Floppy Days Episode 27 - Ohio Scientific Challenger

Main Topic: The OSI Challenger series of computers   At this point in the podcast run, we are still in the late 1970’s time frame, and the OSI machines fall into that time frame for their release.  No vintage computer historical journey would be complete without including these very important machines.  As usual, we’ll cover the history, technical specs, peripherals, Web sites, books, emulation and much, much more.  I am joined by special guest host Terry Stewart of the Classic Computers website who will help me cover these machines.  In addition, we are joined by OSI aficionados Mark Csele and David Fenyes who share their first-hand memories of the OSI.  But first, I’ll cover new acquisitions, news, and feedback before diving into the OSI.   Links Mentioned in the Show:   New Acquisitions/What I’ve Been up to TI-99 Extended BASIC Suite cartridge - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extended-Basic-v2-7-Suite-Cartridge-/231378985072 Microsoft BASIC II for the Atari 8-bit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Microsoft_BASIC CoCo SDC SD Card Interface for the TRS-80 Color Computer - http://cocosdc.blogspot.com/   News CSDB intro competition - http://csdb.dk/event/?id=2286 Ben Heck’s Apple 1 Replica - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwO8CTSLTkiiDKhVfiUXyuzfbHMPOYVPj VCF East 10.0 - http://www.vintage.org Donkey Kong Junior for C64 - http://csdb.dk/release/?id=134342 Another Apple-1 Goes for Auction - http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/03/us-auction-apple-idUSKBN0IN0ZX20141103 Atari: Game Over Movie - http://video.xbox.com/movie/atari-game-over/4B8575C6-BD05-48E8-92C9-C61BA57E8025 C64 Reset Magazine - http://reset.cbm8bit.com/   Ads COMPUTE! ISSUE 1 / FALL 1979 / PAGE 101 - Review of the Challenger 1P - http://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue1/3227_2_REVIEW_THE_CHALLENGER_1P.php   Software ad from Micro magazine, August 1981 - http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/images/osiImages/AardvarkAd-Aug1981Micro.jpg Aardvark - http://www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/Aardvark.html price list at osiweb.org - http://www.osiweb.org/ads_and_catalogs/OSI%20software%20list.pdf   Books SAMS C4P Service Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/SAMS-C4P-Service-Manual.pdf Micro on the OSI - http://www.osiweb.org/books/Micro_on_the_OSI.pdf Third Book of OSI - http://www.osiweb.org/books/Third_Book_of_OSI.pdf   Manuals/Catalogs OSI Catalog - circa 1980 - http://www.osiweb.org/ads_and_catalogs/OSI_brochure.pdf OS65D v3.0 User Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS-65D_V3.0_usermanual.pdf OS65D Tutorial and Ref Manual - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS65D%20Tutorial%20and%20Ref%20Manual.pdf OSI 8K BASIC in ROM MANUAL - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OSI_8K_Basic_in_ROM.pdf The C4P User's manual.  Shipped with C4P systems - http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/c4man.pdf OS-65D V3.2 Dissasembly Manual -  http://www.osiweb.org/manuals/OS65D_Dissasembly_Manual.pdf   Emulation WinOSI Emulator for Win32 - http://osi.marks-lab.com/ OSI JavaScript Emulator - http://www.pcjs.org/devices/c1p/ MESS - http://www.mess.org    Buying and Using One Today (eBay and replicas) Notes on modern replacements for hard-to-find OSI components - http://www.osiweb.org/misc/osi-replacement-parts.txt Briel Computers Superboard III Replica - http://www.brielcomputers.com/wordpress/?cat=39    Current Web Sites  Dave’s OSI Repository (David Fenyes) - http://www.osiweb.org/ OSI Forum - http://www.osiweb.org/osiforum/ Mark's Ohio Scientific/Compukit UK101 Archive - http://osi.marks-lab.com/ Ohio Scientific Instruments Company facts and history - http://superboard.com.sapo.pt/seite4.html Professor Mark Csele - Ohio Scientific Computers - http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mcsele/OhioScientific.html The Ohio Scientific C4P Page at 6502.org - http://www.6502.org/users/sjgray/computer/osi-c4p/ oldcomputers.net - http://oldcomputers.net/osi-600.html - some information about the various OSI models old-computers.com - http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=572&st=1 The Ohio Scientific Inc. Challenger 1P and 4P: As seen in Tezza's classic computer collection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQUhFoBDGT0 Tezza’s OSI C4P Adventure - http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blog/2014-06-30-fixing-C4P-ram-expansion-board.htm Wikipedia - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Scientific