Stewart J Holmes The software was designed by Paul Gillingwater Nigel Keam and Paul Carter It is thought who that Apple Computer introduction of the Apple II computer into the New Zealand market and its subsequent heavy educational discounting was the final nail in the coffin for Technosys and the Aamber Pegasus computer Total production numbers are unknown but it is thought around one hundred were sold 2 3 Contents 1 Technical specifications 2 Software 3 Networking 4 Unusual design features 5 Modern emulation 6 See also 7 ReferencesTechnical specifications editCPU Motorola MC6809C at 4 MHz Memory 4k RAM later versions 64k RAM Input QWERTY style key matrix keyboard Output TV via RF modulator Display 32 x 16 characters ASCII character set 4 256x256 pixels monochrome at 50Hz 5 Software editAn optional multi ROM board in conjunction with a rotating dial allowed switching between 6 EPROM banks containing multiple language environments games and applications The EPROM based language environments include EXTENDED BASIC Pascal BASIC a variant of Tiny BASIC MAD Assembler Disassembler and Forth Games available on EPROM are TANKS INVADERS and GALAXY WARS Other software included MONITOR the system BIOS which needed to be present for the system to run and a word processor application called WORD The system allowed loading of programs by cassette Some available cassettes include SNAKES STAR TREK HANGMAN and CHARACTER GENERATOR Networking editA network version of the Aamber Pegasus provided connectivity to a 6809 based server SWTPC 6809 6 Especially the networking version attempted to address the New Zealand Government s computers in schools initiative 7 but never produced the hoped for large orders Unusual design features editOne of the most unusual aspects of the machine is that to save the cost of a CRTC the processor set up some bits on the 6821 PIA to control the row being read out then stepped through a series of NOPs so that the address lines of the CPU could act as a big counter This counter drove the X address of the display RAM On every row the CPU updates the row number selected from the character ROM and programmable character RAM and every 16th row it increments the Y address of the display RAM At the end of the screen the output is blanked and the CPU gets to do some real work until the FIRQ pin is pulsed by the 50 Hz line from the power supply Essentially the Pegasus used the mains frequency to trigger vertical sync Because of this the CPU is 90 occupied as a counter so in a non real time application you could disable the FIRQ one bit in the 6809 s CC reg and the Pegasus ran 10x faster albeit with a blank screen In this respect it was similar to the Sinclair ZX81 which used its FAST mode in much the same way On the left side of the Pegasus motherboard you can see a small blob of putty This putty is hiding a series of diodes that act as a simplistic 8 bit ID This 8 bit ID will only allow EPROMs encoded with a corresponding ID to work in any individual machine For example an EPROM from a machine numbered 2569 will not work in another Pegasus with a different ID Modern emulation editThe MAME emulator supports the Aamber Pegasus under the name Pegasus 8 and a number of the original manuals are available at the Internet Archive 9 See also editPoly 1References edit a b Aamber Pegasus Applefritter Doran Bob Trotman Andrew 2018 Preserving Our Heritage New Zealand Made Computers The Rutherford Journal 5 Doran Bob Trotman Andrew Preserving our Heritage NZ made Computers PDF CS Dept University of Otago Retrieved 5 October 2018 Aamber Pegasus Manual NZ Technosys Research Labs 1981 pp 2 02 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint date and year link Aamber Pegasus HFS DB Retrieved 2023 02 10 Technosys Aamber Pegasus 2017 02 26 Archived from the original on 2017 02 26 Retrieved 2018 03 19 New Zealand Internet History Waikato Linux Users Group Archived from the original on 2010 05 23 Retrieved 2010 04 24 Aamber Pegasus Arcade Database Retrieved 5 October 2018 AAMBER Pegasus Manuals Internet Archive Retrieved 5 October 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aamber Pegasus amp oldid 1174033077, 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