Yeah. You should add both. The BASIC appears to deserve it.
Sidebar:
This is a bit off topic, at least for this thread, but I am doing some similar activities related to pocket computers.
Back in the day, what I really wanted was a Model 100 by Tandy. I have one now, and yeah. It would have done the work back then. Well.
My use case was manufacturing. Actually still is! I have an opportunity to make some parts similar to ones I did then. At the time, I used a combination of a Tandy PC-6, I believe? The folding one. And also a Casio scientific.
The Tandy had just enough to be useful, but no graphics. Only 20 character, one line display too. Ugh.
But that was enough to help lay out parts and crank out some g-code, which I would just type into a machine and run.
Well, little didnI know, but SHARP was flat out killing it in this space. They got really good at designing little, fast organizers that ran an bit CPU of their own design I think, and button cells!
Their displays were often super too. Clear, fast, respectable pixel counts.
The SHARP G850VS is basically a whole darn workstation. Battery requirements went up to AA cells, but worth it!
Display has 20x5 lines too. Pixel addressable.
But get this!
It has a huge system ROM containing:
BASIC with graphical, scientific, statistical and robust logic commands.
System Monitor
Z-80 Assembler
C Compiler! ! ! (Seriously?)
PIC Assembler
And one other pseudo machine assembler for education I do not fully understand other than the consensus it it being useless.
System Bus, like for cartridges or and / dock.
10 Pin GPIO block, similar to the Raspi machines.
IR comms capability.
That is nuts! And back then it was easy to miss this kind of thing. No Internet meant a lot of us just did not get info. Heck, I learned 6502 out of the magazines in the grocery store magazine racks!
I am on the hunt. And they are not too hard to find right now, so I really just gotta save my pennies and pull the trigger on a good one.
That kind-of capability would have enabled a little CAM system with back plotting to verify g-codes!
End Sidebar
Seems to me you found enough here in your exploration to want the same thing. Flesh it all out and go! Bet you it ends up worth it. :)
Thanks! I happen to have have a G850V (non-S,) but the zebra cables on the LCD have gone spotty. I'm going to see if I can reflow it somehow, or simply put a block of foam behind to re-establish contact.
Truly impressive machines, but vulnerable to the classic Sharp durability issues. I'm still hopeful I can bring it back :)
Back in the day, what I really wanted was a Model 100 by Tandy. I have one now, and yeah. It would have done the work back then. Well.
My use case was manufacturing. Actually still is! I have an opportunity to make some parts similar to ones I did then. At the time, I used a combination of a Tandy PC-6, I believe? The folding one. And also a Casio scientific.
The Tandy had just enough to be useful, but no graphics. Only 20 character, one line display too. Ugh.
But that was enough to help lay out parts and crank out some g-code, which I would just type into a machine and run.
Well, little didnI know, but SHARP was flat out killing it in this space. They got really good at designing little, fast organizers that ran an bit CPU of their own design I think, and button cells!
Their displays were often super too. Clear, fast, respectable pixel counts.
The SHARP G850VS is basically a whole darn workstation. Battery requirements went up to AA cells, but worth it!
Display has 20x5 lines too. Pixel addressable.
But get this!
It has a huge system ROM containing:
BASIC with graphical, scientific, statistical and robust logic commands.
System Monitor
Z-80 Assembler
C Compiler! ! ! (Seriously?)
PIC Assembler
And one other pseudo machine assembler for education I do not fully understand other than the consensus it it being useless.
System Bus, like for cartridges or and / dock.
10 Pin GPIO block, similar to the Raspi machines.
IR comms capability.
That is nuts! And back then it was easy to miss this kind of thing. No Internet meant a lot of us just did not get info. Heck, I learned 6502 out of the magazines in the grocery store magazine racks!
I am on the hunt. And they are not too hard to find right now, so I really just gotta save my pennies and pull the trigger on a good one.
That kind-of capability would have enabled a little CAM system with back plotting to verify g-codes!
Seems to me you found enough here in your exploration to want the same thing. Flesh it all out and go! Bet you it ends up worth it. :)Very enjoyable write up, BTW.
Truly impressive machines, but vulnerable to the classic Sharp durability issues. I'm still hopeful I can bring it back :)