WaveMate Bullet
Encyclopedia
The Wave Mate Bullet was a Z80
Single Board Computer from the late 1970's and early 1980's which used the CP/M
operating system
. This computer is rarely seen now but has historical value as an early microcomputer
pioneer. It was sold in Australia
, the USA and Europe
and was apparently popular in academic settings.
and its clones ascended to marketplace domination. http://www.thepcmuseum.net/timeline.php
drives. The 5.25" disks were formatted on both sides with five 1024 byte sectors per track with 80 tracks per side for a total of 800K per disk.
The standard configurations includes two serial port
s, a parallel port
, an external bus interface
, separate connectors for 5.25" and 8" floppy disk
drives, and a hard disk interface. The hard disk interface is either IMI hard disk controller model #7710 or SCSI
depending on the motherboard version.
and is of interest to vintage computer enthusiasts. It was mentioned by Don Maslin (deceased), key member of Dina-SIG and a widely known and respected figure in the vintage computer community, on the CCTALK mailing list as belonging in the top 150 all time collectible microcomputers. http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/1999-June/128669.html
Zilog Z80
The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog and sold from July 1976 onwards. It was widely used both in desktop and embedded computer designs as well as for military purposes...
Single Board Computer from the late 1970's and early 1980's which used the CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. This computer is rarely seen now but has historical value as an early microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
pioneer. It was sold in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the USA and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and was apparently popular in academic settings.
Notability
The Wave Mate Bullet is notable because it represents CP/M machines at their apex. Small yet affordable machines which were quite powerful at the time with plentiful applications. Wave Mate, Inc. is an historically relevant company because one of the original microcomputer companies which released their first computer kit the Wave Mate Jupiter II in 1975. The Wave Mate Bullet represents the end of the CP/M era as the IBM PCIBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
and its clones ascended to marketplace domination. http://www.thepcmuseum.net/timeline.php
Configurations
The Wave Mate Bullet runs CP/M 3.0 and CP/M 2.2 is available. It is available in many configurations but typically is found in a small chassis with two 96 tracks per inch 5.25" floppy diskFloppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drives. The 5.25" disks were formatted on both sides with five 1024 byte sectors per track with 80 tracks per side for a total of 800K per disk.
The standard configurations includes two serial port
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
s, a parallel port
Parallel port
A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. In computing, a parallel port is a parallel communication physical interface. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port...
, an external bus interface
External Bus Interface
The External Bus Interface, usually shortened to EBI, is a computer bus for interfacing small peripheral devices like flash memory with the processor. It is used to expand the internal bus of the processor to enable connection with external memories or other peripherals...
, separate connectors for 5.25" and 8" floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drives, and a hard disk interface. The hard disk interface is either IMI hard disk controller model #7710 or SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
depending on the motherboard version.
Collectable
The Wave Mate Bullet is a vintage computer which predates the IBM PCIBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
and is of interest to vintage computer enthusiasts. It was mentioned by Don Maslin (deceased), key member of Dina-SIG and a widely known and respected figure in the vintage computer community, on the CCTALK mailing list as belonging in the top 150 all time collectible microcomputers. http://www.classiccmp.org/pipermail/cctalk/1999-June/128669.html