The 9845B/T
The 9845B was a revised version of the 9845A, announced first in the 9845B sales brochure from 1979 and introduced in the 1980 catalog. The 9845B was HP's top-selling System 45 model. It took a noticable part in HP's revenue of that time. Most of the 9845 systems which are still available today are 9845B models.
The 9845B system architecture was the final system architecture for all 9845 systems. Modifications were from then on performed only to single assemblies and most important, the CRT display.
In analogy to the 9845A, it was available in two configurations:
- The 9845B, a basic configuration with 64 KBytes LPU R/W Memory, one tape cartridge drive and no internal printer, and
- the 9845T, an expanded version with two internal cartridge drives, a built-in thermal line printer, and 192 KBytes of LPU R/W memory, and graphics support.
The enhancements of the 9845B included both changes in hardware and in software:
- a newly designed motherboard with separate system buses for the PPU and the LPU
- separate processor assemblies for the PPU and the LPU with processor, memory address extension and memory controller
- internal system ROMs on combined RAM/ROM assemblies (instead of ROM drawer modules), one for the PPU and one for the LPU
- 128 KByte and 512 KByte R/W expansion assemblies instead of 8 KByte and 16 KByte R/W memory boards
- redefined use of the HLT bus signal (now mirroring the CRT vertical retrace)
- a couple of new BASIC commands (CAT TO, ON KBD, OFF KBD and KBD$)
- revised system firmware
- revised file formats for all file types except DATA and BDAT
The 9845B and the 9845C mainframes were almost identical, the main differences were the color display, the color coded special function keys and a new graphics firmware. So, as long as no color graphics were used, programs for the 9845B and 9845C were directly interchangeable. With the 9845B, the 9845 series reached a stable base architecture.
In 1982, the so-called option 200 models were introduced on both the 9845B and the 9845C lines. The enhancements for the 9845B Option 200 were a new power supply unit, a bit-slice LPU and the hardware accelerated, monochrome 98780A graphics CRT monitor with light pen. Size and acceleration features of the 9845B Model 200 CRT were very similar to that of a standard 9845C, however reduced to bi-level images and deriving power from the 9845B mainframe PSU. Since the 9845C graphics already were hardware accelerated, the enhancements for the 9845C Model 200 were limited to a new power supply unit and a bit-slice LPU.
Just like the 9845C with its 98770A color CRT monitor, the 9845B option 200 provides eight soft-keys built into the monitor for user-friendly menu selections. The soft-keys are software-labeled, and for that purpose the original 25 line capacity of the display is extended to 28 lines.
Most commercial software (by far) was developed for the 9845B/C models, see the software section for an overview.
Technical Specifications
| CPU Type: |
Opt. 100:
2 x 16-bit (LPU, PPU) 3-chip hybrid processor with BPC, IOC and EMC
Opt. 200:
1 x bit-slice processor (LPU)
1 x 16-bit hybrid (PPU) |
| CPU Clock Frequency: |
11.4 MHz (5.7 MHz internal) |
| Read/Write Memory: |
Opt. 001: 64 KBytes (56,080 bytes available)
Standard: 192 KBytes (188,904 bytes available)
Opt. 205: 320 KBytes (317,820 bytes available)
Opt. 206: 448 kBytes (448,700 bytes available)
Max. 1,600 kBytes (3 x 98407A) |
| Tape Cartridge Capacity: |
217 KBytes |
| Tape Access: |
Directory, file by name |
| Tape Search Speed: |
2,286 mm/sec (90 in./sec) |
| Tape Average Transfer Rate: |
1,440 bytes/sec |
| Tape Cartridge Dimensions: |
63.5 x 82.5 x 12.7 mm (2.5 x 3.25 x 0.5 in.) |
| Termal Line Printer Print Speed: |
up to 480 lines/min |
| Thermal Line Printer Plot Speed: |
Normal mode: 25.4 mm/sec (1 in./sec)
CRT transfer: 3.5 - 25 mm/sec (0.14 - 1 in./sec) |
| Thermal Printer Character Matrix: |
5 x 7 dots (7 x 12 field) |
| Thermal Printer Line Width: |
560 dots, 80 characters |
| Thermal Printer Paper Width: |
English: 216 mm (8.5 in.)
Metric: 210 mm (8.27 in.) |
| Thermal Printer Paper Type: |
Thermal, black or blue print, perforated or continuous roll |
| Thermal Printer Noise Level: |
9 hr 100% duty cycle 68 dBA (max)
0.5 hr 100% duty cycle: 55 dBA (avg.) |
| Thermal Printer Paper Feed: |
Automatic load |
| Operating Temperature: |
5°C to 40°C |
| Storage Temperature: |
-40°C to +65°C |
| Relative Humidity: |
5% to 80% at 40°C |
| System Dimensions: |
Standard: HWD 478 x 478 x 671 mm (18.8 x 18.8 x 26.4 in.)
Opt. 2xx: HWD 546 x 482,5 x 762 mm (21.5 x 19 x 30 in.)
|
| Net Weight: |
Standard mainframe: 18.6 kg (41 lb.)
Standard CRT: 10.43 kg (23 lb.)
Enhanced CRT: 18.6 kg (41lb.)
Graphics opt.: 0.9 kg (2 lb.)
Second tape drive: 0.9 kg (2 lb.)
Opt. thermal printer: 5.22 kg (11.5 lb.)
|
| Shipping Weight: |
Minimum: 53.6 kg (118 lb.)
Standard: 61.4 kg (135 lb.)
Opt. 200: 63.5 kg (140 lb.)
Opt. 250: 69.9 kg (154 lb.) |
| Cube: |
Opt. 1xx: 0.15 m³ (5.4 ft³)
Opt. 2xx: 0.2 m³ (7.09 ft³) |
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| Screen Size: |
310 mm (12.2 in.) in diagonal |
| Screen Brightness: |
12-30 ft.-lamberts (adjustable) |
| X-ray Emission: |
<0.5 mR/hr. |
| Refresh Rate: |
60 Hz (independend of line frequency) |
| Tube Phosphor: |
P31 |
| Maximum Altitude: |
4,572 m (15,000 feet) |
| Dot Size: |
0.328 mm (0.013 in.) |
| Screen Capacity: |
25 lines x 80 characters (2,000 characters total) with 98750A display
28 lines x 80 characters (2,240 characters total) with 98780A display |
| Alpha Buffer Size |
2 kWords / 4 kBytes |
| Alpha Raster Scan Size: |
Opt. 1xx: 236 x 122.94 mm (9.3 in. x 4.84 in.)
Opt. 2xx: 236 x 149 mm (9.3 x 5.9 in.) |
| Character Generation: |
7 x 9 character font in a 9 x 15 character cell |
| Standard Character Set: |
128 ASCII characters |
| Optional Character Sets: |
French, Spanish and German |
| Cursor: |
Blinking underline |
| Graphics Array size: |
560 x 455 dots |
| Graphics Raster Size: |
Opt. 1xx: 200 x 162.5 mm (7.9 in x 6.4 in.)
Opt. 2xx: 184 x 149 mm (7.2 in x 5.8 in.) |
| Graphics Cursor: |
Full screen or blinking crosshair in plotting mode, blinking underline in letter mode, overstrike in letter mode during character editing |
Graphics Display Speed (vectors/sec,
overlapped and not clipped): |
Opt. 1xx / 2xx
For/Next: ~50 / ~270
Matrix Plot: n.a. / ~430
Abolute Plot: n.a. / ~5,000
Circles/s not clipped: n.a. / ~240 |
| Graphics Linearity: |
<1.5 % full screen |
| Graphics Memory: |
16 kWords / 32 kBytes |
| Number of Fill Shades: |
16 (with 4x4 cell dithering) |
| Number of Line Types: |
10 |
| Light Pen Dimensions (Opt. 290 only): |
20.2 mm (0.8 in) diameter by 157 mm (6.18 in) long |
| Light Pen Weight (Opt. 290 only): |
125 g (4.4 oz.) |
| Light Pen Tracking Sampling Rate (Opt. 290 only): |
60 Hz |
| Light Pen Cursor Positioning Accuracy (Opt. 290 only): |
1 pixel |
| Light Pen Minimum Intensity for Pick of Single Pixel (Opt. 290 only): |
10 foot-lamberts (white, blue or green) |
| Power Source: |
110 or 220 VAC (selected by rear panel switch) +15%/-20% |
| Line Frequency: |
48 to 66 Hz |
| Power Consumption: |
Mainframe: 275 W (max.)
CRT display: 550 W (max.) |
| Powerline Susceptibility: |
Withstands +/- 400 VAC pulse (800 ns duration, 1 ns risetime, 60 Hz repetition rate) |
| Base Price U.S.A.: |
$14.000 |
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More Information
Basic sales information about the 9845B can be found in the 9845B brochure from 1979 (look here for the brochure). The 9845B was never introduced in the HP Journal like it was done for the 9845A and the 9845C. Most internal information about the 9845B can be derived from the installation and operation manuals, the 9845B/C service manual and the CE handbook. See the Documents section for further details.
Although there is no special patent document for the 9845B, a complete 9845B model 200 has been reverse engineered by Tony Duell, so there are (really high quality) schematics available.