#71 IMSAI 8080 talks for the first time in 33 years

[@kirkh.2522]

"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play" - Wargames - I had to say it.

[@robertsimms5861]

Appreciated. Came here from a Wargames nostalgic review. 😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/i33Gq4yjhbJlhKc

[@steve_cdh7324]

"Hello Dr. Stephen Falken".

[@jamesgulrich7416]

My first paying job that I ever had was with the school district as a computer programmer for the Special Ed department. I was a junior in high school and it paid $5 dollars an hour. It was 1978 and I believe the min/wage was around $2.50 an hour. I was stoked! Yes, this was a stand-alone computer amongst several teletypes and it had BASIC loaded on it and that was the software that I used. They also had a line printer that puked out paper so fast that I couldn't believe it. This brings back some great memories.

[@kadicha117]

I remember going to a "Byte" shop in the early '80s, I think, and seeing one of these demonstrated. They were expensive and, at the time, wondered what possible use they could be but I was hooked and bought an Apple II a couple of years later. I went on to study then work as a programmer 'till I retired.

[@stephenbaldassarre2289]

Interestingly enough, it sounds more human than most pop songs on the radio.

[@GROENAASMusic]

​@@infantincinerator5210 Dude. It's not only the boomers who think that. You know it's true.

[@melanierhianna]

You use a radio? How retro!

[@mourngrym1969]

It's funny the roads you accidentally travel on the internet late on a Saturday night... something led to something which led me to think about Wargames, which is the movie responsible for my interest in computers, so I went looking on eBay for an IMSAI and I wanted to find out if they actually had a voice modulator and here I am... great stuff IMSAI Guy!

[@helmuthschultes9243]

My IMSAI 8080 was last running at our computer club 25 year celebration, making it 1977 +25 = 2002. Sadly running at arrival, left with lid open and lots of people looking inside, left dead during the day. Have not tried running since. Has 256k banked Cromemco memory (64k per card), twin Persci 8" floppy (fast voice coil drive), home brew 20Mbyte HD, Accel Graphics -1024x535 256 colour (homebrew) Runs CPM, MPM CDOS AND CROMIX ( Cromemco Unix system) as OS choices, supports up to 8 user time share on MPM or CROMIX. Note CROMIX supports Dual CPU card with Z80 / 68000. I have only a Z80 card though.

[@IMSAIGuy]

that's about as fancy as the IMSAI got!

[@denazify]

Loved my old IMSAI 8080

[@sudocatsda1guy390]

It sounds more human and outgoing than I do

[@RobbieStrike]

Thanks for the video's this is so cool. I wanted one when I saw War Games on a RCA CED videodisk back in the 80's

[@skeennah1927]

same here

[@HarryMudd]

Reminds me of HAL in 2010, when they were attempting to revive him 😁

[@vincei4252]

Sounds like Stephen Hawking. RIP.

[@davidholman2536]

Send that computer membership of The Tandem Club immediately!

[@laboyeurdechaine7913]

Greetings professor Falken! :)

[@Croccydile]

Yay! A proper break in having it sing Daisy Bell no less!

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

With permission of the estate of the Pointer Sisters, "Automatic" would be a great choice of song!

[@buckwheatz666]

Thats in really nice shape. Congrats

[@ji6265]

Still have one kicking around great to see this. Got your 1000th sub!

[@IMSAIGuy]

thanks for 1000

[@whitehedr]

I have a full set of switches that I squirreled away many years ago. Unfortunately that is all I stockpiled. I do recall how big and heavy that bad boy is. The power transformer qualifies as a boat anchor all by itself. :)

[@kirknelson156]

lol right out of wargames, i love it :)

[@n0yxl]

Cutting edge stuff back in the day! We have come so very far in the silicon technology world!

[@alzeNL]

Really amazing setup ! I really admire your skill and work in getting this lovely piece of hardware working.

[@GreenMeanie101]

Wagames quotes LOL

[@dri50]

Boy this brings back memories. I helped a friend build an Imsai 8080 around 1977 (???) maybe. Does that use the S100 buss? I suppose you were booting from floppy? And what was the O/S, CPM ?

[@IMSAIGuy]

S100, 8 inch floppy, CP/M

[@st.charlesstreet9876]

EXCELLENT is right! Reminds me of my TRS 80 3rd party voice synthesizer from 80 Micro 😅

[@midnightwind8067]

lol you are so geeky! I am happy for you ... nice job..

[@justinlynn]

Beautiful work! :D

[@lmamakos]

Oh, very nice! I never had blinkenlights on my North Star Horizon back in the day, that looks awesome. I did spend many hours in front of a PDP-11/40 and it's console lights and switches, though... and then 30 years later, acquired a PiDP-11 scale replica. So many hours in CP/M, and learning the C language with BDS C on the Z-80. I never had a FORTH on my CP/M computer, though dabbled with it a little on my Amiga years later. I can see how that'd be a great environment to interactively play around with the speech synthesizer.

[@RagMama123]

I love following your videos! Looks like I may have to give up the bid on eBay for an IMSAI machine, but there are plenty of projects left to pursue with the Arduino and NeuroShield. Thanks for posting these! Rick

[@Centar1964]

Somehow reminds me of Stephen Hawking...

[@NA12495]

I would have been disappointed if you didn't have it ask the famous question. Well done. If I ever become a professor, I would want to be one that I stuff like this all over my office.

[@mike94560]

I am such a nerd. I loved it.

[@petercarlsson6606]

Greetings Mr. Falken...

[@7667neko]

Greetings Professor Falken.

[@pinkeye00]

"Would you like to play a game of chess?" lol .. man I love Wargames.

[@eddy2561]

I almost bought one way back when, but too pricey for my meager salary.....

[@fluffykitties9020]

Haha, sounds like you are meeting a long lost friend.

[@teknoman117]

What's the voice synthesis setup in there? The voice makes me think of the Magnevation Speakjet from the mid 00's. The correct wording might be the other way around - the 00's synthesis chip mimics the sounds of a 70's synthesis chip.

[@IMSAIGuy]

SSI263 chip

[@atiredblue]

In Wargames to make it more theatrical they recorded “to win the game” but backwards (game the win to) and then played backwards and that’s why it sounds so creepy!

[@skeennah1927]

good info

[@soupernutt9508]

Forgive me for asking, but is the speech produced by the SP0256 chip by General Radio (now Microchip Technology)? I was listening, then looking in the comments for a mention and might've missed it.

[@IMSAIGuy]

No, very different.

[@jimomertz]

It boots faster than Windows!

[@madmaxm]

Greetings Professor Falken

[@jeremylindemann5117]

Is the computer speech from Wargames actually from an Imsai? Because it sounded a little different in the movie. Is it possible to replicate that sound with your setup?

[@IMSAIGuy]

no, I don't know how the movie got the sound but it surely did not come from an IMSAI

[@jeremylindemann5117]

Thanks for answering, didn't expect to get a response. Great series on the IMSAI by the way, I'm not engineer but I found it fascinating.

[@GregoryWiktor]

Check out Wargames 2 the dead code dvd special features and they get into this a bit, but ok I'll spoil it for you: Quote: How the effect was generated has been the subject of speculation and assumptions rather than reality. No, the actual sound heard was not produced using a VOTRAX, CompuTalker, or other computerized voice synthesizer of the period as some folks believe. I reviewed my Director's Cut DVD version of "WarGames", listening and taking notes on the Special Feature commentary of writers Larry Lasker and Walter Parks, joined by Director John Badham in preparation for an upcoming photo shoot of the original "WarGames IMSAI" and related props. Director John Badham states in the commentary that the actor voicing the raw content that was later modified for the computerized effect was John Wood (the Falken character), reading the script word-for-word in reverse order in order to portray a "flat quality" with limited inflection. That raw audio was then edited and re-assembled after being run through audio processing equipment to achieve the desired effect.

[@IMSAIGuy]

Thanks! I assumed it was just a voice actor run though filters. Nice to know it was John Wood. Fitting since Falken created the computer....

[@gettingpast4391]

People sometimes make mistakes

[@7667neko]

Yes, they do. Shall we play a game?

[@fluffykitties9020]

Did you buy this computer before or after the movie? The movie came out in 1982, I think...? By that time was this already outdated?

[@IMSAIGuy]

had it before. once I saw that one 'talk' I needed mine to talk. of course it was faked in the movie. the actor that did falken was the computer voice

[@claudioarcadexlab6397]

Wonderful #### I want one too !!

[@renderizer01]

This IMSAI 8080 sings with an Irish accent. Creepy. ;O)

[@DumbledoreMcCracken]

Back from the age when computers made noises.

[@RodBeauvex]

How did you make it sing? Are there commands for changing pitch and speed?

[@IMSAIGuy]

yes there are separate commands. Took a long time to program that song

[@fluffykitties9020]

What was the advancement in technology called that eliminated the need to flip the switches to boot the machine? Would that have been the BIOS or something similar? Great project BTW!

[@IMSAIGuy]

to boot with out switches was a hardware trick. on reset the rom at high address was enabled and executed. I this was done on the PROM card that contained the boot ROM. I had two other systems that did not have front panels. The S100 buss had this in mind when it was design. once CP/M is loaded, it runs out of RAM

[@CP200S]

Your happiness reached my heart. I would love owning such a beautiful setup myself. Is that a Votrax SC-01 there in the protoboard or a different chip?

[@IMSAIGuy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXXNe2V6aJ2JsNU

[@bentcrazy1324]

Sounds like the clowns on the Telstra help line. Maybe call centres are full of the IMSAI 8080 computers.

[@markweston216]

Greetings professor falken

[@Todd82TA]

HAH! Classic... Wargames and 2001 Space Odyssey!

[@BigCandJDProductions]

Curious, have you ever sold one of these things? Came into possession of one and wondering what I can get for it .

[@IMSAIGuy]

Yes. I sold this one. Of course it was working. It really depends on the condition what cards are inside, disk drives, does it work? a basic one might be $1000, a working one $3000.

[@IMSAIGuy]

Send me some photos inside and out [e-mail]

[@stevejquest]

For what it's worth, I have several rails of old VOTRAX chips out in the shop, real antiques. I have no use for them. I also have other yellowed rails of chips (the rails crack and shatter as I handle them they are that old). However the chips are still good. :-) I have VIC chips and 8048 chips and things like that -- all of which have about zero value to me. Just putting that out there in case any young folks want to build using a very old voice synthesis. :-)

[@cyberjack]

wargames ..love it .. however in movie its very unlikely he could have afforded such a machine as it was a massive expensive in day around $931 dollars = $4,824.62 in 2022 just for the base unit alone

[@VasilencoDan]

:) nice one, compliments!

[@mikegLXIVMM]

Does it use an SP0256?

[@IMSAIGuy]

no. it uses SSI -263

[@victormarquez9388]

Can any body tell me were can i buy vintage imsai 8080 i collect vinage stuff

[@IMSAIGuy]

ebay, about $1500 for IMSAI.

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Singing about a Daisy Girl ?

[@IMSAIGuy]

The first computer to sing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/amK4aGuHhZ2heM0

[@vanhetgoor]

If I would be locked up in a box for 33 years, unable to speak, then on my return I would at least exclamate some profanities to express my feelings. A song about Daisy would not come to my mind.

[@G7LWT]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/amK4aGuHhZ2heM0

[@debugin1227]

shall we play a game...

[@fuzzylilpeach6591]

That's so cool!

[@somecoder3054]

Awesome.

[@BROKENLIZARD983]

What were these used for ?

[@IMSAIGuy]

the same things computers are used for now.

[@BROKENLIZARD983]

@@IMSAIGuy porn, interesting

[@Roslynguy]

@@BROKENLIZARD983 not really

[@nope.c]

Shall we play a game?

[@neindochoohh7955]

Do you want to play a game?

[@willylord]

Ma dice : "SCEMO" ???

[@IMSAIGuy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqS6pmeMeZl4Z5Y

[@whitehedr]

I am working on a replica cp-a PCB. I could use a little help on my project. Do you still have an IMSAI 8080 computer? If so would you be willing to make some measurements for me? I am looking for the overall size of the board, the distance from the right side of the connector to the right edge of the board, the pad spacing between the switches, the spacing of the A15 switch from the left edge of the board, the spacing between the LED rows, the distance from the top of the board to the status LEDs. And if possible a clear photo of the board showing the component numbering for the chips. If I remember correctly the LEDs are lined up on the switches. We had two computers that we used for a project to modify a Honeywell Process interface Unit to communicate with two systems in a nuke power plant that were critical to the operation of the plant. One was the RPIS ( Control Rod position system) and the other was TIPS (Traveling in core probe system). The RPIS system showed the operator the position of the all the control rods in the reactor. We needed to get this info into the plant process computer so we modified the PIU to interface to the RPIS. The IMSAI was programmed to emulate the RPIS for testing purposes. We had a Micropolis disk system on the IMSAI. The TIPS system is a system that inserted a monitor into the core for measuring the flux density of the reactor while it is operating. The IMSAI was programmed to emulate this system for testing purposes. Both emulations worked very well and allowed for successful implementation into our Dresden and Quad Cities plants. The system was installed in the late 70’s and is still in use today. The IMSAI computer was critical to the project and performed flawlessly.

[@IMSAIGuy]

I sold the IMSAI. you can get PCB layouts (KiCAD) at www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/Mini%20FP%20Board/Mini%20FP%20Board.htm

[@IMSAIGuy]

the actual IMSAI was much larger. I don't know if there is any data online

[@IMSAIGuy]

some info here. there is a very poor PCB layout that you might be able to use for measurements www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/imsai/index.htm

[@whitehedr]

I have looked at that info. I actually am using some of it. It is amazing the prices guys are getting for these machines. Thank you for the quick response. My goal is to build and get a machine up and running. I don’t know if I will be successful but I am gonna give it a go. I will see if I can get the info I need through one of the s-100 forums.

[@IMSAIGuy]

@@whitehedr the machine is very large and heavy. the metal case is 1/8" thick sheet. A simple machine is going for $2000 these days. Actually not too bad. Very hard to find the parts like the switches.