website/content/museum/microkit-vegas-6809.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
MICROKIT Vegas 6809	Computers	Professional Computer	France	1982	Motorola 6809	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts links oc_id source Vegas 6809 /media/museum/photos/vegas_6809_1.jpg /companies/microkit MICROKIT label value NAME Vegas 6809 label value MANUFACTURER Microkit label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN France label value YEAR 1982 label value END OF PRODUCTION Unknown label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Basic on disk label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard label value CPU Motorola 6809 label value SPEED 1 MHz label value RAM 64 KB label value ROM 2 KB label value TEXT MODES 80 x 24 label value GRAPHIC MODES 80 x 48 with 8 colors (in fact 40 x 24 with semi-graphic characters) label value COLORS 8 colors label value SOUND mono square signal with variable frequency label value SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown label value I/O PORTS Centronics, 2 x RS232 (9600 baud max) connectors, Clock, Joystick, Bus S100 (8 slots), Monochrome video output, RGB video output, Audio output label value BUILT IN MEDIA Two 5.25'' disk drives label value OS FLeX label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply label value PERIPHERALS High resolution graphic card, SS39 Bus card label value PRICE Kit model : 9885 FF (France, Dec. 83) photos adverts links 258 title subtitle text image VEGAS 6809 /media/museum/photos/microkit_vegas_2.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH AD (DEC. 1983) /media/museum/pubs/microkit_vegas_pub_1.jpg title url text Forum WDA http://forum.wda-fr.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1640 Forum thread about a guy who had a Vegas 6809 and succeeded to recover the floppy disc with the VFLEX system 248 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230608082909/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=248 2023-06-08

The French electronics magazine Le Haut-Parleur (The loudspeaker) published several articles about how to assemble the first modular computer based on the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. The author of the articles was Christian Tavernier, the computer was thus named "Tavernier". The operating system was Flex, also choosed by SMT Co. for its Goupil II and III which were selected by the French Department of Education as small network servers.

But the Vegas was actually conceived in the editorial offices of another French Electronics magazine named Microsystème which published the schematics of this professionnal computer based on a single card holding all the nesessary components: 6809 CPU, 64 KB of RAM, 2 x Parallel Centronics I/O, 2 x Serial RS232 I/O, one SS30 expansion bus. The diagram of the computer took advantage of the application notes published by Motorola, about the 6809, 6821, 6850, 6840 and 6545 chips.

In 1983, the MICROKIT company started to sell the machine in kit form, it was a modern and professionnal computer that could be gradually enhanced.

A 6545 chip managed the video interface, which could work in 80x24 or videotext mode (40x24). This mode was used in the French Minitel and TV Videotext. The same chip was used to manage this graphics mode in the last TV generation at the time. The VEGAS had no graphic mode. The display unit could be either a standard TV set or a monochrome composite monitor. The keyboard could be acquired separately. It was connected to one of the Parallel ports and used 8 data lines and one 'strobe' signal.

Several 5.25" or 8" floppy disk drives could be used, from 360 KB to 1.2 MB (single or double-sided, single or double density). Up to 4 FDD could be connected in chain. To our knowledge, there were no hard disk connection because the card lacked a DMA port and the Flex OS didn't managed directories.
The sound output was a bit basic, only an square signal provided by a Motorola MC6840 with variable frequency, but no volume adjustment.

In the first Microsystème articles, several expansion card were promised: Enhanced video, EPROM programmer, synthesiser, etc. But most of the expansions were home assembled by anthousiasts who acquired the main board. A 512 x 512 video card was described in the magazine though, holding 64 KB of RAM and allowing image superimposition. It was connected to the Parallel port and seen by the system as a printer!

The main board held a simple hexadecimal monitor in ROM. Lots of programming languages were available under FLEX: several versions of Basic interpreters ands compilers, PASCAL, C, LISP, FORTH, etc. A spreadsheet, a word processor (Stylo) and a database management were also available. However, the Flex version of the Vegas wasn't compatible with the Tavernier and Goupil versions.

Thanks to Jacques Rivet for most of the information.

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.