Hyperion EX chassis
Dublin Core
Title
Hyperion EX chassis
Subject
computer hardware: extension module
Description
Historical Context
In 1973, C. Murray Bell incorporated Dynalogic Corporation in Ottawa to design, develop, and manufacture floppy disk drive systems that could be interfaced with a range of computers and programmable calculators. The floppy diskette systems shipped up to mid-1975 had hardwired controllers designed to work with specific computers. This solution was costly since different computer models typically required different floppy drive controllers that would have to be designed and assembled. In 1975, the company entered the microprocessor market with its release of a firmware controlled, microprocessor-based floppy disk system that could be interfaced with a range of computers. The new floppy drive system could be programmed to operate with a specific computer instead of building a dedicated controller to provide such functionality. The system was unveiled at the 1975 Canadian Computer Show & Conference.
In the following year, the company moved into the general-purpose computer market. On October 1, 1976, it announced the Dynalogic Microcomputer System (DMS) — an advanced microcomputer that employed the Motorola 6800 processor. The DMS was among the earliest microcomputers with built-in floppy disk drives. It operated under a sophisticated UNIX-style proprietary DYNAMO operating system.
In 1981, Bytec Management Corp. took over Dynalogic, renamed it Dynalogic Info-Tech, and initiated the work on the design of a portable desktop microcomputert — the Hyperion. The computer was unvailed at the 1982 spring Comdex computer show in Atlantic City as the ``most powerful, portable, business computer in the world'' compatible with the imensly popular IBM PC introduced in August of 1981.
Because the Hyperion was designed to be IBM PC compatible, hardware configurations of both the Hyperion and the IBM PC were similar. However, in March 1983, soon after the Hyperion appeared on the market, IBM released an improved version of its PC—the XT—with new hardware features such as an internal hard drive and eight expansion slots, features not offered by the Hyperion. To remain competitive, Bytec Management Corp.—the manufacturer of the Hyperion—announced the Hyperion EX expansion chassis the following month. The Expansion Chassis provided room for up to seven IBM compatible expansion cards, and a 5, 10, or 20 Mbyte hard disk.
The EX expansion chassis directly connected to the Hyperion's expansion connector located at the back of the computer. It not only provided so needed hard drive storage and expansion slots but it also allowed the use of sophisticated operating systems such as QNX.
The Hyperion EX was released in late 1983. The data concerning the unit in the museum's collection is given below.
Model number: 4001
Serial number: 437
Manufacturing date: October, 1984
Installed hardware:
In 1973, C. Murray Bell incorporated Dynalogic Corporation in Ottawa to design, develop, and manufacture floppy disk drive systems that could be interfaced with a range of computers and programmable calculators. The floppy diskette systems shipped up to mid-1975 had hardwired controllers designed to work with specific computers. This solution was costly since different computer models typically required different floppy drive controllers that would have to be designed and assembled. In 1975, the company entered the microprocessor market with its release of a firmware controlled, microprocessor-based floppy disk system that could be interfaced with a range of computers. The new floppy drive system could be programmed to operate with a specific computer instead of building a dedicated controller to provide such functionality. The system was unveiled at the 1975 Canadian Computer Show & Conference.
In the following year, the company moved into the general-purpose computer market. On October 1, 1976, it announced the Dynalogic Microcomputer System (DMS) — an advanced microcomputer that employed the Motorola 6800 processor. The DMS was among the earliest microcomputers with built-in floppy disk drives. It operated under a sophisticated UNIX-style proprietary DYNAMO operating system.
In 1981, Bytec Management Corp. took over Dynalogic, renamed it Dynalogic Info-Tech, and initiated the work on the design of a portable desktop microcomputert — the Hyperion. The computer was unvailed at the 1982 spring Comdex computer show in Atlantic City as the ``most powerful, portable, business computer in the world'' compatible with the imensly popular IBM PC introduced in August of 1981.
Because the Hyperion was designed to be IBM PC compatible, hardware configurations of both the Hyperion and the IBM PC were similar. However, in March 1983, soon after the Hyperion appeared on the market, IBM released an improved version of its PC—the XT—with new hardware features such as an internal hard drive and eight expansion slots, features not offered by the Hyperion. To remain competitive, Bytec Management Corp.—the manufacturer of the Hyperion—announced the Hyperion EX expansion chassis the following month. The Expansion Chassis provided room for up to seven IBM compatible expansion cards, and a 5, 10, or 20 Mbyte hard disk.
The EX expansion chassis directly connected to the Hyperion's expansion connector located at the back of the computer. It not only provided so needed hard drive storage and expansion slots but it also allowed the use of sophisticated operating systems such as QNX.
The Hyperion EX was released in late 1983. The data concerning the unit in the museum's collection is given below.
Model number: 4001
Serial number: 437
Manufacturing date: October, 1984
Installed hardware:
- 20 Mbyte MiniScribe hard drive,
- Mountain hard drive controller card,
- 512 Kbytes RAM card,
- US Robotics MICRO-LINK 2400 modem card, Rev. B,
- Async I/O card, SIB8408,
- Bytec Hyperion I/O Interface card, PWA 100075-00
Source
Donated by George Brown College, Toronto
Publisher
Bytec
Date
1983-85
Files
Collection
Citation
“Hyperion EX chassis,” York University Computer Museum Canada, accessed July 10, 2025, https://museum.eecs.yorku.ca/items/show/326.