Anyone good with CP/M on the Apple II?

[Hugh]

I am thinking of selling an CP/M card (I'm not sure which one), I know I won't get much, but I"m not gegttop. The only thing I can tell you is that it boots with the disk I have that has CP/M BOOT writing on it, but I know next to nothing about CP/M. I was able to format a disk.

Questions: Can I use any CP/M software out there, I have no idea the brand on the card. When I formatted the disk it said Copyright Microsoft, so that mean it's a Microsoft card or a clone?

Thanks for any help!

=Hugh

 

[David Schmidt]

If it says "Microsoft" on it, chances are it's the Microsoft Z80 Softcard:
http://www.z80.eu/apple2.html

There are a few different versions of CP/M it can run; but the tricky thing about the Apple II and CP/M is getting the software onto a disk the Disk II can understand. You might check out what software has been archived:
https://www.apple.asimov.net/images/cpm/

 

[Hugh]

David,

Thanks, for the reply, yeah I have the entire site downloaded so I have all the CP/M disks on there. Making them on to real Disks isn't a issue... Well ProDOS, DOS 3.3, and Pascal aren't, I would assume (I know the saying.. LOL) my method would work with CP/M disks too. '

So in theory any of those CP/M disks on there should work with the card then?

Thanks!

=Hugh

 

[David Schmidt]

The software? In theory, yes. The operating system disks themselves? No. There were a few different CP/M cards, and sometimes they needed their own boot disks. So if you see a boot disk with something other than the name of the card you have, it likely won't work. If it's completely generic, it probably will.

 

[Hugh]

Here is the a pic of the card:

So I have no idea what the brand of the card is. SPAOE I am assuming is the brand?

=Hugh

 

[David Schmidt]

Cheap Pacific Rim knock-off of the Microsoft card. They were rampant back in the day.

 

[Hugh]

Yeah, I didn't think it was worth anything other then a Generic CP/M card.

So, as long as it says for the Microsoft card the system software is what I want, and in theory I can use the other disks on it as well?

Thanks!

=Hugh

 

[David Schmidt]

Yep. It'll run anything specific to the Microsoft Softcard.

 

[MacTech68]

IMHO - CPM also requires an '80 column card' in an Apple II. The IIe has it's own unique 80 Column card, but for the earlier Apple II, it's a full size card with video flying leads to switch modes.

Ahh - the days of WordStar and DBaseII come floating back.

 

[Hugh]

Well he is a dumb question. Is there a market for these cards at all? (I'm not trying to sell it in here) just asking..

=Hugh

 

[MacTech68]

I've seen some on eBay for not much - and not selling either. Now, if it was an original Microsoft Z80 Softcard - that might be a different story.