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yann64andClaude Opus 5.5 b274874139 All machines linked to their forum thread (full comment import) 
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
2026-10-13 17:26:43 +02:00

9.8 KiB
Raw Blame History

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params
title categories types origins years cpus params
Morrow Designs Micro Decision
Computers
Professional Computer
U.S.A.
1982
Z80-A
name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts docs oc_id source
Micro Decision /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_system_1b.jpg /companies/morrow-designs Morrow Designs
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NAME Micro Decision
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MANUFACTURER Morrow Designs
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TYPE Professional Computer
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ORIGIN U.S.A.
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YEAR 1982
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BUILT IN LANGUAGE None
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KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard
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CPU Z80-A
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SPEED 4 Mhz.
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CO-PROCESSOR None
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RAM 64 KB
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ROM Unknown
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TEXT MODES 80 chars. x 25 lines
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GRAPHIC MODES None
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COLORS Monochrome
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SOUND Beeper
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SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown
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I/O PORTS 2 x serial ports
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BUILT IN MEDIA 1 or 2 x 200 KB 5.25 floppy disc drives
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OS CP/M
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POWER SUPPLY Integrated power supply unit
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PRICE Complete system: $1790\ Computer alone with one drive: $1195\ Video terminal only: $595
photos
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docs
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DUAL F.D. VERSION All of these pictures are dedicated to **Michael Dolan** the owner of this system. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_system_2.jpg
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TOP VIEW /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_topview_1.jpg
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KEYBOARD The good quality keyboard is actually a part of the ADM-20 video terminal. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_keyboard_1.jpg
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REAR CONNECTORS **(1)** Auxiliary RS-232 connector\ **(2)** Expansion drives connector\ **(3)** Serial connection to the computer\ **(4)** Printer/Modem serial connector\ **(5)** Keyboard connector\ **(6)** Serial connection to the video terminal /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_back_1.jpg
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INSIDE No plastic parts inside the Micro Decision case.\ Notice the (japanese) switching power supply on the right which doesn't need fan. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_inside_1.jpg
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MOTHERBOARD A very compact board compared with other systems of the time. **(1)** Terminal (left) and printer/modem (right) serial ports\ **(2)** Nec D765 floppy disc controller chip\ **(3)** Expansion drives connector\ **(4)** Power connectors\ **(5)** 64 KB RAM memory area (8 x 4164 chips)\ **(6-7)** Built-in floppy disc connectors\ **(8)** Z80A processors, here a Nec D780 version\ **(9)** 2716 (2 KB) Monitor ROM chip\ **(10)** Serial port controller 8251 chips\ **(11)** Serial port baud rate dip-switches adjustment. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_mainboard_1.jpg
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FLOPPY DISC DRIVE The Micro Decision floppy drives was assembled by Morrow Designs although all the components (motors, I.C.) came from Japan. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_fddrive_1.jpg
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INSIDE THE TERMINAL The video display and keyboard are actually a Lear Siegler ADM-20 serial video terminal. Notice the electronic card, a complete computer with microprocessor, ROM, RAM, two serial ports and keyboard DIN plug. /media/museum/photos/morrow_microdec_terminal_1.jpg
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US ADVERT Thanks to Dave Dunfield and his [website](http://parse.com/~ddunfield/museum/index.htm) for this advert /media/museum/pubs/morrow_decision_pub_2.gif
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GERMAN ADVERT The Micro Decision have been presented at the 1983 Hannover show. /media/museum/pubs/morrow_microdec_pub_1.jpg
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MICRO DECISION USER'S GUIDE http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_user-guide.jpg [**MICRO DECISION USER'S GUIDE**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Dr Lawrence J. Magid / Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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MICRO DECISION SERVICE GUIDE http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_service-guide.gif [**MICRO DECISION SERVICE GUIDE**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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MICRO DECISION BOARD - REVISION 2.0 - TECHNICAL INFORMATION SUPPLEMENT http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_rev-board-2_technical-supplement.gif [**MICRO DECISION BOARD - REVISION 2.0 - TECHNICAL INFORMATION SUPPLEMENT**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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MICRO DECISION SCHEMATIC DRAWINGS http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_schematic-drawings.gif [**MICRO DECISION SCHEMATIC DRAWINGS**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : ZIP\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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MICRO DECISION QUESTIONS & ANSWERS BOOK http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_questions-and-answers-book.gif [**MICRO DECISION QUESTIONS & ANSWERS BOOK**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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MDT20 TERMINAL REFERENCE MANUAL http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_mdt20-terminal-reference-manual.gif [**MDT20 TERMINAL REFERENCE MANUAL**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Morrow Designs  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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SHUGART SA200 MINIFLOPPY DISKETTE STORAGE DEVICE - OEM MANUAL http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm /media/museum/docs/couvs/morrow_micro-decision_sa200-mini-floppy_disk-storage-device.gif [**SHUGART SA200 MINIFLOPPY DISKETTE STORAGE DEVICE - OEM MANUAL**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/morrow/index.htm)written by Shugart  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/)
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https://web.archive.org/web/20230605031821/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=613 2023-06-05

George Morrow, the Morrow Designs President, was one of the first engineers to design and market a memory board for the Altair computer. His company was first called "Morrow's Microstuff" and the cards were sold by mail order. Some time later, Morrow Designs began to design hard disks and computers.

With this computer, G. Morrow tried to build a single-board Z-80 CP/M machine that looks like an IBM PC but is one-third as expensive as it, and half the price of a comparable Apple system (Apple III).

The basic version included a serial video terminal and a 200 KB 5.25 floppy disk drive. However, the mainframe could be sold alone with one or two floppy disk drives. The Micro Decision also came with 5 MB, 10 MB or 40 MB Winchester hard drive installed. The MicroDecision line didn't have proper monitors or keyboards. The console shown here is actually a VT52-compatible terminal.

Here are the diffent models marketed and their US price in 1983 :

Model MD1 : one SSSD disk drive (200 KB) = $1590
Model MD2 : two SSSD disk drives (400 KB total) + Personal PEARL DBMS = $1950
Model MD3 : two DSDD disk drives (768 KB total) + Personal PEARL DBMS + QUEST Bookkeeper = $2490

The Morrow MD-1 used the Pilot programming language for a Menu-Driven shell to make the computer more user friendly. Some of the later ones manufacturered also used CP/M 3.0.

Like many CP/M computer manufacturers, Morrow Designs offered a complete software package with its system, including:
- CP/M 2.2 operating system
- WordStar word processing from Micropro
- Microsoft BASIC-80 programming language
- NorthStar compatible BAZIC language from Micro Mike's Inc.
- A spelling checker
- An electronic spreadsheet.

Contributors: Gary Clouse, David Griffith

We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.
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