What it is
CPCISA is a project currently under development (but on hold?) by Futur's. Basically it is a hardware add-on that lets you connect ISA cards to your old CPC! Some examples of what it can offer:
- An I/O interface (Serial and parallel ports, Floppy and IDE ports)
- An internal (card) modem (probably a full-featured modem is needed; that is, not a winmodem/softmodem)
- A SoundBlaster card (or 100% compatible)
- A network card
Status
The card is working, however there are only 4 cards built. This is because the card is complex and outdated, ISA peripherals and the AT standard becoming old. The software can use the Adlib synthesis of the soundcard to play some sounds, and there is a read and write sector routine for the hard disk but no filesystem to use it. It is not possible to use EGA/VGA or other video card with this system (CPCISA decodes only I/O ports, not memory mapped VRAM).
Additional info
- Yarek's CPCISA page about making a CPC-Isa compatible system wich would connect to a full 286 AT PC motherboard
- Siou's page on CPCISA. Siou is the original developer of the system