Canon A-200 series Service Manual page 6

1-1. General
In this section, we will give an overview to the Canon A-200 Personal Computer.
Variety of the A-200
The A-200 is classified in four versions in accordance with the types of display adapter and
numbers of floppy disk drive. However, there are no single disk drive versions for 230V AC.
• Model M1 ....... 1 disk drive with monochrome board
• Model M2 ....... 2 disk drives with monochrome board
• Model Cl ...... 1 disk drive with color board
• Model C2 ....... 2 disk drives with color board
1-2. Features
• 8086 Microprocessor
The A-200 is equipped with the 8086 microprocessor as CPU (Central Processing Unit) which
has 16-bit data bus. In other words, the 8086 can access 16-bit data at a time, and so, it can
perform more quick and versatile data processing in comparison with an ordinary 8-bit
microprocessor.
• Memories
The A-200 has 256K bytes of RAM (Random Access Memory) as the standard and is expanda ­
ble up to 512K bytes. Also the A-200 is equipped with 16K bytes of system ROM (Read Only
Memory) including a diagnostic program etc. and 4K bytes (Model M1 and Model M2) or 32K
bytes (Model C1 and Model C2) of video RAM which stores the data to be displayed on the screen.
• Built-in Interfaces
In order to input or output data to/from the A-200, it has useful devices such as 5-1/4" floppy
disk drive (Model M1 and C1 has one disk drive and Model M2 and Model C2 has two drives),
RS-232C interface and printer interface.
• Expandability
In addition to the standard features listed above, a customer can expand the functions of the
A-200 by adding the 8087 Numeric Data Coprocessor or inserting optional board into the inter­
nal five expansion slots.
• Powerful Operating System
A DOS (Disk Operating System) is now indispensable to the advanced personal computers like
the A-200. We are adopted the MS-DOS developed for 8086/8088-based computers by Microsoft
Corp. Through MS-DOS, an user can communicate with the computer, disk drive, and printer,
managing these resources to his advantage.
• Standard Diagnostic Programs
The A-200 has two different diagnostic programs - one is the ROM-based built-in program and
the other is the disk-based programs. The ROM-based one is executed whenever the power
for the computer is turned on or the RESET button is pushed. The disk-based program is an
accessory of the computer. It checks the computer itself and peripherals.
• Compatible with the IBM® Personal ComputerTM
Most of the application software, peripherals or options designed for the IBM® PCTM can be
used with the A-200.
3