Apologies in advance to anyone who gets this multiple times.
I know a number of you are on more that one of these lists.
I'm looking for some information on a couple of the early
IBM unit record devices, in particular the Type 512A and
the Type 518. Ideally, I'd like to get the mechanical
dimensions in enough detail to create a CAD model.
The background is that I'd like to improve the model that
I'm using in my ENIAC simulator and I'm involved with a
school in Arizona that's working on a project to build a
full-scale model of the ENIAC. There's a letter from
IBM in the ENIAC archives that suggest the use of the
512A and the 518. So I'm pretty sure those are the ones
they used, but I haven't really been able to find any
details about them. We've found a fair amount of
information on the Type 513, and from photographs, the
punch used on the machine seems similar to the 513, but
is smaller.
Thanks in advance,
BLS
Looks like Microsoft is opening their 6502 Basic
https://opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/09/03/microsoft-open-source-hist…
Today, we’re opening the vault—for real.
For decades, fragments and unofficial copies of Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC
have circulated online, mirrored on retrocomputing sites, and
preserved in museum archives. Coders have studied the code, rebuilt
it, and even run it in modern systems. Today, for the first time,
we’re opening the hatch and officially releasing the code under an
open-source license.
Discover the newly open-sourced Microsoft 6502 BASIC code
Microsoft’s first products: From the Altair to the Commodore 64
Microsoft BASIC began in 1975 as the company’s very first product: a
BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul
Allen for the Altair 8800. That codebase was soon adapted to run on
other 8-bit CPUs, including the MOS 6502, Motorola 6800, and 6809. You
can learn more about this time and hear directly from Bill Gates on
the Microsoft Learn Website’s History of Microsoft video series or by
visiting Bill Gates’ blog.
The 6502 port was completed in 1976 by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland. In
1977, Commodore licensed it for a flat fee of $25,000, a deal that
placed Microsoft BASIC at the heart of Commodore’s PET computers and,
later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. That decision put Microsoft’s
BASIC at the heart of Commodore’s machines and helped millions of new
programmers learn by typing:
10 PRINT “HELLO”
20 GOTO 10
This is BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1, the 6502 BASIC lineage that powered an
era of home computing and formed the foundation of Commodore BASIC in
the PET, VIC-20, and the legendary Commodore 64. This very source tree
also contains adaptations for the Apple II (“Applesoft BASIC”), built
from the same core BASIC source. The original headers still read,
“BASIC M6502 8K VER 1.1 BY MICRO-SOFT”—a time capsule from 1978.
The version we are releasing here—labeled “1.1”—contains fixes to the
garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in
1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans
traveled to Microsoft’s Bellevue offices. This is the version that
shipped as the PET’s “BASIC V2.” It even contains a playful Bill Gates
Easter egg, hidden in the labels STORDO and STORD0, which Gates
himself confirmed in 2010.
The enduring appeal of the MOS 6502 CPU
The MOS 6502 was the CPU behind the Apple II, Commodore 8-bit series,
Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and many more. Its
simplicity, efficiency, and influence still inspire educators,
hobbyists, and hardware tinkerers today.
In 2025, interest is as strong as ever. The retro-computing scene is
thriving, with FPGA-based re-creations, emulator projects, and active
development communities. The Commodore brand has returned with the
announcement of a new FPGA-powered Commodore 64, the first official
Commodore hardware in decades.
Reconstructing and preserving Microsoft BASIC
Over the years, dedicated preservationists have reconstructed build
environments and verified that the historical source can still produce
byte-exact ROMs. Notably, Michael Steil documented and rebuilt the
original BASIC process for multiple targets. He has ported the code to
assemblers like cc65, making it possible to build and run on modern
systems.
This open-source release builds on that work, now with a clear, modern
license. It follows Microsoft’s earlier release of GW-BASIC, which
descended from the same lineage and shipped in the original IBM PC’s
ROM. That code evolved into QBASIC, and later Visual Basic, which
remains a supported language for Windows application development to
this day.
From the blinking cursor of 1977 to FPGA builds in 2025, BASIC still
fits in your hand. Now, for the first time, this influential 6502
version is truly yours to explore, modify, and share.
M1705
M518
M7741
M8342
M835
M8350
M8360
M8357
M8365
M8366
M837
M839
M841
M847
M849
M860
M8650
M8659-YA
M865
M8652
M8653
M8655
M866
M868
M884
M885
M880//H241 MR8E-EC
Also CR8- an actual DEC card reader interface, dec industrial control
equipment,EMEX paper tape interfaces, and other dec compatible boards
including memory.
Microsoft released WIN 95 on this day 30 years ago. It was a game changer
for the average PC computer user but more important than Windows 3.1? Not
so sure.
Happy computing,
Murray 🙂
Hey all, after a couple years of prep (weekends here and there), I've
finally finished a full coverage video about the Sharp PC-5000.
It's not the most meaningful system in history, but it also shows the
"MS-DOS 2.0 experience" and bubble memory usage.
Various folks around here helped me figure this system out and get some of
the equipment, very much appreciated the willingness-to-help community here.
Video is on YouTube titled as:
Sharp PC-5000 and MS-DOS 2.0 Usage Demonstration (EDLIN, CTTY, MASM, BASIC,
Pascal, WordStar, more!)
Or link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHPiomuWDmk
And to those who can't use YouTube for whatever reason, I've started also
uploading over on Rumble as an alternative source:
https://rumble.com/v6ybfky-sharp-pc-5000-and-ms-dos-2.0-usage-demonstration…
I'll be at VCF MW coming up, hoping to pick up another system that I've
been wanting to explore for a long time! Not sure yet it works, but that's
how the hobby goes :)
- Steve (voidstar tech / Xiphod)
There seems to be a LOT more people who don't believe in trimming or
formatting their copies of the messages they are replying to. I see that
kind of obvious disrespect for other readers, and ignored it for a
while. But it is getting worse. Please format/trim when replying.
Marvin
I finally got the missing keyboard and now it is time to try
and revive it.
A couple quick questions.
It has a board in it called IBM PC INTERFACE with the numbers
170-18-165 and CIL18-16 printed on it. It has a 50 pin connector
on the bracket end. If I take it out the machine dies almost
immediately doing the POST. Tried Google with no luck. Anybody
remember what it is?
Next problem. 1701 error. Light on MFM drive flashes 3 slow
and 4 fast continuously. Being as this machine was known to
work when it was last shut down any suggestions? Could it be
a stiction problem and the disk just isn't spinning up? (Can't
tell by listening as the fan is pretty loud. Not bad just louder
than any good disk I have ever heard.)
And then one other not related to a problem. Being an original
PC owned by users and not geeks is it likely that the floppy
controller is one that can handle other formats (like TRS-80)
and maybe even 8"?
And just to wrap it up. What are the chances of finding an
external drive or even a cable that could be made to connect
to an external drive?
Really hoping to get it to run. Would love to see what the
Psychology Department had on it. At least WordPerfect as there
is one of those function key templates taped on the keyboard.
bill
Frank wrote:
> I wasn’t around back then ;) But I think the big problem with
> steam tractors was since they were so heavy they would sink into
> the fields. I don’t think that was an issue really solved until gas
> powered tractors came around.
We're getting off topic but I want to interject that if you want to see operating steam tractors, stationary steam engines, and lots more, get to Mt Pleasant Iowa RIGHT NOW for the annual Old Thresher's Reunion which starts TODAY.
I note that when the Old Thresher's Reunion first started in 1950, the steam tractors being run there were only 40-50 years old, not too dissimilar to how an Apple II or PDP-11 is today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs4L2nSqCL4https://www.oldthreshers.org/other-events/steam-school/
Tim N3QE
Interesting for Tesla’s early history, but skip to 49:00 for a nice rack he is putting together with an 11/20.
https://youtu.be/88KHfX_kPIY
He also appears to be on the cctalk list.
