- cctalk - classiccmp.org

by Bjoren Davis

Hello Classic fans, Recently eBay seller smhelectronics261 posted a very interesting prototype board: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295087630609 The description is "Dec Digital PRO 350/380 Professional Microvax II Proto 54-16707 Collectors", and the board art mentions "MICROVAX SOFTCARD." Does anyone know anything about this card? Especially curious is the daughtercard connector: is it just for RAM expansion or is the daughtercard necessary for card operation? The photographs are fuzzy, but the more recent chip date I can see is 8536 (on one of the QFPs). This puts the board in the time period of the MicroVAX II development. The internal "MicroVAX Business Plan" (http://bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/610/memos/Microvax_Business_Plan_Dec83.pdf) mentions a "Meteor" project (p. 11). It describes Meteor as: Meteor is Digital's first single-user MicroVAX product. Developed within Low End Engineering, the product is positioned as a strong competitor in the low end, technical/scientific and the high end office/business graphics workstation market. Meteor should be an effective follow-on product to the Professional Series and high end VAX/Seahorse workstations. Although not a replacement product per se, Meteor represents a clear migration path for PRO users upward in functionality, and for VAX Workstation applications downward to a lower cost, single user design. Does anyone know if this board is Meteor? I'll be bidding on the board, but given how pricey CTI boards have gotten recently (a DECNA card from the same seller recently sold for $422.99), I probably won't win. If the winner of the auction reads this, could they please contact me? I'd like to collect an image of the boot ROM from the board, if possible. Thanks. --Bjoren

2 years, 5 months

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Heath h-100 h-200 computer added to SMECC with discs books etc anyone else running one like this? Ours is version with built in keyboard builtin dual floppies 8085 plus 8888 and monitor is separate unit sitting on top...Ed# P.S. We never got the H89

by ED SHARPE

Heath h-100 h-200 computer added to SMECC with discs books etc anyone else running one like this? Ours is version with built in keyboard builtin dual floppies 8085 plus 8888 and monitor is separate unit sitting on top...Ed# P.S. We never got the H89 that was headed our way.... some guy absconded with it I guess... alas.... so once we get that think we have THE SET except for the analog computers that Heath Produced ( still looking??? Help???)

2 years, 5 months

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Retire cctech

by Dennis Boone

Folks, I've belatedly realized that it's going to be a bit of a headache to implement the old cctalk/cctech crossposting duality under the new version of mailman. I seem to recall a discussion about retiring the cctech list and just continuing with cctalk, and that the consensus was in favor of that. I'll call this message a consent agenda indicating that I plan to do that, unless there's loud outcry. De

2 years, 5 months

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Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 94, Issue 22

by manna5＠safe-mail.net

Dziękuję za twoją wiadomość. Przepraszam, jestem na wczasach i odpowiem później.

2 years, 5 months

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Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 94, Issue 21

by manna5＠safe-mail.net

Dziękuję za twoją wiadomość. Przepraszam, jestem na wczasach i odpowiem później.

2 years, 5 months

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Re: cctalk Digest, Vol 94, Issue 20

by manna5＠safe-mail.net

Dziękuję za twoją wiadomość. Przepraszam, jestem na wczasach i odpowiem później.

2 years, 5 months

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Information on Trend UTR 700 Paper Tape Reader and Facit 4060 Punch

by Martin Bishop

Google turns up very little specific information on either of these devices, e.g. nil return from bit savers. The best leads I have are: - The UTR 700 was badge engineered by Ferranti into FM1600B systems, one of which fetched up at the Centre for Computer History, Cambridge, England; perhaps with documentation. Also, as it was used in government systems some maintenance documentation may have fetched up in the PRO, at Kew. - Some Facit 4060 documentation, for the 4060, its 4061 & 4063 chums and the 5106 interface, look to be lodged in Box 52 of the ICL Collection at the Science Museum Library. The UTR 700 reader looks to be parallel interfaced, 10 single ended outputs from an interface card. The jokes start with manufacturer codes, rather than OEM part numbers on the 14 pin DIL ICs. However, a little scope work should identify tape out, data 0..7 and strobe lines. More interesting questions are lubrication and capacitor replacement - where a schematic would be a great assistance in deciding how to proceed. etc etc The Facit 4060 punch contains no more than the electro-mechanical mechanism : AC drive motor, solenoids and rotary position sensors. The 4070 documentation (on BitSavers) may read across, in terms of sensor characteristics, solenoid operating voltages and snubbing needs, or it may not. That reconstructing the schematic would be straightforward simply identifies how much is missing, and the difficulty of specifying it in the abscence of documentation. A classic tape punch interface from data latch and ready, through position sensing, solenoid drivers and done logic is required, together with auxiliary indications, e.g. tape out. etc etc Any information, wisdom, documentation or pointers to sources would be very much appreciated. To state the obvious, I was passed these devices by Philip Belben Martin

2 years, 5 months

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tape drives, oscilloscopes, and test equiment in Austin, TX

by Mark Linimon

Closing this Friday the 15th (sorry for noticing this late). At the University of Texas in downtown Austin. I have no association with the University, etc. https://swicoauctions.com/online/26/item/110345 https://swicoauctions.com/online/26/item/110400 https://swicoauctions.com/online/26/item/110404 There are a few other items that may be of interest. Note that these are all fine examples of the type of things I need *less* of :-) (including, of course, a Tek 564 that I have been lugging around for a few decades. Does anyone want to give it a good home? Fair warning: it's *heavy*.) mcl

2 years, 5 months

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Re: Retire cctech

by John Ames

I'm fine with that myself, but will list memberships from cctech be ported over, or will we have to re-register? I don't think I'm currently on cctalk.

2 years, 5 months

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Floppy Cables & "twists"

by Dave Dunfield

After recently selling my ImageDisk system, and having a few spare older PC mainboards - I decided to make another - I did find a board that seems to have a decent FDC - it does all single density formats (many don't). Alas, it is "slightly newer enough" to only implement one floppy drive on it's interface - floppy B: does not appear at all to the system. Ripping the cable off the front panel drive to connect an external one is somewhat painful - Since the PC normally has a twisted cable to swap Select1&Motor1 with Select2&Motor2 to put each set on Select2&Motor2 of different connectors, I thought I could just use a flat cable and add a switch near the PC end to switch Select1&Motor1 to go to either Select1&Motor1 -OR- Select2/Motor2 on both connectors with the internal drive set to 1: and a cable coming out the back for drives jumpered as 2: That way I could just "flip a switch" to choose between internal drive 1: or the external drive(s) 2: (either would appear as A: depending on the switch). But when I try to access a drive jumpered as 1:, it does select, but the motor doesn't turn on. This happens even without my "special" cable. If I connect the drive (by itself) on the PC side of the twist on a standard cable, the motor doesn't work. The twist swaps Select1&Motor1 to Select2&Motor2 on the farthest connector, and since a standard drive is jumpered as 2: - This should put the 1: signals to 2: for a drive in that position - all other wires are "straight through". It looks as if some other signals is expected to behave differently when the drive is jumpered as 1: (I've tried this with a couple of different drives) - anyone know whats going on? Dave (I can use the message archive to check for responses every few days, so replying here is OK). -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Search "Dave's Old Computers" see "my personal" at bottom!

2 years, 5 months

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