My other collecting passion is old HP desktop calculators and computers, and as a result I have a number of HPIB storage devices-- 3.5" diskette, 8" diskette, 5.25" diskette, and a weird combo of a 15MB hard drive and a 3.5" diskette (the HP-9133VX).
Now, Apple made an IEEE-488 interface card for the Apple II. And there's one old, fuzzy, YouTube video that seems to show an Apple II booting from this device:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wE3RrGb8cc
The video notes that all the user had to do was "change the ROM" on the IEEE-488 interface card, and refers the user to a dead web site for details.
Anyone ever heard of anything like this?
Why not look it up on the wayback machine?
https://web.archive.org/web/20110308234851/http://vintagemashups.net/2010/12/apple-iie-booting-prodos-from-hp9133xv-floppy/#more-55
Thanks for the reference; I should've thought of that. However, it seems that this is probably a dead end…
It doesn't look like he ever posted his ROM code, no.
Hello dramsey,
Wayback machine is a deadend... nothing except 4 comments below - including the one from David....
this made me curious.... therefor i examined the video itself by a videoeditor....
some few remarks:
only 2 or 3 clear pictures from GPIB - and that card seems to still contain the original ROM...
next: it seems that in the setup of the movie a SSC is in slot 2 and a Disk Interfacecard to be in slot 5
and the GPIB inserted in slot 6.....
next: in the movie the picture does not show area at the right side of the Apple //e.....there is possibly still
the drive that is attached to the Disk interfacecard ?
remark: The fact that the movie displays the duodisk station above with the open drive and extracted floppy does not
confirm that this duodisk is the device connected to the Disk Interfacecard.......
nor does the activity light at the drive of the HP realy indicate it to be used by the Apple //e...
up to my private opinion you might not be recommended to believe everything you see at youtube.....
just bear in mind some crazy stunts or other videos there....
the trick of the magician is not what realy happens... it´s where he wants you to look at and
what happens in the area you are not looking at....
viewing the video in picture mode raises more questions than answers are given....
Some of that questions:
it might be interesting to examine, if the bootcode in the //e has changed a little from the II+ that it would
accept bootstrapping from the GPIB similar to bootstrapping from SSC ? Does the original ROM code of the GPIB
accept from a connected device a´kind of bootstrapcode similar to the SSC or like from a SCSI-controller ?
Maybe it´s worth to invest rather more time in examining the answers to that questions....
speedyG
So I know this is a old post. But 2+ years ago after picking up a vintage II+ I realized they mfg IEEE-488 cards for it. I also know HP used the interface tons during the 70's, 80' and into the 90's. So I was thinking how hard it would be to connect up the device. Anyway this is the link below for the rom. (No I didn't write it.) But, I'm kicking myself for not picking up old HP drives years ago from thrift stores. Then again if I still had them would be another story.
https://git.applefritter.com/hexsane/AMIGODOS/
Thanks,
Josh
This is interesting... I have the Apple IEE-488 card as well as an IEEE-488 card made by LabView. I don't have any HP drives, but I do have a couple Commdore 4040 drives which use the IEEE interface. I'm sure the ROM code will require some work to be adapted but I am wondering if it would be possible.
I picked up an Apple IEEE-488 card several years ago, not realizing how hard it would be to find the manual for it. I finally picked up an English version of the manual last year. I have an HP 9131 and 9133 and hope to eventually communicate with them. I'm also working on repairing a 9816 computer, maybe one of these days everyone can coexist.
It would be great if you could scan and upload that manual! I don't have one either.
I have not seen one in years. But it is on my list now. Just a shame years ago I passed up tons of hp stuff due to not finding a hp 150 comptuer to go with it. I even passed up e.t. terminals as they are
called due to no realizing the conenctor on the back was not standard but the pin out was standard serial. I mfg. tons of serial cables back in the day. So making one would not have been an issue.
Oh, well
TTFN,
Josh