Dead AIM 65??

[Scott Stevens]

On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:55:57 -0400
M H Stein <dm561 at torfree.net> wrote:

> -----------------Original Message:
> Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 01:53:07 -0400
> From: Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Dead AIM 65??
> 
> >On 4/15/05, Andy Dannelley <andyda at mac.com> wrote:
> >> First, Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!
> 
> >You are welcome.
>  
> >> Couple of things about general AIM-lore:
> >>
> >> The original AIM 65 (not the AIM 65/40) had a 20 char alpha LED
> >> display. The Aim 65/40 had a 40 character vacuum fluorescent
> >display> and 40 character printer, much more friendly for development
> >than the> 20 char display and printer.
> 
> >I think I have heard of the AIM 65/40... if someone here knows such
> >things, was the motherboard re-engineered?  Is it possible to
> >retrofit the 40-col display to the original AIM?  Also, was the
> >40-col VFD run by something like an HD44780 chipset, or was it some
> >kind of raw interface?  These days, 40x1 or 40x2 VFDs based on the
> >HD44780 are not difficult to locate and are not all that expensive. 
> >They are also trivial to send chars to.
> 
> >-ethan
> 
> ---------------Reply:
> The /40 was considerably different; bank-switched memory, intelligent
> display & printer, different keyboard etc. (Also more than twice the 
> price of a /20).
> 
> Both the display & the printer had their own microprocessor (6504) 
> and could be mounted off-board.
> 
> See Interactive Issue # 5 for a preview (on Rich's site). Also see
> issue # 8 for a description of the "official" Rockwell case. There
> were also larger cases to house the /20 or /40 along with its
> expansion card cage.
> 
> There was an application note (R6500 N12) describing how to
> build a video interface (including the software listing) and it even
> references Lancaster's TVT Cookbook! Those were the heady days
> of OEM support...
> 
> If you have trouble finding a display maybe that's the answer;
> just stick it inside an old monitor or terminal. BASIC & the editor 
> are 80 (79) column capable BTW.
> 
> I did indeed find some extra display covers; I'll be in touch with you
> (Ethan) & Jules off-list.
> 

Just to add to the AIM-65 lore on here-  I am presently working contract
at a place that used to use AIM-65 hardware for industrial QA testing
purposes.  I may very soon be hired there as a permanent employee.  At
that time I'll probably sweep around the place and see if there is any
AIM-65 info, manuals, etc. that I can borrow or outright take, to
contribute to whatever document archive is appropriate.  (It's harder to
do things like that when you're just a contractor at the place with a
tenuous relationship)   I don't know for sure that there's anything
there, but one of the old timers in the test lab was reminiscing
recently about the 'old days' using AIM-65 systems with narrow printout
paper to gather data and control tests.  Just thought it was interesting
enough to mention here.

This is also the place that I mentioned awhile back that still has a
Commodore SX-64 in use on a test station.  The good news is that if I am
hired at the position I'm after, I'll be the person in direct use of
said system.  It's a place that makes refridgeration valves and
controls, among other things.  I KNOW that there are Commodore-related
materials and info in the facility, I've spied the manuals and disks for
a C-64 C compiler on a bookshelf.

Will keep the list posted on anything more that I find out.

-Scott