Sord M23 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

brizza62 · 18th Jan 2009, 3:30 am

Hello All,
I'm a Newbie to Forums but have found reading them to be very helpful. I have recently purchased a SORD M23 and had exactly the same problem as another member on this forum where the power supply started smoking after a couple minutes of use. And sure enough it was the Suppressor Cap. Thanks for the info! I was able to fix the problem myself.
I have another problem though....Software. I received 1 disk with the machine which is the program disk for PIPS III, but will not work without the data disk! I have searched for software for this machine on the internet but have had no luck whatsoever, so my only hope now is Forums! Are there any M23 users out there willing to provide a disk image of an operating system or anything really. I dont think there are any copyright issues as the company has not existed since the early 80's.
Cheers,
Nik

arjoll · 18th Jan 2009, 10:03 am

Hi Nik

That was my M23, and the thread is here. I've still got to do the cap in my other M23, and check the PSU in my M23EX (an M23 in an M68 case).

In PIPS-III the IN command will create a new data disk. I'm not sure if PIPS-III will actually start without a data disk though. Have you got the PIPS-III manual? If so its in there.

I can't remember if you need to format the disk first. If so, INIT /1 from FDOS will get you going.

If you're really stuck I can probably make a copy of a PDATA disk for you if you're on mkIII drives. If you've got a mk41 I can probably get my brother to copy one on his M68. I know the old PIPS-II disks were protected with VPROT but PIPS-III was a bit more open (the default password of '*' is in the manual!).

Drop me a PM if you need a hand.

BTW SORD were bought by Toshiba in the mid 80's, and while the brand name was phased out in the early 90's the Toshiba-TOPS division is still around. The history on their webpage tells the story - there's even an old ad for an M23 mk V on there!

There's no support from Toshiba (not surprising!) but I emailed them earlier this year about issues getting an M68 to boot and they gave me a few pointers.

arjoll · 18th Jan 2009, 10:05 am

Sorry, just re-read this; sounds like you haven't even got FDOS!

Drop me a PM, if you've got a mk III (FD-40 drives) I can arrange the essentials to get you going.

18th Jan 2009, 3:30 am	#1
brizza62 Diode Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 2	Sord M23 Hello All, I'm a Newbie to Forums but have found reading them to be very helpful. I have recently purchased a SORD M23 and had exactly the same problem as another member on this forum where the power supply started smoking after a couple minutes of use. And sure enough it was the Suppressor Cap. Thanks for the info! I was able to fix the problem myself. I have another problem though....Software. I received 1 disk with the machine which is the program disk for PIPS III, but will not work without the data disk! I have searched for software for this machine on the internet but have had no luck whatsoever, so my only hope now is Forums! Are there any M23 users out there willing to provide a disk image of an operating system or anything really. I dont think there are any copyright issues as the company has not existed since the early 80's. Cheers, Nik

18th Jan 2009, 10:03 am	#2
arjoll Dekatron Join Date: May 2006 Location: Invercargill, New Zealand Posts: 3,457	Re: Sord M23 Hi Nik That was my M23, and the thread is here. I've still got to do the cap in my other M23, and check the PSU in my M23EX (an M23 in an M68 case). In PIPS-III the IN command will create a new data disk. I'm not sure if PIPS-III will actually start without a data disk though. Have you got the PIPS-III manual? If so its in there. I can't remember if you need to format the disk first. If so, INIT /1 from FDOS will get you going. If you're really stuck I can probably make a copy of a PDATA disk for you if you're on mkIII drives. If you've got a mk41 I can probably get my brother to copy one on his M68. I know the old PIPS-II disks were protected with VPROT but PIPS-III was a bit more open (the default password of '*' is in the manual!). Drop me a PM if you need a hand. BTW SORD were bought by Toshiba in the mid 80's, and while the brand name was phased out in the early 90's the Toshiba-TOPS division is still around. The history on their webpage tells the story - there's even an old ad for an M23 mk V on there! There's no support from Toshiba (not surprising!) but I emailed them earlier this year about issues getting an M68 to boot and they gave me a few pointers.

18th Jan 2009, 10:05 am	#3
arjoll Dekatron Join Date: May 2006 Location: Invercargill, New Zealand Posts: 3,457	Re: Sord M23 Sorry, just re-read this; sounds like you haven't even got FDOS! Drop me a PM, if you've got a mk III (FD-40 drives) I can arrange the essentials to get you going.