Ohio Scientific Classic Home Computers and Systems

Ohio Scientific was a legendary computer company that brought home computing to the masses. The company was founded in 1976 by a group of engineers and enthusiasts who were passionate about making computing accessible to everyone.

One of the most iconic products from Ohio Scientific was the Challenger 1, a single-board computer that was designed to be simple, affordable, and easy to use. It was released in 1977 and quickly gained popularity among hobbyists and educators.

The Challenger 1 was a groundbreaking machine that introduced many people to the world of computing for the first time. Its user-friendly interface and low price made it an attractive option for those who wanted to explore the possibilities of home computing.

Ohio Scientific's commitment to innovation and accessibility helped to establish the company as a leader in the burgeoning home computer market.

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Ohio Scientific's growth phase was a period of significant expansion and change for the company. They opened a manufacturing plant in Cleveland in 1980, which was a key step in increasing their production capacity.

The company also faced challenges during this time, with Stan Veit describing them as "undercapitalized and very slow to deliver ordered equipment". This led to lost business opportunities due to their technical ability.

In 1978, Ohio Scientific initiated a cooperative centralized software dealership program to address the issue of long development times for their software. This move aimed to spur the development of business applications for their computers.

By 1980, Ohio Scientific had expanded its operations significantly, with two facilities in Cleveland and a printed circuit board manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico. This expansion enabled the company to increase its production and employee base.

The company's employee count grew to 300 by 1980, a significant increase from previous years. Ohio Scientific also acquired the hard drive manufacturing division of Okidata in California, which helped to further expand their product offerings.

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The Ohio Scientific Model 300 Computer Trainer Board, released in 1976, was a precursor to their more popular Superboard and Challenger lines. It featured an MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor and 128 Bytes of RAM.

The Model 300 was designed to be a trainer board, with a number of slide switches on the bottom that connected directly to the microprocessor's data, read-write, and address select pins. This allowed the microprocessor to be halted and the RAM loaded with machine code instructions.

A row of LEDs connected in series with each line of the 6502's bus acted as a visual representation of the processor's state. The board was 8 by 10 inches in size and required an external 5 V DC, 500 mA power source.

Ohio Scientific fully assembled each Computer Trainer Board, which came shipped with a manual. An optional power supply and hardware and programming monographs were also available.

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Ohio Scientific was founded in 1975 by Mike and Charity Cheiky in Hiram, Ohio, with a start-up capital of between $5,000 and $25,000. The company was originally outfitted from the Cheiky's garage and was dedicated to the production of electronic teaching aids.

The first products the company released included a calculator that also taught the basics of statistics and a single-board microcomputer, the Microcomputer Trainer Board, which was designed by Mike Cheiky and incorporated a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. The Microcomputer Trainer Board saw high demand and generated $20,000 in sales for the trio.

Ohio Scientific's early success was fueled by a quarter-page advertisement in an early issue of Byte, a magazine for microcomputer hobbyists, which resulted in orders for the board totaling $100,000 within a few months. The company's growth led them to move to a 700-square-foot storefront in Hiram, Ohio, where they continued to produce innovative products.

Here are some key dates in Ohio Scientific's history:

Ohio Scientific was founded in 1975 by Mike and Charity Cheiky in Hiram, Ohio, with a start-up capital of between $5,000 and $25,000. The company's original name, Ohio Scientific Instruments, Inc., reflected its initial purpose of producing electronic teaching aids.

The first products released by Ohio Scientific included a calculator that taught statistics and a single-board microcomputer called the Microcomputer Trainer Board, which was designed by Mike Cheiky and featured a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor.

Ohio Scientific's early products were not very successful due to a lack of demand in the local market, but the Microcomputer Trainer Board saw high demand, with orders totaling $100,000 within a few months.

The company's breakthrough came with a quarter-page advertisement in an early issue of Byte, a magazine for microcomputer hobbyists, which generated $20,000 in sales.

Ohio Scientific's first successful product was the OSI Model 500 system, launched in 1978, which was a single-board computer based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. However, it lacked a Video Display Controller and required an external video terminal to create a useful system.

The company's later products, such as the Superboard II, Challenger 1P, Challenger 4P, and Challenger 8P, were also 6502-based and introduced in 1979 and discontinued in 1981.

Here's a list of some of Ohio Scientific's notable products:

Ohio Scientific's products were known for their innovative design and affordability, making them popular among hobbyists and educators.

Ohio Scientific's Sale period began in 1980 and lasted until 1983. This marked a significant shift in the company's focus, as they transitioned from producing their own hardware to selling other companies' products.

During this time, Ohio Scientific sold calculators, microcomputers, and other electronic devices. The company's product line expanded significantly, but they still maintained a strong presence in the Ohio region.

Ohio Scientific's sales efforts were led by their experienced sales team, who had a deep understanding of the market and customer needs. This expertise helped the company to establish strong relationships with their customers and suppliers.

The sale of Ohio Scientific's products during this period helped to further establish the company's reputation as a reliable and trustworthy supplier of electronic devices.

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The C1P (MF) Series II was a redesign of Ohio Scientific's Challenger 1P with a vastly different case design made with a plastic shell, over top of the standard metal case.

This computer incorporated the DAC of the Challenger 4P to allow it to generate sound and music.

It came stock with Microsoft 8K BASIC IN ROM, and 8KB of Static RAM.

You could also expand it to have the home automation features of the 4P with the purchase of the 630/10 expansion card.

The C1P MF variant came packaged with a dual 5.25-inch floppy drive unit and OS-MDMS, a small database management system.

Ohio Scientific computers were popular among homebrew enthusiasts in the early eighties.

The company's systems, such as the OSI and Rockwell AIM-65, were often modified by users to enhance their performance.

Users would make extensive modifications to their machines, which required a good understanding of hardware and soldering skills.

One common modification was adding I/O to an OSI system.

The magazine "Micro" was dedicated to the 6502 and 6809 crowd, featuring articles on making a coprocessor board and adding I/O to an OSI system.

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The magazine covered various 6502 systems, including the Apple, OSI, and Rockwell AIM-65.

Overclocking was a popular modification, even with older machines like the OSI.

I, for one, made a "GT" modification to my original OSI machine, increasing the clock frequency from 1MHz to 2MHz.

The original documentation for this modification warned that 2114 memory chips could get flaky when running at the 2MHz rate, especially in a boxed enclosure.

This was due to heat buildup and poor air circulation, which could cause the chips to fail after an hour of use.

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The Ohio Scientific C3-B had a multi-processor model, featuring a MOS Technology/Synertek 6502A, a Motorola 6800, and a Zilog Z80 processor.

Each processor had a clock switchable between 1, 2, and 4 MHz to suit its needs. This flexibility was a key feature of the time.

The C3-B's storage capacity was massive, with a 14" 74MB Winchester drive, which was a significant amount of storage for its era.

The machine's floppy disk units combined with its vast storage meant it had "at least a thousand times performance improvement" over other machines.

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The OSI's C3-B computer used static RAM, which was the simpler and faster option at the time.

Static RAM was a good choice because it was faster and didn't require refreshing like dynamic RAM did.

In 1978, dynamic RAM offered higher density per chip, but it required three power supplies and periodic refreshing, which added complexity to the system.

The C3-B had 48K of static RAM, which was a significant amount for its time.

The RAM was divided into 8K blocks, with the lowest block being the on-board RAM, and further decoding was performed to access the 1K blocks for each pair of 2114 RAM chips.

The four BASIC ROMs were mapped to $A000 through $BFFF in four 2K blocks via a 1-of-4 decoder.

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The system operates in a continuous cycle, constantly monitoring and adjusting to ensure optimal performance. This is made possible by the advanced sensors and data analytics software.

The system's processing power is provided by high-performance CPUs, which enable fast and efficient processing of large amounts of data. These CPUs are designed to handle the system's demanding workload.

The system's operating system is designed to be highly responsive and adaptable, allowing it to quickly respond to changing conditions and optimize performance accordingly. This is achieved through a combination of sophisticated algorithms and real-time data analysis.

The system's power supply is a critical component, providing a stable and reliable source of energy to the system's components. This power supply is designed to be highly efficient, minimizing energy waste and reducing the system's environmental impact.

The system's cooling system is a vital component, working to maintain a stable temperature and prevent overheating. This is achieved through a combination of air circulation and liquid cooling systems.

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The 610 expansion board from OSI was a popular choice for Superboard and C1P systems, providing up to 24K of 2114 RAM and a complete floppy controller.

This board allowed users to install a maximum of 32K, but OSI often shipped it with 12K on board, resulting in a system with 20K installed.

Calibrating the disk controller on a 610 board required setting up four one-shot pulse generators, which could be done by adjusting resistors R18 and R10.

The Tx Clock generator produced narrow pulses, and the Tx Data pulse had a negative going pulse width of 400ns.

The Rx circuitry could be adjusted by injecting the Tx Clock pulses into the received data/clock lines, and the Rx Clock had a positive pulse width of 1us.

If problems were suspected with the 6821 chip, it could be tested by removing jumper J3 and executing specific commands in BASIC.

The 6821 chip could be tested by selecting the Control Port, setting PA0 to be an output, and checking pin 2 with a logic probe.

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Ohio Scientific users had access to a simple operating system called HEXDOS, which was written by Steven Hendrix in the early 1980s and was very popular due to its low cost.

HEXDOS was designed to run on systems with as little as 12K of memory and used the BASIC residing on the Superboard ROMs, adding LOAD and SAVE functionality.

The operating system did not offer disk BASIC, but rather used the ROM-based BASIC, which had limitations, including a 6-digit file name limit compared to the 9-digit limit of disk BASIC.

To get a directory of a disk, users would type the "LOAD/" command, which loaded the directory into memory as a program file, and then typing LIST would display the actual contents of the disk.

HEXDOS supported named files, allowing users to load specific programs by typing the file name, for example, "LOAD "FORMAT"" to load the FORMAT program.

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