Lobo Systems MAX-80 User manual

358 SOUTH FAIRVIEWAVE.. GOLETA CALIFORNIA93117(8051683-1 576 TELEX658 482

MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL
TRADEMARKS
MAX-80 is a trademark of Lobo Systems, Inc.
CP/M is a registered trademark and CP/M 2.2, CP/M 3 and CP/M Plus
are trademarks of Digital Research.
GENERAL MILLS is a registered trademark of General Mills Corp.
2-80 is a registered trademark of Zilog Corporation.
LDOS is a trademark of Logical Systems, Inc.
Model I, Model 111, Model 4 and TRS-80 are registered trademarks
of Tandy Corporation.
PUBLISHED BY
LOBO SYSTEMS
358 South Fairview
Goleta, California 93117
Copyright (') 1984 by Lobo Systems. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted
under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may
b.e reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or
stored
in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
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THE MAX-80 IS A VERIFIED CLASS A COMPUTING DEVICE
The FCC requires that the following be included in the users'
manual for this computing device:
WARNING: This equipment generates, uses* and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions manual# may cause interference to radio
communications. It has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class A computing device persuant to Subpart
J of
Part 15 of FCC Rules# which are designed to provide reasonable
commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case
the owner, at his or her own expense, will be required to take
whatever measures may be required to correct interference.
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL
LOBO SYSTEMS STANDARD HARDWARE WARRANTY
Lobo Systems warrants all of its hardware products against
defects in material and workmanship for ONE YEAR from the date of
purchase. During the ONE YEAR period, Lobo Systems will repair
orr at its election, replace a defective Lobo Systems hardware
product or part at NO CHARGE to the original purchaser, PROVIDED
that the product is returned freight prepaid to Lobo Systems or
to an authorized repair station. Lobo Systems' mailing address
is 358 South Fairview Avenue, Goleta, California 93117.
Telephone [phone] for the name and address of your nearest
authorized repair station. In order to obtain warranty
performance, the Lobo Systems hardware product must be returned
in its original packing material and must be accompanied by both
a written description of the defect and proof of the date of
purchase. (If a purchaser needs replacement packing materials,
Lobo Systems will provide them at cost.)
Products available through Lobo Systems, but which are not
manufactured by Lobo Systems, carry the manufacturer's warranty
only.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES
The above warranty- does not apply if the product has been
damaged
by accident, abuse, misuse, misapplication, or if the
product has been subjected to unusual physical or electrical
stress or has been modified without Lobo Systems' express
approval. The purchaser's remedy is limited to repair or
replacement.
In no event shall Lobo Systems be liable for incidental or
consequential damages, including loss of profits, arising from
the breach of any warranty. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES WHICH EXTEND
BEYOND THE DESCRIPTION ON THE FACE HEREOF.
DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES
THE FOREGOING WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER
WARRANTIES, EITHER WRITTEN, ORAL OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PURPOSE.
No representative of the company may change any of the foregoing
and the buyer hereby accepts the product subject to all terms
expressed here.
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL
DISCLAIMER OF SOFTWARE WARRANTY
Lobo Systems makes no warranties1 express or implied, with
respect to its manuals or the software sold by Lobo Systems or
described in its manuals (collectivelyt the "software"). Lobo
Systems DOES NOT WARRANT the quality, performance,
merchantability, or fitness for purpose of its software, all of
which is sold or licensed strictly AS IS. The entire risk as to
quality and performance of software is with the buyer. Should the
software prove defective or unsatisfactory following purchase,
the buyer (and NOT the
manufacturer, distributor or retailer)
assumes the entire cost of all necessary modification, service or
repair.
Lobo Systems shall have no liability or responsibility to the
buyer or any other person or entity for any liability, loss or
damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
the software
-- including, but not limited to1 any interruption
of service, loss of business, loss of anticipated profits, or
consequential damages resulting from the use or operation of the
so£tware.
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . s . - - - . - . . . - . . . . . . INTRO-1
standard Features of the MAX-80 . . . . . . INTRO-3
The MAX-80 Philosophy of Documentation
. . . INTRO-6
About This Manual
. . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRO-7
And If?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRO-8
Manual Overview
. . . . . . . . .. . . . . INTRO-9
GLOSSARY . . - . - . - - - - . - . . - - - INTRO-13
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The MAX-80 business computer is an exceptional small computer.
It works much faster than the vast majority of microcomputer
systems (including many of the much more expensive 8 and
16 bit
computers).
It can accomodate a complete range of disk drives, from 3-1/2
inch microfloppies to large 10 Megabyte hard drives. It can even
run up to nine drives at a time
-- that isr it can keep a very
large amount of information on hand! ready for instant access.
It can operate a huge number of different software packages.
With its standard operating system! the MAX-80 can run programs
from the world's largest collection of software, the CP/M software
base.
, With the other operating systems available for it
(DOSPLUSI LDOS and MULTIDOS), the MAX-80 can also use programs
from one of the other extremely large bases of software.
It includes, standard! all of the hardware necessary for
controlling a variety of computer accessories
-- letter quality
and high speed printersr graphics plottersr telephone
communications modemsr speech synthesizers, scientific and
engineering instrumentation! industrial equipment controllerst
even appliance control modules for turning appliances on and off.
It is fully reconfigurable. The shapes of the letters and
graphics characters used on its video screen may be completely
changed: all of the keys on its keyboard may be redefined; its
commands may be shortened to a single keystroke by the use of its
function keys.
Andr to top it all, the MAX-80 is one of the least expensive
business computers on the market.
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE MAX-80, YOU MUST KNOW HOW TO RUN IT-
This manual is the MAX-80 Operations Manual. It describes how to
set up your MAX-80 hardware, how to install its standard CP/M
Plus (CP/M
3) operating system, how to use the Lobo utilies
that were written especially for the MAX-80, and how to install
applications software (the kind you need to really things) on
CP/M Plus.
This section of the manual presents overall descriptions of the
MAX-80 and its standard
CP/M operating system. It also gives a
brief glossary of computer terms that are all too often bandied
about without adequate definition. (Please note: we make no
claim to having the official definitions of any of these terms.
These definitions are only what we mean when we bandy these terms
about.
)
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
STANDARD FEATURES OF THE MAX-80
MAXIMUM SPEED: The 2-80B microprocessor (that is the heart of
the MAX-80) runs at
5 MHz (5 million cycles per second). This is
over double the speed of most of the popular microcomputers sold
today1 and significantly faster than most of the rest. The MAX-
80's working output (determined in terms of the speed at which a
program processes data) is actually greater than some of the so-
called 16 bit microcomputers selling for hundreds of dollars
more.
What does this mean to you? It means that word processors
respond faster to your editing commands, spreadsheets recalculate
more quickly, programs run with less of your waiting around, and
less time is required for practically everything else. In short,
since time is money, it means money saved.
MAXIMUM INTERNAL MEMORY: 128K RAM (Random Access Memory) is a
standard feature of the MAX-80. This is at least double (and
frequently more than double) the amount of internal memory that
is provided with most other microcomputerst including business
microcomputers. (Even many of the 16 bit computers come standard
with only 64K RAM.)
Meaning? Meaning that programs can be made to run faster than
they do with just a fast microprocessor. Meaning even more money
saved.
MAXIMUM FLOPPY DISK DRIVE EXPANSION: The standard MAX-80
contains controller interfaces for four 5-1/4 inch
4 four 8
inch floppy disk drives. The built-in floppy disk controller is
capable of reading and writing in single- or double-sided and
single- or double-density formats in
all of the standard
microcomputer floppy disk sizes. This produces both maximum
compatibility with other computer systems and maximum storage
capacity.
Meaning? Compatibility with other computer systems means that
more software is available to do what you want to do with the
MAX-80. More software means a greater variety of software. And
a greater variety means that it is more likely you will find the
software that does exactly what you want. Storage capacity means
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
that you can have more information at hand -- so either you will
have to go searching for the right information less oftenr or
your searches will be finished faster, or both. Again, money
I
saved.
FIXED DISK EXPANSION: In addition to the floppy drive
interfaces, the MAX-80 includes (again standard) a Winchester
interface for the attachment of
a fixed disk drive. Either a
Lobo Systems UVC or a SASI fixed disk system can be run from this
interface. (For definitions of this jargon, see the glossary at
the end of this section.) To connect a non-Lobo drive that is
SASI compatible, it is necessary to modify the Lobo disk
controller software. (Because, even though SASI is a standard1
there still is a lot of variation both in Winchester drives and
in Winchester drive controllers.)
Fixed disks cost more than floppies, but they store much more
information and retrieve that information faster. So an initial
investment pays off in dividends. (Many other computers can't
even talk to large 8 inch floppy drives, much less Winchesters.)
MAXIMUM COMMUNICATIONS: Two RS-232C serial ports with
independent baud rates are standard on the MAX-80, as is
a I
Centronics-compatible parallel printer port. These three ports
allow maximum interfacing to most printers, plotters, modems and
speech synthesizers.
A computer specializes in communications. Cars specialize in
transportationr houses specialize in shelter, governments
specialize in taxes. But for computers it's communications. So
the more ways a computer has to communicate, the more ways you
have to communicate: words on the screen (CRTs)r words on paper
(printers), pictures on paper (plotters), words and pictures over
telephone lines (modems), words in the air (speech synthesizers).
The MAX-80 communicates with
a very large variety of these
devices. Meaning that you can more easily find the exact device
that says what you want to say
-- or tells you what you want to
hear. With the MAX-80 you can frequently get more than what you
pay for.
MAXIMUM REDEFINABILITY: The MAX-80 is capable of displaying on a
video screen 192 different character shapes at a time. Any or
all of these shapes can be redefined. The MAX-80 has
76 keys on
its keyboard. The letters associated with any or all of these
keys can be rearranged.
I
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
Don't like the characters you see on the screen? Change them.
Don't like the locations of the keys on the keyboard? Change
them. Dissatisfaction slows things down. Satisfaction speeds
things up. The MAX-80 can't guarantee satisfaction. But it can
make the chances a lot better.
MAXIMUM RELIABILITY: No extra boards or hardware modifications
are required in order to make the MAX-80 do what the small
business needs. The MAX-80 requires no special video boards, no
extra RAM boards, no extra controller boards, no extra processor
boards, no extra keyboard enhancement boards. Once a compatible
disk drive (and most disk drives are compatible) has been plugged
in, the MAX-80 is ready to run any of the variety of operating
systems set up for it (including
CP/M Plusr DOSPLUS, LDOSr and
MULTIDOS). YOU won't have to worry about multiple hardware
manufacturers
-- or multiple hardware warranties. There is just
one hardware warranty
-- the Lobo Systems one year, all parts,
all labor warranty.
We could not afford to warrant the MAX for a full year if the
reliability weren't built in. It is interesting that other
manufacturers don't have full year warranties. But it is more
interesting that you can expect your MAX to keep running, without
downtimes, for much more than a single year. That means more
effective work time. What else could a small business want?
WELL, HOW ABOUT DOCUMENTATION?
Glad you asked, since that's the subject of the next section.
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MAX-80 OPERATION MANUAL INTRODUCTION
THE MAX-80 PHILOSOPHY OF DOCUMENTATION
It is one of Lobo's goals to provide the MAX-80 owner with as
much information as possible about the MAX-80 system. We
therefore provide descriptions not only of the computer's startup
procedures and system utilitiesr but also complete documentation
of every major chip on its circuit boards and of every facit of
its primary operating system CP/M Plus. The documentation is
in
every case at least equal to the documentation used by Lobo's
logic designers when they designed the MAX-80 hardware and by
Lobo's software engineers when they installed the CP/M Plus
operating system. Frequently this documentation is better than
what they had to work with
-- the manuals having often been
rewritten and reprinted in the meantime.
Why all this support? Two reasons: beliefs and objectives.
Beliefs. We believe that we should be as open as possible,
consistent with our survival. We do not either expect or intend
to make
a lot of money by discovering some special means of doing
something and then keeping it secret so that everyone has to come
to us in order be able to use it. The MAX-80 is no secret. It
uses high technology hardware and high quality software, but the
techniques and knowledge involved are not privy to us. Our
income from the MAX comes because it is a genuinely good value.
We therefore believe that we can survive in this competitive
market even though we fully publish its hardware design and
software sources (at
least1 all of the ones that we authored).
Objectives. We are not interested in selling a lot of computers
that are not used
-- especially if they aren't used because no
one can get the necessary information. Conversely* we frequently
are happily suprised to find that someone has figured a new and
better way to use one of our computers. One of the pleasures of
being a computer manufacturer. But we can attain those
objectives only if we give the person who is going
to do the work
all the information we can.
So, for both reasonst we provide very extensive documentation of
the MAX-80.
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INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS MANUAL
The MAX-80 is a powerful machine. It can do more than most
microcomputers. So there are more things that can be done with
it than with most microcomputers.
That is, there must be more description of what it can do. There
must be more description of what you can do with it. There must
be a huge manual.
Presenting: The MAX-80 Operation Manual.
This manual is large -- not because anything described in it is
complicated, and not because great detail is required to do every
job
-- but because the MAX-80 does so much.
Take a computer that can send and receive information from four
3-/12 inch or 5-1/4 inch drives. And from four
8 inch drives.
And from a
5 or 10 Megabyte Winchester drive. Plus connections
to parallel printers. And to serial devices (more printers or
modems). And to miscellaneous (unknown) controllers. Plus total
reconfigurability of the characters put up on the video screen.
And reconfigurability of the keyboard. And 12 function keys (in
CP/M). My word, even the cursor is changeable.
Describe all that, will you? Well, we tried. And all these
words are the result.
In truth, it is easy to set up any one of the things the MAX can
do. It even is easy to describe how to set them up. But by the
time all of those descriptions are put together, you have what
you see before you now
-- a manual that is several hundred pages
long.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ ALL THESE PAGES. Thankfully.
But you do have to read some of them. Which ones, depends on
what you want to do
-- and how much you already know.
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Even if you do know a lot about computers, we STRONGLY advise
that you review the beginning setup sections of the manual. You
might have run computers for many years, but it is doubtful that
you have spent that much time setting up computers.
Remember, the MAX is not a simple all-in-one computer box. It can
be set up in many different ways; therefore, it can be set up in
many different wrong ways. You can have a time-wasting and
frustrating experience trying to track down just one little thing
you missed when you set your system up. Consequently, you can
have
a time-saving (and frustration preventing) experience to set
things up the right way the first time.
Take your time, follow the procedures in this manual carefully,
and you will find that your MAX-80 will be up and running in very
little time.
AND IF?
However, if you have read and followed the instructions in this
manual and still have questions or problems, then call Lobo's
Technical Information Office at [phone]. Our technical
support staff is happy to assist you. But1 please1 first make
every attempt to become familiar with this manual and with your
new computer.
(One of our chief frustrations is helping someone who has not
even attempted to read the manual, while somone else who has
genuine problems is kept waiting. So, believe usr we really
appreciate it when you have read the (relevant parts of the)
manualr and know what we're talking about when we ask you
diagnostic questions. Thanks.)
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MANUAL OVERVIEW
The MAX-80 Operation Manual is composed of four separate, and
largely independent, manuals: Hardware Setup, CPG StartuE,
System Utilities Software Installation, and ';F;e Technical
Reference Manual.
Hardware Setup Manual
The hardware setup starts with the unpacking instructions and
continues through to the final hardware installation and diskette
care. We know the tempation is great to set this manual aside
and just have a go at it, but therein lies the path to much
frustration. Experienced and inexperienced computer users alike
still need to learn the details of the MAX-80.
If you do not intend to use CP/M, but plan to work exclusively on
one or more of the other operating systems that are available for
the MAXI then the Hardware Setup manual is the only one of the
manuals that you will have to read. (Eventually the Technical
Reference Manual may become a necessity for some future project,
but that will be some time after you have mastered the other
operating system.) You can now turn to the respective operating
system manual.
CP/M Startup Manual
Once your MAX-80 hardware is set up, you can begin with the
operating system. This manual first introduces you to the proper
"boot up" procedures for CP/M, and then, when your system
software diskette is booted, it shows you how to make
a backup
copy of your system diskette.
Lobo Systems has written special installation utilities that are
not on standard CP/M diskettes. This manual will introduce you
to the utilities that are necessary if you want to change the
operating system
-- whether for other equipment that you are
attaching to your MAX, or just for your own style (keyboard
rec~nfiguration~ character set redefinition, even cursor
redesign).
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System Utilities end software Installation Manual
This manual describes two additional utilities, COPIER and
TIMESET, then turns to a function (for the lack of a better name)
that is a convenience to many programmers, and finally presents
a
set of guidelines for installing software packages on the MAX.
You will already, by the time you read this section, have used
COPIER to create the backups to your Original System Diskettes.
The description in this section will provide complete reference
documentation to the COPIER program itself.
TIMESET is a utility that allows you to change the time on the
standard MAX-80 clock/calendar. The time is set before the MAX
is shipped, but you will still have to reset it for your own time
zone. TIMESET is a very quick, and convenient, utility.
The third section describes a random number generator. Many
programmers need a random "seed" for a program (they
might, for
instance, want to demonstrate that, even with an arbitrary
starting point, you always get the same result). But there is no
way to generate a random seed, except by one's own guesswork
--
which is not very random. Lobo's Pseudo-Random Number Generator
won't generate a truly random number, but it will generate one
that is pretty close
-- it certainly is a lot better than
guesswork.
And, finally, this manual discusses a subject near and dear to no
one's heart, software installation. To run most software on the
MAX, you are going to have to tell the program about the MAX'S
characteristics. It's hard for a program to clear the video
screen, when it doesn't know what commands are needed in the MAX-
80. It's hard for a program to even write a simple message on
the screen, when it doesn't know where the cursor is. The
commands for these functions are different in every computer. So
your software must know what the commands are in your computer,
your MAX-80. This section describes all of the specialized MAX-
80 commands, and gives advice on installing software on the MAX.
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Technical Reference Manual
The technical documentation of the MAX-80 is split along the
traditional line dividing the computer world
-- hardware and
software. The hardware section describes the requirements of all
of the input/output ports on the MAX-80, and the Appendices
(which are all hardware oriented) provide copies of the original
manufacturers' documentation on all of the major chips in the
MAX-80. (The other chips are standard items that are described
in most modern logic design reference manuals.)
The System Programming section describes, in detail, all of the
dedicated hardware addresses in the MAX. With this information,
one could install
a complete operating system on the computer (in
fact, many have been already).
All That?
You do not have to read everything in this manual in order to be
able to run the MAX-80. It is a large manual because we try to
describe all of the important aspects of the MAX
-- so that you
have the least difficulty in using it. Your best approach,
therefore, will be to pick and choose what you need from all of
the manuals.
But first, the hardware setup. Everyone needs that.
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