test-drb July 1997

test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

111 participants
442 discussions

by dastar＠crl.com

A couple people have asked about shipping costs. I hadn't quite thought about it until last night. Everyone should be aware that they will be paying the shipping costs both to and from me (or whoever is a distributor). Here's the current plan: I will have all the units either sent to me or get some volunteers around the country to have a bunch of units sent to them. I am assuming Mike will not want to handle shipping to each person. I will ask but I seriously doubt it. So anyway, he's in Jersey and I'm in California, and shipping will be a maximum if all are sent to me. Therefore, I would like all the units with a west coast destination sent to me, all with a mid-west destination sent to ???, southwest destination sent to ???, east coast sent to ???, etc. From there they will be individually packed and shipped out. So therefore we get hit with double shipping charges. Shitty I know. I figure total shipping costs will be $4 for a single unit, $5 for a couple, etc. Not sure exactly. I realize the shipping costs may not be what some people bargained for so at this point I would ask that if you want to or need to back out, please do it soon. I am going to try and negotiate a lump sum for the total units that will hopefully bring the cost per unit to $7. That's what I'm shooting for. Stay tuned. Sam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass

26 years, 11 months

1975 PE Altair Article Scans

by rcini＠msn.com

Jim: >>Sadly it gets a bit more contorted than that... Ed Roberts sold MITS to >>Pertec (who proceeded to largely run it into the ground B^{ ), who was >>then purchased by Triumph-Adler of Germany. >>So, it can be assumed that TA now owns all of the rights to things >>MITS/Altair. I've tried to contact them on occasion on related matters >>and have gotten no response of any kind to date. Thanks for the history. One could probably claim that since the platform is no longer supported and that efforts to contact the rightful owner have failed, so long as we don't get "stupid" about it, we should be able to archive the docs...I hope. I'd hate to lose this important piece of information (although I will hold onto it and provide pages to members upon request). What a pain this copyright law is! Jim, re: the Hero 1000/2000 robots, where can I find Mobile Ed. Productions?? ------------------------------------------------- Rich Cini/WUGNET - ClubWin Charter Member (6) - MCPS Windows 95/Netowrking

26 years, 11 months

Classic Video Games

by zmerch＠northernway.net

Whilst in a self-induced trance, thedm (and others) happened to blather: >Sounds like Mattel Electronic Football. My friends and I were the reason >they stopped letting us take to school! damn...that was ages ago. [big snip] Coleco was mentioned... My brother had a Coleco back in the Jr / H.S. daze... which was pretty eazy to win. From what I remember, the LED's could be controlled with two brightness levels, the brighter ones were you, and the dimmer ones were the badguys. I stumbled across it about a year ago or so, while moving... Not sure if my brother or I ended up with it (---Still unpacking--- :-( ) but it still worked at last check. This is one of those things that I took apart as well... but it actually got back together and still worked! ;-) Trivia: On the Coleco, there was a 6-tone "good sound" -- touchdown, methinks. It went something like this (bad replica of staff to follow :) --------o-----o-- ----------------- -----o-----o----- ---o------------- -o--------------- Anyway, there was an episode of Hart to Hart (Robert Wagner & Stephanie Powers... remember?) that used those sounds for automatic door openers / security system at a millionaire/billionaires house... I remember hearing that, and saying so. No-one believed me until I went and got the game and started playing it... then the family was mad that I was making noise during the show! But at least I proved my point. ;^> Have fun, and get ready for my next post! See ya, Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- Roger Merchberger | If at first you don't succeed, Programmer, NorthernWay | nuclear warhead disarmament should *not* zmerch(a)northernway.net | be your first career choice.

26 years, 11 months

OOPS - Explorer 85 - Encyclopedia Entry

by danjo＠xnet.com

Well I forked it up! My ISP was working on an upgade and I was editing *someones* entry for the Explorer 85 on the Encyclopedia web page. Suddenly, when I saved it, Error - no free pace on device! So I thought Ok, I will just :q! OOPS it's gone! Now normally I save a copy for reference - pp back to pine - Error - OOps that's gone too! Who ever placed the page - huh - you want to email me the particulars and I will enter them??? BC

26 years, 11 months

What Classic Computer are All About - A Lovers View

by allisonp＠world.std.com

> From: Brett <danjo(a)xnet.com> > Well, that's true. I always wondered why DEC couldn't sell PDP-11's - b > then with that lousy chip set and poor software 8-) I still get pissed > thinking about how DEC Marketing has messed up every attempt to get int > the *home* market! You're pissed! I lost my job with them because they couldn't make money >from a dimond mine! > You mean the the 7440 I have on the desk next to me? Never remembered the model number but likely, yes! > Not if you tell people about it! Drat you caught me. > You must have been - what - 8 years old 8-) Great story! I think we al I wish, I'm old enough. I finished college before the 8080 was introduced. > have one of those - where everybody kinda stares at you - wondering - > What the Hell is THAT? What are you doing with that - THING? Never happend to me. ;-) I get you have those, in there, and they all work? Allison

26 years, 11 months

History of Video Games (RE: "Bally Astrocade")

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 11:58 AM 7/11/97 -0600, you wrote: >>playing a vector graphic arcade version of Space War when we were fresh >five buttons, 'rotate left', 'rotate right', 'thrust', 'fire', >'hyperspace'. The interesting thing was you didn't play against the Perhaps you're thinking of a later game wherein you could have two players at the same time with either separate ships, or linked ships. Sorta like asteroids in that you had to avoid/shoot various things on the screen. It had the rotate left/right buttons. There was another that used a rotating knob to control rotation; the story was it was a combat training simulation, but I can't remember the name. That was a fun one. (But I always was, and always will be, a Robotron man...) --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

26 years, 11 months

What Classic Computer are All About - A Lovers View

by sinasohn＠crl.com

At 09:24 PM 7/10/97 -0700, you wrote: >dirt cheap at swap meets and thrift stores and sell it on the internet >for enough profit to break even on the hobby. It was the only way I >could get my wife to tolerate it. (Just in case you're wondering I make I'm the same way, or at least, I would be, if I could bear to part with anything! 8^) >it a point to sell stuff at cost on this discussion because, let's face >it, we're all friends, and I don't like profiting from friends). (No, likewise. If I've got something I don't think is of interest here, I'll put it on the AuctionWeb and let it go for whatever the market will pay. Otherwise, (like the PCjr? carts, which I need to post a message about) I'll just let things go for what they cost me. >Eventually I will HTML-ize it and put it up in a web page for people to I'm working on mine, slowly but surely! --------------------------------------------------------------------- O- Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad sinasohn(a)crl.com that none but madmen know." Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates San Francisco, California http://www.crl.com/~sinasohn/

26 years, 11 months

Old Microprocessors

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

In message <33c69abc.15979193(a)smtp.ix.netcom.com> classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu writes: > Some days ago, I mentioned that there was a UK company that used to > advertise old microprocessors like 9900, Z800x, 32032 and other stuff. > > I've just dug up my old issues of Elektor and found the company. It's > Viewcom, at Plaistow in London. > > Perhaps Enrico might want to check if this company still exists and > its tel/fax number: I've been looking for a 10MHz Z8001 (the one found > in Ciarcia's Trump card project in Byte). They're still going. Viewcom Electronics, 77 Upperton Road West Plaistow London E13 9LT England. Retail Shop 139 New City Road Plaistow London E13 9PX England Telephone : 0181-471-9338 Fax : 0181-552-0946 I've dealt with them, and had no problems. If you intend to collect your order, 'phone first, and they'll sort the bits out for you. > > The April 1991 issue of Elektor advertises Viewcom as carrying stuff > like the 9900, 9995 (both TI 16-bit microP). There's even the AMD 9511 The TMS9995 is still listed at \pounds 69.85 (OUCH!) Z8001B is \pounds 11.96, Z08001-10PSC is \pounds 16.90. The other devices you mentioned are no longer listed, alas. > which (if I'm not mistaken) is one of the first math copros for > microcomputers. Indeed it is. I have a CCS 8711 card for the Apple ][ that uses this chip. > Ben -tony

26 years, 11 months

Datamaster troubles

by rcini＠msn.com

My Datamaster Troubles... Well, I'm reviving my Datamaster. Last year, it worked fine (I at least could get into Basic). This year, I can't even get it to boot. I have no manuals for the darned thing, so I have no idea what the numbers on the screen during the POST mean. I have one reverse-highlighted number: "09" and I'm assuming that this is a hardware failure code. I have the "Diagnostic" diskette, but since I think that the floppies are not working (or the diskette is now bad), it's useless. I've done the usual things like cleaning and reseating boards and cables, with no effect. Any clues?? ------------------------ Rich Cini/WUGNET - ClubWin Charter Member (6) - MCPS Windows 95/Networking

26 years, 11 months

What Classic Computer are All About - A Lovers View

by ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk

In message <Pine.SOL.3.95.970710235812.10063G-100000@typhoon> classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu writes: > > Enough of this blathing...anyway, you got my idea. I buy them for > > quality even they're outragously outdated. The newer ones even Compaq > > and Toshibas, Sony is now showing QC problems and sunk down as well. > > Recently a association already issued several critations warning > > buyers not to buy certain models from them. > > Boy - DO NOT get me started on THIS subject! Nor me. One of the reasons I use classics is that they're so well made and so reliable. A few weeks back I mentioned at a computer club that a new hard disk that I'd run for less than 25 _hours_ was already giving me trouble but that a 25 _year_ old minicomputer on the same desk was still going strong. > That is a given. 8 bitters rule. Even 16 bitters rule. Tho I do have > some 4 bitters - they don't rule - they just barely survive 8-) Err, don't forget the HP Saturn, which is used in almost all their calculators (including the HP48). That's a 4-bit machine at the hardware level (and sort-of 64 bit at the software level - strange chip). And I've found 4 bit microcontrollers in keyboards, 1-line displays, disk drives (not the controllers - but handling the stepper motor, drive ready, that sort of thing), and probably more besides. > There are probably more 8 bit MPU and CPU's in existance now than > Intel CPU's. They are EVERYWHERE. Kind of like Candid Camera. Where Don't forget the Microchip PIC (which has an 8-bit ALU and 12 or 14 bit instructions). Those turn up in just about anything nowadays. There's even one in my Laserprinter.... > you least expect it. Cars, phones, thermostats, elevators, games, man TV's, VCR's, CD players, monitors, IR remote handsets, toys, etc... > you name it - SOMEONE put a 6502/8085/6809 into it! Or an 8048, 8051, ST6, PIC, COP4, COP8, 7810, or something custom. > BC -tony

26 years, 11 months

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test-drb July 1997