[Coco] Has ANYONE seen this item on E-Bay???

[Andrew]

I just did some quick searching on this item; here's what I found, based 
on the Ebay listings and some digging.

1. Called "CoCo File server" as near as I can tell.

2. It's an Arduino Uno (not RasPi) based file-server system that 
connects to the Arduino using a MAX232, and uses a custom software suite 
on the CoCo and Arduino to save/load files to/from an SD card hosted on 
the Arduino. Not bad.

2. The name of the software on the CoCo is called "PCFSRV" - has a 
variety of commands to interact with it.

3. The UNO uses a piece of software called "FILE-SRV" - it responds to 
commands from the PCFSRV program.

4. The Ebay listing has the complete user manual - so look at that for 
more details I guess.

5. This whole system was created by "John E Hieber" (original copyright 
of 2015, with a later rev 2.5 updated June 2017). So this guy is active; 
but is he a "loner", or does anyone on this list know him?

6. I found this defunct Ebay listing for something interesting called 
"TRS80 CoCo Fast LOAD & SAVE, Similar to Cloud-9 DriveWire, PC interface":

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TRS80-CoCo-Fast-LOAD-amp-SAVE-Similar-to-Cloud-9-DriveWire-PC-interface-/332394340050

What is curious about this listing is that it is "software only" and 
comes with instructions to build a cable. Priced at $7.49, $3.00 
shipping. But the listing was ended today (10/28/2017) - maybe when he 
put up the new listings?

Version of the software is 2.4.

7. Found this also by him apparently - X10 Lighting Controller - which 
looks like a card to connect to the CoCo expansion interface to control 
an X10 Firecracker with custom software:

http://www.cocopedia.com/wiki/index.php/X10_Lighting_Control

 From 2012.

8. Here's an interesting bit: In the December 1982 issue of 80 
Microcomputing is an article, on page 194 by "J E Hieber" called "The 
Looking for Z$ Blues" (God bless the 80 that's got its own search function):

https://archive.org/stream/80-microcomputing-magazine-1982-12

Curiously, the article is titled two different ways - the way above 
(which it appears as on page 194), and the way it appears in the table 
of contents, as "The Looking for ZS Blues". The magazine, as it were in 
those days, publishes the guy's mailing address of that time, but I 
don't know if that is his current address.

If it isn't the same guy, I'll eat my shorts.

So there you have it. I might try to get in contact with the seller, see 
what he knows about the CoCo community. It's an interesting product, but 
he has to know the market is pretty small for it.


On 10/28/2017 10:56 AM, coco-request at maltedmedia.com wrote:
> [Coco] Has ANYONE seen this item on E-Bay???

-- 
Andrew L. Ayers
Glendale, Arizona
https://github.com/andrew-ayers
http://www.phoenixgarage.org/