Matrox MACS Z80

Matrox MACS Z80

[Vin 166]

The Matrox MACS Z80 was a notable vintage computer system built around a Z80 CPU and utilizing Multibus form factor cards. Its significance lies in integrating robust industrial-grade components like dual 8-inch floppy drives running CP/M 2.2, a Matrox ZBC-80 CPU card, and advanced Burr Brown A-to-D converters, marking it as a reliable system for data acquisition and industrial control in the early 1980s. While not a mass-market personal computer, it was important historically for its modular design and precision analog capabilities, positioning it as an OEM solution in industrial and scientific applications.

• Manufacturer: Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd.
• Type: Industrial OEM microcomputer system
• Release Date: 1983
• Cost at release: CAD  $10,000 (CAD ~$28,000 adjusted for inflation)
• MIPS: ~1 (~1,000 KIPS)

Hardware Specifications

• CPU: Matrox ZBC-80 (Zilog Z80 compatible) with “Montrax v3.00” firmware in 2516 EPROM
• Architecture: 8-bit microcomputer system
• Floppy Drives: Dual 8-inch floppy disk drives with CP/M 2.2 boot disk (possibly defective)
• Analog to Digital Converter: Burr Brown-based using Analog Devices RTI-782V components
• Expansion: Modular board-level system allowing OEM customization for industrial applications

Operating System & Programming Languages 

• Operating System: CP/M 2.2

• Supported Languages:

  • Assembly Language: Z80 assembly for low-level programming and performance-critical applications.
  • BASIC: Various dialects of BASIC were common on CP/M systems, such as Microsoft BASIC or MBASIC.
  • Pascal: Turbo Pascal and other Pascal compilers were available.
  • FORTRAN: Some CP/M-compatible FORTRAN compilers existed.
  • COBOL: Business-oriented languages like COBOL were also supported by some CP/M compilers.
  • C: Early C compilers such as Microsoft C were available for CP/M.

Notables

• The Matrox MACS Z80 was one of the early industrial-grade microcomputer systems built on the Multibus standard, which allowed modular, expandable hardware—an important precursor to modern industrial control systems.

• Matrox is a Canadian technology company founded in 1976 by Lorne Trottier and Branko Matić, based in Montreal, Quebec. The company started by focusing on specialized video interface products for microprocessors, pioneering video RAM and early graphics controllers that helped establish the market for computer graphics hardware.

• It featured high-precision analog-to-digital conversion using Burr Brown components, notable for scientific and data acquisition tasks rather than typical personal computing.

• While not widely popular in the consumer market, it was respected for its reliability and ruggedness in OEM and industrial environments.

• The system’s firmware, labeled “Montrax v3.00,” is a unique identifier that hints at specialized software tailored for industrial uses.

• Unlike many Z80 systems of its time, the MACS Z80 integrated dual 8-inch floppy drives, which were relatively large and uncommon in personal computers but standard in industrial and professional settings.

• Historically, the MACS Z80’s importance lies in bridging early microprocessor computing with precise analog measurement technology, marking it as a specialized tool rather than a mass-market computer.

Documentation: Matrox_OEM_Boards_and_Systems_Data_Catalog_198306.pdf

Donated by: Arlen Michaels

Carleton University: Original owner Jan George Frajkor – Journalism