From: Donald.C.Kirkpatrick@tek.com (Don Kirkpatrick)

From: [email protected] (Don Kirkpatrick)
Subject: comp.os.cpm Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Archive-name: CPM-faq
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-Modified: 22 January 1996

=========================================================================
Changes from the previous FAQ are marked with a "|" in the first
column, additions marked with a "+". Corrections or additions to:

<[email protected]>.

I wish to thank the following people their contributions to this FAQ:

John D. Baker <[email protected]>
David I. Baldwin <[email protected]>
Frank Cringle <[email protected]>
Ralph Becker-Szendy <[email protected]>
Mike Finn <[email protected]>
Mike Gordillo <[email protected]>
Stephen R. Griswold <[email protected]>
Howard Goldstein <[email protected]>
Roger Hanscom <[email protected]>
Ulrich Hebecker <[email protected]>
Gottfried Ira <[email protected]>
Herb Johnson <[email protected]>
Tom Karlsson <[email protected]>
Kirk Lawrence <[email protected]>
Mark Litwack <[email protected]>
William P. Maloney <[email protected]>
Paul Martin <[email protected]>
Don Maslin <[email protected]>
Udo Munk <[email protected]>
Alan Ogden <[email protected]>
Keith Petersen <[email protected]>
Matthew Phillips <[email protected]>
Jay Sage <[email protected]>
Curt Schroeder <[email protected]>
Peter A. Schuman <[email protected]>
Kevin Spears <[email protected]>
Tilmann Reh <[email protected]>
Geir Tjoerhom <[email protected]>
Jack Velte <[email protected]>
Juergen Weber <[email protected]>
Jeffrey J. Wieland <[email protected]>
Randy Winchester <[email protected]>
Frank Zsitvay <[email protected]>

While this FAQ is not intended to be an advertisement for any product,
please note that some of the contributor have a financial interest in
some of the items mentioned. Your editor has NO financial interest in
anything mentioned in this FAQ.
=====================================================================

Table Of Contents

Q1: Does CP/M stand for anything?
Q2: Is CP/M in the Public Domain?
Q3: Where are the CP/M archives?
Q4: Can I subscribe to com.os.cpm via E-Mail?
Q5: What languages/compilers/databases/editors are still available?
Q6: Where can I find Z80 math routines?
Q7: What new CP/M computers are available?
Q8: What is this I hear about a CP/M CD ROM?
Q9: How can I transfer my CP/M files to DOS?
Q10: How can I convert an (insert name) disk to (insert name) format?
Q11: Where can I buy new diskettes?
Q12: Can I run CP/M on my MSDOS/UNIX/68K machine?
Q13: Where can I get a boot disk for (insert system name)?
Q14: What terminal emulation programs are available?
Q15: How do you unpack a .ARK or .ARC file?
Q16: How do you unpack a .lbr file?
Q17: What are all these .xQx, .xYx, and .xZx file types?
Q18: Are any of these .ARK, .LBR, or CRUNCH utilities on MSDOS?
Q19: Why does my Kaypro drop characters above (insert baud rate)?
Q20: What is an Advent TurboROM?
Q21: How can I add a hard drive to my Kaypro?
Q22: What belongs in the unpopulated board area on a Kaypro?
Q23: What is The Computer Journal?
Q24: Are there other magazines supporting CP/M?
Q25: Does anybody support Amstrad machines?
Q26: What is ZCPR and the Z System?
Q27: What ever happened to the Z800?
Q28: What is the status of the Z380?
Q29: What is the KC80?
Q30: What is the S-100 bus?
Q31: Anyone know a good source for cross assemblers?

=====================================================================

Q1: Does CP/M stand for anything?

A: (Don Kirkpatrick)

There are at least three popular answers - Control Program for
Microcomputers, Control Program for Microprocessors, and Control
Program/Monitor. The issue is clouded by authors of popular CP/M
books giving different answers. According to Gary Kildall (the
author of CP/M), in response to a direct question on the PBS show
"The Computer Chronicles" following Computer Bowl I, the answer is:
Control Program for Microcomputers. This is also consistent with
DRI documentation. See, for example, p. 4 of the DRI TEX manual.

Q2: Is CP/M in the Public Domain?

A: (Jay Sage, Don Maslin, Tilmann Reh, Kirk Lawrence)

CP/M is not in the public domain, and there is at least two sources
for the purchase of new, legal copies of CP/M:

David McGlone
149 W. Hilliard Lane
Eugene, OR 97404-3057,
(503)688-3563.
[email protected]

or you can get a copy with documentation for $9, plus shipping,
from:

California Digital, Inc.
17700 Figueroa Street
Gardena CA 90248
310-217-0500
800-421-5041

On the other hand, there have been lots of greatly improved clones,
including ZCPR3 for the command processor and several replacements
for the BDOS. Some of these are commercial (e.g., ZSDOS/ZDDOS), but
many have been released to the public. Most of the latter can be
obtained from oak.oakland.edu and many BBSs.

There is also a CP/M-Plus replacement named ZPM3, written by Simeon
Cran. It offers much more performance and some additional features
compared to CP/M-Plus. An extended CCP, the ZCCP, is also available.
Unfortunately, it still seems to have some bugs. ZPM3 and ZCCP are
free! However no sources as Simeon won't give them away.

New legal copies of CP/M-86 were still available, for $75, from:

DISCUS Distribution Services, Inc.
17607 Vierra Canyon road
Salinas, CA 93907-3312
(408) 663-6966

And CP/M-68K is available from:

James Knox
TriSoft
1825 East 38 1/2
Austin, TX 78722
(512)472-0744
(800)531-5170
(512)473-2122 (FAX)

Q3: Where are the CP/M archives?

A: (Don Maslin, Ralph Becker-Szendy, Paul Martin, Ulrich Hebecker)

Simtel20 is no more. Six sites that stock CP/M files are:

oak.oakland.edu
wuarchive.wustl.edu
ftp.update.uu.se
ftp.demon.co.uk
reze-2.rz.rwth-aachen.de
soltrans.cr.usgs.gov

The main archive is oak.oakland.edu. Assuming the availability of
anonymous ftp, look into the subdirectories of /pub/cpm. There is a
*lot* there! One of the first directories to check is starter-kit.
It contains everything you need to get up and running.

If you wish to submit material to oak.oakland.edu, contact:

Jeff Marraccini
Senior Computing Resource Administrator
Oakland University
Rochester, MI USA 48309-4401
(810)370-4542
[email protected] <- Work
[email protected]

He will send you instructions and passwords necessary to perform
an ftp upload.

Ftp.update.uu.se specializes on CP/M programs for the DEC Rainbow,
but has also some generic CP/M software such as a Micro Emacs, the
HI-TECH Z80 C compiler and a few games. Questions about this site
can be directed to Tom Karlsson, <[email protected]>, the site
administrator.

There is a European file server group, named TRICKLE. This group
mirrors oak.oakland and other archives. For more information, get
in touch with your local TRICKLE operator.

Q4: Can I subscribe to com.os.cpm via E-Mail?

A: (Keith Petersen)

To join the CPM-L mailing list, which is gatewayed to and from
comp.os.cpm, you must send email to the list server. If you are on
BITNET, send the following command:

SUBSCRIBE CPM-L your full name

to LISTSERV@RPITSVM. You can send that in an interactive if your
system supports them (e.g. the CMS TELL command), or in the body of
a mail message (*not* the subject line).

If you are not on BITNET, the Internet subscription address is
[email protected]. Send mail to that address with this text
in the body of the message:

SUBSCRIBE CPM-L your full name

Q5: What languages/compilers/databases/editors are still available?

A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy, Ulrich Hebecker, Jay Sage)

Unfortunately, SLR sold out to Symantec and all products except for
one DOS (or Windows) tool have been withdrawn from the market (what
a shame). However, Sage Microsystems East (contact Jay Sage) does
carry the excellent ZMAC package including a macro relocatable
assembler, linker, and librarian. Except for the speed, ZMAC is
better and cheaper than the standard SLR tools.

MIX C and other MIX products are available from:

Ed Grey
P.O. Box #2186
Inglewood, CA 90305
(213)759-7406
<[email protected]>.

Hi-Tech C V3.09 for CP/M is now freeware. The authors are still
maintaining their copyright, but are allowing free use for both
private and commercial users without royalty. The original is on
their bbs in Australia, at (61)(7)300-5235. Copies can be obtained
from:

ftp.update.uu.se: /pub/rainbow/cpm/c
ftp.mcc.ac.uk: /pub/8051c/htc.zip
oak.oakland.edu: /pub/cpm/hitech-c
ftp://ftp.hitech.com.au/hitech/cpm
http://www.hitech.com.au

Sage Microsystems East still offers BDS C, in both the original,
straight CP/M version and in a version that includes Z-System
support. The package, with both versions of the compiler and a very
large manual, is only $25.

Micro Emacs is available from:

ftp.update.uu.se: /pub/rainbow/cpm/emacs

Public domain CP/M programs are available via:

Elliam Associates
Box 2664
Atascadero, CA 93423
(805)466-8440

In the past, Elliam has sold Turbo Pascal, Uniform, Nevada COBOL,
SuperCalc, and much more. Call for availability and price.

WordStar 4.0 is available from:

Trio Company of Cheektowaga Limited
3290 Genesee Street
P. O. Box 594
Cheektowaga, NY 14225-0594
716-892-9630

Dynacomp stills sell CP/M software (or to be accurate, they still
had several dozen CP/M programs in the 1992 catalog.) It is the
kind of programs which ought to be written in BASIC: Typing tutors,
little engineering programs like calculation of the stiffness of
beams, education math programs. Their address is:

Dynacomp
178 Phillips Road
Webster, NY 14580
(800)828-6772 orders
(716)265-4040 support

There is no known U.S. source to purchase the following programs:

muMath/muSimp
Any Microsoft product (M80, L80, F80, Pascal, BASIC)
VEdit

but Jay Sage has copies of a number of programs that were donated to
his Boston Computer Society Zitel User Group. As of this writing,
there are some copies of Turbo Pascal, F80/M80/L80, Perfect Writer
and other programs in the Perfect line, WordStar and other programs
in the 'Star' line, and quite a number of others. They may be
obtained in exchange for a cash donation to the user group. Contact
Jay Sage.

Most have been "abandoned" by their makers, but not placed in the
public domain.

For our European readers, much is available in Germany. dBASE,
dBASSI, WordStar 3.0, Multiplan, SuperCalc PCW, and Microsoft Basic
(Interpreter and Compiler), M80, L80, CREF80 , and LIB80 can be
ordered in either PCW format or C128 (also native 1571) format from:

Fa. Wiedmann
Unternehmensberatung
Korbinianplatz 2
D 85737 Ismaning
Tel.: +49.89.965029 (from 9:00 to 18:00 )

Also, for our European readers, Z3PLUS (for CP/M, DM 70.--), NZCOM
(for CP/M 2.2, DM 70.--), (both for package 100.--), Z-Systems come
complete with Z3COMs and ZHELPs (another 14 Disks at 360K app. or
equ.) and German manual(!), BDSC-Z, TURBO Tools, Turbolader, and
Juggler (DM 50.--) from:

Helmut Jungkunz Zacherlstr.14 D 85737 Ismaning
Tel.: +49.89.9614633 (18:30 to 21:30)
+49.89.969374 (18:30 to 21:30)
BBS : +49.89.9614575 (17:00 to 3:00) "ZNODE 51"
[email protected]

and C128 CP/M Plus (DM 80.-) from:

Schaltungsdienst Lange Berlin Tel.: 030/7036060

Q6: Where can I find Z80 math routines?

A: (Roger Hanscom)

Programmers looking for examples of commonly used Z80 assembler
routines may want to look at "Z80 Assembly Language Subroutines" by
Leventhal and Saville. It was published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill in
1983 (ISBN 0-931988-91-8), and it 497 pages long. It also contains
general programming information, as well as a summary of the Z80
instruction set and reference data for the Z80 PIO. Assembler
routines given in the book fall into the following categories:

- code conversion -array manipulation and indexing
- arithmetic -bit manipulation and shifts
- string manipulation -array operations
- I/O -interrupts

For transcendental routines, it is generally better to use a high
level language, such as Hi-Tech C, where they are built-in.

Q7: What new CP/M computers are available?

A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy, John D. Baker, Tilmann Reh)

The YASBEC (uses a 64180, has SCSI interface), written up in TCJ,
issues #51 and #52. It is important that the YASBEC uses a
proprietary bus system.

The CPU280 (uses a Z280, an IDE interface is available), also
written up in TCJ, issues #52 and #53. Circuit boards are available
from Jay Sage and Ralph Becker-Szendy. CPU280 uses the ECB-bus
which allows many other I/O cards to be connected.

Ampro Little Board products were available from Dean Davidge of
Davidge Corporation, Buellton, CA, but he may have moved and the
address and phone number are unknown.

The Micromint SB180/SB180FX is also still available from:

Micromint, Inc.
4 Park Street
Vernon, CT 06066
203-871-6170 (technical assistance)
800-635-3355 (for order placement)

Q8: What is this I hear about a CP/M CD ROM?

A: (Jack Velte)

The disk is now being shipped. It contains over 19,000 files with
executable programs, source code, documentation, and other
materials. Included are the the entire Simtel20 pub/cpm archives,
the contents of some major bulletin boards, and the personal
collections of several leaders in the CP/M community. You'll find:

Assmeblers, compilers, code libraries, and programming tools
Editors, word processors, spreadsheets, calculators
Disk, printer, modem and other system utilities
Archive and compression tools
Telecommunication software for users and BBS operators
Articles from user's group journals and other publications
Games and educational software
Help files

You'll also find CP/M emulators and other tools for working with
CP/M files under DOS, OS/2, and Unix. Most programs include not
only documentation but also complete source code. Programs for all
different computers are on the disc: Kaypro, Osborne, Commodore,
Amstrad, Starlet, and others. This disc comes with a MSDOS view
program which allows you to view, decompress, or copy files to your
disk. It's fully BBS'd with description files compatible with
popular MSDOS BBS programs.

The cost is $39.95 plus $5 shipping and handling (per order, not per
disk) for US/Canada, and $10 for airmail overseas. If you live in
California, please add sales tax. For further information:

[email protected]
Walnut Creek CDROM
1547 Palos Verdes, Suite 260
Walnut Creek, CA 94596 USA
(510)674-0783 voice
(510)674-0821 fax
(800)786-9907

Q9: How can I transfer my CP/M files to DOS?

A: (Don Maslin, Will Rose, Alan Ogden, Tilmann Reh, Herb Johnson)

One solution is Sydex' excellent shareware program 22DISK which
permits reading, writing, and formatting many CP/M format disks on a
PC. It is available on:

oak.oakland.edu: /pub/msdos/diskutil/22dsk142.zip

22DISK is shareware and should be registered. It supports 8-inch
drives on PC's, provided either a adaptor is wired to the PC's
floppy controller or that a CompatiCard is installed. Sydex or Herb
Johnson can provide assistance with using standard PC controllers.
Sydex can be reached at:

Sydex
P.O. Box 5700
Eugene, OR 97405
Voice: (503) 683-6033
FAX: (503) 683-1622
Data: (503) 683-1385

There is also UniForm by Micro Solutions that should still be
available from them. There are versions for both the IBM-pc's and a
lot of different cp/m machines. Micro Solutions can be reached at:

Micro Solutions
123 W Lincoln Hwy.
DeKalb, IL 60115
(815)756-3411 Voice
(815)756-2928 Fax
(800)890-7227

If it's for an IBM type system, talk to them about what kind of
hardware/software you have. Some flavors of PC have a problem with
both UniForm and 22disk and UniForm will not operate properly under
DRDOS v6.0. UniForm also fails if the machine clock exceeds
~20MHz. This has been confirmed with Micro Solutions, and no fix is
available.

You need not use the DOS machine - there are also at least three
transfer programs running under CP/M: TRANSFER (for CP/M-2.2), of
which a quick-hack CP/M-3 adaptation also exists; DOSDISK, and MSDOS
for CP/M-Plus written by Tilmann Reh, latest version 2.1 of Oct 93.
TRANSFER and MSDOS are freely available, DOSDISK is commercial.
MSDOS has two related utilities: MSFORM will create the DOS Boot
Record, FAT and directory structure on a freshly formatted disk, and
MSDIR will give you a quick look at the main directory of a DOS
disk.

DosDisk is a standard CP/M product. As supplied, it runs only on
the following specific hardware:

all Kaypros equipped with a TurboROM
all Kaypros equipped with a KayPLUS ROM and QP/M or CP/M
Xerox 820-I equipped with a Puls-2 ROM and QP/M
Ampro Little Board
SB180 and SB180FX equipped with XBIOS
Morrow MD3 and MD11
Oneac On!
Commodore C128 with CP/M-3 and 1571 drive

There is also a kit version for which the user can write his own
driver, provided the BIOS implements a table-driven disk interface.
Contact Jay Sage for details. DosDisk and MSDOS both handle DOS
subdirectories.

Remember, these conversion programs only move the data, as is, in
its current binary form, from one disk format to another. They do
not reinterpret the data so that a different program can use the
information. However, there are some tools under DOS that will
convert word processing file data among different word processors,
such as WordStar, Word Perfect, and Microsoft Word. If the CP/M
computer that made the original disk is still running, you might
want to try to generate a pure text (ASCII) version of your
information (e.g., by "printing to disk") before moving it over to a
DOS disk. If the computer is not working but you still have the
program, you might try copying it over to a DOS disk and running it
under a CP/M emulator on the DOS machine to produce a text file.

Q10: How can I convert an (insert name) disk to (insert name) format?

A: (Jay Sage, Curt Schroeder, Mike Gordillo, Helmut Jungkunz, Tilmann Reh,
Randy Winchester)

David McGlone and Elliam Associates (see above) offer disk
conversion services at modest prices that can convert from just
about any format to just about any other format.

If you have a Kaypro equipped with an Advent TurboROM, Plu*Perfect
Systems offers a program called MULTICPY that can read/write about
one hundred different 5 1/4 formats.

It is not possible to directly read/write Apple II CP/M disks on any
other host machine because an Apple disk is recorded in GCR which is
incompatible with FM/MFM disk controllers. The only way to get CP/M
files in or out of Apple II CP/M disks is via a serial link with a
non-Apple II host or with special hardware. For example,
MicroSolutions had a device called the MatchPoint PC. When used in
conjunction with a MicroSolutions CompatiCard, files can be read
from an Apple CP/M disk and transfer to another disk format with a
special configuration of UniForm. MicroSolutions can be reached at:

(815)756-3411

There exists a program called "Jugg'ler" for the C128's CP/M that
will read/write 140 different CP/M formats both 3.5 and 5.25 MFM
(and some GCR) formats. A demo version with 22 formats, and other
C128 specific CP/M software, can be found at:

ftp://ccnga.waterloo.ca/pub/cbm/os/cpm

The last known source for the complete version of Jugg'ler, Herne
Data Systems, is no longer in business.

The CPU280 CP/M-3 implementation offers the AutoFormat feature which
allows to format, read and write almost every disk format.

Another way of converting formats is to use a PC with 22DISK - just
copy the files from one CP/M disk to DOS, and then back to the other
CP/M disk.

Q11: Where can I buy new diskettes?

A: (Don Maslin)

California Digital still lists hard and soft sector diskettes - both
10 and 16 sector at $9.95. They also list 8" double density
diskettes at $12.95.

California Digital, Inc.
17700 Figueroa Street
Gardena CA 90248
310-217-0500
800-421-5041
310-217-1951 Fax

Q12: Can I run CP/M on my MSDOS/UNIX/68K machine?

A: (Juergen Weber, Udo Munk, Paul Martin, John D. Baker,
Mark Litwack, Tilmann Reh, Frank Cringle, Gottfried Ira)

Available by anonymous ftp from the primary mirror site
OAK.Oakland.Edu and its mirrors:

simtel/msdos/emulator/zsim241.zip

ZSIM is an (extremely accurate) Z80 emulator (80386/40 -8 MHz Z80)
in conjunction with a CP/M 80 BIOS, i.e. it simulates a Z80 machine,
that can run CP/M. Together with the original CP/M operating system
you have a full Z80-CP/M machine.

If you don't have a CP/M system disk at hand, you can use the
included public domain CP/M compatible operating system P2DOS.

ZSIM uses CP/M format disks, a ram disk and a hard disk. Supported
disk formats are CP/M 86 single sided and double sided, but you can
install any singled sided CP/M format PC drives can physically
read. So you can use ZSIM to transfer data to MS-Dos. The ram disk
can be saved to the PC hard disk. The hard disk is in an MS-Dos
file. A sample hard disk containing the SMALL-C compiler is
included.

As ZSIM uses an original operating system and CP/M disks it should
run every CP/M program that does not use special hardware. ZSIM is
free for personal use. Sources of the CP/M BIOS are included.

On silver.cstpl.com.au (formerly: raven.alaska.edu) you'll find:

/pub/coherent/sources/z80pack.tar.Z.

(Also available as z80pack.tgz at ftp.cs.uni-sb.de in the directory
/pub/others.)

This is a Z80 CPU emulation completely written in C, an I/O
emulation for a typical CP/M system also is included. The package
also comes with the BIOS source for the I/O emulation and a Z80
cross-assembler. It was developed it under COHERENT but it's known
that it does work under Linux and SunOS too. You still need a CP/M
license to get CP/M running or you might try to get one of the free
available CP/M clones running on it. On a 486/66 DX2 running
COHERENT it's like a 11Mhz Z80 CPU, so the emulation speed is
acceptable.

On sunsite.unc.edu you'll find:

/pub/Linux/system/Emulators/cpm-0.2.tar.gz

This package, written by Michael Bischoff, is well integrated into
the host operating system. It provides options to use either a
container file for the CP/M disk for full BIOS compatibility, or to
access the Linux file system through the included BDOS emulator.
The Z80 emulator is written in 86 assembler and the rest is in C. A
pre-assembled ZDOS CCP is included with the package. The emulation
speed on a 486/66 is approximately a 22 Mhz Z80, and on a Pentium/90
it is 50 Mhz. Full source is included.

On oak.oakland.edu you'll find:

/pub/msdos/emulator/myz80111.zip

MYZ80 is a Z80/64180 emulator package. The new 80486, 80386 & 80286
machines with the fast hard drives and the snazzy OS/2 operating
systems are such a delight... but for many, the Z80 machines still
have to be fired up from to time in order to develop code for CP/M
and the Z80 chip. Well, not any more, thanks to MYZ80.

Other emulators on the market are less than satisfactory solutions.
Of the small number which can actually run without causing system
errors under the later versions of DOS, apparently none is capable
of running real CP/M. Instead they use an emulated version of CP/M
which is only as accurate as the developers have bothered to make
it.

MYZ80 can run CP/M 3.0 and ZCPR (which is such a useful Z80
developer's environment). So if you suffer from less than perfect
Z80 emulation and slow overall performance, give MYZ80 a try, and
save the 'real' Z80 machines for those cold winter mornings when
you really need the heat. The author of MYZ80, Simon Cran, can be
reached at:

Simeon Cran P/L
PO Box 5706
West End, Queensland, AUstralia 4101
[email protected]

22NICE is (like 22DISK) from Sydex. It emulates the application
program while translating all BDOS and BIOS calls into the
appropriate DOS calls. This way, it's comparably fast and allows
for free use of the DOS file system (including paths). You are able
to map drive/user combinations to particular paths in the DOS file
system. The emulator can be configured for different emulation modes
(8080, Z80, and automatic detection) and different terminal
emulations. There are two run-time options: First, you can create a
small COM file which will then load both the emulator and the CP/M
program (contained in a .CPM file to avoid confusions); Second, you
can build the emulator and the application together to a single COM
file (which is larger then but needs no run-time module).

MicroSolutions still has their UniDOS Z80 card available. It has an
8MHz Z80 with 64k of ram with UniDOS system software and
Uniform-PC. It's a half size plug-in card.

You willalso find on oak.oakland.edu:

/pub/unix-c/cpm/yaze-1.00.tar.gz

Yaze is a Z80 and CP/M emulator designed to run on Unix systems.
The package consists of an instruction set simulator, a CP/M-2.2
bios written in C which runs on the Unix host, a monitor which loads
CP/M into the simulated processor's ram and makes Unix directories
or files look like CP/M disks, and a separate program (cdm) which
creates and manipulates CP/M disk images for use with yaze.

Yaze's emulates all documented and most undocumented Z80
instructions and flag bits. A test program is included in the
package which compares machine states before and after execution of
every instruction against actual Z80. Yaze is independent of the
host machine architecture and instruction set, written in ANSI
standard C, and is provided with full source code under the GNU
General Public License. It supports CP/M disk geometries as images
in Unix files or as read-only disks constructed on-the-fly. These
disks are indistinguishable from real disks for even the most
inquisitive, low-level CP/M programs and can be mounted and
unmounted at will during emulation.

+ There is a CP/M 2.2 Simulator that simulates an 8080 CPU and CP/M
+ 2.2 environment. The heart of the simulator is written in 680x0
+ assembly language for speed. It has been tested under DNIX (a SVR2
+ compatible with many SVR3, BSD, Xenix, and Sun extensions), on a
+ 68030 NeXT, and on a 68030 Amiga running SVR4. One 'benchmark'
+ shows that on machines of the 68020/68030 class the simulator
+ performs about as well as a 7 MHz Z-80 would. Other tests indicate
+ that this is somewhat optimistic. The simulator was posted to
+ alt.sources and can be found at:

+ ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk:/usenet/alt.sources/articles/09000-09999/
+ http://wuarchive.wustl.edu:/usenet/alt.sources/articles/09000-09999/

+ in files 9954 to 9959.

Q13: Where can I get a boot disk for (insert system name)?

A: (Don Maslin, Herb johnson)

Getting a system disk is pretty easy - if Dina-SIG CP/M System Disk
Archives has it. However, some dialogue with the requester has
usually been necessary to assure that we are talking about the same
Jurassic inhabitant! There are just too many variants in the CP/M
world. A request with specifics on the computer, an address to mail
to, and some recompense is all it takes. Since this is an unfunded
effort on the part of the SIG, the costs of media, mailer, and
postage must be recouped. In general, and there are variations,
this runs $3 for the first disk and $2 or less for each additional.
Eight inch disks are a bit more! However, a swap can be arranged if
the other party has disks that are not duplicative of ones already
in the archive. If you can help augment the archive, yours is
free.

The keeper of the archives can be reached at:

Don Maslin
7742 Via Capri
La Jolla CA 92037
619-454-7392

or use the email address given above.

David McGlone of Lambda Software Publishing has a variety of boot
disks, and he sells CP/M with them. He can be reached at:

Lambda Software Publishing
149 West Hilliard Lane
Eugene OR 97404-3057
(503) 688-3563

Q14: What terminal emulation programs are available?

A: (Peter A. Schuman, Howard Goldstein)

The leading CP/M public domain or freeware (author kept copyright
but distributed it for free) modem programs are:

MDM740 - The last of the "MDMxxx" programs.

IMP245 - This is nice, and works smoothly within what it does.
What it does, it does very well. IF you have slow floppy
drives, there is a patch to cut down the receive buffer size.

MEX114 - different from the above two, but minimally functional
with just a MDM740 overlay. To use all of its fine features,
you need MEX overlay for your machine.

ZMP15 - This program includes ZMODEM file transfers.

KERMIT - This program may have the widest implementation base
because it uses only printable characters for its file
transfers. This is a plus because the MODEM7 family of
protocols send binary characters that sometimes conflict with
the underlying system use. It is a minus because many more
characters must be sent and thus is slower. KERMIT may be
found on watsun.cc.columbia.edu.

QTERM43F - This is somewhat like using QMODEM on an MSDOS
machine. Qterm has VT100 emulation mode as well as XMODEM and
KERMIT protocol. If you can get (or write) a good overlay,
this is a nice program. (Bug fixes to 43E were released in a
separate library to bring it up to 43F. The FIX library did
not include a new binary; users had to do their own patching.)

For high speed transfers, you will probably need interrupt-driven
routines, which are available for some these. The exact baud rate
where it becomes necessary varies by system and program.

Q15: How do you unpack a .ARK or .ARC file?

A: (Gier Tjoerhom, Don Kirkpatrick)

Archive files are a collection of related files packed together so
they stay together. They have somewhat been replaced by librarys,
but are still encountered often. The C or K at the end only
differentiate the original packing program, they are otherwise
identical. Some archives are self extracting, just rename them
with a .com ending and execute them. Others must be unpacked with
a program, unarc16.ark containing one of the most popular (in a
self extracting archive). This archive can be found at:

oak.oakland.edu: /pub2/cpm/arc-lbr/unarc16.ark

Q16: How do you unpack a .lbr file?

A: (William P. Maloney, Peter A. Schuman)

A .lbr is a single file that contains a number of compressed files
inside. The files must be extracted from the .lbr before the can be
used.

One very good library extract program is called lbrext.com. It's
simple to use and uncrunches the files at the same time. EXAMPLE:

A>lbrext b:myfile.lbr c:*.* uo

This takes the lbrext.com file on 'A' to extract all the files in
myfile.lbr on 'B' and put them on 'C' uncrunched. A simple 'lbrext'
first will show you how to use the .com file.

Other popular library maintenance programs are LUE, DELBR, and NULU,
the latter being one of the best CP/M programs for handling LBRs.
However, don't use NULU to extract and unsqueeze simultaneously. It
occasionally screws up doing this, and it can trash an entire disk
when it does so.

LT31 is also able to unpack libraries and also supports all
current compression standards (including LZH 2.0!). It is a very
useful utility and can replace several single programs.

Q17: What are all these .xQx, .xYx, and .xZx file types?

A: (Don Kirkpatrick)

These are compressed files, a.k.a. squeezed or crunched files. They
must be uncompressed before they can be used. They differ in the
compression algorithm; .?Q? was the first generation and .?Y? the
newest. There are many fine programs that uncompress files, but
most handle only one or two compression types (e.g. SQ111.ARC and
CRUNCH24.LBR). One program that will uncompress all three types can
be found in CRLZH20.LBR.

Q18: Are any of these .ARK, .LBR, or CRUNCH utilities on MSDOS?

A: (Geir Tjoerhom)

Yes, MSDOS versions do exist and can be located as follows:

oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/arcutil/lue220.zip (.LBR)
ftp.switch.ch:/mirror/simtel/msdos/archiver/arce41a.zip (.ARK)
nic.funet.fi:/pub/msdos/simtel/compress/alusq.com (.xQx)
nic.funet.fi:/pub/msdos/simtel/compress/uncr233.zip (.xZx)

Also check out the files in oak.oakland.edu: /pub/unix-c/cpm.

Q19: Why does my Kaypro drop characters above (insert baud rate)?

A: (Jeff Wieland, Stephen Griswold, Don Kirkpatrick)

The basic problem is that updating the screen takes too long and some
incoming characters are missed. The exact baud rate where
characters begin to disappear depends on the configuration of the
Kaypro and the terminal program. Generally, the older non-graphic
Kaypros will run at a much higher baud rate before characters start
to disappear. Stock Kaypros are not interrupt driven and the BIOS
ROM has several built-in delays, which demanded too much of a
2x/4x/10's time.

Several things can be done to help the situation. If your Kaypro
came with the MITE software package, you can use it for high speed
terminal emulation. A Kaypro 2X using MITE can go as fast as 19200
bps. MITE uses interrupts to achieve this.

Sometimes the problem can be ignored. A 2X will drop characters at
300 baud using Kermit-80. File transfers work fine at 19200 bps.
It is always a good ides to run file transfers in the quiet mode if
terminal mode is dropping characters as then the display update time
is minimized.

The graphic-equipped Kaypros can be significantly improved in
terminal mode just by turning off the status line at the bottom of
the screen. As most terminal programs have an initialize sequence
available, just send the no status line command to the Kaypro -
<ESC>, C, 7 [1BH, 43H, 37H in hex].

There are several hardware changes that can lessen or eliminate the
problem. There is a speed modification for the 1983 Kaypro-II's &
IV's requiring changing some chips to faster versions and outfitting
the back with a toggle switch. Upgrading to a MicroCornucopia MAX-8
or Advent TurboROM also helps.

If your machine is equipped with the Advent TurboROM and you choose
to run QTERM, Don Kirkpatrick can send you an interrupt driver that
allows the graphic-enhanced Kaypros to work just fine to at least
2400 baud.

Q20: What is an Advent TurboROM?

A: (Don Maslin)

The Advent TurboROM is a firmware upgrade to the Kaypro. It
replaces the original Kaypro system ROM and provides flexible
configurations, additional disk formats, greater speed, and bug
fixes. Contact point for this is:

Chuck Stafford
4000 Norris Avenue
Sacramento CA 95812
916/483-0312
[email protected]

Q21: How can I add a hard drive to my Kaypro?

A: (Don Kirkpatrick)

Chuck Stafford (see above) sells hard drive conversion kits.
Emerald Microware used to offer hard drive kits for the Kaypro, but
has run out of hard disk controllers. If you already have your own
WD-1002-05 or WD-1002-HDO or can find one, then Emerald can provide
you with controller software. They can be contacted at:

EMERALD MICROWARE
P.O. Box 1726
Beaverton OR 97075
503/641-8088 Brian/Patricia

Q22: What belongs in the unpopulated board area on a Kaypro?

A: (Don Maslin, Don Kirkpatrick, Peter A. Schuman)

A clock and modem go there. The modem is rather useless as it is
only 300 baud. The clock/calendar is useful. The Computer Journal,
issue 64, Nov./Dec. 1993, describes the installation procedure.
There is also an area on a 2X for a hard drive interface.

Q23: What is The Computer Journal?

A: (David Baldwin)

The Computer Journal is a magazine specializing in CP/M, small
systems, and related topics. The Editor is Dave Baldwin. Chuck
Stafford writes a regular column on Kaypros and Herb Johnson writes
one on S-100. In their own words:

The Computer Journal has articles and reviews on both new and
old hardware and software. In the last year, there have been
articles on most of the popular microcontrollers, reviews of a
new Z180 system for CP/M, modifications for older systems,
software articles and tutorials on Forth, 'C', and assembly
language, and the 'Centerfold' schematics for older computer
circuits.

In general, we cover hardware and software that one person can
work with, where you can 'do it yourself'. This means boards
and systems where you can identify (and get) the parts and get
code to make it work. In particular, this means the Kaypro,
S-100 boards, Z80/180/280 and CP/M systems, microcontrollers
like the 8048, 8051, and 68HC11, and software articles that
include source code. This is also why we started covering the
PC-XT clones made with identifiable ttl parts. Bios code is also
available for them now so you can make them do what you want.

On the other hand, if a project or system requires an engineering
team or access to custom IC's, you probably won't read about it in
TCJ. The exception to that is when our authors and/or readers get
together for a project and can provide all the necessary
resources.

There are six issues per year, and the subscription rate is $24 for
1 year, or $44 for 2. Subscriptions may be sent to:

The Computer Journal
P.O. Box 3900
Citrus Heights, CA 95611-3900
Voice: (916) 722-4970
Fax: (916) 722-7480

The Computer Journal (TCJ) is also on the Internet.

Email [email protected]
Web page http://www.psyber.com/~tcj

Q24: Are there other magazines supporting CP/M?

A: (Jay Sage)

Other magazines of interest include the Z-Letter from McGlone,
"exclusively for CP/M and the Z-System. Eagle computers and
Spellbinder support":

The Z-Letter
$18/year, 6 issues
Lambda Software Publishing
149 West Hilliard Lane
Eugene OR 97404-3057
(503) 688-3563

and Historically Brewed, edited by David Greelish: "computer history".

Historically Brewed
$18/year, 6 issues
2962 Park Street #1
Jacksonville FL 32205

These magazines list other publications, support groups and CP/M
supporting companies.

Q25: Does anybody support Amstrad machines?

A: (Matthew Phillips)

WACCI on http://info.ox.ac.uk/~chri0264/wowww.html, now includes:

A directory of suppliers for Amstrad CPC and PCW machines
An "email helpline" of contacts who are willing to give advice
A listing of other Amstrad user groups and magazines
Forthcoming events in the Amstrad world
The WACCI PD Library listings - both Amstrad and CP/M stuff.

There is also a limited amount of information on WACCI itself, the
UK's biggest Amstrad CPC user club.

Q26: What is ZCPR and the Z System?

A: (Jay Sage, Mike Finn, Don Kirkpatrick, Dave Baldwin)

The original ZCPR was written in Z80 code and was called the "Z80
Command Processor Replacement". It was a drop-in replacement for
the Digital Research CCP (Console Command Processor) and adhered to
the 800H space restriction. ZCPR2 (February 14, 1983) was the first
experiment in greatly extending the power of the command processor.
It added additional memory modules for supporting such things as
multiple commands on a line, a dynamically reconfigurable command
search path, and directory names associated with drive/user areas.
The ideas and implementation in ZCPR2 were only half-baked, and they
came to logical fruition in ZCPR3 (Richard Conn's 3.0 and Jay Sage's
3.3 and 3.4).

ZCPR3 gives you UNIX-like flexibility. Features implemented include
shells, aliases, I/O redirection, flow control, named directories,
search paths, custom menus, passwords, on line help, and greater
command flexibility. ZCPR3 can be found on many BBS and SIMTEL
mirrors. The Z System commercial version is available for a nominal
fee from Jay Sage. Further details can be found in the text "ZCPR3,
The Manual", by Richard Conn, ISBN 0-918432-59-6.

You can find a detailed history of the development of ZCPR and the Z
System in Jay Sage's column in issue #54 of The Computer Journal.
This article celebrated the 10th anniversary of ZCPR, which was
first released on February 2, 1982. His "ZCPR33 User's Guide" also
has a section on the history (it can be ordered from Jay for $10,
domestic shipping included).

There still are active Z-nodes supporting Z-system and many RCP/M's
supporting CP/M as well as some special interests. As of November
7, 1995, the known BBS's supporting the Z-System are:

Z-Node Sysop Telephone Type of BBS
3 Jay Sage 617 965 7046 PC 33,600 baud
5 Ian Cottrell 613 829 2530 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
6 Finn, Morgen, Isaac 215 535 0344 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
9 Don Maslin 619 454 8412 PC 14,400 baud
10 Ludo Van Hemelryck 206 481 1371 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
33 Jim Sands 405 237 9282 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
36 Richard Mead 818 799 1632 PC 28,800 baud
45 Richard Reid (Ken) 713 937 8886 PC ? baud
Michael McCarrey 509 489 5835 Z-Syst 2,400 baud
Wil Schuemann 702 887 0408 PC 28,800 baud
Wil Schuemann 702 887 0507 Z-Syst 9,600 baud (Soon)
TCJ Dave Baldwin 916 722 5799 PC 14,400 baud

There is also Z-node 51 in Munich, Germany.
51 Helmut Jungkunz (Ger)+49.89.961 45 75 14,400 baud

Q27: What ever happened to the Z800?

A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy, Frank Zsitvay)

The Z800 was planned to be NMOS, and was finally implemented as the
Z280 in CMOS, five years late. And it does have a 4kB/8kB paged
MMU, and separate I/D space, and cache. There are small differences
between the Z800 preliminary spec and the final Z280 specification.
The call for Z280 end-of-life last time buys went out in December,
1995.

The Z180 was not an outgrowth of the Z800. It was a joint effort
between Zilog and Hitachi. The first two versions of the HD64180
were slightly different from the current Z180. The current HD64180
and Z180 are identical, and both have flags in one of the control
registers to emulate the earlier versions. The changes are mostly
bus timing, as the HD64180 was designed to interface with Motorola
6800 style peripherals as well as Intel and Zilog, which wasn't too
strange since Hitachi second sources some Motorola 6800 series
products.

Q28: What is the status of the Z380?

A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy)

The Z380 is a 32-bit version binary-compatible upgrade of the
HD180. The 18MHz part in the 100-pin QFP package is shipping. The
plan for a PGA-package for the Z380 has been scrapped. Zilog is
working on a 25MHz part, but it isn't quite ready yet. The
"Preliminary Product Specfication", Zilog part number DC6003-02,
documents the part. According to the manual, the plans include a
40MHz part, but the time frame is uncertain.

Q29: What is the KC80?

A: (Ralph Becker-Szendy)

There was an announcement in the trade press about a deal between
Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Zilog. Kawasaki has developed
something called the KC80, which is a Z80 (no MMU, extended address
space, or 32-bit enhancements), but speeded up to execute most
instructions in one or two cycles, and running at 20MHz. Zilog has
the rights to the design. The catch is that Zilog is currently not
planning to sell it as a chip.

Q30: What is the S-100 bus?

A: (Herb Johnson)

The S-100 bus, also known as the IEEE-696 bus, is a bus standard of
100 pin cards, 50 pins per side, which plug into 100-pin edge
connectors on a passive (i.e. no computer logic) backplane once
called a "motherboard". Dozens of computer companies produced cards
and systems to this standard in the 1970's and 1980's.

One of the first popular microcomputers was the Altair 8800 by MITS,
which was offered as a kit in the January 1974 issue of Popular
Electronics. Each functional block of the computer, which at that
time required many logic or memory chips each, was designed to fit a
single card which plugged into a bus or "motherboard". The function
and timing of signals on the 100-pin connectors of that bus became
known as the "S-100 bus".

An industry was started in producing cards compatible to the Altair,
followed by the production of whole systems. The bus evolved as
other manufacturers, such as Cromemco and Compupro, used slight
variations of the bus design for their product line. These
differences were finally addressed with the IEEE-696 standard,
published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers in
1983. The standard was already in use by then but only influenced
designs for the next few years. Most new CP/M personal systems went
to single-board designs with no bus at all, and competition from IBM
and Apple systems caused S-100 system production to decline.

IEEE-696 systems were subsequently developed primarily for
industrial and development applications, particularly where
multiprocessing or speed were important, through the rest of the
1980's. Compupro and Cromemco still support these systems at
commercial prices, but apparently do not support their prior CP/M
systems except as cards for sale. Heath (later Zenith) produced the
Z-100 system (labeled Z-120, Z-121) which was IEEE-696 compatible.
While they no longer support it, there are many active Heath user
groups with some Z-100 interests.

A further distinction can be made in S-100 standards: boards
designed for the Altair, IMSAI and early Cromemco systems with front
panel switches and LED displays can be called "MITS/Altair" cards.
Subsequent cards (after about 1979) grounded certain pins and reused
other pins that affected the use of front panels.

One person who provides S-100 cards, documention, and some support
(1994) is Herb Johnson. As "Dr. S-100" he writes a regular column in
The Computer Journal and corresponds with S-100 and IEEE-696 owners.
As of 1995 he can be reached at The Computer Journal or:

Herbert R. Johnson
Dr. S-100
CN 5256 #105
Princeton NJ 08543
(609) 771-1503
internet: [email protected]

Q31: Anyone know a good source for cross assemblers?

A: (Roger Hanscom, Mike Morris)

There are a variety of sources for cross platform development tools.

The C Users' Group (1601 W. 23rd St., Suite 200, Lawrence, KS
66046-2700) has a library of software that includes all kinds of
development tools. Source code is distributed with many of them.
They charge $4/disk and $3.50 s&h per order, and can supply 3.5" or
5.25" DOS formats. Those of you seeking assemblers or disassemblers
will be particularly interested in volumes number 398, 363 (2
disks), 348, 346 (2 disks), 338 (2 disks), 335 (4 disks), 316, 303,
and 292(4 disks). They also market a CD-ROM of volumes 100 through
364 for $49.95 list (it can usually be found at computer shows for
$25 to $35). They can be reached at 913/841-1631 FAX: 913/841-2624.

The Circuit Cellar BBS is on-line 24 hours per day with some cross
development tools, particularly for CPU's that are commonly used as
controllers. They have a Courier HST running 2400/9600 bps at
203/871-0549, and another line that will do up to 14.4k bps (8N1) at
203/871-1988. Both of these numbers are in Connecticut.

The Motorola BBS is in Austin, Texas, on 512/440-3733. They have
downloadable cross development products mostly for the 68xx and
68xxx architectures. Like the Circuit Cellar BBS, this BBS seems to
specialize in micro-controller development. Many of these files can
also be accessed over the network on bode.ee.ualberta.ca
(129.128.16.96).

2500AD software lists a Z80 assembler, a Z80 C compiler (that
includes the assembler in the package), a Z280 assembler, a Z280 C
compiler (that includes the assembler), and a Z380 assembler.

Don't forget to look in the old familiar places, such as
oak.oakland.edu and wuarchive.wustl.edu.

The Walnut Creek CDROM has some tools from some of the sources
listed above on the CP/M CDROM.

=====================================================================
End of FAQ