I have an AT&T branded SCSI enclosure. Two half-height bays with the
drives held vertically (on their sides), with a door that opens to
expose one for a tape drive, activity lights labeled hard drive and
tape, CN50 connectors, the AT&T beige and brown
color scheme I associate with 3B's and 6300 PCs. No model number.
Anyone have any idea what this was made for?
I am going to assume there are other TRS-80 people hanging out
here and go ahead and ask this:
Has anyone here used the DEFUSRx command?
I tried to use it for something I am working on and it
didn't work.
So, I copied the example program from page 115 of the
Model III Disk System Owner's Manual and, guess what,
it didn't work either.
150 DEFUSR1 = &H7D00
returns a Syntax Error
150 DEFUSR1 = 32000
works fine.
Anybody else ever run into this?
I can't believe something as blatant as that could have
gone on for all those years.
bill
It is few years that anybody asks, so here it is again:
ANYBODY has any manuals for it?
On Discord, we have some discussions, I found some of them in my boxes,
but nobody has documentation, and no success to get them working.
Any chance?
I've written a "side scroller" program using the IBM 5100's native PALM
instruction set. I talked about the 5100 in 2023, and for 2025 I wanted to
present something special for its 50th anniversary.
I kept getting sidetracked with other projects over the year. But thanks
to the IBM 5100 emulator now in MAME, that helped a lot in debugging the
program more efficiently. There is much I still don't fully understand
about PALM, so I probably do this in the most efficient way, but it does
work well.
I'm also still working towards restoring a POLY-88 (8080 based system,
similar to SOL-20 as far as being S-100 based). Someday I'd like to
attempt a similar side-scroller on that platform, to see how the
performance compares and if a micro that early could handle it (at 1.8MHz
and will need to find 16KB of working RAM- one thing about the IBM 5100, it
feels fairly rock solid after 50 years). Unless anyone already has a
working 8080-based system and wants to take a stab at this? I'll talk more
about the design approach (and use of PALM instruction set) after VCF next
month.
Here is the YouTube video preview of this scroller in action on real
hardware:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRAxKGkXC1I
And the Rumble version in case anyone has issues with YT:
https://rumble.com/v6tu80h-ibm-5100-vertical-side-scroller-hardware-demonst…
If anyone has a 5100 with the "expansion feature" and async card, we're
always interested in trying to get old system "online" (through WiModem
type devices), or a non-working 5100 is always good for spare parts on the
ones that do still work.
But one "fabled accessory" of the 5100 is it's carrying case -- which
surprisingly was the cheapest item on its price sheet (at $150 new). I've
only seen one of these once (in Florida), so they do exist. Or tapes
(even later 3M QIC DC6120 are compatible).
Cheers,
Steve
Was there someone on this list who can help repair boards, like the RQDX3s
I broke in my H9278? I don't know if it would be too costly, but if not I'd
like to restore them to working condition.
-Peter
Hello to the group,
I have been banging my head against a PDP-11/23 where I have an RQDX3 I'm
trying to get to work. Actually, I have two RQDX3's but only one at a time.
It is configured to the factory CSR, 172150, and it has the latest
microcode on it. When I run the XXDP ZRQCH0 formatter I get the following:
RQDX3 Disk Formatter Utility
UNIT IS Formattable Winchester (RDnn) or Floppy (RX33) Drives
RSTRT ADR 145702
DR>STA
CHANGE HW (L) ? Y
# UNITS (D) ? 1
UNIT 0
Enter controller IP Address (O) 172150 ?
What unit do you want to format [0-255] (D) 0 ?
Would you like to revector a single LBN only [Y/N] (L) N ?
Do you want to use the "AUTOFORMAT" Mode [Y/N] (L) Y ? N
ZRQC SYS FTL ERR 00006 ON UNIT 00 TST 001 SUB 000 PC: 105742
Fatal Controller Error During Initialization.
ZRQC SYS FTL ERR 00006 ON UNIT 00 TST 001 SUB 002 PC: 105742
Fatal Controller Error During Initialization.
ZRQC EOP 1
2 TOTAL ERRS
DR>
I have been booting XXDP and also RT11 over an emulator TU58. And I have a
BDV11 so it has an LTC.
I did try downgrading the microcode on the RQDX3 to the previous version,
3. It was 4. But no luck.
Am I missing something? This should work with an M8186 CPU board, right?
Anyone have any ideas? I haven't yet, but I plan to pop one of these RQDX3s
in my 11/23+ and see if it works there.
-Peter
I just managed to score a 5155. Well, soon, it is waiting for me to
pick it up at the University where I used to work. It looks to be in
really good shape and has been in storage for probably two decades or
more.
A couple quick question for anyone familiar with this system.
Is it likely there is one of those little batteries on it that would
now be dead and need replacing before I try to use it?
And, also, would this have a floppy controller on it that was capable
of reading and writing disks from systems like the TRS-80 with an SD
boot track?
Inquiring minds want to know. :-)
bill
Back in Nov of 2023 Ed Sharpe asked the following: “Was there ever a
COMPUTER using a 4004 that you could really do something or did that
finally arrive with the 8008”
https://classiccmp.org/mailman3/hyperkitty/list/cctalk@classiccmp.org/messa…
I hope to answer that question, or at least spark a discussion.
For a number of years now I have been researching this computer called
a Comstar System 4 which is based on the Intel 4004. The Comstar
Corporation of Minneapolis was a developer of microcomputer control
and automation systems and in 1972 released the System 4
microcomputer. Comstar built a general purpose capable computer that
could be programmed to do a multitude of tasks but their market focus
was industrial automation. Comstar was eventually bought by Warner &
Swasey in 1974 to integrate their computers into the Warner & Swasey
product line. Warner & Swasey was a huge manufacturer of industrial
machines. So they bought Comstar to be their Computer division. In
fact it was called " Warner & Swasey Comstar Microcomputer Electronic
Products" Warner and Swasey also licensed the Micral N to do the same
and we call the Micral N a computer. The Micral N was designed for
process control, but we know of it as a computer.
Now before anyone argues about if this is a computer or not, I will
state the following.
It was called a Microcomputer in the ACM titled "Development of a
portable compiler for industrial microcomputer systems "
It was called a Microcomputer in Electronics Magazine July 11th 1974
It was listed as a Microcomputer in "Auerbach Guide to Minicomputers"
April 1976 & Winter 1976 - 1977
It was listed as a Microcomputer in Datamation Magazine Dec 1974
It was called a Microcomputer in "A MICROCOMPUTER BASED SUBSTATION
CONTROL SYSTEM" The University of Oklahoma, Ph.D., 1975 Engineering,
electronics and electrical Page 90
It was listed as a Microcomputer in the Intel MCS 4 User Manual Feb
1973 page 171
It was listed as a Microcomputer in Electronics Magazine Jan 1973,
they promote the 4004 and 8008 and use the System 4 as an example.
The reality is this existed, was 4004 based and there were discussions
about it in the media at the time.
Anyway I wanted to see if there was more interest in researching this computer.
I listed a number of articles and references below that either discuss
Comstar, The Warner Swasey Computer Division, the “System 4” or “Star
4” Computer.
All the Manuals and schematics I was able to upload to archive.orghttps://archive.org/search?query=subject%3A%22Comstar+Computer+Systems%22
Computer History Museum's Archive of the Manual
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102686568
Pictures of the items I have collected so far
https://imgur.com/a/Oyts3A9
The website "Internet Scripophily Museum of Computing" has a page on
the history of The Warner & Swasey Company. It's a decent timeline of
the company
http://ismoc.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-warner-swasey-company.html
"Development of a portable compiler for industrial microcomputer
systems" by LEROY H. ANDERSON The Warner & Swasey Company, it
discusses the system and has images on the unit.
https://www.computer.org/csdl/pds/api/csdl/proceedings/download-article/12O…
In the ACM's archives "Development of a portable compiler for
industrial microcomputer systems" by LEROY H. ANDERSON The Warner &
Swasey Company, it discusses the system and has images on the unit.
https://www.computer.org/csdl/pds/api/csdl/proceedings/download-article/12O…
Electronics Magazine July 11th 1974 Article: Industrial Automatic
control proliferates, they are mentioned on page 84 & 85
https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics/70s/74/Electronics-19…
There is a mention about the compiler in the IEEE on Page 25 under
Compiler Programmer
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=6368812
Computer Design Magazine Nov 1975 Page 129 they talk about the compiler.
https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_ComputerDe_90611286/page/128/mode/2up
The Intel MCS 4 User Manual Feb 1973 page 171 and in Electronics
Magazine Jan 1973, they promote the 4004 and 8008 and use the System 4
as an example.
http://www.bitsavers.org/components/intel/MCS4/MCS-4_UsersManual_Feb73.pdfhttps://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics/70s/73/Electronics-19…
There are a number of sources that list the computer as a
"microcomputer" and provide specs showing it being 4004 based.
Datamation Magazine Page 97 & 101
http://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Datamation/197412.pdf
In "Auerbach Guide to Minicomputers" April 1976, the computer is
mentioned on page 54 and page 70.
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/auerbach/Auerbach_Guide_to_Minicomputers_Apr76…
In "Auerbach Guide to Minicomputers" Winter 1976 - 1977, the computer
is mentioned on page 32
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/auerbach/Auerbach_Guide_to_Minicomputers_1976-…
>Is it likely there is one of those little batteries on it that would>now be dead and need replacing before I try to use it?>Congrats and no. This is your std XT (5160) MB just shoved in a case with a handle and monitor.>And, also, would this have a floppy controller on it that was capable>of reading and writing disks from systems like the TRS-80 with an SD boot track?>If it works on an XT it will work on a 5155. If not then no.