Victor 9000 User Manual

2.0 HARDWARE CONFIGURATION
This section provides a technical overview to the
Victor 9000 computer. An indepth explanation of each of the
structures that make up the microcomputer will be presented
in the theory of operation section of this manual.
The Victor 9000 computer is comprised of three
modules, each connected by a cable. The CRT module,
provides display; the keyboard module provide~ user entry;
and the mainframe module provides all computation and data
storage.
CRT
DISPLAY
ft
l_
_..
LINE
-.-
PRINTER
CENTRAL
PROCESSOR
DUAL DISK
~
.......
...n..
~
MOCEM
STORAGE
..... ....
...
....
.. ~
'KEYBOARD
VICTOR 9000 SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
Figure 1
KEYBOARD MODULE
The keyboard module is a single printed circuit board
containing 104 capacitive switches;· two LSI matrix chips,
and an 8021 microprocessor chip. The microprocessor scans
the key switches via the matrix chips and transmits an 8
bit switch code along with a stop bit to the keyboard
interface on the CPU board. 7 bits represent the actual
switch code while the 8th bit determines whether the key
had been pressed (closed) or released (open). The
microprocessor chip also contains an 8 byte buffer which
allows it to store up to 8 switch changes. The keyboard
microprocessor uses a control signal to notify the
interface when a key change is in its buffer.
2-1

Victor 9000 Specifications

General

Processor	Intel 8088
Clock Speed	4.77 MHz
RAM	128 KB, expandable to 896 KB
Operating System	MS-DOS
Floppy Drive Capacity	1.2 MB per drive
Display	Built-in monochrome display
Text Resolution	80 x 25 characters
Graphics Resolution	800 x 400 pixels
Ports	Parallel, serial, video output