AIM-65
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The Rockwell AIM-65 computer was a trainer and development computer based on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor and introduced in 1976. The AIM-65 was the big brother to the KIM-1 computer. Available software included a monitor with line at a time assembler/disassembler, BASIC interpreter, assembler, Pascal, PL/65, and FORTH development system. Available hardware included a Floppy Disk Controller and a backplane for expansion.
Standard software included the monitor software in ROM, called Advanced Interactive Monitor, AIM, hence the name of the system. It featured line assembler, disassembler, setting and viewing memory and registers, starting execution of other programs and more. Single stepping was made possible using non-maskable interrupt (NMI). The command prompt was the less-than sign "<", and on receiving a single character command, it added this input character and the greater-than sign ">". If the thermal printer was turned on, this would be outputted on a single line. The monitor included a number of service routines and was fully documented, including source code.
The machine featured dual cassette tape control. This made it possible to write large assembly program using the two pass assembler ROM. Source code in text was written twice, consecutively, to the input tape and the assembler was invoked. It could start and stop the input cassette tape using motor control. During first pass the symbol table was built and stored in RAM. During second pass symbols would be translated and code written out to the second tape, also using motor control. Being able to avoid storing code in RAM made it possible to save much space. It was, however, still important to keep symbols short since RAM sizes were often no more than 4KB.
In 1981 Rockwell introduced an improved model with a 40 character display as the AIM-65/40.
MTU made a "Visible Memory" card in 1978 that worked with the KIM-1 and AIM-65 computers, providing raster graphics display capability. MTU also made the first real time music synthesizer for a microcomputer; it worked with the KIM-1 and AIM-65, and featured a DAC with software providing 4 voices of wavetable synthesis.
In 2003, some of these 27 year old computers were still in use controlling various displays and creatures at a high tech Halloween show near Alexandria, Virginia.
Technical specifications
- Built in full sized QWERTY keyboard
- 20 character alphanumeric LED display (16 segments)
- Integrated 20 character thermal printer
- RS-232 serial interface
- Expansion connector
- Application connector with 6522 VIA chip
- 4K RAM
- 5 sockets for 4K ROM/EPROM chips