In article ,
says...

BigSnip

My understanding was that the updates are serialized (like Fluke did
with the 9100 systems), so if the hardware and software's S/N's don't
match then it's a no-go (rendering the updates on eBay useless). Feel free
to correct me if I'm wrong...

Ahhh. At one time, yes, that was the case, but it was in the earliest days of the
Unifamily programmers (A group made up by the 2900, 3900, 3980, and Unisite). What happened
is that, with each update, you would receive a set of floppies and a specially-programmed
(and security-locked) PAL chip.

You booted from the new system floppy, and then installed the PAL in the programmer
socket when prompted. The boot program would read the PAL, and then deliberately destroy it
and proceed with the upgrade. God help you if the PAL arrived defective (many did,
apparently).

Data I/O stopped that practice some time ago. These days, what you get is a CD-ROM
containing the latest revision of TaskLink (for Windows), and a full set of updates for the
entire Unifamily, including self-extracting floppy images.

So, there you have it. Given all that can be found on the Internet, I wouldn't be
surprised if someone, somewhere, has at least part of the Unifamily software up for
download, though it's probably an old version. Heck, I think even Data I/O put up Unisite
ver. 5.3 for free d/l from their FTP site.

The upshot of all this is that the Unisite is now practical enough to make for a good
buy on the surplus market.

Keep the peace(es).


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"