8870 Glossary
There are a lot of Nixdorf 8870 related terms and technical words and I’ll try and list them here with explanations and links to more information where possible.
AG
ALME |
Output
Asynchronous line multiplexer extended . LFI 1819-0x (PSP), 1882-0x (PSR) |
BA80
BASIC |
VDU. Supports two windows (second occupies the slave channel). Has a 15 pin V24 and SAS connections (one for keyboard)
Primary programming language of the 8870, even TAMOS is written in BASIC. |
CDH
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Large hard-disk type units found on the M45. These were 132 MB formatted.
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DAP4
DIABLO DSP |
VDU. Has three SAS ports (one required for the keyboard)
Disk drive used on the M10. 5 MB formatted capacity. Also called HAWK (Short movie here) Disk Services Processor - Using this tool you can read/write directly to disk or memory. Also has a dis-assembler built in. |
ECC
EG |
Error Correcting Controller. LFI 2515-00 was an ECC
Input |
FB
FD |
Busy Flip-Flop
Floppy Disk - Both 5" and 8" drives were available as optional extras on all models. The Micro range had a 5" as standard. |
G
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HAWK
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Disk drive used on the M10. 5 MB formatted capacity. See DIABLO
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I
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J
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K
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LFI
LKS LMVG LSL LSS |
Refers to a part number plate stamped on all hardware. Consists of a 4 + 2 part code, and an 8 digit unique serial number.
Card Punch Read and Compare Paper Tape Reader Paper Tape Punch |
MD
MD07 |
Medium Duty (used in printer model numbers)
Laser Printer (think this used to connect to a BA80 via a V24 cable) |
ND
ND04 ND11 NIROS |
Normal Duty (used in printer model numbers)
SAS dot-matrix printer SAS dot-matrix printer (uprated ND04 but looks identical) Nixdorf Interactive Real-time Operating System |
O
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PLC/PLC2
PSP |
Programmable Line Controller available in single or dual channel versions
Parallel Periphery Interface |
RAL
|
Random Access Load
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SAS
SMC SMD |
(Serial Workplace Interface) A serial data connection method for interconnecting different devices
Streaming Mode Cassette/Cartridge. Primary backup method on the M15/M25/Q40/Q80 models and some others. Storage Module Device. 5 platter disk packs used on the M55/M65. 33 MB or 66 MB storage |
T
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U
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V
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WT
|
Framing Pulse
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Y
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ZD09
ZDV |
SAS Highspeed heavy duty dot-matrix printer.
Line Printer DMA Feature |