Help me identify

[LDMI]

Good afternoon! 
Did not find information about AMSTRAD Z80770 ISSUE NO 5 (1988), do you have information, instructions?

[robcfg]

Hello and welcome!

What part are you talking about? 

I don't find any reference to it, but it would help tremendously if you have any picture of it or if you know which device it belongs to.

[LDMI]

Which service can I upload photos through?

[Gryzor]

You can do it here

[eto]

You can do it here

he probably used quick reply

Which service can I upload photos through?

you can do it here, but you have to use the "REPLY" button and the bottom of the page. If you use "quick reply" the file upload is not visible. 

In case you click "quick reply" you can click on "Preview" below your comment and get into the full editor, where it's again possible to upload files. 

A stupid feature gap of the forum software. 

[Gryzor]

Eh, quick reply is intentionally simpler, it saves a few db calls on each page load.

[LDMI]

Ok

[eto]

No idea - but really interesting... A Z80, EPROM and 8K of static RAM and a LOT of ICs - very unusual for an Amstrad device. 

[LDMI]

I would like to know the purpose of the connectors, power supply and how to display the image.

[Bryce]

From the components on the board, it connects to a telephone line or WAN. ETAL P1200 is a line matching transformer that was used in Modems back then. SCART and RGB outputs. My guess is that it's something like a cash register. With higher resolution to read all the chip numbers, it's quite easy to say exactly what it did. What did Amstrad produce in that year?

Bryce. 

[robcfg]

I found the small plug in card in the middle if the board on an eBay auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/352492759657

No info on what these Rockwell chips actually do...

[robcfg]

I asked the great Antoine (aka SiliconInsider) on Twitter and he pointed me to this page, that shows that the daughter card is part of a fax/modem chipset: https://www.ardent-tool.com/comms/Gammalink.html

[pelrun]

I reckon it's out of the FX9600T fax machine.

[LDMI]

I reckon it's out of the FX9600T fax machine.

Other elements were installed in the fax machine, and the board was not square, but rectangular.

[pelrun]

Just because the case has a particular shape doesn't mean the PCB inside it has to match it. There's only external sockets on two sides, there can be an arbitrary amount of space between the edge of the pcb and the case on the other two, and there's nothing forcing it to the same aspect ratio. And there's going to be mechanical paper feed parts along the front edge anyway.

Without photos of the rear of the fax machine it's hard to be sure, but it has a phone handset connected right where this PCB has a phone jack. Amstrad doesn't appear to have made anything else phone related in this time period, so without alternatives I'll stick with my original opinion.

[Gryzor]

Were fax boards really that complicated and massive??

[pelrun]

Honestly it doesn't look too bad - we're used to the CPC having a really low part count, but that's because the Gate Array is doing all the heavy lifting. The vast majority of the chips here are simple 74 series logic, so the actual system complexity isn't that high.

Don't forget, Sugar's playbook was always "make things that look fancy but are very cheap to manufacture compared to the competition", so I expect this wasn't any different.

[SerErris]

The Rockwell board is actually memory (RAM).

Unfortunately I could not find any more information on what memory etc.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352492759657

And it could be a sattelite receiver. Amstrad produced lots of those things.

They come with modem connection (for Sky dialup whatever) and Scart connector. The DIN connector is probably for something else, not a video signal.

But I could not identify by the ports and available picture what model it would be.

What speaks against that theory is: I cannot see any sattelite antenna port.

[robcfg]

Did you actually read the page I linked above? https://www.ardent-tool.com/comms/Gammalink.html

The small board is a DFX Daughterboard, and it's more than memory:

DFX Daughterboard
  Although these boards are similar, a DFX daughterboard can be installed on the CP, which gives it the ability to decode and store incoming Touch-Tone ™ (DTMF) digits, and to support the CCITT Error Correction Mode (ECM). Also, the CP is programmable with the GammaFax Command Language (GCL) and with the GammaFax Programmer's Interface (GPI). As many as 16 CP boards can be installed in a PC chassis. Four XP boards can be installed in a host computer, providing fax service for LANs.

So it's definitely part of a computerised fax machine.

[SerErris]

Did you actually read the page I linked above? 

Aeh no. Sorry overlooked it. 

A Fax machine .. hmm ... FX9600T - no service manual available (for free), They only produced a few models, but pictures from side or back are hard to find. 

[GUNHED]

The Z80CTC (and other chips) indicate serial communication...

[LDMI]

The Rockwell board is actually memory (RAM).
Unfortunately I could not find any more information on what memory etc.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352492759657
And it could be a sattelite receiver. Amstrad produced lots of those things.
They come with modem connection (for Sky dialup whatever) and Scart connector. The DIN connector is probably for something else, not a video signal.
But I could not identify by the ports and available picture what model it would be.
What speaks against that theory is: I cannot see any sattelite antenna port.

Digital signal processing on the Z80, seriously?

[LDMI]

Did you actually read the page I linked above? https://www.ardent-tool.com/comms/Gammalink.html
The small board is a DFX Daughterboard, and it's more than memory:

DFX Daughterboard
  Although these boards are similar, a DFX daughterboard can be installed on the CP, which gives it the ability to decode and store incoming Touch-Tone ™ (DTMF) digits, and to support the CCITT Error Correction Mode (ECM). Also, the CP is programmable with the GammaFax Command Language (GCL) and with the GammaFax Programmer's Interface (GPI). As many as 16 CP boards can be installed in a PC chassis. Four XP boards can be installed in a host computer, providing fax service for LANs.

So it's definitely part of a computerised fax machine.

The AMSTRAD FX9600T fax machine has a cassette compartment, presumably for an answering machine. The 4 MHz Z80 can handle the audio stream normally, seriously?

[eto]

The 4 MHz Z80 can handle the audio stream normally, seriously?

No audio stream needs to be handled by the Z80. A normal voice call goes straight to the analogue cassette recorder. If a fax call is recognised, the (Rockwell?) modem component will establish the connection and digitize the fax signal which is sent via a serial connection to a CPU. 

[GUNHED]

The Rockwell board is actually memory (RAM).
Unfortunately I could not find any more information on what memory etc.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352492759657
And it could be a sattelite receiver. Amstrad produced lots of those things.
They come with modem connection (for Sky dialup whatever) and Scart connector. The DIN connector is probably for something else, not a video signal.
But I could not identify by the ports and available picture what model it would be.
What speaks against that theory is: I cannot see any sattelite antenna port.

Digital signal processing on the Z80, seriously?

Just program it properly.