[sebhc] Re: [HEATH-TEMPE] H-89 Computer

[Lee Hart]

Phil Ernvall wrote:
>> I have a Heathkit H-89 I built about 1983 plus external 8MB HD
>> and MX-80 printer.  Last time I fired it up (20 yrs ago?) it
>> operated. Any ideas on where I can find a good home for this?

Dwight K. Elvey wrote:
> Adding a IDE drive is the simplest. It is just some latches to
> expand 8 to 16 bits, bus buffers and some software. Ahh. There's
> the rub, some software.

All the Heath H8 and H89 hard drives I know of were SASI (now called
SCSI) interfaces. The host adapter interface boards (that go inside the
H8 and H89) and the software for CP/M and HDOS already exist for these
setups. Used SCSI drives (from old Macs ,etc.) are easy to get. So this
is the obvious route.

The main challenge is to find the software to format the hard drive (the
Heath PREP and PART programs) for a "normal" disk and operating system.
Heath only supplied PREP and PART on an 8" floppy that would only boot
and work in their H67 10meg hard disk system.

Maybe Phil Ernvall's system has an H67 with the PREP/PART floppy. If so,
you can connect a 5.25" or 3.5" modern SCSI hard drive as a 2nd hard
drive; use PREP and PART to prepare it for the H89, and then just plug
it into the old H8 or H89 card for the H67. Voila! It boots and runs
CP/M and HDOS with stock Heath software! A friend of mine (Tom Snoblen)
did this, and I saw it working!
-- 
The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
	-- Harlan Ellison
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net

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