Hi,
I'm lookin for Microsoft Softcard II Cp/m (6mhz, 64k ram onboard, not 'e' model) "System" manual or schematic diagram.Does anyone have one of these?
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Microsoft Softcard Z80 Board Manuals (also applies to many clones).
The operation of that card I think, should be identical to the earlier card. IIRC it still runs in slot 4 and the 64K is only available to CP/M. I suppose you can try it in slot 0 of a ][ or ][+ and check if the system sees the extra RAM.
I use CP/M 2.2, but this can probably run a later version.
Thanks for the tips.
Actually my card isn't working. I tested the clock generator and appears dead. I ordered a replacement one and I'm waiting for delivery.
I have no clues about the possible 16k ram card emulation in slot zero. The only info I have come from the original Microsoft ad that explains some of the features. These cards are pretty rare and mine came without anything , no mauals no sw. Here is a copy of the ad. If I'lle be able to revive it, I'll keep You informed about it.
percon8506-1.big_.jpg
product-96458.jpeg
Hi,
as a followup , the card had the crystal oscillator dead as I suspected, a new , 2$ , oscillator fixed it.
It 's now working fine and fast :).
User manuals remain the missing thing here and also any info about the total number of disks present in the original package since the boot disk is apparently missing some utilities.
Luca
As an update, here is a picture of the full Microsoft Softcard II original package.
A copy of the System manual is still missing as the Profile Support disk
s-l1600.jpg
This was Microsoft's answer to the PCPI Applicard. Obviously the PCPI card sold a lot better since you see a lot of them around. It would be interesting to see which one of these performs better. One advantage this card probably has over the original PCPI cards is it is at least advertised as //e safe. The Applicard is known to have issues with the //e. It does work great in a ][+ or in a Franklin. Franklin actually sold their own branded version of that card.
It would be great if you could scan and image as much of the docs for this card as you can get. Hopefully someone has the stuff you are missing.
There is a complete package listed on ebay right now
Ebay Listing
Hi,
I actually made some tests , I benchmarked my Softcard II against the PCP card (this latter identical benchmark made by Adrian Black from "Adrians digital basement") , with this benchmark here are the resutls:
Apple II EuroPlus , Microsoft SoftCard II 6mhz , 202 (sec)
Apple IIe, PCPI Applicard 6mhz , 214 (sec)
and an outsider:
Apple II EuroPlus , The Mill 6809 1Mhz , 136 (sec)
:)
Luca
One thing to note when comparing performance on things on a //e vs on a ][+ with an 80 column card like a Videx or ALS SmartTerm is that the //e implments scrolling the text screen entirely in software and worse, the memory is non-linear and 1/2 the columns are in AUX memory which means it has to bank switch. The 6845 compatible (either 6545 normally on the ALS card or one of the Hitachi chips on most Videx and clone cards) not only has it's own video memory, it is linear mapped and the CRT controller chip has hardware scrilling. For some applications which display a lot of output this can affet benchmarks.
Normally for benchmarks it is best to limit variables as much as possible, so more accurate test would be to compare the MS SC II and the PCPI card in the same machine, either ][+ or //e.
The 6809 comparison is interesting... because it shows how much more cycle efficient a 6809 is than a Z80. Especially for mathmatical operations.
Good point! Anyway , since I don't have an Apple IIe or a PCPI card nor the owner of the PCPI card has an Apple II+ or a Softcard II, we have to rely on this approximation.
About Basic09, I think that the speed is due to how Basic09 works, here is an excerpt from wikipedia:
"BASIC09 includes a multi-pass compiler that produces compact bytecode known as I-code. I-code replaces a number of data structures found in other BASICs with direct pointers to code and values, speeding performance.'
So all this just for entertainment!
Luca
Card has been relisted on ebay, I have one but I wish I had the whole package...
Ebay Listing
Luca