PSION Organiser II Forum

Hi to everyone,
A few lines about my Organiser history:
Got an Organiser I in 1984 with Math Pack and Serial Interface and still have it, along with my first Organiser II XP. Passed on all my other hardware (Including my LZ's etc) at the end of a project in the early 90's

Wrote huge amounts of OPL and Assembler including custom interface hardware design for specialist data acquisition. Worked with the early industrial offshoot models and the Laptop as well. Though until writing this had forgotten about those custom HMI projects.

Got interested again when seeing these videos on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-DpxOIYdU
https://hackaday.com/2021/08/26/proto-p ... y-pi-pico/

Used e-Bay to grab some LZ bargains and data packs. Dusted of my old PSION EPROM eraser, which despite numerous house moves, has survived intact!

Have not written a line of OPL or Assembler for an organiser since the early 90's
For a link like the Bluetooth option above, wanted to figure out how to package PCB's and I am looking to design some new interfaces. So roughed out some models to help with space claim and external connectors.
https://github.com/nofitnessforpurpose

Look forward to reading your posts

Hi..

I have something you might be able to help with on your Organiser 1. This thread (here) started by Guy (another relatively new forum member) is about an apparent bug come rounding error.

I would be interested to know if the SQR(5*5) = 5.000000002 rounding error occurs on the Organiser 1 with the maths pack?

Oh.. by the way - welcome

And out of interest Peter (thesourcerer) long established forum member runs the eBay store the powerful pierre

Sincerely Martin
.

Hello there,

It's interesting that you have done a lot of OPL and assembler, I'm trying to rewrite the Psion OS and rewrite OPL to go with it, you might be interested in that.

https://github.com/blackjetrock/newopl
https://github.com/blackjetrock/psion-o ... recreate-c

I see on your github that your first computer was a kit. Which one was that? My first computer was also a kit, the ZX81.

Hello @NotFitForPurpose always interesting to see new stuff/ideas coming out from users revisiting the Psion, my own rediscovery is far less interesting than most, I’m nowhere as technical as most of the other users here, I can do basic OPL stuff and know which end of a soldering is the business end, and I used Psions both personally and at work in the 80’s and 90’s.

If you feel like elaborating on your previous hardware and software work with the Psion I’m sure it would be interesting for others here to read.

Slightly off topic random thought - It does strike me as rather surprising that given the quite widespread interest in Psions and other early computers we are yet to see any direct (commercial) modern equivalents, in the sense of efficient minimal computers, simply interfaced and programmed by hobbyists, without dependence on bloated desktop or cellphone operating systems. I guess it wouldn’t be a big enough market for a big company to do these days, but it is great that Psions and the other computers from the past still have enthusiastic users and communities.

Hi Daren,
Previous projects were all very much industrially related and targeted to specific customized industrial process. All in manufacturing process related activities for machines that left the country in the shift of manufacturing to lower cost bases.

In essence implementing what seems to have been the later PSION industrial range. Essentially very early customized portable expert systems employing Fuzzy logic, Statistical data analysis and hardware interfacing for data acquisition. Things your most inadequate phone would now do in the blink of an eye.

Much of it a case of the one eyed person being king in the land of the blind perhaps. In those days there were fewer around who understood hardware, software, data analysis and how to connect things together.

I think there are now commercial equivalents, often in the rugged handheld domain.

However, the longest road starts with the first step. So build on what you know and ask when you don't.
From what I see on this forum, there are some real experts around. I for one, expect to be asking.