yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
3eeabe9649
6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun. 4,336 media files so far; references to files not downloaded yet are left out. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
213 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
213 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: GridCase
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categories:
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- Computers
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types:
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- Professional Computer
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origins:
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- U.S.A.
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years:
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- '1985'
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cpus:
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- 80C86 - low-power version
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params:
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name: GridCase
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_running_s1.jpg
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logo: /media/museum/logos/grid_gridcase_logo.gif
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company: /companies/grid
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company_name: Grid
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specs:
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- label: NAME
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value: GridCase
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- label: MANUFACTURER
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value: Grid
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- label: TYPE
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value: Professional Computer
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- label: ORIGIN
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value: U.S.A.
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- label: YEAR
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value: '1985'
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- label: END OF PRODUCTION
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value: Unknown
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- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
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value: None
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- label: KEYBOARD
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value: 57-key IBM PCjr-compatible
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- label: CPU
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value: 80C86 - low-power version
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- label: SPEED
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value: 4.77 MHz
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- label: CO-PROCESSOR
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value: Socket for an 8087 math corpocessor
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- label: RAM
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value: 128 KB up to 512 KB
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- label: VRAM
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value: 16 KB
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- label: ROM
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value: Up to 512KB of user installable ROMs
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- label: TEXT MODES
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value: 80 characters x 25 lines
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- label: GRAPHIC MODES
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value: 640 x 200 pixels
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- label: COLORS
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value: Monochrome
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- label: SOUND
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value: Built-in speaker
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- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
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value: 28.5 (W) x 38 (D) x 5.7 (H) cm / 5.8 kg
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- label: I/O PORTS
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value: External colour monitor, Serial and Parallel ports, RJ11 phone jack, external PC keyboard, 50-pin expansion bus
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- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
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value: 3.5'' 720 KB FDD
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- label: OS
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value: MS-DOS 2.11, Grid-OS (proprietary OS)
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- label: POWER SUPPLY
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value: External AC supply, rechargeable battery pack
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- label: PERIPHERALS
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value: Internal 1200-baud modem ($795), external 5.25'' FDD ($895)
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- label: PRICE
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value: I $2975 - II $3150 - III $4350 - IV $4550
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tabs:
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- photos
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- adverts
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- hardware
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photos:
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- title: LARGE VIEW
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_system_s1.jpg
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- title: TOP VIEW
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_topview_s1.jpg
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- title: BOTH SIDES
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subtitle: ''
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text: The GridCase used one of the very first version of Sony 3.5" floppy-disk drive.
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_bothsides_s1.jpg
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- title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_keyboard_s1.jpg
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- title: CLOSED
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_closed_s1.jpg
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- title: GRIDCASE LOGOS
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_gridlogo_s1.jpg
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- title: REAR PANEL
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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**(1)** Power switch\
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**(2)** External keyboard DIN socket\
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**(3)** Serial RS232 BD25 connector\
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**(4)** Expansion bus DB50 connector\
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**(5)** Parallel printer DB25 connector\
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**(6)** External CGA monitor output\
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**(7)** Battery pack\
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**(8)** External AC adaptor jack
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_rearpanel_s1.jpg
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- title: ROM SOCKETS
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subtitle: ''
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text: User could add specific OS or software sold by Grid in these sockets.
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_romsockets_s1.jpg
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- title: THE 3 MODELS
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subtitle: ''
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text: 'The 3 Gridcase models are only different by their screen : classic LCD display (grey), enhanced LCD display (green & yellow), and high-contrast gas-plasma display (orange & black)'
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase_3models.jpg
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- title: GRIDCASE IV BOOT-UP SCREEN
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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Only a few GridCase IV computers were manufactured.
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Thanks to **Leonard Nagorski**
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image: /media/museum/photos/grid_gridcase4_bootscreen_s1.jpg
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adverts:
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- title: MAGAZINE COVER
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subtitle: ''
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text: The Gridcase made the cover of SVM (french magazine) in january 1985
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image: /media/museum/pubs/grid_gridcase_svm.jpg
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hardware:
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- title: PERIPHERALS
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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GridCase stackable portable peripherals. From top to bottom:\
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• 3.5" floppy-disk drive\
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• 5.25" floppy-disk drive\
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• 10 MB hard-disk\
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• Base station battery charger/power source.
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image: /media/museum/hardware/grid_gridcase_peripherals_s1.jpg
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comments:
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- author: Rod Jones (Denver CO/USA)
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date: Saturday 31st October 2020
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text: |-
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28.10.2020 at 09:55\
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This was my first laptop. Very powerful for it’s day. Unique in that you used, I think it was a penny to pop opens little panel which exposed 3 eprom sockets the 4th socket held your ram chip and it was soldered in. You would buy software like Lotus 123. Fill out a form and send the unopened software to grid and they would get a license to burn the software onto an eprom and send it back to you. Now since you had 3 eprom sockets that mint that you could have 3 programs loaded on the laptop at the same time. If you needed to run a different program you would turn it off and carefully remove one of the EPROMs and take another eprom chip and pop it in. Now these were not rugged EPROMs. They were the same EPROMs that you would find soldered into a standard socket so you had to be very careful with them. The pins were quite fragile. Back then if you wanted to produce a document, you first had to decide which word processing package gave you the features you needed for the document you were producing. Aston Tate had different capabilities than other word processing software packages. So you ended up with several EPROMs with different software vendors products burnt in. Again these were very fragile so you ended up carrying a small case with foam that held all the burnt in programs. Quite unique.
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- author: Brendan (United states)
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date: Tuesday 9th June 2015
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text: Are these worth anything as I have one in working order?
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- author: Lesko (Russia)
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date: Wednesday 16th October 2013
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text: Hello I have a laptop Grid 1520. My laptop screen is broken. please tell me where mnenayti Eran? Can anyone selling laptop parts? If you have any information please write.
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- author: Kelly asaf (Usa)
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date: Monday 8th April 2013
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text: I''m sorry to post such a ridiculous question, but I actually have one of the old grid computers and I''m trying to figure out if it has any value. It''s the gridcase model 1530. It seems to work and has a ton of stuff with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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- author: Kelly asaf (Usa)
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date: Monday 8th April 2013
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text: I''m sorry to post such a ridiculous question, but I actually have one of the old grid computers and I''m trying to figure out if it has any value. It''s the gridcase model 1530. It seems to work and has a ton of stuff with it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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- author: Daniel (USA)
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date: Tuesday 23rd October 2012
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text: Trying to find out how to tell if the model I currently have has a built in hard drive. Anyone know how find out? I don''t see a pressed X anywhere on the case, and am assuming the one I have does''t not contain one.
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- author: Lee Pulver (USA)
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date: Monday 29th December 2008
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text: |-
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We became part of the Grid Systems team and worked on the first laptop systems during the early 1980’s$ we still have the original reports and evaluations, including the laptop enclosure Magnesium Alloy test and analysis.\
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Our main charter then and now: influencing the reduction of equipment hazards. As with all clients like Grid Systems, we continue to test, evaluate, and consult our clients so their products can easily conform to product regulations and reduce equipment hazards. As one example of hundreds, being part of the Grid Systems team resulted in batteries or wall adapters never catching on fire. Pulver Labs evaluated the batteries and power supplies in our lab to extremes and then made design recommendations$ the designs shipped and sold to the public could not catch on fire during any extreme use.\
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Our logo appears on the Grid Systems product because Pulver Labs Certified compliance to product standards in 56 countries, and monitored production to assure continued compliance.
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- author: Mr X (USA)
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date: Saturday 8th March 2008
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text: Pulver labs was a testing agency...they did NOT design nor manufacture the Grid. I worked for Cirrus Logic..we supplied VGA chips to Grid..I also dealt with Pulver when he (Lee Pulver) started his company (then in Boise Idaho) they did product compliance testing for VDE/CSA and UL
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- author: Matt Hibbs (USA)
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date: Friday 14th April 2006
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text: The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) in Boise had about 40 of these for the Revenue Agents to do field audits. The Boise District (now gone by) was a test center for the RAR system. The IRS used them for several years and the moved on to another Laptop mfg. We heard tails of companies filing handle parts in order to meet the new weight requirements. I know that Macy's former branch (Bon Marche) had a few in stores for inventory purposes. We liked them and had only occasional hardware related issues.
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- author: Kevin (Clarkston, MI, USA)
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date: Wednesday 23rd March 2005
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text: |-
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I had a GRiD3 in my youth. My dad had purchased it from his work once it was being replaced. I spent many an evening chatting on BBS's with it.
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Oh the memories...
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- author: Jaume de la Vega (Spain)
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date: Thursday 14th October 2004
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text: |-
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Also exists a version of gridcase-1 badged like "philipps pc-200" with a kind of backpack with two isa slots and a bunch of connectors.
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My own got a connector for external floppy instead of a real drive (i cannot use it because "disk error")
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oc_id: 1054
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230605042356/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1054
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date: '2023-06-05'
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---
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The GridCase was about the same size and featured the same robust magnesium case as [Compass](/museum/grid-compass/) model, but Grid forwent the Compass's expensive and power-hungry electroluminescent display and bubble memory.
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The GridCase series was composed of 4 models. The **GridCase I** featured a bottom-of-the-range LCD display, the **GridCase II** had an enhanced LCD "*that more than one person can read*" Grid said, the **GridCase III** offered a high-contrast gas-plasma display (photo), and the **GridCase IV** which used a full size yellow electoluminescent screen that was also offered on the high end earlier Grid Compass Computers.
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The keyboard was the same as the IBM PCjr, not very convenient but with a good tactile feedback provided by a key click similar to that on the IBM PC. Two power modules were available, a rechargeable battery pack and an AC transformer. Both were the same size and fitted in a large socket on the rear panel. Each battery pack lasted 4 to 5 hours for the LCD models, and one hour with the plasma model.
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All models came with eight sockets for ROM chips. Although only four of them could be accessed by the user, Grid offered programs such as MS-DOS, GW-BASIC or Lotus 1-2-3 on ROM chips.
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Several peripherals were available, a base station battery charger and power source, a 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disk drive units and a 10 MB hard disk. They all were of the same size and could be stacked.
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Some of these systems were made for military use and included a built-in hard drive. A big thick X was pressed into the case over the hard drive. The purpose of this was to show the user where to shoot in case the computer was in danger of falling into enemy hands.
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GRiD Defence Systems produced the laptop computers used in the "Aliens" film in 1986. The scenes were cut from the theatrical release but subsequently added to the DVD release.
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The GridCase systems were marketed in France by Sagem. There were a least the MTP16, MTP32 and MTP1550 models available. The MTP32 had a plasma display and a built-in hard disk and was powered 386 CPU. It could be the equivalent of the GridCase III. The MTP1550 had a LCD display and a kind of bar at the bottom of the keyboard which acted like a mouse/trackball... These systems were indeed quite sturdy and most of them were used for military applications.
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---
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**Contributors:** David Griffith, Guy, Jérôme Ginestet
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<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>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.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>
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