I bought this giant GCR tape drive on eBay five years ago,
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/fujitsu/_brochures/M244X_Brochure_1984.pdf
hoping to be able to use it to extract analog signals from 6250 BPI
tapes to feed into my decoding program.
https://github.com/LenShustek/readtape
I failed to figure out how to get the right signals out, and
eventually abandoned the project. I now need the space it takes, so
I'm offering it for free before consigning it to the landfill. It's
big (20" x 24" x 30" on the wheeled stand I built) and heavy (160
lbs) so I won't ship it. Pickup only, on the San Francisco peninsula.
Hi,
who knows details about the DEC VT36 Color Graphics Display Control System (
https://classic.technology/vt36-color-graphics-display-control-system/)?
I'm looking for manuals for the VT36 as well as for the associated
VAX-11/PROVUE or RSX-11/PROVUE software.
Anyone with personal experience with the VT36 and/or PROVUE?
Ulli
Good afternoon to all,
I am starting the process of selling off some of my vintage computer systems, so as to not burden anyone I leave behind.
The systems I list here are available for viewing in Bedford, NH, just west of Manchester, NH. Anyone interested can send me an e-mail message and we can set up an appointment for you to visit. Cash and Carry, of course, and reasonable offers will be considered.
Altair 8800c — $2500
I constructed this system early in 2019. I built the front panel and front panel interface boards, and soldered up the backplane. The rest of the boards were purchased assembled and tested. You can see the Altair 8800c story here: https://deramp.com/altair.html The system is fully tested and working, currently using virtual Altair disk drives via the Deramp application. Plenty of documentation.
Single 8 inch disk drive in a dual drive cabinet — $500
This physical disk drive has been paired with the Altair 8800c in the past. Works fine. I included will be an 8 inch disk drive that used to be in this cabinet until the power supply failed. I believe this drive can be repaired. Included will be another 8 inch drive that is the wrong form factor to fit into the cabinet. Purchased on eBay, untested.
Altair 680 — $2000
I acquired this system on eBay back at the end of 2018. It was not working, but a bit of troubleshooting discovered bad ram which was replaced. The least significant LED of the address display does not light, but I’ve tested that the proper signals are there. I simply did not want to risk changing out the LED. This system comes with the 4-slot riser, but the connectors are not yet soldered in. No add-in boards. Plenty of documentation.
Complete SWTPC 6800 clone system from Corsham Technologies — $400
I acquired this system from Bob at Corsham in the middle of 2018. It is the complete setup, with the full 64K ram and the virtual disk drives. Documentation available at Corsham Technologies: http://www.corshamtech.com <http://www.corshamtech.com/>
Northstar Horizon — $800
I purchased this system on eBay as a running system. From time to time I had problems with the top 8K ram on the Horizon 64K ram board. The 64k ram board has been replaced with a Compupro Ram 17 (or clone), works great, no problems. I will include the glitchy Horizon 64K ram board. FYI, a Deramp Virtual Sector Generator works great with this system, eliminating the need for hard sector diskettes. https://deramp.com/vsg.html
Thanks for listening!
smp
- - -
Stephen Pereira
Bedford, NH 03110
KB1SXE
Good afternoon to all,
I am starting the process of selling off some of my vintage computer systems, so as to not burden anyone I leave behind.
The systems I list here are available for viewing in Bedford, NH, just west of Manchester, NH. Anyone interested can send me an e-mail message and we can set up an appointment for you to visit. Cash and Carry, of course, and reasonable offers will be considered.
Altair 8800c — $2500
I constructed this system early in 2019. I built the front panel and front panel interface boards, and soldered up the backplane. The rest of the boards were purchased assembled and tested. You can see the Altair 8800c story here: https://deramp.com/altair.html The system is fully tested and working, currently using virtual Altair disk drives via the Deramp application. Plenty of documentation.
Single 8 inch disk drive in a dual drive cabinet — $500
This physical disk drive has been paired with the Altair 8800c in the past. Works fine. I included will be an 8 inch disk drive that used to be in this cabinet until the power supply failed. I believe this drive can be repaired. Included will be another 8 inch drive that is the wrong form factor to fit into the cabinet. Purchased on eBay, untested.
Altair 680 — $2000
I acquired this system on eBay back at the end of 2018. It was not working, but a bit of troubleshooting discovered bad ram which was replaced. The least significant LED of the address display does not light, but I’ve tested that the proper signals are there. I simply did not want to risk changing out the LED. This system comes with the 4-slot riser, but the connectors are not yet soldered in. No add-in boards. Plenty of documentation.
Complete SWTPC 6800 clone system from Corsham Technologies — $400
I acquired this system from Bob at Corsham in the middle of 2018. It is the complete setup, with the full 64K ram and the virtual disk drives. Documentation available at Corsham Technologies: http://www.corshamtech.com <http://www.corshamtech.com/>
Northstar Horizon — $800
I purchased this system on eBay as a running system. From time to time I had problems with the top 8K ram on the Horizon 64K ram board. The 64k ram board has been replaced with a Compupro Ram 17 (or clone), works great, no problems. I will include the glitchy Horizon 64K ram board. FYI, a Deramp Virtual Sector Generator works great with this system, eliminating the need for hard sector diskettes. https://deramp.com/vsg.html
Thanks for listening!
smp
- - -
Stephen Pereira
Bedford, NH 03110
KB1SXE
Group,
Ive got a tape here from what I believe to be a VM system. The
structure is unknown to me, although I can possibly take a stab at it.
Lots of data between tapemarks that seems to consist of a number of
records that start out something like this (translated from EBCIDC):
> 00000000 02 43 4d 53 46 30 30 30 31 31 32 30 35 31 31 32 |.CMSF00011205112|
> 00000010 34 37 30 37 36 30 31 32 32 32 31 31 30 31 31 31 |4707601222110111|
Another example:
> 00000000 02 43 4d 53 46 44 41 54 41 20 5f 4e 55 4c 4c 5f |.CMSFDATA _NULL_|
> 00000010 3b 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 |; |
> 00000020 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 | |
The data itself appears to be a bunch of 80 character card images.
I found a mention on the old yahoo groups H390-VM discussions, but no
clarity was ever shed on the subject.
Does anyone know about this tape format?
--Chuck
Seems like rather than going through MUSIC/SP it'd be easier to just fire
up VM/CE 1.2 (which is VM/370 r6) and use CMS TAPE (which is present)
directly from the CMS UI. You can probably attach the file you've got as a
tape device; not entirely sure Hercules will like the format, but it
wouldn't hurt to try.
Adam
I'd like to get an ISA based transputer card. Something with multiple
cpus (so not the B004).
A B008 or one of the clones that accepts multiple TRAM modules would be
ideal (https://www.geekdot.com/inmos-b008)
It doesn't have to be TRAM. I saw this multi-cpu board on ebay.ie but a)
it's more than I was hoping to spend b) I can't find any info on it.
Whatever I get I want there to be reasonable docs and archived
software: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/234283597489
Suggestions on what to look for welcomed. I'm in no rush and good things
come to those who wait. I'm in the USA but have family in the UK and go
there often so I'm looking on ebay.co.uk
Thanks!
Hello all,
as it will be soon of importance to us, I am seeking for the systems
engineering manual and drawings, well, everything about the IBM 727 tape
drive (not the 729!). I especially need the module locations charts and
the module schematics.
I see that there is the CE manual on bitsavers. Eventually, the other
manuals are available somewhere, too?
Christian
I have a non-functioning VT100. I think it is failing in the POST during the
RAM check. I don't know for sure because I can't get it to light up the LEDs
on the keyboard, however I used my logic analyser (a HP1630G) to see what
values were written to the UART to send to the keyboard and I see it sends
the values FF then 1, 2, 3, 4 and finally 5. The last value corresponds to
the RAM test so I am fairly confident the RAM test is what is failing.
I have disassembled the VT100 ROM and if I have understood it correctly it
zeroes out the RAM (high address to low) and then for each address (low
address to high) it tries first to read back the zero and then writes 0xAA
to the location and tries to read that back.
I am also confident the 8080 is working OK because I was able to capture an
address trace on the ROM that showed it executing the program as per the
disassembled ROM.
My problem is getting the logic analyser reliably to tell me how each RAM
chip is being addressed and what data is being read or written. I am seeing
strange values for the addresses (sometimes) and I am not sure I have setup
the logic analyser correctly. I have read the datasheet for the 2114 chip
and I am not entirely clear that I have understood it correctly. Here is how
I have set it up:
Trigger on the -ve edge of Chip Select (pin 8)
Capture A9-A0 as the address
Capture WE as an indication of Read or Write
The timing diagrams show the write cycle where the WE signal and CE signal
seem to transition at the same time and the data may be only valid a bit
later then the CS -ve edge. But this may just be me not knowing how to read
the datasheet. Using the +ve edge of CS seems no better.
Is there something I am missing about how to analyse how the RAM chips are
being used?
Thanks
Rob
Not quite computer tech but I figure this is the best place to ask:
Does anyone recognize the display tech that was used on the Concorde's in-cabin display?
Examples:
https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CON15.jpghttps://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/CON16.jpg
The display had fully-formed digits and letters, and showed either Mach and Feet, or Temp and MPH. Some pictures show the display in green and others show it in orange - which of course were popular monochrome CRT colors, yet the display looks too "flat" to be a couple CRT's. Those colors were also popular for Electroluminiscent displays which matches the evident "flatness" but I'm not sure I've seen any EL's with fully formed digits like this with no visible segmentation?
I want to guess it was individual digits back-projected - which was a popular control-theater display tech at the end of the 20th century - but I can't rule out, say, really well-done edge-lit character plates. In any event there doesn't seem to be any visible jitter up and down between digits that I might expect with either of those technologies.
The "FEET" display in the above-referenced JPG's shows some artifacts at the left and right edges which might be a clue?
Some pics of the BA Concorde interior had a simple 15-segment and 7-segment green LED display. Don't need help with that one 🙂.
Tim N3QE
I'm looking for someone near Glasnevin near Dublin, Ireland who would be
willing to pick up an item for me and ship it to me State-side. Seller
will not ship.
Thank you in advance.
Sellam
Hi,
I am looking for a CH3s QH50, P/N 63F3825 for a 9221 ES/9000.
A CH1s would also do.
Anyone have an ES/9000 that is a brick because no processor console
that can help me out?
Regards,
Kevin
The recent Ebay auction for the original PDP-8 got my attention because one
of the photos (the processor logic flipchip array) is a nice snapshot for
comparison purposes with the system I am working on.
https://vintagecomputer.net/digital/pdp-8/PDP-8_flip-chips_left.png (mine)
https://vintagecomputer.net/temp/EBAYPDP-8ProcessorFlipchips.jpg
Given my PDP-8 is close to working, I would assume that the Ebay PDP-8
would have a fighting chance, at least as far as the flip chip
configuration goes. This is also a nice confirmation that I more or less
have the flipchips in the right places. There are only a few slight
differences.
Bill
Hi all,
Looking for an original Sun 370-2068, which is a PS2 to Sun keyboard adapter. If anyone has one please DM me, happy to pay a reasonable price & international shipping if needed.
Thanks!
«
Everything I know about floppy disks
2023-08-28
Floppy disk drives are curious things. We know them as the slots that
ingest those small almost-square plastic "floppy disks" and we only
really see them now in Computer Museums. But there's a lot going on in
that humble square of plastic and I wanted to write down what I've
learned so far.
»
https://thejpster.org.uk/blog/blog-2023-08-28/
--
Liam Proven - Profile: https://about.me/liamproven
Email: lproven(a)cix.co.uk - Google Mail/Hangouts/Plus: lproven(a)gmail.com
Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven - Skype/LinkedIn: liamproven
IoM: +44 7624 227612 ~ UK: +44 7939-087884
ČR (+ WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal): +420 702 829 053
Anyone in Sheffield UK? There is an Acorn Archemedies computer I am
interested in buying but the guy is collection only. I am in the USA, but
interested in buying and repairing the system.
- Ethan
Sent from my iPhone
> On Sep 8, 2023, at 13:16, Wayne S <wayne.sudol(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> but presents itself to an OS as a Mass Storage Device (block device).
Anders, for what practical purpose would you do that?
It’s not like there’s so many 8 inch floppies around to make it feasible. You would have to have a LOT of intelligence in the Usb interface due to the different physical formats let alone the software formats.
It would be difficult.
>> If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and
>> don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the
>> endless immensity of the sea.
On Sun, 10 Sep 2023, Sellam Abraham via cctalk wrote:
> We must teach Fred to long for the endless immensity of the written word
> (in book form, focusing specifically on floppy disk drives).
45 years ago, I started writing about repairing Honda cars. Wasn't getting far
until an acquaintance who fancied himself to be a writer got me to agree to do
a book with him. He sold the idea to John Muir Publications (publisher of the
Volkswagen Idiot book, different John Muir). I wrote it, my co-author edited,
the publisher put their own editor on it, who butchered it. But, the publisher
also brought in Peter Aschwanden, who is a GREAT automotive illustrator (see
the VW idiot book). In 1979, I switched to TRS80, and did it with Electric
Pencil, and then Scripsit. I had a DTC300 Hytype-I daisy wheel printer. I
printed it 8.5" wide down the middle of 14 7/8 paper, giving lots of room for
comments, etc. For the illustrator, I printed it on the left side of the wide
paper, leaving a large area for doodles. The publisher's editor butchered it
badly enough that my co-author switched to a pseudonym. With the publisher's
accounting, never got enough in royalties to fuuly pay all of my expenses.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Keep-Your-Honda-Alive/dp/0912528257
In the 1990s, I started writing about floppy disks, how FM/MFM worked, IBM/WD
track and sector structure, directory structures, DOS Utilities, disk repair,
etc.
But, got bogged down with too much to do, such as closing my office, etc., . .
.
20 years ago, I started writing an undergraduate textbook on Information
Science. How searches and search engines work, and how to search better, how
companies cheat the search engines (SEO), relevance ranking, trade-offs between
recall and precision (cf. Buckland), the DIK[W[E]]
(Data/Information/Knowledge/[Wisdom/[Enlightenment]]) pyramid, etc. I wanted
to make a community college class out of it. But, certain administrators (who I
failed to ever defenestrate) refused to consider understanding of information
to be appropriate for community college (anything beyond their total lack of
comprehension was "inappropriate")
(Do YOU consider it "computer literate" to create a memo about a room change
for a meeting in WordPerfect, print it with a color printer (for the logo and a
ruling line), SCAN that printed memo, and send it out as an ATTACHMENT to an
email with subject line of "FYI" and text body of "See the attachment"?)
I haven't made progress on it lately.
So, yes, I have always longed for the endless immensity of the written word, .
. .
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com
I got the chance to attend another great VCF! This time in Chicago over
this past weekend.
Most images should be able to click and enlarge (if not, wiggle the page a
bit and try again).
https://voidstar.blog/vcf-mw-midwest-2023/
I've started pulling parts for people who have requested them and keep
finding things I had forgotten. A few things of possible interest include:
PDP-8A parts including backplanes, most CPU boards, 128K, MM board MM8-AA/AB
8-E boxes and boards
DECMATE Rainbow, and PRO systems and parts
A few 11/05, 11/10 boxes
a new 54-21149 KN15 cpu
VS40X 4 plane color options
SI-QS 1000 board labeled QED 993 CPU
Tape drive heads
LA36, LA120, and other printers and parts
various VTs and monitors and parts
MFM and floppy drives
Qbus boxes and hundreds of boards
1000s of DEC boards and parts
possible a few 3000 and 5000 boxes and parts
If anyone wants to stop by and look for things, please contact me off list
to set up a time. Most of the people who have stopped by would say I have
quite a lot of DEC items.
If you have any questions contact me off list.
There have been a number of Ebay listings for various ns32k software, QIC
tapes and 1/2 inch tapes. I thought I would buy them if there were no other
bids to try to recover the contents.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/225759541222https://www.ebay.com/itm/225759543101https://www.ebay.com/itm/225750706891
But there was a buyer and I didn't want to fight over something where I
don't have the actual hardware. Maybe someone here is the buyer? I am just
curious if this will end up on bitsavers in the future?
/Mattis
Hi all,
I just bought a very clean, DSDD 8" disk drive off eBay and it has a 50p
connector which I guess is the common Shugart type? I also found a 50p->
34p adaptor PCB design someone documented online.
I haven't delved much into floppy formats (high level or low level) but I'm
somewhat familiar with filesystems from FAT12. My ultimate goal is to
create an open-source USB adaptor that reads/writes the contents of an 8"
disk but presents itself to an OS as a Mass Storage Device (block device).
Is such a thing possible?
I once created a terrible custom format for storing data on a flash chip
which required no low-level format, but I expect a magnetic disk needs
headers/trailers to know when a track starts/stops so it can skip around.
I checked out the KyroFlux website and it seems there are dozens of formats
that were used for 8" disks - is there a favorite format among the
community that allows full use of a 1.2MB 8" disk?
Any pointers are appreciated!
Anders
www.andersknelson.com
Some of you might recall that Apple released a series of machines based
on the Newton OS in the early 1990s. There were eight models in total
from Apple, and a few more from third parties who licensed both the
hardware and software to make eg. ruggedized handhelds, or "smart"
(landline) phones.
The operating system was bespoke. It had a Lisp influence during
development, but by the time it was released, it used a language called
NewtonScript that had an Algol-ish syntax with Lisp/Self-like
semantics. Although the OS core was written in C++, large parts of the
system were written in NewtonScript as well, as were the built-in
applications.
Newtons ended up as a dead-end branch of computer evolution. The
product line was cancelled by Jobs following his return to Apple, and
despite a few little respectful nods, iOS has basically no commonality
with NewtonOS. Ironically, the handwriting recognition engine (the
focal point for most Newton criticism) outlived the devices and was
ported to and shipped with Mac OS X.
A Newton emulator, called Einstein, exists. It's able to run the OS,
the built-in apps, and to install and run third-party applications with
good fidelity to the original experience. It requires a ROM image to
function. Apple made various ROM images available, and it's possible to
extract the image from a physical Newton device, but the consensus is
that it isn't legal to distribute these ROM images. This makes setting
up the emulator more complex than is ideal.
The NewtonTalk mailing list is a group of Newton fans that remain
engaged with the platform to this day, and we're currently discussing
the possibility of legally obtaining the Newton ROM images from
Apple. We've been heartened by Apple's recent releases of MacPaint
and the Lisa OS to the CHM, and are wondering if Apple might be
persuaded to release at least the NewtonOS ROM, or (ideally) system's
source code.
If there's anyone who was either involved in those previous
negotiations, or could introduce us to someone who was, and is willing
to offer advice and/or assistance with our quest ... really, any helpful
pointers would be useful, and much appreciated.
Cheers,
d
https://github.com/pguyot/Einsteinhttp://newtontalk.net/
Hi.
Has anyone got SCO Unix to successfully install and run on Virtualbox?
My efforts have failed. My host is Ubuntu 22.04 with Virtualbox 7.0.10.
Thanks, Ken
--
WWL 📚
I had heard he was in poor health due to a bad diagnosis but it's tragic to
hear he's gone now.
It was because his annual Free Stuff Days I was able to build up most of my
lab equipment. Those were the days when you could still pull up and fill
your car with all sorts of goodies. I bought my first real EPROM programmer
(a 29B) from him.
-John
I guess not many have survived but I want to ask if someone/some place has
software (papertapes, ...) for the Texas Instruments 960 minicomputers.
We have a 960B but at the moment, it is pretty much useless. I could
toggle in a small program, but would appreciate something like FORTRAN or
an assembler.
Christian
I purchased several items from Walter at Sphere over the years. I suspect many
others of you Tek and HP fans on this list have, too. He was always helpful and
kind. Walter has been ill for some time and passed away yesterday.
It's good that his wife, Susan, will continue to run the business (I got an
email from Susan before Walter passed so stating).
Here is a link to Walter's obituary: https://bit.ly/3qZ2lBX
Regards,
Lyle
--
73 NM6Y
Bickley Consulting West
https://bickleywest.com
"Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
I plan on arriving around noon, and leaving around 6ish.
I have most Q-bus and MicroVAX CPU and memory boards along with options and
non-DEC boards.
In UNI-BUS, I have MOS and core sets plus most options.
I can't take everything with me, and whatever doesn't sell at VCFMW can be
shipped (small items) after I return.
If you are looking for any DEC product, feel free to contact me.
Thanks, Paul
This sounds kinda fun (via the Adafruit weekly Python on
microcontrollers newsletter):
https://pydata.org/language-creator-fundraiser/
Panelists:
Adele Goldberg - Smalltalk
Guido Van Rossum - Python
Anders Hejlsberg - Turbo Pascal, C#, TypeScript
James Gosling - Java
"PyData Seattle presents its inaugural charity event. The event will
feature the creators of C#, Java, Perl, Python, TypeScript, and
Smalltalk in a conversation about programming language design.
The charity event brings together this unique group of computer
science pioneers, unlike any event held before. These great minds come
together for what will surely be a fantastic night of discussion as
the panel delves into the past and future of programming language
creation. The event will attract innovators and engineers from
Seattle, the nation’s fastest-growing technology hub.
The event is a benefit for Last Mile Education Fund and NUMFOCUS."
General admission $229, Students $75.
12:00 - 4:00 PM September 19th, 2023
Cinemark Lincoln Square, Cinemas and IMAX
700 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 310 Bellevue WA 98004
Hi all,
I recently acquired an S-100 computer, and it came with a video card and a keyboard (3rd party products, not originally equipped with these). I am trying to figure out the benefits of having a video card and keyboard vs just using a serial port and terminal. Certainly if the video card supported graphics, that would be a reason to go that route over a terminal. As for the keyboard, ok-maybe you need specific keys for a specific application. But I don't understand the video monitor. I could understand maybe if there was an RF modulator so that you could use a standard TV. That would save the builder some money. But this computer just provides composite.
Other than graphics (and maybe some special function keys for an application on a keyboard), why would an S-100 builder in those days opt to buy a video card instead of a terminal?
Thanks for the bandwidth.
73 Eugene W2HX
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@w2hx/videos
Just to add, interestingly, Singer also purchased General Precision from Librascope.
Librascope/General Precision were the folks that had earlier acquired Royal-McBee. Royal-McBee developed the wonderful (some consider the first "personal" computer) LGP-30 vacuum-tube, magnetic drum computer that was designed by Manhattan Project theoretical physicist Stanley Frankel.
Frankel had quite a legacy in the world of computing, having contributed to the design of the delay-line-based Packard Bell PB-250(with Max Palevsky), and development of a custom high-speed computer for Continental Oil Company called CONAC (used for data reduction of sounding operations search for oil deposits).
Frankel also developed an early electronic calculator design that was purchased by Smith Corona/Marchant (SCM) and produced as the CRT-display SCM Cogito 240 calculator, augmented with Square Root as to Cogito 240SR.
Frankel also collaborated with SCM on the development of the logic for the first set of LSI integrated circuits that were used in the later Nixie-tube display Cogito calculators.
He also developed a very interesting calculator, based somewhat on the principles of the LGP-30 computer for Diehl in West Germany. The machine was fully transistorized and used only 142 transistors in its logic. It was based on magnetostrictive delay lines (two of them), and was a fully microcoded architecture, I believe the first electronic calculator to be completely microcoded.
Since read-only memory (for the microcode) was either physically very large, or complex and expensive to build at the time (diode ROM, wire rope ROM), the microcode was loaded into the calculator at power-up time from a two channel punched metal tape. One channel provided the clocking, and the other channel provided the bits.
It took just under a minute from when the calculator was powered on until the microcode was loaded into a delay line, and from there, all operations of the machine were controlled by the microcode in the delay line.
The machine was able to be implemented with so few transistors because the microcode word was quite wide, and was designed so that it was sequentially interpreted as the bits streamed out of the delay line, so not all that many flip flops were needed. Working registers were stored in the other delay line, along with program steps (yes, the machine was programmable).
The design was very elegant. The machine debuted as the Diehl Combitron, and the cool thing about its design was that it was really easy to augment by just changing the microcode tape (which was quite easily done...bugfixes could be easly installed even by end-users, though such was discouraged).
Soon after the Combitron was introduced, an augmented version was introduced called the Combitron-S that added a small amount of I/O circuitry and additional microcode to implement operations to allow the addition of an external punched paper tape reader/punch.
An interesting aspect of electronic calculator history is that there are a number of people whose names pop up at various points in time during the evolution of the technology. Frankel was one of those, along with a cast of a few others, all of whom had major impacts in the realm of electronic calculator (and the eventual evolution of the electronic calculator into what became the microcontroller/microprocessor that spurred the development of the personal computer).
Jon,
I have an Emulex QD21 that I could part with. I was hoping to attend VCF MW but it looks very doubtful at this point. I also have a spare DEQNA or DELQA. I have not tested these boards to verify that they work although I could test the ethernet boards on a PDP-11. Hans-Ulrich Hölscher mentioned work he did testing MicroVAX II transfers with Lee Gleason’s MicroVAX I project to transfer disk images on bare metal (no-OS) MicroVAX systems. I think that would be your best bet to recover your ESDI disk. If you don’t have any luck at the VCCF MW getting what you need, send me an email and we can work something out.
Best,
Mark
FYI, SDF retro computing and home brew exhibition is scheduled for September 30 to October 1 in Seattle WA . Link to the exhibit is at https://sdf.org/icf/ and https://icm.museum/
- - - -
Tarek Hoteit
tarek(a)infocom.ai
+1 360-838-3675
https://infocom.ai
Have you considered sqlite3? It's a SQL engine, but the backend is just a
file. So it doesn't support concurrent access by multiple users, but if
that's not a concern, it gives you the ability to do real SQL queries
without the bother of setting up an RDBMS.
Adam
I have found some plotter pens. Ons pack says Calcomp 104x, 1023. The other
I can't trace. They look like they clip into ring. Pics here.
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ag4BJfE5B3onnqhG_uReQsCndYafvg?e=WpT5nw
I have a few more of the Calcomp, packets of the un-branded sort.
Free for the cost of postage
Dave
To all,
Some 20 years ago, I led the Computer History Museum's restoration of an
IBM 1620 Model 1 computer. Our team was successful in both bringing the
machine back to life and collecting a massive amount of manuals, books,
and software for the machine. Most notable the John Maniotes
collection. I can safely say that CHM has the largest collection of IBM
1620 material in the world.
We are still looking for IBM 1620 Model 1 manuals to add to collection.
Please let me know if you have anything that we might be missing.
In the past 2 years, several people have been writing simulators for the
IBM 1620 Model 2 that go well beyond SIMH's instruction-level
simulator. These simulators are based on the logic diagrams of the
machine and implement unusual corner cases as well as documented
functionality. One of the simulators has a text-based front panel while
another one has a full true-to-life graphical front panel. It's not my
place to formally announce either program, that's for the creators to do
once they complete their implementations. I've been consulting with the
engineers and am reaching out to the broader community for help.
What they need, and CHM would be very interested in adding to its IBM
1620 collection, is original software specifically for the IBM 1620
Model 2. Of particular interest are the IBM 1620 Monitor II and IBM
1620-2 diagnostics, but any Model 2 software would be helpful to their
efforts.
Please let me know if you have and IBM 1620 Model 2 software or manuals.
Thanks,
Dave Babcock
Hi guys,
I have 8 "new" Chips from Signetics, they are labeled:
S7536
N8220B
and on the backside between the pins "8220".
Does anyone know what they do? My search with google and
in the 1976 Signetics Date Manual (from Bitsavers) wasn't helpful...
Thanx in advance,
Holm
--
Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe,
Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583
info(a)tsht.de Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741
If anyone wants any DEC gear brought up to wcfmw, please contact me off
list.
If anyone is driving out from the NJ area, I have a few pieces of audio
equipment I need to get transported to IL.
I also collect US and foreign coins and currency, and am interested in
buying or trading for DEC items.
Thanks, Paul
Classic computers have a value in our capitalist society. Take the Apple-1:
Its value can be in the $100,000s. One is for sale now: ~ $200,000. Next
seems to be the Kenbak-1 valued somewhere around $50,000. Now, I’m not
suggesting money is the epitome for evaluating our hobby but it goes a long
way to explaining its longevity.
Happy computing.
Murray 🙂
Add. I'm unable to get the output from your site but hope to contribute in
some small way.
I finally got an Emacs running on v7--it's on misspiggy at LCML now as "ue".
It's Microemacs 3.6; what I did was to clone
https://github.com/troglobit/MicroEMACS and check out the first commit.
Some experimentation later, it had the usual problem with v7 and DEC
linkers that not all the function names (er, more generally exported
symbols, but in this case, function names) were unique in the first 7
characters (which is 6 if you're working with DEC OSes). So a bit of sed
later and I had something that built, linked, and appears to run with
TERM=vt100 set.
Arrow keys, naturally, don't work, but C-b, C-f, C-p, C-n do.
I think I'm going to just make a GH repo of it, but I'm happy to send the
tarball, or tar.uue, upon request. I find UUCP kinda fragile on my simh
installation, and I don't know how to get to Miss Piggy's (although the
uucp commands are there), so, well, uuencoding, a pasteboard buffer,
iTerm2's "Paste Slowly", and cat will work as a file transfer mechanism.
Now I'm going to run over to TUHS and announce the same.
Adam
On 8/3/2023 3:45 AM, Joshua Rice via cctalk wrote:
>
> I’d still prefer the IMSAI 8080 or SWTPC 6800 though.
>
While I have a couple Apple ]['s I really don't do much with them. Haven't
even turned one on since I retired from the University in 2015 and they
came home .
Wouldn't take an Apple 1 as a gift but I, too, would love to have an IMSAI
and a SWTPC 6800.
bill
I have heard rumors of one "fredmacs" which is a more-or-less emacs that
will run on PDP-11 v7 Unix. Since I've gotten "s" onto v7 and behaving
mostly happily, now I'd like an editor I actually _like_ rather than
_tolerate_.
Does anyone know where to find the fredmacs sources?
Adam
Hi all,
I just came across pictures on the LCM website about their SDS Sigma installation there.
On the pictures, one can see 10-platter disk packs in the corner and stored on the disk drives.
Did the LCM ever had these in operation, either for data retrieval or even demo purposes?
I know of the Jim Austin Computer museum where they fixed a CDC 9766 drive but it suffered
a head crash after a few hours according to their description which led to giving up the operation
of these drives.
Greetings,
Pierre
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.digitalheritage.de
Hi there
I recently had a mad hankering to add a SunPC card to my Sparcstation. A lot of you will be familiar with the SBUS cards with a 486 or '586' processor.
Does anyone have one spare they would like to part with? Please PM me if you do.
Anything really not at all fussed.
This sort of re-creates a setup I had as a post graduate when I had a new 486DX2 alongside a Sparcstation 2, or at least had access to them. Both were pretty amazing machines at the time.
I do remember benchmarking these two machines running similar C software I'd compiled up (a simple electromagnetic simulator), and it was noticeable that the sparcstation was at least twice as fast.
Hello all. I looking around for a Logic Analyzer for doing (mostly) DEC QBus/UniBus stuff. Being the way I am I want something with enough lines to handle the most of the signals so I'm guessing something with roughly 80-ish channels. I think that lets out all/most of the USB based LA. I've looked around and it seems the the HP/Agilent 16700 series (16700B/16702B) are probably what I want. I've also seen the 1670G which also seems quite doable. I've seen a lot of posts at the EEVblog and it seems I missed possibly the golden age of 16700 LA by a few years price-wise.
What I'm wondering is if there is something specific I should be looking for, or opinions on which LA is more suitable. Or even if there is a different make of LA to look for.
Thanks in advance for your help
John H. Reinhardt
Hello All,
I am working to get my two microvax systems working, I have a couple of
microvax 3800 systems.
While I am waiting to get the real hardware going, I would like to set up
simh with vms to use for testing.
I don't really need the latest version of vms, any old version with tcp/ip
would work. I do have about 16 dumb terminals i want to run as a lab and
connect to the vax.
Can anyone provide guidance on this matter for setting up and install of
VMS in sinh? I realize that there was the openvms hobbyist program, but i
may want to grab an older version of the os if it will run smoother on the
older hardware.
Open to suggestions, I hope to post back with some pictures once the real
vax 3800 hardware is running.
Thanks,
Devin D.
To clarify a couple of things in response to queries: my time for
divestment is "not yet"--but rest assured, when it arrives, I will
certainly see who wants things from my assortment (don't get too excited;
there's nothing super-rare or valuable in it, and I've always been more
concerned with restoring functionality than maintaining period-correctness;
I am one of those collectors who restores stuff to play with it, not to
then put it in shrinkwrap and preserve it for some uncertain future). And
should that time arrive suddenly, well, argh, I've been putting off making
a will too long, but I know who I'm going to put in charge of "everything
computery," and I trust her to make good decisions about the things she
doesn't want.
My understanding of sqlite (and it could be wrong) is that concurrent
writes aren't supported, and reads should block if a write is in progress
until the write completes. In practice it seems like most things are
one-sqlite-file-per-process and if that process is threaded, one would hope
the programmer understands what they're doing well enough to make it work.
There are fairly few cases I've seen where a single sqlite file is shared
between unrelated processes, which would take filesystem locking working
correctly to ensure correctness. Which is generally OK for local
filesystems, but NFS is still a bucket of worms when it comes to locking
behavior, and the number of people running systems that genuinely
understand NFS has been declining for decades. (I do not count myself
among those people.)
I have a Gesswein MFM emulator from decromancer.ca; who offer an adaptor that yields a 2nd MFM data connector.
I'll use mine in a Microvax 2000. Does anyone know how to hook it up as two MFM drives in a Microvax 2000?
The vendor sold a 1in high adaptor box, BA40A, with DD50 connectors to a second cabinet (same as CPU box) for a second drive.
DEC configured both primary and secondary drives identically (drive 3, IIRC). The Microvax 2000 Technical Manual gives the pinout from the mother board to the MFM/floppy daughterboard, but I can't find the pinout from that daughterboard to the cables anywhere.
I've been looking for a BA40A, for some years now, to trace the pin layout for a 2nd drive. Does anyone know it?
Has anyone successfully configured a single MFM emulator as two MFM drives in a Microvax 2000? Or to an RQDX3?
Been thinking about it a little recently, and, no, I definitely don't plan
to send my stuff to a scrapper. I have some younger friends with an
interest in retrocomputing. They want my stuff when I'm done with it,
sure. And if they want _just a little_ of my stuff I'll probably strike a
deal like, "you can have the SGI Indy if that box of IDE drives goes with
it, and you aren't allowed to throw it away until you're somewhere I'm not
going to see it by the side of the road."
Adam
Mike,
Well sadly I have no PDP-8 parts. I do have a few bits of Q-BUS PDP-11. Probably enough to build a complete 11.
I am also in the UK ….
Dave
From: Mike Katz <bitwiz(a)12bitsbest.com>
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2023 3:53 PM
Cc: 'KenUnix' <ken.unix.guy(a)gmail.com>; dave.g4ugm(a)gmail.com
Subject: Re: [cctalk] Re: Disposition of stuff
I will gladly give a nice warm loving home to any PDP-8 equipment and parts that you have.
On Aug 19, 2023 6:16 AM, Dave Wade G4UGM via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org> > wrote:
Gentles,
The problem is I have stuff no one wants. Large plotter, dec writer in need of repair, Large Alpha server....
Suggestions?
Dave
> -----Original Message-----
> From: KenUnix via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org> >
> Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2023 10:14 AM
> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org> >
> Cc: KenUnix <ken.unix.guy(a)gmail.com <mailto:ken.unix.guy@gmail.com> >
> Subject: [cctalk] Re: Disposition of stuff
>
> Adam,
>
> I agree. Give it a new home. Save computing history because when it's gone it's
> gone.
>
> Ken
>
> On Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 10:02 PM Adam Thornton via cctalk <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org> > wrote:
>
> > Been thinking about it a little recently, and, no, I definitely don't
> > plan to send my stuff to a scrapper. I have some younger friends with
> > an interest in retrocomputing. They want my stuff when I'm done with
> > it, sure. And if they want _just a little_ of my stuff I'll probably
> > strike a deal like, "you can have the SGI Indy if that box of IDE
> > drives goes with it, and you aren't allowed to throw it away until
> > you're somewhere I'm not going to see it by the side of the road."
> >
> > Adam
> >
>
>
> --
> End of line
> JOB TERMINATED
...only for a look..
https://www.daliborfarny.com/project/h-nixie-tube/
I'm not related with that czech factory, this is no advertising.
Regards,
Holm
--
Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe,
Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583
info(a)tsht.de Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741
This is almost an impossible question to answer (!) but it might be worth mentioning Pimcore. This is an open source master data management tool, meaning that it supports both schema (data model) design and generation/design of UI elements via a reasonably decent management interface.
It might even be overkill for this particular use case., but from memory the web UIs that it generates don’t depend on front end libraries / Angular / React etc & so may work with older browsers.
Perhaps another option is LibreOffice Base?
Chris,
I would be interested in getting a copy of the SSPS/X software for POS. I have a manual for SPSS/11 and would love to try to get the software running under RSX11M+ if possible.
Thanks,
Mark
> On Jul 26, 2023, at 12:00 PM, cctalk-request(a)classiccmp.org wrote:
>
> From: Chris Zach <cz(a)alembic.crystel.com <mailto:cz@alembic.crystel.com>>
> Subject: [cctalk] Old Professional/350 software, any of this out there
> Date: July 26, 2023 at 9:30:10 AM CDT
> To: CCTalk mailing list <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org>>
> Reply-To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org <mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org>>
>
>
> Starting to go through my boxes of POS stuff. I know of course that 3.2 is out there (minus the Pro/Communications option which has a bad disk in the distro) however are these disks out there now?
>
> Pro/Venix 1.0 on floppies
> POS V2.0a on floppies
>
> POS version 1.5 (with test diskette, maintenance application, a thing called Pro/Pre labelled "Diskette system", system overview and instruction disks)
>
> POS V1.7 (I have that here somewhere)
>
> Pro/Basic Version 1.0 and 1.2
>
> SPSS/X For Professional (this is a really interesting one, anyone heard of this?)
>
> If so let me know and I won't copy them. If not I'll go over to the mighty Deskpro/XE and start sucking the data off for archives....
>
> Thanks!
> Chris
> (Hoping to find old drivers or scaffolding or something that will give me a hint into how DEC ported POS)
In a shipment today I got several AMP-labeled dongles that look like SCSI
terminators ... except the 50 pins are arranged in three rows (17-16-17), not
the Centronics-style 50-pin connector nor the usual 2-pin configuration.
Anyone seen those before, and is it actually SCSI, or is it something else?
--
------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. -- Oscar Wilde
FWIW and as some of you might know, Polymorphic was manufactured here in
Santa Barbara (also Lobo Drives/Systems, and Street Electronics.) After
Poly had gone out of business, a friend of mine ended up getting all (or
most) of the remaining Poly documentation and most of the remaining
hardware from the person who owned the Polymorphic remains. After he had
sold off some of that "stash", he gave the remaining stuff to me. I
spent a week or so taking the remaining original masters documentation
and putting it in a filing cabinet. That stuff included approximately
200 S-100 boards in various states of being built and maybe up to ten
thousand (WAG) 1/4" and 8" disks of stuff that was being worked on at
Poly when they shut down.
On my to-do list is to scan the remaining documentation (about a four
drawer filing cabinet) as well putting together the remaining Poly88s
(four- six) and other boards. I had planned on bringing some of that
"stuff" to VCFMW, but found out last night the exhibit area was filled.
So at this point, I don't know if I will be attending or not.
I am more concerned with getting the documentation scanned and archived
and will most likely end up buying a high speed double sided scanner. So
this is just a heads up that a lot (most?) of the original Polymorphic
documentation does still exist. Years ago, some highly uninformed
individual said this could not be original since there were no graphics
in the Circa early 1970 docs. He was wrong about this not being original
documentation!!! I also tried to keep any marked diskettes with the
docs. Those disks were primarily system disks. And those disks NEED to
be backed up before they degrade to the point they would be difficult to
read.
FWIW, I would have liked to get this stuff scanned, etc but at that
time, I didn't have enough money to pay attention let alone buy a
scanner to scan this stuff :).
Marvin
( I'm not sure how to change topic subjects! )
Regarding the Poly-88, I'm not seeing much about it on YouTube. If you've
got a working one, it would be good to "get one on record." If you're
willing to part with it or loan it - let me know (can also run it by
ActionRetro, although he's concentrating on some Russian imports at the
moment).
But back to the original topic, hope VCF West went well ! Looks like I've
been talked into going to the September 9th VCF near Chicago.
-Steve
On Mon, Aug 7, 2023 at 10:07 AM dwight <dkelvey(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Steve
> I see. You were asking if anyone had a working Poly-88.
> Yes, I believe mine is likely still working. I also have a 8813 that was
> working when I put it away.
> At the VCF, I was talking to another fellow about the video board used on
> the Poly-88. It was said by the other person that the board was basically
> copied by others and some even had the same error, causing distortion of
> the first line by incorrect timing of the H retrace time, on many monitors.
> Dwight
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Steve Lewis <lewissa78(a)gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, August 6, 2023 4:52 PM
> *To:* General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> *Cc:* dwight <dkelvey(a)hotmail.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [cctalk] Re: VCF this weekend, any one up for a trade?
>
> Oh it wasn't my Poly88 - but the person who had it, they just didn't have
> a CRT or screen to test it out with. So it may be working fine. Original
> owner, said he put it together himself (and 16K).
>
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 6, 2023 at 3:11 PM dwight via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
>
> My Poly-88 should be working but I've not played with it for a few years.
> The last time I had it up and doing something was at the last MakerFaire .
> What Is your issue?
> Dwight
>
> ________________________________
> From: Steve Lewis via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 3, 2023 10:19 PM
> To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> Cc: Steve Lewis <lewissa78(a)gmail.com>
> Subject: [cctalk] Re: VCF this weekend, any one up for a trade?
>
> I can't make it to VCF this weekend - though I'm hoping to make it to the
> one in September.
>
> I actually am looking for something: any working IEC device for a C64 (1541
> drive, printer, plotter?). More for an experiment than collection, but do
> prefer clean and presentable.
>
>
> Earlier this year, I reached someone with a working Poly-88. But then in
> March they reported health issues and hospital stays, so I haven't heard
> since. Would be interested if anyone else is aware of a still-working one.
>
> We're still working on recovery of an IBM 5100 "launch title" tape
> (analytic functions) - practicing with other tapes first. Its 2-channel
> deal so far isn't quite that straightforward. But if the Tektronics folks
> can do it with their QIC tapes, I'm somewhat hopeful we can too (although
> late 70s/early 80s Tektronic is apparently a more proper IEEE-488).
>
> Only thing I could offer right now is a fairly not-working 5110 (display
> don't work, PSU don't work, cards don't work - but the case is pristine).
>
> -Steve
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 3, 2023 at 8:49 PM Fred Cisin via cctalk <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
>
> > >> I did not get any of whatever mailings there were.
> > >>
> > >> I don't exhibit, but I do have an excessive amount of stuff to sort
> and
> > >> pack for sale and giveaway.
> > >> --
> > >> Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 3 Aug 2023, Sellam Abraham via cctalk wrote:
> > > We'll just have to organize a VCF Fred at some point. That way, they
> > come
> > > to you.
> > >
> > > I mean, after all, that's why I started the VCF ;)
> >
> > Yes, but you handed it over to a swell bunch of people before I finished
> > parting with my stuff!
> >
> > --
> > Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com
> >
>
>
I'm sure there are at least a couple of you who will be attending the VCF
this weekend in Mountain View at the Computer History Museum.
Is there anything that anyone might want/need? Please send me a private
message if you're looking for something and if I have what you want I can
bring it with me.
I'll only be there Saturday.
Sellam
I sold my Lear Siegler ADM31 recently and the new owner (Ian) has found
that one of the ROMs failed before he could archive it - or it was
defective to start with.
So my question to the list is - does anyone have the ROM codes (there
are three of them) archived?
I don't think Ian is a member of this list, otherwise I'm sure I would
have spotted a post with a subject line like mine...
Thanks!
John :-#)#
--
John's Jukes Ltd.
7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
Call (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"
On Sat, Aug 5, 2023, 9:48 AM Joshua Rice via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
wrote:
>
> The Apple 1 is collectible purely because it was the first product Apple
> made.
Not really, though that's part of it. The value of the Apple 1 has more to
do with the Cult of Steve than anything else. Steve Jobs became the most
celebrated CEO of his time. He was practically a rockstar. Personally, I
think the admiration for Jobs turned into cringey idol worship, but the
fact is millions of people around the world were impacted by the products
Apple produced under his leadership, and he received the adoration.
As I said previously, the Apple 1 is now an icon, a status symbol for the
wealthy. The "Veblen Good" concept absolutely applies here. They have
transcended our motley little community of vintage computer enthusiasts.
They will continue to be held in high end collections for generations to
come.
Sellam
On 8/3/23 00:45, Joshua Rice via cctalk wrote:
> Value is a very much reliant on both desirability and historical significance. I guarantee most people who own an Apple 1 never use it, and it sits in a cabinet/shelf somewhere. Transversely, I’m sure there’s very few Amiga 1200’s purely on display, with the vast majority in collectors hands either tucked in a cupboard or actively used.
>
> The Apple 1 is collectible purely because it was the first product Apple made. There’s dozens of similar machines from the same time period, vcreated by startups looking to be the next big thing, that just didn’t make it. Look at SWTPC, look at IMSAI, the COSMAC ELF. Apple made it to the big time, and they didn’t, so many more people with too much money would consider the Apple 1 to be a wise investment.
>
> I’d still prefer the IMSAI 8080 or SWTPC 6800 though.
Collection values are so subjective that to me, that they make little
sense. For example, is a Mac that belonged to Steve Jobs more valuable
than the same model Mac that belonged to Harvey Schmidlap? Same
machine--I doubt that any scientific test could affirm that Jobs was
still alive in the former. But the difference to collectors may be a
couple orders of magnitude.
But then, I see little difference in value between an original painting
and an expert copy.
Yes, I know, I have no soul!
--Chuck
My IBM 1410 FPGA project now features a working 1401 mode as well, with
the flip of a switch, exactly like the original IBM 1410.
There are still a few real problems (e.g., Console I/O Input under
program control doesn't seem to be working), a few minor issues
involving console problems when doing control operations, and lots of
changes I want to make to the PC console support program, which really
should be done before tackling I/O devices.
There are posts relating to the debugging of the 1401 side of things
towards the end of the list that appears on page:
https://www.computercollection.net/index.php/ibm-1410-fpga-implementation/
JRJ
I have a HiPlot plotter - it's DMP-29, but I'm fairly sure it takes the
same pens as the DMP-2 which I also have but in a million pieces - but
right now without pens.
I have been promised some but it may be many weeks...
I'm wondering if anyone has any old (or NOS?) pens for them? What I'm
after is the dimensions with a view to 3D printing new pens - or at least
pen holders so I can fit modern pens into. (There is no height restriction
on the pen bodys)
Can anyone help?
(I'm in the UK if anyone has any physical pens available - please
let me know)
Thanks,
Gordon
I have 3 of the 4 pieces of Modular Advanced Design's MAD-1 and every now
and again I like to reach out and see if anyone might have the last missing
piece I need. The MAD-1 is sort of like the evil twin of the Mindset..
although nowhere near the graphics prowess. Unfortunately like the Mindset
the disk drives are a separate unit and unlike the Mindset the MAD-1 can't
operate without them because the enclosure also contains the PSU for the
whole computer. The floppy drives are nothing special.. just SA-455 360k.
Anyway, Sellam's msg about trades prompted me to reach out again. If you
aren't familiar here is a link to a pic of one CHM has.
https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/X1620.99A
Many thanks!!
Brad
Brad - The Tech Time Traveller
brad(a)techtimetraveller.com
Does anyone still use the older dot matrix printers?
The husband of a friend of mine passed away and I am helping her dispose
of his classic computer stuff. If there is interest in them, I can put
together a list of what she has (and I can see) in the six storage
lockers :).
The printers I saw today used the wide perforated paper. My memory is
non existent after about 1 hour :). My current plan is to attend VCFMW
in September, and I can probably bring stuff with me. The ones I
remember are the Diablo 630 (?), Juki, and a number of others of similar
vintage.
Yes, he had half a dozen or so Kaypro and Osbourne computers in the
first 18" or so of the storage unit plus one IBM compatible that I could
see along with maybe six B&W monitors.
There are also a number of bankers boxes filled with 5 1/4" and 3.5"
floppy disks and period books.
Marvin
Can someone upload the ISOs of what we do have to archive.org?
I found http://intel-vintage-developer.eu5.org/ but I'd like to grab
it without the free web host ads.
On Wed, Feb 17, 2021 at 4:47 PM Maciej W. Rozycki via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> On Thu, 1 Oct 2020, Glen Slick via cctalk wrote:
>
> > > Sadly neither seems to be among the files I have copied. I could yet
> > > check Intel Dec 1995 Data on Demand discs I happen to have, and do have
> > > here, but they are cumbersome to handle as they use a proprietary format
> > > requiring a DOS app to access, and yet more hassle to get anything
> > > exported (assuming I can recall how I did that many years ago), so it'll
> > > take a little.
> >
> > If you have some Intel "Data on Demand" CD-ROMs it would be nice if
> > .ISO images of those could be captured and uploaded somewhere. Then
> > leave it up to anyone interested to deal with extracting documents
> > from them.
>
> Hmm, I'm not sure of the copyright status, even that those were available
> free of charge. It would be good to have the stuff preserved though, so
> I'll see if I can get some ack from Intel. I have good experience overall
> with such enquiries. Ditto about the Insight CDs.
>
> > I found this document while looking online. It's not clear to me if
> > that is a list of documents that are contained on the December 1995
> > "Data on Demand" CD-ROMs or if some of those are only available
> > elsewhere.
> >
> > http://alt.ife.tugraz.at/datashts/intel/litguide.pdf
>
> This looks to me like a list of orderable hardcopy documents. I still
> have a long line of those on a bookshelf. But indeed most if not all were
> available on said CDs, and some were only there.
>
> Anyway, sorry to take so long, but such is life. I finally got to my set
> of Insight CDs and guess what? First that I looked at was October 1996,
> my oldest, and it does have what you look for:
>
> $ ls -la fbldr16*.zip
> -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 4619852 Jul 8 1996 fbldr16.zip
> -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 1359076 Jul 8 1996 fbldr16a.zip
> -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 1253664 Jul 8 1996 fbldr16b.zip
> -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 1076370 Jul 8 1996 fbldr16c.zip
> -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 930808 Jul 8 1996 fbldr16d.zip
> $
>
> Do you still need it? I have lost the FTP site I used to host things on
> and I can't afford the time to set up a new one right away. But I can
> e-mail you this stuff offlist if your mailbox can swallow it. The choice
> is either one big file, first in the listing above, or the other four,
> which are the same contents, split, that I would send in a separate e-mail
> each. I could split it further too, I know how it worked in the old days.
>
> By the look of it all the documentation included with FLASHBuilder is in
> the form of MS Windows help files rather than PDF.
>
> Either way please let me know.
>
> Maciej
I have to assume that the SCAMP used in the IBM 5100 Portable Computer and
relatives must have been a great deal smaller than the earlier machine.
As such, a logical and unambiguous way to refer to it is "SCAMP Shrimpy."
I hope this is helpful,
--Tom
Starting to go through my boxes of POS stuff. I know of course that 3.2
is out there (minus the Pro/Communications option which has a bad disk
in the distro) however are these disks out there now?
Pro/Venix 1.0 on floppies
POS V2.0a on floppies
POS version 1.5 (with test diskette, maintenance application, a thing
called Pro/Pre labelled "Diskette system", system overview and
instruction disks)
POS V1.7 (I have that here somewhere)
Pro/Basic Version 1.0 and 1.2
SPSS/X For Professional (this is a really interesting one, anyone heard
of this?)
If so let me know and I won't copy them. If not I'll go over to the
mighty Deskpro/XE and start sucking the data off for archives....
Thanks!
Chris
(Hoping to find old drivers or scaffolding or something that will give
me a hint into how DEC ported POS)
I want to buy an old computer from a guy I don’t know in Houston (I’ll pay shipping to CA), but it’s a lot of money, and I don’t want to lose it - what are my options?
Thanks-
Steve.
Be aware that clicking on a malicious url can result on malware or spyware being installed on your machine without any further action on your part. All browsers have vulnerabilities. The most famous of these was the older version of Pegasus by NSO back in the 2014-2016 timeframe. These so called 1-click exploits are well known to bad actors. It’s a continuous cat and mouse game between exploit writers and infosec. For the interested, look at this report regarding Apple and the “Trident” series of exploits from 2016.
https://info.lookout.com/rs/051-ESQ-475/images/pegasus-exploits-technical-d…
—-Todd
P.S. Exploits have evolved considerably since Trident and now include 0-click exploits. See Google’s Project Zero for instance.
Copied all the files onto my Gotek, it's SO EASY to just turn a dial to
select a disk!
Anyway, loaded all the files, but when I try to run them it says it's
missing PROF77 Common. My guess is that's the same block as F77OTS, but
how does one load a common block with a different name? I forgot....
Directory DU0:[SPSS]
28-JUL-2023 18:06
ANVTSK.TSK;1 173. C 28-JUL-2023 18:01
NPTTSK.TSK;1 189. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SRVTSK.TSK;1 167. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SPSTSK.TSK;2 576. C 28-JUL-2023 17:59
TTSTSK.TSK;2 116. C 28-JUL-2023 18:00
SPSS.INS;2 3. C 28-JUL-2023 18:00
RPTTSK.TSK;1 190. C 28-JUL-2023 18:02
SPSS.TSK;1 136. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SCATSK.TSK;1 117. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.MNU;1 7. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.HLP;1 124. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
PARTSK.TSK;1 130. C 28-JUL-2023 18:03
SPSS.MSG;1 18. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
SPRTSK.TSK;1 98. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
SPSS.ERR;1 69. C 28-JUL-2023 18:04
TEST1.LST;1 21. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
GSS77.SAV;1 123. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST2.LST;1 27. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST3.LST;1 21. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST1.CMD;1 1. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST2.CMD;1 2. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
TEST3.CMD;1 6. 28-JUL-2023 18:05
Total of 2314./2325. blocks in 22. files
$ run spss
INS -- Common block not loaded PROF77
Over the weekend I picked up a Pro/350 from the System Source swap. The
good news is I traded something of similar size for it, and more
importantly I didn't bring anything else home :-)
Anyway, it's a pretty basic system with 10mb ST412 drive, 128k memory on
board, 256kb memory expansion, disk controller, floppy controller and
RX50 (with the usual loose pad, glued back in), and a video card WITHOUT
the extended bitmap option.
Brought it home, pulled everything, checked the power supply (good), got
the drive spinning, and since drives like this tend to be precious I
sucked the data off it using a Gesswin emulator (best money I have
spent). Sucked the data off with no errors, thus everything is preserved
for eternity. I'll take a look at the drive and see about using a bit of
watch oil on the shaft to lubricate the bearings and put this disk back
into a "usable" category.
Even better: Fired up and compiled xhomer on my Raspberry Pi CM3+,
loaded the image, and sure enough: There is a POS 2.0 install on the
disk, with a really neat app called "Prostar/300"
Seems to be an office tool for real estate office, specifically farm
management, investment, and amortization. Even better it looks like all
the data was stored on Floppies (now long gone) so no PII issues. And
there is a word processor built into the app along with the normal PROSE
editor.
I'll tool around with it for a bit, then put the disk image up on
crystel.com. An interesting application, can be easily transferred to a
real disk using a gesswin emulator or put it on xhomer. :-)
Pretty nice application from 1986 vintage, I can see this being used in
offices around the midwest.
Chris
Around the middle of the 1980s, Lego made a robotics system for 8-bit
computers, including the Apple II, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, and IBM PC.
The system includes a hardware interface (set #9750, "Interface A"), a
card or cable (differs for each computer; the PC-ISA card is set #9771),
and various electronic Lego bits (sensors, lights, motors, etc., the
main set of which is #9700.)
I recently acquired several of the PC-ISA version. I am selling these as
a bundle: 1x-9750, 1x-9771, 2x-9700. The price is $400 + s/h from New
Jersey.
Full details about the sets are on my website, www.brickhacks.com. The
site isn't finished and some links will not work, but the meat of it is
all there. I'll also be posting how-to videos on YouTube
(@TechnicallyEvan) but I can't promise when that will happen -- I'm very
busy in real life.
All of the manuals are on the Internet Archive, under the "vintage Lego
robotics" collection.
Interested buyers should send me a private message to evan(a)snarc.net.
I have a pair of IBM 8" disk drives - they are from an 1980 IBM 5120
I simply won't have the time to give them the attention they deserve for
many years. They seem mechanically ok (they spin) but I don't know much
more about them, or how "universal" they might be as 8" floppy disk drives.
I think I do have to cut them from the transformer they are connected to
(couple thick red wires), but otherwise they have all the original power
harness stuff as well.
Thinking just cost of shipping plus rounded to nearest $10 or $100. They
are about 20lbs (together, and I would like to keep them together - there
is a pin/clip that is used to latch them together, but I do think they can
be separated fairly easily).
Message me if any interest. If you do need/want them for another 5120
project, I can probably include some adapter cards.
-Steve
So, I was trying to contact "Pete" at vintage-icl-computers.com several
times during the last years. Obiously, the site and/or the person is dead,
no reaction whatever.
I'm hoping that someone on this list might be able to help me:
I still have a Digico Micro 16V computer that, one day, I'd like to
restore. On the ICL site above I can see that they have (had?) the service
manual/schematics for the system, and I would really love to get a scan
(or at least high resolution photos) of these. Does anyone here maybe have
them or can provide me with some pointers? Oh BTW, software (e.g.
papertape images) would be great, too :-)
Christian
I am looking for a basic or commercial IMSAI SIO 8080 Comm Program that
uses SIO serial connector 2 for modem communications. Something I can
start from a ROM monitor running from the console running through serial
connector 1.
My system is using the original 8080, I want to avoid the cp/m z80 route.
Bill
Looking for information on how to set the jumpers/dip switches on the Xerox ViewBoard (AWPI Bounty) and ViewBoard II.
Apparently there’s one or more hardware installation manuals for these boards, which were also sold as part of the “Network Services for PC” product, so the hardware installation manual for that would presumably also contain this information. Bitsavers has the Network Services for PC software installation manual, which mentions the separate hardware manual(s), but I haven’t yet been able to locate any copies of anything that describes the jumpers/switches.
ok
bear.
At 02:05 AM 7/20/2023, Sellam Abraham via cctalk wrote:
>On Wed, Jul 19, 2023, 8:35 PM Chuck Guzis via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
>wrote:
>> Too bad, but on the other hand, John Draper turned 80 this year.
>> Probably a better role model.
>>
>> --Chuck
>
>Oh, god, no.
Chuck's only saying that because he wasn't invited to "work out."
- John
Maybe this note is off topic but I don't think so: The death of Kevin
Mitnick. His book "Ghost in the Wire" is a classic. Too bad he was a
criminal!
Murray 🙂
Hello,
I have a non-functioning VT100. I think I may have isolated the problem to
an Intel 8228 chip (or 88228, the schematic says 8228, the part is marked
88228C). Certainly, the part gets a bit hot and it doesn't seem to be
outputting anything on the I/O W pin (pin 27) despite activity on STSTB (pin
1), DBIN (pin 4) and WR (Pin 3). There is no activity on the HLDA input
though, but I am not sure if that is required because I think the firmware
is just trying to send its status to the keyboard LEDs.
I can find a brief datasheet for the 8228 but it doesn't tell me the logic
for producing the I/O W signal, so I am not sure if it is behaving as it
should. Does anyone have more comprehensive information on how the 8228 is
supposed to work?
I have dumped the ROMs and been able to capture the ROM reads and they match
the disassembled code, so I think the 8080 CPU itself is working.
Thanks
Rob
Hi,
I am curious if anyone here might be planning on attending.
https://museum.syssrc.com/artifact/events/3000/
The Vintage Computer Federation and the System Source Computer Museum are
hosting a vintage computer repair workshop on Saturday July 22nd and
Sunday July 23rd 2023
...
Mark
--
Mark G. Thomas <Mark(a)Misty.com>, KC3DRE
Hello All,
I am wondering if anyone has a private or knows of a mirror for
ftp.compaq.com that is older than 2014? All the ones I have found online,
including the file at archive.org, are from 2014. By then a number of files
and directories had been purged e.g. "/pub/supportinformation/techpubs" and
"softlib1". I am looking for some old documentation and firmware for Compaq
switches and Tape Libraries but if anyone has a full set of files I am happy
to add them to a mirror. TIA!
-Ali
Hi all,
I just noticed that images of a full RX50 floppy set for Ultrix-32m 1.2 was
posted on Bitsavers (
http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/bits/DEC/vax/ultrix/1.2/ULTRIX-32M_V1.2_…
). I am having difficulty parsing these images into a usable raw format
for SIMH.
As a reference, TUHS has a set of 1.0 floppies (
https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Distributions/DEC/Ultrix-32M/ ) that are
usable for installation purposes. (You can ignore the 1.2 floppies in that
archive, they aren't actually a full set). The first disk of that
installer, 32m-1.0-bin/01, has a bootloader that starts at byte zero as we
would expect. This should be approximately equivalent to disk 1 in the
Bitsavers set. Oddly though, in the "raw" dump the bootloader doesn't
start until 0x1400, and a number of the other disks I looked at appear to
have odd holes/zeroes in them. IMD format dumps of the 1.2 disks are
provided but when I converted the IMD format to a raw image I got the same
issue.
I'm almost thoroughly unfamiliar with IMD - is there some obvious
extraction/conversion option that I am missing here? Were these disks
actually imaged correctly? I would appreciate any suggestions.
-Henry
OK. I have about 500 DEC Ranibow floppy images that I've ripped over the
years.
I also have a number of .td0 images as well as other oddballs.
Other than Lotus 123 needing to have funky sectors on one of its bigger
tracks for copy protection, I think having the raw images suffice.
I have some disks that I have multiple copies of (MS-DOS, CP/M, Winchester
Utilities, DEC Rainbow diagnostics etc).I have a few copies of some
software packages. I have a few disks that are clearly personal. And some
of the variations of MS-DOS have different patches applied by various
install programs (or debug scripts published in different trade rags of the
time). And at least one has a special driver installed that overwrites the
DEC Winchester for things like Univation).
So, what I'd like to do is to is somehow organize all this. I wrote some
software to extract files from the filesystem.So I'd like to have a
separate copy of the expanded files.
Lots of moving parts for 40-year-old floppies. I'm struggling with how to
organize all this, how to keep track of this, and how to allow others to
contribute their disk images and allow things to be studied and run. I'd
like to keep the raw images (to mine them for drivers like the univation
one I discovered). I'd like to keep the busted apart files to access them
more easily, etc.
Is there some book, website, paper, etc that I can use to to help me
organize all this so I can share it with others? Is this even the right
place to ask? There's got to be several people that have solved this issue
before....
Warner
Seen on the GCC bugzilla:
"actually, there are 10 types of people: those who understand ternary, those who dont, and those who thought this was going to be a binary joke"
:-)
paul
Really long shot, and I have asked here before without much luck, but anyone
have a copy of the Compaq System Manager Facility 1.10 or 1.11 (or any
version for that matter). This would have been released in 1994/95 time
frame and is necessary for the use of the Compaq Server Manager/R EISA
board. This is a very early EISA RILO board for the System Pro and Proliant
line of servers. Please note this is not the same as the System Management
Agents nor the Insight Manager. TIA!
-Ali
Hi everyone,
I recently dug out my V880 and all seems to be working brilliantly. I've always liked these machines and it would be nice to upgrade this to the V880z spec, ie by adding the mighty
XVR-4000 graphics module.
I know the XVR-4000 is a bit of a mixed bag, but would be fun to play around with this and also who can not be impressed with the shear size of the module. Must be one of the biggest Sun graphics 'cards'?
Does anyone have one of these boards they would be willing to part with. Happy to pay a reasonable amount as I know these are not easy to find.
PM me if you have anything.
Ian.
Over the past couple of months I have been working on my FPGA
implementation of the IBM 1410 1960's era pre System/360 system again.
I am pleased to share that the CPU now passes a significant diagnostic,
CU01, which tests almost all of the instructions, and also tests I/O
with overlap and the priority feature (interrupts). Also, it runs at
generally the same speed as the original machine (comparing the IBM
estimates for 1000 passes), using the same logic as the original machine
(though no doubt optimized by the process of taking in VHDL logic
statements and turning combinatorial logic into lookup tables (LUTs),
and some additions of "D" flip flops to avoid race conditions in latches
and logic loops.)
(The speed is the same because its "oscillator" - crystal controlled in
the original - is now a clock divider/counter off of the FPGA chip clock.)
For more details, see
https://www.computercollection.net/index.php/ibm-1410-fpga-implementation/
Mostly the ALD (Automated Logic Diagram) data capture seems to have been
very accurate. I really only had to do four things this year to get it
to this point:
- Make the necessary logic gate deletions / changes for configuration
option S40/$40 - 40K of core
- Add the ability to transfer a core image from the PC support program
to the FPGA.
- Fix some issues in the Assembly Channel because while almost all of
the ALDs are for a 1410 with the Accelerator feature, several pages of
the very important Assembly channel were for the base 1410 model.
- Deal with a race condition during overlapped I/O
These are generally discussed in individual blog posts off the above link.
I really was quite happily surprised that when capturing the data on
over two hundred ALDs with over 10,000 logic gates, over 4,200
individual unique signals, more than 12,000 signal names on individual
ALDs, and more than 32,000 interconnections that there were not a lot
more problems than these. (I may run into some as yet undiscovered
errors involving the channels as I add I/O devices, though).
I suppose that there were not more problems because for most of the
individual sheets and in many cases groups of sheets I wrote VHDL test
benches using the Intermediate Logic Diagrams (ILDs) as a guide, and of
course took considerable care during the data entry process from the
ALDs, checking connection counts on each logic block, for example.
The last post ("Off to the Races") on the aforementioned web page also
discusses the next expected steps: some more work on the PC/Console
support program, more diagnostic tests, other support program
enhancements, and figuring out how to go about I/O, especially since I
don't have ALDs for the 1414 I/O Synchronizers.
But I no longer have any doubts about the viability of this process, so
long as the FPGA logic clock is somewhere around 10x the logic clock of
the simulated machine. (I expect to try and "push it" by speeding up
the 1410 logic clock to see at what ratio of the FPGA clock to the CPU
clock things break down, as well).
JRJ
I have a PDP-11/53 and have just started playing with an AAV11-C D/A
board. It is a 4 channel D/A convertor with 12 bit resolution.
Can it be used to play an audio bit stream?
Here is simple code used to see if the thing was actually working:
.title AAV11 D/A test
;
.asect
dbr0 = 170440
.=1000
start:
mov #7777,r0 4096 value to R0
mov #dbr0,r1 first D/A buffer out
loop: mov r0,(r1) transfer value in r0 to D/A out
dec r0 subtract 1 from D/A value
bne loop
br start loop back to start
I was surprised to see that it took ~34 ms to run through all the
numbers from 0-7777, that is about 34 Hz. The manual says the 'settling
time' is 6 microseconds. Is this fast enough for audio?
How would you convert a modern audio file into 12 bit integers?
Doug
A friend suggested that some in this group may have an interest in this.
ruos stands for Retro Useless Operating System
ruos is an OS for the long-obsolete PDP11/70 from Digital Equipment Corporation. ruos runs on the simh simulator for that machine. It was written completely from scratch in C and assembler. On a modern machine, the kernel and user code builds in a few seconds.
Overview:
It can run something less than 64 processes simultaneously with one user on the console and others on other serial ports. Equal priority CPU-bound tasks share the CPU.
The user program API includes a number of stdio-like C functions
ruos was built using the gcc toolchain for the PDP11 (Thanks for those toolchain bug fixes Paul Koning!)
Each user process is given exactly 64kB for code, data, heap, and stack and is (mostly) isolated from other processes
Users access the OS using a very simple unix-like shell for command execution with pipes allowed
It does not have its own file system but uses a proxy for file IO. The proxy code (Python 3) is included.
Communication between the OS and the proxy is via UDP/IPv4/Ethernet.
Familiar user binaries include: cat, ps, echo, grep. Device status is provided by ds
If a user tries to run a program that is not native to ruos, an attempt is made to run it on the proxy. Using this mechanism, users can edit files or build new programs (assuming the gcc toolchain is installed on the proxy and the proxy is on the same machine as simh).
It is accessible here:
https://ajco...@bitbucket.org/ajcorbeil/ruos.git <https://ajcorbeil@bitbucket.org/ajcorbeil/ruos.git>
Regards,
Alan Kirby
Just got the following message in the account that I use to receive
cctalk email:
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The passwогd to your mailbox (cclist(a)sydex.com) expires in 24 hrs time.
Following this prompt, your webmail will log you out and generate a new
passwогd.
Alternatively, you can retain and continue using your cuггent passwогd,
by using the user secured button below;
Keep Cuггent Passwогd (link goes to cloudflare-ipfs.com)
This email is generated by sydex.com's mail server for cclist(a)sydex.com.
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FYI
Chuck
Hello sir,
I used to get your newsletter but no longer...I understand there are
problems...
I would be most interested in getting your newsletter again.
Many thanks,
Murray 🙂
I know this is off topic, but I think there are a number of hams here.
Looking to get back into it but have some questions.
Now that the a**holes have completely trashed all the USENET ham radio
groups where do hams go for the kinds of discussions that used to be there?
bill
Hi all,
maybe someone here is interested in the FOSBIC (FORTRAN Simulated BASIC Interpretive Compiler) system.
Background: This was developed, oder rather ported from UWBIC (University of Washington, Prog. W.H. Sharpe) in the mid 70s, by Prof Weber et al. at the German University of Gießen, for the purpose of teaching BASIC on their CDC3300 batch system.
It is written in FORTRAN IV, and knows most of Dartmouth BASIC, including MAT statements and basic sequential/ISAM file handling.
I have ported that, with the help to GNU gfortran, to modern Windows (mingw/cygwin) and Linux, so anyone may play with it. It is still a batch system, i.e. on has to provide the BASIC program as a file (formerly it had to be a card deck), and feed it into the program through stdin, as
in "./fosbic < hello.bas | ./asa"
The code with many examples is available at https://github.com/hveit01/FOSBIC, and has also found its way to bitsavers.org/pdf/uni-giessen.
--
Regards
Holger
Hi there - not sure how much overlap there is with vcfed's forum, but
thought I would reach out here in case. I have a terminal from 1974 (based
on date codes I've found on the motherboard). I'm unable to determine
manufacturer and that would be handy for diagnostic purposes. The terminal
casing is made out of foam, and although there are some serial numbers
stamped around, nothing really lines up. The fans inside have zero dust or
dirt, so I'm thinking this may not have seen much use, or may be a prototype
or pilot for something. It does have RS232 capability. Interestingly the
screen is set down below the keyboard so that only half of it is visible.
My main issue right now is the PSU - I am trying to determine if I'm safe to
attempt powering up the board (the PSU so far seems to be ok, although some
voltages on a couple of pins are mysterious).
Anyway, on the extremely off chance anyone has ever seen one of these or
something like it.. any tips would be appreciated. If I can find a manual
I'll feel a lot safer about turning it on.
Some pics here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-2uEFbi3OKBYr06y6yHnygDiLMtw2Qkj?usp
=sharing
Brad
brad(a)techtimetraveller.com
VCF SW was this past weekend near Dallas, Texas.
Here are some highlights from my perspective.
https://voidstar.blog/vcf-southwest-2023/
Most photos you can click to enlarge (Edge has bugs with WordPress, you may
need to scroll up/down a little bit to get the click thing working)
Cheers,
Steve
I doubt this will go thru either but other attempts to send to the list are
now getting rejected as SPAM. Doesn't the list check addresses to see if
the poster is a member?
bill
>Rob Jarratt <robert.jarratt(a)ntlworld.com> wrote:
>Have you checked here: http://9track.net/roms/ ...
Hey, thank you! I didn't know about this particular collection, and he does have the ROM dumps for the VT180 Z80 board.
I'd still like to find a schematic, though!
Thanks again,
Bob
Does anybody have the maintenance prints for the DEC VT180? The VT180,
aka "Robin" was DEC's CP/M machine in a VT100 chassis. The terminal part is
just a standard VT100 and maintenance prints for that are easy to find, but
I need a schematic for the actual Z80 CP/M Robin option card. Can't seem to
find that anywhere. Bitsavers and Manx have the technical manual which has
some information (although it wastes way too many pages explaining how a
VT100 works!) but no actual schematics.
On the same topic, has anybody dumped the ROMs for this machine? Again,
not the VT100 ROMs, but the CP/M boot/POST ROMs that are on the VT180 Z80
card.
Thanks,
Bob
I assembled Dwight Elvey's KIM-1 debug board (thank you, Gary!) and have now
certified two of my KIMs with it, so I'm very confident the harness operates
properly.
Unfortunately, the one I *want* to repair, my original KIM-1, won't start up at
all after replacing the 2102 RAM I was pretty sure was bad. I checked my
soldering and found a couple spots without continuity that should according to
the schematic, but fixing those didn't fix it. I also buzzed out the socket and
found no obvious shorts, and a second 2102 equivalent from a second
manufacturer has the same symptoms.
I connected the debug harness and test 0, the initial "dead board" test, does
show CPU accesses on the red LED and slowly flashes the green LED, so the CPU
at least is alive and can access the test EPROM.
However, test 1, the RAM test, should show long flashes of the green LED if RAM
is bad. I was prepared to see all long flashes which might implicate the
buffers or address decoder, but instead it won't blink the LED at all in that
or any of the other tests. The red LED remains lit and appropriately
extinguishes when the RS button is down.
Again, the board works correctly and fully certifies the other two KIMs.
What would cause it to hang (?) in the RAM test on the defective one?
--
------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- Roger Waters to moving crew: "Hey! Careful with those racks, Eugene!" ------
Hi everyone!
I'm having a horrible time trying to find ntpdate pre-compiled for
Irix 5.3 anywhere. Does anyone have a package/tardist?
--
-Jon
+44 7792 149029
I finally got an IBM 5120 earlier this month, to complement the 5100 and
5110 that I already have.
It had a few issues, but I did manage to get it to "boot" to BASIC.
I put together a few notes about it here. Nothing too exciting, but two
things I've learned: (1) the 5120 does actually still have the video
REVERSE feature. (2) the 5120 has both an external (red power switch) and
internal power switch (internal one is at rear below disk drives).
Notes here:
https://voidstar.blog/ibm-5120-aka-ibm-5110-3/
IBM 5120 (aka IBM 5110-3) — voidstar
<https://voidstar.blog/ibm-5120-aka-ibm-5110-3/>
My only question is: how "universal" are 8" disk? This 5120 only came with
a single IBM 8" Diagnostics disk. It looks to be in fine condition, but
I've no idea about the data.
So far I haven't been able to read it - it's probably more hardware/drive
issues, I'm still investigating. But I'm wondering if I had other 8"
disks (3M SS/SD), should I be able to format/MARK them?
I've used old tape decks and 5.25" drives - but 8" drives is all new
territory for me.
Also, I'll be talking about the 5100/5110 at VCF next Sunday on the 25th of
this month, June.
While looking for my RSX11 DECNET manual (because the online version
doesn't have any examples of commands which is why you look in the
manual in the first place) I found a copy of the DSM binder AA-K676B-TK
and ilk.
Is this online or does anyone else have it?
CZ
I've got a few backup sets (potentially incomplete) done on MicroRSX
that were created with BRU on RX50 media. I've cranked out some code to
itemize the contents, but the file types are a mystery. I suppose that
one has to live in that world to know (e.g. MSL)
The sets appear to be (parts) of an incremental backup scheme; I think
I've got at least one copy of the complete set.
Would anyone be willing to have a look at the (ASCII) file catalog and
suggest the application that may have created the files?
Email me offlist if interested.
--Chuck
So I had a fellow list member show up and trade me an AUI cable for
reading some of his old RX01/02 disks to see if there was anything on
them. Not a big deal, TALOS (my 11/83) has pretty much everything:
11/83 CPU board with FPJ11
MSV11-QD card with 4mb memory (lots o' disk cache)
RXV21 plus RX02 drive
RLV12 plus two RL02 drives (and an RL01 in a pinch)
TQK70 and TK70 tape drive
DELQA Ethernet
DZQ11 4 port serial board
And the MTI ESDI disk controller with a 330mb half height ESDI disk
Overall it's a pretty fast and solid system. I have RT11 on DU4:, RSXM+
on DU0:, and plenty of power to do anything.
However when we fired it up we got nothing on the terminal. Great. So I
went to TITAN, which is another BA23 equipped 11/73 with:
11/73-B board wo FPJ11
2mb memory (Datamation)
TQK70+TK50 (my other TK70 doesn't write properly for some God unknown
reason)
DEQNA Ethernet (it works)
DHV11 8 port serial board
That odd little 3016 real time clock board I never seem to get around to
loading drivers for
RQDX3 jumpered for RD54 running RSX11M+ (not bad with cache)
20mb HH drive with XXDP+ utils
40mb HH drive with RT11 5.4 all drivers (last version that supports the
TU58)
That worked, we were able to move over the RXV21 and read the disks, but
I was wondering what was wrong with my main system. So after he left I
pulled it apart.
Problem seems to be the MTI card was not booting up properly, and since
it holds the Q bus in a frozen state until the disk spins to ready it
was blocking the system. Pulled it, cleaned the pins with 1500 grit
sandpaper, put it back in, it now works. Great.
So every once in awhile I guess I have to check the pins on these old
11's. They run well and are starting to be used more, but they still
have weird problems from time to time.
CZ
Anyone have the 2716 ePROM listing for IMSAI Basic. Version 1.4 or
whatever. I once had it, can't find my copy. If not 2716, I'll take any
listing that I can convert somehow.
Thanks
Bill
I am getting an error message when I boot up a recently donated PCs Limited
XT clone. The error is
ARC Turbo Board
X Turbo System Error # 04
Does anyone have one of these boards, I believe the error means the board
has been removed, and the system can't find it/bad board. If so, please
advise the $$.
I don't think the board is specific to PCs Limted, I found a general manual
called "Turbo-XT Main Board" that seems to be the OEM of the PCs
Limited-branded motherboard. I assume there is a separate daughterboard
the the "Turbo" part. Yes?
Thanks
Bill
So I had always heard the quote "640KB is enough memory" being attributed to
Bill Gates. However, recently I was watching Dave Plummer on YT and he said
that it is not true:
https://youtu.be/bikbJPI-7Kg?t=372
And apparently the man himself has denied it as well but it just will not go
away...
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=5214635
So I guess like the napkin/disk story and the DR/IBM story this is another
one of those vintage myths and folk lore with no real basis in reality....
-Ali
As some of you may be aware I am trying to find a fault in a Rainbow H7842
PSU. I am using Tony Duell's schematic from here
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/rainbow/duell_schematics/psu.pdf.
I have been testing the Control Module by using a bench PSU to supply 15VDC
to the input of the 7812 regulator (p2, PSU Sheet 1).
My diagnosis shows that the control module is shutting down the PWM (p6,
Control Module Sheet 2) because it is detecting an overcurrent in the -12V
side (E3d on Control Module sheet 1, although I have determined that it is
actually E3c).
This seems to be because I measure a steady 0.6V on pin 6 of the transformer
(p4, PSU Sheet 3). I just can't imagine where it might be coming from as the
chopper won't be running. I had previously removed the transformer and there
are no shorts between the pin 5-pin 6 winding and any of the other pins on
the transformer. I checked all the DC outputs of the PSU when powering the
7812 from the bench, both on a working PSU and the non-working one. They are
all at zero except the -12V output on the non-working PSU, which is +0.6V.
But the voltage can't come out of nowhere.
I am stumped and would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks
Rob
This is on Discord.
I have an HP 2100A with a paper tape punch (a HP labelled Facit), tape
punch (HP), and an 7900A disc. The thing is in decent shape - full of
cards. The keyswitch is out of the thing, but I am pretty sure I still
have it.
Right now, I have me hands on the 2100A and Facit paper tape punch
(with bracket) - can I get $1000 for this combo? When I get my hands
on the reader and 7900A ( I think they are just buried!), we can deal
with them later, as I do not like to sell what my hands are not on.
Located around Kingston NY.
Oh, I have a 5 foot rack for this thing, still back at the old house.
--
Will
>> DSM-IV is "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual" for mental disorders,
>> and is
On Wed, 28 Jun 2023, Ali wrote:
> Fred,
> You are showing your age ;). The DSM-V has been out for a while now and the
> first revision (DSM V-TR TR=Text Revision, gotta love the Psych guys...) is
> coming out (is out?) soon
My age is getting quite difficult to hide.
The "new" (now 10? years old) edition (DSM-V) is not without controversy,
such as grief/depression; there are actually some who still prefer to use
the DSM-IV. When we put the DSM-V on the shelf in Reference, we had some
patrons asking us to bring back the DSM-IV.
But yes, my joke should probably have been worded DSM-V
Anyone in MD got an AUI cable (few feet long) I can steal so I don't
have to remove the bolts from the Pro/380's Ethernet socket or the pins
on my 10bt ethernet MAU?
Friendly note: If you try to boot a Pro/380 running POS 3.2 with Decnet
installed and don't have the loopback plug the system will crash hard
with a numeric error on the display. Noted.
CZ
Anyone in MD got an AUI cable (few feet long) I can steal so I don't
have to remove the bolts from the Pro/380's Ethernet socket or the pins
on my 10bt ethernet MAU?
Friendly note: If you try to boot a Pro/380 running POS 3.2 with Decnet
installed and don't have the loopback plug the system will crash hard
with a numeric error on the display. Noted.
CZ
Hey folks,
Now that I'm done moving house I have time to wrench on the 6150.
Before moving it worked; you'd power it on, the LCD status countdown
would get to an OK value, but the CRT wasn't legible. I figured I'd be
wrenching on the CRT.
Instead, now when I power it on, it powers on for a second or two and
then shuts off. I'm assuming this indicates a short or power-draw
somewhere. I've reseated the CPU and RAM cards, the peripherals, and
unplugged the hard drives (2x ESDI) and floppy in case they had a
fault that was drawing too many amps and causing the power supply to
shut-down. I noticed nothing on the CPU or RAM boards (exploded caps,
etc.)
What should I look at next?
--
-Jon
+44 7792 149029
Hi!
As I'm preparing to setup my old hardware, I fetched two VAXstations
(4000/90 and /96) from storage and cleaned one of them throughoutly.
Then I gave power (to both of them), but both won't really start:
all 8 diag LEDs are on (--> power available but CPU didn't start
executing instructions.)
I took the PSU (from the cleaned /90), a DEC H7819-AA, and measured
it. Unfortunately I didn't find pinouts or schematics at a first
search. The plate states that there should be 3.3V, 5V, 12V, -12V and
-9V. I found most of that:
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| o |
| DEC H7819-AA PSU 10 +---+ 1 |
| (view at the bottom side) | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| 18 +---+ 9 |
| o |
| +-------+ +-------+ |
| | Fan | | Fan | |
+----------------+-------+----+-------+----------------------------+
With above pin numbering, this is what I could find / measure / deduce:
3V3 brown 10 1 blue 12V
3V3 brown 11 2 black GND
GND black 12 3 red 5V
GND black 13 4 red 5V
GND black 14 5 black GND
5V red 15 6 black GND
5V red 16 7 white -12V
5V red 17 8 blue (0.78V)
(4.91V) lilac 18 9 brown (-1.65V)
Most values look plausible, except those three in parentheses. At
least one of them should probably be -9V wrt. GND I guess, but that's
totally absent. And what's the other two? (If I got the colors wrong:
Please forgive, I'm red-green blind.) That could be some "power-okay"
indicator, or external switch-off?
Maybe anybody has faced these issues and can point me to some docs
or "well known to be failing" capacitors? I'd be quite grateful for
any hints! :) ...and hope that maybe the above drawing/measurements
will be helpful for anybody else later on.
Thanks,
Jan-Benedict
--
OK. I have just read in a bunch of Rainbow disks. Most of them read fine on
the first, second or third try. Some have a sector or three amiss (I've not
yet checked to see if those sectors are mapped to the filesystem or not).
Some appear to be 'unformatted' though sometimes they read with errors.
These disks have what appears to be some kind of grime/mold/??? on their
surface.
Is there a good way to read these diskettes? To clean the grime off and
allow the floppy to spin (they all are super loud)...
At the rate things are going, there will be 5-10 of these...
Warner
Hello,
I have a number of DC1000 tape cartridges, with and without relevant data on them.
I have 2 questions:
1. Has anybody the IRWIN TFORMAT software?
2. I want to make images from the cartridges.
Has anybody done this?
We tried with Linux Mint, but the drive is unknown.
Thanks in advance
Lothar
Does anyone have one of Dwight Elvey's KIM-1 diagnostics boards out there who
would be willing to let me borrow it (I'm in southern California)? I would be
happy to pay shipping and a rental cost, provide a deposit, etc. Please contact
me off list if you're willing and the arrangements you'd prefer.
Yes, I'm aware schematics exist, but I was hoping not to place my ability to
fix this unit entirely upon my ability to assemble a board if a working one is
already out there.
--
------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what? ----------------
Just letting everyone know that Bob Applegate passed away a few days ago.
He had been battling cancer for some time. He was involved with vintage
computing for some time. Here is his website: http://www.corshamtech.com/
This is the website for his memorial:
https://everloved.com/life-of/robert-applegate/
Take care,
Jeff Brace
VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President
Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner
VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager
Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity
https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/>
jeffrey(a)vcfed.org
Along the same lines as the 640K quote, I vaguely remember reading a book
that quoted Bill Gates when asked about developing any software for NeXTSTEP
(Probably porting Microsoft Office to compete against Lotus Improv and Word
Perfect) where his reply was "Develop for it? I'll piss on it!"
It's been 20 years since I saw that book and I have never been able to
confirm that was something he was quoted as saying, but it would then
explain why Microsoft entirely ignored NeXTSTEP (or they were just too busy
working on Windows and other unix ports).
-John
Hello Chris,
I saw this old post while searching for stuff related to the CPT Phoenix word processors. I was an engineer at CPT Corp. from 1978 thru 1989 and helped design the CPT 8100, 8500, 9000, and Phoenix systems.
The original monitor that I have has burned-out and I am searching for a replacement. You seem to have found/acquired the exact monitor that I have been looking for!
Would you care to sell the monitor, and keyboard too, to me? I would be most appreciative. It would certainly find welcome home, back with one of its original designers.
Best regards,
Rich Jones
Metasoft, Inc.
> 640K was maybe "enough for anyone"
>
> Weird but I even seem to remember someone saying "who woukd been more than
> 64k"
> Ed# SMECC
>
>
>
And let's not forget "what's the hardest part about emulating Gerald Ford
on a PDP-8? Figuring out what to do with the other 3K."
Hi all,
I'm looking for various Itanium systems:
IBM eServer xSeries 380
IBM IntelliStation Z Pro Type 6894
Fujitsu Celsius 880
Silicon Graphics 750
HP i2000
HP Integrity rx4610
Dell Precision Workstation 730
Dell PowerEdge 7150
If you have a system you want off your hands, I'll pay!
Thanks,
Vivianne
>Message: 21
>Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2023 04:35:28 +0100
>From: Tony Duell <ard.p850ug1(a)gmail.com>
>Subject: [cctalk] Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.
>
>On Sun, Jun 4, 2023 at 10:57 PM Fred Cisin via cctalk
><cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
>>
>> On Sun, 4 Jun 2023, Rick Bensene via cctalk wrote:
<> > an example of early "mobile computing". (Tongue firmly in cheek).
>>
>> The original Osborne 1 had a 12V power input!
>
>Actually it's +12.6V and +5.6V and you have to supply both voltages.
>It's one diode drop to the +5V (logic supply) and +12V (DRAM, disk
>motors, monitor supply), the -5V for the DRAM is produced on the logic
>board.
>
>I am told it was never used and that the Osborne battery pack came
>with an inverter to provide 110V AC.
>
>-tony
It (the Osborne Powr-Pac (tm) ) has a what the manual says is a DC-DC inverter that plugged into a Gould lead-acid battery (or the cigarette-lighter socket in a car) at one end and the AC input of the Osborne 1 at the other. I have read on this list that Lee denies that OCC ever sold them, but I have one that I bought for $50 at Compumat in Chicago on October 10, 1983 -- I still have the unit, receipt, and User Registration card. It came with a glossy-printed grey-and-blue manual, like other contemporary OCC products.
If anyone wants a copy, I can email you a PDF scan of the user manual.
Bob
For various reasons (including, but not limited to, insanity and obsessiveness*) I am building a diode laser based tape punch. It's not specifically for a classic comp, but I'd like to stick with standard format so that it'd be useful for making custom tapes for members in the future. I will probably need to make dozens of tapes so using actual, vintage rolls is out of the question. Does anyone know if 1" tape is used for anything else and where I might find some new? Otherwise I may have to add paper-slitter to my project list and make my own.
*I've had the idea of a lost-media ARG stuck in my head for years.
Hello!
I have an IBM 6152 aka IBM RT system I rescued. (It may be a 6151?)
I'm 90% sure it has colour graphics. The system does seem to POST
correctly (according to the LED on the front) but the CRT is dead. I'm
wondering if anyone has built an adapter to hook this to a VGA
monitor.
I'm a bit confused by the pinout. It has high and low bits for the RGB
(and associated grounds for each colour.) So I'm not sure how that
would work hooking to a more modern monitor.
http://bio.gsi.de/DOCS/IBM/615x/faqshard.html
Otherwise I need a crash course in fixing CRTs.
--
-Jon
+44 7792 149029
Hi:
Doing some research for historical purposed – no litigation at all – trying to identify the first “legal” PC-DOS compatible PC, “legal” in the sense that it’s BIOS was not a copy of an IBM BIOS. Eagle gets the honor of being first MS-DOS compatible and getting sued for copying IBM’s BIOS 😊
The Compaq Portable which shipped in November 1982 is generally credited with the first legal MS-DOS compatible PC. AFAIK it could not run PC-DOS and those applications which depended upon certain IBM BIOS commands would fail.
The first “legal” BIOS is generally considered to be from Phoenix which was announced in May 1984 and so far I have been unable to determine its first system deployments. FWIW Wikipedia points to HP, Tandy and AT&T as some time adopters of a Phoenix BIOS but my research so far is that Tandy’s T1000 family announced in October and November of 1984 was the first system to be PC-DOS compatible and it did not use a Phoenix BIOS! Such PC-DOS compatible HP and AT&T systems were much later and the Tandy BIOS was written by programmers of Tandon Corporation, the OEM supplier of the first Tandy T1000s.
Can anyone identify a PC-DOS compatible PC announced earlier than October 1984? Citations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Tom
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: segaloco via TUHS <tuhs(a)tuhs.org>
> Subject: [TUHS] Pixel 100/AP UNIX Computer
> Date: June 7, 2023 at 12:17:14 AM PDT
> To: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society <tuhs(a)tuhs.org>
>
> After talking with the folks I bought the recent documents from, they let me know they are also selling a piece of hardware: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125714380860
>
> After the link is an auction for an Instrumentation Laboratory Pixel 100/AP. A small booklet included with the many documents I received indicates as of 1982 the Pixel 100/AP ran a System III derivative. The booklet goes on to present a summary of user commands and options. Despite the System III basis, included among these are the C shell and ex/vi.
>
> I have no room for hardware or honestly at that price point it'd be worth the preservation effort. Hopefully it finds a good home, it includes an almost complete documentation set save for the small booklet I've got (which could be separate promo material for all I know)
>
> In any case, there were a few letters amongst the documents suggesting the original owner was involved in the production of this system, particularly in the area of OS details. If I find any noteworthy information I'll pass it along.
>
> - Matt G.
>
> P.S. If anyone knows of a preservation effort accepting new machines I can pass this along.
This was originally posted to “The Unix Historical Society” email list and I asked the original author for permission to forward it here.
If anyone is interested in such equipment.
David
There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third works.
--Alan J. Perlis
David Barto
barto(a)kdbarto.org
David A. Smith has posted the source code for The Colony
(for Mac, PC and Amiga)
- the first realtime 3d adventure game.
https://github.com/Croquetx/thecolony
>Message: 7
>Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2023 02:41:56 +0000
>From: John Floren <john(a)jfloren.net>
>Subject: [cctalk] Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.
>To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
> <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
>
>It's funny that luggable power packs come up here as I'm trying to revive my Otrona >Attache... The power supply does nothing on AC input, even after a recapping, so I >thought I'd investigate the "DC Power Option" described in the manual. Unfortunately I >can't find any record that Otrona ever actually *sold* a "DC Power Option", which >would plug into an unpopulated 6-pin Molex connector on the back of the device. >Interestingly, the header inside the power supply labeled "DC Option" is a 7-pin >header, so I'm not sure which pin was "optional" for the external connector!
>
>I'd just replace the power supply wholesale with a little ATX supply or something, but >the machine needs 5V, 12V, -12V, and 15V; the latter is used to power the CRT and >represents a real challenge! I've yet to find anything that outputs all 4 levels at a >reasonable price.
>
>john
>
I have an Otrona Attache 8:16 with the DC option, so it was sold. (I used both the Osborne and the Otrona in Peru, so having a battery option was an advantage.) However, my Attache has the disk drives that both spin up at the same time, and the DC option does not supply enough power to properly spin both drives, so the computer will reboot if you try to read or write anything to disk while on DC!
I’m traveling now, but will open up my Attache and take some pictures for you in a couple of weeks.
Bob
As you know I've recently restored a couple of CP/M luggable
computers. I also have many other machines with floppy disk drives,
3", 3.5", 5.25" and 8"
The machine I connect to the internet with is a more modern laptop
runnng Windows 8.1. Essentially its only interfaces are USB ports.
I would like to be able to :
Download disk images (I assume in .IMD or .TD0 format) and write them
to real floppy disks to use in my old machnes
If possble, for the more common filesystems like MS-DOS or CP/M, be
able to work with these images on the modern PC at the file level. For
example, if I download a CP/M progam as a .COM file I'd like to be
able to put it into a disk image of a Philips P2000C disk, then
transfer that image to a real floppy and put it in a drive on the
Philips machine.
I understand there are designed based on a modern microcontroller that
connecct to a USB port and a disk drive. Software on the PC translates
between the disk image and the accurately-timed pulses corresponding
to flux transitions on the disk. This unit links to a real disk drive,
you run the software and it reads/writes a real disk in said disk
drive.
Now... I can handle a 'scope. I can handle a logic analyser. I can
handle a soldering iron. I can handle an engineer's lathe. I can
rebuld and align floppy disk drives. I can program most 8-bit micros
along with PERQ microcode, PDP11 mahine code, etc BUT I don't have a
clue when it comes to modern PCs, modern microcontrollers or USB
ports.
So what I am asking is for people to describe what to do as in :
Buy this microcontroller board
Buy this blank PCB and solder the components given in the BOM to it.
Download this software and install it by doing this.
Connect a standard floppy drive to this connector
Run the software, specify the disk image file and sit back.
-tony
>>> Doubtful that VW Bug was on the Autobahn at the time, and, while the
>>> . . .
>>> Now, if the Bug had a trailer hitch, it could tow a trailer behind it with
>>> a gasoline or diesel powered generator with sufficient capacity to run
the PDP-8.
>> Are you suggesting some kind of, say, portable computer?
>> Runs, dodging and weaving.
> I'm not sure that you could fit a complete Model 33-ASR Teletype in the
> passenger seat of the Bug. I suppose if the Teletype was removed from
> its stand, it might be able to sit on the seat, and be powered by the
> same generator that runs the Straight-8.
It is truly easy to remove the passenger seat. Just unlatch the adjuster and
slide it forward off of the tracks. Then make brackets (out of the bottom of
an old seat) to mount the base of the teletype to the brackets.
I have known people who mounted equipment that way.
Many/most VW owners did not clean and lube the tracks, so it was often
difficult to slide the seat, and the latch spring did not re-engage. Ralph
Nader mis-represented that as "Of VWs in accidents, 60%? had the seat come off
of the track." The CORRECT statistic was, "Of VWs in accidents, IN WHICH THERE
WAS SEAT DAMAGE, 60%? were the seat came off of the track." Which was, while
still disconcerting and dangerous, trivial to repair by sliding it back on, and
cleaning and lubing the track and latch, with no other damage.
Removing the bottom of the back seat, and replacing it with a piece of plywood
also provides a roomier and more secure base for the payload.
Possibly even with enough room for a portable generator? (I don't know the
power requirements for the machine, but I do know that VW bugs are not very
amenable to trailering.)
Be careful about putting weight on the back seat! VW had the battery under the
back seat, and many owners did not have a cover over the battery to protect
against shorting by the seat springs!
A type 2 VW bus/van, preferably model 215 (with freight doors on both sides),
would be far more suitable. Or one with sunroof?
In some jurisdictions, the DMV would classify ones with any seats in addition
to the driver's seat, as "Station Wagon"!
To get commercial (lower cost) plates for my type 2 VW in Maryland, I had to
submit pictures showing that there were no other seats, and they even kicked
those back until I also included one showing that it did have a driver's seat.
> It'd be really hard to operate the machine while driving, for sure. It'd be
> far worse than messing with a smartphone while driving :-/. But, once
> stopped somewhere pleasant, you could
> actually develop programs using the punched tape reader/punch on the 33ASR.
> It'd definitely be
> an example of early "mobile computing". (Tongue firmly in cheek).
. . . and, if you caravaned/carpooled, other vehicles could carry peripherals.
No reason why we couldn't eventually have mobile computing!
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com
Hi all,
I have a Sun 3/110 with a faulty video section (hangs at boot when it polls
the FB) and I want to be able to probe and troubleshoot the board. Does
anyone have any tips on how to get at it since it's buried in the VME
chassis. I was thinking of having an extension card made but thought I'd
ask here and see what others have done first. Any thoughts would be
appreciated. Thanks
-Kurt
Anyone on the list have a VT-180 a.k.a "Robin"? I got one for free a while back, but no disks. Wondering if anyone's in a position to make copies of their working disks and mail them to me -- I could have blanks sent, of course. I'm in the SF bay area.
john
List,
I'd rather not put a customer through the throes of sending a 10.5" reel
of tape written on a S/370 mainframe through international shipping.
Anyone in the Barcelona area with the equipment and ability to handle
reading this thing? Besides, I'm up to my ears in work.
Thanks,
Chuck
I have an HP 2875B paper tape drive that I want to interface to. It has
a 50 pin block connector (using well under 1/2 the pins). The connector
manufacturer was Continental.
I have already discovered, the hard way, that it is not a winchester
connector - the pins on the 50 pin Winchester connector I just obtained
via ePay that otherwise fits are too small in diameter and won't make
contact. I *could* increase their diameter using solder - but -- yuck.
The other connectors of this sort I am familiar with that have the same
general overall size and pinout were made by AMP. Does any one know if
the AMP connectors and the Continental connectors would be compatible?
Thanks.
JRJ
FYI: The Ethernet standards dropped support for half duplex connections a few years back, so that if you have something that depends on half duplex links a recent Ethernet switch might not support it.
On 5/28/23 09:17, Tony Duell wrote:
> I've come across the former and have the datasheets. From what I
> recall it was common to use it a control store sequencer and have
> microcode ROMs wider than the 8X300 needed, the extra bits were used
> to directly control hardware.
Power hog (well, it was bipolar) with a 3-bit opcode and a somewhat
strange programming model. You could usually spot one by the 50 pin
cerDIP and the external pass transistor. I think I still have a loose
one in my hellbox--and at least two in old systems.
--Chuck
Greetings,
Amidst all the floppy archiving discussion, here's a slightly different
question:
The weather is warmer now where I live, so it's starting to be a good time
to do messy work outdoors. I have some mouldy floppy diskettes that I'd
like to try to read (mostly 5.25"), plus a good flux reader. What is the
best way to attempt to image these floppies?
My thinking right now is that for each floppy I can attempt this procedure:
- remove the mouldy cookie from the infected disk jacket; discard the latter
- give the cookie the best clean I can (how?) and allow to dry
- place the cookie in a clean disk jacket
- attempt to image
- clean floppy drive heads
Does this seem like a sensible plan? If so, what would be the best way to
clean as much mould off the cookie as I can? Tools that come to mind are
distilled water (tap water here is full of chalk), dish soap,
cyclomethicone, and of course more fearsome solvents. I have kimwipes,
microfibre cloths, and... 200-grit sandpaper, I guess :-)
Thanks for any advice,
--Tom
Recently i digged out a system called Rexon 30, which was sold in
germany/europe as a CMC 7030.
The OS called RECAP BB was stored on a combined hard/removeable disk
drive. There is no floppy or tapedrive at all.
BB stands for a version of Business-Basic.
The removeable pack got lost but there is a little hope that the OS
is still on the fixed disc.
There will be a lot of work for me before i can try to power up this
system again. Maybe it never will.
If anyone has information and/or software stored for this system,
i would be glad if he/she can part it with me.
Rolf
--
Interestingly, i'm looking at procuring a reasonably vintage laptop for
a computer festival i'm planning to attend soon. It seems that many
laptops of the PIII era use SuperIO chips, but i'm rather confused as to
how "low level" they get.
Some of you may remember my RCA MS2000. I've had great luck writing
bootable images from a PIII machine with a "standard" 1.44mb floppy
drive, despite the format being 70-track, SSDD. The machine's floppy
controller uses a bona-fide NEC uPD765 though, so no surprises it worked
fine... ( Here's a video of me playing around with it for the curious...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdKkaf-77dE )
I'm really asking if anyone has any recommendations for a laptop that is
reasonably powerful, fairly modern (has USB), but also has a
direct-connection floppy drive that can do device level shenanigans (via
Omniflop) to allow me to write floppies in obscure formats. Bonus points
if it can use it with a serial terminal emulator, and run the Emma02 RCA
1802 emulator on it as well. I, like Tony, don't drive, so i need
something compact and portable for public transport travel.
I've been eyeing up a Dell Latitude C series (C600?) But the whole
SuperIO-over-parallel thing makes me think there might be proprietary
drivers involved, preventing device level access of the floppy drives...
Hopefully some of you might be a bit more wise.
Cheers, Josh
Hi all, we are getting overstocked on the 1000 series stuff and wanted
to see if anyone needed anything. We have most everything you could have
in the 1000 A-series hardware. If anyone needs any loaded up A990 boxes
we have a bunch of them configured below for $1,400.00
A990 Server 14-slot Micro 1000 Server
1 x 12990x A990 CPU
1 x 12221B 8MB Memory
1 x C2247A 1GB SE SCSI Internal disk drive
1 x C150xx DDS DAT Internal Tape Drive
1 x 12016A SCSI Controller board
1 x 12009A HP-IB Interface board
1 x 12005A Serial Interface board
1 x 12006A Parallel interface board
1 x 12040A Asynchronous Multiplexer Interface (MUX) board
1 x 02430x Voltage Jumper Board
1 x 12230A Front-plane memory connector (CPU to memory connector)
Feel free to email if you need any HP 1000 hardware.
Thanks
Jesse Dougherty
Cypress Technology Inc
jesse(a)cypress-tech.com
At the most recent CoCoFEST!, I brought home the old Glenside Club
Computer Hard Drive. The mechanism is an ST-251, and I was wondering if
someone on-list would be willing to attempt to pull data off the drive.
I have no ability to configure to read this drive type, and the data is
not precious or anything, I just though we should try to pull it off for
historical sake. I was not in the club when teh drive was in use, so I
do not know what could be on it. I assume BBS data, but it could be
anything.
Happy to post to someone who wants to give it a go. If the drive needs
to be destroyed to get the data, or if attempting to read the data
destroys the drive, I will not hold anyone responsible. I don't even
need the drive back, just data if it is recoverable.
Jim
--
Jim Brain
brain(a)jbrain.com
www.jbrain.com
>Message: 6
>Date: Sat, 20 May 2023 07:25:39 -0700
>From: Chuck Guzis <cclist(a)sydex.com>
>Subject: [cctalk] Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.
>
>On 5/20/23 04:21, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote:
>
>> I was startled to discover my (long gone) Athlon XP box could only
>> handle a single floppy drive. The BIOS has no option for a 2nd.
>>
>> I can't imagine that was a significant cost saving.
>
>It's a matter of pins. I believe that it started when the "SuperIO"
>chip started packing in more support for various peripheral functions
>and the 2 pins for drive select and motor control of an extra drive were
>viewed as least important. Earlier versions of the chip often allowed
>re-purposing the pins used for the parallel port as an interface for an
>extra floppy--you saw this on laptop systems, which often had only one
>floppy drive in any case. cf. Intel's PCISet chip sets.
>
>--Chuck
My main computer is a 15-year old Dell Precision T3400 (Core 2 Duo). It can handle multiple floppy drives, but the BIOS does not allow 360KB 5.25" disks, only 1.2MB in that size.
Bob
VCF will be having another Swap Meet this coming June 10 from 8AM to 2PM
for the general public and 7AM for vendors.
Signup here to reserve a spot.
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLdDjGN1TtOjPxNq38VA43p36oW5HXuX0…>
Same place as the previous swap meets in the big parking lot on Monmouth
Boulevard in Wall, NJ
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/40%C2%B011'05.5%22N+74%C2%B003'47.9%22W/@40.1848619,-74.0643212,350m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m13!1m6!3m5!1s0x89c228394afc24b3:0x793045909b6e8fba!2sInfoAge+Science+and+History+Museums!8m2!3d40.1857343!4d-74.0593097!3m5!1s0x0:0xbe14db9783fe1872!7e2!8m2!3d40.18486!4d-74.0633081>
.
A change for this year is that we will have some food being sold by the
South Monmouth Fire Museum. This will be a fundraiser for them and a
welcome service for our attendees.
All the information that you need is here: https://vcfed.org/vcf-swap-meet/
Take care,
Jeff Brace
VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President
Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner
VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager
Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity
https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/>
I have just acquired a number of PDP-8 paper tapes. My reader/punch is
not working at the moment (neither is my PDP-8 but that's another story).
I am looking to beg, borrow or buy a paper tape reader or reader/punch
(stand alone or PC04) so that I can archive these tapes as they are
getting more and more rare.
I would prefer a serial (RS-232) reader or reader/punch but I could deal
with a parallel and create my own parallel to serial converter or get
some kind of USB to parallel adapter.
There are several "hand pull" types of readers out there (like the
OP-80A) but I am afraid of damaging the very old fanfold paper tape by
using my inconsistent hand rather than some kind of motor driven
mechanism which is designed for smooth paper tape flow.
Does anyone have any ideas or something they have to sell or donate?
Please contact me by email directly.
Note: This is also being posted to the VCF DEC Forum.
Thank you,
Mike Katz
bitwiz@12bitsbe
>Message: 23
>Date: Thu, 18 May 2023 17:32:00 +0100
>From: Tony Duell <ard.p850ug1(a)gmail.com>
>Subject: [cctalk]
>
<snip>
<But that's a minor issue. The loss of RS232 communications is a lot
<more serious.
<
<-tony
Can you fix it using MODE.com from a DOS prompt?
Bob
>Message: 21
>Date: Wed, 17 May 2023 04:56:05 +0100
>From: Tony Duell <ard.p850ug1(a)gmail.com>
>Subject: [cctalk] Re: ST-251 Data Recovery for Glenside Color Computer
> Club (GCCC)
<snip>
>As for the target machine having a serial port, one of the machines I
>want to get stuff onto is an Osborne 1A. The serial port on that is
>horrible.
<snip>
>-tony
For CP/M computers such as the Osborne, you can read and write their diskettes on an MS-DOS computer with a program like Media Master. KayPro disks are harder, as there are problems formatting them on an MS-DOS computer.
Bob
Hi!
Well, after a good bit of work I have finally gotten my Compaq XE4000 up
and running with Windows 98, the BIOS all set, a new battery, and of
course a 1.2mb 5.25 floppy that seems to be working.
I'd now like to start sucking the rare images I have here on RX50 into a
TD0 format which can be converted to a .IMG format which can then be
used on the mighty GoTek's to allow people to run such operating systems as:
Micro RSTS 2.1
Micro RSX (I forget the exact version)
Micro-11 Maint disks
Ultrix 11 Version 2.0 (all 30 disks)
Before I start popping these in I have a question: I just did a test
using an XXDP floppy and the message I got included
Single sided, double density
Interleave 1:1
Sector Size is 512
And then for each track from 1 to 82 (?) it said
"Data, No ID adding sector 110"
Is this right? Something else I might need to do for reading RX50's?
Thanks!
CZ
Marc Howard <cramcram(a)gmail.com>
[image: Attachments]May 10, 2023, 8:58 PM (15 hours ago)
to cctalk-owner
I have some listings I want to convert to ASCII. They're line printer
output from a computer that existed from the mid-sixties to the early 70's
(Agage AGT series).
I can't find any OCR package that can take scanner output (either PDF or
JPEG) and convert it to text with roughly the same number of spaces between
words as was there originally.
Seems like it would be an easy task. The input is non-proportional text
from line printer output (actually it might have been printed on a Diablo
hytype). And yet all I get is most of the characters with either no or
single spacing between words. And it misses quite a bit of scanned
characters at that.
Anyone have any good experiences trying to do this? I've attached a PDF
scan if you have a way to do a test run.
Thanks,
Marc Howard
Odd fault on my Rev D KIM-1 popped up while writing code this afternoon
(initially I thought I had a bug in my paper tape transmitter) - between $0280
and $029f, the upper 5 bits are stuck at zero. The rest of the address range
seems fine. In particular, $0080-$009f, $0180-$019f and $0380-$039f work correctly.
This doesn't smell like a bad RAM chip to me or I would think there would be a
bad bit throughout the entire 1K, so I suspect this is a data bus problem but
I'm not sure where to start looking. Any guesses from the group?
--
------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser(a)floodgap.com
-- require "std_disclaimer.pl"; -----------------------------------------------
Is there a list member in Japan or soon traveling to Japan? I want to
acquire something (not really vintage computer related) and the seller does
not take paypal and I can't get funds to them.
Thanks,
Bill Sudbrink
--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
www.avast.com
I see some altairs have a metal escutcheon on the bottom with the stylized words "MITS ALTAIR 8800 COMPUTER" whereas others, the front panel is just the dark faceplate top to bottom. What is the difference? Would one have been a kit and the other sold fully assembled? Or maybe later units vs earlier units?
73 Eugene W2HX
Check out my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@w2hx/videos
Kennett Classic May 20th hack-a-thon and Swap
May 20th, 2023 | 9AM – 11PM
115 S. Union St. Kennett Square, PA
(Hack-a-thon is in our large workspace "The Garage" across the street from
the museum)
Plenty of room for everyone, tables, chairs and power supplied.
REGISTER NOW TO ENSURE YOUR SPACE
Here is the URL for the EVENT REGISTRATION:
https://www.kennettclassic.com/spring-hack-a-thon-may-20th-2023/
$5 / person (family)
$10 / vendor
Kids free.
HACK-A-THON
Any vintage computers (older than 20 years) you wish to restore, demo or
sell during the day
Hacking? Bring Your Tools (power strip, soldering irons, volt meters, screw
drivers, spare parts)
Dolly or cart to bring items in from the parking lot area.
VENDORS
Spaces for people who want to sell their items or exhibit/demo their
projects.
EXHIBITORS / DEMOS welcome!
GENERAL PUBLIC
There will be a pretty steady stream of visitors from the local community
too. We have a growing vintage computing community in the South Eastern PA
/ North Delaware / North MD area. Saturdays are usually the busiest days
at the museum, and downtown in Kennett.
The museum will be open as usual for a Saturday, 12-5.
Visit our event page for more details, contact, directions
https://www.kennettclassic.com/spring-hack-a-thon-may-20th-2023/
EVENT MAILING LIST
https://www.kennettclassic.com/contact.cfm
Bring the Family!
Things to do in Kennett Square
https://www.kennettclassic.com/while-at-kennett-classic-food/
We're Nearby Longwood Gardens
https://www.longwoodgardens.org
Thank you.
Bill Degnan
Kennett Classic
484 732 741
https://www.kennettclassic.com
Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/6130337163716721
Hi everyone!
I'm working on a project where I need to build an RS-232 to Current
Loop adapter. I've seen some schematics on-line and the parts list
seems pretty small, but does anyone have a specific set of
instructions and schematics that they trust? Or does anyone in the UK
have a spare adapter they'd like to send me? :D
Thanks!
--
-Jon
+44 7792 149029
If it’s specifically to interface to a model 33 Teletype, here’s a design that works well and is pretty simple.
https://altairclone.com/teletype.html
Mike
Are there any 3D printing experts hanging around here? I need help.
I want to print things like a bracket to mount my FreHD in a disk bay.
Some other things, too. The problem is the STL file wants to print
these items
vertically instead of laying flat on the table. Needless to say by the
time it gets
to the part where it wants to print the faceplate the object is unstable
or, in some
cases, completely tipped over.
Is there any way to change the orientation of an object on the table
using just the
STL file?
I have a Creality Ender 3 printer and their slicer software.
bill
Can anyone tell me what I picked up at a NH hamfest this weekend for $20? I see it says RL01/RL02. I have two RL02 drives and some platters. None of which I have gotten around to trying. Other than a copious amount of pine needles, what can this be used for? Or maybe the right question is, should I not use it for fear of destroying an RL platter?
https://w2hx.com/?prefix=x/VintageComp/Platter-Device/
73 Eugene W2HX
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@w2hx/videos
Hi,
a friend of mine is currently working on a FPGA implementation of the
CERES-3 workstation (cpu-ns32k.net/TRIPUTER.html#Ceres).
He currently lacks of information of the RTC chip M3001 which was
manufactored by Swiss company Microelectronic-Marin.
Does anyone have a pointer to the datasheet ?
Thanks Bernd
I have at least 5 in my stock. I could easily part with one or two. I would rather trade rather than get cash. Do you have anything to offer in trade?
-Gary
I'm interested in recreating MMI application note AN-114 which describes
adding an sn74s516 mult/div/acc chip to a 68000. Unfortunately, I haven't
been able to find an sn74s516 in the couple of years I've been looking.
Does anyone have some they'd be willing to part with?
KJ
I saw a clip of this project on DW News:
https://www.memory-of-mankind.com/
They're recording works for posterity on ceramic tiles.
How's that for preservation?
--Chuck
I learned today about Dave’s Old Computer website http://dunfield.classiccmp.org/ which is listed as a subdomain under classiccmp.org. I wasn’t aware of subdomain sites. Can any one list any other ones or is a list of sites available ?
Regards,
Tarek Hoteit
Hi folks,
I’ve been picking my way through a PDP-8/L restoration lately. I’ve found that everything in the machine is covered with a uniform layer of dark “soot” (enough to blacken your hands while working with it) which I would like to clean up. Perhaps the “soot” is actually from a decomposed air filter, as I don’t imagine this machine was operated in a smoky environment, and there is no smoke odor.
I usually use 99 IPA and cleanroom wipes for spot cleaning these sorts of things, but in this case there is so much of it that I feel that would just push the soot around rather than clean it off. I think some sort of actual rinse would be needed here.
I’ve been eying the dishwasher, for the subset of flip chips that that are just DIP logic, carbon comp resistors, and ceramic bypass caps, anyway. But I haven’t been brave enough to try that yet... Most of the logic here has date codes to ’68 or ’69, so I’m inclined to treat it gently. Any suggestions for approaches to clean this up?
Follow-on question: the majority of the legs on these old DIPs are showing what I’d call “moderate” corrosion — nothing looks like it is in danger of being eaten all the way through, but the process is underway. I was wondering if something like a light shellac or other inhibitor could be brushed over these pins to at least slow their inevitable demise?
I did purchase and build out one of Vince’s flip chip tester kits, and have found it super useful for this project. Of the large percentage modules that have test vectors supplied, most have tested fine. Three M216 flip-flop modules and one M113 nand module were flagged for repairs this way.
Advice appreciated, as always!
cheers,
—FritzM.
I read today that “Maximum PC” is no longer in print just in digital. Past
issues are available in digitized format but it’s not the same as reading a
magazine while in bed! Our hobby is changing. Well, progress must not be
stopped…
Happy computing.
Murray 🙂
I've checked bitsavers.org (Al does a great job!), and a number of
forums, but no luck finding schematics for my ADM31 that I am trying to
resurrect. The power supply has issues and I need to identify a blown
out resistor - the switching supply is a Boschert model 1001 date code
7943 Revision J.
John :-#)#
--
John's Jukes Ltd.
7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
Call (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"
I think I know the answer to this, but just in case:
Is there a way to image ESDI disks other than to hook them up to their
usual host controller and use the host? E.g. for MFM, I'd grab the MFM
Emulator board.
Cheers,
De
Folks,
A heads up that I've turned on some mail veracity signing functionality
in Mailman. One could hope it would just work, and that I made no
mistakes in the configuration, but... :)
I'm working on this to try to improve deliverability of list traffic.
De
Folks,
A heads up that I've turned on some mail veracity signing functionality
in Mailman. One could hope it would just work, and that I made no
mistakes in the configuration, but... :)
I'm working on this to try to improve deliverability of list traffic.
De
There is a gentlemen in New Jersey willing to sell his HP9825A
I believe he is the original owner. It has 4 ROM cartridges (that go in
the front) and several data cartridges for the slot on the top left.
He is asking $2000 but can probably negotiate (as he didn't find any takers
in VCF East). As far as he knows, everything still works (LED lights came
on when he powered it up a few months ago).
I've met this seller and can vouch for him, but I don't know much about
this particular item.
I have some photos of it at the bottom of this page:
https://voidstar.blog/vcf-east-2023-part-3/
I may try a VCF forum topic about it. Just trying to help him find a good
home for the equipment. E-mail/reply direct and I can provide some contact
info.
(BTW not sure if my cctalk posts are working anymore??)
-Steve / voidstar
Folks,
As I try to track down why various subscribers are getting booted from
the list in the last couple of days, I'm noticing that a number of you
are subscribed from an address that forwards elsewhere.
This works poorly.
TL;DR follows, but basically this is brought to you by the fact that
modern email sucks almost as much because of the anti-spam processes as
because of the spam itself. In the modern world, forwarding is pretty
much dead on arrival. Avoid it where possible. I'll be over here
swearing right along with you.
TL;DR: to be able to deliver any email at all these days, we have to
comply with a couple of schemes designed to make it harder to forge mail
-- DKIM and SPF. The combined effect of making the necessary
declarations in the DNS entries for classiccmp.org is that if you try to
forward mail, you look like you're _impersonating_ classiccmp.org. Many
large providers (google, yahoo, etc.) refuse such mail.
The same anti-spam mechanisms also make it difficult to run a proper RFC
compliant mailing list, because then classiccmp.org would be sending
mail with _your_ From: address, making classiccmp.org look like an
impersonator. Still $w34ring.
Cheers,
De
Glad the photos help. I hope the average general public wasn't too
disappointed or discouraged by the crowd on Saturday - but I tried to think
of the positive side, of there still being interest in vintage computing at
all. A "web cam" preview of the consignment might have helped that line
- some were interested in a specific thing, then to wait 45min in line to
find it's already gone. But I guess that's just part of the experience.
For exhibits, the interior noise/acustics got loud and made hard to engage
and ask questions (since you couldn't even hear them across the table).
I also felt a little guilty of intentionally getting there early to get a
close parking spot. I mean, I don't think there is anything really wrong
with that - but if I know I'm going to be there all day, I wouldn't mind
parking further away and taking a shuttle bus. In my defense, I knew I'd
be getting things from consignment and wanted to drop them back to the car
(I just got some of the laptops).
Sellam, thanks for the note about the geese!! Honkers, yes, that's very
appropriate! But why Honking at 3am!? haha, maybe I don't want to know!?
I'm on travel again for the rest of this week, so kind of rushed to get
notes up today before heading back to the airport.
-Steve
On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 1:04 PM Brian L. Stuart <blstuart(a)bellsouth.net>
wrote:
> Thank you very much for posting these pictures. I ended up having to
> cancel my plans at the last minute due to covid. Yeah, I had succeeded
> in avoiding it for 3 years, but it finally caught up to me.
>
> BLS
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Monday, April 17, 2023 at 05:39:04 PM UTC, Steve Lewis via cctalk <
> cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Videos are nice, but I still like to make a kind of "scrap book" of events
> I've been to. Link is below.
>
> Also, most exhibitors were occupied interacting with the public and maybe
> didn't get a chance to see what else was presented at this VCF. Or, maybe
> they didn't get to see what all else the museum and local area had to
> present - so seeing photos might give them ideas of things to check out
> next time.
>
> Or, in general, for anyone not able to attend, here are some photos also.
>
> https://voidstar.blog/vcf-east-2023/
>
>
> Feel free to use/share, no permission needed.
>
Sorry, I forgot to post the location. I'm in Kent, Washington. USA. disregard the AT&T customer service. Have E-mails in to them. not sure what going on there, but its at&tso anything is possible.
Jerry253-569-6041g-wright(a)att.net
On Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 10:00:53 AM PDT, cctalk-request(a)classiccmp.org <cctalk-request(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
Send cctalk mailing list submissions to
cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe via email, send a message with subject or
body 'help' to
cctalk-request(a)classiccmp.org
You can reach the person managing the list at
cctalk-owner(a)classiccmp.org
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of cctalk digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. more shop clearing (AT&T Customer Service)
2. Re: more shop clearing (John Floren)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2023 21:41:57 +0000 (UTC)
From: AT&T Customer Service <g-wright(a)att.net>
Subject: [cctalk] more shop clearing
To: "cctalk(a)classiccmp.org" <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <107474070.2103532.1681594917020(a)mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
I currently have a few Heavy items to move.
1 Data General 6030 Disk drive1 Data General 6100 Disk Drive1 HP 9000 K210 Server with 1 storage enclosure. has drives and is currently working1 CDC 9760 ?? no label on it, looks like 60-62 version1 HP 7970E 9 track This is in its own console. HPIB interface.1 HP 1000 "F" series computer1 HP 2753a Paper tape punch (Tally)
1 HP 7970B 9 Track2 Data General model 10 desk top computers1 Dec PDP 11/44 with 2 RA80 drives in a short Rack. Has not been turned on a a few years.
Missing the top cover.
Everything is in good looking condition, but only the HP 9000 and 7970e 9 track have been running lately.Most of these are over 150 lbs each except the DG 10s and paper punch. So local pickup
- Jerryg-wright(a)att.net
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Message: 2
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2023 22:02:15 +0000
From: John Floren <john(a)jfloren.net>
Subject: [cctalk] Re: more shop clearing
To: g-wright(a)att.net, cctalk(a)classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <qc0RtYD9l2oxKVwGIn70dqLQFtVOC4wS_pxEANMO_ZqMIeuMStEQBqJoh
jUsU5fw1eK5B9OZX0PVtPOT6d-vhZEw5c6zHKRLUcv9vi5lJIA=(a)jfloren.net>
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Local to where?
-------- Original Message --------
On Apr 15, 2023, 2:41 PM, AT&T Customer Service via cctalk wrote:
> I currently have a few Heavy items to move. 1 Data General 6030 Disk drive1 Data General 6100 Disk Drive1 HP 9000 K210 Server with 1 storage enclosure. has drives and is currently working1 CDC 9760 ?? no label on it, looks like 60-62 version1 HP 7970E 9 track This is in its own console. HPIB interface.1 HP 1000 "F" series computer1 HP 2753a Paper tape punch (Tally) 1 HP 7970B 9 Track2 Data General model 10 desk top computers1 Dec PDP 11/44 with 2 RA80 drives in a short Rack. Has not been turned on a a few years. Missing the top cover. Everything is in good looking condition, but only the HP 9000 and 7970e 9 track have been running lately.Most of these are over 150 lbs each except the DG 10s and paper punch. So local pickup - Jerryg-wright(a)att.net
End of cctalk Digest, Vol 245, Issue 1
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> On Apr 17, 2023, at 11:00, cctalk-request(a)classiccmp.org wrote:
> For the HP, I think it's a fair asking price because of all the cables,
> manuals, and accessories that he's got -- he's got all the SerialIO
> stuff, so it would be a fun project (to me) to try to write a terminal
> program and get that calculator on the internet :)
The price seems high to me also, but if someone is willing to pay for it. The tape drive will almost certainly need work.
That said, I did write a terminal program for a 9825T in college, but it was only usable because I had a 9871A printer on which to display the output. It was a pain to use, but better than waiting for a terminal in the university's computer center.
Videos are nice, but I still like to make a kind of "scrap book" of events
I've been to. Link is below.
Also, most exhibitors were occupied interacting with the public and maybe
didn't get a chance to see what else was presented at this VCF. Or, maybe
they didn't get to see what all else the museum and local area had to
present - so seeing photos might give them ideas of things to check out
next time.
Or, in general, for anyone not able to attend, here are some photos also.
https://voidstar.blog/vcf-east-2023/
Feel free to use/share, no permission needed.
I currently have a few Heavy items to move.
1 Data General 6030 Disk drive1 Data General 6100 Disk Drive1 HP 9000 K210 Server with 1 storage enclosure. has drives and is currently working1 CDC 9760 ?? no label on it, looks like 60-62 version1 HP 7970E 9 track This is in its own console. HPIB interface.1 HP 1000 "F" series computer1 HP 2753a Paper tape punch (Tally)
1 HP 7970B 9 Track2 Data General model 10 desk top computers1 Dec PDP 11/44 with 2 RA80 drives in a short Rack. Has not been turned on a a few years.
Missing the top cover.
Everything is in good looking condition, but only the HP 9000 and 7970e 9 track have been running lately.Most of these are over 150 lbs each except the DG 10s and paper punch. So local pickup
- Jerryg-wright(a)att.net
I have a sgi tezro for sale. My last sgi machine, i used to have crimson
and onyx2 desksides.
The front plastic is a little torn. It has a dallas battery problem. I
recall getting it to boot by manually typing in the boot info, but it may
require soldering to fix the battery.
Open to offers. My last sgi machine, i think it's time for me to let it go.
As I clean up more, I might be able to find the console cable and see if it
still boots, but I'm unsure what its operating condition is as it sits.
Located in FL.
--Devin D.
45 years ago this month Intel revealed the 8086 processor which became x86
technology that formed the backbone of PC technology. The 8-bit era came to
an end about 7 years later. For classic computing a new era began.
Happy computing.
Murray 🙂