| Welcome to AltairManuals.com | |||||
| Please Note: This site will be moving soon from
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At this time, it is unsure where that will be. To be sure that you will always be directed to this site, no matter where it resides, please edit your bookmark now and replace this long URL, http://home.earthlink.net/~steveshepard/MITSmanuals/MANUAL.htm with this one: www.altairmanuals.com. (The email address at the bottom of this list will change when the move is completed) |
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| F F O R S A L E E TECHNICAL MANUALS for MITS, Altair, Pertec, Icom, IMSAI, Processor Technology (Sol), Southwest Technical Products (SWTPC), and other early personal computer and calculator products |
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| Now Available! MITS Altair firmware on 1702A EPROM! See the "Altair Firmware" section near the bottom of this list. |
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| Altair computers were manufactured in Albuquerque by MITS, Inc., which was later acquired and dissolved by Pertec Computer Corporation (Pertec did the same thing to another of their acquisitions, Icom Microperipherals. Remember Icom’s "Frugal Floppy"?). Altairs have become valuable acquisitions among collectors of technical and data processing equipment because of their status as being the first to introduce affordable computing to the general public. MITS produced them years before Apple and IBM PCs existed. In conjunction with the Altair, MITS introduced the first personal computer magazine (“Computer Notes”), the first personal computing accounting software, and the first personal computer conventions (the World Altair Computer Convention). Of course, Microsoft got their start at MITS, too, writing the first high-level language (BASIC) for the Altair. Before the Altair, another MITS first was the manufacture and kitting of many models of electronic calculators. They also manufactured many types of electronic test equipment and hobbyist products. | |||||
| All of those devices have their greatest value if they are operable, and that's why I am making copies of technical manuals available. Although the great majority of these manuals are for MITS components, I also have manuals from several other companies whose 1970s products worked with, or competed with, MITS products. Most of my manuals include theory of operation, operating instructions, parts lists, and assembly sections. In all cases, I will supply copies of everything I have available. Sections concerning kit assembly may be missing from a few, and additional “in-house” information may be included with some. Several pages may have annotations and other markings on them. This is because some of them were actual MITS technicians' working manuals and drawings. I will always supply copies of the cleanest documents available, but you should not consider marked-up drawings to be inferior; usually the annotations will supply valuable technical information that would otherwise be difficult to find. All are “technical” manuals, including schematics where applicable, unless otherwise noted as “operator’s” or “user’s” manuals only. | |||||
| Please remember that these are copies of original manuals. Be aware that, with very few exceptions, MITS originally supplied manuals that were loose-leaf photocopies of their in-house master documents. There were very few offset-printed publications shipped. Thus, there is usually little or no apparent difference between an "original" MITS document and my copies. No matter what form the original is in, though, my copies are as close in appearance to them as possible. (The page counts listed for the manuals are approximate). | |||||
| Use Internet Explorer's EDIT/FIND function to help locate what you're looking for in this list | |||||
| This list was last updated on January 23, 2002. The most recent changes are in RED. | |||||
| Manuals For MITS/Altair boards | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| 88-16MCD | 16K Dynamic RAM board | 77 | 5 | $23.00 | |
| 88-16MCS (88-16K) | 16K Static RAM board | 42 | 6 | $13.00 | |
| 88-1K | 1K Static RAM board (excerpt from the 8800 manual) | 3 | 1 | $10.00 | 1 |
| 88-2SIO | 2 Serial Port board | 62 | 2 | $19.00 | |
| 88-4MCD | 4K Dynamic RAM board (Using 8 ea 4030, 4060 or 2107 RAM chips and an 8212 latch) | 37 | 1 | $13.00 | |
| 88-4MCS | 4K Static RAM board (using 16 ea 2102 RAM chips) | 55 | 2 | $17.00 | |
| 88-4PIO | 4 Parallel Port board | 42 | 4 | $13.00 | |
| 88-ACR | Audio Cassette Interface (2 board set). Includes SI/O-B manual | 87 | 3 | $23.00 | |
| 88-AD/DA | 8 Bit A-to-D / D-to-A Converter board | 111 | 2 | $31.00 | |
| 88-ADC and 88-MUX | 12 Bit Analog to Digital Converter and 24 Channel Multiplexer | 81 | 3 | $24.00 | |
| 88-DIAG | Diagnostic board | 26 | 2 | $13.00 | |
| 88-LPC | Line Printer Controller board (for Okidata Printer) | 27 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| 88-MU1 | Music board | 87 | 3 | $25.00 | |
| 88-PCI | Process Control Interface board | 155 | 2 | $14.00 | |
| 88-PMC | 2K EPROM board (using 1702 EPROMs) | 36 | 2 | $13.00 | |
| 88-PMC8 | 8K EPROM Board (using 2708 EPROMs) | 96 | 2 | $27.00 | |
| 88-Q70 | Qume Printer Controller board | 82 | 2 | $24.00 | |
| 88-RBM | ROM BASIC 1 board | 22 | 1 | $13.00 | |
| 88-RBM2 | ROM BASIC II board | 22 | 2 | $13.00 | |
| 88-S4K | 4K Synchronous RAM board (Using 8 ea 4060 RAM chips (usually) and NO 8212 latch) | 82 | 2 | $24.00 | |
| 88-SIO-A | Single RS-232 I/0. Includes schematics for SI/O-B (TTL) and SI/O-C (TTY) boards | 37 | 2 | $10.00 | |
| 88-TKY | TurnKey board for Auto-Boot | 13 | 13 | $10.00 | 1 |
| 88-TYA | Teletype Controller Card Set (2 boards) | 52 | 1 | $16.00 | |
| 88-UIO | Universal I/O | 40 | 4 | $13.00 | |
| 88-VI/RTC | Vectored Interrupt/Real Time Clock board | 43 | 1 | $13.00 | |
| 88-Z80 | Altair Z-80 CPU board | 4 | 2 | $10.00 | |
| 88-C700 | Centronics printer controller board | 24 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| Manuals for MITS Altair Mainframes (other than 680b) | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| Attache | Attaché Integrated Computer System | 72 | 14 | $21.00 | |
| 8800 | Covers both the Altair 8800 and 8800A Computer. MITS simply supplied an 8800 manual with addendum pages for the 8800A. These two computers were very similar. | 289 | 11 | $77.00 | |
| 8800b | Altair 8800b Computer | 345 | 11 | $91.00 | |
| 8800bDM/SM | Altair 8800b Turnkey Computer with internal dual or single 5-1/4" floppy drives (also known as dual or single "Foley" computers, for the department store chain for which they were designed) | 154 | O | $42.00 | |
| 8800bT | Altair 8800b Turnkey Computer | 69 | 3 | $20.00 | |
| MITS 300 | Operation Manual for 8800b Turnkey system with 8" floppy drive | 53 | O | $16.00 | |
| Manuals for MITS/Altair 680b (6800 CPU) products | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| 680b | Altair 680b (6800 CPU) computer | 326 | 4 | $86.00 | |
| 680-AD/DA | 8-Bit A-to-D / D-to-A board | 124 | 2 | $34.00 | |
| 680-ASSY | 680b Assembly Language Manual (not kit assembly) | 56 | O | $17.00 | |
| 680-BASIC | 680b BASIC Language manual | 88 | O | $25.00 | |
| 680-BSM | 16K Static RAM board | 70 | 2 | $21.00 | |
| 680-KCACR | "Kansas City" Audio Cassette Recorder controller board | 128 | 2 | $35.00 | |
| 680-MCD | 16K Dynamic RAM board | 2 | 2 | $10.00 | |
| 680-PCI | Process Control Interface board | 123 | 2 | $34.00 | |
| 680-UIO | Universal I/O board | 73 | 3 | $21.00 | |
| Manuals for Floppy Drives and Systems | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| FD-2400 | Icom microfloppy maintenance guide (for the Icom FDOS III software manual, see the "Software" section of this list). | 62 | 14 | $19.00 | |
| 3200/3202 | Altair dual 8" floppy drive system | 108 | 10 | $30.00 | |
| 88-DCDD | Altair single 8" floppy drive system | 303 | 14 | $80.00 | |
| 88-MDS | Altair 5-1/4" mini-disk system. Includes "MDBL" PROM instructions and source code. Includes 8 pages of additional MITS technician's notes | 112 | 6 | $31.00 | 4 |
| FD APS | Principles of double density recording and soft & hard sectoring of Pertec 8" floppy drives | 112 | O | $31.00 | |
| FD-200 | Pertec 5-1/4" floppy drive | 47 | 2 | $15.00 | |
| FD-400/500 | Pertec 8" floppy drive (This manual is written for models 600-260 & -280, but is useful for all Pertec 8" drives. For correct schematics, give model number (stamped on drive's PC board). e.g., 600-150, -190, -250, -260, -265, -270, -280, -320, etc.) | 104 | 8 | $35.00 | |
| SA-400 | Shugart SA-400 5-1/4" floppy driive | 45 | 9 | $15.00 | |
| SA-400L | Shugart SA-400L 5-1/4" floppy drive | 66 | $20.00 | ||
| SA-800/801 | Shugart SA-800 & -801 floppy drive | 46 | $15.00 | ||
| Manuals for Terminals, Printers, Peripherals | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| 88-PPG | Altair 1702 EPROM Programmer (for 8800/a/b computers) | 53 | 7 | $16.00 | |
| 88-HSR | Altair/Remex high speed punched tape reader | 81 | 7 | $23.00 | |
| 88-VIDEO | Video boards and keyboard for the MITS/Altair/Icom Attaché computer | 62 | 2 | $19.00 | |
| 88-VLCT | Altair "VLCT" Very Low Cost Terminal (octal entry & display) | 51 | 2 | $16.00 | |
| ADM-3 | Lear-Sieglar ADM-3 CRT terminal | 141 | 11 | $38.00 | |
| ADM-3A | Lear-Sieglar ADM-3A CRT terminal | 144 | 12 | $38.00 | |
| B-100 | Altair/Beehive B-100 CRT terminal | 144 | 2 | $39.00 | |
| B-150 | Altair/Beehive B-150 CRT terminal (covers B-100, 102, 150, 152, 160, 162) | 226 | 23 | $61.00 | |
| C-700 | Centronics C-700 printer | 20 | 1 | $13.00 | |
| C-701 | Centronics C-701 printer | 117 | 8 | $32.00 | |
| C-779 | Centronics C-779 printer | 104 | 4 | $28.00 | |
| COMTER 256 | Altair 1-line terminal with built-in acoustic modem | 151 | 7 | $41.00 | |
| COMTER II | Altair 1-line terminal without modem | 228 | 15 | $62.00 | |
| CT-64 | Southwest Technical Products Corp (SWTPC) CT-64 video computer terminal | 88 | 12 | $27.00 | |
| DP-8000 | Anadex DP-8000 printer | 75 | 15 | $21.00 | |
| GP-7000 | Altair GP-7000 (Axiom EX-800) spark printer | 66 | 2 | $20.00 | |
| NEC 5500 | Original (not a copy) manual for NEC 5500 series "SpinWriter" printers (used, but in good condition) | 208 | 76 | $25.00 | |
| Manuals for MITS and other Calculators | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| 1200 Calc | MITS 1206, 1209, and 1212 pocket calculators | 49 | 2 | $15.00 | |
| 1440 Calc | MITS 1440 desktop calculator (the kit assembly section of this manual is missing, and about 2 pages of initial checkout procedures. Additional tech info has been added.) | 34 | 9 | $10.00 | 3,4 |
| 816 Calc | MITS 816 desktop calculator | 81 | 10 | $24.00 | |
| 908DM Calc | MITS 908DM DESKTOP calculator | 53 | 3 | $16.00 | |
| 908M Calc | 26 page pocket user's manual for the 908M POCKET calculator plus a 34 page assy/tech manual for the 908M, 941M, and 905M. | 60 | 1 | $18.00 | |
| HP-35 | The pocket sized owner's manual for the Hewlett Packard HP-35 calculator. This is a very good black and white copy of the original, and is the same size as the original. | 36 | O | $13.00 | |
| Manuals for miscellaneous MITS and non-MITS products | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| ALPHA | Alpha AC-1010 power supply for MITS 3200 8" floppy drive system, and Adtech S-171 power supply for Icom 8" floppy drive | 10 | 10 | $10.00 | |
| COMPNOTE 1&2 | "Computer Notes Review, Vol 1 & 2". A compendium of articles, hints & tips from MITS' COMPUTER NOTES publication (Apr 75 thru Feb 77), w/ many Bill Gates columns (A few pages of our factory original are light & have small print, and therefore so do our copies. However, all copies are legible) | 190 | O | $50.00 | 2 |
| DC-100 | MITS DC-100 digital clock | 56 | 2 | $17.00 | |
| DC-4 | MITS DC-4 digital clock | 36 | 3 | $13.00 | |
| IC-180 | MITS IC-1810 OP AMP tester | 14 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| ICT-1800 | MITS ICT-1800 integrated circuit tester. | 30 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| IMSAI PIO | IMSAI PI/O board (4 parallel inputs, 4 parallel outputs) | 19 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| LR-1 | MITS LR-1 laser receiver | 8 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| PS-500 | MITS PS-500 5-volt power supply | 17 | 1 | $10.00 | |
| SOL-20 | Processor Technology's SOL-20 computer. The complete Rev E hardware manual including all schematics, drawings, assembly and operating instructions. Does not include section IX, "Software", but it does include addenda containing pinouts for all chips used, and complete instructions for making a TV interface. The Sol-20, using the Altair/S-100 bus, was one of the Altair's big competitors. | 270 | 25 | $71.00 | 3 |
| ECONORAM2 | Godbout 8K/4K "Econoram II" static RAM board | 4 | 3 | $10.00 | |
| Manuals for MITS Hard Disk Drives and Systems | |||||
| Still being catalogued. Call/write for specific manuals of interest. I probably have the documentation you need. | |||||
| Manuals for MITS, Altair, Icom Software (Manual only-does not include software) | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| 680-ASSY | Altair 680b Assembly Language Manual | 56 | O | $17.00 | |
| 680-BASIC | Altair 680b BASIC Language manual | 88 | O | $25.00 | |
| FDOS-III | DOS, Assembler, Editor for Icom 5-1/4" systems | 266 | O | $72.00 | |
| DEBBI | Icom DEBBI (Disk Extended Basic By Icom) Icom's version of BASIC for their floppy systems | 106 | O | $29.00 | |
| BASIC 3.1 | Altair BASIC 3.1 through 3.9 | 168 | O | $46.00 | |
| BASIC 4.0 | Altair BASIC 4.0 | 149 | O | $40.00 | |
| BASIC 4.1 | Altair BASIC 4.1 | 167 | O | $45.00 | |
| BASIC 4.6 | Altair BASIC 4.6 | 130 | O | $35.00 | |
| BASIC 300-5 | Altair BASIC 300-5 (includes version 300-5-F, the last released version). "300-5" is Pertec's designation for what would probably have been called Altair BASIC 5.0, if MITS had not been bought by Pertec. | 201 | O | $54.00 | |
| DOS | Altair Disk Operating System | 136 | O | $37.00 | |
| FORTRAN | Altair FORTRAN (by Microsoft, of course) | 125 | O | $34.00 | |
| IM | Altair Inventory Management program, version 300-2 | 146 | O | $39.00 | |
| AR | Altair Accounts Receiveable program, version 300-2 | 189 | O | $51.00 | |
| AP | Altair Accounts Payable program, version 300-2 | 245 | O | $66.00 | |
| WP | Altair Word Processing program, version 300-2 | 144 | O | $39.00 | |
| GL | Altair General Ledger program, version 300-2 | 164 | O | $44.00 | |
| PR | Altair Payroll program, version 300-2 | 244 | O | $66.00 | |
| Manuals for Altair Firmware (Manual only-does not include EPROMs) | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| HDEX | "HDEX" Hard Disk Exerciser EPROMs (1702) | 6 | O | $10.00 | |
| MBL | "MBL" Multi Boot Loader EPROM (1702 chip) (with source code listing) Bootstrap loader for paper tape and cassette. | 17 | O | $10.00 | |
| MDBL | "MDBL" Mini Disk Boot Loader EPROM (1702) (excerpt from 88-MDS manual) (with source code listing) Bootstrap loader for 8" and 5-1/4" disk systems | 8 | O | $10.00 | 1 |
| TURMON | "Turmon" Turnkey Monitor EPROM (1702 ) (excerpt from 8800b Turnkey manual) (with source code listing) For use with MITS TurnKey board. | 26 | O | $13.00 | 1 |
| WR | "WR" Write/Read EPROM for the 88-PMC-8 (2708) EPROM Programmer. | 4 | O | $10.00 | |
| Altair FIRMWARE on 1702a AND 2708 EPROMs | |||||
| Product ID | Description | Total Manual Pages | Sche- matic Pages | Price | Note* |
| MBL EPROM | "MBL" Multi Boot Loader EPROM (1702A chip) Bootstrap loader for paper tape and cassette. | na | na | $24.50 | |
| MDBL EPROM | "MDBL" Mini Disk Boot Loader EPROM (1702A) Bootstrap loader for 8" and 5-1/4" disk systems | na | na | $24.50 | |
| TURMON EPROM | "Turmon" Turnkey Monitor EPROM (1702A) For use with MITS TurnKey board. | na | na | $24.50 | |
| WR EPROM | "WR" Write/Read EPROM for the 88-PMC-8 (2708) EPROM Programmer (2708). | na | na | $24.50 | |
| HD/TBL EPROMs | Hard Disk/Turnkey Boot Loader EPROM (2-Chip set of 1702As) | na | na | $45.00 | 5 |
| DSTEP EPROM | Head stepping and positioning program for 8" floppy drives (1702A) | na | na | $24.50 | 5 |
| MDCP EPROM | Mini Disk Copy Prom for copying 5" floppies without the need for a terminal or BASIC (1702A) | na | na | $24.50 | 5 |
| PPD & PPC EPROMs | These are the 2 chips required for the Altair 88-PPG 1702A PROM Programmer (2-chip set of 1702As) | na | na | $45.00 | 5 |
| BLANK 1702A EPROM | Freshly erased 1702A EPROM, unprogrammed and ready to be programmed by you. | na | na | $19.50 | |
| *Notes: 1) This is an excerpt from another manual. You don't need it if you already have the source manual. 2) Not the best quality, but completely readable. 3) Missing some pages or sections as noted. 4) Additional materials included as noted. 5) There is currently no documentation available for this firmware |
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| TO ORDER: Please contact me by email at |
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| steveshepard@earthlink.net | |||||
| Tell me the Product ID of the item(s)
you want. I'll answer back with total
cost, shipping date, and any other necessary information. The prices listed include handling and First-Class postage within the US unless noted otherwise (prices are subject to change as postal and copy rates change). All manuals can usually be shipped within four business days after receipt of payment. Payment from US residents may be made by Money Order or Cashier's Check. VISA, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express payments may also be made via PayPal (click on the link at the bottom of this list to learn more about PayPal's free services). Non-US customers please ask about payment options (many countries outside of the US can now use PayPal, too). Please, no personal checks or COD shipments. |
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| About my firmware and EPROMs | |||||
| These are old stock (circa
mid-1970s) chips. Twenty-five year
old code will often be partially erased by time, so I will erase, re-program, and verify the chips
when I receive your order. l The prices include shipping by first-class mail in the US, packaged in anti-static materials. l The prices do not include documentation, but it can be included for an additional $5.00, if ordered at the same time, and if I have it (see descriptions of currently available firmware documents above). l Supplies of 1702A EPROMs are limited, and my costs may vary wildly. Prices and availability may change. l I have much more MITS/Altair/Icom firmware that's not yet listed here. Contact me about the chip you're looking for. l I have the facilities to duplicate your existing 1702A firmware. Confidentiality is assured. Please contact me for details. |
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| DISCLAIMER: No guarantees are given as to the ability of any particular firmware to function with your computer's configuration. The only guarantees given are that the code contained in the EPROM is the same as that which was contained in the original chips that were released by the original manufacturer (except for blank chips), and that the chip has been verified to be electrically functional.. You are responsible for furnishing any other software, firmware, or working hardware that may be necessary to make proper use of any chip(s) supplied by me. | |||||
| If you have
questions about what documentation you need for your MITS/Altair product,
please ask. I may be able to help you
figure things out. If you are looking for a copy of a particular manual for an Altair era personal computer product that’s not listed here, please drop me a note. I have lots of documentation that's still uncataloged, and I may have what you need. Do you have any MITS or Altair original manuals or documents that are not listed here, or that you think might be more complete than mine (see the “page count” columns)? I would be interested in acquiring them, either by purchase or trade. I am specifically seeking these manuals: l MITS laser transmitter manual l MITS Audio Sweep Generator manual l MITS "MITScope" digital LED oscilloscope (I'm looking for both the manual and the scope itself) l IMSAI 8080 complete operating and technical manual In addition, I’m always in the market for MITS (or Micro Instrumentation & Telemetry Systems) hardware, and especially their calculators, test equipment, and other pre-Altair products. |
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| Thank you for your order | |||||
| Other MITS and Calculator sites: | |||||
| The Virtual Altair Museum | |||||
| The Altair Computer Collectors Club | |||||
| International Association of Calculator Collectors | |||||
| The Museum of HP Calculators | |||||
| Old Calculators Web Museum | |||||
| This web page is PRINTER FRIENDLY. Most viewers should be able to print it with correct page breaks (set your print margins to 1/2 inch or less). | |||||
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