- cctalk - classiccmp.org

by Cameron Kaiser

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

2 years, 7 months

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Polymorphic Systems Poly88

by Marvin Johnston

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

2 years, 7 months

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Re: VCF this weekend, any one up for a trade?

by Steve Lewis

( 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 > > > >

2 years, 7 months

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VCF this weekend, any one up for a trade?

by Sellam Abraham

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

2 years, 8 months

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ROM data for Lear Siegler ADM31?

by John Robertson

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"

2 years, 8 months

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Re: Apple 1

by Sellam Abraham

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

2 years, 8 months

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Re: Apple 1

by Chuck Guzis

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

2 years, 8 months

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IBM 1410 FPGA Status - 1401 Mode

by Jay Jaeger

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

2 years, 8 months

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Houston Instruments HiPlot Plotters - Pens?

by Gordon Henderson

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

2 years, 8 months

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Looking for the MAD-1 drive unit

by brad＠techtimetraveller.com

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

2 years, 8 months

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Printers, etc available for sale

by Marvin Johnston

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

2 years, 8 months

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Re: Intel Developers' Insight CD-ROM collection archived anywhere?

by Kevin Bowling

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

2 years, 8 months

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Re: SCAMP at 61 (IBM Scientific Computer And Modular Processor) was Re: SCAMP at 50 (IBM 5100)

by Tom Stepleton

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

2 years, 8 months

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SCAMP at 50 (IBM 5100)

by Steve Lewis

For anyone interested, I'm placing my SCAMP notes here! Had an incredibly great opportunity to learn more about it. https://voidstar.blog/scamp-a-review-50-years-later/

2 years, 8 months

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Old Professional/350 software, any of this out there

by Chris Zach

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)

2 years, 8 months

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May need help buying computer in Houston - I’m in CA

by Steven Stengel

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.

2 years, 8 months

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1-click exploits was Re: BEWARE: Phishing

by Todd Pisek

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.

2 years, 8 months

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Well, SPSS for RSX is sorta up.

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 8 months

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Cool program found for Pro/350

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 8 months

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F/S: Lego robot kits for IBM PC

by Evan Koblentz

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.

2 years, 8 months

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IBM 8" disk drives - anyone need?

by Steve Lewis

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

2 years, 8 months

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ICL / Digico

by Christian Corti

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

2 years, 8 months

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IMSAI SIO 8080 Comm Program?

by Bill Degnan

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

2 years, 8 months

2
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xerox viewboard

by r.stricklin

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.

2 years, 8 months

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Can't access

by Murray McCullough

Dear sir; I can't access your site. Not sure why! It mat be due to the email address I employ. Many thanks, Murray 🙂

2 years, 8 months

3
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Re: Death of Mitnick

by John Foust

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

2 years, 8 months

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Death of Mitnick

by Murray McCullough

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 🙂

2 years, 8 months

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VT100: Datasheet for Intel 8228

by Rob Jarratt

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

2 years, 8 months

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VCF and System Source Computer Museum swap meet this weekend

by Mark G Thomas

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

2 years, 8 months

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OLD ftp.compaq.com Mirror?

by Ali

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

2 years, 8 months

5
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Restoring Ultrix-32m 1.2 Floppies

by Henry Bent

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

2 years, 8 months

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How to archive floppies

by Warner Losh

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

2 years, 8 months

3
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10 types of people

by Paul Koning

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

2 years, 8 months

3
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Don Lancaster has passed away at 83

by Sellam Abraham

Don Lancaster passed away on June 7. https://gilaherald.com/obituary-for-don-lancaster/ I hope his website is well preserved: https://tinaja.com/ Sellam

2 years, 8 months

10
10
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Shot In the Dark: Compaq System Manager Facility

by Ali

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

2 years, 8 months

2
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WTB XVR-4000

by silcreval

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.

2 years, 8 months

2
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IBM 1410 FPGA Status

by Jay Jaeger

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

2 years, 8 months

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Talking PDP11

by Douglas Taylor

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

2 years, 8 months

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A from-scratch PDP 11 OS - ruos

by Alan Kirby

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

2 years, 8 months

1
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BEWARE: Phishing

by Chuck Guzis

Just got the following message in the account that I use to receive cctalk email: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello cclist, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FYI Chuck

2 years, 8 months

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Problems with getting your newslatter

by Murray McCullough

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 🙂

2 years, 8 months

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OT: Ham Radio

by Bill Gunshannon

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

2 years, 9 months

9
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FOSBIC Compiler

by Veit, Holger

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

2 years, 9 months

3
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1974 No Name Terminal

by brad＠techtimetraveller.com

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

2 years, 9 months

8
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VCF Southwest 2023 some highlights

by Steve Lewis

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

2 years, 9 months

8
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Is the list broken again?

by Bill Gunshannon

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

2 years, 9 months

6
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Re: DEC VT180 "Robin" Maintenance Prints?

by Robert Armstrong

>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

2 years, 9 months

1
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DEC VT180 "Robin" Maintenance Prints?

by Robert Armstrong

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

2 years, 9 months

1
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KIM-1 debug board RAM test: *zero* flashes

by Cameron Kaiser

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!" ------

2 years, 9 months

1
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Irix 5.3 ntpdate

by Jonathan Katz

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

2 years, 9 months

2
1
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IBM 5120/5110-3 casual notes / 8" disks question

by Steve Lewis

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.

2 years, 9 months

3
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Found the DSM orange manual

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 9 months

6
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Any RSX-11 fans able to identify file types?

by Chuck Guzis

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

2 years, 9 months

17
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Oh Q-Bus, you can be a fickle mistress at times....

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 9 months

1
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IMSAI BASIC PROM set?

by Bill Degnan

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

2 years, 9 months

5
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PCs Limited XT

by Bill Degnan

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

2 years, 9 months

8
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Did Bill Gates Really Say That?

by Ali

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

2 years, 9 months

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Rainbow H7842 PSU Fault

by Rob Jarratt

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

2 years, 9 months

11
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HP2100A available

by William Donzelli

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

2 years, 9 months

1
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Re: Found the DSM orange manual

by Fred Cisin

>> 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

2 years, 9 months

1
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Need AUI cable

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 9 months

12
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Need AUI cable

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 9 months

3
2
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IBM/RT help

by Jonathan Katz

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

2 years, 9 months

3
2
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H7819-AA / VAXstation 4000/90 and 4000/96

by Jan-Benedict Glaw

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 --

2 years, 9 months

2
3
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Floppy recovery

by Warner Losh

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

2 years, 9 months

4
4
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Looking for Tape Control Software TFORMAT for Irwin 110/125 Floppy Tape Drives

by Lothar Schröder

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

2 years, 9 months

5
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Dwight Elvey's KIM diagnostics board

by Cameron Kaiser

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? ----------------

2 years, 9 months

1
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Bob Applegate passed away

by Jeffrey Brace

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

2 years, 9 months

4
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Linotype and other printing machines available

by Bill Degnan

Contact me off list if interested: Https://www.vintagecomputer.net/temp <Https://www.vintagecomputer.net/temp/linotype/>/KAP/ Items located in Kennett Square, PA USA. Bill Https://www.vintagecomputer.net/contact.cfm

2 years, 9 months

3
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Re: Did Bill Gates Really Say That?

by John Ball

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

2 years, 9 months

1
0
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CPT Phoenix Jr system unit? Monitor and Keyboard

by Rich

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.

2 years, 9 months

2
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How much memory?

by Adam Thornton

> 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."

2 years, 9 months

12
21
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Looking for Itanium systems

by vivianne＠chinstrap.org

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

2 years, 9 months

1
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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Robert Feldman

>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

2 years, 9 months

5
6
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Source for NEW (unused) punch tape

by robotguy＠gmail.com

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.

2 years, 9 months

14
26
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Looking for information on Data General 602X magtape drive

by Bjoren Davis

Hello CCtalk, I recently bought the mortal remains of a Data General 602X magtape drive on craigslist. Apparently it had been stored outside. When I got it it had mudwasp nests and mud all over it and everything that could rust had. When it was decomissioned it was just cut out, so it's missing its chassis, hinges, controller board, power supplies, vacuum blower, vacuum pressure limit switches, etc. The cables to the heads are just cut (no connectors). But boy does it look cool, and it *does* have all three of its transport motors and its console PCB. There's very little identifying information on the drive. The front of the drive has a label "9 TRACK 800 BPI". The console PCB says "COPYRIGHT © 1973 BY DATA GENERAL CORP" "CONTROL BOARD FOR 75 I.P.S. DRIVE DGC NOVA 107-000275-17 /16" and has a sticker on the back "DRAWING NO. REV. 005-005-525-02 005-001-743-11". The date codes on the few chips I can read place it from 1976. I think all of this adds up to this being a model 6021 or 6023. I've been slowly disassembling, cleaning, and repairing it. The DG documentation at bitsavers is really good, but, sadly, the schematics are not available there. Does anyone have such schematics? I'm especially interested in the analog portion that connects to the heads, the connection to the BOT/EOT sensor, and a schematic for the console board I actually do have. My goal is to replace all of the missing controller parts with some SOC boards (e.g., a Teensy 4.1), ultimately to be able to use this drive to read and write tapes. I'd love to reuse the console board as it is. I've already replaced the vacuum blower with a $30 Bosch vacuum cleaner I also bought on craigslist. Thanks. --Bjoren

2 years, 9 months

4
3
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IBM RT Graphics

by Jonathan Katz

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

2 years, 10 months

10
11
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First non-IBM PC-DOS Compatible PC

by Tom Gardner

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

2 years, 10 months

17
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Fwd: [TUHS] Pixel 100/AP UNIX Computer

by David Barto

> 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

2 years, 10 months

1
0
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The Colony source

by Hugh Pyle

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

2 years, 10 months

2
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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Robert Feldman

>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

2 years, 10 months

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Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Tony Duell

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

2 years, 10 months

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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Fred Cisin

>>> 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

2 years, 10 months

1
0
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Tips on VME board access

by Kurt Nowak

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

2 years, 10 months

4
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VT180

by John Floren

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

2 years, 10 months

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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Ali

>AH! NUTS! :)>Runs and ducks...That's actually pretty funny and much milder then what I was screaming...-Ali

2 years, 10 months

1
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Identify these drive read heads pdp11 related?

by devin davison

I picked up boxes of these disk heads when i picked up a warehouse stockpile of pdp 11 computers. Any idea what they are to? I want to say floppy? I have 2 different types of heads, in boxes. Please see pics, and if anyone needs heads, im the guy that has a bunch to part with now. Let me know what kind of drive they are for if you can, i have no clue. https://i.postimg.cc/nrHTdwcV/20230528-182840.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/y8JjrRBR/20230528-182834.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/sfcTBywM/20230528-182821.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/2y2GgFVQ/20230528-182809.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/4N2w5PCZ/20230528-182617.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/W1Q8R4bH/20230528-182614.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/28S2hJK2/20230528-182606.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/25hwCf18/20230528-182555.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/DZ3xGw9X/20230528-182543.jpg

2 years, 10 months

5
7
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Anyone in or near Spain that can read 6250 GCR 9-track tape?

by Chuck Guzis

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

2 years, 10 months

3
4
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Continental 50 Pin connector vs. AMP 200276 50 pin connector - same?

by Jay Jaeger

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

2 years, 10 months

2
3
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Gb Ethernet and 10Mb links

by Craig Ruff

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.

2 years, 10 months

6
7
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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks.

by Chuck Guzis

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

2 years, 10 months

1
0
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Recovering floppies attacked by mould

by Tom Stepleton

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

2 years, 10 months

5
4
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Rexon 30 aka CMC 7030 information needed

by Harten

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 --

2 years, 10 months

1
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Super I/O chips and Getting floppy images to/from real disks

by Joshua Rice

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

2 years, 10 months

2
2
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HP 1000 A400, A600, A700, A900, A990 Servers, parts, & accessories

by Jesse Dougherty

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

2 years, 10 months

1
0
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Super I/O chips

by emanuel stiebler

Anybody out here, still in business using them? Which ones are still easily available? (I look for something which has 2 UARTs, FDC and IDE?) Thanks

2 years, 10 months

4
3
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ST-251 Data Recovery for Glenside Color Computer Club (GCCC)

by Jim Brain

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

2 years, 10 months

18
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Re: Getting floppy images to/from real floppy disks

by Robert Feldman

>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

2 years, 10 months

2
1
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VCF Swap Meet June 10, 2023. Wall, NJ.

by Jeffrey Brace

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/>

2 years, 10 months

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Paper Tape Reader Needed

by Mike Katz

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

2 years, 10 months

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Re: ST-251 Data Recovery for Glenside Color Computer Club (GCCC)

by Robert Feldman

>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

2 years, 10 months

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Re: ST-251 Data Recovery for Glenside Color Computer Club (GCCC)

by Robert Feldman

>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

2 years, 10 months

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Using Teledisk 2.16 to read old RX50 images

by Chris Zach

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

2 years, 10 months

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Are there any useful OCR programs for scanning old listings and producing text with proper formatting

by Marc Howard

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

2 years, 10 months

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KIM-1 stuck bits from $280 to $29f

by Cameron Kaiser

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"; -----------------------------------------------

2 years, 10 months

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Altair 8800 question

by Mike Douglas

I have a reproduction of the metal nameplate strip that looks very close to the original if you want one. $10 plus shipping. Mike D

2 years, 10 months

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Did Intel's Insite User Program Library survive?

by Veit, Holger

Hi all, The PDF at https://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/intel/insite/1983_Insite_Users_Program_Librar… lists various old user submitted software which could have been ordered from Intel those days. Is there anything of that archived and downloadable somewhere? Regards Holger

2 years, 10 months

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OT: A list member in Japan?

by William Sudbrink

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

2 years, 10 months

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Altair 8800 question

by W2HX

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

2 years, 10 months

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Kennett Classic May 20th hack-a-thon and Swap

by Bill Degnan

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

2 years, 11 months

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do you have any western electric 498a diodes or know where I can get? Thanks ed sharpe

by ED SHARPE

do you have any western electric 498a diodes or know where I can get? Thanks ed sharpe Sent from AOL on Android

2 years, 11 months

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Current Loop Schematics

by Jonathan Katz

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

2 years, 11 months

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Re: Current Loop Schematics

by Mike Douglas

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

2 years, 11 months

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3D Printing

by Bill Gunshannon

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

2 years, 11 months

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DEC RL device

by W2HX

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

2 years, 11 months

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Looking for datasheet of RTC M3001 ...

by Bernd Kopriva

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

2 years, 11 months

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Re 516s

by -Gary

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

2 years, 11 months

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Anyone have an sn74s516?

by Ken Seefried

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

2 years, 11 months

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Media permanence

by Chuck Guzis

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

2 years, 11 months

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websites as subdomains under classiccmp.org

by Tarek Hoteit

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

2 years, 11 months

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flipchip cleaning and pin corrosion inhibition

by Fritz Mueller

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.

2 years, 11 months

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One of Paul Allen's Museums

by Zane Healy

It looks like his air museum was acquired by one of the Walmart heirs. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/after-3-years-flying… After 3 years, Flying Heritage Museum to reopen in Everett seattletimes.com I wonder if something like this will happen with the computer museum. Question, were Paul Allen’s museums non-profits? Zane

2 years, 11 months

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Magazine no longer in print

by Murray McCullough

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 🙂

2 years, 11 months

11
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Schematics for Lear Siegler ADM31?

by John Robertson

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"

2 years, 11 months

9
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ESDI drive imaging

by Dennis Boone

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

2 years, 11 months

5
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Mail veracity signing

by Dennis Boone

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

2 years, 11 months

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Mail veracity signing

by Dennis Boone

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

2 years, 11 months

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HP9825A for sale

by Steve Lewis

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

2 years, 11 months

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Delivery woes

by Dennis Boone

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

2 years, 11 months

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Re: VCF East 2023 photos

by Steve Lewis

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. >

2 years, 11 months

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Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 245, Issue 1

by AT&T Customer Service

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 ------------------------------ 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> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 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 **************************************

2 years, 11 months

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Re: HP9825A for sale

by Craig Ruff

> 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.

2 years, 11 months

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VCF East 2023 photos

by Steve Lewis

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.

2 years, 11 months

3
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more shop clearing

by AT&T Customer Service

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

2 years, 11 months

2
1
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Sgi tezero for sale

by devin davison

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.

2 years, 11 months

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8086 history

by Murray McCullough

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 🙂

2 years, 11 months

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Store with "vintage" computers and parts

by wrcooke＠wrcooke.net

This place may be of interest. Most of the stuff they have for sale probably isn't of much interest here, but there are a few gems. The link takes you to one, which is how I found it. https://www.bryanipad.shop/product/microlog-corporation-atr-6800-vintage-ra… Not affiliated in any way. Just thought it might be of interest. Will

2 years, 11 months

24
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Wireless phone

by Murray McCullough

On April 3, 1973 the first wireless phone call was made and Moore’s Law has now led to the smart-phone being ubiquitous to our lives: Computer technology and cell phone technology marching hand-in-hand. Happy computing and talking about it! Murray 🙂

2 years, 12 months

8
8
0 0

Raleigh Ham Fest This Weekend

by Bill Degnan

There's a ham fest in Raleigh NC this weekend, anyone like/dislike it/going? https://www.rarsfest.org/ My son goes to NC State for CompSci, he might go if he can. Bill

2 years, 12 months

1
0
0 0

Beaglebone Black Industrial

by Bill Gunshannon

Does anyone here know if the Beaglebone Black Industrial is he same as the regular Beaglebone Black? I have a couple of the MFM Emulator boards to build and will need a couple Beaglebones for them. bill

2 years, 12 months

4
8
0 0

DEC M8340 board

by Tom Hunter

Does anyone have a surplus DEC M8340 board with PCB etch level E and revision F (as imprinted on the handle)? If yes, please reply to thunter6600(a)gmail.com. Thanks and best regards Tom Hunter

2 years, 12 months

1
0
0 0

NCD-17c and NCD-19 X terminal cap lists?

by Chris Hanson

Does anyone have a list of replacement capacitors to use for NCD X terminals, specifically the 17c and 19? A couple searches online don't turn up anything. I just got my NCD 17c up and running—I showed a pic or two on discord://classiccmp/#terminals a couple days ago—and now while I hear the HV power up the low voltage power seems kaput and the system never comes on. And my NCD 19 won't power up either. I can certainly take them apart and make lists, and I will if need be, but I was hoping maybe someone had already done so so I could get an order in ASAP. The power supply for these things is in the display portion, which makes me a bit nervous just generally… :) -- Chris

2 years, 12 months

2
3
0 0

Re: WICAT Systems

by Paul McJones

Some models (e.g., the 150) supported Multibus. In the early 1980s at Tandem Austin we used one with a SUN graphics board in a Multibus slot to prototype a 68000 workstation we were building (but that never became a product). Al Kossow has lots of information about Wicat in bitsavers. Here’s a brochure for the 150: http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/wicat/brochures/System_150_Brochure.pdf

3 years

1
0
0 0

WICAT Systems

by Steve Lewis

Is anyone familiar with WICAT Systems? I came across their ad in BYTE Nov 1981 (page 84), with a claim of "first family of microcomputers with mainframe capability" It is a 68000 based system (like the Lisa?), one configuration offers 400x300 monochrome graphics. Ad also claims 1.5MB main memory and a multi-user operating system ("UNIX/V7 and a CP/M Emulation also available") called MCS. Address mentions Orem, Utah. Haven't come across a price sheet, but I imagine they were quite expensive ($6000+ would be my guess). From the images, looks to me the main problem is a lack of an expansion bus (and overall not a very appealing-looking system). Was just curious if anyone had witnessed one ever running. -Steve

3 years

3
2
0 0

Earliest version of 3b2/400 sim

by KenUnix

Hi, Does anyone know the oldest version of the SIM 3b2/400 is and where I can get it? Thanks, Ken -- WWL 📚

3 years

2
2
0 0

Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 233, Issue 1

by badbob

Message: 1 Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2023 11:26:58 -0400 From: KenUnix <ken.unix.guy(a)gmail.com> Subject: [cctalk] Earliest version of 3b2/400 sim To: CCTALK <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <CAJXSPs_duQJNrpdf=gy1iZyPta5-wpoDJ-CUdJyhqdqL281gKw(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi, Does anyone know the oldest version of the SIM 3b2/400 is and where I can get it? Thanks, Ken -- Found this toohttps://loomcom.com/3b2/emulator/ - 2017-12-27: HD135 and HD161 are now both recognized names forthe Maxtor XT-2190 disk drive. - 2017-12-27: Fix for CPU traps. The UNIX debugger sdb should nowwork correctly under System V Release 3. - 2017-12-17: Minor compiler warning fix. - 2017-12-16: Fixed a FIFO overflow bug in the CONTTY device. - 2017-12-15: Critical MMU bugfix. - 2017-12-13: Improved support for multiple hard disk drives, aswell as adding support for additional hard disk geometries. - 2017-12-09: Added support for the secondary on-board serialterminal (CONTTY). RMS

3 years

1
0
0 0

Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 233, Issue 1

by badbob

1. Earliest version of 3b2/400 sim (KenUnix) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2023 11:26:58 -0400 From: KenUnix <ken.unix.guy(a)gmail.com> Subject: [cctalk] Earliest version of 3b2/400 sim To: CCTALK <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> Message-ID: <CAJXSPs_duQJNrpdf=gy1iZyPta5-wpoDJ-CUdJyhqdqL281gKw(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hi, Does anyone know the oldest version of the SIM 3b2/400 is and where I can get it? Thanks, Ken This is what I have found after searching, which implies around or before Nov 2017, AT&T 3B2 400 emulated Posted on November 24, 2017 https://virtuallyfun.com/2017/11/24/att-3b2-400-emulated/ WWL 📚 End of cctalk Digest, Vol 233, Issue 1 **************************************

3 years

1
0
0 0

DEC RSX BACKUP.SYS (bup?) files

by Chuck Guzis

I've got a few RX50 floppies that are *part* of a couple of backup sets. I don't have the complete sets, so the backup utility (BUP?) won't process the set in bits and pieces. Is the BACKUP.SYS file format documented anywhere? This is the file that starts out "JOURNAL", a few nulls, then "MICRORSX" Any help would be appreciated! TIA, Chuck

3 years

1
0
0 0

TREK7 is back! - TREK7 FORTRAN Multi-User Game (PDP-10/VAX) Revived

by Hans-Ulrich Hölscher

The Star Trek simulation game TREK7 was written in FORTRAN by Donald M. Ecclestone in the early 70ties for the PDP-10. The game was ported to VAX computers running VMS in 1978 by the author with the help of Dan Gahlinger. For some years TREK7 fell into a deep slumber until in 1993 Dan Gahlinger decided to revive it, but some severe bugs remained, hindering any successful round of game. Last year I began to work on the problems still present in TREK7. After detecting and fixing more than 60 bugs (mostly caused by transcription errors) step by step, the game is playable again now. Dan Gahlinger backed out of the project and I am the maintainer of TREK7 now. For details see: https://gunkies.org/wiki/TREK7 Former TREK7 players please give me a shout! Ulli The VAXorcist

3 years

9
18
0 0

MIT Lisp Machine and ucode recovered

by Eric Moore

Originating in 1960, Lisp is second only to Fortran as the oldest programming language still in use today. Historically used for research, artificial intelligence, and mathematics, Lisp remains relevant in these fields, as well as in quantum computing research and other cutting-edge applications. In the mid-1970s, researchers sought high-performance, single-user, interactive machines due to the constraints of running their code on large multi-user mainframes. Such machines would allow for more efficient and flexible research and development. Richard Greenblatt at the MIT AI Lab spearheaded the development of the first dedicated Lisp machines, including the successful CONS machine and later CADR machines. MACSYMA, a symbolic mathematics program written in Lisp which consumed significant resources on the PDP-10 running ITS, was a key motivator for the Lisp Machine's creation. LispM hackers in residence, including Daniel Weinreb (DLW), David Moon (MOON), Richard Stallman (RMS), John L. Kulp (JLK), Mike McMahon (MMcM), and others, were responsible for the overall system development. Kulp designed the legendary Space Cadet keyboard, known for its unique key arrangements and symbols, and Moon and Weinreb wrote the first and second Lisp Machine editors (EINE, ZWEI) respectively. Brad Parker developed the first working CADR simulator (usim), which emulates the MIT CADR, and with the Lisp Machine microcode running on top, allows users to explore the historic system and its unique features. Until recently, only up until system 78 of the LISP operating system and microcode from MIT could be emulated. Alfred M. Szmidt (AMS) received copies of backup tapes containing systems 98 and 99, dating from 1983 and 1984, respectively, and was able to get them running after a decade of effort. The bootstrap process was an impressive hack, due to the Lisp Machine's use of network booting and a mixture of compiled and uncompiled code. Szmidt has now iterated the distribution to system 100 with all of his fixes included. This marks the first time in 35 years that anyone can use this environment, designed to support AI and computational research at the cutting edge. The windowing and graphical feel of the environment stand out, and the Lisp machine and CADR processor allow users to dive deep into the operating system's inner workings. The line between compiled and source code is thin, and users can open and read almost everything. The CADR machine served as the foundation for commercial products sold by LISP Machines, Inc., founded by Richard Greenblatt, and Symbolics, founded by MIT AI Lab ex-administrator Russell Noftsker. The emulator provides a glimpse into the height of 80s MIT hacker culture by booting to MIT System 100. Find more information and try the system out yourself via AMS's announcement post: https://tumbleweed.nu/r/bug-lispm/forumpost/7475d8a3db Or visit https://tumbleweed.nu/lm-3 -Eric

3 years

3
4
0 0

3.5' 1.44 & 720K compatible Read/Write FDDs

by D. Resor

Is there a list of floppy disk drives which could read and write both 3.5" 1.44mb and 720k diskettes? A product line of musical instruments (General Music/Ahlborn-Galanti) I service use 3.5" 720K DD floppy disk drives. I've never had any problems formatting or backing up data files prior on other instruments. Tuesday, I attempted to format a floppy disk using the instrument's internal FDD prior to backing up the data files. After the format an error appears "corrupted data". Which could mean so several different things from a bad floppy drive, etc. I currently have one box of Sony MFD-2DD 3.5" 720K Double Density Floppy diskettes which were bought new a few years ago, kept in their box, and stored in a dust free place. I've used them prior for the same purpose with no problems. I'd like to be able to verify at home that the diskettes haven't all suddenly gone bad. Thanks Don Resor

3 years

4
5
0 0

Call for Speakers - VCF Southwest (VCFSW) coming to Dallas in June!

by Eric Moore

Hello Vintage Computer Enthusiasts! VCF SouthWest (VCFSW) is returning to Dallas after a long hiatus! We will be gathering June 23rd to 25th, details at https://www.vcfsw.org/ We are seeking speakers, exhibitors, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers! We already have some great speakers and panels lined up, and are looking for people with stories to tell about computing in Texas especially. Details and a sign up form are on the website for signing up as an exhibitor or vendor, and speakers can contact the organizers at vcfsouthwest(a)gmail.com Vendor and exhibitor tables are $50 each, and we have a limited number of tables available inside. After the inside tables are sold, we will consider selling outdoor vendor spaces if there is demand. Sponsor packages are available, starting at $250. This includes prime vendor space if desired, and placement of the sponsors logo and promotional materials proportionate to the amount of the sponsorship. Please contact us with any questions, ideas, or concerns. Thank you for being awesome and supporting the vintage computer community!

3 years

1
0
0 0

ATA-3 50-pin IDE

by Steve Lewis

Is anyone familiar with the 50-pin IDE interface, which I think is called ATA-3? It is from around 1997-2002. Normally IDE is 40-pin, or in laptops might be a 44-pin. But in a COMPAQ Presario 1220, I've come across its hard drive that is using this 50-pin interface (two rows of 25-pin that are quite small/tightly spaced - moreso than even PCMCIA). I believe it is different (electrically) than the 1.8" 50-pin interface. I ordered a CF-to-50-pin adapter that is intended for those 1.8" drives, and it won't work on this ATA-2 port (system won't boot with it inserted). However, all my CF cards are larger than 2GB - so I'm not sure if that was the issue (don't think so, I think even with 8GB or larger it would still at least try to boot). The 2GB drive in this Presario (with the "weird' 50-pin IDE) contains Windows ME and Office 2000. That's cute, but I'm not so interested in that - I was hoping to image that drive for archive, then install something else (OS2). But I can't find any "ATA-3 to normal 40-pin IDE" adapter. I think the "6 extra pins" on this 50-pin (relative to normal 44-pin laptop drives of those days) -- 2 of those pins (5-6) aren't used (maybe a kind of key) and the 4 others (1-4) are vendor specific. So I may just be out of luck here in upgrading or replacing this drive with a more modern solution. But wanted to run it by the crew here before giving up. Thanks, -Steve / v*

3 years

7
8
0 0

Looking for IBM 2723

by Peter Ekstrom

Hey all, So, being the new owner of a AS/400 9401-150, I am looking for a 2723-9406 LAN card for it. Does anyone have one they wouldn't mind parting with by chance? -Peter

3 years

1
0
0 0

Re: LS120, LS240, Floptical Drives and DD, HD, ED, and ?TD? drives

by Ali

> Most likely, the 3-mode drive. 8x1024 sectors on each track, giving a > capacity of about 1.23MB. Many PCs of the era could also handle the > drives, which would change spindle speed from 300 to 360 RPM. 3 mode > drives were manufactured right up until the end, but usually were > configured as 2-mode (720/1.44) unless jumpering changes were made to > the drive. Chuck, Yes, R. Stricklin (Bear) verified it as such. So have you ever seen a Tri Density drive? Or was it just a paper announcement that never made it out of the lab? I'd figure if anyone may have seen one it would be you ;) -Ali

3 years

3
15
0 0

Need a 1.2mb 5.25 floppy

by Chris Zach

Oi. So after finally getting things going I started copying the Pro/380 OS files to a bunch of 1.2mb floppies. Great. However after a bit I started getting errors, and found that the disks were getting gouges in the tracks. Sure enough disassembly of my 1.2mb Teac showed that debris had become embedded in the disk head and cleaning is not possible. Terrific. Tossing the drive, this is not the first time I have had this problem with these disks so I am dumpstering all of the old floppies and just bought 40 new ones in sealed boxes. However I'm now in need of a 1.2mb floppy drive. Anyone have a good working spare that I can beg/borrow/buy in the MD area? Thanks! CZ (I really should have pitched these disks; they came from a basement with an oil heater for 20 years and are quite honestly garbage. Only thing worse were disks from Solarex which literally had silicon dust on them that chewed any drive. Oh well, live and learn)

3 years

11
21
0 0

Re: Sun/Tronic House

by Smith, Wayne

I did some research as to where Dean and Molly (Mary Alice) Hendrickson lived and the address I come up with is 20 Interlaken Road, Greenwich, CT 06830. There is no street view on Google but from the satellite photo it looks like it could be the same house as I seem some of what appear to be similar curved features on the roof. From: Tarek Hoteit via cctalk [mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org] Sent: Friday, March 24, 2023 10:23 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Cc: Tarek Hoteit Subject: [cctalk] Sun/Tronic House Hi. I came across an article about the "Sun/Tronic House" in the July/August 1981 issue of Computers and Programming magazine. The article references the Apple 2 as the computer that controls everything in the house that also relies on solar energy. The house, per the article, is (or was) in Greenwich, Connecticut. I also found a photo of the house at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.1000bit.it/storia/apple/suntronic_h… I am curious to know if the house and the Apple IIs are still there. Anyone has a clue? (A copy of the magazine is at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://archive.org/details/sim_computers-and-p… 1_4 page 38). -- Regards, Tarek Hoteit

3 years

2
1
0 0

LS120, LS240, Floptical Drives and DD, HD, ED, and ?TD? drives

by Ali

In the golden age of the floppy before its downfall caused by CD-R, CD-RW and flash USB a number of new technologies were introduced to allow for cheap removable storage (Yes MO drives existed but they were expensive). Many of the tech were a great step forward. For example the LS-240 drives from Panasonic/3M (Imation) allowed reading and writing to 120MB, 240MB, 1.44MB, and 720KB disks. They were also compatible with weird formats like IBM's XDF and even allowed the storage of 32MB on a standard 1.44MB floppy disk. To be backwards compatible they used a separate read/write head for regular floppies. However, none of the formats with backward compatibility read or wrote to 2.88MB ED disks. Anybody know why? Was it a licensing issue or the perception that ED compatibility wasn't really required or desired? Or was it technical? I am not sure if ED drives already made use of two read/write heads (one for 720/1.44 and one for 2.88) or just one? If it is the former one could see how it would be hard to have three separate read/write heads in one unit... On a separate note: was a TD (Triple Density) drive ever produced? Apparently the technology existed all the way back in 1989 and would have give 12.5MB on a standard physical sized (3.5") floppy: https://www-computerwoche-de.translate.goog/a/hitachi-maxell-bietet-nec-neue -12-5-mb-floppy-an,1155888?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wap p (original in German) -Ali

3 years

7
12
0 0

Unix System V r1 -> Unix System V r3

by KenUnix

Hi, Has anyone been successful in communicating using cu or some other method to transfer files between two SIMS running Unix V ? If so I would appreciate some help. Thanks, Ken -- WWL 📚

3 years

1
0
0 0

Looking for EPROMs

by rescue

Looking for MCM68764 and I could probably use some TMS2532 as well. I'm also always on the lookout for blank bipolar proms (chips stargin with 82S, and compatables). Anyone have any of these they don't need. New, used, needing erasing, doesn't matter. If you have any, let me know how many you have (of each if you have both type) and what you are looking to get for them. If you need more standard/bigger EPROMs, I can trade too.... have a number of 2764, 27256, have some 27128 I think too, and maybe some 27512 ? I'd have to go digging. Thanks, -- Curt

3 years

6
5
0 0

looking for cable for Sun Sbus Expansion

by rescue

I have 2 Sbus Expansion chassis, one Sun, and one Integrix (IIRC). I have the expansion chassis and the sbus controllers, but on both cases I do not have the cables. By looking at it, I believe they probably both use the same cable. Anyone out there have one or two cables to spare ? Thanks, -- Curt

3 years

1
0
0 0

QIC tape restorations (IBM 5100)

by Steve Lewis

I've come across three original QIC tapes for the IBM 5100. DC300 I think, original IBM labels. They are in fair condition (the tape material itself seems fine, they are all on their reels), but the "rubbers" used to actually actuate the reels is degraded. I came across an article once on how to restore those (I think it involved gluing the rubber band directly to the ends of the media?) The three tapes are labeled as follows: 5721-XM3 THE IBM 5100 PROBLEM SOLVER LIBRARY TAPE PART NO. 1608361 E.C. NO 829643 DATE 7/29/76 (this one is in a form fitted sealed ziploc-like bag, which I haven't opened; the early magazine ads for the 5100 reference this solver library -- I assume it is a mix of BASIC and APL) 5721-EAB THE IBM 5100 BASIC COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION TAPE PART NO. 1608376 E.C. NO 829482 DATE 11/13/75 VERSION 1 MOD 0 FEAT 9021 PROGRAM NO. 5721-EAB CARTRIDGE 3 OF 3 (what does FEAT mean? and sadly, I don't have cartridge 1 or 2, but I assume this is probably some BASIC code that runs some kind of tutorial about the system) TAPE PART NO. 1608705 E.C. NO 829637 DATE 1/10/77 DIAGNOSTIC CARTRIDGE. DO NOT ALTER THE CONTENTS OF THIS TAPE. (I believe when accessing the built in DCP, it has options to load and run additional diagnostics that would be contained on this tape -- I think "IMF" stuff, so it would be in native PALM machine code) Anyone interested in a restoration or any contacts to folks who have worked on QIC tape before? I have a working IBM 5100 (with working internal tape and external 5106), but I absolutely haven't tried to insert or use these tapes, and I have 0 experience in trying to extract data from raw media. I don't mind shipping them off to an expert - such as anyone who maybe can copy the data content to a new tape? (which I know is probably some specialized equipment - I probably can't self fund that, but I am interested to know what the options here might be) -Steve / v*

3 years

2
1
0 0

VAX books available

by Todd Pisek

I have the following 2 books available for the taking: VAX architecture Reference Manuals-1987 Version 4.4 VAX/VMS Internals & Data Structures Email tpisek at pobox dot com

3 years

1
0
0 0

Re: LS120, LS240, Floptical Drives and DD, HD, ED, and ?TD? drives

by Ali

>It’s a 1.2 MB format (360 RPM) as used in the>Japanese market.Ahh so it is a triple mode drive not a triple density drive. Thanks!

3 years

1
0
0 0

Fortran question for Unix System-5 r3

by KenUnix

Fortran question for Unix System-5 r3. When executing fortran programs requiring "input" the screen will show a blank screen. After entering input anyway the program completes under Unix System V *r3*. When the same program is compiled under Unix System V *r1* it works as expected. The user sees the prompt. Sounds like on Unix System V *r3* the output buffer is not being flushed. I tried re-compiling F77. No help. Is it possible to check the runtime libraries to see if fflush is missing? Fortran program follows: PROGRAM EASTER INTEGER YEAR,METCYC,CENTRY,ERROR1,ERROR2,DAY INTEGER EPACT,LUNA C A PROGRAM TO CALCULATE THE DATE OF EASTER PRINT '(A)',' INPUT THE YEAR FOR WHICH EASTER' PRINT '(A)',' IS TO BE CALCULATED' PRINT '(A)',' ENTER THE WHOLE YEAR, E.G. 1978 ' READ '(A)',YEAR C CALCULATING THE YEAR IN THE 19 YEAR METONIC CYCLE-METCYC METCYC = MOD(YEAR,19)+1 IF(YEAR.LE.1582)THEN DAY = (5*YEAR)/4 EPACT = MOD(11*METCYC-4,30)+1 ELSE C CALCULATING THE CENTURY-CENTRY CENTRY = (YEAR/100)+1 C ACCOUNTING FOR ARITHMETIC INACCURACIES C IGNORES LEAP YEARS ETC. ERROR1 = (3*CENTRY/4)-12 ERROR2 = ((8*CENTRY+5)/25)-5 C LOCATING SUNDAY DAY = (5*YEAR/4)-ERROR1-10 C LOCATING THE EPACT(FULL MOON) EPACT = MOD(11*METCYC+20+ERROR2-ERROR1,30) IF(EPACT.LT.0)EPACT=30+EPACT IF((EPACT.EQ.25.AND.METCYC.GT.11).OR.EPACT.EQ.24)THEN EPACT=EPACT+1 ENDIF ENDIF C FINDING THE FULL MOON LUNA=44-EPACT IF(LUNA.LT.21)THEN LUNA=LUNA+30 ENDIF C LOCATING EASTER SUNDAY LUNA=LUNA+7-(MOD(DAY+LUNA,7)) C LOCATING THE CORRECT MONTH IF(LUNA.GT.31)THEN LUNA = LUNA - 31 PRINT '(A)',' FOR THE YEAR ',YEAR PRINT '(A)',' EASTER FALLS ON APRIL ',LUNA ELSE PRINT '(A)',' FOR THE YEAR ',YEAR PRINT '(A)',' EASTER FALLS ON MARCH ',LUNA ENDIF END Any help would be appreciated, Ken -- WWL 📚

3 years

1
0
0 0

Death of G. Moore

by Murray McCullough

Legendary discoverer of Moore's Law Gordon Moore passed away. Whether it truly is a 'law' is debatable but its effect on microprocessor development is hard to deny. Our industry/hobby or interest was built on a technology G. Moore helped to develop. Happy computing! Murray 🙂

3 years

3
2
0 0

Personal Calculator “Entertainment”

by Michael Mulhern

Another recent acquisition is for all your handheld calculator enthusiasts. From 1975 here is “How To Entertain With Your Pocket Calculator” Click to: https://archive.org/details/htewypc Michael. -- *Blog: RetroRetrospective – Fun today with yesterday's gear…….. <http://www.jongleur.co.uk/blogs/>* *Podcast*: *Retro Computing Roundtable <http://rcrpodcast.com/>* (Co-Host)

3 years

1
0
0 0

Systron-Donner Block Programming

by Michael Mulhern

If anybody is interested in Systron-Donner Corporation, this booklet on “Block Programming For Physical Systems” was in a recent acquisition. Available at: https://archive.org/details/bpfps Michael. -- *Blog: RetroRetrospective – Fun today with yesterday's gear…….. <http://www.jongleur.co.uk/blogs/>* *Podcast*: *Retro Computing Roundtable <http://rcrpodcast.com/>* (Co-Host)

3 years

2
1
0 0

Sun/Tronic House

by Tarek Hoteit

Hi. I came across an article about the "Sun/Tronic House" in the July/August 1981 issue of Computers and Programming magazine. The article references the Apple 2 as the computer that controls everything in the house that also relies on solar energy. The house, per the article, is (or was) in Greenwich, Connecticut. I also found a photo of the house at https://www.1000bit.it/storia/apple/suntronic_house.asp I am curious to know if the house and the Apple IIs are still there. Anyone has a clue? (A copy of the magazine is at https://archive.org/details/sim_computers-and-programming_july-august-1981_… page 38). -- Regards, Tarek Hoteit

3 years

2
1
0 0

RIP Gordan Moore

by Frank Tuccio

With great sadness, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announces the passing of our founder, Gordon Moore. https://www.moore.org/article-detail?newsUrlName=in-memoriam-gordon-moore-19 29-2023 Frank Tuccio frank(a)tuccio.net

3 years

2
1
0 0

Vermont Research Solid State Storage

by Jonathan Katz

Hi everyone! Does anyone have documentation for a Vermont Research K2 Solid State Storage device? Looks like it emulates a CDC Lark. But it may also be configurable for other devices? Thanks! -- -Jon +44 7792 149029

3 years

1
0
0 0

Cards in the PDP-11/05 just sold on eBay

by steven＠malikoff.com

G'day all, Just followed the sale of the 11/05 on eBay (#175655196586) that ended a short time ago. It's a remarkably clean and complete machine and am not surprised at the hammer price. I was curious what the quad-height card with two ribbon cables coming out the sides was? It appears to have a couple leads as well, presumably going to the single-height board. Some sort of TTY interface? I presume non-DEC from the nylon handles. Steve

3 years

2
1
0 0

WTB: Working IBM 9401-150

by Peter Ekstrom

Hello everyone, First time posting here... I am wondering if anyone knows of someone looking to get rid of a working (preferably) IBM AS/400e 9401-150? For local pickup it would need to be around the Atlanta, GA area in the US. Thanks! -Peter

3 years

4
6
0 0

Wanted PDP-11 Paper Tape Software Source Tape Images

by Martin Bishop

Can anyone point me to the source paper tapes for the classic Paper Tape Software programmes packages ? The IOX, ODT, FPMP and loader/dumper source paper tapes [e.g. DEC-11-XIOXA-A-PA1 & 2] are on bit savers, but those for the assemblers / linkers seem not to be. That the assembler / linker sources were distributed is attested by the 1970's software catalogs; from their evident rarity I infer purchases were uncommon. While any archive of -PA tapes is of interest, those I'm particularly seeking are: - DEC-11-UPLAA-A-PA1 to 12 PAL-11A (8k) (V007A) Source PTs [~= ASXA] - DEC-11-ASPA-PA1 to 11 PAL-11A (4k) (V002A) Source PTs [~= ASPA] - DEC-11-XIXLA-A-PA1 & 2 IOX LPT (V004A) Source PTs - DEC-11ULKSA-A-PA1 to 6 Link11S (V002A) Source PTs - also PAL11S sources, however they are not listed in the catalogs Equally, listings would be of value, e.g.: - DEC-11-ASPA-LA PAL-11A (V002A) (4k) Listing Electronic copies are all I require, although if someone has a cupboard full of untranscribed physical paper tapes I could oblige. Yours in anticipation of being able to, hopefully, add the EIS instructions to PAL-11A's repertoire. Martin

3 years

3
3
0 0

Nuking an MFM drive with a magnet, format/servo gone?

by Chris Zach

Question: I just used a strong magnet to wipe an old Maxtor MFM drive (magnet on outside of case). Now the drive will not even seek properly on start up, just endlessly moves the heads.. Is the drive now toast? Do MFM drives have embedded servo information on the platter formatted by the factory? CZ

3 years

13
19
0 0

LSI-11 Console-ODT

by jos.fries＠kpnmail.nl

For my LSI-11 simulator I developed an as accurate as possible implementation of the Console-ODT functionality as described in the "LSI11 PDP11/03 Processor Handbook" and the "Microcomputer and Memories Handbook". As might be expected from these handbooks, the description of the ODT functionality is not a complete specification and consequently during the development several questions arose on the reaction of ODT on the user input, such as: - What is the reaction on commands like "R0/<CR>RS/4@"? Will the last opened location be opened or the contents of the last opened location? - What is the reaction on a RUBOUT at the prompt? - What will be the value of the opened location when e.g. three digits are entered and these three digits are then rubbed out and the location is closed? Will the value of the last opened location be unchanged or will it be zero? - An address and a GO command can be separated by a semicolon. What is the reaction if characters other than the "G" are typed after the semicolon? - Etc., etc... Is there someone in (the vicinity of) the Netherlands with a functioning LSI-11 who would allow me to try out these commands or could anyone point me to someone who could facilitate that? I developed a complete test script for all LSI-11 ODT commands and "all" relevant situations and ideally I would like to carry out this test script to get a complete specification of the Console-ODT functionality. Regards, Jos

3 years

5
4
0 0

Sun E3500 Peripheral Power Supply?

by Henry Bent

Hi all, I picked up the pieces of a few Sun E3500s a while back but it looks like I don't have enough for a complete system - I am missing the front Peripheral Power Supply, 300-1358 ( https://dogemicrosystems.ca/pub/Sun/System_Handbook/Sun_syshbk_V4.1/Devices… ). I know there's one on eBay right now but I have extras of most other parts for these machines - rear power supplies, cooling modules, FC-AL boards, SBUS boards, etc. and would ideally like to arrange some sort of mutually beneficial swap. Let me know if you're interested and we can work something out. Shipping is probably not going to be prohibitively expensive but if there is someone local I'm in the greater Cleveland, OH area. -Henry

3 years

1
0
0 0

PDP-11/05 early print set for download

by steven＠malikoff.com

G'day all, I have just uploaded the engineering drawings for the early PDP-11/05, the one with the solid (no slots) Mazak lower bezel and the M7261 with the unpopulated region. The latest date I can find in this print set is October 1973, Drawing release 11/05-49. You can view or download it from https://archive.org/details/pdp-11-05-engineering-drawings-oct-1973 It is 147Mb in size, sorry about that but I didn't want the quality to drop too much (the raw scans were ~350Mb). Regards, Steve.

3 years

7
8
0 0

DEC Prom MRV11-C and MXV11-B2 ROMS

by Douglas Taylor

Is it possible to use the MXV11-B2 Roms in an 18 bit MRV11-C Prom board? Clearly they work in the 22 bit version, MRV11-D, but I don't have one of those. The intention is to put together a small PDP-11 in an H9281-AB backplane (18 bit) with an 11/23 or 11/73 CPU, Ram, disk controller, etc.

3 years

1
0
0 0

Re: Knockoffs, was: Low cost logic analyzer

by Jonathan Chapman

> But, as some who worked > to bring a product to market only to see people on forums say "Skip > buying it from Jim for $$$$, you can build the same thing by yourself > for $ from AliExpress parts or buy this eBay knockoff for 2X$", I will > admit that is somewhat infuriating. If the hobby community is not > willing to pay a bit of premium to support those who bring out the > products that benefit the community, the designers will get disgusted > and leave. Agree 100%. We stopped running XT-IDEs for a while due to the proliferation of knockoffs and the total indifference of a good portion of the community -- some folks even get hostile when you suggest they maybe not buy knockoffs that can't even abide by the terms of the open-source project license! I'd designed a universal "bolts to any existing XT-IDE and doesn't eat a slot" CF adapter that never got run. After posting a development picture of the prototype, one of the knockoff folks ripped the design off before I had even received my quote from Keystone for the custom ISA brackets. No way was I going to spend on a run of 500x custom brackets when someone was already ripping off the idea. There are other things that we've chosen not to run for the same basic reason, and others that won't get open sourced. > Thus, I'd say if a Saleae is something to pursue, try to buy > one from them, to support their awesome GUI, and then drop by eBay and > grab 2 or 4 of the knockoffs to put in your toolbox or travel debugging > rucksack. I'll go further and say don't buy knockoffs, period. It's nice to support the designers in some capacity, but buying knockoffs fuels the ecosystem that creates knockoffs. With our stuff, it's never been that a single knockoff operation eats our lunch, it's that there's a zillion of them that run maybe 100 boards and disappear. Death by a thousand cuts. They charge $1-5 less while running the cheapest possible boards, stuffing with salvaged chips, etc. Meanwhile, we're having to pay for runs of boards with hard gold plating and buy genuine parts from Mouser. Thanks, Jonathan

3 years

13
24
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VMS V4.2 MUP (Mandatory Update) wanted!

by Hans-Ulrich Hölscher

The mandatory update for VMS V4.2 is still missing in my collection. Because of that, VMS V4.2 is not fully usable, neither can layered software be installed nor can it be upgraded to VMS V4.3. Who can help???

3 years

4
6
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mainframe vs mini

by Steve Lewis

Not to open a huge can of worms.... but... I always considered a mainframe to basically be a "fully decked out" minicomputer. A minicomputer has a core CPU and memory (or racks of memory), then is "decked out" with data storage (racks of wall-sized tape decks), printers, pick-your-typewriter input (or two, or three), and maybe cabinets for serial IO or modem of some sort. So, sometimes I say mainframe when I really mean minicomputer (generally because mainframe just sounds cooler than "mini-computer" -- that is, mainframe clearly conveys the notion of "some big ass computer" whereas minicomputer just needs more clarification). What do you guys think? Or is a mainframe one of those giants so large, you walk inside its CPU? Or, is it like this... computer (a whole building, generally at least two story to support ac ducting and raised floor maintenance -- are these exclusively mainframes?) minicomputer (a single floor or room of a building or possibly a full top of a desk - and, these are NOT mainframes?) microcomputer (half a deck top or smaller, memory and accessories mostly self contained - doesn't necessarily have to have a microprocessor, but typically does) nanocomputer (modern MCU ? like Raspbery Pi) Also - on "personal computer", it's generally implied "digital electronic computers" so we don't have to dwell too much on rocks and beads as computers. Glad we didn't call them "coordinated electron pumpers" :) -Steve

3 years

25
67
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domesticating the computer - call for last inputs

by Steve Lewis

Ok, I think we have a good narrated composition! It is still Unlisted since there are a few more things to finalize/decide. But unless we spot any major flaw in the rendering, this should be wrapped up over the next day or so. There are a few somewhat subtle easter eggs added. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrHfUrhjQk <Domesticating the computer: how the appliance computer came to be - YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrHfUrhjQk>> One question is: should this be set to "Yes it is for kids"? My understanding is Enabling that prevents Comments being enabled, but I'm not sure if there is any other benefit. But yes, this is NOT a documentary and is intended more for a middle/high school audience. Other decisions are things like final thumbnail and writing up the Description, credits, etc. And - recall - this wasn't intended as a "full history of computing", the focus was on the 1970s. But there is a brief segment towards the end that honors some pre-1970s work. Also, this may be the only "history of personal computer" related video that doesn't mention the word Gates or Wozniak [ that wasn't exactly intentional! ;) actually the original intent was to avoid any names at all, it wasn't a biography - but a few do end up mentioned ] Thanks for all the feedback and criticism - it won't be perfect for everyone, but I think it is far better than what we started with. My "technical review team" has included: Dennis Roberson (SCAMP/IBM 5100 lead engineer) Dan Bricklin (VisiCalc) Scott Adams (Adventure and many other games) Ken Williams (Sierra OnLine) -Steve

3 years

2
2
0 0

IBM RT PC Manuals free for shipping

by steve shumaker

Any interest here before I post them to EPay? Available for shipping cost from 95549: IBM RT PC AIX OS Communications Guide 59X7668 IBM RT PC AIX OS Messages Reference 59X9115 IBM RT PC INED 59X7643 These are the classic early slipcase style manuals. They are in pristine condition. All three are 1985 "First Editions" of the pub. I received them in an auction lot of of documents and have no need. Combined weight is ~13lbs. Steve

3 years

1
0
0 0

PSU of a 11/23SD??

by Holm Tiffe

Hi all, I have to repair an PSU of a 11/23 n a BA11 Box with an H9720 Backplane (with an KDJ-11A) that has run an CNC milling machine until 2 weeks before now. :-) This is a Fidia machine..never heard about it before. The problem is that a big 19000µF 40V capacitor in the PSU has failed and that I think because of that the 2nd of the two Nidec fans has finally failed. I'm in the process of cleaning the goo from the PSU-PCB, found a burnt 5A fuse and now I'm checking the Semiconductors... The problem is here that the Transistors (and diodes) have uncommon types printed on, an TO220 is named SJE2677, another one is labeled 12652-00 RCA..and so on. I've found a label with "0H780-B" on the PSU.. H780 PSU? Where can I get some schematics from that beast? It is a secondary switcher ist seems. Regards, Holm -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 info(a)tsht.de Fax +49 37292 709779 Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741

3 years

2
2
0 0

List migration

by Dennis Boone

Friends, The process of migrating the cctalk and cctech mailing lists to a new host in Chicago is underway. This evening, I've moved the list mail handling to the new server, and this message will be the first live test. Assuming this works, you shouldn't have to change anything to post to the list. The green web pages, the old "pipermail" list archives, and web access to archives of new postings from this point still require a little work, which I hope to complete in the next day or two. I will eventually import the old pipermail archives into the new posting archive, but that may take a little longer. The new hosting is provided by the Chicago Classic Computing group. Many thanks to Jay West for hosting the lists for 20 years! /Dennis Boone

3 years

16
19
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SmallTalk books claimed

by Todd Pisek

They’re gone

3 years

1
0
0 0

SmallTalk 80 books available

by Todd Pisek

I have the following books free to a good home: SmallTalk-80: The Language & its Implementation SmallTalk-80: The Interactive Programming Environment SmallTalk-80: Bits of History, Words of Advice Email tpisek at pobox dot com

3 years

1
0
0 0

Power supply for DEC VK100 GIGI?

by Robert Armstrong

A friend gave me a DEC VK100 (aka GiGi) recently. It's in really nice shape, but it is missing the power supply. Before I try to kludge something up with an ATX supply, I thought I'd ask if anybody knows where I might find an official replacement. Thanks, Bob

3 years

4
5
0 0

Solaris books claimed

by Todd Pisek

They have a new home

3 years

1
0
0 0

Solaris Internals & Performance books

by Todd Pisek

I no longer have a use for the following 2 books. Free for the taking. Solaris Internals: Solaris 10 and Opensolaris Solaris Performance and tools Email me at: tpisek at pobox dot com

3 years

1
0
0 0

Visiting the computer history museum (chm)

by Tarek Hoteit

Hello. I am visiting the Computer History Museum in California next week. I always wanted to check it out and spend a day there, but something else happens. Any recommendations of what is a must see at the museum and anything else classic computing nearby in one day only (March 15)? Regards, Tarek Hoteit

3 years

16
25
0 0

Persci 299 drives - park heads/lock?

by Bill Degnan

I am working on an unknown status Persci 299 drive and one of the two drives is locked closed. Is this a "park" of some kind or is the drive broken? If it's a parked drive (only the drive 0 side) how do you unpark the drive? I can't seem to find any info on this. If I find anything I will post my findings. Thanks in advance Bill

3 years

2
2
0 0

DEC DF03-AA Modem Documentation

by pbirkel＠gmail.com

The DEC DF02 (300 Baud) and DF03 (300/1200 Baud) modems appear to be singularly lacking in online documentation. In the case of the DF03 those would be: EK-ODF03-IP - DF03 Illustrated Parts Breakdown EK-ODF03-PS - DF03 Modem Pocket Service Guide EK-ODF03-UG - DF03 Modem Users Guide Similarly for the DF02. (Note that the actual designations may use a zero rather than a capital letter O in the 4th position; references are inconsistent.) Does anyone have access to these documents? The only, and only slightly, useful technical documentation I've found are within the KC780 documentation (EK-KC780-TM-007_Jul84.pdf), which illustrates the required settings of the two pairs of DIP switches (or jumpers) on each of the two DF02/03 internal modules but doesn't define any of those settings. The functionality of the front panel push-button switches is not described either. Leads, experience, etc. appreciated, thank you, paul

3 years

1
0
0 0

Low cost logic analyzer

by Paul Koning

Gents, I've been doing logic debugging (on a fairly primitive software defined radio I designed back in 1999) with an old Philips logic analyzer. It's not bad, certainly fast enough (I need 100 Msamples/s, it can do twice that) and it's more than wide enough (I need 32 channels). But its capture memory is microscopic so I struggle to see more than one or two transactions, and I need to see more than that. Some poking around shows various USB-connected logic analyzers for quite low prices, and a number of them seem to have suitable specs. I also ran across sigrok.org which seems to be an open source logic analysis framework that can drive a bunch of those devices. Nice given that too many of them only come with Windows software. I suspect there are others that have not too expensive logic analyzers and might be able to offer up suggestions or product reviews. paul

3 years

12
18
0 0

NextStep/Intel, 486's and Pentium overdrive, thoughts.

by Chris Zach

As part of fixing the Pro/380 I dug out and decided to get running my two Intel systems. These are Compaq Deskpro/XE systems. One is a 4100 which has an Intel 486/100 (25mhz, quad clock), the other I upgraded with a Pentium P524T overdrive chip at 83mhz (33mhz external clock). The P524T was an interesting duck: It's a 5 volt pentium, 32 bit external bus but they did double the amount of 64 bit on-chip cache so it can perk along quicker than one might think. Not many were sold, but I have one and there you go. It even has a little fan on the heat sink that is powered off the chip. Cute. The Deskpro/XE's were great systems, slimline, Compaq business audio, QVision video interface with 2mb of RAM, IDE drive, and oddly enough a 3 slot ISA bus. Most of the system ran at native 32 bit, so you just ran a slow network card in the ISA. They also had up to 32mb memory, and an optional memory cache card to speed things up. The systems had issues, both on-board batteries were dead, resulting in me having to find, download, run (not easy) and extract a setup floppy for this model as you can't do the system settings without it. Not quite an EISA config, but similar levels of stupidity in the ISA world. And one of them does not seem to see the ISA bus, but not a big deal as it will just be a DOS floppy maker. Anyway, finally got one of them running and decided to do some benchmarks. Booting NextStep 4.2, and tried out a few basic tests. Findings: For general booting and such the Pentium does not offer that much of an advantage. Time to go from login window to system quiet with 20mb memory (I load several apps by default) is: 486/100-121 seconds Pentium: 120 seconds Installing and removing the 256k cache card (an option I have one of) doesn't change the time much at all, maybe a second. Boosting memory to 32mb brought that number down to 84 seconds. Moral: Memory matters. Then I figured I would try a CPU intensive app: Good old NeXT Mandelbrot. While a true NeXT slab will kick the rear of any Intel chip (due to the on board DSP56001) I figured I would put the Pentium up against the 486/100 and running the 486 at 33mhz external bus (133mhz) in insane overclock mode.`So rendering the "Valley of Fear" (a complex subset) resulted in: Pentium, no external cache: 36 seconds. Pentium, external cache: 34 seconds. Not bad, cache really doesn't do a whole lot here. 486/100, no cache: 90 seconds. Wow, that is slow. 486/133, no cache: 65s. Faster, but very slow. So the addition of the Pentium makes a huge difference on floating point CPU intensive apps. I'm also guessing the extra large cache makes a difference as well for highly iterative loads. With this done I can continue looking for a 5.25 floppy to see about making more PRO disks.

3 years

2
2
0 0

Vintage den

by Murray McCullough

Hi, Has anyone seen the latest on ArsTECHNICA journal on Brian Green’s “deluxe home vintage computer den”? Does it bring back many fond memories of the 70s and 80s. 🙂 Happy computing. Murray 🙂

3 years

3
3
0 0

Re: Tarek Hoteit ->Visiting the computer history museum

by Murray McCullough

I attended the Vintage Computer Faire at the Computer History Museum many a yr. ago. The museum wasn't opened yet then collecting many computer artifacts including the Cray-1. I also met Steve Wozniak who gladdened the heart of this Canadian nerd/geek/computer enthusiast. I'm looking forward to visiting the museum again in the not-too-distant future. There are computer museums here in Canada; one has Kenbak-1s.

3 years

1
0
0 0

Mad Magazine latest issue about computers

by Tarek Hoteit

The latest issue of Mad Magazine (April 2023) is titled “MAD Takes Apart Technology”. The pages include reprints of past articles that relate to computers, such as “if computers are so brilliant” (Oct 1985), “13 things you never want to hear from a computer guy” (May 2005), various y2k, and some 50s/60s tech humor. I posted the cover photo here: https://ne.thote.it/@tarek/110018157647679272 Regards, Tarek Hoteit

3 years

3
2
0 0

[holm@freibergnet.de: Re: PSU of a 11/23SD??]

by Holm Tiffe

Oh yes, that's looking good :-) Thank you very much Mattis! BTW: Some years before I helped to repair and administering the east german copy of an 11/780.. the Robotron RVS K1840. The console Processor of this beast was an Robotron K1620, the slowest PDP-11 ever made but it was enough to load the microcode :-) The 1620 used two 5,25" Floppies instead of the 8" one in the 11/780. Best regards, Holm Mattis Lind wrote: > That is a BA11-M box with a H780 supply. The schematics can be found in the > KC780 document since the front end processor of the 11/780 is a PDP-11/03 > with a RX01 drive. > In the end of this document there is a schematic: > > http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/780/MP00534_KC780_Nov77.pdf > > Good luck! > > /Mattis > > Den mån 13 mars 2023 kl 10:57 skrev Holm Tiffe via cctalk < > cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>: > > > > > Hi all, > > > > I have to repair an PSU of a 11/23 n a BA11 Box with an H9720 Backplane > > (with an KDJ-11A) that has run an CNC milling machine until 2 weeks > > before now. :-) This is a Fidia machine..never heard about it before. > > > > The problem is that a big 19000µF 40V capacitor in the PSU has failed > > and that I think because of that the 2nd of the two Nidec fans has > > finally failed. > > I'm in the process of cleaning the goo from the PSU-PCB, found a burnt > > 5A fuse and now I'm checking the Semiconductors... > > > > The problem is here that the Transistors (and diodes) have uncommon > > types printed on, an TO220 is named SJE2677, another one is labeled > > 12652-00 RCA..and so on. > > I've found a label with "0H780-B" on the PSU.. H780 PSU? > > Where can I get some schematics from that beast? It is a secondary > > switcher ist seems. > > > > Regards, > > Holm > > -- > > Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, > > Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 > > info(a)tsht.de Fax +49 37292 709779 Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 > > 741 > > > > -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 info(a)tsht.de Fax +49 37292 709779 Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741 ----- Ende weitergeleitete Nachricht ----- -- Technik Service u. Handel Tiffe, www.tsht.de, Holm Tiffe, Goethestrasse 15, 09569 Oederan, USt-Id: DE253710583 info(a)tsht.de Fax +49 37292 709779 Tel +49 37292 709778 Mobil: 0172 8790 741

3 years

1
0
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