I'm selling off my collection of S-100 systems, cards, and paraphernalia.
Today it's normal to describe *any* s-100 computer as "rare". But this one was rare when it was being made! The company that made it started by selling software (TDL basic, TDL assembler, TDL linker, etc) which was very popular. They then added s-100 cards like the "ZPU" and the "SMB" to their offerings and those were also popular. Finally they changed the name of the company to Xitan and began selling this complete system. Unfortunately it never got a chance to become popular because the company folded shortly thereafter.You can find more historical information by Googling "Technical Design Labs".
This one is a complete (slightly expanded) "alpha 2" version of the XITAN computer system including the chassis, power supply, ZPU card, SMB card, (2) Z16 memory cards (only one pictured), and original documentation. Unfortunately the paper tape software originally supplied is missing, so the only software included is the rom monitor. However the documentation includes the manuals for the missing software, and the software itself is available for free download on the internet. Manuals include:
* The XITAN Alpha Mainframe Manual
* The ZPU Manual
* The Z16 Manual
* The SMB Assembly Manual
* The SMB User's Manual
* Zapple 12K Basic User's Manual
* Z-80 Relocating/Linking Assembler User's Manual
* Zapple Text Editor User's Manual
* Text Output Processor User's Manual
+ numerous sheets of schematics and notes
The system seems very original except for the fan installed on the side of the cover (see pics), apparently added by one of the past owners.
There is nothing obvious (to the naked eye) indicating it won't work, and it will power up (switch on the back causes the light on the front to illuminate), but I never got around to running cables from the SMB to the back so I could plug in a terminal to see if it's fully functional. I'd say that's extremely unlikely. Given it's age I won't even guarantee it powers up by the time it reaches you. Routine shipping bumps and knocks could easily shake loose something hanging by a 30+ year old thread, so if you even *try* to power it up do so very carefully!
On Apr-29-15 at 07:03:41 PDT, seller added the following information:Ideally you should pair this with a *working* terminal/printer like my LA34 DecWriter, item 261867425770.