Author Topic: Husky Hunter Computers (Rare & Obscure Computers) (Read 29382 times)

TheEPROM9 · « **on:** April 21, 2015, 11:20:27 am »

DVW Microelectronics Husky:

These are from 1981 and are arguably the first portable computers, they are very rugged. I don't think there are meany of these left:

Husky Hunter 1/2:

These are far more well known and can be found every so often, they run on CP/M. I scanned the manual and it can be found Here: https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManual

Thanks to whoever uploaded it there =-)
not sure if my Mega account is even alive anymore.

Other Husky's:

Fraser · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2015, 12:08:41 pm »

I have an 'as new' Husky Hunter 2 that came with a 1980's Agema Thermovision 880 Thermal camera. IIRC it was used for temperature calculations, Isothermal measurements etc.

Sadly it is nothing more than a museum piece now, as is the thermal camera it services.

Well built though

Aurora

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 21, 2015, 03:37:50 pm »

Quote from: Aurora on April 21, 2015, 12:08:41 pm

I have an 'as new' Husky Hunter 2 that came with a 1980's Agema Thermovision 880 Thermal camera. IIRC it was used for temperature calculations, Isothermal measurements etc.

Sadly it is nothing more than a museum piece now, as is the thermal camera it services.

Well built though

Aurora

I did not know they were used with thermal cameras. I do have three which are completely rooted though. I thing one is due to memory. I did use mine at University to learn programming, converting C# to BASIC forced me to understand how the codes worked as well as how it was layed out. No one else understood my method, but it worked for me.

smjcuk · « **Reply #3 on:** April 21, 2015, 04:23:56 pm »

I worked at a company that used them in the 1990s as crypto terminals. I spent a day in a lab freezing them and baking them in quick cycles. Used to slow down a bit after the freezing session. Was great fun.

I can't say much more about the tech details or I'll get bagged and tagged unfortunately.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 21, 2015, 05:29:04 pm »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 21, 2015, 04:23:56 pm

I worked at a company that used them in the 1990s as crypto terminals. I spent a day in a lab freezing them and baking them in quick cycles. Used to slow down a bit after the freezing session. Was great fun.

I can't say much more about the tech details or I'll get bagged and tagged unfortunately.

Nice, a lot were used for mi8ll projects the Rasper Missile Project being the most famous. Plus no data can be recovered off them due to the fact everything was stored on battery backed RAM. I have had people show images/videos of them in other civilian uses though. That might make a fun project doing cryptography on one and seeing how easy it is to crack. Hell you could link it to more modern equipment and use it as a key storage device that can wipe the key as soon as the system becomes compromised. I'm going into computer security so those sorts of areas intrest me.

smjcuk · « **Reply #5 on:** April 21, 2015, 05:52:20 pm »

Yes it may have been related to the Rapier platform actually

Military crypto is mainly embarrassingly bad shit developed by the lowest bidder. They'll spend £100k on a formally proven compiler yet get idiots to then write a ton of shitty ADA which of course reimplements crypto engines with added special flaws to target an unverified embedded PowerPC core on an unverified FPGA connected to a bunch of DRAM without ECC... They have no idea what the hell they are doing and its scary. Mention Schneider's Applied Crypto book and they get a little nervous in case they have been found out...

I write software now in the commercial sector as there is far more clue there and that is saying something.

Crypto is interesting - good field to work in.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 21, 2015, 09:21:40 pm »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 21, 2015, 05:52:20 pm

Yes it may have been related to the Rapier platform actually

Military crypto is mainly embarrassingly bad shit developed by the lowest bidder. They'll spend £100k on a formally proven compiler yet get idiots to then write a ton of shitty ADA which of course reimplements crypto engines with added special flaws to target an unverified embedded PowerPC core on an unverified FPGA connected to a bunch of DRAM without ECC... They have no idea what the hell they are doing and its scary. Mention Schneider's Applied Crypto book and they get a little nervous in case they have been found out...

I write software now in the commercial sector as there is far more clue there and that is saying something.

Crypto is interesting - good field to work in.

My tutor has a PHD in Cryptography and finds many holes in current methods as well as a large number of people who don't understand it and yet claim to understand it. It is rather concerning, the reason the US government is always being hacked is because their security is crap. Through my security course I am re-learning the Maths school failed to teach me and you know what. The maths behind it is rather interesting. It is also a good eye opener to how much more there is to still learn, but I have always enjoyed learning new subjects. Life is no fun without challenges.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 22, 2015, 10:14:05 am »

One of my projects with these is to fully reverse engineer them. The thing is 30 years old so might as well open source the design.

smjcuk · « **Reply #8 on:** April 22, 2015, 10:20:45 am »

Good plan. Would be interested to see the results.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 22, 2015, 02:53:25 pm »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 22, 2015, 10:20:45 am

Good plan. Would be interested to see the results.

We believe this would be a drop in replacement LCD:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/240x64-24064-240-64-Graphic-Dot-Matrix-LCD-Module-Yellow-Green-LED-Backlight-Free-Shipping/635765367.html

We have also been discussing the revece engineering project here, ROM dumps can be downloaded from here as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/118910608126229/permalink/827615027255780/

The project is currently on hiatus at the moment but will be picked up when there is time again.

Alex Eisenhut · « **Reply #10 on:** April 22, 2015, 11:45:12 pm »

Very nice. The first portable computer I remember seeing as a kid was the GRiD on the show Riptide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_Compass

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 23, 2015, 12:11:09 am »

Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on April 22, 2015, 11:45:12 pm

Very nice. The first portable computer I remember seeing as a kid was the GRiD on the show Riptide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_Compass

I would love one of those laptops. Sadly they non-existent in the UK. To be honest I was lucky to get 2 DVW original Husky's as they are an extramaly rare machine.

smjcuk · « **Reply #12 on:** April 23, 2015, 08:13:08 am »

Nice.

I always liked the (much later) HP 200LX: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_200LX - I had one and it could do scary things like run SPICE (slowly) and had a nice RPN calculator built in.

Howardlong · « **Reply #13 on:** April 23, 2015, 09:05:14 am »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 23, 2015, 08:13:08 am

Nice.

I always liked the (much later) HP 200LX: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_200LX - I had one and it could do scary things like run SPICE (slowly) and had a nice RPN calculator built in.

I have two 200LXs, one as a parts backup. The main one had an internal RAM upgrade done on it.

I used to write code on it using a version of Borland Turbo C, and you could just run Windows 3.0 on it for what good it was on a mono CGA screen.

The LCD was starting to show blank lines on it last time I used it a few years ago, might have to get it out again and repair it if I can.

smjcuk · « **Reply #14 on:** April 23, 2015, 11:05:45 am »

Quote from: Howardlong on April 23, 2015, 09:05:14 am

Quote from: smjcuk on April 23, 2015, 08:13:08 am
Nice.

I always liked the (much later) HP 200LX: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_200LX - I had one and it could do scary things like run SPICE (slowly) and had a nice RPN calculator built in.

I have two 200LXs, one as a parts backup. The main one had an internal RAM upgrade done on it.

I used to write code on it using a version of Borland Turbo C, and you could just run Windows 3.0 on it for what good it was on a mono CGA screen.

The LCD was starting to show blank lines on it last time I used it a few years ago, might have to get it out again and repair it if I can.

I'd sell it - saw one for for crazy money a few weeks ago on ebay!

Howardlong · « **Reply #15 on:** April 23, 2015, 11:44:36 am »

I just fired up the one I can find, it looks like it's the basic 2MB one that I bought for parts, but it works flawlessly, screen is fine, wrote "Hello World" in Borland C on it. Nice.

The batteries were dead, had to replace the AAs and the CR2032. Luckily on the compact flash there was a directory called "backup" which had, well, the RAM disk's contents, conscientious old boy that I am. Copied it cack to the RAM disk, all is good.

Worst thing about it is that I now realise how bad my eyes are compared to 15 or 20 years ago :-(

I used to scratch my head why people kept asking for a backlight for it, now I understand!

Sorry, did not wish to hijack this thread, but nostalgia is nostalgia.

smjcuk · « **Reply #16 on:** April 23, 2015, 11:56:44 am »

Nice! How long did it take to compile that?

Comparison on my current i7-4930K with 32Gb RAM and SSD RAID

Howardlong · « **Reply #17 on:** April 23, 2015, 05:35:51 pm »

Timed by my own fair hand...

Turbo C 2.01 (1988), 5s in the IDE, 7s from the command line

Borland C 2.0 (1991), 15s, or 13s using precompiled headers, both in the IDE, I didn't have the command line version on the CF card.

This was run from compact flash, I am pretty sure it runs faster from RAM drive but there's not enough room on this one, my other one, when I find it, not only had 6MB of RAM but it also had a double-speed upgrade. Woooo!

Back in the day, I used to write my C in the Borland IDEs, compile it up for syntax errors, then build it "properly" in the company standard, Microsoft C 6, because the Borland tools were so much faster. IF you ever used Microsoft's Programmer's Workbench (PWB), you'll know what I mean. It took Microsoft several years to catch up. They introduced QuickC but it was so crippled compared to Borland's offerings. The straw that broke the camel's back in the C wars on Microsoft OS's was Windows, where they'd had to introduce so many kludges to make the environment work that the competitors' compilers and IDEs needed to be redesigned and rebuilt pretty much from scratch. Even then to debug early Windows stuff you had two choices, either Symdeb or Codeview, with a second mono monitor (not possible on the same screen) or with symdeb you could do it over a serial connection. I wrote a special Windows VGA display driver to allow Codeview and Windows to run concurrently on a split screen, that saved a lot of grief, it was pretty unusual to have two monitors in those days. Memories...

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 23, 2015, 06:23:01 pm »

Don't worry about straying off topic

I do like C. The best dev environment for me is Linux, compiler built right in and all you have to do is start a text editor normally nano or vi and get coding. Windows is more of a users operating system that does let you play around but Linux is pure tetchy fun. Just avoid the hardcore Linux community's as they are full of self deluded dicks and ass hols that should bugger off and grow up. The Arduino is a nice bastardized C platform that I like a lot because you can get project up and running insainly fast which is good if you are not much of a software dev like me. It is nice to see such old hardware being programed in C rather than a crappy version of Microsoft BASIC. Acorn made the bast BASIC =-)

smjcuk · « **Reply #19 on:** April 23, 2015, 06:50:03 pm »

Howardlong: thanks for posting the benchmarks - much appreciated. That's a lot better than I thought it was going to be actually. I was brought up on Unix and Acorn machines so I didn't end up using Windows at all until 1998 with NT4. I count this as a blessing that I missed out on segmented long/far stuff in C

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on April 23, 2015, 06:23:01 pm

Don't worry about straying off topic

I do like C. The best dev environment for me is Linux, compiler built right in and all you have to do is start a text editor normally nano or vi and get coding. Windows is more of a users operating system that does let you play around but Linux is pure tetchy fun. Just avoid the hardcore Linux community's as they are full of self deluded dicks and ass hols that should bugger off and grow up. The Arduino is a nice bastardized C platform that I like a lot because you can get project up and running insainly fast which is good if you are not much of a software dev like me. It is nice to see such old hardware being programed in C rather than a crappy version of Microsoft BASIC. Acorn made the bast BASIC =-)

Is a bit off topic - sorry!

I'm using FreeBSD here and that's LLVM. It's like Linux without the asshatery which I entirely agree with

As for BASIC implementations I couldn't agree more. It's great. And still is. I have a Raspberry Pi here running RISC OS that gets used occasionally - still my favourite platform ever!

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 24, 2015, 08:29:07 am »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 23, 2015, 06:50:03 pm

Howardlong: thanks for posting the benchmarks - much appreciated. That's a lot better than I thought it was going to be actually. I was brought up on Unix and Acorn machines so I didn't end up using Windows at all until 1998 with NT4. I count this as a blessing that I missed out on segmented long/far stuff in C

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on April 23, 2015, 06:23:01 pm
Don't worry about straying off topic

I do like C. The best dev environment for me is Linux, compiler built right in and all you have to do is start a text editor normally nano or vi and get coding. Windows is more of a users operating system that does let you play around but Linux is pure tetchy fun. Just avoid the hardcore Linux community's as they are full of self deluded dicks and ass hols that should bugger off and grow up. The Arduino is a nice bastardized C platform that I like a lot because you can get project up and running insainly fast which is good if you are not much of a software dev like me. It is nice to see such old hardware being programed in C rather than a crappy version of Microsoft BASIC. Acorn made the bast BASIC =-)

Is a bit off topic - sorry!

I'm using FreeBSD here and that's LLVM. It's like Linux without the asshatery which I entirely agree with

As for BASIC implementations I couldn't agree more. It's great. And still is. I have a Raspberry Pi here running RISC OS that gets used occasionally - still my favourite platform ever!

I have a RISO OS SD somewhere. Still need to test it with old Acrameeds games. I use a lot of my Pi's for security hacking machines.

Mr Biggs · « **Reply #21 on:** June 22, 2015, 08:42:49 pm »

Hi all,

I have a fully functioning Husky Hunter 2 complete with Ellar surveying software (I also have the manual for this) which is of no longer of any use to me so was wondering how much it may be worth.

Thanks,

helius · « **Reply #22 on:** June 22, 2015, 09:11:17 pm »

Is a husky hunter like a chubby chaser?

nfmax · « **Reply #23 on:** June 24, 2015, 12:40:10 pm »

We used Husky Hunters back in the '80s as control & data processing devices for an airborne system to measure vibration & rotor blade movement on helicopters. It was great being able to unplug the HH from the data acquisition unit & take your results back to the office as soon as the rotor spun down - nothing to download.

I will never forget visiting Sikorsky in Bridgeport in 1986, working with this system. I was in the canteen, queuing with my burger & fries and watching the launch of Challenger on live TV...

Kjelt · « **Reply #24 on:** June 24, 2015, 08:52:51 pm »

The screenshot of the hunter looks about the same as my old Tandy model100 and 200, is it the same MS operating system?

picitup · « **Reply #25 on:** June 26, 2015, 03:28:23 pm »

Gosh this is a blast from the past! I used to work for Husky Computers in the late '80s. Yes, it's true, I'm old. I worked there as bench engineer initially and then as a manager.

If I remember correctly there were the following computers:

Husky Hunter
Intrinsically safe (for use in volatile environments ie no sparks!!!)
One for the MOD (can't remember what that was called, but they bolted them into tanks)
The Hawk with a higher res screen.

We had temperature cycling bays where the computer had to survive changes in temperature for about a week or so.

If I remember correctly, the Hunter had lots of features built into the rom, and these could be enabled by Husky by formatting the device and creating various files.

The Hunter was designed to withstand a drop of 1m onto a concrete floor. In reception they had a fish tank full of piranhas and a working hunter at the bottom of the tank.

I think it used to be called DVW Electronics after the founder, David Viewing.

Cheers

Steve

Mister35mm · « **Reply #26 on:** May 26, 2017, 04:16:47 pm »

I have a really early one, a 64KW.

It refuses to switch on.

Any ideas

The mercury 5.6v battery is dead.

Bjorn Toulouse · « **Reply #27 on:** September 07, 2017, 02:02:14 pm »

its now 2017
I work for a council and we still have 2 !!!
and they are still used

pmatsol · « **Reply #28 on:** September 09, 2018, 12:38:52 pm »

Hi all, not sure anyone is still watching this topic since it has been a while since the last post.

I used to work for Husky back in the 80's on the Hunter and later products, initially on the OS and then designing peripherals such as the printer and modem products.

I am now about to move house and found a few old Husky products, I wondered if anyone was still interested in them?

I have the following:
1 x Husky Hunter in carry case
1 x Husky Hunter 16, no carry case
1 x Husky Helmsman, no carry case
1 x Husky Titan, no carry case
2 x Husky Hawk in carry cases
2 x Husky Hawk, no carry cases
1 x Husky FC486, with charger
I have only 1 charger for the Hawks.
They are all in an unknown state of working since it is some years since I looked at them.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 22, 2018, 06:44:47 pm »

Quote from: pmatsol on September 09, 2018, 12:38:52 pm

Hi all, not sure anyone is still watching this topic since it has been a while since the last post.

I used to work for Husky back in the 80's on the Hunter and later products, initially on the OS and then designing peripherals such as the printer and modem products.

I am now about to move house and found a few old Husky products, I wondered if anyone was still interested in them?

I have the following:
1 x Husky Hunter in carry case
1 x Husky Hunter 16, no carry case
1 x Husky Helmsman, no carry case
1 x Husky Titan, no carry case
2 x Husky Hawk in carry cases
2 x Husky Hawk, no carry cases
1 x Husky FC486, with charger
I have only 1 charger for the Hawks.
They are all in an unknown state of working since it is some years since I looked at them.

You might be rivaling my collection then ;-)
I am getting another one soon as a parts unit. Got completly smashed. I still keep an eye on it. Not sure others do.

pmatsol · « **Reply #30 on:** September 27, 2018, 09:03:15 pm »

Looking back at my mail I can see I wasn't clear enough when I asked if anyone was still interested, I am actually looking to part with them since I do not want to drag them to my new home! So is anyone interested in giving them a home?

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #31 on:** October 06, 2018, 08:35:20 pm »

Quote from: pmatsol on September 09, 2018, 12:38:52 pm

Hi all, not sure anyone is still watching this topic since it has been a while since the last post.

I used to work for Husky back in the 80's on the Hunter and later products, initially on the OS and then designing peripherals such as the printer and modem products.

I am now about to move house and found a few old Husky products, I wondered if anyone was still interested in them?

I have the following:
1 x Husky Hunter in carry case
1 x Husky Hunter 16, no carry case
1 x Husky Helmsman, no carry case
1 x Husky Titan, no carry case
2 x Husky Hawk in carry cases
2 x Husky Hawk, no carry cases
1 x Husky FC486, with charger
I have only 1 charger for the Hawks.
They are all in an unknown state of working since it is some years since I looked at them.

If you are selling them off you can count me as intrested =-)
I have a mad obsession with these computers.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #32 on:** October 06, 2018, 08:40:23 pm »

Latest video =-)

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #33 on:** March 14, 2019, 09:23:55 pm »

http://youtu.be/l1lwUpIDi6s

Husky FS3 Teardown, I have three of these now. Also have three Husky FS2's

I need to do a Husky computer collection update video. I currently have them all dug out.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #34 on:** March 16, 2019, 07:52:43 pm »

Husky Hunter Serial Pinout.

Also includes the LEMO pinout.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #35 on:** March 16, 2019, 07:58:54 pm »

Husky Hunter ROM images.

Will add more when I read them off the EPROM's

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #36 on:** March 16, 2019, 11:38:36 pm »

The rest of the Husky Hunter ERPOM HEX code.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #37 on:** March 17, 2019, 04:51:05 pm »

The DVW Mocroelectronics Husky ROM dump.

This is for the original Husky computer. All 4 EPROM .BIN images are in the .ZIP file.

As this machine is stupid rear & documentation is even rearer for it, this should be valuable to anyone intrested in the machine.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #38 on:** March 17, 2019, 05:13:44 pm »

Quote from: smjcuk on April 21, 2015, 05:52:20 pm

Yes it may have been related to the Rapier platform actually

Military crypto is mainly embarrassingly bad shit developed by the lowest bidder. They'll spend £100k on a formally proven compiler yet get idiots to then write a ton of shitty ADA which of course reimplements crypto engines with added special flaws to target an unverified embedded PowerPC core on an unverified FPGA connected to a bunch of DRAM without ECC... They have no idea what the hell they are doing and its scary. Mention Schneider's Applied Crypto book and they get a little nervous in case they have been found out...

I write software now in the commercial sector as there is far more clue there and that is saying something.

Crypto is interesting - good field to work in.

Yep, now I have worked as a Security analist for 2&1/2 years & a little gig before that I can confirm most companys don't know shit about security. It is so sad. Sometimes the best thing to do is sit back & laguhth.

The fact the army are wose gives me this image, well that just means to defeat a mondern army all you need is a crappy laptop, sit on a hill so you can watch the fireworks & hack all the drones & weapons & watch in amusment as they get blown up by their own weapons.

The day that happens is the day where being technolicaly superia will be a disadvantage.

Pernod · « **Reply #39 on:** August 03, 2019, 09:55:26 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on March 17, 2019, 04:51:05 pm

The DVW Mocroelectronics Husky ROM dump.

This is for the original Husky computer. All 4 EPROM .BIN images are in the .ZIP file.

As this machine is stupid rear & documentation is even rearer for it, this should be valuable to anyone intrested in the machine.

Thanks for these, and for the Hunter ROMs.

I'm looking to emulate these machines in MAME and have a few questions. Hope this forum is the best place to ask as there's little to no info anywhere else.

The Hunter 2 is already emulated in MAME, though not complete, it does run DEMOS quite well. Does anyone know what the differences are between the original Hunter and the Hunter 2? The hardware looks virtually identical apart from the obvious physical size of the screen. The ROMs from an original Hunter seem to use the screen differently, and you can see are incorrect:

Husky Hunter Computers (Rare & Obscure Computers)

whereas Hunter 2 looks good:

The only difference I'm seeing is that the Hunter sets up the HD61830 with Number of Time Divisions=32 whereas the Hunter 2 sets it to 64. Not being familiar with the HD61830 I have no idea (yet) what this means, any ideas? Have the crystals on both Hunters been noted or measured?

Has the hardware of the DVW Husky been documented anywhere? I've seen photos of the boards but none with the screen removed so have no idea what is controlling the LCD.

Pernod · « **Reply #40 on:** August 12, 2019, 06:58:06 pm »

The original Hunter now works as well as the Hunter 2. The Hunter sets number of screen columns to 39 but the HD61830 requires this to be an even number 2-128, so needed rounding up.

Also making progress on the original Husky.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #41 on:** August 15, 2019, 08:58:41 pm »

Nice find, I wanted to get this machine emulated for a long time, kudos to going out & doing it.
The only real diffrence between the Husky Hunter & Husky Hunter 2 is the LCD, just uses a larger pannel, even the electrnics look the same, however i have never confirmed this using a Scope.

I did look at both the clocks, not sure if I have the photos on this laptop, but the original husky runs at 1MHz (Clock cyrystal 2MHz)
Husky Hunter 8MHz (Clock crystal 4MHz)

PS: Photos not on this laptop, will upload them if I can find them. Everything is chaos with the move to my first house.

Not sure why the cyrstals were double the CPU's speed or what circratary devided it down if any.

Since I have two units of the DVW I will get some photos, can't promes when, will link my Flicr as the photo uploading thing here is still set in the 90s.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #42 on:** August 15, 2019, 09:00:00 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on August 12, 2019, 06:58:06 pm

The original Hunter now works as well as the Hunter 2. The Hunter sets number of screen columns to 39 but the HD61830 requires this to be an even number 2-128, so needed rounding up.
(Attachment Link)
Also making progress on the original Husky.
(Attachment Link)

I'm glad someone could figure out what to do with those old ROM images. I can't even get them to combine properly into one file.

Pernod · « **Reply #43 on:** August 17, 2019, 05:02:12 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on August 15, 2019, 08:58:41 pm

I did look at both the clocks, not sure if I have the photos on this laptop, but the original husky runs at 1MHz (Clock cyrystal 2MHz)
Husky Hunter 8MHz (Clock crystal 4MHz)

This is interesting and have asked another owner to verify this.

The original Husky is now emulated fairly well and can enter BASIC to run programs. Still to do are to improve sound and implement RS232. The Husky schematics have been scanned which were essential to determine how ROM/RAM is banked. Schematics for the Hunter may be forthcoming too.

In your Husky Hunter video you show an app from Optimal Software, is this in ROM or something pre-installed in RAM? Did you post the ROMs from this machine?

I'm seeing lots of different ROM versions for these machines so assume they were regularly updated. Currently known ROM versions are:
Husky: HC19JUL, HS19JUL, HC03JUN
Hunter: DEMOS 2.2 9G06h, DEMOS Ver 2.2, DEMOS 2.2 9G+
Hunter 2: DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Hawk: DEMOS 2.21 V1.20, DEMOS 2.21 V1.10
Hunter 16: v3.04, v3.03
Hunter 2/16: v1.0
Hunter 16/80: v4.05

If you have anything other than what's listed it would be greatly appreciated.

coppercone2 · « **Reply #44 on:** August 23, 2019, 03:57:34 am »

husky hunters sounds like a porn website

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #45 on:** August 29, 2019, 07:57:24 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on August 17, 2019, 05:02:12 pm

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on August 15, 2019, 08:58:41 pm
I did look at both the clocks, not sure if I have the photos on this laptop, but the original husky runs at 1MHz (Clock cyrystal 2MHz)
Husky Hunter 8MHz (Clock crystal 4MHz)
This is interesting and have asked another owner to verify this.

The original Husky is now emulated fairly well and can enter BASIC to run programs. Still to do are to improve sound and implement RS232. The Husky schematics have been scanned which were essential to determine how ROM/RAM is banked. Schematics for the Hunter may be forthcoming too.

In your Husky Hunter video you show an app from Optimal Software, is this in ROM or something pre-installed in RAM? Did you post the ROMs from this machine?

I'm seeing lots of different ROM versions for these machines so assume they were regularly updated. Currently known ROM versions are:
Husky: HC19JUL, HS19JUL, HC03JUN
Hunter: DEMOS 2.2 9G06h, DEMOS Ver 2.2, DEMOS 2.2 9G+
Hunter 2: DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Hawk: DEMOS 2.21 V1.20, DEMOS 2.21 V1.10
Hunter 16: v3.04, v3.03
Hunter 2/16: v1.0
Hunter 16/80: v4.05

If you have anything other than what's listed it would be greatly appreciated.

That is the plan. I will get those internal photos for you. Just bear with me as its all a little crazy at the moment.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #46 on:** August 29, 2019, 07:58:29 pm »

Quote from: coppercone2 on August 23, 2019, 03:57:34 am

husky hunters sounds like a porn website

A Furry porn website anyway

coppercone2 · « **Reply #47 on:** August 30, 2019, 12:52:07 am »

husky lads and ladies\

its like 'thic'

https://static.seattletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/02122017_uwball7-780x569.jpg

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Husky

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #48 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:12:26 pm »

Here be the behind the LCD shots. Just some RAM & glue logic.

Going to try & dig out the other photos now.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #49 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:27:25 pm »

Going to have to do this in a few diffrent posts. Here's the frequency which was basicly 2MHz raw from the crystal.

PS: Sorry the quolity is a bit shit, but my old camera was not great in low light.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #50 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:29:43 pm »

Scope view of the same thing. Got the Scope back working probaly over a year ago now (Random fun fact, HV diodes were to blame)

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #51 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:30:57 pm »

Just for fun, it open & on.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #52 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:32:10 pm »

Under the LCD. Just as a note not all Huskys have the RAM board like this one does.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #53 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:34:04 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on August 12, 2019, 06:58:06 pm

The original Hunter now works as well as the Hunter 2. The Hunter sets number of screen columns to 39 but the HD61830 requires this to be an even number 2-128, so needed rounding up.
(Attachment Link)
Also making progress on the original Husky.
(Attachment Link)

Also great work on getting these running. Please do relese the code & links. I wanted to do such a project but just never got round to it & never quite had the coding skills.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #54 on:** September 16, 2019, 07:38:34 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on August 17, 2019, 05:02:12 pm

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on August 15, 2019, 08:58:41 pm
I did look at both the clocks, not sure if I have the photos on this laptop, but the original husky runs at 1MHz (Clock cyrystal 2MHz)
Husky Hunter 8MHz (Clock crystal 4MHz)
This is interesting and have asked another owner to verify this.

The original Husky is now emulated fairly well and can enter BASIC to run programs. Still to do are to improve sound and implement RS232. The Husky schematics have been scanned which were essential to determine how ROM/RAM is banked. Schematics for the Hunter may be forthcoming too.

In your Husky Hunter video you show an app from Optimal Software, is this in ROM or something pre-installed in RAM? Did you post the ROMs from this machine?

I'm seeing lots of different ROM versions for these machines so assume they were regularly updated. Currently known ROM versions are:
Husky: HC19JUL, HS19JUL, HC03JUN
Hunter: DEMOS 2.2 9G06h, DEMOS Ver 2.2, DEMOS 2.2 9G+
Hunter 2: DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Hawk: DEMOS 2.21 V1.20, DEMOS 2.21 V1.10
Hunter 16: v3.04, v3.03
Hunter 2/16: v1.0
Hunter 16/80: v4.05

If you have anything other than what's listed it would be greatly appreciated.

The=at is bad ass. you know I am not actualy sure if it is built in. You would have to link to the video for me to know for cirtain.

The ROM could be to do with the fact Husky use to customise the machines for clients. Also they were in use for multiple years from the early 80s up. The original Hunters seem to last up to the mid to late 80s.

Pernod · « **Reply #55 on:** September 16, 2019, 08:27:50 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 16, 2019, 07:34:04 pm

Also great work on getting these running. Please do relese the code & links. I wanted to do such a project but just never got round to it & never quite had the coding skills.

The original Husky and Hunter are already in the latest MAME 0.213 release. The source is freely available, and the relevant drivers are:
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/drivers/husky.cpp
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/drivers/hunter2.cpp

The main outstanding issue with the Husky is the sound. I even have schematics but the frequency of the sound generator is unknown, any way you could help with that?

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 16, 2019, 07:38:34 pm

The=at is bad ass. you know I am not actualy sure if it is built in. You would have to link to the video for me to know for cirtain.

The ROM could be to do with the fact Husky use to customise the machines for clients. Also they were in use for multiple years from the early 80s up. The original Hunters seem to last up to the mid to late 80s.

Your video that I'm referring to is in the first post of this topic, simply titled Husky Hunter.

I suspect the software was pre-installed in RAM, which would make it difficult to recover.

Could you list the firmware versions of all your working devices to see if you have any that are not already dumped? For the Husky type VER in BASIC, and the Hunter shows the DEMOS version on the main screen.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #56 on:** September 18, 2019, 04:09:02 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on September 16, 2019, 08:27:50 pm

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 16, 2019, 07:34:04 pm
Also great work on getting these running. Please do relese the code & links. I wanted to do such a project but just never got round to it & never quite had the coding skills.

The original Husky and Hunter are already in the latest MAME 0.213 release. The source is freely available, and the relevant drivers are:
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/drivers/husky.cpp
https://github.com/mamedev/mame/blob/master/src/mame/drivers/hunter2.cpp

The main outstanding issue with the Husky is the sound. I even have schematics but the frequency of the sound generator is unknown, any way you could help with that?

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 16, 2019, 07:38:34 pm
The=at is bad ass. you know I am not actualy sure if it is built in. You would have to link to the video for me to know for cirtain.

The ROM could be to do with the fact Husky use to customise the machines for clients. Also they were in use for multiple years from the early 80s up. The original Hunters seem to last up to the mid to late 80s.
Your video that I'm referring to is in the first post of this topic, simply titled Husky Hunter.

I suspect the software was pre-installed in RAM, which would make it difficult to recover.

Could you list the firmware versions of all your working devices to see if you have any that are not already dumped? For the Husky type VER in BASIC, and the Hunter shows the DEMOS version on the main screen.

That program was stored in RAM, found out when the batterys died & the backup battery died & the program was lost. Don't know where I could find an archived version. Otherwise it is lost forever. If I had known it was in RAM before I would have tryed to archived it.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #57 on:** September 18, 2019, 05:12:20 pm »

Husky Hunter 2 DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Husky Hunter DEMOS 2.2 9G06h

Don't know about the Halk, that be dead. The other Huskys I have run on MS DOS & I don't have any batterys for the DVW Huskys

Hunter BASIC does not seem to have a VER or VERSION command.

All the commands & shit cn be found here: https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManual

Uploaded the manual to the interwebs years ago now.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #58 on:** September 18, 2019, 05:21:05 pm »

Just saw I had not put the Husky Halk EPROM's up. So here they are. As I do not have a working Halk I do not know a lot about these machines other than they are a Husky Hunter without the rugadised case.

ebastler · « **Reply #59 on:** September 18, 2019, 05:29:17 pm »

Nice thread; first time I stumbled upon it.
Should it be moved to the "Vintage Computing" section, maybe?

Pernod · « **Reply #60 on:** September 18, 2019, 06:22:28 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 05:12:20 pm

Husky Hunter 2 DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Husky Hunter DEMOS 2.2 9G06h

Hunter BASIC does not seem to have a VER or VERSION command.

All the commands & shit cn be found here: https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManual

Already have those Hunter ROMs. The VER command is only available in the Husky.

A better scan of the manual at https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManualVO9F1984

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 05:21:05 pm

Just saw I had not put the Husky Halk EPROM's up. So here they are. As I do not have a working Halk I do not know a lot about these machines other than they are a Husky Hunter without the rugadised case.

Excellent! These are DEMOS 2.21 V1.01, previously only had V1.10 and V1.20.

They are quite different from a Hunter, different CPU for a start, and video circuitry more in common with the Husky.

If you look at the Hawk board, and Hunter 16, you'll notice one of the supposedly RAM chips is actually a ROM with the same pinout as all the other RAM. I strongly suspect this contains the default DOS installation. Any chance of this been dumped? I also have another owner that is looking to dump this too, and is working on an adaptor.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #61 on:** September 18, 2019, 07:13:39 pm »

Quote from: ebastler on September 18, 2019, 05:29:17 pm

Nice thread; first time I stumbled upon it.
Should it be moved to the "Vintage Computing" section, maybe?

Not sure how you would do that. I don't think the vintage computer thread exsisted when I created this post. Probaly be an Admin job.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #62 on:** September 18, 2019, 07:21:03 pm »

Quote from: Pernod on September 18, 2019, 06:22:28 pm

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 05:12:20 pm
Husky Hunter 2 DEMOS 2.21 9G08h V4
Husky Hunter DEMOS 2.2 9G06h

Hunter BASIC does not seem to have a VER or VERSION command.

All the commands & shit cn be found here: https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManual
Already have those Hunter ROMs. The VER command is only available in the Husky.

A better scan of the manual at https://archive.org/details/HuskyHunterManualVO9F1984

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 05:21:05 pm
Just saw I had not put the Husky Halk EPROM's up. So here they are. As I do not have a working Halk I do not know a lot about these machines other than they are a Husky Hunter without the rugadised case.
Excellent! These are DEMOS 2.21 V1.01, previously only had V1.10 and V1.20.

They are quite different from a Hunter, different CPU for a start, and video circuitry more in common with the Husky.

If you look at the Hawk board, and Hunter 16, you'll notice one of the supposedly RAM chips is actually a ROM with the same pinout as all the other RAM. I strongly suspect this contains the default DOS installation. Any chance of this been dumped? I also have another owner that is looking to dump this too, and is working on an adaptor.

I will have to crack them open & check that, although if someone elce is working on dumping the SMT chip I will let them do that as I am not really well equiped for SMT soldering.

I do have ROM dumps of the Hunter 16, Hunter 16/80 & FS3 machines. But the from wont let me post those ROMs, stupid file size limits. I really need to get my own websie up & running again.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #63 on:** September 18, 2019, 07:25:58 pm »

Would you post the scematics please, if that are not already on the Github.

I can see what I can find out about how the sound is generated, but I am more of a hardware guy.

Pernod · « **Reply #64 on:** September 18, 2019, 08:05:38 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 07:25:58 pm

Would you post the scematics please, if that are not already on the Github.

I can see what I can find out about how the sound is generated, but I am more of a hardware guy.

Unfortunately they're rather large, the tif for the DVW is 155MB. When they've been processed and shrunk I expect them to be uploaded to archive.org, and will post links when they are.

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 07:21:03 pm

I do have ROM dumps of the Hunter 16, Hunter 16/80 & FS3 machines. But the from wont let me post those ROMs, stupid file size limits. I really need to get my own websie up & running again.

I'm interested in those too, to compare with what I already have. The Hunter 16 ROMs should only be 128K each so can be attached. I currently have no info on the FS3 so that'll be new to me.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #65 on:** September 18, 2019, 10:52:50 pm »

Good news, the ROMs were stored with other files so just pulled out the ROMs sepratly. I don't have the FS2 ROM or MS DOS dump. Somewhere I imaged the CF cards in the FS3, but i think the files are on my desktop. Not sure they would fit on here anyway. The FS3 MS DOS is on the CF card so you won't get that DOS from the ROM. But there are other things you can look into.

As I am completly obsessed with these machines I am trying to obtain & archive anything to do with them. That is why i want to get my website setup & why I am posting as much as posible here so at least there is some kind of centrail repository for Husky computer info online. Kind of all over the place at the moment. The Husky 16 & 16/80, the MS DOS should be in the ROM images.

Pernod · « **Reply #66 on:** September 18, 2019, 11:17:56 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 18, 2019, 10:52:50 pm

Good news, the ROMs were stored with other files so just pulled out the ROMs sepratly. I don't have the FS2 ROM or MS DOS dump. Somewhere I imaged the CF cards in the FS3, but i think the files are on my desktop. Not sure they would fit on here anyway. The FS3 MS DOS is on the CF card so you won't get that DOS from the ROM. But there are other things you can look into.

Thanks again for those. The Hunter 16 and 16/80 match what I already have, so just the FS3 to take a look at. Any idea of the spec of the FS3? Which CPU, how much RAM, any other significant IC's, etc.? Any internal photos?

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #67 on:** September 19, 2019, 08:30:09 pm »

I will crack open one of my FS3's & then upload the pics, for now heres the manual & brochure which should provide some info.

Pernod · « **Reply #68 on:** September 19, 2019, 08:32:00 pm »

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on September 19, 2019, 08:30:09 pm

I will crack open one of my FS3's & then upload the pics, for now heres the manual & brochure which should provide some info.

No need, it's already been done, see https://forums.bannister.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=113714#Post113714

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #69 on:** September 19, 2019, 09:37:31 pm »

Ha you found that site to, also to late on the photos, already taken them. So might as well post them. I think that might be where I got some of the ROM's.

pmatsol · « **Reply #70 on:** November 25, 2019, 02:23:17 pm »

Hi, sorry it has been a while but have been renovating house and not had much time online.

I still have the Husky units listed, I left them with my son in the UK to look after, I am in the UK from the end of this week visiting and will check on them to see what state they are in now.

Pernod · « **Reply #71 on:** November 25, 2019, 05:47:59 pm »

Quote from: pmatsol on September 09, 2018, 12:38:52 pm

I have the following:
1 x Husky Hunter in carry case
1 x Husky Hunter 16, no carry case
1 x Husky Helmsman, no carry case
1 x Husky Titan, no carry case
2 x Husky Hawk in carry cases
2 x Husky Hawk, no carry cases
1 x Husky FC486, with charger
I have only 1 charger for the Hawks.
They are all in an unknown state of working since it is some years since I looked at them.

Quote from: pmatsol on November 25, 2019, 02:23:17 pm

I still have the Husky units listed, I left them with my son in the UK to look after, I am in the UK from the end of this week visiting and will check on them to see what state they are in now.

Can you let us know what you are expecting for them, or free to a good home?

I'd like to emulate those that I haven't previously mentioned, specifically the Titan and Helmsman, as there are literally no details of these on the web. I don't have the equipment to do anything with the Husky's so would hope that whoever takes them is able to document them and dump their ROMs to share with the community. Even the Hunter's and Hawk's may have undumped ROM revisions of interest.

pmatsol · « **Reply #72 on:** November 25, 2019, 09:33:59 pm »

Hi, I wasn't expecting anything for them, maybe just the postage costs (which could be considerable for these heavy items

).

The Helmsman was a Hunter 2 with a bigger screen, the 16x80 one used on the Hunter 1680 and was basically a terminal emulator, VT100, etc. I can't remember much about the Titan except it had an updated case and 'smarty' keyboard. I shall check the versions when I can, not sure I still have equipment to read the eproms/flash devices but if I can I will.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #73 on:** November 26, 2019, 08:53:51 pm »

I would also be intrested in the huskys. Maybe split them 50/50 with the two of us.

Pernod · « **Reply #74 on:** December 11, 2019, 12:04:35 pm »

Quote from: pmatsol on November 25, 2019, 09:33:59 pm

I shall check the versions when I can, not sure I still have equipment to read the eproms/flash devices but if I can I will.

Any news on this? Do you also have manuals for any of them, especially Hawk, Titan, and Helmsman?

Quote from: TheEPROM9 on November 26, 2019, 08:53:51 pm

I would also be intrested in the huskys. Maybe split them 50/50 with the two of us.

If you're willing to document them with quality photos and dump their ROMs then you can take them all. I am not a collector of hardware (just my original BBC Micro), just want to see them documented and preserved through emulation in MAME.

pmatsol · « **Reply #75 on:** December 23, 2019, 04:46:03 pm »

Hi, I didn't have time to check the units out but I did get a photo of what I have (attached).
From top left to right we have a few flyers for Hunter 16, FS/2, FC486 and FC-PX5, a FB220 floppy drive, FC-486 mainboard, Helmsman and Hunter 16. Next row down we have 2 x Gizmondo (not strictly Husky but something different for anybody interested), a complete FC-486, an officebase (base unit for Hunter/Hawk communications), Hunter. Next row down we have a schematic for Helmsman display board, a Titan, 2 x Hawk and finally on last row we have a Hunter 2 manual and 2 x Hawk in carry cases.
Since there are several people wanting some of the items and I am in Ireland but the items are being stored by my son located in Birmingham, UK, it is probably best if someone collects them and then distributes them.

hercule · « **Reply #76 on:** December 24, 2019, 09:15:26 am »

Hello,
Further to my earlier messages to you direct, I would like Hunter 16 leaflet, Hunter 16, Hunter and Hunter users guide.
Would it be OK if each interested person emails a pre-paid Hermes label to your son direct so he can post?

pmatsol · « **Reply #77 on:** December 25, 2019, 09:11:32 pm »

Hi, that would be ok.

pmatsol · « **Reply #78 on:** August 06, 2020, 10:06:21 am »

Hercule,

I have tried mailing you but your inbox is full, are you still interested in the units? Someone else has picked them up and will send them immediately if you still want them.

TheEPROM9 · « **Reply #79 on:** March 17, 2021, 02:10:38 pm »

Quote from: pmatsol on August 06, 2020, 10:06:21 am

Hercule,

I have tried mailing you but your inbox is full, are you still interested in the units? Someone else has picked them up and will send them immediately if you still want them.

I did reply. I just dont check the EEVblog Fourm very oftern.


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