PERQ Workstations R. D. Davis Last Updated: November 6, 2003 from the Sept. 7, 1991 edition. 2 Contents 1 Preface and Dedication 11 2 History 13 2.1 PERQ History as Told by Those Who Were There . 13 2.2 PERQ History as Otherwise Researched . 16 2.3 Late 1960's . 16 2.4 1972/1973 . 17 2.5 1973 . 17 2.6 1974 . 17 2.7 1975 . 18 2.8 1976 . 18 2.9 Late 1970's . 18 2.10 1978 . 18 2.11 1979 . 19 2.12 1980 . 19 2.13 1981 . 20 2.14 1982/1983: . 22 2.15 1983-1984? . 22 2.16 1984: . 23 2.17 1985 . 24 2.18 1986: . 25 2.19 1986/1987 . 26 2.20 1997 . 27 2.21 Things whose time period is questionable . 27 3 Accent Systems Corp. 31 4 More PERQ History 33 4.1 Graphic Wonder . 33 3 4 CONTENTS 4.1.1 Historical notes from Chris Lamb . 35 4.2 Alt.sys.perq . 36 4.3 PERQ-Fanatics Mailing Lists . 36 4.4 Original uCode . 37 5 The Accent OS 39 5.1 The Accent Kernel . 42 5.2 Co-Equal Environments . 44 5.3 Accent Window Manager: Sapphire . 44 5.4 Matchmaker . 45 5.5 Microprogramming . 45 5.6 Other Info. 46 5.7 Accent and Printing/Publishing . 46 5.8 Porting POS Code to Accent . 47 5.9 Accent S5 . 47 5.10 Naming of Accent . 47 6 The Action List 49 7 Adverts and Etc. 53 7.1 PERQ-1 . 53 7.1.1 PERQ Systems and cooperative agreements: . 55 8 Advent Systems 57 9 Autologic Development 59 10 PERQ Circuit Boards 61 11 PERQ Bus System 63 11.1 Memory Data In (MDI) . 63 11.2 Memory Data Out (MDO) . 63 11.3 IO Bus (IOB) . 64 12 Computer Conservation Society 65 13 Real Time Clock 71 13.1 Setting up the real time clock . 71 14 PERQ and Its Competition 73 15 The alt.sys.perq Control Message 75 CONTENTS 5 16 The PERQ CPU 79 16.1 PERQ-1 . 80 16.2 PERQ2, T2, LN3000 . 81 16.3 Differences between the PERQ1 and the PERQ1A CPU . 82 16.4 Writable Control Store . 83 16.5 Micro-Sequencer . 83 16.6 Micro-instructions . 84 16.7 Extension Bits . 84 16.8 ALU . 84 16.9 A and B multiplexors . 85 16.10XY Registers . 85 16.11Expression Stack . 85 16.12OP Registers . 86 16.13Raster Op . 86 16.14Micro state register . 87 16.15Shift Matrix . 87 16.16Micro-Instruction Register . 87 16.17Micro State Register . 87 16.18Byte Position Counter (BPC) . 87 17 Design 89 18 PERQ Mass Storage (Disk & Tape) 91 18.1 Fixed Disc Drive Controller, 5-1/4" and 8" discs . 91 18.2 Shugart SA4000 series hard disk (PERQ1) . 92 18.3 Floppy - Shugart SA851 or SA858 . 93 18.4 PERQ2 (T1) 8", 35 Meg., Micropolis 1200 Hard Disk . 95 18.5 PERQ1 and PERQ2 with 14" and 8" hard disks . 95 18.6 PERQ T-2 5-1/4" hard disk drives . 96 18.7 PERQ T-2 W/Multibus . 97 18.8 SMD Disk Drive . 98 18.9 Tape controller (9-track) . 98 18.10Streaming tape controller . 99 18.11Tape drive (9-track) . 99 18.12Streaming cartridge tape drive . 100 18.13Adding a Second Hard Disc . 100 18.14Adding a SCSI interface for Disc or Tape . 102 6 CONTENTS 19 PERQ Display 103 19.1 Display Control . 104 19.2 Video Signals . 104 19.3 PERQ1 Display . 104 19.4 PERQ2 Display . 105 19.5 Color display . 106 19.6 Kriz Type Monitors . 107 19.7 Random Memory Displays . 107 20 PERQ Documents Cataloged Thus Far 109 21 PERQ File System 119 22 PERQ Finance 121 23 Floating Point Unit 123 24 Glossary of PERQ CPU Terminology 125 25 PERQ GPIB 133 26 PERQ Graphics 135 26.1 PERQ Related Graphics Files . 136 26.2 Strawberry Fairchild . 136 26.3 Perq Cursor Files . 137 26.4 SPic . 137 27 PERQ I/O - RS-232, GPIB, speech, etc. 139 27.1 PERQ1 I/O . 139 27.2 I/O Z80 Subsystem . 139 27.3 LN3000 . 140 27.4 EIO Board (Ethernet I/O) . 140 27.5 OIO Board (Other I/O) . 141 27.6 Perq RS-232 . 142 27.6.1 PERQ1 . 142 27.6.2 LN3000 . 142 27.7 PERQ GPIB . 142 27.7.1 PERQ1 . 142 27.8 Speech and Sound . 143 27.8.1 LN3000 . 143 27.9 Temperature Sensing . 143 CONTENTS 7 27.10Misc. 143 28 PERQ Keyboard 145 28.1 PERQ1 . 145 28.2 LN3000 . 145 29 Link Board 147 30 PERQ-LISP/AI 149 31 PERQ 3410 series Multibus/Laser Option board 153 32 PERQ Memory System 155 32.1 Memory Access . 156 32.2 Direct Memory Access (DMA) . 156 32.2.1 PERQ1 . 157 32.2.2 PERQ2, T2, LN3000 . 157 33 PERQ Microcode 159 34 Perq models 163 34.1 High performance LN3000 series: . 163 34.1.1 PERQ LN3500 (PERQ AI) (PERQ T2 hardware) . 163 34.1.2 PERQ Color Workstation . 163 34.1.3 PERQ Audre (Still basically a T2) . 163 34.1.4 Notes . 164 34.2 PERQ T4 . 164 34.3 PERQ-3 and PERQ-5 . 164 34.4 Notes on PERQ models from Chris Lamb: . 165 34.5 Notes on K1/K2 from Brian Rosen . 166 35 MPOS - PERQ Multiple Process OS 167 35.1 MPOS File system . 168 35.2 MPOS Display Window Manager . 168 35.3 Weekend Wonder Crew . 169 36 PERQ Mysteries to be solved 171 37 Various names of people associated with PERQs 173 37.1 Individuals: . 173 37.2 Companies . 177 8 CONTENTS 38 PERQ Network 179 38.1 OSLAN and OSLAN Interface Controller . 179 38.1.1 PERQ1 . 180 38.2 Ethernet . ..