https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/files/original/997a224b48c23b7236caffb68617d08b.jpg 4d5ec711d7b38b805cb5701f49522768 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Megatel Quark/100 Subject The topic of the resource computer hardware: single-board computer Description An account of the resource Historical Context: Megatel Compute Technologies, founded in 1979, was an early manufacturer of high-performance single-board computers. Until 1986, it operated as a division of F. & K. Mfg. Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of metal products for the North American market, located in Weston, Ontario. In 1986, it became Megatel Computer (1986) Technologies. Megatel introduced its first single-board computer in 1979. This product may have been the predecessor of the Megatel QUARK family of high-performance single-board computers. By 1984, the QUARK family included the QUARK/100, QUARK/150, QUARK/200, QUARK/300, and QUARK/400. These computers were designed to provide basic microcomputer functionality on a single, compact board for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the controller market. The QUARK/100 was the family's base model. The QUARK/150 added RGB color capability to the QUARK/100's features. The QUARK/200 incorporated an intelligent local area network (LAN) interface, while the QUARK/300 expanded the QUARK/100's external storage capabilities by providing direct control of ST-506-type Winchester hard disk drives. Finally, the QUARK/400 combined the features of the aforementioned models and added a battery-backed real-time clock, along with support for EPROM and EEPROM. Each model was available with various memory and input/output (I/O) options. Megatel offered its computers with a range of supplementary hardware, software, and documentation. Software packages included the CP/M 2 or CP/M 3 operating system, device drivers, and utility programs, supplied on either 5.25-inch or 8-inch diskettes. Some North American computer hobbyists used Quark/100 boards to build computers running the CP/M operating system. In the following decades, Megatel focused primarily on developing compact, single-board IBM PC-compatible computers for use in industrial equipment, embedded systems, and other specialized applications. These computers were built to comply with the PC/104 computer hardware standard, which enabled embedding PC technology in limited-space applications, while providing access to a broad range of products from multiple vendors. In 2003, Megatel relocated to Glen Williams, Ontario. The company continued to expand its product line with small-form-factor, single-board, PC-compatible computers for OEMs. Megatel's 2003 website listed several second- and third-generation IBM PC-compatible computers, including the PC/+V, which was designed for low power consumption and featured the CPU, onboard VGA video and disk controllers, along with standard I/O functions, on a compact 100 × 100 mm (4 × 4 in.) printed circuit board. In 2006, Megatel offered only one new product: the PCpi, a full-featured Intel Pentium-class PC/104 computer. The Quark/100 technical specifications: <ul> <li>    CPU: Zilog Z-80B (8-bit, 6 MHz);</li> <li>    RAM: 64/128/256 Kbyte;</li> <li>    character generator: 2 Kbyte RAM,  software programmable 256-character set;</li> <li>    ROM: 512B;</li> <li>    external storage: 3.5",  5.25", or 8" diskette drives;</li> <li>    display: can be used with most direct-drive and composite monitors that can display 80 characters per row;  graphics mode: 640 - 224-248 bit-mapped pixels; alphanumeric mode: 80 columns by 28-31 rows;</li> <li>    keyboard: can use most ASCII encoded 7- or 8-bit parallel output keyboards;</li> <li>    terminal: a computer terminal with a full-duplex RS-232C asynchronous serial interface capable of operating at 1200 baud can be used instead of a monitor and keyboard;</li> <li>    I/O Interface: RS-232C compatible serial asynchronous full duplex and simplex serial channels;  8-bit parallel-printer port, 22 parallel I/O lines for keyboard or general purpose I/O, and an input or output strobe line.</li> </ul> The Quark/100 Software: <ul> <li>    CP/M 2.2 or 3.0 operating system with CP/M and Megatel utilities,</li> <li>    Megatel QUARK Graphics Primitives,</li> <li>    BDS C compiler,</li> <li>    Microsoft BASIC compiler,</li> <li>    Microsoft BASIC Interpreter,</li> <li>    device and I/O drivers (for video display, floppy disk drives, serial and parallel I/Os.</li> </ul> Museum holdings: <ul> <li>Megatel Quark computer (serial nr. 100221) </li> <li>The Megatel Quark Family of Component Computers. Megatel Quark Manual For CP/M Plus, Megatel Computer Corp. (1984)</li> <li>The Megatel Quark/100 Single Board Computer, Megatel Computer Technologies (1984)</li> <li>Megatel Quark/100 Complete Component Microcomputer, Megatel Computer Corp.  (1984)</li> <li>The Megatel Quark/100 Single Board Computer,</li> <li>The Megatel Quark/300 schematic diagram (1984)</li> <li>Quark/300 Component Microcomputer with Hard Disk Controller, Megatel Computer Technologies (1984)</li> <li>Quark Transition Board QTB-3 User's Manual, Megatel Computer Technologies (1984)</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Megatel Computer Technologies Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1980s single-board computer