Does anyone know anything about the Vector 3-5030 from Vector Graphics?
Is it considered a collectable? I recently found one at the town dump
and brought it home. It displays some sort of ROM monitor screen when
it comes up with version number 4.2. It has a dual floppy drive but no
software. I assume it is a CP/M machine since one of the boards in the
S-100 card cage has a Z80 on it.
--
David Betz
DavidBetz(a)aol.com
dbetz(a)xlisper.mv.com
(603) 472-2389
Hello,
I guess it's about time that I introduce myself. I've been lurking here
for a month or better. I guess I really have not responded before
because I didn't really have much to add especially to the discussions
of late 70's stuff and the discussions of minis.
My main interests (although I enjoy reading all of this) is the older
systems based on the IBM-PC (XT & AT class) machines and PS/2s which I
know is a bit more current than many of you like. I also have a
Commodore 64 and Plus/4 and periphs, I guess I can qualify based on
that.
I really didn't start out to be a collector, but kind of fell into it.
The Plus/4 was the first computer my family ever had, so I've now taken
over the care and nurturing of it. I picked up my C64 a couple of years
ago from my former minister who had is sitting in his closet. He had
two 1541s, a MPS-803 printer, vicmodem, fast load cartrigde, joystick,
and monitor, plus a ton of software. He wanted $30 for the lot after I
enquired. I was in hog heaven but why wife rolled up her eyes and said
"What are you going to do with THAT!"
The XTs and PS/2s were give aways. I've really been having fun with the
PS/2 Mod 60 (a 286 w/ one 1M and 40M HD). I have been watching
AuctionWeb and have added pieces to bring it up to a '486 with 8 meg
with SCSI periphs.
One of the more interesting 'gives' I have since obtained is the Amstrad
PC1512 - It's an XT class machine with built in joystick port in the
keyboard (uses same joystick as C64), built it mouse port, serial and
parrallel built in with the expansion slots going left to right rather
than front to back. The power supply for the whole thing is in the
monitor. The case has a 'cutout' for the the stand of the monitor to
fit into. It also uses 4 AA bateries for the clock which are easily
accessible (move the monitor). It is really a neat design.
I live in Rochester, MN - so I'm not close to either coast (but Canada
isn't that far away)
Dan
> From: Paul E Coad <pcoad(a)crl.com>
> Subject: Re: Who was in Australia?
>On Fri, 20 Jun 1997, Kai Kaltenbach wrote:
>> Subject: Mint Commodore PET FOR Sale
>> From: "Stephen McCoy and Charmiane Barr"
>> <mrsmrx(a)efni.com>
>> Date: 1997/06/17Message-Id:
>> <01bc7b43$fddee5c0$b8933dcf@charmaine>
>> Newsgroups: aus.computers.amiga[More Headers]
>I'll bite on this. How much is one of these worth? I have almost
>zero experience with PETs having only seen 2 in person. What are the
>relative rarities of the various models of PETs? Did they make a
>bunch of them? Are they really common in some places and pretty
>rare in others?
As everyone says worth is a relative term, some computers that hvae high
perceived values are given to people, etc. This is a question YOU have
to answer as a collector, no one can set your price for you.
Well alot of the PETS were purchased by schools and some businesses,
prices for the computer back then when they were new (1977-1981) ranged
>from $700-$1,200, disk drives were about $1,000 for a dual drive model.
Nowadays in my region of California schools have been ridding themselves
of them at a high rate. The computers are not too terribly hard to come
by but the drives are harder to find.
Rarity? Hmm, probably the most interesting is the original series
with it's colorful calculator-style keyboard (circa 1977) and in-case
cassette unit. Next I would say is the SuperPET (circa 1981, the last
of the line, which I described about two digests ago) with it's
mainframe-friendly, multi-language ability. All units had monochrome
displays and either 40x25 or 80x25 screens (no hi-res graphics without
3rd party hardware), the BASIC is almost exacly the same as in the
Commodore 64 or VIC-20 and uses a 6502 processor. Memory ranged from
the first 4k units (a short run), 8k, 16k and 32k with some of the
latter 80 column machines sporting 96k expansion bnoards. There are a
few collections of programs available on the internet with most still to
be re-discovered.
>The ones I have seen are pretty cool looking in a retro-future kind of way.
That's true, back then they 'looked' like a modern computer, more
than some of the other computers (which looked like the steel boxes they
were in). You can spot them as props in movies now and again (Star Trek
II, in Kirk's apartment).
They were fun, and they were pretty good even for their limitations.
If you are a fan of Commodore computers it is a nice addition to have
some PETs in the house. ;)
>Also note that whois reports that efni.com is in Canada. The machine
>might not be in Australia.
Commodore was pretty big for a good while in other countries as they
had the foresight to start manufacturing plants internationally (Germany
was probably one of its largest). As far as shipping a PET it would
require a very sturdy box about the size needed for a 19" television and
would weigh 30 to 40 pounds.
--
Larry Anderson
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> Z-80 CP/M -- This cartridge goes right into the cartridge slot to turn
> your machine into a Z-80 base computer enabling you to access the vast
> array of CP/M software. With over 2000 CP/M software programs
> available, there is little you will not be able to access.
That's 20,000 and for those with a PC Walnut Creek produces a CP/M cdrom
that has most all of them. They also have titles online WWW.cdrom.com
Allison
Welp, that rules out rigging one, thats beyond my techincal ability to
fabricate. Anyone have an Extra for sale or trade?
----------
> From: jpero(a)mail.cgo.wave.ca
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: IBM PCjr
> Date: Monday, June 23, 1997 8:44 AM
>
> > Date: Mon, 23 Jun 1997 11:13:59 -0500
> > Reply-to: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> > From: "Bill Girnius" <thedm(a)sunflower.com>
> > To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> > Subject: IBM PCjr
> > X-To: "Classic" <classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
>
> > Picked up one of these the other day, no power supply, anyone know what
> > this monster needs for the 3 pin powersupply connection? {pinouts}
> >
> Center tapped ransformer is used. Both 17v ac at 2amp each on each
> outmost pins, center pin is the center tapped wire for transformer.
>
> Kind of kludge. But I worked out a pinout for that power slot to use
> regular efficient power supply via a custom adapter.
>
> Jason D.
I have a PC05 card (LSI-11) it's a punch reader interface. This one is
different...it's a virgin bare board! Anyone that want's it let me know.
Anyone know what a DEC 54-17101/2- ACTOR video daughter is used on? I have
two of these.
Allison
I apologize for the intrusion but I just bought a lot of Apple service
parts for older apples (IIe, IIc, IIGS) and listed some of the ones I
don't need on the auction. They were supposedly in stock at a service
facility when they cleaned out the old stuff.
I'mm still intending on clearing out most of my stuff but I couldn't
pass up a good deal. I did get some parts for my laserwriter, Mac plus,
a couple new in box 400k drives. Too bad I had to buy 30 boxes to get
the 5 things I wanted. ;-)
There are also some systems listed. Here's what I have listed there as
of today:
Apple IIe Power Supply (new in box!)
Bidding starts at: $1.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 11:58:50 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=egt71446
IBM PS/2 MOD 50 Mother Board (in box)
Bidding starts at: $1.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 12:07:10 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=lbl753
Apple IIe Ext 80 Column/RGB Card (in box)
Current bid: $1.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 17:54:14 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=jaq4937
bjv77574: Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card (in box)
Current bid: $1.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 17:58:41 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=bjv77574
oyf368: Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer I (photo)
Current bid: $3.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 19:33:30 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=oyf368
fwr8114: Radio Shack TRS-80 5 MB Ext. Hard Drive (pic)
Bidding starts at: $3.00
Auction ends on: 06/29/97, 20:19:52 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=fwr8114
Pair Apple IIc, IIe Handcontrollers (photo)
Current bid: $1.00
Auction ends on: 06/26/97, 12:40:28 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=sfx4367
Commodore 128D System
Current bid: $51.00
Auction ends on: 06/26/97, 21:12:47 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=qrk459038
Commodore 64 - White
Current bid: $10.00
Auction ends on: 06/26/97, 21:16:04 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=wbj37502
Apple IIC System with External Floppy
Current bid: $10.50
Auction ends on: 06/26/97, 21:22:31 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=hxz389
Atari 520ST Computer, Floppy, Mouse, etc
Current bid: $50.00
Auction ends on: 06/26/97, 21:26:58 PDT
http://www2.ebay.com/aw/itemfast.cgi?item=czo512
I use alcohol, windex, fingernail paint remover and other noxious things to
clean apple][ cases, just avoid getting the nastiest of these solvents on
things like the little lite that says power, or the apple ][ logos on
monitors or the name badge at the top of the machine. I've also heard that
some people will dissasemble the computer leaving the empty shell, take out
EVERYTHING, and run the plastic case through the dishwasher, not using the
Heated drying cycle of course.
As for key repair, they are little plastic wedges that are shoved against
two vertically mounted contacts, counter forced by a small spring. You can
not remove the keys without damage. To repair a keyboard you have two
options, One, Replace the entire keyboard, or aquire a ][ for parts and
remove the keyboard from the unit, the contacts are soldered into the
keyboard cirucuit board. You can then replace the switch. The Key caps
can be removed. but you can't get to the switch of course without
destroying it, or desoldering it as a unit. I have manually recontructed
them before, but they never seem to work quite right once forced open, but
the do function enough to use as long as it's not an alpha charcter, or god
forbid the enter key.
----------
> From: J. Maynard Gelinas <maynard(a)jmg.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: apple II - SCORE!
> Date: Sunday, June 22, 1997 11:57 PM
>
>
> OK, I just got my first decent item since I stopped collecting
> several years ago. This is an original apple II, serial number 7833. It
> came with what appears to be the Microsoft basic language card. The card
> contains six 24 pin sockets, five filled by PROMs (C48040; each with an
> APPLE 1978 sticker), a red switch on the back, and another sticker on the
> board's surface reading: 851. Just below that sticker printed on the
card
> it says ROM CARD 600. There's also a disk II interface card, circa '78,
> but the drive itself was unavailable. Could someone verify if that card
> *is* the Integer BASIC replacement, or Microsoft BASIC?
>
> The motherboard is functional, video works just fine, it seems
> filled out with 48K of that old Military grade metal topped RAM;
obviously
> the PSU is good. The keyboard is a mess, hoewver. It's been sitting in a
> basement for years, so many keys have gummed up; some seem to have been
> in a perpetual depressed state waiting out obsolesence like Atlas. The
> machine itself is filthy. The plastic case has just burned in grime from
> years of use and then even more years of basement ambiance.
>
> I'm guessing that some folks here may know a bit more about
> system restoration. Mind if I ask a few questions?
>
> How do I go about cleaning this without destroying the case? Does
> anyone know of some good solvents or cleaners for plastic?
>
> Can I pull a keytop off the keyboard without destroying the key?
> If it's really bad I guess I could change keyboards - but I'd really like
> to attempt to get this guy working, as it was the original.
>
>
> And then there's stuff: I lack a floppy disk drive. Hmmm... how
> rare is hard disk technology that will work with this apple? Hahaha,
> here's a good one: does anyone know if ever there's been manufactured
> 10base-T cards, or am I just dreaming here? If so, guess I'll be looking
> for a SuperSerial card as well.
>
> And basic 'dumb' (no time to RTFM quite yet!!) questions: How do
> I get out of the ROM monitor into BASIC? I guess I need some basic DOCS
> here as well as a good technical reference, huh?. I figure most of the
> 'stuff' can be had on comp.sys.apple2.marketplace and the M.I.T. flea
> fest approaching on July 20. If anyone wishes, however, please feel free
> to offer items for sale. I want to get this computer clean and
> *functional*, but I'm also not in a hury to do it tomorrow. ;-)
>
> Price: I got it FREE! 8-))
>
> And the guy couldn't imagine why I'd want it!!!
>
> J. Maynard Gelinas
At 01:25 PM 6/22/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I see a number of references to people who get things at hamfests,
>swapfests, and other amateur radio type events. As such, I was just
>curious who out there has their amateur radio license. I have one and
>my call is KE6HTS.
>
I'm WB5PFJ, but VERY inactive.
Tim Olmstead
timolmst(a)cyberramp.net
FOR TRADE:
- Osborne 1 (with copy of Osborne CP/M system disk)
- Kaypro 2 (good condition, no boot disk, though it's available through
the cp/m archive)
- Commodore PET 2001 (full size graphics keyboard version, looks great,
one small hole drilled in front panel, probably for a switch)
- Tandy Color Computer 1 (good condition, some cosmetic wear at hand
positions)
- Macintosh 128 with keyboard and mouse
- Macintosh 512 in original box with keyboard and mouse
- VIC-20 in original box with PS
- Commodore 64 in original box with PS
- Timex-Sinclair ZX1000 (no PS but it takes standard 9VDC I believe)
(game systems)
- Vectrex system, very rare, yes this is the original *vector graphic
monitor* console game system by Milton Bradley/GCE
- Odyssey^2 system, PS, joysticks, in original box
- Intellivision system, captive joypads & integral PS
- Colecovision system, 2 controllers, PS
WANTED:
- Exidy Sorcerer
- Processor Tech Sol-20
- Apple II (no suffix)
- Apple Lisa
- Apple ///
- Compucolor II
(software, parts, etc.)
- TI 99/4A disk operating system cartridge
- Expansion Interface for TRS-80 Model I
- Tandy floppy for TRS-80 Model I
- DOS master disks for Apple II+
- Tandy Color Computer I 5.25" disk software
Kai
What do you think of this bibliography? Have I missed any important book
on the subject? Please help me in making this a useful refence for
everybody to use, if you care. Thank you
HOME & PERSONAL COMPUTERS HISTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books listed as TITLE, AUTHOR, PUBLISHER AND PUBLICATION DATE
- Computer lib/Dream Machines by Ted Nelson, self published in 1974
(reprinted by Tempus Books in an updated form in 1987)
- An introduction to microcomputers (vol.0) by Adam Osborne, self
published in 1977
- The personal computer book by Robin Bradbeer, Gower, 1980
- The making of the Micro by Christopher Evans, Victor Gollancz Ltd.,
1981
- Illustrating Computers by Day & Alcock, Pan Books, 1982
- The personal computer handbook by Varley/Graham, Pan Books Ltd., 1983
- Fire in the Valley by Freiberger/Swaine, Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1984
- Bit by bit, an illustrated history of computers by Stan Augarten,
Ticknor and Fields, 1984
- The little Kingdom by Michael Moritz, William Morrow & Co. Inc., 1984
- Hackers by Steven Levy, Doubleday/Anchor, 1984
- Digital Deli by Steve Ditlea, Workman Publishing, 1984
- Silicon Valley Fever by Robers, Everett & Larson, Basic Books, 1984
- Woz by Doug Garr ?
- The Third Apple by Jean-Louis Gassee, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985
- The Sinclair story by Rodney Dale, Duckworth, 1985
- Sinclair and the age of the rising sun technology by Adamson and
Kennedy, Penguin, 1986
- John Sculley, Odissey by John Byrne, Harper & Row, 1987
- Steve Jobs, the journey is the reward by Jeffrey S. Young, Scott,
Foresman & Co., 1988
- Accidental Millionaire by Lee Butcher, Paragon House, 1988
- West of Eden by Frank Rose, Viking, 1989
- Hard Drive by Wallace & Erickson, John Wiley & Sons, 1992
- Whole Earth Software review magazine, Whole Earth Review
- Wired magazine
- A collector's guide to PERSONAL COMPUTERS and pocket calculators (an
historical, rarity and value guide) by Dr.Thomas F.Haddock, Books
Americana, 1993
- Accidental Empires by Robert X.Cringely, Harper Business, 1993
- Insanely great by Steven Levy, Penguin Books, 1994
- The Microprocessor: a Biography by Michael S. Malone,
Telos/Springer-Verlag, 1995
- The Chip and How It Changed the World (History and Invention) by Ian
Locke, 1995.
NOTE: If I had to have only one book I would choose Computer lib. Some
of these books are out of print. If you would like
to find them you will have to go through a book finding service. I use
Culpin's Bookshop, 3827 W.32nd Ave., Denver, CO
80211, USA. The ones in print can be ordered through your local bookshop
or by post from Computer Literacy bookshop,
2590 North First Street, SAN JOSE', CA 95131, USA, tel.(703) 734-7771,
fax (703) 734-7773.
--
================================================================
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
================================================================
visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
In a message dated 97-06-22 22:13:42 EDT, you write:
<< Have a mint condition Kaypro 10, complete with all manuals. Looks like it
came out of the box. Works great, all original software.
If you know of anyone who has a serious interest, please e-mail me.
Don Sarno
>>
I would be interested. what are you looking for?
Kelly
>I can understand why the Apple ][ has a significant following - it was a
>machine that was 'open', that hackers could get inside, etc. But I also
>know that it's not a good piece of hardware design, and thus don't put it
>high up my list of interesting machines.
Perhaps I am merely biased from growing up with the Apple ][ at school
and, later, at home, but I would say that some of the design is
ingenious. I do know that many a programmer has complained about the
arrangement of the high-resolution screen in memory (which was
arranged the way it is to save components). But, I find the economy of
this feature fascinating.
The Apple ][ and its successors had great capabilities for expansion
(with the possible exception of the IIc and IIc+). A IIe has the
capability of using a hand-held scanner, for instance, with the right
slot card and the right software. I'm sure the IIe wasn't designed
originally for that task. There are numerous other examples as well.
Your mileage may vary, of course.
--
Andy Brobston brobstona(a)wartburg.edu ***NEW URL BELOW***
http://www.wartburg.edu/people/docs/personalPages/BrobstonA/home.html
My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Wartburg College
as a whole.
I never thought much of the apple design save for it was there and
successful by the only standard that counts...they sold like hotcakes.
It's not a technical judgement as that really didn't count! there were some
machines I considered poor, TRS-80-M1, at a time when z80 was minimally 2mhz
and many pushing 2.5 it plodded at 1.7, but it was a complete machine for
much less than many of it's kind and available through a nationally known
store.
Price vs performance _and_ popularity drove a market not real technology.
If it was useable and met the current market expectations it sold well.
If there was one significant impact apple made it was in the idea of low
cost software. Apples were not the home of $350 basic interpreters or
$500 compilers. But at one time I counted not less that 5 distictly
different OSs. Some were pretty poor but the drive to improve the beast
was there.
Allison
Thought I would toss out some of my experiences with shipping out of the
country. I've sold a few items to various people in other countries (not
all computer stuff though). Only problem I've had was waiting for
payment. Sometimes it's not sent, sometimes it get's lost. The buyer
covers shipping and any taxes/duty when they get delivery.
Japan: I sold a couple old Apples as I think they're pretty popular for
collectibles there. Hard to find. Some people I sold to were US citizens
living there. Shipping is cheapest via USPS slow boat and the customs
paperwork is one small form.
Australia: Sold some small stuff. Payment arrived faster than most US
mail. Shipping is cheap for under 4 lbs "small packets" via USPS and
again Customs is a piece of cake.
Europe: Austria, Italy. They seem to have a problem with the mail. I
sold some cheaper stuff so the buyer sent a money order - lost. Then he
sent cash - lost. Ended up wiring the money. According to him he sent
out 12 payments at one time and 5 never arrived at the destination. I'd
say wiring money is better. Again customs is easy. USPS tells you what
to fill out.
Canada: Piece of cake. Just be honest on the contents/value.
Guam: Shipping is really cheap because its serviced by USPS. Like
mailing within the continental US!
There was some controversy a while back about exporting collectibles.
Supposedly you could buy a concours collector's car for $20k, ship it to
europe or Japan and sell it for $50k. Some collectors thought this was
treason or something. I really don't know. What I usually sell doesn't
fall into any "rare" category and most of it was sold all over the world
anyway, just in lesser quantities or slightly different versions.
One guy I sold to was in the US. I asked him why he was buying a pile of
old Apples, he was putting together complete systems and shipping them
to Japan. Funny, Apple had/has a ton of manufacturing in Japan. I wonder
if they limit sales there.
It was sold out.
I am sorry.
Yujin
----------
> ???o?l : PG Manney <manney(a)nwohio.nwohio.com>
> ???? : Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> ???? : Re: BOOK The History of Computers
> ???M???? : 1997?N6??20?? 20:22
>
> I'd like to buy. Can I reserve it? Please e-mail me with your address and
> I'll send you a check. (woukd you prefer money order? some sort of trade?
I
> have scads of old computer stuff.)
> Manney
>
> ----------
> > From: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> > To: Manney
> > Subject: FS: BOOK The History of Computers
> > Date: Friday, June 20, 1997 1:52 PM
> >
> > For Sale:
> >
> > The History of Computers -A Family Alubum of Computer Genealogy-
> > by Les Freed
> > ZD press
> > ISBN 1-56276-275-3
> > all color and lots of pictures and illustrations
> >
> > $12 (shipping included within the United States, original price is
> $24.95)
> >
About a month or two back we were discussing starting a newsgroup for
classic computer collectors. I just wanted to mention there is a
somewhat related newsgroup on the net that could use some activity:
alt.technology.obsolete
I am for it, I have it on my news sites to check and in the last few
months I have maybe seen three messages in it (two being multi-newsgroup
spams)
Whaddya guys (and gals) think?
Larry Anderson
--
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Visit our web page at: http://www.goldrush.com/~foxnhare/
Call our BBS (Silicon Realms BBS 300-2400 baud) at: (209) 754-1363
-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
> In particular, none of the Altairs I saw people building in the
> mid-70's worked as designed; there were typos in the assembly instructions
> and to get reliable front panel operation most people had to tweak
> the one-shots that controlled the timing. Some of these
> modifications are well documented by John Zarella, in his Byte
> (1975:4 p78) article "Assembling an Altair 8800".
RE:8800 (A version)
BIG TIME! As someone that built one of the first it was a dog to get going
and I had scopes and all the goodies. I'd also worked with the 8008 before
and was Intelized as it were. A friend build one about 6 months later and
it was still flakey as hell. First of many mods was to get the damm oneshots
off the cpu card and put in a 8224 clock generator. I got mine to a stable
state but when the S4K memories came out I upgraded asap. Better but far
>from great. To many oneshots. In late '78 I transfered my IO, NS* MDS to a
new HORIZON box with a 4mhz z80. used the altair for a few years to support
testing (front pannel). I put it in mothballs about 84 and will likely
never use it again. To highly modified to even consider museum piece and in
'79 it suffered a lightining hit and was never right since.
Allison
I realize this is a little off-topic (last build was about 1987 or 88)
but I have my self in a corner 8-) There are a couple of windows I could
crawl thru if I HAD to.
I have a pristene TI Xenix 386DX16 system.
I have access to one account and - you guessed it - it ain't root!
Nobody seems to remember the root password 8-(
I can't believe that I can't break into this thing! I don't have the
original disks (I haven't dug that far into ALL my docs) but it has
a SCSI Tape drive and two 8 port serial adaptors and some *special* TI
card. It has 2 140 MB MFM drives and I want to keep both the drivers
for the multiport boards and the SCSI board. I think I can get it to
run Linux but I *really* don't want to blow away the Xenix.
So - does any body know where I can find a way into Xenix?
Are there any archives of CERT Advisories on glaring holes I can
worm my way into editing the passwd file or something? I realize
I could run CRACK but since that isn't what I normally do for FUN
I was hoping the mass intellegence and huge experience in this list
might be able to help 8-)
All suggestions are welcome - except blowing it away.
BC
What's wrong with this (virtual) "group" ???
Of all the collecting groups I belong to, this is the only one where my
(and I suppose other's) public (and private) requests for help have been
ignored and (worse) I suspect even opposed.
Is there something I don't know? If this the case I would like to know.
Thank you.
Also your caper to insist on having ALL the items in the collection in
working condition is, in my opinion, unique to this group. I can
understand (and share) the motivation but surely we (I?) collect for the
design point of view and for the historical importance. Don't we? Or am
I in the wrong group anyway?
Sorry for the frankness but I thought I'd get this one out of my chest
before it gets even worse (I am still owed at least 5 replies to my
messages) in that I will be banned from this mailing list. Hope not.
What is your problem?
Hoping to have a straight answer
I am
Yours sincerely
enrico
--
================================================================
Enrico Tedeschi, 54, Easthill Drive, BRIGHTON BN41 2FD, U.K.
tel/fax +(0)1273 701650 (24 hours) or 0850 104725 mobile
website <http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~e.tedeschi>
================================================================
visit Brighton: <http://www.brighton.co.uk/tourist/welcome.htm>
Anyone want some DEC Rainbow software? I have Symphony, plus some
accounting stuff and misc manuals. Pay shipping (from Ohio, USA) and it's
yours.
I know where there are some Rainbow macines which could be had for next to
nothing, if anyone wants.
Due to massive amounts of caffeine & sleep deprivation, Doug Spence said:
>Does the PS/2 not have any 5.25" drive bays? Weird. :) I'm not an IBMer
>so I don't know these things, though I *think* one of the machines I used
>to do CAD work on was a PS/2 of some flavour.
Every PS/2 that I've ever seen (note: this does not mean All PS/2's... just
the ones I've seen) didn't have a 5.25" port at all... not even their tower
"servers". I suspect it was IBM (trying to) setting a new standard... again.
>OK, that makes it useful. Would you happen to know what the pinout is of
>the 37-pin connector, so that I can try to make use of the drive without
>modification? Is it even possible to buy a matching female 37-pin
>connector?
IIRC, it's just straight thru with the last/first 3 pins unused... but I'd
have to look at the cable or ring some pins to be sure (and yes, I'm a
packrat...).
I also believe that you can still get 37-pin D-sub connectors thru the
Mouser Electronics catalog. Good people to work with... I had 3 distinct
problems with my first order (totalling $40USD) and they took care of all
of them at their expense (shipped some closeout SMD resistors *overnight*
because they forgot them in the package... their expense... that's their
policy, despite my not being in a rush for them!) Try http://www.mouser.com .
>Interesting. How are the drives interfaced to the CoCos? I've got a
>CoCo1, CoCo2, and CoCo3, but I've never found a disk drive for these
>machines.
All CoCo controllers take Shugart standard drives (now called IBM standard
drives... IBM's taking over again!) altho RSDOS limits you to 35 tracks,
SSDD, 156K disks (the original Shugart drives) without patches... which (of
course) I have. RSDOS can handle a max of 2 DSDD 80 track drives with
patches (more accurately... they look like 4 SSDD 80 track drives, with :2
the backside of :0 and :3 the backside of :1) but 1.44Meg storage thru
RSDOS is really good! OS-9 can handle 3 DSDD 80trk drives!
>> If you (or anyone) needs more info on this drive, lemme know. But I can
>> tell you, that just taking it apart is *fun*, if you have 3-4 hours to get
>> it apart and back together. I've had mine disassembled 3-4 times now, to
>> figure where to cut holes & stuff for my cable mods.
>
>Heh. I couldn't even get mine apart, because of the two six-pointed
>screws on the bottom. The screws have a lump in the middle so I can't use
>a flat-blade screwdriver as I did when I had a similar problem opening my
>Mac 512K.
There are three ways to get into the case, only one of which I recommend.
The first method involves a chainsaw and a 12lb (5.5kg) sledgehammer... If
you have to ask, you don't want to know. ;^>
The second method would require an appropriately sized Torx screwdriver and
a Dremel tool with drill press attachment. You would need to drill a small
hole in the end of the Torx driver to accommodate the post in the screw.
While this method is the safest to the drive, it's also the most work.
Method 3 (which is the one I used) requires a pointed instrument (like a
leather awl) and a regular (flat-head or slotted) screwdriver that just
fit's into 2 of the points of the Torx screw (the screwdriver tip of my
tiny Swiss Army knife worked perfectly). Use the awl to bend the post over
as much as you can, and this *should* (no guarantees, YMMV, yadda, yadda,
yadda...) get you enough room to get enough of the slotted screwdriver into
2 of the star points and extract the screw.
As the case is built like a Sherman Tank, once the screws are removed, deep
six them. I've been running mine for 3 years without the special screws
with no ill effects.
Anyway, I hope this helps, and enjoy the drive!
Roger "Merch" Merchberger
--
Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed,
Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should
zmerch(a)northernway.net | *not* be your first career choice.
I have an unusual CoCo 2...it was produced as a kit form. I
bought it at a RS tent sale in Dallas in 1985-86. I thought it was a
plug in the boards kit, but when I got it home it was totally bare
boards. Took several hours of soldering to complete. I was told by a
friend who was a RS manager, that they were a pilot program for schools
to have classes assemble the machines and then the school would have
alow cost path to getting more computers. Tandy later decided that this
would be a warranty nightmare and sold the kits for $20 at the tent
sale.
There was a thread here a few weeks back about dealing with those sticky
labels that seem to accumulate on classic computers.
I've just bought a can of a substance called 'Electrolube (the brand name)
Label Remover'. You spray it on, wait a few minutes, and rub the label
off. I used it yesterday to remove some _strong_ double-sided adhesive
tape inside my laser printer, and it did the job extremely well.
The can claims that it may attack some plastics (so take care on classic
micro cases!), and it's not that cheap (\pounds 4.00 for a small-ish
spraycan from Maplin). But it certainly does the job.
--
-tony
ard12(a)eng.cam.ac.uk
The gates in my computer are AND,OR and NOT, not Bill
