Uncreative Labs

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OK, here’s a challenge for you (maybe!)

Here’s the good news. With the help of a VGA card and an AST six pack plus expansion RAM card and backpack external hard disk I have managed to resurrect my old Sinclair PC200.

Rough details on the machine are here.

http://www.nvg.org/sinclair/computers/pc200/pc200.htm
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=85

Please note that the PC200 was, in essence, a cut down Amstrad 1512. This machine (the 1512, not the PC 200 which was a complete failure) was the highly successful UK clone which competed very successfully with the IBM PC by use of non-PC standard components and architecture. So it was highly IBM hardware and software compatible but got there by some weird means (IBM PC speaking.)

Now, the PC200 is running Word under Windows 3.0 in Real mode in VGA display mode using Windows 2.11 drivers (so ya get 8 colours see?) Great! In order to get the RAM to 640K I had to buy an AST RAM expansion card from ABC resellers. So far, so good.

However, the AST SIX PACK PLUS card I have is without documentation. I was able to configure the card to give me 640K – great – but I do not know how to use the rest of the RAM which is estimated as high as 1MB on board! It is fully populated! It also seems to provide an extra RS232 port (which I could really do with to upload data from my Tandy WP-3!) and a real time clock – or so I am assuming the lithium battery equates to this.

So, with all that information here are my questions!

1) How do I activate expanded RAM using this card? I have no drivers and attempts to use the REMM driver (admitidly blindly on my heart) caused a complete freeze on the PC! Since Windows 3.0 can use expanded RAM this is good for me but I will have to use VGA high res to run it. Please note that, unlike standard PC XT’s the PC200 does _not_ have DIP switches to configure memory!
2) How do I enable the real time clock? I assume I just replace the lithium battery right?
3) How do I enable the extra RS232 port? I have got hold of diagrams of the board with the masses of jumpers roughly explained but could do with hand holding on an old and rare machine when playing around with jumpers.
4) While I am using a VGA card successfully under Windows 3.0, DOS programs don’t seem to like it much. The PC200 was not designed to ever run VGA and programs that did run under CGA don’t work properly through a VGA output. It’s not terminal but I would prefer to return to a CGA display as the Sinclair understands that. Alas, it’s so hard to get a TTL RBG monitor in the UK these days! I have got a genuine Philips CM5533 scart and TTL input monitor but the TTL input is a 9 pin DIN plug. Will this accept TTL CGA input if I have the correct cable? Where could I get such a cable?

A lot of info and a lot of questions but the machine is running, overall, quite happily and does what I need it to. Your help would give it the extra boost!

Thanks in advance.