Commodore SupetPET 9000 Computer!

The top of the PET line of computers was a project of the University of Waterloo in Canada. What they produced is remarkable indeed. Based off top-of-the-line Commodore PET technology, the SP9000 (also known as the MicroMainframe in Europe) sports 96K of RAM, true RS232, 8032 compatibility, and an architecture and software package that make it a developers' power machine!

When powered on in its 6809 Programmer mode, the SuperPET brings up the menu you see here, allowing you to select from its assortment of powerful programming languages and development tools. The idea behind the machine was that developers and academic types could do their work on the SuperPET, and then upload their source back to a mainframe or other machine using a direct RS232 connection.

The powerful packages, as seen in the menu, include: RS232 configuration (Setup), a Machine Language Monitor, an APL development package, a BASIC development package (in addition to the standard Commodore BASIC), a powerful text editor/terminal program, a Fortran development package, a Pascal development package, an Assembler development package, and (not listed) a COBOL development package. There's much more on all of these below.

Be sure to check out the PET 2001 entry for more general information on Commodore PET computers.

Statistics, features, and SuperPET resources:

CPU: MOS Technology 6502 AND 6809

1 mhz clock speeds (See a close-up)

RAM: 96 kilobytes

64K was contained on an expansion board above the motherboard.
Early SP9000 models had two boards above the motherboard
Some models also had 3 or more switches.

ROM: 48 kilobytes

Waterloo KERNAL, including CBM Basic 4.0
- Download Waterloo KERNAL (See the Monitor Screen)
- Setup (Download "Loader") (See the Screen)
- BASIC (Download "BASIC") (See the Screen)
- APL (Download "APL") (See the Screen) (See a Close-Up)
- Development (Download "Development") (See the Screen)
- Edit (Download "Edit") (See the Screen)
- Fortran (Download "Fortran") (See the Screen)
- Pascal (Download "Pascal") (See the Screen)
- COBOL (Download "cobol")
- Extras Disk 1 (Download "Libraries/Examples Disk 1")
- Extras Disk 2 (Download "Libraries/Examples Disk 2")

Video: MOS Technology 6545 CRTC

12" Monochrome display
80 columns x 25 rows
(3+) character sets (256 characters each)

Sound: Piezo electronic speaker.

One square wave voice
Three octaves.

Ports: 6551 ACIA, MOS 6520 PIA, MOS 6522 VIA

IEEE-488 edge-connector Port
2 Commodore Datasette ports
Male edge-connector 'EXPANSION' port
25-pin RS232 Female DIN port (Internal)
Male edge-connector CBM parallel programmable "User" port
Memory and Processor selection switches

Keyboard: Full-sized 73 key QWERTY

Multi-Font 62 key keyboard (see a close-up)
- APL Symbols on the front of the keys
11 key numeric keypad (see the keypad)
- Editor functions on the front of the keys
2-key 4-direction cursor-pad

Resources:

Personal Note:As a programmer, the SP9000 is easily my favorite machine, as it seems built to cater to folks who want to tinker with software and speak to their computer in many ways. Purchased back in 1996 during my initial incursion into the world of eBay , this is the first PET I ever owned.

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