MIL MF7114 microprocessor
subject: hardware: integrated circuits
description: Historical context (by Z. Stachniak) The MF7114 was an early 4-bit single-chip microprocessor designed and built by Microsystems International Ltd. (MIL) of Montreal between 1970 and 1972. It was the first microprocessor designed and manufactured in Canada. The MF7114 has its roots in the development of Intel's first single-chip central processing unit (CPU) -- the 4004. Before it was given the `MF7114' designation, the chip's general architecture was called the Intel 4005 and the purpose of its development was to backup the 4004's project, to fabricate a simpler general-purpose microprocessor in case of the 4004's fiasco. When in early 1971 the design work on the 4004 chip resulted in silicon wafers with a sufficient number of fully-functional CPUs on them to permit the chips' fabrication at the target cost, Intel abandoned the 4005 project. MIL on the other hand, continued the 4005's development and, by mid 1972, had its own 4-bit microprocessor -- the MF7114. MIL marketed the MF7114 as a CPU for stored program controllers. In 1973, the company designed an MF7114-based controller board to demonstrate the use of the chip to control the Singer Telerex 30 PMI Matrix Printer. The company also used the MF7114 to design a 4-bit microcomputer -- the CPS-1 (also referred to as the CPS/1, MPS/1, and MC-1). The computer was offered in two versions. The first one was a single-board version. The board included the MF7114 CPU, clock, 4Kb of memory, and 16 I/O ports including a TTY interface. The second version was a modularly designed hardware that included a chassis with backplane bus for system's expansions, a CPU and memory board, a power supply, a programmer's console, and the PROM connector to the PROM programmer. Designed in 1973, the CPS-1 was the first microprocessor powered computer built in Canada. The MF7114 Specifications data bus - 4 bit, bi-directional address bus - 12 bit communications bus: (COMBUS) 21 bit, included 16 lines of data and address buses plus 5 con…
creator: Microsystems International Ltd. (MIL)
date: 1971-1975
contributor: John Freeman, John Hackman, Kelly Hamilton, and Zbigniew Stachniak

MOD 8 Microcomputer
subject: hardware: microcomputer
description: Historical Context (by Z. Stachniak) In October of 1968, with $48 million package from the Canadian Treasury Board, Northern Electric transformed its Advanced Devices Center into a new company called Microsystems International Ltd. (MIL). In March of 1969, MIL opened its doors with its headquarters in Montreal and the manufacturing facility in Ottawa. The company's focus was to be on new semiconductor technologies and products. In a short period of time, MIL acquired state of the art integrated circuit technologies and the second source rights to a number of products. The company's memory products, such as MF1101, MF1103, MF1701, or MF1702, and the MF8008 microprocessor, placed the company among the semiconductor leaders on the international market. Between 1970 and 1972, MIL developed and manufactured Canada's first microprocessor -- the MF7114. It also produced three microcomputers: the CPS/1 system designed around the MF7114 microprocessor as well as the MOD8 and the MOD80 microcomputers. The MOD8, developed in 1974, was based on the MIL MF8008 8-bit microprocessor. This computer (as well as its refinement -- the MOD80) consisted of the MOD8-8 PCB backplane mounted on top of an aluminum case, and several cards inserted into the backplane's connectors. These cards provided the CPU, memory, interface, and I/O functions. The backplane also contained built-in EPROM programmer. The MIL MOD80 microcomputer had the same architecture as the MOD8 with the exception of the CPU module. While the MOD8 employed the MF8008 microprocessor, the MOD80 was built around the MIL MF8080 CPU (a clone of the Intel 8080). The MOD8 computer and its MONITOR8 software were aimed at the development of the MF8008-based applications. To MIL's surprise, it was the North American computer enthusiasts who made the MOD8 a popular 8008-based microcomputer kit in the second half of the 1970s. MIL's MF8008 Applications Manual was one of the most widely read early documents on 8-bit microprocessors. …
creator: Microsystems International Ltd. (MIL)
date: 1974
relation: MIL collection
coverage: 1974-1977 in North America

Multiflex Video Display Terminal Kit
subject: computer hardware: video display terminal
description: Historical Context: Multiflex Technology Inc. was one of the companies of the Exceltronix group controlled by Eugen Hutka. In 1979, Hutka founded Exceltronix with its retail office at 319 College Street in Toronto. In the early 1980s, Multiflex was developing complete computer systems based on the Zilog Z80, Motorola 68000, and Intel 8086 processors together with a variety of peripheral and expansion cards. The company also manufactured stand-alone intelligent terminals, video display kits, as well as a range of other electronic products including peripheral and expansion cards for the Apple ][ computer. In 1984, Multiflex designed its first in the line of BEST computers compatible with the IBM PC and AT desktops, making Exceltronix one of the largest Canadian manufacturers of microcomputers of the 1980s. Multiflex Video Display Terminal Kit -- technical description (from the Exceltronix Catalogue Supplement, Spring 1983): The video display terminal is "originally designed as a low cost access unit for our [Exceltronix] soon to be operational computerized mail-ordering and bulletin board system." The terminal "is controlled by a Z80A microprocessor and a 6845 CRT controller chip. The keyboard is fully ASCII encoded and the character generator contains the full 128-character set as well as a 128-character alternate set both of which are in 5x7 dot matrix format. The screen display is 80 characters by 24 lines if the unit is hooked to an external monitor or 64 by 24 if run through an RF modulator to a TV. There are 3 software selectable attributes (dim, reverse video, and alternate character set) which can be chosen one at a time for the whole screen... Also included are 2 RS232 ports: one for a modem and one so that a printer can be attached to the terminal... The MULTIFLEX Video Display Terminal has provisions for an on board modem freeing a serial port." The Multiflex Video Display Terminal Kit was offered in 1982 and sold by Exceltronix. The museum has a complete …
creator: Multiflex Technology Inc.
date: 1982--
type: computer hardware
coverage: Canada, 1980s

Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit
subject: computer hardware: microcomputer
description: Historical Context: Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit was a Canadian-made, low-cost computer designed around the Z80 microprocessor by Multiflex Technology Inc. and sold by Exceltronix Components and Computing of Toronto. Its early version, offered in 1980 or earlier, was advertised as a prototyping computer kit for computer hobbyists. In 1983, modified and packaged together with display, keyboard, and disk drives, it was sold as the Multiflex Super System. According to Exceltronix, Multiflex computers were sold across Canada to companies, educational institutions, and computer hobbyists. In its basic configuration, the Multiflex Z80 Computer KIt consisted of two boards: the mother board and the CPU board. The motherboard featured four sockets one of which was designated for interfacing with the CPU board. The remaining three sockets were used for expanding the system with a range of expansion cards offered by Multiflex as well as by various manufacturers world-wide. The motherboard also featured a 16-key hexadecimal keypad, 14 monitor function keys, 2 user definable keys, a hexadecimal display, and an EPROM programmer for storing programs and data in EPROM chips. The CPU board was a single-board computer which was inserted into one of the expansion sockets on the motherboard. The computer was designed to operate under Multiflex monitor (Z.MON, residing in EPROM), and later, under a dialect of CP/M operating system co-developed by National Multiplex/Pegasus and Exceltronix. The monitor software allowed full support for programming the computer in the Z80 assembly language as well as for using all the features available through the motherboard (e.g. programming EPROMs). Under the CP/M operating system, the Multiflex Z80 computer could execute a variety of popular applications software from word processors to data bases and spreadsheets. Multiflex Z80 Computer Kit -- hardware specifications: bus architecture: IEEE S-100 CPU: Z80A, 8-bit, (2-6MHz) RAM: up to 64KB ROM: 4 ROM s…
creator: Multiflex Technology Inc.
date: 1980
coverage: Canada, 1980s

NABU 1100 Computer System
subject: hardware: computer system
description: Historical context The NABU 1100 system was manufactured by NABU Manufacturing Corp. in the early 1980s. The system consisted of the the NABU 1100 computer (designed by Toronto-based Andicom -- one of the companies amalgamated into NABU) and the NABU 4404 display terminal (designed and manufctured by Volcer-Craig Ltd. -- another Canadian company merged into NABU). Apart from being sold to Canadian customers through the Ottawa-based Computer Innovations retail stores (which become part of NABU as well), the system was internally used as software development platform for the NABU Network -- a novel cable TV-based delivery method for software and information using world's first cable-ready computers. The NABU 1100 computer hardwer was hosted in a large cabinet with casters on it for manoeuverability. A drawer at the bottom of the cabinet was provided to store software and manuals. The NABU 4404 display terminal was a stand-alone, ASCII, serial asynchronous computer peripheral that could be connected to any computer equipped with an RSC232C interface. NABU recommended other display terminals to be used with the NABU 1100 computer as well, such as the NABU 404, 3100, and 4416 terminals. NABU 1100 technical specifications Bus: S-100 CPU: Zilog Z80A CPU at 4 MHz RAM: 62 Kbytes ROM: 2 Knytes card slots for: CPU board (ACP-1101) floppy disk controller board (AFC-1100), I/O board (AIO-1100), and memory board (ADM-1000), and additional 4 user supplied boards external storage: two buil-in 8" Shugart diskette drives (SA850), double sided, capacity = 1600 Kbytes (unformated) ports: two RS-232C serial I/O, and parallel I/O NABU 4404 Terminal specifications CPU: Zilog Z80A display: 12" anti-glare, 24 lines, 80 characters per line, normal or revers video keyboard: detachable, QWERTY, upper/lower case characters 8 switches to control the screen display ports: EIA RS232C communications interface data rates: from 110 up to 19200 baud options: serial and parallel interfaces, numeric key…
creator: NABU Manufacturing Corp.
publisher: donated by D.J. Knigh
coverage: Canada, 1980-1986

NABU 1600 Desktop Computer
subject: hardware: desktop computer
description: Historical Context NABU Manufacturing (incorporated in June 1981 in Ottawa) was created through the amalgamation of three companies: Bruce Instruments Ltd. (manufacturer of cable TV converters based in Almonte), MFC Microsystems International Inc. (a distributor of computer hardware and software for small business systems), and Computer Innovations Ltd. (which operated computer retail stores across Canada). Soon after, the company acquired Andicom Technical Products Ltd. (a manufacturer of small business computers based in Toronto), Consolidated Computer Inc. (a manufacturer and distributor of key-edit systems), Mobius Software Ltd. (an Ottawa-based software consulting company), and Volker-Craig (a Kitchener-based manufacturer of video-display terminals). NABU's business plan was to capture a sizable share of the microcomputer market by offering the world's first cable-ready computers and by implementing a novel system for electronic delivery of software and information to home computer users -- the NABU Network. The company announced its network during the 1982 National Cable & Telecommunications Association conference in Las Vegas. In May 1983, the company transmitted its programming via satellite from Ottawa to terminals installed at the 26th Annual Convention of the Canadian Cable Television Association in Calgary. The NABU Network was officially launched on 15 October 1983 on Ottawa Cablevision, an 85,000-subscriber company where much of NABU's testing was performed. Soon thereafter, the network made its US debut in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tribune Cable, a 5,000 subscriber service. The launch marked the creation of the first commercial computer network to provide high-speed access to information, software, and digital entertainment directly to homes of personal computer users. While NABU's focus was on cable TV-based delivery of software and data, the company also designed and sold desktop and workstation computers. One of such computers was the NABU 1600 desi…
creator: NABU Manufacturing Corp., NABU Network Corp.
type: Hardware
coverage: 1981-1986

NABU Adaptor
subject: computer hardware: network adapter
description: Historical context The growing popularity of home and personal computing in the late 1970s and early 1980s created a vibrant software industry supplying microcomputer users with a vast range of software products. During that period, the main form of the commercial microcomputer software distribution was packaged software sold in computer stores and outlets in the form of ROM cartridges, tape cassettes, and floppy diskettes. Even though the prices of personal and home computers were falling sharply in the early 1980s, the cost of good quality software remained the same reflecting, in part, high distribution costs. Electronic distribution of software directly into homes of computer owners originated in the second half of the 1970s. It was a novel, fast, and cost-effective alternative to packaged software's expensive, long, and multi-stage delivery process. A computer or a video game console owner could subscribe to an electronic distribution of software service (EDS service) that and gain an electronic access to software and data for a low monthly fee (of, approximately, the cost of a single commercial packaged software). By the early 1980s, several North American and European companies were already distributing software using common communication links (such radio waves, cable television (CATV), or telephone networks). While Europe was experimenting with EDS via teletext and videotex television services, several North American companies were looking into using CATV's superior high-speed digital information delivery capability for the purpose of mass-market distribution of home and recreational software. By the early 1980s, a large percentage of urban households in North America had a direct link to cable TV. Furthermore, a strong growth of the home computer and video game console markets was projected until at least mid-1980s. Such forecasts supported the prospects of vast new sources of revenues for cable providers derived from bundling EDS with other CATV-based non…
creator: NABU Manufacturing Corp., NABU Network Corp.
relation: NABU Network Collection
coverage: 1983-1986, Ottawa (Canada), Alexandria (US), and Sowa (Japan)

NABU Network Publications
subject: NABU Network magazines and newsletters
description: Historical context The growing popularity of home and personal computing in the late 1970s and early 1980s created a vibrant software industry supplying microcomputer users with a vast range of software products. During that period, the main form of the commercial microcomputer software distribution was packaged software sold in computer stores and outlets in the form of ROM cartridges, tape cassettes, and floppy diskettes. Even though the prices of personal and home computers were falling sharply in the early 1980s, the cost of good quality software remained the same reflecting, in part, high distribution costs. Electronic distribution of software directly into homes of computer owners originated in the second half of the 1970s. It was a novel, fast, and cost-effective alternative to packaged software's expensive, long, and multi-stage delivery process. A computer or a video game console owner could subscribe to an electronic distribution of software service (EDS service) that and gain an electronic access to software and data for a low monthly fee (of, approximately, the cost of a single commercial packaged software). By the early 1980s, several North American and European companies were already distributing software using common communication links (such radio waves, cable television (CATV), or telephone networks). While Europe was experimenting with EDS via teletext and videotex television services, several North American companies were looking into using CATV's superior high-speed digital information delivery capability for the purpose of mass-market distribution of home and recreational software. By the early 1980s, a large percentage of urban households in North America had a direct link to cable TV. Furthermore, a strong growth of the home computer and video game console markets was projected until at least mid-1980s. Such forecasts supported the prospects of vast new sources of revenues for cable providers derived from bundling EDS with other CATV-based non…
creator: NABU Manufacturing Corporation
date: 1983
relation: NABU Adaptor, NABU Network collection
format: Hardware
type: Hardware
coverage: 1983-1986, Ottawa (Canada), Sowa (Japan)

NABU Personal Computer
subject: hardware: personal computer
description: Historical Context The whole crew is instilled with the fervent enthusiasm of Those Who Have Seen The Light. On everyone's lips is the sacred name of the ancient Babylonian god of writing. NABU. Bringer of wisdom and understanding. NABU. Bringer of great pots of money. [P. Kinsman, NABU, NABU! One More Time From the Top, Enterprise, July 1981] The growing popularity of home and personal computing in the late 1970s and early 1980s created a vibrant software industry supplying microcomputer users with a vast range of software products. During that period, the main form of the commercial microcomputer software distribution was packaged software sold in computer stores and outlets in the form of ROM cartridges, tape cassettes, and floppy diskettes. Even though the prices of personal and home computers were falling sharply in the early 1980s, the cost of good quality software remained the same reflecting, in part, high distribution costs. Electronic distribution of software directly into homes of computer owners originated in the second half of the 1970s. It was a novel, fast, and cost-effective alternative to packaged software's expensive, long, and multi-stage delivery process. A computer or a video game console owner could subscribe to an electronic distribution of software service (EDS service) that and gain an electronic access to software and data for a low monthly fee (of, approximately, the cost of a single commercial packaged software). By the early 1980s, several North American and European companies were already distributing software using common communication links (such radio waves, cable television (CATV), or telephone networks). While Europe was experimenting with EDS via teletext and videotex television services, several North American companies were looking into using CATV's superior high-speed digital information delivery capability for the purpose of mass-market distribution of home and recreational software. By the early 1980s, a large percentage of u…
creator: NABU Network Manufacturing Corp., NABU Network Corp.
date: 1982--1986
coverage: 1983-1986, Ottawa (Canada), Alexandria (US), and Sowa (Japan)

NDS-1000 Word Processor
subject: hardware: word processor
description: The NDS-1000 (also know as the Pancake) was a microprocessor-based word processor and communication system designed and manufactured by Network Data Systems between 1978 and 1985. The NDS-1000 consisted of a CPU unit (built around the Zilog Z80 microprocessor), Olivetti electric typewriter (Olivetti)), monitor, and diskette drives (5.25 inch). The museum has an NDS-1000, model 1000, serial number 00202-01.
creator: Network Data Systems (NDS)
date: 1977-1985
format: Hardware
type: Hardware
coverage: 1977-1985