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Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment.

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Old 6th Dec 2022, 11:39 am   #1
McMurdo
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Default Vintage ROMS ID please.

I have some (what I think are) roms from a late engineer's estate sale. He fixed computers in the 80's.

I haven't peeled any stickers off in case a collector wants them intact but I can see what looks like a PAL number on the bigger one.

Any ideas what they are? I've googled it without success.
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Old 6th Dec 2022, 4:48 pm   #2
RogerEvans
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Default Re: vintage ROMS i.d. please

MMI could be Monolithic Memories Inc and a wild guess based on pin count and a part number beginning PAxxxxxxxxx would be that they are something like PAL16x8 (20 pin) and PAL20x10 (24pin) which were very widely used. Early versions were one time programmable and later series were electrically reprogrammable. The labelling looks like (component number)-(revision number) but what M50 and M55 were I have no idea, maybe a product line?

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Old 7th Dec 2022, 5:08 am   #3
ortek_service
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Default Re: Vintage ROMS ID please.

Yes, they appear to be (Usually One-Time) Programmable Array of Logic IC's - Not really too many pins to be a ROM, unless 4bit and quite-small.

And it seems there was an ICL DRS M50/M55 386 DOS-Based Computer - Google ICL DRS "M50/M55" for more info - Although I can't find a photo of the main board.
It was quite common for some early 286/386 etc Motherboards - particularly full AT-size ones - to have many of these PAL's in them, before everything got integrated into North / South bridge IC's
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Old 7th Dec 2022, 10:20 pm   #4
Timbucus
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Default Re: Vintage ROMS ID please.

We used to use the ICL PC's as terminals on our DRS6000 network but, I can't remember what the board looked like. It is certainly a good guess that they are custom chips for such a machine. We have been ruthless in disposing of old equipment as well so there are none hanging around in work any more.
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Old 7th Dec 2022, 11:00 pm   #5
ortek_service
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Default Re: Vintage ROMS ID please.

The ICL ones here may bring back some memories:
http://www.vintage-icl-computers.com/icl3
Where it seems the DRS range had all sorts of rather-different computers / terminals, inc. some with five 8085's!

But they dropped the DRS later on, just using 'PC'.
And eventually merged into Fujitsu(-Siemens), with seemingly only that name being used (except in Russia). It now seems that a UK computer repair company has acquired the ICL trademark:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intern...puters_Limited
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