Technical Design Labs (TDL)

This page last updated Jan 21 2022. This document copyright Herbert R. Johnson 2017.
Ordering of document copies and other info can be found in this notice.
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Technical Design Labs was also known as Trenton Design Labs, TDL, and later Computer Design Labs. Founded in the Trenton & Princeton, New Jersey area in the mid-1970's, they produced 8080 and Z80 software, and S-100 cards and systems. Their first S-100 products included a 16K memory card and a Z-80 card, competed in July 1976 and advertized in BYTE that November. Some TDL system software evolved into software for Epson's popular QX-10 personal computer. TDL's Roger Amidon produced a popular ROM monitor called Apple (for the 8080 version) and Zapple (for the Z80 version). Check my Web page on the Zapple monitor for details and recovered sources and binaries. Roger Amidon died in May 2016, after a prolonged illness. - Herb Johnson

Web links:
TDL founder Carl Galletti, now a top Internet marketer, currently lives in Sedona, Arizona. He described the origins of the "S-100" name to me in 2007.
TDL partner/owner Roger Amidon designed many TDL products.
Text of Roger Amidon published obituary in local newspaper.

Documentation list

I have a number of TDL and CDL documents as listed below.

TDL Z16 manual, 36 pages (copy)
"ZASM" TDL Relocating linker/assembler (rev 2.2, 1977), 70 p (copy)
"The ZPU Manual" (Mar 77 rev 2). V3.2 bootloader & V2.0 monitor listings, 64p
"ZAPPLE 8K Basic User's Manual" (1976), 26p
"TDL Microcomputer Hardware/Software Catalog", (1978) illustrated, 16p

"Interface One" 14p
"Xitan Alpha Mainframe Manual" (1977), motherboard and cabinet, 40p
"The ZPU Manual" (Dec 76 rev 0), listings for bootloader v3.2, monitor
   2.0,  55p
"The VDB manual" (Nov 77 rev 0), w/source listings, 72 p
"The ZAPPLE Monitor User's Manual" (v1.1 Dec 76), source listings, 70p
"ZAPPLE 12K Basic User's Manual" (July 77) with v3.0 SuperBASIC additions, 62p
"Z80 Relocating/Linking Assembler User's Manual" (rev 2.2 Oct 77), 70p
"Zapple Text Editor User's Manual" (Dec 76) 12p
"Text Output Processor User's Manual" (ver 1.0 feb 77), 70p
"ZPU-2 Technical Manual" (Jan 79) 33p

"The SMB Manual" (1977, copy) with monitor 1.05 listings, 70p
"System Monitor Board 2 Manual" (rev 0 Mar 78)  source listings, monitor 1.05 listings, 70p
-- uses floating point chips described on this Web page
-- AM9511A technical data sheets from AMI, 33p

"Rom ZAPPLE Monitor Manual" (V1.0R and 1.1R, Mar 78) 50p
"Xitan DDDC technical Manual" (rev 1.0 1979) disk controller, 60p
"TDL D16 D32 manual" corrected, 32 pages, 
"Xitan K-series Memory User's manual", 34p
TDL catalog, March 1977, 24p
TDL catalog, 1978, 12p
"Xitan Linker Technical Manual" (rev 0 Mar 78) 26p
"ELDOS Technical Manual" (feb 79), copy, 60p
"TDL Z-TEC Text Editing Language" (rev 1 NOv 77), 50p
"LBASIC User's Manual", 60p
"VDB BASIC User's Manual" (Apr 78), for basic 3.0, VDB V1.2, 18p
"Disk BASIC user's Manual update" (1978, v1.06) 23p
"TDL BASIC version 3" (rev 0 Jan 78) 60p
"ZBUS Technical Manual" (Jan 78) 55p
"TDL Z80 TExt Output Processor User's Manual", (rev 1.0 Feb 77) 64p

Computer Design Labs TMP II documents:
   Doc and Users' Guide for TPM II, 1983 ver 2.X, 73 pgs
   Macro II Z80 Macro Assembler User's Manual Rev 3.3, 79 pgs
   Linker CDL Z80 Linker User's Manual 2.0X, Mar 81, 34 pgs
   CDL ZBUG Z80 Debugger User's Manual, July 82, 52 pgs
   CDL Business Basic User's Manual Jan 1981, 97 pgs
   TPM II User's Guide and Programmer's Ref. Manual (for QX-10), 1984, 144pgs

"Technical Memoranda", 100-114, 1977 (revisions), 50 pgs
Schematic only, Retrofit Board (2114 for SMB), 2 pages

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Copyright © 2022 Herb Johnson