Contents |
Description
The Yamaha CX5, CX5F, CX5M, CX5MII and CX5MII/128 computers were specifically targeted at music and sound production, and as such were regarded by many as non-standard MSX machines. However, they are in fact standard MSX1 computers and can be used as such.
The YIS-503F is same as the CX5M but sold without any module. The color is gray and silver. The power supply is the external NP 55170. It is heavy and big. It's the adaptation for the French market of the YIS-503.
There is another model called YIS-503FB. It is indicated only on the label. It has a PAL-G output instead of RGB and the SRE-01 32kB memory expansion. This model was sold in Belgium.
| Brand | Yamaha |
| Model | YIS-503F / YIS-503FB |
| Year | 1984 |
| Region | Belgium and France |
| Launch price | |
| RAM | 32kB in slot 0 (YIS-503F) or 64kB split between slots 0 and 3-1 (YIS-503FB) |
| VRAM | 16kB |
| Media | MSX cartridges, side slot modules |
| Video | Texas Instruments TMS9929A |
| Audio | PSG (YM2149) |
| Chipset | Yamaha YM5214 |
| Keyboard layout | QWERTY with a "£" key |
| Extras | 60 pin module port |
| Emulation | ROM dumped and emulated. The rear expansion slot and side module slot are handled like regular MSX cartridge slots. |
Pictures
Specifications
The YIS-503F is a MSX1 with a Z80A from Sharp (LH-0080A). It supports all Yamaha modules ("units").
To use the expansion bus as second cartridge slot, you need the Yamaha Single Cartridge Adapter CA-01.
To get 64kB RAM with the YIS-503F, you can insert the URM-01 cartridge in slot 1 or 2 or the SRE-01 module in side slot 3. The SRE-01 module expands slot 3: slot 3-1 becomes an extra cartridge slot and slot 3-0 hosts the extra RAM.
In all cases the additionnal RAM is placed at addresses 0000h~7FFFh. The 64kB RAM is split between two slots, a configuration that can cause poorly written software to crash. Also, with this layout, the POKE-1,(15-PEEK(-1)\16)*17 trick to workaround buggy software that does not handle subslots properly will not work on this machine expanded to 64kB RAM. The same problems exist also on the variant YIS-503FB.
Slot Map of model YIS-503F
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page C000h~FFFFh | RAM | Cartridge Slot | Expansion Bus | Module Slot | |||
| Page 8000h~BFFFh | |||||||
| Page 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | ||||||
| Page 0000h~3FFFh |
Slot Map of model YIS-503FB
| Slot 0 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3-0 | Slot 3-1 | Slot 3-2 | Slot 3-3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page C000h~FFFFh | Upper 32kB RAM | Cartridge Slot 1 | Expansion Bus | Cartridge Slot 2 | ||||||
| Page 8000h~BFFFh | ||||||||||
| Page 4000h~7FFFh | Main-ROM | Lower 32 kB RAM | ||||||||
| Page 0000h~3FFFh |
Connections
- RGB output (YIS-503F)
- RF output (YIS-503FB)
- Analog video output (YIS-503FB)
- Analog sound output (YIS-503FB)
- Data Recorder connector
- Centronics compatible Parallel port for a printer
- 2 general connectors (Joysticks, Mouse, Paddle controllers, etc)
- 1 or 2 cartridge slots
- 1 module slot (left side, 60 pin connector) - is used by SRE-01 unit on YIS-503FB model
- 1 expansion bus slot (back side, 2nd or 3rd cartridge slot via CA-01 adapter)
Links
- http://www.cx5m.net/ (Now the site is broken only some files still online), Archived version (2019 version, some files are missing), Another mirror (file-hunter.com)
- Service Manual
- Parts List
- Technical Summary