Jupiter ACE Turn-key System (TKS)

The term Turn-key System (TKS) is often used in the technology industry, most commonly to describe pre-built computer "packages" in which everything needed to perform a certain type of task (e.g. audio editing) is put together by the supplier and sold as a bundle. This often includes a computer with software, various types of hardware, and accessories. Such packages are commonly called appliances.

The Jupiter ACE TKS seems to be comprised of an ACE 4000 with RAM and software to do a stand alone task. Its not know if any of the TKS were sold or even used in the real world. It may have been a concept as a last minute attempt to raise some sales before the collapse of Jupiter Cantab Ltd. Below is some information that we found in may 2021. If you have other information you can help the archive by contacting us .

The Ace Turnkey System kit (TKS)

Jupiter Ace 4000           = FORTH development system

Jupiter Ace 4000 + TKS = FORTH applications system

The unlimited versatility of the FORTH language makes it ideal not only in its original field of scientific control, but in any application that requires an efficient program that can be easily written, tested, debugged and enhanced. This means all modern computer uses.

The Jupiter Ace 4000 provides a complete and highly cost-effective system on which FORTH programs can be developed; with the TKS add-on it becomes a computer precisely tailored for your own application.

An Ace TKS is a standard board designed to hold software in a non-volatile form (EPROM or battery backed-up RAM; EEPROMs - electrically erasable PROMs - are also being considered). This is plugged onto the back of a Jupiter Ace 4000; then whenever the Ace is powered up it goes straight into the operation required by your application. In effect, through firmware, it is no longer an Ace but your own purpose built computer.

The Ace TKS comes in two versions: the TKS A with battery backed-up RAM, and the TKS O - with an EPROM. Both contain 8K bytes of memory.

TKS O - This is the easy method. Simply send us a tape with your FORTH program, and we supply TKSs with EPROMS containing your program together with all the extra firmware necessary to make the TKS work. Plug it in your Ace 4000, and off it goes. If you haven't the resources to write the software, we at Jupiter can provide software consultancy work for you, drawing on our comprehensive experience of FORTH programming.

TKS A - This is the do-it-yourself method. The extra writability of RAM also makes it essential in some applications - for instance, if there is data that needs to be stored over long periods but still changes every so often.

The TKS A kit comprises :

• A TKS board with 8K of battery backed-up RAM,
  
  
• A software tape containing routines that enable you to load an ordinary Ace tape up into the TKS RAM.
  
  

If you opt for the TKS A, your software engineer will load in a new program every time a change needs to be made. The normal operators, of course, will not need to do this. They just see the specialized system.

With batteries recharged from the computer whenever it is powered up, the TKS A memory has a shelf life of about one year and if regularly used will last indefinitely.

Typical uses of the TKS

1. A shop keeps a running advertising display on a television controlled by an Ace 4000 + TKS A. Every morning the system is plugged in and left running all day. If they want to change the message at all, one of their staff updates the program and loads the new version into the TKS RAM.

2. A software house produces a compiler for their favourite computer language - LOGO, say - on the Ace. This is then stored in a TKS O for mass production, to turn the Ace into a dedicated LOGO machine.

3. The manufacturers of a piece of apparatus controlled at present by simple electronics wish to make it more intelligent by using a microcomputer and software. A TKS O can store programs of great power, capable of analysing data, drawing graphs, doing calculations, and altogether transforming the product.

4. A robot may be controlled by an Ace 4000. A TKS could store not only the fundamental control program, but also a repertoire of sequences of movements. If the repertoire is likely to change from time to time, a TKS A would be used.

The TKS is designed to make full use of the ROM deselect facility of the Ace 4000, which means that it will not cause a standard Ace YC or IM to power up straight into the TKS system. With an Ace YC or IM it will be necessary for the operator to type in a few commands to bring in the TKS. It is alternatively possible, at the user's risk, to solder in a few extra components to create a ROM deselect line.

Both forms of the TKS will cost around £125 (excluding VAT) and will be available during ________ 1983. For further details, for quantity discounts, or for information on Jupiter software consultancy, contact

Jupiter Cantab Ltd,
Bateman Street,
Cambridge,
CB2 ILZ,
England.

Phone: National Cambridge (0223) 313479
International +44 223 313479

Telex: 81546 HOBCAM G