K-1008 Test programs

The manuals for the K-1008 contain test programs:

Links contain archives with source and binaries in papertape.

This is how the K-1008 Memory test program looks like in the KIM-1 Simulator

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SYM AIM 60K RAM board

Basic features of the board include:

Can be used on either a SYM or an AIM.
Memory selectable on 4K boundaries covering the entire 64K address space. Not all blocks can be RAM, as the SYM-1 already has up to 4K of RAM on-board, there are multiple ROM sockets, and I/O.
The top $80 bytes are not available; that area is reserved by the SYM-1.
Can allow space for BASIC or other software in ROM. My system has an 8K BASIC ROM so I did not place RAM at C000-DFFF.
Can be ordered as a bare board, a kit, or fully assembled and tested. The bare board is just that… no components. The kit includes all components and you will need to solder the parts.
The Rev 2 boards have an additional chip which works around a bug in early AIM-65 boards. We know the problem was in rev 1 and rev 0 AIM boards, and it was definitely fixed on rev 4 boards, but I don’t know exactly which revision fixed the problem. Basically the RAM_R/W signal (pin Z on the Expansion connector) had the inverted Phase 2 clock NAND’ed with R/W. The SYM and AIM were both supposed to follow the KIM standard, but Rockwell got this one signal wrong.
Rev 2 boards have replaced the jumpers with a pair of 8 position DIP switches; those are easier to set and there are no jumpers to get lost ??
When running the ROM BASIC, this is what gets displayed:

MEMORY SIZE?
WIDTH?

 32255 BYTES FREE

BASIC V1.1
COPYRIGHT 1978 SYNERTEK SYSTEMS CORP.

Nice.

I’ve configured RAM from 1000-7FFF, B000-BFFF, and F000-FF7F. That gives a lot of room to squeeze in useful add-ons to the monitor.

SYM AIM 60K RAM docx
SYM AIM 60K RAM pdf


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Corsham github

Bob Applegate used github repositories to archive and supplement some of his projects.

While this github archive is still up (August 2024), it may go away too.

So here dumps of the repositories. Some of the contents may also show up in the Corsham projects archive pages.

6502 Tiny BASIC
# 6502 Tiny BASIC
This is Bob Applegate’s (bob@corshamtech.com) spin of a Tiny BASIC interpreter for the 6502. It uses an IL approach, like proposed by Dr Dobb’s Journal in the first few issues. This is not fancy, it’s not bug free, and it’s not amazing by any means, but it was fun to write and decent enough to do fun stuff and run demos.

CTMon65
CTMon65 – 6502 monitor

Eagle Libraries
These are libraries used in Corsham Technologies LLC prodcuts (www.corshamtech.com).
# SS-50.lbr
This is for constructing SS-50 and SS-30 compatible boards. It includes both male and female Molex connectors. For constructing plug-in boards using a female connector my suggestion is to place the center of the library part 0.15″ above the bottom of the board.
# S-100.lbr
This is for constructing S-100 boards and is, for now, more of an experimental library rather than something that has any sort of polish about it. Feel free to use but don’t be too disappointed when it does not meet your expectations.

Kicad SS50
# KiCad SS-50 Library from Corsham Technologies, LLC
This is a free to use library that was developed during our creation of
various SS-30/SS-50 boards.

KIM Monitor
# KIM-Monitor
KIM monitor as modified for the Corsham Tech KIM Clone board.

Music Board master
# SS-30 Music Board
This is a rough recreation of the Newtech Computer Systems model 68 music board. No atttempt
was made to make it look exactly like the original, but it is 100% compatible and uses the
same components as the original.

SD Drive
SD Drive Arduino firmware

SD Shield Tester
The SD Shield Tester is a program to test the Corsham Technologies SD Card System shield. This is primarily a manufacturing tool but can be used for general testing. It’s not very useful, but if you suspect an SD Card shield is malfunctioning, this is a way to test it.

xDbg
# xDbg
xDbg is a 65C02 debugger meant to compliment the Corsham Technologies xKIM monitor

xKiM
# xKIM
xKIM is an extended monitor for KIM computer systems. Commonly used in Corsham Technologies KIM-1 add-on boards.
It is a 6502 based monitor which has basic tools as well as some additional commands for working
with the Corsham Tech SD Card system.

xSBUG
xSBUG
This is the Corsham Technologies version of the SWTBUG SBUG monitor for the 6809. It is close to the original but has support for the Corsham Tech SD Card System (emulates disk drives).

xSWTBUG
xSWTBUG
This is a modified version of the SWTPC monitor SWTBUG for use on their 6800 based SS-50 systems. It has additions for the Corsham Tech SD card subsystem and other minor improvements.

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Corsham projects

As you can read below in the screenshot of the last post on Corsham’s website below, Bob has left us. I will miss him, a dear friend with whom I exchanged many emails about the KIM-1.

To honor his legacy I have collected on these pages everything available, from his former website, Github repositories and information I have received from Bob, enhanced with photos of Corsham products I have bought over the years.

I have decided not to replicate his website. Instead the structure is about all of his projects, current and past, with on each page all information available to me about the product, enhanced with available material from outside.

Note that I do not have more information. I do not have the PCB designs. I do not sell any Corsham product. All I have is here is what Bob once published.

Links
The Corsham Technology website used to live at https://www.corshamtech.com
Bob’s private website is still up (August 2024) at https://k2ut.org/
The Github repositories are also still up at https://github.com/CorshamTech
The forum at groups.io is here: https://groups.io/g/CorshamTech/

Pages you find here:


The last message on the Corshamtech website with the sad news about Bob.

Bob Applegate at his desk

RetroSpy Technologies produces a range of retro (Vintage) hardware products that are of interest for the KIM-1/SYM-1/AIM 65 owner. Also the PAL-1 user may benefit from the products!
Retrospy is inspired by the Corsham Technologies products and since Bob Applegate is no more among us, produces similar/inspired products.

I bought several products from RetroSpy.
KIM-1 RAM/ROM Board
MOS 6530 Replacement for the KIM-1 SBC
PAL-1 Motherboard Expansion Kit
Bus extender

Other interesting KIM-1/AIM 65/SYM- related boards on the Retrospy shop:
AIM 65 I/O board
SYM-1 I/O board
SYM-1 SymDos I/O board
SYM-1/AIM-65 RAM/ROM board
KIM-1 I/O board
2532 to 2764 EPROM adapter
SD Card Storage System (like the Corsham one)

I should have bought he KIM I/O card also, for the 1541 connector, next time!

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RetroSpy Technologies

RetroSpy Technologies produces a range of retro (Vintage) hardware products that are of interest for the KIM-1/SYM-1/AIM 65 owner. Also the PAL-1 user may benefit from the products!
Retrospy is inspired by the Corsham Technologies products and since Bob Applegate is no more among us, produces similar/inspired products.

I bought several products from RetroSpy.

Other interesting KIM-1/AIM 65/SYM- related boards on the Retrospy shop:
AIM 65 I/O board
SYM-1 I/O board
SYM-1 SymDos I/O board
SYM-1/AIM-65 RAM/ROM board
KIM-1 I/O board
2532 to 2764 EPROM adapter
SD Card Storage System (like the Corsham one)

I should have bought he KIM I/O card also, for the 1541 connector, next time!

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Cubit KIM Bus for AIM 65

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MTU CODOS

CODOS (Channel Oriented Disk Operating System) is the name of the Disk Operating System made by MTU for KIM-1, SYM-1 and AIM-65.
The DOS needs the K-1013 floppy disk controller, 8 inch disk drive(s) and optional the K-1008 Visible Memory.

CODOS V2 was the version for the MT-130/140. Lots of software was available, see the MT-130 page for manuals.
Dave Plummer (of Dave’s Garage) has a KIM-1 system with various MTU cards, including the K-1013.

CODOS Disk images

CODOS Manuals

CODOS Manual
CODOS User Manual
CODOS User Manual OCR’ed
QumeTrak 842 Maintenance Manual

Dave Williams has the following, not yet dumped by him, disks:

  • DMXMON
  • MACASM 1.0
  • MAGIC/L Language
  • MTU-C
  • MTU-FORTH79 2.1
  • WORDPIC
  • WOPDPIC 1.0 NEC 8023 Printer Version
  • MTU-130 User Group Diskette #3
  • MTU-140 User Group Diskette #5
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Me and my KIM-1

My first computer is a KIM-1. Still have it! A life changing experience!

This is the story of me and the KIM-1.

Philips educational kits.

As a young child, at age 12, I was introduced to electronics with the Philips electronic kits. First a Pionier crystal radio. Easy to build, good instruction manual. Lots of listening pleasure!.

Two years later I bought the Philips EE8 Electronic Engineer kit. Again nice builds (the 8 stands for 8 experiments), with a good manual. Since the manual covered the expansion to the EE20 for 20 experiments, I bought the parts myself one by one at Aurora Vijzelgracht, Amsterdam.
More on the Philips electronic kits.

Radio Bulletin

In 1978 I bought my first computer, a KIM-1. It turned out to be a Rockwell rebadged Rev F Mos Technology board.

The beginning of lots of fun, learning, member of the KIM gg Club and making and publishing in the dutch electronics magazine Radio Bulletin and the KIM Kenner.

In 2014 the big KIM-1 machine was finally taken down in parts, the following photos showed the end result as in 1985 after many years of tinkering.

The KIM-1 system ended as a real production system until 1985, mainly to write articles, all Radio Bulletin and KIM Club Magazine related work was done with this system.

My KIM-1 workplace in 1979, no video terminal, no printer, hand assembly

My workplace setup in 1982: KIM-1, dual cassette, tv monitor, H14 printer, ASCII keyboard

1984, VT100 as videoterminal, what a progress!

Then a CP/M machine took over (a Spectravideo X’Press 738) with the same VT100 as terminal.

  • KIM-1
  • 8K RAM  in system case
  • 32K RAM in expansion case
  • Two ACIA 6850 serial
  • A PIA/VIA card with two 6820 PIA’s
  • Parallel ASCII keyboard with home made logic circuit
  • Video Display 32×32 uppercase characters on an analog TV
  • Dual cassette tape system with motor control
  • MDCR digtal cassette system in second expansion case
  • Radio Grafisch Display in second expansion case
  • Heathkit H14 matrix pinter, serial with RTS handshake via bitbanging RIOT port
  • VT100 Digital Equipment Video display unit VT100
  • Boot tape to load device drivers and Micro Ade (extended to 8K)
  • MICRO ADE assembler/editor, used for program development and article authoring
  • Microsoft Basic KB9 (not used often, nice study material!)
  • Pascal-M compiler and interpreter (mainly development and experiments, not for production)

First the KIM-1, I still have it, in working condition, in my private museum. Changes still visible, are a red acryl cover over the LED displays, a capacitor moved to the back to make it flat enough to fit the case I made and some supports to have it lay stable and safe on a table.

Why a KIM-1?

In 1977 I was reading in the electronics magazines about the revolution taking place: 8 bit microprocessors!
During my study I encountered Digital Equipment machines, PDP-8 in the lab, PDP-11 in the Mathematic Computer Science department, a Minc in Medical Physics group, my major.
The electronics department where I was doing an intern not only introduced to digital electronics and I helped them to introduce the Z80 to the instruments designed for laboratory experiments.
I learned assembler quickly, PDP-11 was a dream come true, the Z80 a bit of a nightmare but you could do so much with effort.

At the same time I started to write for the magazine Radio Bulletin, simple analog and digital circuits and continued to be an editor until 1987. I met Dick de Boer who was writing his famous Microprocessor articles and introduced the KIM-1 to the Dutch electronic engineers. So a KIM-1 with the very attractive 6502 was the logical choice for my first microprocessor system.

First case: memory, connectors, power supply

A KIM-1 itself was fun to learn with, but it quickly needed more; a permanent power supply, protection, easy to access connectors and interfaces for  a bus to have  more memory.
So the case seen in the next figure was built:

Power hungry, so lots of lineair power supplies with large cooling.

The first case I built from alu profiles contained the KIM-1, a backplane for 6 memory boards, a lot of power supplies (lineair, so heat was a problem!), a patch panel to access the expansion connector, cassette I/O, serial interface and various switches.

PCBs handmade, double sided!


Memory 2K RAM Card, BEM Bus Brutech Variant made by Hans Otten
Memory boards were made myself by drawing with Edding ink on the blank PCB, etching and drilling. Filled with 2102 RAM IC’s for 1K per board, it filled lower RAM of the KIM-1 $0400 – $13FF. The bus is a 31 pin DIN connector, based upon the BEM (Brutech) bus.

I bought two of this deck from Radio Service Twenthe, Den Haag, fascinating electroncis dump store!

The next thing I built was a video display unit. All TTL 74XX logic IC’s, a 2513 character generator, a AY-5-1013 character generator, an ASCII keyboard, display on TV 32×32 characters uppercase. RS232 input/output to the KIM-1.
On top of the VDU a dual cassette deck is shown. From the famous Dutch dump shop Radio Service Twente two audio cassette decks were bought, some audio amplifiers and power supply added, and a remote control circuit via a 6532 GPIO line (standard as in Micro Ade). Served me well for many years, in 2014 the decks strings were dried out and crumbled after many years of not being used.

Next was a real expansion cabinet with a long backplane for 32K memory with 8x 4K RAM card, 2114 based, Designed by me, published in Radio Bulletin and sold by Visser Assembling Electronics. BEM bus compatible.

4K SRAM card

4K SRAM card, Radio Bulletin September 1979 part 1  part 2


Production 4K RAM card


Prototype 4K RAM card, also hand drawn on the PCB!

In the expansion cabinet three slots were added for I/O. Two cards were designed by me and published in Radio Bulletin: an ACIA card for two 6850 Motorola ICs, and a PIA card for two PIAs, 6522 or 6520 or 6820 or 6821. I never used more than one ACIA and one PIA card. Shown are the prototype cards, in the article production quality PCBs were used.

PIA and VIA card design by Hans Otten June 1984 Radio Bulletin

ACIA Motorola 6850 by Hans Otten, 1983 Radio Bulletin

On one of the ACIAs a VT100 Digital Equipment terminal was connected, taking over from the bit banged serial interface and the homebuilt video display. ON the other ACIA a Heathkit H14 matrix printer was added, a mediocre but adequate printer.

Together with Micro Ade as assembler and editor, the dual cassette deck, 40K RAM In total, this was a nice machine! Until 1987, when I bought the Spectravideo X’Press 738 MSX and CP/M system, used for all my publishing activities.

A third expansion cabinet was built around 1983. It was driven by the PIA’s, the Radio Bulletin Grafisch Display was inside the cabinet, along with two MDCR Philips Digital cassette recorders, alo published in Radio Bulletin. The speed difference between Hypertape audio cassettes and 2400 baud MDCR speed was not that impressive.

Dirk Dral

EPROM card (Dirk Dral)

Funkschau 1979 KIM-1 AIM 65 6502 articles

Funkschau 1979 KIM-1, AIM 5 and 6502 articles. German, scanned by Matthias, SBC at VzEkC e. V. forum