MS-Dos

Recently we moved and I found an un-opened box of MS-DOS 5.0 upgrade. I don't even recall buying this, but it must have been just before the time Windows was released. Started me thinking.... Should I load this on an old 386?

Dale

dwinhold over 10 years ago in reply to COMPACT

A picture of the processor and below the motherboard
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COMPACT over 10 years ago in reply to dwinhold

An Intel or AMD one?
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dwinhold over 10 years ago

When the internet first came out in my area the fastest connecting speed was with a 14.4, I had a 9600. When i upgraded to the 14.4 I couldn't believe the difference. I paid $35 for 15 hours of connection per month. I used Netscape .6 for a browser.

A little off topic from MS-DOS, but I like where it's going.
I'm going to fire up the 386 tomorrow and see what is on it. I'll video it for fun to share the fun.
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COMPACT over 10 years ago in reply to DAB

The first modems I used were this speed and acoustically coupled to the telephone handpiece.
This made it easier to get Australian regulatory approvals rather than direct attachment.
To get Australian regulatory approvals for directly connected modems the designs needed to provide 4kV isolation and other protection measures to ensure that the phone line remained safe as not to increase the risk of electric shock to any linesmen working.
The reason for 4kV isolation rather than 1.5kV isolation as used in the USA is because in Australia we have very long telephone wires (mostly in remote areas) that could plausibly induce rather large voltages.

With FSK the speed crept up to 1200 half duplex on two wires and 1200 full duplex on 4 wires, 1200/75 on two wires. (to CCITT standards)

The speed increased to 2400 baud using PSK (Phase shift keying).
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DAB over 10 years ago in reply to dwinhold

I started with 110 and 300 baud connections.

We thought 9600 was a tremendous improvement.

DAB
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dwinhold over 10 years ago in reply to COMPACT

My first modem for my 8088 was a 1200 baud. It was top speed at the time.
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COMPACT over 10 years ago in reply to dwinhold

14.4kbps was an amazing feat especially over a phone line is was limited to a 3kHz bandwidth.
It was a great use of DSPs (Digital Signal Processors).
I used to worked for several modem manufacturers during my career.

300 baud just used FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), faster speeds used more elaborate schemes.
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dwinhold over 10 years ago in reply to COMPACT

Sounds like a great idea, I would love to learn more as well. This could be a start of a fun journey, teach younger members that speed isn't everything!
As a note, my 386 has a 14.4 modem, time for dial-up!
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DAB over 10 years ago in reply to COMPACT

Hi Monte,

I think such a series would be a nice trip down memory lane for some of the members, including me.
So don't overtax yourself, but I look forward to your posts. Get better soon.

DAB
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COMPACT over 10 years ago in reply to DAB

Hi DAB!
I used to design floppy drive systems and my mentor used to service and align them properly.
It's amazing how many floppy disk drives weren't optimally aligned! (Hence the woes of unnecessary read errors).
Would anyone be interested is a series of fun articles about them?

It might come out in dribs and drabs due to my illness.

Compact
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