Actrix
Encyclopedia
The Actrix computer, released in 1984 by Actrix Computer Corporation, was a Zilog Z80
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...

-based transportable
Portable computer
A portable computer is a computer that is designed to be moved from one place to another and includes a display and keyboard. Portable computers, by their nature, are generally microcomputers. Portable computers, because of their size, are also commonly known as 'Lunchbox' or 'Luggable' computers...

 personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 running CP/M-80
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...

 V2.2. Its predecessor was the Access Computer
Access Computer
Access Computer was the common name for the Access Matrix a luggable computer introduced in 1982 by a United States computer company 'Access Matrix Corp' . The company was shortly renamed 'Actrix Computer Corp' due to copyright issues, and the name of the computer-line was changed to Actrix - see...

 computer by Access Matrix Computer Corporation.

Specifications

Hardware:
  • NEC D780C-1 (clone of Zilog
    Zilog
    Zilog, Inc., previously known as ZiLOG , is a manufacturer of 8-bit and 24-bit microcontrollers, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Z80 series.-History:...

     Z80B) CPU
    Central processing unit
    The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...

     @ 4 MHz
  • 64 KB
    Kilobyte
    The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...

     RAM
    Random-access memory
    Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...

  • Two 320 KB DS-DD floppy disk
    Floppy disk
    A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...

     drives (Actrix-DS model)
  • or Two 170 KB SS-DD floppy disk
    Floppy disk
    A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...

     drives (Actrix-SS model)
  • 7" amber CRT
    Cathode ray tube
    The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...

     display
  • Epson MX-80 dot-matrix printer with GRAFTRAX-80 chipset
  • Bell 103 modem
    Modem
    A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...

     and acoustic coupler
    Acoustic coupler
    In telecommunications, the term acoustic coupler has the following meanings:# An interface device for coupling electrical signals by acoustical means—usually into and out of a telephone instrument....

  • Detachable keyboard
    Computer keyboard
    In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...




Options:

The void to the right of the two floppy drives can be either open, for convenient storage of a handful of floppy diskettes, or blanked up to conceal one of two options:
  • Intel 8088
    Intel 8088
    The Intel 8088 microprocessor was a variant of the Intel 8086 and was introduced on July 1, 1979. It had an 8-bit external data bus instead of the 16-bit bus of the 8086. The 16-bit registers and the one megabyte address range were unchanged, however...

     co-processor board with 256 KB RAM and MS-DOS 1.25
  • Internal UPS

Another option is
  • Fitment of a 50-pin connector at rear of void for 8" disk drives



If either UPS or 8088 options are present the rear or the void is blanked off with a screw-on plate. If the 50-pin 8" disk cable option is present the rear of the void is changed to a clip-on panel securing the 50-pin cable connector.
If no options are fitted the rear of the floppy void is a blank clip-on panel.
If only the 50-pin option is present the floppy void is modified internally with a plastic jacket to prevent stored diskettes from interfering with the rear of the 50-pin header/cable assembly



Connectors:
  • keyboard
  • 2 X D25F RS232 serial (AUX terminal/console or printer)
  • 1 X Centronics parallel (printer)
  • 1 x IEEE-488 / GPIB (hard disk)
  • 1 x composite video (larger/second monitor)
  • 50-pin header on mainboard to optional external 50 pin male IDC connector for external 8" disk drives
  • IEC power (115V/220V dealer-switchable)


Disk Assignments:
  • A: first 5.25" floppy to load OS
  • B: 'other' 5.25" floppy
  • C: first side of first 8" disk
  • D: second side of first 8" disk
  • E: first side of second 8" disk
  • F: second side of second 8" disk
  • M: 256kB RAM disk utilising 256kb RAM from the 8088 co-processor

Software:
  • Digital Research
    Digital Research
    Digital Research, Inc. was the company created by Dr. Gary Kildall to market and develop his CP/M operating system and related products. It was the first large software company in the microcomputer world...

     CP/M-80 2.2 operating system
  • Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

     PC-DOS
    PC-DOS
    IBM PC DOS is a DOS system for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, manufactured and sold by IBM from the 1980s to the 2000s....

     1.25 (only with optional 8088 co-processor board)
  • M: Drive utility (to utilise 256KB RAM on optional 8088 co-pro board as M: RAM disk
    RAM disk
    A RAM disk or RAM drive is a block of RAM that a computer's software is treating as if the memory were a disk drive...

     under CP/M)
  • Personal Pearl database system
  • FancyFont text markup and layout software
  • Perfect Series office suite
    Office suite
    In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office software suite or productivity suite is a collection of programs intended to be used by knowledge workers...

     (Filer (DB), Calc (SS), Writer (WP))
  • Digital Research CBASIC
    CBASIC
    CBASIC is a compiled version of the BASIC programming language written for the CP/M operating system by Gordon Eubanks in 1976–77. It is an enhanced version of BASIC-E, his master's thesis project.-History:...

     compiler
  • Microsoft MBASIC
    MBASIC
    MBASIC is the Microsoft BASIC implementation of BASIC for the CP/M operating system. MBASIC is a descendant of the original Altair BASIC interpreters that were among Microsoft's first products. MBASIC was one of the two versions of BASIC bundled with the Osborne 1 computer...

    interpreter


Included Custom-Written Utilities:
  • TELCOMU - Custom-written comms software with phonebook, modem dialling and X-modem file transfer capabilities, useful for connecting to online services such as CompuServe and RCP/M BBS systems. Also TELCOM and TELCOM+ variants (1.05/1.16/x.yy)
  • DISKU - Custom-written utility for copying, duplicating, formatting and verifying 5.25" and 8" floppy disks (2.26)
  • CONFIGU - allows customisation of various attributes such as monitor, cursor, printer, console redirection, RS232 and Centronics paramteres. Once customised settings are saved and can be reloaded manually or used by the WAKEUP program to allow customisations to be set at boot time (1.03)
  • WAKEUP - used at boot to set date and time and apply configuration profiles created using CONFIGU (1.03)
  • AMD - Sets CP/M to use the 256KB RAM of optional 8088 co-processor board as M: 'ram-drive'
  • INSTALL - Actrix auto-command installation utility - allows specification of a .COM file to auto-execute at cold-boot time (1.00)
  • DAC-DS - Dealer Acceptance Test - a diagnostic utility for dealers to quickly tests memory/clock, floppy disk, video, printer and keyboard (1.01)

International Distribution

In Australia; One official distibutor of the Actrix Computer range was Richard Carpenter, based in Little Mountain, Sunshine Coast, Queensland. It is believed that this distributor brought in two (2) or three (3) Access Computers as sales tools/demos and shipped less than 1 dozen Actrix Computers during his dealership. Two (2) demo Actrix machines were repossessed by the financier (NatWest Australia Bank Ltd) in 1986.

Company Failure

Expensive TV advertising and constant lawsuits concerning the product- and company-naming rights were money-pits that eventually added to the decline and ultimate stop of new sales of Actrix machines. Existing orders were filled by one remaining technician who built up the last remaining machines from the spare parts stock.

More information

Links to more info:
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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